One month later...

December 25. To the common folk, it is known as a day of the celebration of boundless generosity and gay meetings. It was a day of getting together with family, friends, and loved ones. However, nothing is set in stone for all. To others, it's a day of mourning. Lily Masuda was standing with relatives around a grave site that had a casket about ready to be descended into the ground.

Lily normally doesn't cry during funeral processions but this one hit her like a cannonball to the face. In that casket was her now-deceased mother, who had died protecting her. She couldn't stop crying from the day she got the news that her mother was dead. She lost her mother's gift, then she lost her mother.

She could do nothing but stare at the descending casket helplessly as this would be the final resting place of her mother and the only place where she would see her. Lily's mom wasn't coming home. Not anymore. Instead, her mother's new home was the graveyard and Lily felt responsible for it.

However, in her time of grieving, an older boy to her left held her hand. Lily turned and looked to her left to see her friend Kaito looking ahead at the grave while holding her hand. Lily looked down at their hands together. His hand felt warm, clasping her's so tightly. It felt rather reassuring to her. Although Lily and Kaito weren't relatives, they were close enough that Lily invited him to mourn with her.

Kaito looked over at Lily, holding her hand tight. "It's going to be okay, Lily. IA, Gumi, Yukari, me...we're still here. We're here for you. I'm here for you. I'll...protect you, Lily in place of your mother."

Lily couldn't say anything through her tears. Instead, she looked up at him, nodded, knowing she could trust her friend.

"Lily...I want you to wake up for me. Wake up..."

Lily gasped, hyperventilating about the dream she went through. The funeral of her mother was something she'd never forget until the day she died. After Lily got her bearings, she found herself in a motor vehicle seated in the front passenger seat. Also, she felt her left hand being grabbed by someone. She turned to her left to see her now-boyfriend Kaito looking straight at her. "Kaito?"

Kaito blinked a few times, not averting his gaze at all. He knew what Lily was dreaming about as there is only one thing that can make Lily cry. And that was recalling the day her mother died. "Lily, I know you had that dream again."

Lily sighed, putting her right hand over her forehead. Kaito knew her so well that it often was to her dismay. "Leave it alone, Kaito. I'm not the weak girl you remembered from back then. I know what happened to my mother was my fault but just crying isn't going to bring her back, nor will anything bring her back. I just need to keep moving forward...even if I am alone..."

Kaito slightly tightened his grip on Lily's left hand, which made her wince a bit. "Hey, hey. What do you mean you're alone? Don't you remember the promise I made to your mom as she was buried? I said I'd protect her only remaining daughter. And I'm here to help you, whether you like it or not. Also, what happened to your mother wasn't your fault. You were just a kid back then. You didn't know any better."

Lily turned her head toward the window next to her and stared at the cloudy sky above while still feeling Kaito's arm grip on her left hand, feeling totally negative. "Which part? The one where I carelessly chased my ball into the street while there's a car running through, or the one where I couldn't say anything to my mom before she died because of how traumatized I was?"

Kaito gritted his teeth. Whenever Lily got this way, it was tough to snap her out of it. Lily may be a strong girl but he knew that inside, she couldn't let go of the past. Kaito could feel his anger smoldering. Kaito squeezed Lily's hand tighter. "It's the same old bullshit whenever you get this way. You'll never listen. Do you think your mom would want you to blame yourself all your life until the day you die?"

Lily felt her eyes watering. Lily whipped her head around with the tears rolling down her face. "How am I ever supposed to apologize and make things up to her now that she's dead because of me?!"

"Think about what your mom would tell you." Kaito calmly replied, not paying attention to the tears falling down Lily's face. "Your departed mom is probably worried about you that you aren't happy. Think about it. Your mom did everything she could to make her little girl happy while she was alive. Do you think it would comfort her from up above to know that you're in misery? She knows you didn't mean it and I know that she would still want you to be happy. So please, even if you were almost directly responsible for the killing of your mother, please serve your mother's memory by living as happily as you can."

Lily looked down at both of Kaito's hands that were wrapped around her left hand. Kaito's hands had some traces of Lily's tears on them. Lily's gaze then went back at Kaito, who had a look of someone who's not going to be denied. Even though she knows how madly in love Kaito was, he still said things that were true to the heart.

"I was in your shoes before, Lily." Kaito continued onward. "I kept blaming myself. I couldn't help my mother and father. I couldn't do anything to help them when I was a little boy. But I learned something. I learned that blaming yourself and rolling over your bed moping over it is just a sad way of running away from a loss. Losses are a part of life and should be accepted. If you don't learn this yourself, Lily, you will lose sight of something terribly valuable. That's why I protect you, Lily. I couldn't protect my parents, but I use that to fuel my drive to protect my friends, and you."

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lily's list of pet peeves included elongated speeches like the one Kaito said. But the fact that Kaito said it made it a bit more tolerable to her. Deep inside, Lily knew it was true. It's so easy to blame yourself but you have to move on someday and look at new opportunities opened for you. "I'm sorry, Kaito. It just...gets to me..."

Kaito's lips curved a faint smile, then leaned over and kiss Lily on the forehead. "This is what I'm here for, Lily. This is what I'm here for. We arrived here, by the way. This is what I wanted to show you."

Both Lily and Kaito exited the car and then looked behind the car to see an old playground made of wood, although the wood itself looked extremely old. There were also barricades surrounding the playground, to signal that it was off-limits to the public.

Lily gasped upon recognizing the old site. It was a playground. She would often go to this playground with Kaito when they were playmates as kids. "K-Kaito! We haven't been here in such a long time! Wasn't this place supposed to be a company building?"

Kaito nodded at Lily. "It was but then petitions and protests went through and then it was decided that this place would be renovated. The playground will soon undergo a construction that will make it a better playground but while it's still in its original form, I thought I'd take you back here for old times sake."

The place filled her with nostalgia. She remembers playing with Kaito here a lot. Ah, the memories. She remembers the games of tag she played with him here. She smirked upon recalling the times when she'd often outpace Kaito when he was chasing her. She always the more athletic one compared to him. "I haven't thought about this place for years. I remember the games of tag. You were slow as a turtle, Kaito."

Kaito slit his eyes as he leered at her. He was half-hoping she wouldn't bring that up. "Do you have to remind me? I could never catch you from before." Kaito spotted a bench that was facing the park near them. "Here, let's sit down."

The two of them slowly made their way to the bench and sat down. The two of them just stared at the old, wooden playground, recalling memories from their past. It felt bittersweet, looking at it again after all these years.

A thought ran through Lily's head. After thinking about Kaito and the times they had together. He was always there. Kaito was always there, no matter what. He was there when she graduated in place of her mom when she couldn't because of her death. Kaito was there when she got into trouble. Even in the shadows, he would still find a way to help her. It became more and more obvious that she was with the right man. She admitted in her head that it was rather cliché from the movies to fall in love with your best friend you knew from childhood but Kaito really was right for her. Kaito is the reason why she's in college because of him being the mysterious sender of money she needed to pay her tuition. Lily got the only remaining memento of her mother back thanks to Kaito. No matter what, Kaito would always be there. He's the only man who knows the Lily from behind that gruff exterior aside from her best female friends.

Lily closed her eyes and smiled. She felt truly blessed to have friends like IA, Gumi, and Kaito. "Thank you, Kaito..." She turned to him. "...for all these years you've been there for me."

Kaito looked back at Lily, smiling back at her, feeling almost the exact same way. "My pleasure, Lily..." He started to lean in with his face. "...Always was..."

The two of them shared a tender kiss that was full of soft emotions for one another.

It was a relatively silent drive on the way over to where Kaito's beach house was. The drive lasted for over an hour. From time to time, Kaito glanced over at Lily, who was fast asleep on the passenger's side. He silently smiled to himself, wondering what she was dreaming about. He'd hope that she was dreaming about him.

When they finally arrived at the beach house, Kaito looked over at Lily again to see that she was still asleep. Kaito smiled at her with how alluring she was in his eyes. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful, so cute just sleeping there, sitting up.

Kaito softly nudged her left shoulder with this right hand. "We're here, Lily."

Lily didn't seem to be waking up from Kaito's nudging. Kaito frowned and nudged harder. "Lily...wake up. We're here."

Again, no response from Lily. Kaito felt inclined to nudge her even harder but the sight of her lips made him stop. He noticed how her lips had a glazed look about it. It looked so...seductive and beautiful with how they're slightly opened.

"Well...if you're not going to wake up... Maybe this will..."

Kaito leaned in, trying to kiss those lips that are so full of luster to him. However, as his head came closer, the scent of his hair caused Lily to slightly opened her eyes.

In another second, Kaito felt a hammer hit on the back of his head. He recoiled back, feeling the pain.

Lily scoffed. "Trying to sneak one on me, are you?"

"You wouldn't wake up when I nudged you." Kaito explained as he held his head in pain.

"Humph. Whatever." Lily took a moment to look up at the beach house. It looked absolutely exquisite. It caught every ounce of her attention. She noticed how well structured it was on the outside. There were flowers outlining the perimeter of the house. Although she wasn't exactly fond of flowers, she acknowledged that they were a nice touch to make the house look nicer. "Looks good so far."

Kaito smirked at Lily, knowing she was more impressed than she let on. "Come on, Lily. You don't have to hide the fact that you're impressed. Let's go inside."

Lily leered at Kaito but he ignored her. Kaito took their things and they both went straightaway for the house. At the entrance, Kaito used a key to unlock the doors. He opened them slowly and went inside just as slow. Kaito flipped the switch to turn the lights on to which was the foyer.

Once the lights turned on in the foyer, she promptly went inside. Her mouth hanged, impressed with her surroundings. For a foyer, it sure was large in size. "Damn, Kaito. You've been holding out on me."

Kaito chuckled at Lily look around the foyer like a curious child. "Just wait till we get to the bedroom."

Soon enough, they arrived there. There was a single bed. It was queen sized with sheets and pillows looking very soft and comfortable. Lily was getting sleepy just by looking at them. "Damn..."

Kaito nodded in agreement as he continued to smirk at Lily's mesmerized look. "I take it you're now impressed."

Looking at how comfortable the bed was made Lily elicit a yawn. "Yeah..."

Lily noticed Kaito going towards a cabinet. He opened the doors and leafed through the spines of thin cases that looked like DVDs. However, it became apparent that those weren't DVD cases, they were video game cases. He took two cases out and showed them to her. "I know how much you wanted to play these two games."

Lily gasped, recognizing the box art almost instantly on the two separate cases. "Th-That's Valkyria Chronicles! And that one! That's Resident Evil: Outbreak! H-How..."

Kaito started grinning from ear to ear, then laughed like a maniac. "I've waited so long for this! I've always kept your interests in mind, Lily. I've reserved these games specifically for your enjoyment for the event that you'd eventually come here. Now it is here. Are you ready to play?"

Lily looked over at Kaito with wide eyes with her lips forming a shocked frown, impressed with how Kaito took the time to know her all these years. "Are you trying to kill me, Kaito?"

Kaito made another maniacal laugh, enjoying every second of seeing Lily in absolute shock. "Nope. I'm sure you want to play now."

Lily nodded her head as if she were a bobble head. She couldn't wait to begin.

The day breezed by because of the game's total engrossment. Lily enjoyed every second of it. Lily always wanted to play these games and because of Kaito once again, she would finally have her chance. She is not an emotional person so she couldn't put it into words but Kaito was truly the one who understood everything about her.

It was nighttime and the two of them were watching a movie together in the living room. Lily didn't mind the movie much. From time to time, she'd look back over at Kaito to see that he was watching intently at the screen. Though, as the movie was playing, something was in her mind. It was a doubt...about Kaito. She remembers something that Kaito said, a threat he made.

"Kaito, can you pause the movie?"

Kaito slowly took the remote and did, leaving the whole room silent. "What is it, Lily?"

Lily sighed as she looked down, away from Kaito's face, which made him concerned. "Kaito, do you really love me, for me?"

Kaito felt a bit confused that Lily would ask him such a silly question like this one. "Of course I do! Why do you need to ask me that?"

Lily didn't look up at Kaito, feeling doubtful. "I thought about what you said earlier when we were chatting on Skype before I knew it was you who was stalking me. You said...you said you could had raped me but respected me so much that you didn't. It made me wonder, do...do you really love me for who I am or are you just into my body? Also...did you really think about...raping me?"

That question hit Kaito rather hard. Kaito didn't want to lie. He'd rather have Lily love him for who he really was. "...Well...not rape but I did fantasize about having sex with you a couple of times before. But I would never rape you, Lily, even if I had the strength to do it. And yes, I do love you for you. Are there things I wish you'd change about yourself? Yes but it's not any of my business to change who you are nor is it right of me to take away who and what you truly are to suit my selfish needs. When you love somebody because you think you can change them, that's not love. It's a selfish and possessive desire you have for the other person. Even though there are things I wish you'd change about yourself, I'm not going to force you to change, ever. Because if I loved you before, I should still love you now. And I do."

Lily nodded then slowly looked at Kaito in the eyes. "Kaito...there's things I'd wish you'd change about yourself, too. But...did you change just to please me?"

Kaito shook his head "no" at her. "No, I changed myself to be better for you and myself. I wanted to be a better man to you, to be a fairer one to you. And this is truly what I want. So don't worry about you feeling like you're the selfish one here. It's okay."

Lily sighed, feeling a wave of negativity washing over her again. "Kaito, I need to know something. Why do you help me so much? I never asked for your help but you were always there for me. Why do you help me? Why do you never ask me to do anything for you in return for all the favours you did for me?"

Kaito knew that Lily was always a largely independent woman that almost never asked for anyone's help, doesn't rely on others. But those questions were so hard-hitting, he had to think about it for a moment. Kaito just had to answer honestly, knowing how observant Lily usually is to detect whenever he's lying. "Lily...to be honest...I don't know the answer to that. All I can say is, you were an exceptional girl from the day I met you. I knew you had feelings for me back when we were in high school. The way you talked to me, the way you looked at me, the way you were happy being with me, it was different when you were with other people. I don't know why but...my heart knew that helping you was the right thing to do. You were the best friend I ever had. I never felt so touched to the heart being with someone like you. I always put your feelings before myself. ...I really respected you that much that I was willing to let you go if you felt something for someone else."

Lily gasped, recognizing that last part. "Th-That's what I said, too!"

Kaito looked blankly at Lily, who looked back at him in a similar fashion. "Uh...I guess we respect each other's feelings that much that we were willing to be friend-zoned by each other."

"Yeah..."

Kaito looked down at Lily's lap to see her hands resting on her lap. He slowly moved his hand on top of her left one, then took it up into the space between them within eye level. Kaito leaned down and kissed the top of the hand, which made Lily blush but roll her eyes. "Oh, Kaito... Even if I hate sappy shit like this...I love it if this is how you truly feel and are as a person..."

Lily gasped, feeling Kaito's sudden affectionate hug. Instead of questioning it, she just went along with it, hugging him back. Kaito moved his face close and parallel to Lily. Lily nodded, signaling Kaito to begin, feeling okay with what he wants to do. Kaito kissed Lily with pure passion, soaking his saliva on her lips. Lily fought back, kissing him almost as voraciously. From time to time, pleasurable moans escaped from their mouths, signalling their enjoyment of the moment. They knew this moment felt so right with each other. Both of them knew...they were the right people for each other.

As the two of them continued to share passionate kisses, Kaito's hands went from Lily's shoulders and down her upper arms. The skin of her arms felt so...silky to him. It felt absolutely cold and delectable. Out of instinct, he placed his left hand on Lily's left breast. Lily didn't mind the touch. As long as it was Kaito touching her, she knew it was okay.

Kaito then followed it up by squeezing her left breast with his left hand gently, which made Lily winced and cringe from the initial pain but she knew it would be okay. She continued sharing kisses with Kaito, feeling her body becoming warm. She was becoming aroused at the moment. It felt intoxicating, his touch, his lips, and his cologne.

Kaito was liking this as much as Lily. He had kissed Miku before but it didn't feel anywhere near remarkable as this one he was having with Lily. With Lily, Kaito can slowly start to forget the forced relationship he had with Miku and start anew with Lily, the woman who he truly wanted to be with. It would take a while to make up for lost time. But he was in no rush to make up for the trouble. It would take time.

His primal instinct was taking over. As he was kissing Lily, Kaito's hands went down from her breast and to her hips, ready to strip her.

But then Lily felt something snap as soon as she felt Kaito's hands on her hips. Out of reflex, Lily pushed him away a few feet from her. Lily wiped her mouth, breathing some much needed air after a long kiss. She coughed a few times. Kaito handed her some water, which Lily gulped down.

"Are you okay? What's wrong? You didn't like it?" Kaito asked, worried he might have done something wrong.

Lily blushed as she curled up slightly. "N-No...you were fine. It's just...I...don't think I'm ready...yet..."

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked, feeling rejected.

Lily looked down at her lap. "It's just...I feel like we should wait until we're married before we can do that kind of stuff first. You know what I'm saying? It's just...I don't want this to feel just like sex. I want it to mean something. Once we made our wedding vows to each other, then I feel like it'll be the right time...because then, we both are permanently bonded."

It sounded ironic to Kaito to hear that from Lily since she said time and time again that she doesn't believe in fairy tale stuff but Kaito did take her words seriously. Kaito took a moment to look at Lily, who looked rather frail and afraid. Nobody saw her like this but him and their closest friends. Kaito knew what she was talking about. It was egotistical for Kaito to think in his head but he practiced having good control over his sexual desires which made him better than most men who'd sooner just force them upon the women they're attempting to mate with.

Kaito nodded. "If that's what you truly want, okay. I won't."

Lily looked up at Kaito, feeling slightly surprised. "A-Are you sure?"

Kaito shook his head "yes", feeling that he knew he did the right thing in not continuing. "Yes. Your happiness is important to me and in turn, it becomes my own. It's okay. I truly understand you."

"Th-Thank you, Kaito... Thank you so much..." Lily said, with her voice breaking, about ready to cry.

Kaito went closer to her and once again, hugged her tenderly. "You're welcome, Lily. It's always my priority to help you be happy."

The two of them felt pure happiness from being together like this. Their relationship didn't need to be sexual in order to be a happy one. They made each other happy through favours and casual activities. They made each other happy through actions and words. They were physically attracted to each other, but not stupid.

Both Lily and Kaito felt so happy. It felt like huge burdens for the both of them were lifted.

They were ready. Ready to be forever tied into each other's lives. They were ready for what ever happens, they do it together.

Their once Distant Connection was now a much closer and requited one.

The End

Special Thanks for reviewing: 2EnigmaticWriter2, Hana-Chan98, Vic-Kun