Celly gave a wistful smile as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Of course. Sorano was just a bit tired after everything that's happened today. She fell asleep before I could her pyjamas on her." Celly looked up at Dion briefly and smiled. "Strange, isn't it? To find out that we're going to be parents? I wonder if Mamoru-nii-chan and Usagi-imouto-chan felt the same way."

Celly fell into silence again, and continued to walk down the hallway. Dionysus looked down at the top of her head as he thought about that. Sorano was, what? Five? Six? At least he knew that he and Ce-ko would be together for that period of time. Then a thought occurred to him. Sorano was from Crystal Tokyo... but there weren't any real details as to *when* Crystal Tokyo was founded. He cast his eyes down to Celly again, who was currently tugging on the edge of her skirt as she walked. Could she be...? Dionysus immediately banished that thought. No... he and Celly had been apart for far too long. If she was, she would have started showing by now. But... still... he could imagine the way his Ce-ko would look carrying a child. Her eyes would light up every time the baby kicked... she would worry endlessly about whether to put up wallpaper with bunnies or teddy bears on it... and she would be beautiful... He shook his head and chuckled to himself. Dion, you're getting too many weird ideas. Crystal Tokyo is very far away.

Celly noticed Dionysus' quiet laughter and looked at him. "What's so funny?"

Dionysus shook his head. "Nan demo nai."

Celly frowned for a moment as they continued to walk in silence. Though Celly had tortured herself over the fact that she had overreacted and broken their Soulbond, she didn't know what she could do about it. Even now, she could feel the empty place in her heart where Dion should have been. But, their separation didn't seem to faze him much. Maybe he liked it better this way? He had searched for her for a thousand years, but maybe he didn't like her anymore. Possibly she was too different from the princess that he had loved so long ago. Hell, she was definitely different from the princess she was in the Silver Millennium. She just didn't know what to do! After a few more minutes, she stopped walking and looked down at her feet. Dionysus stopped as well, confused for a moment. Then he noticed that they were standing outside of Celly's door. An awkward silence fell over the two of them.

Finally, summoning his courage, Dionysus pasted a false smile on his face. "I suppose I'll take my leave of you here. Oyasumi nasai, Ce-ko." As he turned away, he cursed the wall that had sprouted up between he and his Ce-ko. But there was nothing he could do. Ce-ko had to make the decision herself, for he would never force her to do anything.

Celly's head snapped up in alarm and she was able to catch a bit of Dion smiling before he turned away. No! Was it true then? Had her stupid mistake made him realize that she was not everything he had remembered her to be? Did he really not care anymore? "Dion!" she exclaimed without thinking.

Dionysus froze in his tracks and slowly turned around. What? Was he reluctant to spend time with her? Maybe he would only stay with her to bear Sorano and then leave her? Would he only be fulfilling a duty to destiny? No... Dion wasn't that kind of man, was he? As Dion faced her, Celly dropped her eyes to the ground again. "Would..." she started. "Would you like to come in for a bit?" Celly shyly raised her eyes and dropped them again almost immediately when she caught the look of confusion and something unknown on his face. It wasn't the look of loving acceptance or sly mischievousness that she had come to expect. Tears threatened to come to her eyes. Chikusho! I'm just making an ass of myself! "Forget it..." Celly said quickly, the words coming out in a rush. "It was a stupid request. I just... just... Well, I know that you probably haven't forgiven me yet. Just forget I said anything. I'm just being silly. You probably aren't interested anymore anyway, and I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. Goodnight."

Celly turned on her heel and took the few steps needed to put her in front of the door. She wanted to get out of this damned hallway and lock her door. As her hand reached for the doorknob, a large warm hand grabbed hers. Celly looked up and saw Dion standing beside her. Her eyes widened.

Dion smiled for her. He smiled that special smile that he smiled just for her. "I'd love to come in for a bit," he said, his voice a deep baritone. His other hand raised and he caressed her cheek. She leaned into the touch. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me."

Celly could feel the blush rise to her cheeks as she nodded slightly. She opened the door and was about to drop her head to look at the floor again when Dion's hand lifted her face to his. "Why the hell do you keep dropping your gaze?" he asked in annoyance. "You know I love your eyes."

Celly giggled as she could feel the old closeness between them start to return. A flirting smile graced her lips. "Is that all you love?" she asked in a low voice as she lightly ran her gloved hand down his face and tapped his chin.

Dion gave a laugh between a low growl and a gruff purr. It sent delicious shivers down her spine. He picked her up in his strong arms and held her tight against his lean body. "You know the answer to that," he replied.

The door slammed shut behind them.

TBC...