Entirely Yours (WORM: Post-GM, Khepri!Taylor/Amnesiac!Lung)

[dhazellouise]

Summary: Scion is dead and Taylor Hebert - or Khepri - has to deal with the aftermath. She learns that her mind is no longer deteriorating and soon discovers why. Now, Taylor is stuck with an amnesiac Lung, whom she feels responsible for and she hopes he won't mind if she brings him along in her exile. (Post-Gold Morning, Khepri!Taylor/Lung)

Author's Note: I'm not even going to defend myself for writing more about this crack pairing. I'm just obsess with them.

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Taylor is about to open the apartment door when she hears a voice call out from behind her.

"Hey, Taylor!"

She immediately turns and sees one of the neighbors just exiting from the elevator. It is Joanne Parson. A woman who loves to gossip a lot. Inwardly, Taylor groans at the sight of her. She seriously doesn't have the time to loiter in the hallway for the usual gossip that Joanne likes to impart to her. However, she doesn't have a choice on the matter, not when the woman is already making her way towards Taylor.

"Hi Joanne," She greets when the thirty-something woman halts in front of her. As Taylor observes closely, it looks like Joanne must have come from one of her evening runs in the nearby park.

"Just got back from grocery shopping, huh?" Joanne inquires, noticing the plastic bags Taylor is currently carrying.

"Yes," is Taylor's only reply.

"I see that you bought yourself some mangoes too," The nosy woman remarks. Joanne obviously caught sight of the yellow fruit peeking through the plastic.

"Yes, I've been buying them every time I go grocery shopping." Taylor explains.

"Really?" The woman suddenly leans forward with interest. "Are you craving the fruit by any chance?"

Taylor frowns at the question and says to her, "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Well, not to be presumptuous or anything, but I hear that pregnant woman usually gets cravings for fruits and they mostly like mangoes." Joanne reveals to her and Taylor feels the immediate blush that spreads over her cheeks at the woman's wild conjecture.

"I'm not pregnant," Taylor states bluntly.

At her words, Joanne merely arches her brow and says, "If you say so Taylor."

And before Taylor can even say anything more on the matter, Joanne has already changed the subject.

"So how is your boyfriend?" The woman asks while Taylor tries very hard not to snap at the woman.

What a rude bitch. She thinks.

After nearly two weeks of living in that apartment complex, Taylor no longer has the desire to correct people about her current relationship status. Even though she may be living together with a man in the same apartment, but the two of them are far from being in a relationship.

"He is fine." Taylor grits out, already wanting to escape from Joanne's presence. "In fact, I need to get into the apartment and cook him some dinner right about now."

"Of course," comes Joanne's instant response, giving Taylor a fake smile. "Sorry for keeping you then. Perhaps we can talk some other time."

I'm not going to talk to you at all! Not when I can't help it! Taylor mentally decides angrily.

"Ok," Taylor says instead while she hurriedly retrieves her key to the apartment and opens the door.

"I hope you have a great day, Taylor! And please say hello to your boyfriend for me!" Joanne conveys almost jubilantly.

Taylor, however, doesn't say anything else to the obnoxious woman, even when she slams the door shut in Joanne's face.

The moment the door closes, she lets out a sigh of relief.

Gods, I hate that woman! She seethes while she sets down the grocery bags on the floor. I'm sure she'll probably spread the rumors of me being pregnant within an hour.

"Taylor, is that you?"

A familiar voice interrupts her mental rant and Taylor turns around just in time to see a certain person striding out from their living room. Of course, he is shirtless again, which exposes half of his muscular body and the dragon tattoos all over his upper torso.

"Yes, it's me. I just got back from buying groceries," Taylor says while her gaze meets his pair of light brown eyes.

"So that's where you went. Do you need help in carrying those bags to the kitchen?" Her fake 'boyfriend' offers.

"Yes, please..." She says and hands one of the plastic bags to him.

Her pretend boyfriend - or Kenta as she likes to call him now - takes the bag from her without hesitation. However, the moment his large hand accidentally brushes against hers, Taylor has to school her features into a stoic mask when she senses the familiar tingle that results from the contact.

Her body's strange reaction to him happens quite often now and Taylor already suspects the reason behind it. Nonetheless, she decides not to acknowledge her budding attraction to the man, not even when she often finds herself admiring Kenta's handsome features when he isn't looking.

"What did you buy exactly Taylor?" Kenta asks, which successfully breaks Taylor from her musings.

"I bought a lot of things actually," She tells him while they make their way towards the kitchen with their groceries.

"Including mangoes," Taylor adds and instantly grimaces when she recalls what Joanne said about pregnant women and mangoes.

"Again?" is Kenta's comment, quirking an amused brow at her. "You seem to be buying them every time you buy our groceries."

"It's because it's in season and I love mangoes!" Taylor burst out defensively. "And just so you know, the gossipmonger Joanne saw me before I came in to our apartment. So if you hear any rumors about me being pregnant, it's probably because of her."

Kenta seems to suddenly freeze at her words. He then turns to face her and asks, "Why would she think you are pregnant?"

"It's got something to do with the mangoes." She tells him when she meets his gaze. "She thinks the reason that I've been buying mangoes is because I'm probably pregnant and apparently craving the fruit."

"Perhaps she is right,Taylor." Kenta slowly remarks. Taylor can see his lips twitching at the corners and she instantly knows that he is joking. "At the pace that you've been consuming the fruit this month, I think you might be craving it, but I know you aren't pregnant. Not when...you know…"

Taylor understands what Kenta is trying to say. Both know that most of their neighbors think that they are in a relationship, but in truth, they are actually not. They might live in the same apartment together, but the two of them sleep separately. Still, they simply allow people to believe that they are together because it's much less of a hassle than constantly correcting them.

"Of course, I'm not pregnant," Taylor says, rolling her eyes at Kenta, who drops the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. "But Joanne will probably spread those rumors about me soon enough."

"Let's hope not or we will have to fight off well-wishers from our neighbors," is Kenta's wry comment while he begins pulling out the contents from the grocery bags.

"Well, we will just have to deny those rumors then." She responds, helping him sort out the various things that she bought that day.

Afterward, a comfortable silence settles between them as they work together. But as they reach towards the cabinets and the refrigerator to put away the groceries, sometimes they find themselves brushing against each other and Taylor has to keep herself from reacting too much every time Kenta's body unintentionally skims against hers. And when they do, their eyes would often meet and Taylor has to forcefully pry her gaze from his before she gets flustered completely.

"I bought the ingredients you wanted for Katsudon since you told me that you wanted to cook that tonight," Taylor informs him in a soft voice, finally breaking the silence.

"Thanks, Taylor." Kenta replies, turning to face her and giving her a warm smile.

Like always, his smile makes Taylor feel a little bit...odd, shy and uncertain perhaps, mainly because she knows who he really is, and the way he is now is so much different from the man he was before. And no matter how many times she's been subjected to his smiles, she always has some sort of visceral reaction to it, because the man she calls Kenta is actually Lung.The ex-Villain who can turn into an enormous fire-breathing dragon and was the previous leader of the Azn Bad Boy's.

Now, however, Lung doesn't remember who he is, or his past, and it is all because of her. Even in that moment, Taylor feels responsible for him.

"You're welcome, Kenta," is her only response while returning his smile.

Another silence followed, wherein Taylor notices Kenta's sudden hesitation.

"I know I told you that I will be cooking tonight," Kenta begins to say uncertainly. His gaze never leaving her face. "But I was wondering if you can help me in preparing some of the ingredients for our dinner?"

"Of course, I don't mind helping you with the preparation," comes Taylor's immediate answer. "But I might need you to instruct me in what to do because I've never cook Katsudon before. Other than that, do you mind if I change my clothes first before we start?"

"Thanks, Taylor. And yes, you can change your clothes. You also don't need to hurry about it. I'll be right here setting up the cooking wares when you get back." Kenta tells her, stepping forward to place a hand on her right shoulder.

"Alright," She replies, tilting her head up to look up at him.Taylor might be tall, but Kenta is far taller than her. The top of her head barely even brushes his shoulders.

For a moment, they stand there gazing at each other and Taylor feels a blush creeping up her cheeks at Kenta's unwavering stare. She is also very conscious of the way he is standing close to her, where she can almost feel the heat he is emanating and even sense it coming from his hand on her shoulder. He currently feels like a blazing furnace and Taylor doesn't mind curling up to him in that moment.

Suddenly, she realizes what she is thinking and feels completely mortified.

This is Lung we are thinking about! So get a hold of yourself Taylor Hebert! She mentally berates herself.

"I'll be back after ten minutes then," she states hastily.

At her words, Kenta simply nods his head right before he steps back from her.

Thereafter, Taylor nearly runs away from there. She can even feel Kenta's eyes following her when she leaves the kitchen.

As she moves to her bedroom to change, her mind drifts back to the past. To the people that forced her in this odd situation which she finds herself in.

"You are responsible for his current mental state. So you must take him with you." Most of them had said to Taylor, when they discovered what she had unintentionally done to Lung during her rise as Khepri.

In fact, she doesn't completely understand what the Queen Administrator has done to Lung while he was still under her control as Khepri. The only thing she understood from the Queen Administrator's explanation is that there was a loophole in Taylor's limiter, which her passenger has thoroughly exploited. That loophole was Lung and the Queen Administrator has discovered this fact when her passenger accessed Taylor's past memories about the first conflict she had with him all those years ago.

As her passenger explained, shards are distributed to hosts for stress-testing, and Lung was Taylor's first test during her debut night as a cape. It was the first conflict that Taylor had with another parahuman. And because of this, the Queen Administrator discovered some kind of connection between her and Lung. A bond of some sort that must have formed during their first fight together, which the Queen Administrator coined as Stress-Test bond that left quite an impression on their respective shards.

The connection which turned out to be a loophole that her passenger was able to exploit thoroughly by breaching pass Taylor's limiter and transferring most of Taylor's mental strain to Lung during her rampage as Khepri. This, of course, resulted in stopping Taylor's mental deterioration and loosening her limiter somehow, but it also has an unexpected and negative impact on Lung. However, instead of mental deterioration, Lung's memories are mostly affected by what the Queen Administrator's did to him.

For this reason, Taylor Hebert feels responsible for Lung's amnesia and even the people around her had agreed that this was her fault. So when she was forced to go on exile in an alternate earth, Taylor is saddled with him because apparently no one wants an amnesiac Villain and Lung is simply that.

Lung - or Kenta - is Taylor's responsibility now, and if it wasn't for him, she is certain that she would not survive half a year at all due to the mental deterioration. But when her passenger intervened and did what she did, Taylor is given a chance to live a normal life again. Even now, the Queen Administrator has become silent and has stopped bleeding into her personality after what her passenger has done to breach pass her limiter and used the bond between her and Lung.

In simple terms, Taylor Hebert is indebted to Lung and she will make certain to repay him back.

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[dhazellouise]

"Do you want to come with me?" She said to him a month ago. Kenta recalls how she looked uncertain then when she voiced out her question.

"I have nowhere else to go...and no one wants to be saddled with me," was his only reply. "So yes I will go with you."

And Kenta did and now he is living in an apartment with her for nearly a month.A month where he can't help but notice things about the woman who is responsible for his memory loss. Perhaps he should have been furious about what she did to him, whether it be intentional or not, yet Kenta doesn't feel any anger towards her. His memories are gone, yes, but he can't seem to summon the wrath he knows he has and unleash it upon the woman who caused his amnesia. It is mainly because his amnesia has truly affected him and how he reacts to certain situations, especially if it concerns Taylor Hebert.

In fact, the only emotion he feels towards her is nothing but respect, and complete and utter fascination. Yes, the woman absolutely fascinates him and Kenta finds it odd, not only because of their shared past - even though he doesn't recall any of it - but because he realizes that he doesn't mind this feeling at all, despite their strange situation.

At the moment, he's currently standing outside her bedroom door with the intent to learn the reason for her absence at their breakfast table.

"Taylor?" He calls out while he knocks at her door. "I've made ourselves some breakfast...Aren't you going to come eat with me?"

Not a moment later, he heard the muffled sound of her voice answering his question.

"I'm sorry, Kenta. I'm really not feeling well today," is Taylor's response.

A worried frown instantly mars his brows at her answer.

"Are you alright?" comes his query.

"No," He hears her brief reply through the door.

"Can I come in?" He asks next as he leans close to the door.

"Yes, you can Kenta…"

After hearing Taylor's response, Kenta slowly opens the door to her bedroom. The moment he does, his gaze immediately lands on the woman lying in bed with the covers drawn over her figure.

A pair of grey eyes meet his and he briefly notices the shadows beneath Taylor's eyes.

"What's wrong?" He inquires in concern while he walks towards her. Meanwhile, Taylor simply watches him approach.

"I'm running a high fever," comes Taylor's weak response as Kenta halts right beside her bed. After a moment of hesitation, he finally allows himself to sit down next to her figure.

"Did you take some medicine?" He says while he regards her haggard features.

"Yes, I did...but it hasn't worked yet," is her answer while she rubs a hand over her face.

"What was your temperature when you took it?" He inquires.

"It was 103 degree Fahrenheit."

"I see…" Kenta remarks while he puzzles over Taylor's ailment. "Taylor, I don't understand the reason you are running a fever. Don't you get some of my healing factor? Won't that help with your fever?"

"I don't know what is going on with my body, Kenta...Your healing factor should have helped prevent me from getting sick, but it seems that it's not even working right now…and I'm also too tired to contemplate more on the matter or do anything about it."

There was a brief silence while Kenta reaches out and touches his hand across Taylor's forehead.

She is burning up. He thinks worriedly.

"Since your temperature is still running high. Perhaps it's best to lower it down in some other ways... I think I can help you with that at least." He informs her while he allows his hand to drop to his side.

"What are you going to do?" comes Taylor's curious question while she looks up at him.

"I'm just going to cool you off," He explains to her while he abruptly stands up from the bed. "I will be back to get some washcloths and a basin of tepid water."

"Oh…" is Taylor's response. She suddenly blushes at him. Taylor probably realizes what he intends to do to her. "So you're going to give me a tepid sponge bath?"

"I'm going to take care of you," is Kenta's only answer while he reaches out to brush a lock of dark curly hair from Taylor's perspiring forehead. Instantly, he watches when her blush seems to deepened at his action.

"I'll be back in a sec," He states to her right before he leaves the room and starts looking for the supplies that he needs.

It doesn't take him long to find them. Within a minute, Kenta is back in Taylor's room with a basin of water, two towels and three washcloths.

"You don't have to do this, Kenta…" Taylor immediately says the moment he enters the room. "I'm sure that my temperature will start lowering down when the medicine kicks in."

Kenta simply shakes his head and says to her, "You're running a high-grade fever, Taylor. You definitely need more than a medication to help lower down your temperature. So stop protesting and let me take care of you."

He carefully places the supplies on top of the bedside table and shortly sits down next to the sick woman on the bed. Afterward, he takes a dry washcloth, soaks it in water, squeeze some of the water out, and brings it towards Taylor.

"I don't think this is necessary, Kenta."

He hears her say when he extends his hand forward and uses the washcloth to start daubing at Taylor's feverish forehead.

"Taylor, stop being stubborn and let me help you." Kenta says to her.

"I'm not being stubborn! I just - amm…I just -" Taylor manages to stutter out while he observes the furious blush that swiftly suffuses her face when he starts running the washcloth over her neck and above her collar bones.

"You're sick, Taylor." He rumbles at her. "So just please let me do this."

There was a tense silence while Kenta continues to daub the washcloth over Taylor's hot skin. His gaze holding hers steady even when she is currently glaring at him at the moment.

"Fine," is Taylor's reluctant answer. "Do what you wish then."

"Thank you," He says to her as he moves the washcloth over her left arm.

There was a moment of silence once more while Kenta concentrates in tending to the sick woman in front of him.

"You know Kenta…" Taylor begins to say. "I wouldn't even dare imagine this happening to us all those years ago. If someone told me that you - the notorious Villain Lung- will probably end up getting an amnesia and living with me sometime in the future, I would have laughed in their face and kick them in the balls, because that's simply impossible. But now...I still can't even believe that you are here with me right now."

Taylor tells him and Kenta pauses after listening to her words.

"I don't know what to think about that, Taylor. I don't even remember anything that happened, much less about our history together…" He says to her while he dips the washcloth on the basin to start over again.

"I know, Kenta…" Taylor replies, sounding infinitely sad. "And I'm sorry about what happened to you and your memories…Sometimes I wonder what could have truly happened after Gold Morning if you didn't lose your memory at all…For certain you wouldn't have followed me here on this alternate earth. In fact, you will probably go somewhere to continue with your Villainous ways."

"Let's not talk about 'what could have been', shall we?" He suggest to her gently. "And to be perfectly honest, I think I might even prefer this life now compared to my previous one. It's peaceful...but more than that, I have someone like you with me…"

Once more, he watches as Taylor's face turns scarlet at his statement.

"If you had your memories right now, I am quite certain you would have completely gutted me with your claws for what I unintentionally did to you…" Taylor says to him.

"I'm not Lung, Taylor," is his only answer as he locks gazes with her. "You know that...I'm Kenta now. So long as I am Kenta, I'm not going to let you come to harm, not even by my hand."

"Kenta…" Taylor starts to say while she reaches out to halt his progress of rubbing the washcloth over her right arm. Kenta stops what he is doing when Taylor suddenly takes hold of his left hand. "I know you don't remember anything from your past, but I do...We might have a dark history together, but all I can think about right now is how I'm glad you are here with me despite what happened between us in the past…I know it's a selfish thought but I -"

"Taylor," Kenta interrupts her while he carefully wraps his hand over hers. "I know what you are trying to say and I understand. You don't need to explain yourself to me. Also, after nearly a month of living with you, I am beginning to realize that I made the right decision in coming here. I have no regrets at all when I followed you. So you're not the only one being selfish here, Taylor. I am being selfish as well because I don't mind living like this with you at all."

The grip on his left hand seems to tighten while he observes the myriad of emotion that fleets across Taylor's face upon hearing his words. He also sees the moment when she unconsciously bits her lower lip and Kenta can't help the sudden rush of white hot desire that races through him at the sight of it. The desire to kiss her right then and there and taste her lips becomes too tempting, but he resisted the urge. He doesn't want to startle or frighten her if he kisses her, especially when she is still obviously sick.

Kenta knows for a while now that Taylor Hebert completely fascinates him, but he hadn't expected to feel the sudden need to kiss her not a second ago. Clearly, Taylor Hebert is not merely a fleeting fascination to him at all. In fact, he suspects he might begin to feel something else for her after all.

"Kenta…" He listens to her say, "I don't know what to say to that…."

"You don't need to say anything," He assures her. "Your silent acceptance is enough."

"Alright," is Taylor's reply. "But I want to try something else though…"

Kenta hears the hesitation in her voice and the shy gaze she directs at him. Instantly, he becomes curious.

"What is it?" He asks.

"Can I - can I give you a hug?" comes her request and Kenta can only stare at her in surprise for a brief moment right before he answers her, "Taylor, you don't need to ask permission from me if you want a hug."

"I...ok.." is her soft response, obviously embarrassed.

Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, or even ashamed for wanting to hug him, Kenta simply acted first and moves to close the distance between them.

"If you want to hug me, Taylor just simply do it...because I wouldn't mind it at all." He states right before he wraps his arms around her and pulls her straight into his arms. He listens to her gasp of surprise the moment he hugs her and Kenta can't help but feel the warmth that flows through him when he holds her close to his chest.

Not able to help himself, he presses his nose at the top of her head and breathes in her scent.

Suddenly, he is flooded with the scent of wildflowers and something else entirely. Something unique that he can only identify as Taylor Hebert's.

"Thank you, Kenta…"

He hears her whisper while he continues to hug her.

"Thank you for being here with me."

"Your welcome, Taylor…" is his only response as he places his chin on top of her head.

Kenta instantly realizes that he won't mind living with Taylor Hebert for an indefinite time, not when he can hold her like this as much as he wants.

"Do you want to have breakfast in bed once I'm done with your tepid bath?" He asks when he finally, but reluctantly released her from his embrace.

"Yes, please…" comes Taylor's immediate response.

"Alright." He states while he gives her a smile.

Thereafter, Kenta resumes what he is doing and tries very hard not to think more about what happened not a moment ago, which made him realize that he definitely feels something for Taylor Hebert.

Something that he needs to consider at a later time.

 

[dhazellouise]

"Kenta, I'm home!" Taylor calls out as soon as she closes the apartment door behind her.

She doesn't hear him answer at once, but she has no reason to worry. Kenta must be doing something at the moment.

Taylor slowly walks down the entryway and straight into the living room where she puts her bag on the sofa. Thereafter, she searches for the man she shares an apartment with.

She soon finds him outside in their balcony, watering their plants. Shirtless, wearing only his pajama bottoms, and with his dark hair in complete disarray. He must have only gotten off the bed just recently.

Taylor watches him for a moment. An affectionate light fills her eyes as she stares at his handsome features before she allows her eyes to trail over his exposed muscular torso which shows most of his dragon tattoos.

He is still the Dragon, despite his memory loss. I'm certain that it won't even fazed him to go out shirtless in the middle of Winter. She thinks fondly.

Kenta must have felt her long gaze because he suddenly looks up and sees her. Taylor observes how the man instantly breaks into a smile at the sight of her. His straight white teeth flashing between pink-tinged lips while a small dimple appears on his cheek. A dimple that Taylor always find adorable and irresistible.

Gods, I can't get enough of that smile…and if I was another woman living with him for months, I would have already taken him to bed by now...The unbidden thought comes to Taylor's mind and she instantly flushes at her inner musings.

"Come back inside, Kenta. I don't want you to catch a cold." She calls out to him and she notes how the man's light brown eyes gleams in amusement at her statement.

"I'll be right there, Taylor." He says to her and Taylor waits for him to finish what he is doing.

It's been nearly two months since she got sick and she still wonders the reason behind her illness. She is only glad that Kenta was there to help her because it takes three days for her to fully recover and get back her strength. Kenta even ended up feeding her one time when Taylor wasn't able to sit up and raise her head to feed herself.

During those days, Kenta had remained by her side from the morning she woke up sick until late into the night that she let him to lay in bed next to her instead of letting him sleep on the chair. She had done so because she didn't want him to sleep in an uncomfortable chair, and the other part was because deep down she simply wanted him near her.

So for three days, Taylor was nursed back to health by the Dragon, and during the nights, she couldn't help but be drawn to the warmth of him lying next to her, where she often wake up in the morning with his muscular arm wrapped around her waist and his face buried into her mass of black curly hair.

Every time Taylor woke up first in the morning, she often found herself just simply admiring Kenta's sleeping figure next to her, and just puzzling over the fact that the man has long dark lashes, or how she likes the foreign tilt of his eyes, and most of all, she likes to stare at his finely-sculpted lips which are just sinfully made for kissing. The words,'Bad boy. Good lips,' often comes to her mind every time she looks at them and Taylor considered testing the theory of how good his lips were and simply kiss the Dragon awake. However, she ended up convincing herself not to do it during those days and so she never did.

However, when staring was not enough for her, Taylor was unable to resist the temptation of letting her hand trail over his muscular chest and faintly traced the various dragon tattoos and the hard lines of his muscles with her fingers.This action always woke him up, but he never said anything to her, except watched her with his eyes burning hot and his large hand tightening around her waist. Taylor only stopped what she was doing when she finally noted how her action affected Kenta and after she realized that she was treading into dangerous ground. She had no right to touch him like that, despite the fact that the Dragon didn't seem to mind at all.

So the moment she recovered, Kenta returned back to sleeping in his own bed. The following days afterward, Taylor woke up in the middle of the night searching for a warm body next to her, but only to feel disappointment when she found no one there. However, their temporary sleeping arrangement caused a shift in her relationship with Kenta. She notes that he is acting more familiar with her than before while she is unable to resist doing the same.

Considering that Kenta had openly told her that she can hug him anytime she likes, Taylor does so every time she comes home while Kenta seems to find reason to initiate physical contact with her. A brush on the cheeks, a graze on her arm, a hand on her shoulder or waist, or simply holding her hand and tucking a wayward curl behind her ear. Taylor doesn't mind him doing this but she can feel that they are simply dancing around each other. Never really addressing what they truly want.

"Taylor?"

Her thoughts are interrupted by Kenta's familiar voice and Taylor immediately turns her attention to the man who has just close the french doors to their balcony.

"Are you done watering our plants?" She asks while she raises a brow at him.

"Yes, I am. Did you just arrive from work?" Kenta inquires while he slowly makes his way towards her.

"Yes," She says, walking towards him and meeting him half-way.

The moment he is within reach of her, Taylor immediately wraps her arms around him and Kenta does the same. This is their ritual greeting now. She hugs him every time she comes home to him and she knows that Kenta always looks forward to it when she arrives.

"Then, welcome home," She hears Kenta's rumbling voice while her face is pressed against his bare chest. His hot skin smells like fire and brimstone, which obviously results from his pyrokinesis. Still she loves his scent and she doesn't mind that she begins to smell like him too.

"I'm glad to be home," is Taylor's only reply as she remains pressed against his tall, muscular frame. She can feel him nuzzling the top of her head while his large hand slowly rubs her left side up and down. After nearly two months of this familiarity, Taylor begins to realize that she loves returning home to him like this.

"Too bad we only see each other for a few hours before I leave for work tonight," Kenta tells her. His deep, gravelly voice sounds the same as the time when she first hears him ordering to kill the Undersiders all those years ago. Although this time, his accent is fading and he speaks more gently to her.

"Well, it can't be helped. Your schedule and mine are different. I think being a bouncer at the nightclub usually means working at night." Taylor says to him while she runs her fingers over the blue dragon tattoo that encompasses from his left pectoral and towards his shoulder. At her touch, she feels his hand tightened around her left hip and senses it when Kenta leans down to press his nose close to her ear. Taylor can't help but shiver at the contact.

This is like a dance between them. When she allows herself to advance, Kenta does the same and when she retreats, Kenta doesn't hesitate to back down as well. They are like two planets orbiting around each other, drawing closer and closer to each other but never colliding. The gravitational pull between them is too strong, but there's always something that stops them from getting too close.

"Hmn, perhaps I should have accepted a different job then. Something that will fit in with your schedule so that we can spend more time together." Kenta whispers, his hot breath brushing the shell of her ear. Instantly, a familiar heat streaks down her spine to burn at the pit of her stomach.

Kenta's words are blatantly obvious and Taylor knows what he is hinting at.

"It's too late now. You already accepted the job." She tells him as she looks up at him and meet his warm, brown eyes. "So why don't we find time during our days off? Perhaps we can go out and eat somewhere?"

"Sure. We can do that." Kenta says to him while he raises his large hand to cup her face, where he runs a thumb over her left cheekbone. "Let's even call it a date."

Taylor stops breathing all at once when she hears what Kenta said.

"Is this some roundabout way of asking me out, Kenta-kun?" She asks sounding both amused and breathless, now very aware of how Kenta is looking at her like he intends to close the distance between them and kiss her.

The thumb on her face continues to leave tingles of heat racing through her skin and Taylor is beginning to feel like she's been subjected by a burning furnace by Kenta's close proximity to her.

"Yes, I'm asking you to go out with me Taylor Hebert. I think it's about time I do so." Kenta tells her while a lazy, sensuous grin slowly breaks across his handsome face. Taylor's breath hitches at the sight of his disarming smile. She is certain that many women would simply drop their panties and throw themselves at the man in front of her after seeing that grin.

However, Taylor is not other women. She still has self-restraint to stop herself from grabbing a hold of Kenta and kissing him until they burn away the last vestige of inhibition that keeps them apart.

"You already know that I am not a patient man and these past few weeks of dancing around each other has taught me that I need to make the first move to make you realize that I want something more from this arrangement than our prior intentions," Kenta admits to her as gazes into her eyes. "Let's stop the pretense Taylor and make this real between us. I hope you will agree with me on this."

"You want to make our relationship real? Do you mean to say that you want to be my boyfriend?" Taylor asks, sounding thrilled and uncertain at the same time.

Something about this situation suddenly feels so surreal. Lung, the ex-villain she had badly mutilated all those years ago, has just asks her to become his girlfriend. Of course, Kenta doesn't recall all of this, but Taylor still does and she can only imagine the look on everyone's faces if she agrees to Kenta's offer.

"I don't particularly care what you will call me, boyfriend, lover or even just live-in partner. As long as you accept me as something more in your life." Kenta tells her while he brushes the tendril of hair from her forehead. "So will you accept my proposal?"

"Why don't we go out on a few dates first before I give you my answer Kenta?" is her only reply.

"Of course, I don't have a problem with that," He says to her. "But don't take time to decide Taylor. I think you already understand me very well when it comes to waiting."

"Very impatient, are you Kenta-kun?" She asks. Her heart still racing at the thought of taking the next step into their unconventional relationship.

At her words, Kenta suddenly leans forward and whispers right into her ears, "Yes, I am...because I've been trying to reign myself in when I'm around you these past two months. Once you agree to my proposal, I have every intention to keep you and show you the joys of how a Dragon takes care of the one he considers a rare treasure."

Taylor's face floods with color once more at Kenta's dark promise. Yes, she definitely knows what he wants from her. She can practically hear the desire oozing from his deep voice when he says those words and she can't help but feel the pleasant heat that sizzles inside her of being the subject of Kenta's undivided attention.

"I will not make you wait long for my decision, Kenta. I promise." She says to him.

And Taylor doesn't let him wait long. It only takes six dates before she agrees to his proposal and another three month before she succumbs to temptation and gives herself to him - a man - for the first time, where she allows the Dragon to show her what he promised.

Taylor Hebert doesn't regret her decision for bringing him along with her in that alternate earth. Nor does she regrets it when she soon discovers that she is pregnant nine months into their relationship.