A/N: Takes place some time after Sio and Adam are reunited in San Francisco. Some sensual themes, but nothing explicit.

Pitter patter, pitter patter. The wind howled and rain poured against the glass panes, but inside the room, it was dark. Dark and warm, punctuated only occasionally by sighs and moans, her breath slick and heated against his lips.

"Mmmm…hah, Adam….hnnnn…" Thunder rumbled in the distance but she barely noticed; only the quiet murmurs of affection, of secret promises between just the two of them. His tongue roaming in her mouth, tasting her as she tasted him, the room smelling of sweat and the musky scent of sex, but it filled her with a comforting joy, of a reassurance that she was loved.

"Nng…are you all right? Sio?" A whisper as he brushed against her nose, just the slightest of nuzzles as they caught their breaths. A thin trail of saliva still formed between them, to her a physical connection that bridged them, aside from way her body entwined perfectly with his.

"Mm hmm…just, I'm sleepy…" She could barely keep her eyes open, his kisses actually doing more to make her drowsy rather than aroused. "Tired…"

He chuckled quietly, amused by this incredibly beautiful, innocent yet sensuous girl beneath him. No, it wouldn't be right to call her a girl, not anymore; she was coming into her own now, a woman soon, if not already. Gently, he spooned her so he could wrap himself around her, as if to protect her from any and all that might try to harm her while they slept; a hand reaching down, tracing over the silk of her stomach–flat, warm and yielding beneath his fingertips.

For some reason, he imagined what it might feel like in the future; how her stomach would be round and taut when she became swollen with his seed, carrying their child.

To have children, and raise a family…he shuddered violently as the vision overwhelmed him, an emotion that he'd never felt before surging through him; it coursed so strongly through his veins that he had to bury himself in her hair, breathing in her scent as he waited out the trembles that were running through him.

Since when did he start thinking of such things? To be able to put aside their daily battle between life and death, to actually be able to think about a possible future? They say a brush with death makes you appreciate what you have all the more…and for him, that tortuous gap when she left him to find Asao, while he cowered behind steel walls, weak and powerless…

…It might as well have been death.

"Hnnn…Adam? What's wrong…" She stirred faintly in his arms, voice husky with drowsiness, though his tightened grasp not having gone unnoticed. "Can't sleep?"

"Nah; I'm all right, love. It's nothing…" Slowly he eased his grip as the emotion drained, though it hadn't gone away completely. This idea of possession, of choosing only one person–her–to spend the rest of his life with…

Pitter patter, pitter patter. The rain seemed to have picked up, and he swore a flash of lightning showed itself through the curtains. Was this what they called 'love'? Love, as in the sense that you just knew when it happened, without any sort of explanation–indeed, it wasn't anything that he could explain, even if he tried. His whole life, he'd always assumed that settling down was just something that would happen one day–the how, who, what, where, when–it was just never something that seemed to need any contemplation. And then the whole DOGOO and e-gene thing happened, and even those far-off plans were pretty much thrown away after his awakening…

…Until he met her, Sio Ogura. Strange how he could understand the technical, physical aspects of love–physical intimacy, the need for comfort, wanting to start a family–and yet be completely and utterly oblivious to that one defining factor. Even now, he slid a finger between her warm crevice and she sighed, but her body yielded instantly. He knew she was tired, and frankly he was quite exhausted himself, but he couldn't help it; he loved the way she felt, the softness of her thighs, and the way she only responded to him. It wasn't just that he wanted those physical comforts–he loved her, all of her.

It was such a simple thought and one that he'd been aware of, but only on a surface level; not until now, this exact moment, that he really understood what it meant, the true meaning having so subtly ingrained itself in his mind until by the time he actually realized it, it turned out that feeling had been there long ago. His breath quickened and his heart was pounding so hard it threatened to explode, burying himself once again in her neck as the significance overtook him, finally registering what it was that had been in his heart all along. No matter how tightly he held her, or how much he wished to bury himself deep inside her…a hunger that, no matter how close they were or how many time they made love, he would never get his fill, never be fully satisfied.

He needed her in a hundred ways he couldn't even begin to define, and wanted her in a thousand more.

'Sio…promise you won't leave me behind…' At last, her even breathing soothed his frantic mind, and the physical fatigue was starting to take control. The rain seemed to have evened out, only drumming lightly against the windows now. Sighing, he arranged her so her body was perfectly aligned with his, and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Sio…I love you."