Not that he will complain . "Ah, it's probably because she was worried about me . "

"The centers light, huh?"

Lila smiles, " Well, us centers tend to be drawn to each other one way or another . "

Well, he supposes that makes sense .

"More importantly, does it taste nice Haruka?"

"Yeah, it's delicious," Haruka said . He didn't have much of an opinion whenever it came to food . He simply ate it . However, when he learned that Lila liked to receive compliments . Haruka started to pay more attention .

"I'm glad !"

. . . .

Whenever Haruka closed his eyes, he would end up in that place without fail . Before Haruka could say a word, his sentence falls short when he sees the screen in the s.p.a.ce's midst . After Lila had finished was.h.i.+ng the dishes, she walked over to where he was lying down and peered over at him curiously . When he saw the sparkle in her violet-colored orbs, Haruka could tell that she just had an idea .

He chuckled to himself when he sees the black hair girl slipping into his arms, " Perfect fit! " she exclaims to herself .

Cute . What is she doing?

. . . .

He's been with many girls, embraced them as well as made love to them . But he never thought he would find someone who fits so perfectly in his arms . "Haruka, your awake, aren't you? " Lila asked .

"Mmm," he muttered and turned to her .

"Talk to me?"

"Just now, Somebody pestering me . "

Lila smiled knowingly, "Ah, he was teasing Haruka about me? "

"You seem pretty sure about that . "

When he saw her brief dejected look, Haruka laughed softly . Lila immediately noticed, and her cheeks puffed into a pout, "Haruka, why do you keep teasing me today?" Lila questioned .

"Ah? Well, when I see something adorable and cute, I can't help but want to tease them," Haruka said . Honestly, that's a lie . He's probably only like this towards her . It's strange, with her he's able to laugh and smile so naturally . Emotions he would typically discard, when he is with her, things are different .

It's like he's an entirely different person when he is with her .

The girl paused and thought for a moment, before she beamed happily, "I see! In other words, you think I'm pretty today?"

Pfft, where did she get that idea from? Such an oddball . He buried his face in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s .

"Haruka?"

"You're so good to me . What am I going to do when we're separated? " he murmurs . Eventually, they'll have to separate . Sometime during the Dream Stars Main Tournament, he has to go abroad . Haruka initially hid this from Lila, but she found out, anyway .

"For one, you can't sleep with other girls . "

"Pfft, that's your first rule, huh?"

"Ahuh, I know how you get when your lonely Haruka . But, this time around it's a no . We're going to be married . The circ.u.mstances will be far different so don't do it, no matter what happens," Lila said in a serious tone .

She's making that rule clear, huh? He lifted his head up .

"Anything else?" Haruka asked . But saw the clouded look in the girl's eyes . She most likely doesn't want to talk about it . Sure enough, when he continued, "Change the topic?"

"Ah-huh," Lila said . She trailed off and leaned into his hold, "Haruka, your warm . "

"Yeah, and your freezing as usual . Wrap up properly when you go out okay?"

"Un! I'll wear your coat, Haruka . "

"These days you're replacing me with my coat . "

Soft and beautiful laughter pa.s.sed Lila's lips, "Aha silly, your still the warmest place . It really is so comfortable beside you . "

Is she afraid still? She's not showing it as much as before . But that doesn't mean she's over it yet . He's right in thinking so when she tightens her hold on him .

"Haruka . "

"What is it?" whenever he is with her, his tone is unusually gentle . If it were another were another person, Haruka doesn't think he would be able to talk to them in this manner .

"About the show night, can I give you some advice?"

It was a rare occasion where he would actually perform on stage — the opening to the main tournament of the Dream Stars tournament . The judges would perform the opening ceremony to boost the contestants more .

Haruka blinked, he wasn't expecting that . Or rather they've never interfered in each others singing styles up until now . It has nothing to do with them being lenient on each other either . It's simply because whenever they have any flaws, they receive advice from others before they can confront each other about it .

"Sure . "

She must have something on her mind .

____

After advising Haruka, Lila didn't talk much and instead simply enjoyed the warmth of being in his arms . Cuddling with Haruka was awfully nice, and for once he was flirting with her, caressing her hair and not doing anything else other than that . So when Lila is notified that Kasumi and the others had arrived, she was still in Haruka's arms and didn't want to move . So Lila sent a message .

Eventually, the girl appeared through the back .

Kasumi coughed and sighed . It looked like she a lot to say about them being in such a position, "Karas.h.i.+ma, Lila is sick . You can't have her lie down on the ground . "

"Lila is the one who joined me here . "

Lila nodded in agreement, "Ahuh, Haruka looked warm, so I squeezed my way through . It was amazing Kasumi; I didn't think I'd fit . "

From the kitchen, she had been watching Haruka until he had fallen asleep when she saw him so peaceful like that .

"An impossible couple to argue with," Kasumi said with another sigh .

Lila's sweat fell, 'Uh oh, Kasumi still doesn't approve . Won't she get mad if this continued?' But it was not like that at all, a smile tugged on the edge of her friend's lips, "Still, I'm somewhat relieved, that despite everything you're still able to spend moments like this with each other . "

Before Lila could ask what Kasumi meant, Haruka stood them both up . A beep sound had woken them up from their little trance, and Lila knew she could no longer feign ignorance . Even if she doesn't have work, Haruka does . It's hard to match their schedules .

"Seems like I have to go to work now," Haruka looked bothered, and Lila sighed . So much for them spending more time together .

She nodded and walked over to the table with his scattered belongings and placed it inside Haruka's bag . When she turned to give it to him though, she frowned, "Haruka, do you want to wear your coat?"

Haruka simply wore his usual s.h.i.+rt and black plants . While he looks good as always, just looking at him made her feel Cole .

"Na, it's fine . I'm working the entire day indoors anyway . "

"But . . . . It's quite chilly outside, and you --" her sentence fell short when Haruka leaned forward .

The cold she felt seemed to disperse, and she felt his warmth on her lips . Oh, what warm lips . Lila immediately relaxed and kissed him back with equal pa.s.sion . " . . . Mm, that was nice . "

"Haruka . . . "

"Don't worry about it okay?"

Lila managed a nod . 'Whenever he rea.s.sures me, she gets even more worried,' but Lila kept those thoughts to herself . It's futile saying anything .

"See you later, Lila . "

"Okay," Lila said dejectedly .

Although she was trying to sound 'okay' the entire time, the second Haruka stood up, and she was no longer in his arms, she became uneasy again . "What's wrong?" Haruka asked . Ah, she's making it too obvious . But Lila couldn't help it .

"I don't want to part," Lila admitted . She knew she sounded childish .

"I see," Haruka caressed her cheek with his hand and Lila into his palm, "Yeah me too . You'll be at the shopping mall for a while, right? When I have time to go on break, I'll see you for a bit . "

If it were the past Haruka, he would have shown her an indifferent look and lectured her about business and private affairs . But now, 'he's rea.s.suring her,' Lila thought .

"Really? But you'll be going all the way -- " her sentence fell short when she felt Haruka's lips on hers again . It was brief, and yet Lila understood the meaning behind that kiss . He was trying to tell her that he loved her so much; all she has to do is believe in that .

"No more 'buts . ' You don't want us to part, and I feel the same . However, I can't skip work . So I'm finding an alternative," Haruka nodded, as he nibbled on her lips, "Alright?"

"Haruka, you've become so responsible now," Lila commented . He's changed so much since they started to date .

He brushed their foreheads together and laced their hands together .

"Yeah, seems like it's contagious . More things to praise to Lila, huh?" his tone and expression were gentle . Yet Lila saw the lonely look in his eyes .

"En . "

With those words said . Lila watched as Haruka got up and left . Despite her uneasiness, Lila felt a lot better after he said such words to her .

"Really, do you two always act like that?" Kasumi asked .

Lila laughed, "Aha, it's kinda embarra.s.sing . But un, we do . "

"Gee, your happiness is overflowing," Kasumi trailed off with a sigh but smiled softly, " Shall we get going?"

"Let's go," Lila agreed . Her voice still hurt, and she wasn't sure whether it was wise for her to make an appearance where her friends are doing G.o.ddess4 and G.o.d5 work . Her status as a member was still unknown after all . Until the idol a.s.sociation says so, any work she does would fall under