Warning: Mild mature content at the beginning of this chapter. Nothing too spicy :)

L-Love?!

Wow....I really do love him—

"What did you say?" Eijirou mumbled, his voice coming out in a lustful daze, as he slid my shirt up my body.

Eijirou lifted my shirt off fully, quickly discarding it to the floor.

I sighed in pleasure as I felt him come back down on top of me, our bodies pressing against each other.

He left my bra on, as he began kissing his way from my neck, down to my chest.

I opened my mouth to say the words again, realizing I couldn't do it.

I let out a small, shaky sigh...slightly frustrated that I couldn't tell him I love him.

Who cares, Margo. Shrug it off.

"I-I didn't...say anything." I whispered out, trying to hold back a moan.

Yeah. That's right.

I really didn't say anything to him.

He had no idea what I was actually thinking.

....that was a good thing, right—

I was quickly pulled from my thoughts, as I felt Eijirou begin massaging my breasts, bringing his face in between them.

Just focus on this moment, Margo.

Don't think about your true feelings.

I forced myself to get into the moment, as I felt Eijirou's hand slide down to my ass, giving it a rough squeeze.

"That feels good." I encouraged, as Eijirou discarded my bra, starting to suck my chest.

He hummed in agreement, starting to run his tongue down my stomach.

Love—

I squeezed my eyes shut, as I tried to hide away my feelings.

The only people I've ever loved were my parents—

"Stop." I muttered to myself quietly, wanting my thoughts to go away.

I just wanted to enjoy this time with Eijirou.

His tongue traced my lower abdomen, starting to play with the waistband of my jeans.

My parents were the only other people I ever loved, in my entire life.

I told my parents I loved them, and they went away-

"Who cares about them." I grumbled to myself, absentmindedly running my hands through Eijirou's hair.

Does that mean if I tell Eijirou I love him, he'll go away, too?

I felt my heartbeat picking up at my thoughts, before Eijirou pulled me from my reflections again.

"Hey, did you hear me?" He said softly, lightly propping his arms up on my bare stomach now.

"H-Huh?" I uttered absentmindedly.

"I asked if you were okay. You're not saying much." He asked, looking at me slightly concerned.

"No, I'm totally fine! K-Keep going. P-Please." I smiled at him, lightly pushing him further down my body.

Eijirou studied my face for a moment, not moving.

"Okay. If you start to feel uncomfortable....just tell me—"

"—I'm seriously fine. Keep going." I reassured him quickly, trying to get back in the moment.

He hesitated for a moment, before slowly continuing his trek.

I felt him unbutton my jeans now. I think he was going to—

If you tell him you love him, you'll lose him. That's the way it works.

Love? No.

I wasn't allowed to love—

I immediately slapped my hands over my face, shaking my head in frustration now.

Eijirou immediately stopped, coming back up my body.

"Hey! Hey, baby! What's wrong? Was it something I did?" He asked frantically, gently trying to remove my hands from my face.

I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell Eijirou I loved him.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was afraid that if I told him my true feelings, he would leave.

Just like my parents did.

I love Eijirou. I didn't want him to leave, too.

I bit my lip in frustration, quickly blinking away my tears, as I let Eijirou remove my hands from my face.

I was met with his worried gaze, as his eyes studied every part of my face.

"Margo? If I did something, I am so sorry—"

"—no, no, no. It's not you. It's me. I-I.....I'm just....messed up." I sighed, throwing my head back against the pillow in pure frustration.

Eijirou grabbed both of my hands in his now, intertwining them together.

"Hey, just because you're not ready to go further with me, doesn't mean you're messed up. I understand." Eijirou said gently, planting a soft kiss on my cheek.

"But that's not it. I am ready to go further. It's just...my past is still preventing me from going further. In more ways than one." I chuckled dryly, not being able to look at his eyes.

Eijirou nodded, now understanding the situation.

"Oh. That makes sense." He replied, as he rolled off me, collapsing on the pillow next to mine.

He turned on his side to face me, carefully sliding closer to my body, and propping his elbow up on the pillow to rest his head.

He gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, lightly touching the side of my face.

I stared blankly at the ceiling, still not being able to look at him.

I was embarrassed and frustrated.

But, more importantly, I realized the more I looked at Eijirou, the more I loved him.

Maybe, if I just don't look at him, I'll be fine—

"Margo..." Eijirou whispered softly, his voice smooth like butter.

"Yeah..." I barely uttered, keeping my gaze at the ceiling.

I heard him sigh softly, as he came closer.

"Baby, look at me." He whispered gently, pressing his forehead to my temple.

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head softly to let him know I couldn't.

Eijirou hummed quietly, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me close.

I immediately scooted closer to him, snuggling further into his warmth.

We both lay there in comfortable silence, absentmindedly staring at the ceiling.

Eijirou traced soft circles on my arms, resting his head on top of mine.

"You know..." he started off softly, grabbing my attention.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for whatever he was going to say.

"Past experiences can be really hard to deal with. I understand that. Margo, I would never pressure you to speak about anything you're not comfortable with. I'm not asking you to." Eijirou explained, caressing my hair.

"But, I want to speak about my past with you. I want to let you into my life, into my head. I want you to know everything." I countered, not being able to hide the crack in my voice.

"And I want these things, too. But baby, you're just not ready talk about it yet. And that's okay. Don't force yourself to open up. You won't be able to feel at ease that way." He said softly, gently turning my body towards his.

Eijirou and I were face to face now, only my eyes were still closed.

He didn't even pressure me to open them.

"All I'm saying, is don't let the past consume you. Don't let it hold you back from living your life. At some point, you need to let yourself rest. You need to stop being so hard on yourself, and accept the wonderful person that you are. I wish you could see what I see in you. You're strong, Margo. You're amazing. You are more than your past." Eijirou uttered quietly, pulling the covers over both of us.

I am more than my past.

Wow.

That's the first time I've heard those words.

I took a slow steady breath, finally getting the courage to open my eyes.

As soon as I fluttered my eyes open, I was met with Eijirou's warm smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle softly, gently pushing his hair away from his face.

"And when you're ready to talk about it...really ready to talk about your past, I'll be here. Don't push yourself. And when you're ready, if you're ever ready....Accept it. Accept your past. Make peace with it, if you're able to. Accept who you were back then, and who you are now. Accept what your life was, and what it is now. Accept that you're a human being, who makes mistakes sometimes, but that you're a good person with a good heart." He explained to me.

I felt another weight being lifted off my shoulders from Eijirou's words. He was 100 percent right.

What good is it, holding on so tightly to the worst parts of my life?

It feels as though all of these memories are painfully attached to me, dragging me down and pulling me back from fully living my life.

These painful attachments are stopping me from being completely free.

And so....I would try. I would try to work through my problems, instead of running away from them....instead of always pushing them to the back of my mind.

Slowly....but surely, I would become who I want to be.

In fact, I was already doing just that. I've come a long way since originally joining the league of villains.

I felt like a better person. I just needed to be patient with myself.

I leaned in, planting a chaste kiss on Eijirou's lips.

He returned it, gently moving his lips against mine.

"Thank you." I whispered to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Eijirou placed his hands on my hair, running his fingers through it as he let out a yawn.

"Can I....stay with you tonight?" I asked, barely above a whisper.

"Of course. I was hoping you would, anyway." Eijirou immediately replied, his crimson orbs already starting to droop tiredly.

We lay there in peaceful silence for a few moments, as Eijirou's eyes eventually finally succumbed to exhaustion.

"Goodnight, Margo." Eijirou mumbled tiredly, pulling me closer against his chest.

"Goodnight, Eiji." I whispered, watching his breaths start to become soft and steady.

After a few minutes, I felt my own eyes begin to close now, with Eijirou's body creating the perfect pillow for me to lay on.

"I love you." I whispered to his sleeping self, as I drifted off into my own dreamland.