A/N: So this is the last chapter guys (sob!). But not to worry, expect more Marvelous/Luka stories from me. Actually, just expect more Sentai stories in general! Just want to give a shout out to ilse superstar. Love you girl and thanks for being so loyal! And now, the last chapter…

Ducking under the tree branches, they continue to run until they can't anymore. Slowing down, they see a large tree-bigger than the others-and, almost as if reading each other's mind, they decide to stop there. Luka plops down right away, stretching her arms her head. Marvelous bends over, bracing his hands on his knees.

"I think we lost them for now," Luka finally says, looking up at Marvelous. But he still stares at the ground, thoughts running rampant through his head, uninvited, uncontrolled. He has risked his life multiple times for Luka in the past few hours. Why?

What is it about her that makes me feel this way?

He's just a boy who doesn't understand what's in front of him. She's a girl who can't let go. Every moment spent together is a little more than amazing.

"Marvelous?" He looks up to see Luka staring up at him, concern in her dark eyes. Concern aimed at him.

"It's nothing." There's blood still leaking from his wound but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. "Come on, we'd better start moving." But she doesn't get up. Instead, she folds her arms across her chest and glares at him. Her sleeves fall back a little to reveal black bruises darkening her pale skin and he feels a stab of guilt. Her eyes are determined, mouth set in a firm line.

"We're not leaving until you explain what happened that back there," she says, tilting her head, waiting for an explanation. All she wants to know is why he continues to save her over and over again. She's been able to take care of herself for a long time. She doesn't need a hero. She is one. What is the deeper meaning of this?

"What do you mean?" he asks, his voice casual even though he knows exactly what she means. How he saved her. How he almost gave his life hers. How he put her life over everything else.

"I mean, when you…you took that hit for me. With Basco and the sword, when you…got in front of me." She swallows but doesn't let her voice waver. He's still not looking at her, instead narrowing his eyes at a random spot in the trees. And it irritates her. Why can't he just tell her? Why can't he just look at her? "Are you okay from it?"

He nods slowly and she can see blood trailing down his back, bright red, cutting crimson rivers on his skin. But he doesn't draw attention to it so she lets that part go. He can take care of himself. Even if she does worry for him.

He slowly sits down next to her, still refusing to meet her eyes. He sighs deeply, not sure what to say. He doesn't even know what he's feeling and now Luka wants him to explain it? How can he do that when he himself can't even put it into words?

"Because you're my comrade," he replies after a few more moments. He knows that sounds lame, as Luka raises an eyebrow but he doesn't have anything else. He doesn't know what else there is to say. I'm scared of losing you, but you're not even mine to lose.

True, he could say how before he met her he was searching for the greatest treasure. But after her joining, maybe he didn't have to. Maybe she was his greatest treasure.

No! No, that's not it.

"That's it?" Her voice is skeptical and inside she feels a little hurt. That's all how he feels about her? She didn't expect him to confess anything, of course, but maybe a little something more than this would've been appreciated.

But she is never one to show her deepest feelings so why would he be any different? They all have something to hide. That's the point of trusting yourself most, that there's always a part of you that no one else knows about.

He turns to her, finally and she can see in his eyes there's something more. The expression on his face hints that he wants to say something else but he can't seem to do it.

"I see." She sighs, disappointed. Maybe that really was it. Maybe there is nothing more. And that's fine with her. She's not going to prod him, she's not going to annoy him, much as she wants to. He has his reasons. Like she has hers.

Her reasons for not saying that either.

"Actually, Luka…" He starts, trying to think of the right thing to say. The hardest things to say are those that come straight from the heart. He doesn't even know what his heart is saying anymore but his head is screaming to stop. And Marvelous, being who is and not liking when people tell him what do, ignores it.

She leans her back against the bark of the tree, waiting for him to go on. It's rough and she can feel some of it scratching through her clothes. But she barely notices. No matter what he says, she thinks she will finally say what she's wanted to say for a long time. How much he makes her smile, how much she loves talking and arguing with him, how she wishes he would always be here.

"There is more. There is a lot more. But I don't know what it is. I don't even know what I'm feeling. It's so confusing and mixed up and I don't even know what to say. I just want you to know that someone that makes me smile and laugh so easily, means everything."

She looks at him in surprise as he turns to her. There's a slight smile gracing his features, that signature smirk that always gets her pulse racing with the thought of something exciting.

"So…there's more, huh?" She shifts closer to him and almost hesitantly leans her head on his shoulder. He tenses at first, it surprising him and shooting pain down to the nerves in his back but then relaxes.

"Yes. A lot more. How I like myself a whole lot more when I'm with you." She smiles at that, knowing she's seeing him, for the first time, fully vulnerable. He's telling feelings that he's never even hinted of before. He's showing her the him he wants to be. To her, that's the most obvious act of trust.

Trust. Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. And in only a little over a year, they've gained each other's trust. It's hard to believe so much has changed since she's met him.

Before, she hadn't been the best of friends with him. They enjoyed getting on each other's nerves a little bit, pushing each other's buttons. Playful banter, joking, all in the manner of fun. She never hated him. She never could. It was just that acting like that was easier then admitting that she would miss him.

She doesn't care about anyone else right now. She just wants it to be like this for a few more moments. Just the two of them, under the canopy of trees, sun shining through the jade green trees, playing pretty patterns on the barks of trees.

So this is what it feels like? Not rushing, not flashing, not throbbing. Peaceful. Calm.

The best love is when you fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time.