I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Reborn the Monster here with the last installment of my Series of Proposals. This one went in a completely different direction than I thought it would, and yet, I felt it was something Kurama would deal with. This one is not as light as the others, but I'm happy with it. Mostly because it took me a long time writing it. To be honest, I had every chapter written (except Kurama's) for several weeks. Oh well. Anyways, as always all wonderful and beloved characters don't belong to me, additionally, the song mentioned in this chapter belongs to Disney, and this was written for fun, not profit. Thanks!

It was the night of Kuwabara and Yukina's wedding reception. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Everyone, that is, except Kurama. (And Hiei, who despite having adapted to married life quite well, hated social functions of any kind.) The reason for Kurama's melancholy was currently dancing with Yusuke. Keiko had insisted he learn for their own wedding, and while not the most graceful dancer, Kurama smiled to see that he wasn't stepping on Cassidy's feet.

Cassidy. The source of his rather serious mood. With the exception of Yusuke and Keiko, Kurama and Cassidy had been together the longest. It had been nearly five years since they met, four since they started dating. They were very close, but lately, Cassidy had been acting rather distant. Kurama knew why. He knew Cassidy had been expecting a proposal for a couple years now. Especially after she watched her sister get married (and no one saw that coming). He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but something was holding him back. Kurama had yet to figure out what it was.

The song ended. Yusuke gave Cassidy a mock bow before heading in the direction of his wife. Cassidy came and sat down next to Kurama and picked up his glass of water.

"Nice party huh?" she asked brightly. She gulped down half his glass breathlessly and then heaved a sigh before her sister came over and stole her from him. Kurama watched as Katrina pulled her sister to the dance floor and began a rather strange dance that involved strutting around like a chicken before he could say anything in reply.

Watching her, Kurama realized why he couldn't marry her. She was exuberant, cheerful and full of life. She laughed with abandon and spent time with everyone. Everyone, that is, but him. With him she was quiet and tender, calm and intellectual. He loved those things about her as well, but she was meant to be cheerful. A smile on her face was worth more to him than any quiet, intelligent thoughts. Kurama was rarely playful anymore. He preferred watching to participating. He could not keep Cassidy behind merely watching, she needed to be free to find someone to have fun with. She needed-

His thoughts were interrupted by Yusuke sitting down and slapping him on the back.

"Kurama, I know what you're thinking," he started, eyes on Cassidy. "For someone as smart as you, you're being dumb." He gave Kurama a pointed look. His eyes gained a mischievous sparkle and Kurama was instantly suspicious. "And you should probably tell her you wanna hook up before next week. Just saying," he finished and moved away. Sometimes, Yusuke was a little too perceptive for his own good. Kurama shook his head and fingered the stem of his wine glass, picking it up and tipping back the remnants. He knew this was just the beginning.

Before he could think too much on Yusuke's words, Hiei approached from behind.

"Afraid fox? Just get it over with," he said before disappearing. Okay, what was that about?

His suspicion was aroused even further when later on in the evening Kuwabara left his bride's side to come to Kurama and say, "She's the best thing that happened to you. Without her, you're kind of a downer. No offense." He began to walk away before turning, "Oh, and Friday would be great."

Then, to continue the uncomfortable feelings and the idea that was forming in his head, Katrina stood up and sang a song. Not just any song. A song called "That's How You Know" from the latest Disney flick, staring directly at Kurama. The song started out normally, but by the end, she was practically screaming the words at him. Fortunately, no one seemed to think this was out of the ordinary. Or maybe they're all in on it, his rebellious mind supplied.

However, the icing on the proverbial cake was when Genkai took a moment. "Just propose to the damn girl. I'm tired of listening to Botan speculate. Oh, and if you could do it before Tuesday, I'd really appreciate it."

The rest of the evening Kurama was approached by the rest of his friends. Cassidy seemed completely unaware (or is she?) and for this, Kurama was grateful. It saved him from a bit of embarrassment.

Does everyone know of my thoughts? he wondered after yet another person came with words of encouragement; this person was a complete stranger! However, he suffered in silence until Cassidy was ready to leave.

"That was nice," Cassidy commented in the car on the way home. Kurama, who was absorbed in his thoughts on the ridiculousness of the evening, didn't answer. Cassidy chewed on her tongue to get rid of the irritable comment that sprang to mind. Instead, she turned away from him and stared out the window, trying to ignore the pang of hurt at his inattentiveness. They continued the drive in silence.

It took Kurama a while to notice Cassidy's frigid silence. Usually she would chatter away about the evening. As Kurama glanced between her and the road he couldn't help feeling that despite her proximity to him, she couldn't be farther away. He ventured a comment.

"Kuwabara seems very happy. Even Hiei was relatively subdued this evening." Cassidy lifted her shoulder in a shrug. Kurama tried again.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself." Again he was met with an unfeeling shrug. On impulse, Kurama pulled over and stopped the car. He turned to face her.

"Cassidy, what is the problem?" He wasn't prepared for the ferocity of her answer.

"The problem is you, Shuichi," she began, using his human name; something she rarely did when they were alone. "Ever since you decided to move on from the part of you that is Yoko Kurama, I've watched you grow less happy, retreating into your thoughts. You've lost the playful spark your eyes used to hold whenever we were together. You used to laugh at jokes at least a little. Do you know that you sat in the corner all through Kuwabara and Yukina's reception? You may have pretended to smile and enjoy yourself, but I know you too well. You didn't enjoy it at all."

She had been yelling. Kurama was shocked. He remained silent as Cassidy caught her breath. She continued calmly: "I'm not saying that you should return to the way things were. I'm saying that now that you've made that decision to be free of Yoko, be happy with it. You've had too much tragedy in your life, Shuichi. Don't over think this."

Kurama could only sit and watch as Cassidy phoned for a taxi and left him to himself, her words echoing in his ears. When Kurama gathered himself enough to drive the rest of the way to their shared apartment, he opened the door to find she had gone elsewhere for the night.

He sat down heavily on their couch and put his head in his hands and let his thoughts consume him. He should be satisfied with this outcome. Cassidy would leave him, move on, be happy. The traitorous part of his mind tacked on and you will stay and be miserable for the rest of your lonely life while everyone moves on in happy abandon.

"Without her you're kind of a downer. No offense."

He smiled wistfully at the memory. Now he could sit and ponder his life choices without having to inconvenience anyone else for a change. That was for the best. He would sink into oblivion with the burden that was his past, and his friends could move forward with their lives.

"For someone so smart, you're being dumb." Yusuke's echoed voice argued back, as the strains of Kat's song welled up in his ears: "How does she know that you love her?" She doesn't because I haven't told her.

"Just propose to the damn girl." Genkai's voice added, but continued on, "You think she cares about Yoko? If you do, you're even stupider than Yusuke."

Kurama stood abruptly, having made up his mind. He snatched his keys from the counter and slammed the door behind him. He returned to the car and went to the first place he thought Cassidy would go: her sister's house.

Sure enough, when he arrived, he could see her through their ground floor window. She was pacing up and down the room and shouting at the top of her lungs; Kat was watching silently.

Without pausing to think Kurama marched to the door, picked the lock (after trying the handle) and strode into the house and directly to the room Cassidy was in.

Cassidy froze mid-sentence when he appeared. Kat looked from one to the other and smirked.

"That was more like something Yusuke would do. Way to be melodramatic Kurama." He ignored her and she continued to smirk as she left them alone. Cassidy opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"You are right. I was not enjoying myself at the reception. I was busy thinking about breaking up with you," Cassidy swallowed hard. "Not, I don't think, because it would make me happy, but to make you happy. You are correct in telling me I'm over thinking. I have been so concerned with differentiating myself from Yoko and my friends' happiness that I've lost sight of what makes me human. I need to learn to think of myself sometimes. I want to learn how to have fun again and you're the best person to teach me. And I don't want you to go. I can't be happy without you. Stay with me. Marry me," he stopped, and there was a moment of silence. Kurama watched Cassidy closely.

She swallowed again. "Okay," she sighed, "you need to stop being so melodramatic. It's kinda creeping me out. You're like a weird combination of Yusuke and Kuwabara. If this marriage is going to work, you need to be Kurama." Kurama smiled and released the breath he didn't notice he was holding.

"I'll do my best." He strode over to her and they sat on Hiei and Katrina's couch and began to discuss their marriage. Cassidy still made him apologize, which Kurama did rather shamefacedly. As they settled in for a long talk, Kurama brought up something that had been plaguing him for a while. "Did you know everyone has placed bets on our engagement?" he asked, a touch of the sparkle returning to his gaze. Cassidy's laugh filled the room and Kurama felt warmth return to his heart.

Out in the hallway, Katrina had her ear plastered to the door, listening to every word.

"Leave them alone," Hiei said from behind her, making her jump a mile and make a loud banging noise, which quieted the voices in her living room. She opened her mouth to whisper a complaint, but stopped when Hiei glared at her. Shrugging, she left, following Hiei to their own bedroom.

"Why couldn't they have this discussion in their own home?" she whined petulantly. Hiei didn't answer. Very loudly. She sighed. "Well, we'll need to change the locks. Kurama picked them to get in." There was a pause. Kat listened to the voices and the laughter coming from down the stairs and smiled.

"Oh? And you owe me 2000 yen."

The End.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. I hope to see you again on other things I have in the works!

-Reborn the Monster 07/11/2011 1:42 AM