Hello fellas, this is just a small side project I have been working on for the last five days. It was small and fun so I decided to write it down and publish it to get it out of my system. I originally wanted to use it for a flashback scene in Reclaiming the Throne, but then i realized that there is no particular place for it. I then thought I might instead put it into the ceasefire universe of Reclaiming the Throne, only to realize that it wouldn't work. This is a story that can only work during a time period in which Shu and Inori didn't know each other for that long, so it had to be regular Guilty Crown.

Now that posed a problem since I am not particularly GOOD in writing pre-episode 12 versions of the GC cast. As we all know, the majority of their character development and what made us all love these characters in the first place, happened during the second half of the show. Anything before that is just the prelude to that. As a result, I have struggled a bit to write the old versions of Shu and Inori. They differ quite a bit from my versions of them from Reclaiming the Throne, but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun nonetheless. There is a certain cuteness to them and their innocence they have lost in Reclaiming the Throne. It was kind of refreshing to write about.

I still vastly prefer my version of the Characters, though, that's for sure. Gee, I wonder why... :P

Anyway, this is a Shu/Inori oneshot filled with 7k words of pure fluff. Enjoy.

The more you know

People used to tell Shu dating was a simple thing.

You meet a girl, you talk to her, sparks fly, you ask her out, have some fun. The two of you share your first kiss, you do it some more, you start getting bolder with each other and make it up to aaaaalllll the bases, including the very last one. Then you move together, get used to each other even more until you get comfortable enough to get engaged, marry and start a family of your own by making her spawn these little monsters you would actually have the nerve to call your children in the end. With pride even!

Except, it wasn't like that at all.

He knew how it was supposed to work so he couldn't help but wonder where exactly he had screwed up with her.

"What went wrong?", you might ask yourself now. You will quickly realize that the answer to that was quite obvious.

Yuzuriha Inori. That pink haired idol he had been fawning over for quite some time now, sat in his living room. On his couch. Next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder while watching some TV while also wearing one of his shirts as if it was bloody common sense.

You might think he was a lucky bastard. Shu was actually quite positive a certain dark haired friend of his would kill him for the mere opportunity to switch places with him, but the brunette teen still couldn't help but feel troubled by this development. He grew up believing there were rules in this society. Rules you had to follow in order to be accepted. To be successful. And you see, this pinkette next to him…she didn't exactly play by the rules.

Their meeting had been sudden and hectic, they hadn't even talked all that much in the first place back then. They hadn't kissed, there were no bases covered and yet this beauty of a woman was living with him, wearing his clothes and letting her guard down so much that he had actual troubles keeping his instincts in check. And that meant a lot coming from him of all people, since he wouldn't exactly call himself the…predatory kind.

You just had to look at her to know what he meant, really. She was close enough to him that he could feel her breath on him and the shirt she was wearing was way too big for her, allowing him quite the view on her blessed cleavage. He had told himself many times already to not keep staring too much for it would be rude, but if Inori minded, she sure as hell didn't show it.

Even if he wasn't focusing on her impressive bust size, there still were plenty of other places for his adolescent eyes to cover, for this girl wore hot pants that were barely visible under that shirt she had borrowed from him, leaving a blank ambiguous enough for his mind to fill in for him. Mostly with images of a more…suggestive origin. Marvelously shaped thighs presented themselves next to him with a few droplets of sweat sparkling on her perfect skin. Unsurprisingly, as it was summer and thus quite hot.

It caused him to sweat a lot as well. He noticed how the back of his neck was practically drenched already. Though whether it was due to the heat from outside or the steaming hot beauty lying next to him, he could not say.

Actually, there were a lot of things he couldn't quite tell for sure.

Why this girl had chosen him of all people, why she had been so quick to move in with him, why she was always so close to him and most of all:

What exactly was their relationship?

Don't get him wrong, he knew exactly what he wanted to be to this girl. In fact, there had never been a single doubt ever since he had heard her soft and delicate voice speak his name for the first time, beautiful crimson eyes sparkling at him as their gazes met. His brain had already been mush and his heart long since in her hands by the time she has kindly asked of him to "use her". It was a plea any man would have responded to with glee, especially coming from a gorgeous girl like Inori. Heck, she was so perfect, even her void was unrivaled among her peers.

But his feelings weren't the problem.

Hers were.

He frowned. Now, he was aware that a socially awkward guy like him wasn't exactly a pro when it came to reading people. He was, in fact, still unable to figure out some of his classmates from school, even, But still, those guys in his class were child's play compared to the enigma that was Inori. This girl was a walking mystery when it came to emotions. Whether she was happy or sad, afraid or angry…it wasn't exactly easy to tell.

And thus, he had no real idea what it was she thought of him in the first place. His brain would like to think the signals she sent him were clear invitations and signs of affection, yet he wasn't foolish enough to simply accept that for a fact. After all, he was aware that he was practically crushing madly on her, so his brain wouldn't exactly be the most trustworthy judge…not to mention that he sucked in reading people in the first place.

It was pretty weird to begin with, that someone like Inori would show interest in him. She was practically a celebrity. He, on the other hand, was a nobody. Girls weren't really lining up to meet him. He actually only knew one female who would even speak more than two sentences with him and that was Hare. Someone he had known since middle school. He wasn't delusional enough to assume that would count. It was needless to say that the lead singer of Egoist was waaaay out of his league.

And yet, the fact that Inori was living with him still remained and couldn't be denied.

Perhaps this strange phenomenon that was Inori could be explained by the fact that this girl simply wasn't like other girls, for he had quickly noticed how…pure, yes, almost innocent she seemed to be. If he hadn't already seen this girl dropping bodies left and right whenever she was carrying out missions for the Undertakers, Shu would have actually thought she must have been an angel sent by heaven. He thought it to be somewhat odd how she could be so much of a paradox. When she was with him and the others in school, she was this pure, naïve girl and when she was with him on a mission to do some shit for Gai, she was this ice-cold killer, pulling the trigger of her weapon with next to no hesitation.

It was weird, but what was perhaps even weirder was how the former side of her could make his heart melt equally as much as her other side could make his heart skip a beat from excitement. It was almost as if this girl could blow his mind no matter what she did. And that was actually quite frightening. For someone as ordinary as him who had gone through his boring everyday life with no expectations whatsoever so far, Inori was spicing up his life quite drastically. And while he, by now, had found the resolve to go through with the shit the Undertakers faced him with as long as it meant Inori would stay with him, the mere possibility of her walking out of his life one day filled his very being with nothing but dread.

He had noticed that more than anything, he wanted Inori to remain a part of his life, even if the Undertakers decided that they, one day, wouldn't be. But for that to happen, he kind of needed to know what this curious girl thought of him. Did she feel the same way? Or was she just going along with everything that happened around her? At the very least, he at least was sure she wasn't merely acting like this due to Gai's orders. If that had been true, he was sure he would cease to function as his heart and faith in humanity would shatter into a billion pieces.

While the brunette teen was pondering those heavy thoughts of his, Inori got up and excitedly began shaking his shoulder she had previously been resting on while pointing at the TV with her other, free hand.

"Shu, Shu! The lady says she is selling the best rice cooker in the world for half the price if we call her now."

He blinked at her a few times, eyes alternating between watching her sparkling ones and the holo screen in front of them that showed them some home-shopping program aimed at weak willed and/or gullible housewives. A soft chuckle escaped his lips once he realized what was going on here.

"You shouldn't believe everything they say on TV, Inori. Especially not home-shopping commercials. If an offer seems to be too good to be true, it usually is." He explained to her with a kind smile.

She tilted her head at him and frowned. "So she is lying?"

He could only helplessly shrug at that. "It's probably less that she is lying and more that she is not telling you the whole truth. Think about it, it is in the merchant's interest to make a profit, so they naturally would only tell you what you want to hear while keeping the things you shouldn't know a secret. They might charge you absurd fees after the order is completed, for example, or tell you their product was cutting edge while it, in fact, is only ordinary because they hope you wouldn't know the difference anyway."

"Huh…" She made a face as if pondering what he had just said, followed by turning her attention back towards the TV. Her expression became determined as she narrowed her eyes on the lady in the show, pointing her right index finger at her.

"I won't be deceived!" Then she grabbed Funell who had been resting next to her with both her hands and put him on her lap.

"Funell is better anyways."

"Wait, he can't cook rice, can he?" Shu couldn't help but ask nervously. If that robot was really able to do it, he would seriously doubt Tsugumi's sanity. Who would build a remote-controlled rice cooker, for fuck's sake?

Inori did not reply, her defiant eyes already glued back on the screen while hugging Funell tightly. Shu could do little but utter a defeated sigh and smile at her antics. She was staring at the TV so seriously. As if she was fighting the saleswoman and her lies mentally, not wanting to give in to her and lose. It was downright adorable, if you asked him. He felt the desire to put his arms around her and hug her to his heart's content but refrained from doing that in the end. Strangely enough, he had found that he had enough courage to leap at Endlaves and tear them apart, yet putting an arm around the girl he liked was apparently too much. He sighed once more. This time at himself. So uncool.

They watched the TV program in silence again, Shu putting his arm on the backside of the cough and leaning his head against his hand in a bored fashion while Inori was still staring at the screen as if her life depended on it. Normally, watching a home-shopping channel would be an incredibly stale thing to do for ordinary people, but, for some reason, Inori absorbed every show she could rest her eyes on with utmost diligence. It was impressive how she could find interest in watching the most mundane things with enough curiosity to make you believe she must have witnessed these things for the first time. It was because of that that Shu enjoyed watching TV with her. Less due to the things they were actually seeing on there and more due to him enjoying Inori react to it. While the vocalist was watching TV, the brunette teen would basically be watching her instead. It was its very own form of entertainment.

It wasn't long until her head found its way back on his shoulder as if it was magically attracted to it. Shu used to flinch a bit in surprise whenever it had happened before, but had realized that he had grown used to it by now. He had come to realize that Inori wasn't really thinking much about getting this close to him, apparently feeling utterly comfortable in his presence, so he had decided to try to be more comfortable as well. He allowed his own head to lean on hers, waiting a bit to see if she would oppose that notion of his. When she didn't, he could only smile contently.

The sweet scent of fruits entered his nostrils as the smell of her shampoo got caught in his nose. He closed eyes for a second to take it all in. He couldn't figure out which kind of fruit it actually was he was smelling right now and in all honesty didn't care. For all it mattered, it could be called Inori-fruit. He would likely associate this smell with her for the rest of his life now anyway. He opened his eyes again and smiled. It really didn't take much to make him happy, huh.

The program changed and now showed a commercial sporting a man in a white coat impersonating a doctor while showing some supposed facts about health and medicine. It wasn't hard to determine that he was out to sell some kind of medical product just from the first lines of his scripted speech. Another boring commercial, yet Inori absorbed it eagerly nonetheless.

"Is he trying to trick me, too, Shu?" He heard her ask, eying the man in the TV suspiciously.

"I wouldn't know, Inori. I am not that knowledgeable when it comes down to medicine. You would have to ask Haruka for that. She knows quite a lot about pharmaceutics." He told her with a weak chuckle.

"Is that so…? Hmm…" The room returned to silence once more, aside from the TV commercials running in front of them.

"By the way, Shu, did you know that kissing is good for the immune system?" She suddenly asked him out of nowhere. He nearly jumped up from the couch out of shock. What the hell was she asking him so casually?! She hadn't even looked up from the TV to ask him this. What did this mean? Think, Shu, was this some kind of hidden message or something? But this was Inori we were talking about, so it was utterly possible that she had simply asked him for the sake of asking, so…

Realizing that there was no way of understanding the meaning of the question without inquiring further, he bit down on his lower lip nervously and asked with an awkward smile:

"W-where did this come from, Inori?"

"Souta told me that a couple of days ago."

Souta! That rotten son of a-! No, wait. Calm down, Shu. No need to be angry or jealous. It was not like Inori was officially his girlfriend of something. Souta had had every right to try and approach her, even if he disapproved of it. He shouldn't be angry at Souta but at himself for not making a move himself. Was he a man or what? Guys like Gai or Yahiro would probably be already all over her by now if they had been in his position. He had to finally get his game on. Forming his right hand into a determined fist, he decided that he wouldn't lose.

If…he hadn't already, that was.

"I see…so did he kiss you?" He asked her hesitatingly, almost fearing the answer she would give him.

"He wanted to try, but I turned around and left." She explained to him. Shu laughed internally. Well, well, Souta. Look who got roasted.

Though it was not as if he had been able to score yet, either…

"You didn't want to find out?"

She shook her head. "There would have been no point with him."

Ouch. Souta was pretty much getting obliterated here. Shu might have actually started feeling sorry for him at this point, if his head hadn't already been filled with more important questions.

"Is that so…" He said while looking away and scratching his cheek awkwardly. There was a short pause in which only the TV could be heard before Shu decided to gulp down his hesitation and ask:

"Would you, perhaps, want to try it out with me, then?"

Yeah, or perhaps he should have thrown himself off the next bridge for offering her such a stupid pick-up line. Who in their right mind would fall for that one? So embarrassing….was that seriously the best he could have thought off? Was he a retard?

When Inori lifted her head off his shoulder, he had expected many things coming from her. Other girls would have likely sighed at him in disappointment, or laughed at him vehemently. Inori would probably just sit and stare at him judgingly with those intense eyes of hers. What surprised him, though, was that she did neither of this and decided to close her eyes instead, leaning forward slowly while puckering her lips ever so slightly.

Shu needed a while to process this.

Eh…?

Why…?

How the hell had that worked?!

She wasn't messing with him right now, right?

…well, whatever the heck had just happened, to hell with it. He would be damned if he wasted this opportunity. This was a chance offered to him by heaven…the gods would smite him if he were to decide to miss it now.

Thus he decided to gulp once more before leaning down towards her as well. His face was already beet red and his heart was beating strong enough he had to seriously fear it popping out of his chest any minute now…

He just prayed it would at least wait a few minutes longer until after his lips had connected with Inori's. He figured he could die a happy man right then and there.

He brought his slightly shaky left hand up to her face, relieved to stop it from shaking by the time it reached her right cheek and silently marveling at the softness of her skin. He now was close enough to feel her warm breath on his face and, despite him having previously thought it wouldn't have been physically possible, his heart rate seemed to speed up even further as his nervousness reached its peak. Doubts about him being a good kisser and fears about him somehow messing this up entered his mind, but he managed to push these thoughts away and carry on, his lips finally meeting hers.

Then it happened. And everything just…blew away.

Where his head had been a clusterfuck of thoughts before, spinning around and making him dizzy and deaf to everything but them, he was shocked to realize that there suddenly was absolutely nothing.

Just peace. Calmness. It was as if Inori had simply obliterated them as a whole, filling everything with her presence instead. There was only her on his mind. Her smell. The sound of her breathing. The softness of her lips that was even softer than her skin was. And of course her taste. The sweetest he had ever tasted. They could have brought him a basket of the most delicious fruits on this planet and they would have dwarfed next to Inori. No amount of sugar could compare to her sweetness and no vitamins were required when she was the cure to everything.

He just closed his eyes at this realization and relaxed all the muscles that had previously been tense from his extreme nervousness. Now that Inori had melted it all away for him, he felt that he was about ready to melt into her hands as well. Surprisingly enough, they weren't even doing much more than carefully letting their lips touch and yet it was already enough to let him feel at ease. As if he had received the holiest of blessings.

But, like with all good things, so did their kiss have to come to an end as well. It had not lasted that long, yet had felt like an eternity to the both of them as time seemingly had frozen for them. And still, it had not been enough.

He was in for quite the surprise, though, for when they pulled away again and opened their eyes once more, Shu was downright shocked to see Inori looking at him with wide, sparkling eyes. Her right hand found its way up to her lips where she proceeded to touch them as if she couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened to them. She looked like a kid that had tasted ice cream for the very first time, but that wasn't even what shocked him the most.

Inori was blushing.

Inori never blushed.

She could say the most embarrassing things out loud as if it was nothing.

She could walk in on him taking a bath and not even bat an eye.

Heck, he was almost sure he could have walked in on her and it wouldn't have changed the outcome in the slightest.

And yet, there she was, doing that what had previously been thought to be physically impossible for her.

Crap, did he break her? Had Inori dot EXE just encountered a critical problem? What did one do in such a situation? Call customer support? Who even was that? Gai?

"Gai, we have a problem."

"Are you being targeted by GHQ?"

"No, I think I broke Inori."

"…..What…?"

"Shu…" Inori's sweet voice brought him out of his crazy and absurd fantasy as she placed both her hands on each of his cheeks, making him look at her. Reddish brown eyes meeting her crimson ones which looked at him eagerly as she spoke again:

"…..did you know that repeatedly kissing is even better for the immune system…?"

…What…?

Oh, he got it now. And as realization struck him, so did happiness spread from the deepest parts of his heart. Not able to withhold a slight chuckle, he took one of her hands into his and asked with a smile:

"You are making this up now, aren't you?" It looked like a certain someone had enjoyed their first kiss as much as he had and was looking for more.

She crawled up to him and got on top of his lap, placing either of her legs to his left and right side while facing him directly. This position was quite…daring to say the least, but Inori didn't seem to mind at all as she gently put both her arms around his neck and pulled closer. Their eyes looked deep into the other one's as their foreheads touched. When the weak sunlight of the late afternoon sun entered the apartment and reflected in them, it almost appeared as if they glowed. It seemed as if they were bewitching one another as they narrowed their eyelids halfway, minds slowly slipping away.

"Only one way to find out, right…?" He registered Inori's quiet voice. It was almost a whisper.

There were no further words needed. He had no idea where the confidence for his actions came for, but he put his hand on the back of Inori's head and pushed her closer to him, locking their lips once again. There was no resistance at all. If anything, it even felt as if her head had moved on its own the second his hand had touched it.

Their second kiss was still as gentle as the first one had been, but not as shy as it had been before. Where previously, both sides had acted as if they had been made of glass and were prone to breaking with even the slightest touch, this time, they showed no such notions. Inori pressed her body against his chest as if wanting to be as close as possible while he put his free hand on her back, showing her how much he approved of her intentions as well as his readiness to assist her with it. They were so close that Shu could feel her breasts pressing against him, which he couldn't help but feel very conscious about. That, combined with what they were doing and the position in which they were doing it had the obvious side effect of awakening a certain manly body part of his. Shu was sure its stiffness could clearly be felt by the other party as it pressed through his pants and against her butt, but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. All she seemed to care about was the kiss they shared, slowly playing with each other's upper and lower lips and trying to get amusing and pleasant reactions out of the other.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Funell watching them while trying to cover his eyes with his hands awkwardly as if ashamed of watching them. It made him smile against Inori's lips. If Tsugumi was watching them right now, she would surely facepalm hard while shaking her head and mumbling:

"Oh brother…"

Heh, not that he cared. Normally he would be worried about what others thought about him, but at this moment, right now? To hell with it all. It didn't matter at all. What clearly mattered was already in front of him. Everything else was meaningless.

"Shu…" He heard her whisper lomgingly once she broke the kiss momentarily, more to gather what was left of her sanity rather than some oxygen. "I cannot think straight…what are you doing to me…?" She asked him quietly, mild confusion audible in her soft voice. He smiled at her sheepishly.

"You tell me, Inori. You are doing the same to me.". He gently brushed his right hand against her left cheek, happy when he felt her push herself against it, seemingly embracing his touch. "Perhaps we should stop before we go crazy?" He jokingly asked, only to see her open her eyes in shock, her denial for this suggestion as clear as day.

"This feeling...I do not want it to ever stop, Shu." She confessed to him, her words alone enough to make his heart skip yet another beat.

"Me neither." He thus replied while embracing her tightly, yet gently. She mirrored the action immediately. That's when the thoughts from earlier finally returned to Shu and he decided that if he were to ever ask that question, it would be now or never.

"Inori, this may be a stupid question but bear with me here…"

"Hm?"

"Why me?"

She furrowed at that question as she pulled away, obviously not comprehending what it was he was asking her. Shaking her head slightly in confusion, she asked: "I don't understand what you are asking, Shu."

He chuckled as he looked away in embarrassment. He had figured as much. It really was a stupid question to ask, after all. Still, he had already asked it, so he might as well press for an answer.

"You said you turned Souta down, yet you were so eager to kiss me. Why?"

This was when he saw her smile at him. A smile so pure, so genuine, that he thought it was able to purify him to his very core, eradicating all sin. He showed no resistance at all when he felt her hands going for his head, slowly taking hold of it and pulling it closer to her chest. At first, he could only notice the softness of her breasts pressing against him and he blushed furiously, but then he understood what her actions had really been about.

"Can you hear it, Shu? The beating of my heart?" She asked him kindly as she put her head on his, stroking it affectionately as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness they shared with each other.

Indeed, he could hear it loud and clearly. And how could he not, when it pounded inside her chest so fast and intensely? It was almost as her heart and his very own one were in a competition to show whose could beat faster. And yet, despite the fast paced rhythm, Shu could still feel so much comfort in listening to it. There was something utterly soothing about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps it was the mere realization that they were so much in sync with each other, but he had the feeling it was more about the fact that hearing it meant that Inori must be close and that, in return, seemed to calm his mind. He felt at complete ease near her. Like he could die on the spot and it would be okay, as scary as it might have sounded.

"No matter how many people I meet, or how close they come to me, Shu is the only one who makes my heart beat like this. I don't understand it myself, but there is no one else I would rather be with."

If Shu hadn't already been blushing madly, he would have now. This not only had been the first confession he had recieved, it had also been the most heartfelt one he could have ever imagined. Literally. Unable to withhold a smile, he lifted his head off her chest again and took her right hand, followed by putting it over his own heart to make her confirm for herself.

"We are the same, then. My heart can never calm down with you around, either. Seems like I am hopelessly in love with you." He said, not even feeling embarrassed to say these words now. It almost felt ridiculous how scared he had always been to let them out. It felt oddly refreshing. He almost wished he had done so much earlier.

"Love…" Inori looked at him as if lost in thought while placing her hands over her heart once more as if to make sure she would be able to recognize this feeling to be love in the future as well. "So this is love…?"

"Well, it's not like I am an expert at this…this is the first time I have fallen in love, either, so…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking away. He was surprised that the next time his eyes met hers, he was looking at sparkling diamonds. A sweet smile appeared on her lips as she asked him hopefully:

"Shu, will you allow me to love you forever?" She sighed contently with her hands still on her chest, seemingly enjoying her newfound feelings of love to the best of her ability. "I don't ever want to lose this feeling you have given me."

"Inori…" He was at a loss for words…how…how in the world could someone be this adorable? Did she seriously assume there was but a single person on the world able to respond to this question with a "no."? If anything, it should have been him asking her that question.

He offered her the kindest of smiles as he took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, gently kissing it. "Only if you allow me to do the same in return." He thus replied to her.

"Please do." Her response was accompanied with tears forming in her eyes. Of happiness, he presumed, and very strongly hoped, as she was still wearing that shining smile of hers that could do little but fill his heart with delight. He would gladly devote his life to this girl's happiness.

"Then I will start right away." He told her as he put his arms around her and gently pushed her to his right and onto the couch before leaning over her. Never would he have thought would the day come in which he would get to see that which lied before his eyes right now. Inori, lying below him, looking up at him with these loving, inviting eyes, halfway narrowed down as if unable to wait for him much longer. He put his right hand over her left one, letting their fingers interlace as he moved closer to her lips for the third time that day. She closed her eyes in silent anticipation, putting her free hand on his cheek as if reeling in her catch. Shu wasn't even sure who was in control of this situation anymore. The position they were in suggested it was him, yet he was still nothing but wax in her hands even then. But what did it matter anyway? All that really mattered was that they enjoyed themselves.

Now, spurred by their requited feelings of love, they had lost all hesitation, all uncertainties. They poured all of their feelings out for the other to see, not holding back even the slightest bit. Inori surprised the brunette teen when she took his lower lip in between her teeth followed by pulling slightly back to let it slide out of her grip. It felt amazing and caused him to follow her immediately whenever she pulled back, unwilling to let her stray too far from him. When Shu's tongue got slightly impatient and made an effort to explore the insides of Inori's mouth, the pinkette was more than happy to open her lips and invite him in. At the same time, her hand that had been on his face traveled up and behind his back, fingernails slowly grazing it as they slowly moved down his spine, pushing him closer to her ever so slightly in the process until the gap between their hips was pretty much nonexistent.

By that time, their movements seemed to have long since ceased to be driven by their rational minds and instead by instinct alone. Shu knew for a fact he hadn't been thinking at all when his left hand had found its way to his lover's chest, stroking one of the hills of flesh gently before letting his hand sink into it, being amazed by the feeling of softness that embraced his fingers. Inori couldn't withhold a delighted moan at that point, purring it into him while their lips were still connected together.

They got so addicted to kissing one another that they literally tried to make the most of it, holding out until their bodies pretty much begged them for some air. Gasping as they pulled apart only far enough to breathe, foreheads still touching, they just used the pause to stare into each other's eyes lovingly. Neither of them seemed focused at all as they just kept them half open as if only waiting for their lungs to stop whining so that they could get back to tasting each other's lips as soon as possible. A trail of saliva was connecting their lips still, but if either of them noticed, no efforts were made to correct the mess regardless. It didn't matter. No one cared. All they wanted was more.

"Shu…" She panted his name with what little breath she could spare.

"Inori…if we don't stop this now, things might get dangerous…" The brunette boy couldn't help but notice the faint remains of his mind trying to warn him from the back of his head. Something inside him hoped at least one of them would be sane enough to heed that warning, because he sure as hell knew that he wasn't.

When he saw her merely caressing the back of his head while planting a small peck on the tip of his nose, he just knew his hopes had been in vain all along.

"I am not afraid as long as you are with me." Was all she told him.

Please don't say that. For the love of god, don't say that. It made him happy, but don't say it! He might really do it, you know? A boy like him could only handle this much temptation before he would break and give in. The mind was strong, but the body was weak, especially with such an adorable angel in his arms.

Was this the consequence for his foolish rant earlier? How he had been dissatisfied that they hadn't been able to cover any bases, so fate decided to make them clear them all at once? He wasn't sure his heart was ready, though a certain other part of his body sure as hell was. This was bad, he hadn't planned for any of this, now that he thought about it. He sure as hell hadn't been cocky enough to expect any of this to happen, so naturally he hadn't bought condoms beforehand. Going any further than this would definitely be a mistake!

Wait a second. He frowned at his doubtful and confused mind.

A mistake?

What was he calling a mistake?

The sacred union of him and his love?

How could something as wonderful as that ever be a mistake? Was he mad? Wasn't this everything he had ever wanted, even hoped to achieve?

A lustful smirk appeared on his lips. Crap. His mind had fucked up by using the wrong words. It panicked as it noticed its control over its own body getting overridden by passion. This was bad. Really bad. It would lose Shu if it didn't act right now.

In a last attempt to turn the tides around, it managed to raise one final question to Shu.

Is this really okay?

The brunette teen hesitated as he pondered the question.

No. This could get horrible wrong

Yes, this is what we want.

Inori and I are both still far too young to know what we want.

We are terrorists. We might not live long enough to know any better

Can I take responsibility properly should anything happen?

Nothing ever happens on the first time.

And if it does?

I'll take responsibility! All of it! We will be fine!

No! Yes! No! Yes! No. Yes. Yes. Yes. No… Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No….. Yes! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

Objection overruled!

The battle between mind and passion had concluded with the former's defeat. It was settled.

Operation Love was a GO!

With a determined gleam in his eyes, he grabbed Inori's hand tightly before saying: "Inori. No matter what will happen, I'll take responsibility, so please don't worry about anything, okay?"

Inori was seen tilting her head slightly at his declaration but she smiled either way. "Okay."

This settled it, then. With new resolve, he decided to go in for another kiss, but right as their lips were to meet again, they could hear the front door opening with the cheerful voice of a certain brunette woman filling the apartment.

"I'm back, kids! I managed to secure some nice discounts on various things, so let's all have some tempura tonight!"

Shu's hair immediately stood at its end from shock as soon as he had heard that voice.

Haruka!?

That woman was never home and today of all days she decided to break the trend? He put both his hands on each side of his head as he screamed internally.

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

He was usually happy to have his step mother home, but come the fuck on! He had just made his resolve! How cruel a mother could you be?

While his lower brain cursed his step-mom, his rational mind silently thanked her for her perfect timing. He should make it up to her on mother's day next year…

Phew, that was a close one!

Unsure whether he hated or loved Haruka right now, he could do little but sigh.

"Welcome back, Haruka." He thus simply greeted her, yelling loudly enough for her to hear him back at the entrance.

"Shu, dear, could you come help me with the groceries? They are quite heavy."

"Yeah, sure…" Reluctantly, Shu got up from the couch while looking down at Inori with nothing but regret as she got up as well.

"Should I help?" Was what she asked him with a slightly tilted head to which he could do little but wave his hands around in front of him to signal her that it wasn't necessary.

"What? Oh, no, no, no. I'll handle that. You just wait here or talk to Haruka if you want. I'll be back in a flash, alright?"

Before he could turn around and leave, he felt her holding him back by the hand. Turning around once more to face her, he heard her ask:

"Promise?"

This made him smile at her sweetly before he got close enough to plant a quick kiss on her cheek. "Promise."

When he saw her smile at the gesture, he finally allowed himself to leave to aid Haruka with her groceries, leaving Inori all to herself in the living room. Absent mindedly, she took a seat on the couch once more, lifting a hand to touch the spot on her cheek Shu had just kissed.

The TV was still on, having long since started another program by now. Not that Inori particularly cared. She might have looked at it, but her mind was still thinking about what she had just been doing right now with Shu. The way her heart had skipped a beat when he had told her he loved her. The warmth she had felt when she had realized she did so, too. And the feeling of Shu's lips on hers as they had held each other close. She grabbed Funell who still rested not far from her on the couch and hugged him from behind. The robot didn't seem to mind at all as Inori tried to cool her hot face with the help of his cold hull.

She had never felt like this before.

It was certainly weird.

But she liked it.

And as she just sat there, seemingly staring at the TV she wasn't even paying attention to, Funell would witness the pinkette not only smiling, but also happily giggling to herself.

It was the first time his sensors registered such a sound coming from her.

He would make sure to store it on a special part of his digital memory.

And done. Hope you had fun, fellas.

Funny thing is that I actually dreamt the story up. It's not that often that I dream of Guilty Crown but when I do, it's usually golden. I don't remember the exact contents of my dream anymore, but I know I used it as a base to build this short story on. The result is this. With this done, I can finally work on my other projects again, so please look forward to that.

Reviews would be appreciated, though I won't be expecting many for this.