" What?" said Kallen.

" You heard right, you're going to be living in my custody for the rest of the year. For the rest of the school, at least." There was a hint of righteousness in Gino's voice when he said that, like he was smitten at her surprise. It made her want to smack him.

Kallen closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Why was her life spinning out of control again? " Listen, Gino. I'm 19, by Brittanian law I can do whatever I want now, and living here and going to school full time is not an option." She opened them again, peering her blue eyes into Gino's, attempting to get the message across. " Don't you understand that I need to work to support my mother? She can't work in that condition, I don't want her to go into domestic service again-"

Gino cut across her- " Kallen, try to listen to me-"

She ignored him, the frustration she had bottled inside her from the past year spewing out in a violent, loud mess.

" NO. Gino, you listen to me!" Kallen lifted herself from the table, feeling suffocated by the atmosphere in his kitchen, feeling disgusted at herself for letting herself pretend everything was all right that morning. " I have things to do, don't you understand? The Black Knights wasn't the end! Lelouch only fixed some of it. Things still aren't right here, here.. or anywhere. People still have so much hate in them, and I realized that everyone still has problems and I have to be responsible for my mother now, so I can't kick back and relax! I can't just run away and I can't just try to ignore that Lelouch isn't an anonymous phone-call away anymore!"

Gino got up too, cautiously watching Kallen with concern in his eyes. She shook with the emotion of her words, and watching her, he felt a type of sadness inside that he didn't realize could overwhelm him. He wanted to hold her.

" I have to watch my mother. All the time, I have to check up on her, I have to make sure she isn't hiding a syringe anywhere in our home so she doesn't turn back to her old self. It's only been a year, and it hasn't really been enough time for her to heal." Kallen looked up at him, pleading. " It hasn't been enough time for anyone to heal. I need you to understand that it'll be hell all over again if she relapses and goes to prison again. Please, Gino. Tell me I don't have to stay here."

He wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear. But he knew better. " No. Kallen, you have to stay."

" You're going to make me do something against my will?"she asked.

" If that's what you want to call it, yes."

Kallen looked at him with wary eyes. " You're no better than Suzaku then."

He stood his ground. " I take no shame in that." It hurt, in a strange way to have her want to hurt him with her words, though.

" If that's what you want to be like then.." Kallen looked at him slowly, her left foot stepping behind her right. " I don't need your permission!" She lunged towards him, hands curled into fists. She fell on to him, and the two of them tumbled across the checkered kitchen floor, chairs and tables toppling out of their way. She was a good fighter, and the Black Rebellion had only honed her reflexes. Admittedly, Gino was just as good, but she noticed that he wouldn't fight back at her directly, only deflecting her hits but never throwing his own. Kallen almost rolled her eyes. What a gentleman- he decides to be like this now, after previously trying to send her to what he thought would be a death sentence, plummeting into the ocean from the thousands of feet above in the sky. Oh, whatever.

" Kallen!-" he struggled to speak, the two of them struggling in a rolling mess across the floor. Damn, he almost forgot how good she was at fighting. " Listen to me!"

" You don't deserve my attention!" she was on top of him now, and it felt like she almost had the upper-hand. Spotting an opening, Kallen swung her fist as swiftly as she was able-right into his palm. Her eyes grew big as his hand wrapped around hers tightly. One of his hands held her fist, and the other pinned her wrist to the ground. She turned her gaze from his hands to his eyes, solemn blue set in a rigid expression.

" Why don't you hear me out?" Was he always this strong? She couldn't squeeze out of his grasp. The more she struggled, the more impatient Gino became. Finally, he flipped her underneath him, pinning her entirely to the ground. The blood rushed to Kallen's cheeks at the turn of events, with Gino hovering above her, his face close to hers.

He seemed to notice too. " Sorry Kallen." he said shortly. " But I need you to listen to me. I want you to know that the reason Suzaku-" he stopped, reconsidering his words. " Why I want you to stay here is to keep you safe."

" I can keep myself safer than either of you two bastards can. I can take care of myself," she snarled in reply.

" No, you can't. It's too much of a burden."continued Gino. " You said you're 19, but it's even too much for someone alone to bear, no matter what age, no matter how well you fight. You can't take care of yourself! Especially not with the people that are going to be after you now after this funeral-thing. And I know how much it hurts. Stay here, and I'll help you and help your mother too. I have the money to."

" I don't want your charity."

" Kallen, it's not charity-"

She thrust her face closer to his, " I don't want to hear it! I've always been doing everything myself, it's nothing new, I don't need you or Suzaku to come from the past and tell me what to do with my future-"

"KALLEN!" The force in his voice stopped her suddenly. His arms shook with an emotion she couldn't seem to name. It was incomprehensible.

" Don't you understand?" Gino raised his voice. " I'm trying to help. Someone, for once, wants to help you. Someone cares!"

He continued, softer this time. His voice came from a place, that seemed deep inside, and it was full of an emotion they both couldn't put a finger on.

" I care."

AN: Hello guys! Long time no see, I've been really preoccupied lately, sorry D: anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review with any critique or comments you might have :D

thanks for reading!