Ai woke to warmth. Not the artificial heat of her apartment's temperamental radiator, but something living. Her cheek pressed against bare skin, her arm draped across a chest that rose and fell with deep, steady breaths.
Toshiro.
The events of the previous night crashed over her in vivid detail. His hands. His mouth. The things they'd done in her bed. In her shower. The promises whispered in darkness.
What have I done?
She should panic. Should feel the familiar cold dread that accompanied every risk to her carefully constructed life. Instead, she felt... settled. As if some perpetually spinning part of her had finally found its axis.
Morning light filtered through the blinds, painting stripes across Toshiro's sleeping form. His blonde-white hair caught the glow, turning almost silver. Long lashes cast shadows on his cheeks. In sleep, he looked younger—the weight of whatever made his eyes occasionally seem ancient temporarily lifted.
Ai propped herself on one elbow, studying him. The strong line of his jaw. The curve of his mouth that had traced paths of fire across her skin. The lean muscle of his shoulders bearing red marks from her nails.
Mine.
She glanced at the clock: 6:07 AM. The twins would wake soon. Miyako would arrive to help with breakfast. The day would begin, and this stolen moment would end.
Ai leaned forward, pressing her lips to Toshiro's shoulder. His skin tasted faintly of her soap, of sleep-warmth, of him. She kissed a path across his collarbone, up the column of his throat, savoring the salt-tang of him.
What are you doing? The practical part of her demanded. Haven't you risked enough already?
But for once, that voice held no power. Not with Toshiro solid and real beneath her touch. Not with her body still singing from his attentions. Not with the memory of how he'd looked at her children.
"You're dangerous," she whispered against his skin.
Because he was. Not to her safety or her secrets—though that risk existed too. Toshiro endangered something deeper: the wall she'd built between herself and genuine connection. The careful distance she maintained from everyone except her twins.
He'd slipped past her defenses like they didn't exist.
She kissed the underside of his jaw, breathing in the scent of him. Her hand splayed across his chest, feeling his heartbeat strong and steady beneath her palm. Something tight inside her chest loosened at the rhythm.
Ai rested her head in the curve of his shoulder, allowing herself to imagine a future with mornings like this. Waking beside him. Watching him with the twins. Building something that wasn't just survival or success, but happiness.
"Stay," she whispered, though he couldn't hear her. Not just for breakfast. Not just for today. Stay in this life she'd created. Fill the spaces she hadn't known were empty.
Toshiro stirred beneath her, his breathing changing rhythm. His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer even before consciousness fully claimed him.
"Morning," he murmured, voice rough with sleep. His eyes opened, impossibly blue in the morning light. "Been awake long?"
Ai shook her head, suddenly shy despite everything they'd shared. "A few minutes."
He smiled, slow and easy, his hand tracing lazy patterns on her lower back. "Watching me sleep? Creepy, Starlight."
"Shut up." She swatted his chest, heat rising in her cheeks. "I was just... thinking."
His thumb brushed her hip bone. "About what?"
Ai hesitated. The moment felt fragile, balanced on a knife's edge between what they'd been and what they might become.
"About what happens now."
Toshiro's expression grew serious. His hand stilled on her hip. "What do you want to happen?"
Ai sat up, drawing the sheet around her though he'd seen every inch of her the night before.
"I want..." Her voice caught. Wanting was dangerous. Wanting made you vulnerable. "I want you to stay."
His brow furrowed. "For breakfast? I already said—"
"No." She met his eyes directly. "Not just for breakfast. Not just for today."
He pushed himself up to sitting position, sheet pooling around his waist. "You mean...?"
"I mean I want you here. With us." The words tumbled out now, unstoppable. "I know it's crazy. I know we've only known each other a few weeks. I know there are a million reasons this can't work. But when I'm with you, I feel... whole. Like I found something I didn't know was missing."
Toshiro's eyes widened at her echo of his words from the night before. His hand reached for hers, fingers intertwining.
"The kids like you," she continued, needing to explain this impossible feeling. "Ruby already calls you Papa. Aqua watches you like he's trying to solve a puzzle. And I..."
She faltered, the words catching in her throat.
"And you?" Toshiro prompted gently.
"And I don't want to do this alone anymore." The admission cost her, but she forced it out. "I've been managing. Surviving. But with you... I could be happy. We could be happy."
Toshiro's free hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing away moisture she hadn't realized was there. "Ai..."
"You don't have to answer now," she said quickly. "It's a lot. I know it's a lot. You'd be taking on not just me but them too. And all our complications. The secrecy. My schedule. Everything."
"Ai," he said again, more firmly this time. "Look at me."
She did, finding his blue eyes steady on hers.
"I already told you last night. I want this. I want you. I want them. All of it." His voice held no doubt, no hesitation. "I meant what I said about feeling like I found something I've been searching for. In both—" He caught himself. "For a very long time."
Something in his phrasing niggled at her awareness, but she pushed it aside, too caught in the moment.
"We'll figure it out," he continued. "The logistics. The secrecy. How to make this work without risking your career or the kids' privacy."
"It won't be easy," she warned.
"But we'll make it work. Together."
Together. How long had it been since Ai had truly been part of a "together" that wasn't just her and her children? Had she ever?
She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. The kiss was different from those they'd shared the night before—not desperate or hungry, but something deeper. A promise. A beginning.
When they parted, Toshiro's smile had turned mischievous. "So does this mean I get to call you my girlfriend now? Should I make us official on social media? 'Just hanging with bae, hashtag couple goals.'"
Ai snorted, shoving his shoulder. "Don't you dare. Ichigo would have a stroke."
"Speaking of," Toshiro said, glancing at the clock. "Shouldn't the twins be up by now? It's almost seven."
"They usually sleep until seven-thirty." Ai stretched, wincing slightly at pleasant soreness. "Miyako comes at eight to help with breakfast."
"So we have some time," Toshiro noted, his hand sliding up her thigh.
Ai caught his wrist, though her body responded traitorously to his touch. "Not that much time. And I'm still recovering from last night, thank you very much."
He had the grace to look slightly abashed. "Sorry. Got carried away."
"I wasn't complaining at the time," she reminded him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before sliding out of bed. "But right now we need to get you looking presentable before the kids wake up."
Toshiro watched as she pulled clothes from her dresser. "What's the cover story?"
"You fell asleep on the couch," Ai said, tossing him a clean t-shirt from her drawer of sleepwear. It would be tight across his shoulders but better than nothing. "We were talking late, and it seemed silly to wake you."
"Will they buy that?"
"Ruby will be too excited you're still here to question it. Aqua might be suspicious, but he won't say anything." Ai pulled on yoga pants and a loose sweater, carefully covering the marks Toshiro had left. "The trick will be Miyako."
"You don't think she'll approve?"
Ai paused, considering. "It's not that. She'll just be..."
"Smug?"
"Insufferably so." Ai sighed, running a brush through her tangled hair. "She's been making comments since our first dinner."
Toshiro pulled on the borrowed shirt, which indeed strained across his broader frame. "Smart woman."
"Too smart for her own good." Ai tossed him a hairbrush. "You look like you've been electrocuted."
He caught it one-handed, running it through his blonde locks. "Better?"
"Much." She stepped closer, adjusting the collar of his shirt. The domesticity of the gesture struck her—how natural it felt to be in her space, helping him dress.
A small sound from down the hall made them both freeze.
"The kids," Ai whispered. "Quick—go mess up the couch. Make it look like you slept there."
Toshiro nodded, opening the door. He paused with his hand on the knob, turning back to her with a soft smile. "For the record, Starlight, I don't regret a thing."
"Neither do I," she admitted. "Now go before—"
The rest of her sentence was cut off by a high-pitched squeal from the hallway.
"Toshiro! You're still here!"
Ruby stood in the corridor, hair wild, clutching her stuffed star. Her smile could have powered Tokyo for a week.
"Good morning, Captain Ruby," Toshiro said smoothly, not missing a beat. "I fell asleep on the couch last night. Hope that's okay."
Ruby bounced on her toes. "Does that mean you're having breakfast with us? Can we have pancakes? Can you help me make them? Can you stay all day?"
Each question tumbled over the next without pause for breath. Ai watched as Toshiro crouched to Ruby's level, his face serious as if considering matters of state.
"Yes to breakfast. Pancakes sound excellent. I'd be honored to help. And I have work but if your mom is okay with it I can."
Ruby turned pleading eyes to Ai. "Ai, can Toshiro-san stay? Pleeeease?"
Before Ai could answer, Aqua appeared in his doorway, observing the scene with his usual quiet intensity. His gaze traveled from Toshiro's borrowed shirt to Ai's carefully covered neck, missing nothing.
"Good morning, Ai," he said, using her name as always. "Toshiro-san."
"Morning, Aqua," Toshiro replied easily. "Hope I didn't wake you."
Aqua blushed before he shook his head. "Ruby did. She's loud."
"Am not!" Ruby protested.
"Are too."
"Not!"
"Okay, you two," Ai intervened, slipping into mother-mode with practiced ease. "Why don't you both get washed up while I start breakfast? Toshiro-san can help."
Ruby cheered, darting into the bathroom. Aqua followed more slowly, his shrewd eyes lingering on the adults for a moment longer than comfortable.
When the children disappeared, Ai let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "That went... better than expected."
"Aqua knows," Toshiro said quietly.
"Knows what?"
"That I wasn't on the couch."
Ai sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Too smart. Takes after his mother."
They moved to the kitchen, falling into easy domesticity. Ai pulled out mixing bowls while Toshiro located the pancake ingredients.
The scene felt right in a way Ai couldn't articulate. Complete. As if the kitchen had been waiting for his presence.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, Ichigo's name flashing on the screen. She ignored it, too caught in the moment.
"You're good at this," she observed as Toshiro measured flour.
"Cooking? I've been practicing since our hamburger steak disaster." He winked at her. "Figured I should have at least one edible dish in my repertoire."
"No, I mean..." She gestured vaguely around them. "This."
Toshiro's expression softened. "It's easy to be good at something that feels right."
Her phone buzzed again. And again. And again.
Ai picked it up. "Ichigo's persistent today."
"Must be important."
She swiped to answer. "Hello?"
"Finally you picked up," Ichigo's voice came through, tight with stress. "I'm outside."
Ai froze, meeting Toshiro's questioning gaze across the kitchen. "You're... what?"
"Outside your apartment. We need to talk. I've been calling for twenty minutes."
"Oh." Ai's mind raced. Ichigo. Outside. With Toshiro here, wearing borrowed clothes and bearing marks from her mouth. "Right. Um, give me a minute."
"Why? Just buzz me up. I brought coffee."
The sound of the building's security door opening in the background told her it was too late. Someone had let him in.
"Shit," Ai whispered, ending the call. "Ichigo's here. Right now. Coming up."
Toshiro's eyes widened momentarily before his face settled into calm determination. "Okay. We can handle this."
"How? You're wearing my clothes. We both look like—" She gestured between them, at the visible evidence of their night together.
"Like we were up late talking, and I crashed on your couch." Toshiro moved to the living room, quickly messing the throw pillows and blanket to create the illusion of a makeshift bed. "The shirt belongs to Ichigo, remember? You just lent it to me because mine got dirty."
Ai took a steadying breath. "Right. That makes sense."
"It's going to be fine." Toshiro returned to her side, hands gentle on her shoulders. "Trust me."
A sharp knock at the door made them both jump.
"Mama?" Ruby called from the bathroom. "Someone's here!"
"I know, sweetie," Ai called back. "It's just Ichigo-san."
She met Toshiro's eyes one last time, drawing strength from his steady gaze.
Ai moved to the door, straightening her sweater and plastering on her professional smile. She opened it to find Ichigo in his trademark black suit and sunglasses, coffee carrier in hand.
"Morning," she said, trying for casual. "You're early."
Ichigo pushed his glasses down, peering at her over the rims. His gaze moved past her to where Toshiro stood in her kitchen, then back to her face.
"Apparently," he said dryly, "I'm not the only one."