The warmth of him. Holding him, pressing to his back, my hands on his chest as my arms are wound around him. This is my happiest place. Smelling him, loving him. Waking him gently, with all of my love.

"Mmm..." He makes a grumble, but I kiss his ear, and that smile appears as I gaze down at his profile. More kisses on the side of his face, next to his ear. The smallest of laughs, and he says a pleased, "heyyy" in English. So cute. I squeeze him, and he relaxes, so happy that I'm here.

Yesterday's conversation with Yami made me stay awake for a long time. Staring at the ceiling, wondering. Thinking about dreams, and what that could look like. How impossible, or how simple? Which way would it go?

It made me only realize that we needed to move on this. No time for waiting. We could resolve things, and then Lyra could be whole again. We had to approach it in the right way. How to convince them? Nobu had been immovable, but what about the other members? Hadn't Masaki once confided in me that he didn't want Lyra to end? And Shizue had come back to Lyra, a Lyra that included Yami.

I'd seen the aftermath of their fight. Nobu had come to the door when I'd delivered Lily to him, and he'd had a huge black eye, and other bruises. There had been a giant physical fight. That part was unforgivable. Yami had been in the wrong, and he told me so. He was sorry for getting physical, but wasn't ashamed of his emotions and what led him to do it.

But, I knew now why he was so upset. He was upset, because he was holding secrets about Sana that Lyra didn't know, and was fiercely trying to protect him. He felt betrayed by absolutely everyone. He'd felt disrespected by Nobu in particular that day, and with all of those emotions that had built up for years, he couldn't control himself anymore. He took it out on a friend, and that was terribly wrong of him. He was ready to apologize, but it was unlikely Nobu or anyone else would accept that apology. And, for what he'd done to Nobu, Nobu definitely shouldn't have to accept that apology.

Lyra knew all of these secrets now. How Sana is transgender, and that Yami fiercely loves him no matter what gender he is. He'd confessed that day, about loving Sana. Nobu had greatly disrespected that love. They also now knew how sick Sana is, every detail. But, they still had no idea how much Yami took care of him over the years, while preserving his dignity by going along with what Sana wanted. And by going along with what Sana wanted, Yami looked like the one in the wrong. Sana wanted to push himself. But, it only looked like Yami was pushing Sana to his limits, because Yami couldn't tell them what was really going on.

There were so many misunderstandings. So many things that needed to be righted.

How would we even get them all into a room together? That was the hardest part. Could we gather Lyra, and not tell them Yami would be there? An intervention kind of situation? It could only end in yelling and screaming that way.

A finger poked my chin. I looked down, smiling immediately. Sana was peering up at me, his eyes big and curious. His head was on a pillow on my lap, his body spread out on the couch again. Still not feeling well, but much better than yesterday. My palm went over his forehead, smoothing down his bangs. The cutest smile spread on his face. His eyes closed every time my palm touched his forehead, as I stroked his bangs upwards.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"Lyra," I said truthfully. I poked his cheek, and he grinned. I couldn't resist poking it again. He let out a small laugh, and I sighed in it.

"What about Lyra?"

I poked the tip of his nose, and he let out the most adorable giggle I ever heard. So unexpected. I burst into laughter, my hand going over my mouth. My finger went down to poke again, but he opened his mouth, gnashing his teeth at me. I laughed even worse.

"I'm a shark," he stated plainly, making me lean over and lose myself in laughter.

"A- a very cute shark," I said between my laughs. He always made things better. No matter what, that was my feeling.

He puckered his lips at me teasingly, and I placed my thumb on them. He kissed it like I'd pressed it to a warm rose instead. So beautiful.

"What were you thinking about with Lyra?" He asked again.

"Hmm..." I put my thumb on my chin, the same one he'd kissed. "Yami wants to apologize to them so we can all work together. He thinks it's for the best."

"It's not going to be easy." His eyes on me were unwavering. It made me blush. "But, I think he's right. I'm so nervous, though."

"It's okay to be nervous." My hand rubbed his chest in circles at this, to soothe him. His eyes closed, and he smiled so contently, enjoying it.

"What if they yell? I don't want them to yell. What if it ends in another physical fight? I don't want that. I don't know how to make them see it from our side. I actually think Yami is in the right. He wasn't right to hit Nobu, though. Maybe Nobu can hit him back. I don't know. Violence isn't the answer, but it's how boys resolve things, right? I wouldn't know."

It's how boys resolve things? This I knew a thing or two about. I shook my head, smiling. He opened his eyes just in time to see this. "It doesn't have to be. We're all adults here." I pursed my lips, and saw his eyes down below go wide. It made me grin, his reaction to my simple facial expression. He was adorable.

I placed my thumb on his forehead, swiping it back and forth with pressure.

"Ohhh," he moaned a little bit. "That feels niiice."

"I'm glad it does."

"Hmm." He closed his eyes again. "Maybe we should talk to Sawai-san. She might have ideas about what to do. Back in the day, she knew we had to kick out our bassist long before we did. She said he was dragging us down. So, maybe she'll know what to do about this. She's older and wiser."

Wow. He was right. Instantly, thoughts about her teasing Yami came to mind. Her constantly checkmating him whenever he said something that went too far. Her bringing him back down to earth with gentle teasing.

I sat up straighter, suddenly alert. It seemed so simple. No way it was that simple.

"Huh?" Sana asked softly. I'd stopped rubbing his forehead.

"You're a genius," I breathed.

"Hmm? What did I do?"

I gazed down at him, and he was smiling cutely again. My finger traced his lips, and they opened slightly, enjoying my touch. He finished with kissing it again, and my heart sighed in it.

I smiled down at him, loving him. "What if we include Sawai-san in the meeting? You said all of Lyra knows her. She's always keeping Yami in check. Maybe if she's there, she'll keep him in check and things don't have to go off the rails."

"Ohh, I like that thinking. They'd never disrespect Sawai-san."

"She said that she desperately wants them to stop fighting. You were asleep in the hospital, and she was pleading with Yami about it. I know she's passionate. I wonder if she's the answer. Maybe we can all speak calmly with her around."

"Yes," he said in English. So cute.

I closed my eyes tight for a moment, my heart squeezing in how adorable he is. My grin accompanied this.

"What?" He asked, starting to giggle.

"You're too cute, I can't concentrate."

"Then, don't concentrate." He puckered his lips at me again. "I've been trying to get you to kiss me for like ten minutes."

And I was a goner. No other thoughts in my brain. He didn't have to tell me twice. I leaned over, my hands cupping his cheeks. He brought his chin up, and our lips met, causing my heart to erupt in beating so hard that the sound filled my entire body.

"Of course I'll participate. I was waiting for this. When are we going to do it?" Sawai-san asked. She was cooking dinner, mizutaki. We were at the table. Sana was feeling so much better as the afternoon changed into the evening. I was so proud of him. His forearms were on the table, supporting him.

"I have no idea," I admitted. "We didn't get that far, it's more of an idea, really."

"I was talking to my son when I was at Sana's apartment today. He called me and we started talking about Lyra. I think I kind of know what's going on. But, if I participate, I need to know everything. No bombshells during the meeting for me."

"Hmm, well." I took Sana's hand on the table, and he made demure movements in joy as I did. I wanted to squeeze him. "I think you already know the majority of it. What Yami said when Sana was in the hospital. There's absolutely more to it, but... Maybe it's better if he tells you. I don't want to put words into his mouth."

"Ohh," she said, understanding. It sent relief through me. "I'll call him after dinner, then. I won't be accusing. I want to know."

"Thank you."

She turned around. "Why are you saying thank you? I honestly think this needs to happen. I was thinking this meeting needed a mediator. He was telling me on the phone today that he was worried it would come to blows. I said that was ridiculous, but he didn't think it was so outrageous. But, I don't think they'd dare fist fight in front of me."

I nodded. "That's why you're important to include. I really think you'd be able to keep things civil between everyone. You keep Yami in check. I think that's what this meeting needs. I know Yami can be volatile in his emotions."

"Oh, don't get me started. He was always an emotional child. Now that comes out as anger as an adult. I do what I can to control it. But, from what he was telling me today, he really wants this. I don't know if he'll be able to control himself, but I can be there to help. This is so important. I don't want his emotions to get in the way. I'm sure he won't be the only one emotional, either. He tells me sometimes that, 'sometimes you just need an adult, no matter how old you are.' I think that's true. I can be that adult."

I nodded, deeply touched by her words. What he'd said was so true. Emotions could make us like children. Sometimes we did need someone else to make us see through them.

She put the lid of the hot pot on top of it, and turned around again. She grabbed a seat across from us, and sat down heavily. "We need to start thinking about when this meeting will happen. I don't want to push things, but maybe it's better to strike while the iron is hot. Yami is emotional about this, and he wants this so badly. I know better than anyone that his emotions can cause that to change. He might get unsure of himself, and then the opportunity is gone. We should gather everyone, and we can talk this out."

Sana squeezed my hand, and I looked over to him. He appeared deep in thought.

"What is it, honey?" I asked, my voice sweet and full of concern. Was he okay? I hadn't meant to be ignoring him.

He squeezed it again. "I was thinking. Um... That we should hold the meeting at Fleeting World. Everyone would gather there. Lyra doesn't need to know that Yami is coming. I think that's the only way to gather everyone."

He was a genius again. "What, a trick?" I asked, rolling his hand a little back and forth on the table. It's the intervention scenario I was thinking about earlier, but with a clever twist.

He nodded. "It's the only way. The others wouldn't show if they knew Yami is coming. Maybe we can say it's a meeting with Keitaro. Yami will know what the truth is, but they won't. Maybe Keitaro can even be there. I don't think they'd dare yell if he's there, too. They have too much respect for him. They know he's half of the reason why they have this opportunity to go major." He smiled at me. "And you're the other half. How can they disrespect you, too? I think with this combination, maybe it can work. Maybe we can all be civil. I don't know."

His, I don't know, at the end. Was he unsure of himself?

"I think it can work, Sana-chan," Sawai-san said. "I think that's pretty smart. We'll have to work out the details, but I think if they're at Fleeting World Entertainment's office, then it can't possibly come to violence. Yuuhi wouldn't have to fear that."

He nodded. "We'll have to wait until Shizue gets back from Okinawa. I don't know when that will be, and we might not be in Tokyo by then. But, I'm willing to travel for this. I don't know how I'll be feeling, but I can try."

I squeezed his hand back at this. It wasn't often that I heard him speak about himself like this. It was a brave thing to say. "We'll find out when she gets back. We can plan around it."

"Why wait?" Sawai-san asked. "Let's call them all after dinner and tell them there will be a meeting with Keitaro-san at Fleeting World. We'll call Keitaro-san first and ask, of course. I really think this can work."

I pulled Sana's hand to my lips, and his smile increased into a shy grin. "This is a great idea, my darling," I sighed happily, pressing his hand to my cheek. He made a bashful noise.

"You two are too cute, I can't stand it," Sawai-san chuckled. "That makes me so happy." She turned in her seat, and got up, going to the hot pot. She lifted the lid, and beautiful smells bloomed out from it.

Looking at Sana, I was the happy one. Overjoyed by his idea. It could just work, pressuring them to do what was right by not being able to get too into emotions. We might be able to talk it out, maybe even talk business with Keitaro there. Who knew what this meeting could turn into? We'd already be at Fleeting World.

I rubbed my thumb in the space between his thumb and forefinger, and he stared at me lovingly, that familiar small smile on his lovely lips.