Title: Gotta be that way

Summary: A kitsune reflects back on how he met his wife, and a couple of other things as well, as he's feeling a bit lustful.

I do own the characters in this story, so don't use them without my permission.

The young man opened his eyes, the room was filed with darkness, his eyes could make out that much, but with his enhanced line of vision he saw shapes and faint textures along the room. He breathed in and heard something tapping against the covered window by the side of his bed. The young man sighed, and sat up, making sure that he at least looked decent, and by that he wanted to at least have his dark colored boxers on. Again there was another tap on the glass of the window and he moved slowly this time, his body was use waking up late.

"Myron?" he called out in a rough voice, he made sure not to let the floor boards underneath him creak. He cleared his throat for a moment and groaned as he moved the curtain slightly, the light was a bit bright, but eventually he grew use to it. Before him on the other side of the window was a black raven like bird, and it tapped the glass, gently this time. The young man smiled and moved the dark blue curtain out of the way, being careful not to let too much sunlight in.

'It's her Beastia…' the young man thought unlocking the window. His skilled fingers slide the glass panel letting the dark feathered animal come in. The young placed one cool finger on his slightly warm lips and noticed that this 'beastia' tried its best not to make too mush noise as it traversed along the wooden floor of his room.

"What are you doing here, Myron?" he asked.

"Like I should tell you my business…" the raven cackled in a low tone. "I shouldn't, but I must…" Myron said looking up at the young man. "How is she?"

"Ah…" the young man grinned. Myron tilted his head, the raven's beady black eyes pierced into the mahogany eyes of the young man. The raven was very overprotective of his master, she was after all someone very important. "That's why you're here so early in the morning…"

"Morning…?" a voice called out from a distance.

Both the young man and the raven flinched. The young looking master of the raven had woken up slightly. She pulled the checkered covers away from her face and sat up groggily. She opened her eyes lazily, making out silhouettes in the slight darkness. Her right hand rested on the small nightstand, searching blindly for her glasses. Myron flapped his wings resting at the foot of the bed, gazing at his master. The young man on the other hand scratched his cheek and laughed slightly.

The woman was the same age as the young man with mahogany irises, but built slightly different in all the senses, something the young man saw as something attractive in that logic. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a bit as she wore her dark framed glasses. Her hand rested on the head of Myron, her Beastia, as she cooed and ruffled his feathers. He loved receiving affection from her; they both cared for one another on a high level, something that the young man wasn't jealous of in the least, because he had grown use to it.

"I trust you slept well…" the raven began to speak. It noticed that his master was wearing a simple white t-shirt and black sweatpants. She smiled and picked up the raven, gently letting him rest on her shoulder. "I would've guessed…"

"Myron…" her voice was soft and kind, almost like a child. "You should know me better by now." the raven chuckled a bit. Her eyes wandered around for a moment before letting her dark brown eyes rest on the body of the young man before her. Their eyes locked for a moment and her gaze traveled down. She noticed the small and large purple orbs, with feathers at the bottom; she relaxed as the necklace was around his neck.

The little raven flapped its wings once more, saying his goodbyes. Myron glanced back at the two of them and simply said he'd come back around the same time tomorrow. The slightly adolescent man nodded slightly and watched as the raven flew off into the morning sun. The young man moved across the room letting his hands rest against the windowsill, taking in the morning view.

Fall faded, and winter was slowly going to come to an end soon. He breathed in the air, he remembered hearing last night that it was going to rain Thursday through Sunday for this whole week, so far it was only Wednesday. '24 more hours to go then…' he thought. The young woman watched from behind, catching glimpses of him and his body. He was almost as skinny as she was, but his muscles were defined, he was a work of art in her eyes. Tinges of purple caught her eye, from the necklace he wore, it was made of little orbs and as they descended the orbs were bigger in shape until the last one, it was the size of a hand, that was the amulet of the orb necklace, in that sense, with multiple eagle feathers at the bottom.

"Hard to believe…" he said softly gripping the ledge of the window for a moment. He looked down watching his nails dig into the wood, and pulled back feeling exposed. "New Year's was last week… it doesn't feel like it at all, does it?"

"2013…" she said softly looking down at the warm checkered covers. "I… I had a dream last night…" she said softly moving closer to the side of the window. "Of…" even now she was embarrassed to say these sorts of things. "Of how we met…"

He turned around letting her look up at his face, he gave her a kind smile, and she in turn blushed and looked away. Things like that drove him crazy, his instincts pushed him to the border of lust, and she knew the effect her actions had him, but not once had he had his way with her, he respected the young lady that much. The cool metal band around his finger tapped against the wooden ledge and he smiled.

"Five years…" the young man said. He was sitting beside her now, gently placing his left hand on her chin. She didn't miss the beat, her lips hovered over his, barely brushing up against the young man's, and her delicate actions made him lust more.

"I waited more than that, just to meet someone like you…" he said letting his mouth wander to her neck. She moaned softly feeling his cold lips against her bare flesh. "I trust you slept well…"

"Next to you, who wouldn't?" she asked. Her hands were cold as she wrapped her arms around him, and he shivered slightly moaning in delight. "I keep forgetting…"

"I know you do…" he groaned, letting his strength wane as she pushed him on his back. Her dark brown hair hovered about his chest, tickling him slightly. He felt the metal band on her finger; it was freezing against his flesh. She withdrew her left hand and placed it on his face, her finger tips brushing against his cheek. Her hands were gentle, not at all slaved to the force of work or time. He closed his eyes moaning a bit as she rubbed the tip of his ear. "Your dream…" he tried breaking away from those lustful thoughts.

She gently sat up and looked out the window for a moment, watching the wind pick up fallen leaves, leaving some on the green grass in front of their home. The young lady thought back to her dream and smiled.

---

"Ah, you're…" she looked up feeling intimidated by the seventeen year old teenager. They weren't in the same school, but they knew the same people. He flashed smile towards her and decided to take the seat next to the seventeen year old female, he meant no harm, and she knew that now.

"You can call me Al if you want…" he said softly. "I… overheard you talking with… with that Aaron guy, is he still giving you a hard time?" Alec asked looking at her for a second, and then back down to the ground.

"Guilt trips… and 'think about it' talks… and the whole 'it hurts but I'll do it till I can't stand it' sort of things…" she said softly smiling for a moment. "All I wanted from him was friendship; I made it perfectly clear that day…"

"Gee, you must have done something to get him hooked." Alec couldn't help but laugh. The young teen poked Alec at his side and he smiled. "I'm joking Leila, relax…" he said looking at the brown skinned female. "How's your family?"

"Fine. My little sister keeps asking about you, she wants you to come over more often." Leila said softly, feeling a bit embarrassed for saying that. "My mom said you could come over on Fridays up until Sunday. My dad's okay with it, I think he likes you." She said smiling. "He didn't trust Aaron…"

Alec noticed how her tone changed when she spoke of this 'Aaron Hamasaka' fellow. He knew the story forwards and backwards:

They met on Halloween night, courtesy of Leila's best friend Diana Ferias, a young Hispanic teen with caramel skin and droopy eyelashes. She didn't want to go out that night, but Diana insisted, and Leila's mother told her it was all right so long as they were careful, and to be home by 9 the latest was 10.

Leila that night was wearing white leggings, with a short light blue jean miniskirt, and a white shirt. She was conservative, but that night it was Halloween so she made an exception. Diana commented on her being 'fuckable' in that skirt, and Leila felt a bit more paranoid, plus it was cold that night, she didn't plan on staying out for that long. They said their goodbye's to Mrs. Diaz, Leila's mother, and rode off with Kanani Pilamai, their slightly bigger Hawaiian friend. It surprised Leila that Diana was stopping by the supermarket in which she worked at.

'Going to pick up a friend…' that was all she said. Leila could smell the smoke that radiated from the young man, this Aaron character. She looked in front of her, it was Monica's fault she had to be brushing up against Aaron every once in a while when Diana made a turn in the car. Monica had complained saying that she didn't feel good, so she had a legitimate reason to ride shotgun. Monica Huerta was the same age as Leila and Diana; she was beautiful compared to the other two, an almost perfect body. Kanani wanted to stay far away from Aaron, so Leila was the sucker, sitting in the middle, her right foot was stuck under Monica's seat, and if she moved it she'd end up hurting her foot and touching Aaron.

'Let it go…' Leila thought and tried to enjoy the night. Aaron Hamasaka was of Japanese heritage. Something that Leila was mesmerized with, but she didn't like this Aaron character right off the bat, his scent of cigarettes turned her away right at the very moment. Somehow through talking, she tried to relax, but she was tense, she hated unfamiliar territory like this. Diana looked back once in a while trying to get Leila to hit on him, but she made no advances. She felt the 21 year old Japanese male look at her, but she failed, or rather she refused as to go so far as to make eye contact with him.

'McDonalds…' it was something Leila suggested they eat, and Aaron didn't miss his chance, agreeing with the young Central American female. Kanani and Monica agreed, and Diana was overpowered by four votes. She pulled up to a local McDonalds and they all entered through the automatic sliding doors. The Mexican caramel skinned teen waited for Leila, and moved her to the back as the others ordered.

'What do you think?' she asked looking at Leila.

'He's okay…' she responded. 'He just smells really bad… I haven't really talked to him…' Leila said, trying to give her friend the hint she wasn't interested. She really wanted to find someone by herself.

'I don't think Kanani likes him, so you have a chance…' she said.

Leila wasn't really hungry at that point, when Aaron offered her some of his food her stomach and brain worked differently, at that point she was rejecting the food offered to her. She did though take some of Diana's food, setting Aaron's self-esteem down by a millimeter, but the 21 year old was persistent. Moments ago Aaron and Diana had stepped outside, talking about something or someone, Leila was curious, but that was just it.

Dropping Kanani off was first priority for Diana, since the divorced Mrs. Pilamai was very overprotective of her eldest daughter. 'That means it's around 8:30…' Leila thought happily. 'Yes!' she was eager to see the clock turn 9:30. Monica and Aaron got off on the wrong foot, which meant the only person he was interested was none other than Leila Diaz herself. 'Stupid Monica…' she thought growling on the inside. 'She just had to go and start talking out of her ass…' she thought. Then again Monica could have any guy she wanted, but keeping them was a different story, she was afraid of committing herself.

'What kind of music do you like?' he asked her. She looked away as they sat in the white old style Chevrolet. Leila had moved to the edge of the seat, FAR away from Aaron.

'Techno, J-Rock, J-Pop, other world music, classical…' she said hoping to get him uninterested in her.

'Probably means you like RPGs…' he said, she noticed the smile on his face.

'She's obsessed with Riku from Kingdom Hearts!' Diana couldn't help but laugh as she drove. Monica was laughing slightly as well. Leila looked out through the tinted window of the passenger side.

'There we go…' Leila thought. Diana had said her favorite RPG. Why was she trying to force something that would never happen? So what if Leila had been single for about 4 years, she liked it. Aaron started talking again, but she was tuning him out every once in a while. 'Probably should act a bit friendly…' she thought and sighed. Diana was beginning to get on the freeway, going to Soto Street to take Monica home. 'Almost time for me to go home!' she thought happily.

'Bye Monica!' both Leila and Diana said in unison as Monica closed the passenger side door of the white Chevrolet. Leila watched as the older individual moved from the seat in the back to the seat in the front. 'Peace and quiet…' she thought.

'I should probably be getting home too…' Leila said looking at the back of Diana's head.

'Yeah, we don't want your mother throwing a fit, geez why don't they let you out a lot?'

'That's what the weekends are for, but even then I have to be home before 11.'

'That's when all the fun starts though,' Aaron said looking at her. She made eye contact this time and looked away. He made another conversation topic. 'Wait you said you liked RPGs, right? Well I know a place where you can buy videogames.'

'Where?' the brown skinned girl asked. 'I'll probably go if you tell me…'

'I'll take you, my treat.' He said simply, and smiled. Leila wasn't pleased at all and looked away. They were close by the street Broadway, which was close by Diana's job, Vons the grocery store. She just wanted this night to end, and soon. 'Hey wait so are you Mexican?'

'No, I'm Salvadorianand Nicaraguan.' She said simply and the young responded enthusiastically. 'It's an easy mistake…' Leila said trying to be polite. 'If anything I look I'm from India.'

'True, you do…' Diana said laughing slightly. 'Oh, so Aaron, Leila wanted to know… well since she's not going to ask you…'

'Diana what are you getting at?' Leila asked feeling her ears get red.

'She doesn't have a date for Sno-Ball, you know our winter formal, and I was wondering if you wanted to take her.' At that point Leila really just wanted to curl up into a ball.

'Diana, I don't even want to go!' Leila tried to her best to keep her tone of voice low. 'I don't like dancing, heck I can't even dance myself…'

'Why didn't you just ask me?' Aaron questioned Leila.

'She's shy like that…' Diana said speaking for her good friend.

'I wasn't planning on going. I don't want to go…' the brown skinned teenager said folding her arms. 'But since she said it already, would you go if I had asked you?'

'Of course.' He said simply. Maybe tonight was going to be a different, maybe he was just doing it out of pity, which would've been a good thing for her since she would find an excuse not to go. Though she knew in her heart he probably started to like her because of her looks, thanks to the senior portrait she had on her cell phone's wallpaper. He had called her cute, but she just said ok.

Cars zipped by as Diana decided to drive a bit slow, just so they could talk. Leila watched the cars zip by, streaking red lights as they rode off down the lanes. She looked at one of the buses and tried to imagine that someone out there was looking for her, it seemed hopeless, but she didn't care, anything to get her mind off of tonight. It was quiet after that since a familiar Korean church was coming into view, it was stationed at the end of Granada Street where Leila had lived all of her life.

'I know a couple of people who live by here…' Aaron said smiling for a moment. Diana made no acknowledgment and continued to drive up Granada Street. She stopped at the familiar house just barely making it inside the sloped driveway of the Diaz family. 'So then this is where you live… huh, I live close by here.'

'You do?!' both of them asked. Leila's was out of disbelief, and Diana's was more of relief. 'In that case I'm dumping you here and you can walk home…' Diana said jokingly. Leila on the other hand just wanted them to leave already.

'Hey who's that?' the 21 year old male asked noticing a woman in her early 40s coming out of one of the doors from their apartment. She had slightly wavy short light brown hair with dark highlights in them. This was Leila's mother, they were different in structure, for one thing Mrs. Diaz plump woman, but neither one of her family members cared, their philosophy was this: I'd rather die happy than miserable.

'Pretend you're gay or something, Aaron.' Leila suggested frantically as her mother was next to the car now. It was too late for that, and for some reason her mother seemed to be in a good mood. She tapped the window in which Leila was gazing at, and the daughter blinked slightly. She opened the car door and she heard he faint jingle of her puppy's collar. Before long she felt something warm on her cheek, it was her dog Milo.

'Milo, bajate!' her mother ordered, but Aaron said it was okay, it surprised Leila that he like small dogs, and Milo seemed to be comfortable around the young adult. 'Diana I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much trouble if you could get some tacos for myself and Leila, you know the ones by the corner, Leila knows she'll take you.'

'Oh, I know that place!' Aaron said looking at Diana. 'Come on let's go, I'll buy.' Leila's mother objected to that, and placed the money in Diana's hands.

'Well if you don't use it for the food…' Leila said closing the door. She wouldn't be getting out of the car for awhile. 'Use it for gas, since he's paying for my mom's tacos…' she noticed that Milo hadn't left the car, and she held on to the little Chihuahua mixed Dachshund. He seemed terrified of Diana's driving.

'You like eating there?' he asked looking at Leila. She shrugged saying she didn't care where the food came from so long as she liked it. She really wanted to go home. Aaron directed Diana, and they soon found the place passing the local fire department, it wasn't that far away from Leila's house. 'Stay here you guys, I'll go and buy the tacos…'

'Wait! She wants some of pastor, and the other of carne asada. With everything on it!' Leila called out. She noticed a man in a business suit look at her for a moment, he seemed very attractive, but what was he doing out here in this neighborhood so late? She paid no attention and looked at Diana, she didn't say anything.

'What's wrong with you, you know he's trying his best… You're so picky.' She added looking at Leila for a moment. Milo was whimpering, he wanted to go home as well. 'I think he farted, Leila…' it began to smell in the car and the young caramel skinned teenager reached for some perfume.

'Farts and perfume… that's great.' Leila said covering her nose with her arm. Something made a buzzing noise and Leila noticed that Diana was reaching for something in her black handbag. She picked it up and began to speak in a low voice. 'Five bucks says it's Aaron…' she whispered to Milo and he just looked at her confused.

'Sorry I didn't get onions…' he began as he opened the car door.

'Ugh…' Leila was already disappointed and she took the bag away from him. 'Why?'

'It didn't look appetizing.' He explained. Then she remembered something Diana had mentioned earlier, he worked in a bakery, and was studying to become a pastry chef, or something close to that.

'It doesn't matter if it doesn't look pretty.' She began looking at the plain tacos her mother didn't want. She noticed that the radishes and the lemon wedges were in little plastic bags. 'She's going to complain…'

'She should be happy we bought her fucking tacos…' Diana said throwing the car in drive. 'Besides I have to get you home and then take Aaron home, and then I have to go home…'

'At least you have money for gas…' both Aaron and Leila said. 'Why does it smell in here?' Aaron asked looking at Leila and Diana. Milo barked slightly and Leila jumped a bit in surprise, he wanted the meat that was in the tacos.

'My dog farted…' Leila said softly as Diana turned on Granada Street. 'Well this is my stop…'

'It was nice meeting you…' Aaron said holding out his hand. She shook it with some courtesy and dropped her hand quickly. Milo growled at the gesture and looked at Leila with some confusion. Diana said her goodbye and watched as Leila got out of the car with her food and the small dog. She walked up at the sloped driveway and waved goodbye, the front screen door to her home opened and she handed her mother the food.

'Who was that boy there? Was it Juan?' her mother asked. Leila on the other hand wished it was Juan, but no. Juan was Diana's love interest, and from what Diana said about Juan Leila knew that he and she would've made friends fast. She began to speak, saying that Aaron was an unexpected guest, and that she wanted nothing to do with him. Leila said that he seemed nice, but that was it. Her mother began to sigh watching as the tacos seemed bare in that sense.

'He bought the tacos so don't say anything…' Leila said pulling up a chair from the kitchen table. She looked to the side and noticed that the computer was sitting there, alone and neglected.

'Then again what does a Japanese boy know about our food…' her mother began; she chuckled and placed a small taco in front of her daughter, using the napkin as a plate. Leila sighed and bite into it. Off in the distance of the home the phone rang and Leila's young sister called out in a loud childlike voice.

'It's Diana!' her sister appeared from the living room. She and Leila looked like one another when Leila had been eight years old, but then again Leila was small for her age, while her sister Tricia was big. This one was going to be a handful when she got older. Mrs. Diaz cursed under her breath, Diana always did pick a bad time when it came to calling her friends.

'He thinks you're cute… and he said he'd probably call you later this week, I hope you don't mind…'

'Hey can I call you back, I'm getting ready to eat…' Leila bit into her taco, splashing some hot sauce on the tortilla. 'My mom's complaining about the tacos though…'

'Hell what does fucking Aaron know about tacos…?' Diana laughed. 'Well I played matchmaker and I think I made a good match with this one…'

Oh things were FAR from a good match. That following week he called her on a Saturday night when she was getting ready to watch DeathNote as it was on AdultSwim. She groaned and lazily picked up her vibrating cell phone from the small wooden table in front of her. She answered only to be greeted in a childish manner, and she blinked. It was none other than Aaron Hamasaka, and already she could feel her body tense up. They lasted three hours on the phone with Leila saying nothing on her end, she just listened. She tuned him out as she saw the opening credits to the anime, and hummed the song for a while.

He tried getting her to open up with flattery and right away Leila thought he was only doing that so she could let her guard down and then somehow in the near distant future get into her pants. She told him simply that she was going to wait for marriage no matter how long it took, if not she'd become a nun, plain and simple as that. Of course the Japanese individual said she'd find mister right, and he probably meant that he was mister right. He went on to ask why she didn't date, and she simply said because she was a shut-in.

Leila couldn't even focus as the show began, and she wanted to click on the man as soon as possible. 'I guess I could always watch the re-run later tonight… Ugh but that's lame! I'm going to be too tired!' she thought and sighed hearing the man talk some more. In the back of her mind she knew that something was wrong with him, every person had their flaw, and that's when she decided she would befriend him, but nothing more. She never wanted something intimate with him, but he was confusing her friendship with him, and believing it to be some sort of cooked up fantasy.

He had been single for two years, nothing close to a long time, Leila was younger than him and she had no contact with the opposite sex in over four years. All her old male friends from elementary school went their separate ways going to either co-ed high schools, or one gender high schools, others went to public high schools. Some of her friends still lived in the neighborhood and they dropped by when they were around the area. She on the other hand was forced to go to an all girl's catholic high school, something she didn't really like, she was always the oddball of the group, seeing it fit to hang out with the boys than talk about shopping, unless it came in the form of anime, manga, or videogames.

The talks became frequent, and she grew more annoyed with each day, three months passed and she tried her best to put on a fake and cheery tone for him just so that he would be comfortable. This was beginning to take a toll on her, and with her winter finals coming up she just wanted to click on him, but that was impolite to do. He had visited three times, the last time making her fear she had a stalker. He had recently received his car from his sister and he knew where she lived, and dropped by unannounced when she was walking her dog up and down the block, luckily her little sister was there with her so nothing happened, but it made her parents worry a bit more.

She tried talking to Diana and Juan, who at this point where her two good friends, and she wanted him to get the message that she just wanted a FRIEND, nothing more, didn't they understand? Diana kept insisting that she was confused and wanted a relationship without physical contact. It was very frustrating, Juan on the other hand simply listened to her and said it'd be best if they just ended their friendship, but that was something Leila didn't want to do.

Sure the flattery was nice, but that's all that was there, just flattery. He knew what got her worked up and he could use it to an advantage, but Leila was smarter than that, being around males for more than half of her life saved her ass most of the time. She had rejected him once when they had agreed to go out, and then the day he drove to her house. He wasn't getting the message clear enough.

'I just want a FRIEND. Get it…?' she asked hearing the silence on the other line. His tone was a bit apologetic, and it was very serious behavior for a 21 year old at all. She was far more mature than he was, that was apparent. He showed her his serious side, and Leila was speechless, he was very insightful when he wanted to be, and she was sure that would get women flocking to him, but he had done it in a last ditch effort to persuade her to come to him, but nothing.

'Just think about it…' he said softly.

'I think I'll just end up going to the movies by myself…'

'All the advice I just gave you went in one ear and out the other…' he said sounding a bit angry.

'I heard you and everything, besides it's stuff I've heard already, stuff I've taken in already, you're not telling me anything I different.' She said seriously. 'I've lived with adults all my life and I've heard that stuff when I was a little kid. Do you want me to gamble with this situation?!' she whispered harshly, she was starting to snap.

'Gamble?!' he laughed. 'You make it seem like this is a bad thing!' he said in disbelief. 'I don't want you to gamble, just well you know think about it… so hey are we going to hang out on Friday?'

'No, I don't think I can. I'll call you to see if I can go.'

'That's a no then.'

'If you know the answer then why the hell are you asking?' she asked noticing the tired look on her little sister's face. 'I have to go Aaron my little sister wants to sleep, and my parents are getting mad it's already 10:34 at night.'

'Fine, fine…' he muttered. 'You know there are a lot of things I wanted to show you, but you won't let me show you…'

'Aaron,' she said growling. 'Listen you can date who ever the hell you want, I won't get jealous…'

'Wait this means I have to start dating again? What about you? I can't handle watching the girl I love date someone else, that's why I don't think I can handle this friendship, it'll hurt to much…' he said quickly.

'I'm not going to be dating for a VERY, VERY, LONG time, okay. So that works out for you, go date whoever you want. I'm going to be my natural shut-in, pessimistic self, okay?' she answered, the back of her head was beginning to hurt. "I appreciate the advice you gave me on finding a job, and taking risks, but that's not me… Look I really have to go.'

'All right, goodnight.'

'Night…' she clicked the phone and placed the cordless phone back in her parent's room moving through the bathroom and into the dark room. Her mother and father were still awake and they watched her as she placed the phone on the charger. 'I told him again, but he's like a kid…'

'Just be careful. Don't tell him you're home alone, ever.' Her father said. She chuckled and shook her head in the darkness. 'I'm serious Leila, I don't like him.'

'The two of you can talk about it in the morning…' her mother said softly. 'Just rest Leila; I doubt he'll call you again…' she said.

Alec sighed and Leila looked up at him for a moment and smiled. She was glad that he was there for her, Aaron hadn't been making her life easier, if anything she was a bit paranoid of walking down the streets by her home, fearing that he would somehow find her and then try to take her somewhere. Alec had heard the situation from Edward, a long time friend of Leila and Alec's. He had agreed to walk her home, since he lived north of where she lived.

"I can't believe it's Valentine's Day already…' he said softly noticing her laugh. "What's so funny?" he asked. Leila was starting at the cap he had over his ears and she smiled.

"I keep forgetting… about what you are…" she said softly. "First time I figured out you were kitsune…"

"You asked me if Riku was real…" Alec couldn't help but laugh, he knew she loved Kingdom Hearts. Leila watched as his fangs began to show and she smiled, things seemed a bit more 'happy' in that sense. "Hey your Beastia is going to be here soon."

Beastia, it was a demon in a sense, but not necessarily a real one from the depth's of hell. It was a manifestation of the person's soul, given an animal form; they were connected to their master's soul for all of eternity. They were the opposite sex depending on what gender their masters were. Alec didn't have one because he was a fox spirit; the necklace on him was proof of that.

The majority of Beastia were invisible to the majority of humans, for they chose not to believe in that sort of thing, but it was very rare when someone did. Leila all her life believed in things like that, and Alec had been proof all along that there were things in this world that one couldn't understand.

Their friend Edward was no exception, he was what the humans called a werewolf. He had shaggy light brown hair and dark colored eyes, with a slight tan, in a sense he had no physical flaws. He didn't live on an Indian reservation as the series called 'Twilight' suggested, he lived with humans, for his pack had tamed themselves to hunt wild animals, being vegetarians in the eyes of other werewolves.

Another friend of Alec's and Leila's, by the name of Aden, was what the humans called a demon. He had pointed ears and eyes resembling that of a cat, but he wore black contacts for the most part, and in his human form he had slightly pointy ears. He had a human form and a demon form, his demon form was more appealing to the eyes, something as magnificent as a god's body, with dark tinted horns and shredded bat like wings, with red colored irises.

Peter, a long time friend of Alec's pack, and current husband of Leila's best friend Marie. He was the stuff of vampire novels, a beautiful creature that all females lusted after. He was very reserved when he met Leila, only going as far as to say hello and goodbye. He had eyes that would change color depending on his mood. He could walk among mortals if he wanted to, but preferred not to be exposed for what he was. Because of Marie's tie with Leila he grew to know her from after school visits, and suggested to Alec that she was the one he had been searching for.

Marie, the blonde Hispanic teen who was turned into a vampire last year. She was a very good friend of Leila's, and she recently gave Peter a letter to address to Leila. She married Peter in secret, and started a rumor that she had switched schools. Her mother and father kept her home schooled because of what she turned herself into, and she would often join Peter and the other unearthly friends for a feast up in the woods. It was her idea to invite Leila along for the ride.

"We should get going then…' Alec said softly standing up from the park bench. There was a gentle breeze blowing, and the young kitsune could smell the scent coming off of Leila, it was very sweet and tempting, driving his hormones crazy. 'Mustn't lose control,' he thought as she stood up. She placed a beanie over her head, and fastened her glasses in place.

"Hey you guys!"

Both the light skinned male and the brown skinned female flinched and turned around. A slightly older looking male appeared, from behind the bench and laughed. He had dark green eyes and blonde hair, with the appearance of being around 20 years old. He wore the same thing that Alec wore, and black hooded sweater and a pair of dark colored jeans. He hopped over the wooden bench and landed in between the two teens.

"What the hell are you two doing here on Valentine's Day? You two should be out somewhere… you know groping each other and stuff." H laughed messing with Leila's beanie, and taking off Alec's cap. The young kitsune growled and covered his rather large ears. This kitsune's name was Ethan, already over a thousand years old, he was able to shape shift into a complete without worrying about his tails and his ears. Alec on the other hand worried about his fox ears the most.

"Damn it Ethan…" Alec growled trying to take back the cap with his mouth. Leila on the other hand chuckled watching the two kitsune's fool around. She loved being around them much more than being around humans, they were more interesting, insightful, and just very mesmerizing.

"It's getting a bit cold…" Leila said softly, noticing the pair of mahogany and green eyes look back at her. Alec pulled off his sweater, revealing the black and white striped turtle neck her wore. He gently placed the hooded sweater on her shoulders and she wore it, trying to capture the warmth. "Thanks Al… I mean Alec." She said chuckling. "Hey Ethan, how are the others?"

"Spending the day with their mates." Ethan said walking alongside with the kitsune and the human teenager. "I had a feeling I'd find you in this park… it's the one closest by your house." He said looking at Leila. "Is that one guy giving you any trouble?"

"Guilt trips…" Alec said simply as he was able to get the cap away from Ethan. They stopped by the corner of the Korean church and heard a couple of people laughing from within the area. Love was in the air, it was a rather peaceful time. Ethan said his goodbyes and disappeared as a car started to park by the church entrance. "Happy Valentine's Day, Leila."

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." She said as they walked side by side down the concrete sidewalk. She felt a pair of lips lightly graze her cheek and she felt a smile tug at her lips. He had gotten her to blush, mission accomplished. "Funny…" she said softly pressing her lips together for a moment. "We've known each other since I started my senior year…'

"I know…" he said stopping by the foot of her doorstep now. "We wouldn't have even met if it wasn't for Marie…" he said softly watching her smile a bit. He loved it when she smiled like that, it made him feel at peace. "We really should thank her…" Alec said softly.

"Yeah…" she said losing herself in a little daydream. She blushed, coming back to reality and Alec arched an eyebrow in confusion. Her daydream was a little more sexual than her liking and she laughed nervously. "Sorry, guy thought…"

"Marie was right, you are a prev…" Alec said teasing her a bit.

---

"Stop…" Leila moaned softly feeling Alec press his lips against her stomach. "Tickles…" she muttered softly trying hard not to laugh. "Alec…" she couldn't help but giggle this time, and Alec stopped. She noticed this time he was in his humanoid form, exposing his mahogany colored fox ears and the fabled nine tails. Legend said their coat would turn either a brilliant white or gold, but Alec didn't want to be a god in that sense, he kept his old form, plain and simple.

Alec felt Leila's hands move down from his abdomen to his thigh, and he groaned into her neck. He didn't like being teased, especially with her touch, she was very soft and slow when it came to contact and the whole process was driving him insane with lust driven thoughts. He was like any other male after all, and he craved attention from his partner, so did she. Leila felt her lips move to his neck, lightly nibbling on the bare skin of her husband.

Alec pressed up against her and she knew he wanted release, it was something he had wanted for some time now. She couldn't help but smile, watching the look of lust in Alec's eyes. She found herself without her shirt, noticing that Alec had placed her under a spell of some sort. She moaned feeling a pair of fangs brush up against her exposed chest. Her back arched as she threw her head back as he placed a gentle hand on her breast, she moaned again driving his sense wild.

Alec knew his wife was sensitive, and that was one thing he loved about her. He was amazed she had waited for marriage, but it made it all the more sweet and rewarding for the two of them. He was able to share his love with someone that he cared for and trusted.

"Nice and slow…" she whispered into his ear, brushing her breasts against his exposed chest.

This was why he loved the week before Valentine's day…