A/N: It seems like my chapters are only getting longer and longer!

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Yuto peered out over the balcony, his eyes taking in the subtle colors squeezing through the clouds. "It's so chilly this morning..." He thought, pulling his cardigan around himself. The scent of snow hung in the air as he watched the sky darken and the colors fade away as the morning full arrived. It didn't take long for the wind to pick up and before he knew it, small patches of snowflakes began to full upon his hair. He took one last breath, exhaled everything out, and then returned inside to see Chinen and Amu sitting quietly across from each other at the living room table sipping on coffee. 

"Both of you barely touched your food." Yuto commented, taking the seat next to Chinen. 

"Not really hungry." The two replied back in harmony. They exchanged glances before continuing the rest of their coffee. Just before Yuto had the chance to sigh, a door slid open and two familiar people shuffled their way tiredly into the living room.

"Morning.." Ryosuke yawned as Rio took the seat next to Amu. Ryosuke sat next to her and eyed the food. 

"Feel free to take." Amu insisted, moving the box of pastries closer to the couple. "We bought enough for everyone." 

"Thanks" Rio said before stuffing with bread. Ryosuke on the other hand, decided to drown himself with coffee instead. After a couple of sips, he glanced around the room and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Daiki? Did he come back last night?"

"Rei brought him back drunk yesterday." Amu answered in a disappointed tone. "He was already knocked out by the time she got him into our room." 

"That idiot, he knows he can't hold his liquor." Ryosuke replied, rolling his eyes. 

"Neither can you, buddy." A voice suddenly called out as everyone reverted their attention towards the source. "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to whatever I did yesterday. I- actually don't remember what happened..."

"I think it's Amu who you should actually be apologizing to, not us." Rio asserted.

"It's okay." Amu assured everyone while placing a hand on Rio's shoulder. "How are you feeling?" 

"A minor headache but I'm sure it'll go away." Daiki answered before walking over to grab the last cup of coffee with his name marked on it. "Any plans today?" 

"There's a really bad snowstorm today. It wasn't supposed to hit us but the storm changed its direction over night. We should find something to do inside." Yuto suggested.

"In that case, want to head to the indoor onsen? It's seperated by gender." Rio suggested. 

"Ehhhhh?!" Ryosuke whined. "But do I really want to see everyone else ?" 

"Forget that, I'm sure that none of us wants to see your's to begin with." Daiki playfully rolled his eyes. "There's nothing interesting to see." 

"You're just jealous because most girls would prefer to see me than you." 

"That's not a proven fact!"

"ONSEN IT IS." Rio declared, cutting off their usual banters. Soon enough, an awkward silence resonated through the air and everyone but Rio gazed into random directions. Rio's gaze specifically fell upon someone who didn't seem to have spoken once since she entered the room. "Hey Chii, are you okay? You haven't spoke much since last night..."She asked and the latter simply nodded.

"Yeah, of course!" Chinen added, forcing a smile when he realized that his nod itself didn't seem to suffice her curiousity.

Troubled and puzzled by his response, Rio immediately shifted her gaze to Amu and the younger one silently sighed before tapping Daiki's arm. "Dai-chan, do you have a couple of minutes to chat?" 

Daiki raised an eyebrow but nodded almost immediately. He placed his empty cup down and grabbed his cap and hotel card. "Sure. Let's take a walk together."

"We'll be back soon!" Amu assured everyone and within the next few seconds, the two had disappeared from the room. Right after the couple left, Chinen exhaled and stood up from his chair. However, before he was able to take even just a step towards his room, Ryosuke suddenly threw him a question, surprising not just Chinen but also everyone else in the room. 

"Hey Chinen, I've been meaning to ask you something... Do you still have feelings for Amu?" 

"Eh?" 

"You do, don't you?" Ryosuke noted as everyone shifted their gazes to the youngest boy in the room. Chinen paused for a couple of seconds, pursed his lips, and then finally nodded. 

"She told me yesterday that it's best if we just stopped talking for a bit." Chinen explained while shoving his hands in his pockets to alleviate his nervousness. "She doesn't want Daiki to think there's anything going on between us- even if we're just friends." 

"So that's why you've been under the slumps..." Rio frowned.

"Well if there's nothing going on between the two of you then I don't see why you have to distance yourselves." Yuto sighed. "To be honest, I think it might be Daiki who needs to re-evaulate the situation. I mean- you and Amu are simply friends." 

Ryosuke shook his head. "I don't think Daiki is wrong here. I actually think this is a good idea. In my opinion, I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that Rio is spending time with a guy who has feelings for her." 

"Yeah but if he doesn't have any intentions of breaking a relationship up then I don't see why they can't just hang as friends." Yuto argued back, angling his body to face him directly. 

"I don't think you understand Yuto." Ryosuke replied, folding his arms across his chest. "Amu and Chinen had a history together." 

"Your point is?" Yuto retorted, rolling his eyes this time. "You and Mariya had a history too- and you still have ongoing issues with her but Rio doesn't tell you to stay away from that girl." 

"My situation is different." 

"You're just making excuses for yourself. If Rio really is the most important person to you then you wouldn't hesitate to put her needs before yours." 

"Why are you getting so worked up over my finacee?" Ryosuke demanded, suddenly standing up from his seat. The impact of the abrupt motion sent his chair falling backward and it landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud. "Yuto, is there something we need to talk about?" He added, his expression turning serious. 

Stunned by Ryosuke's sudden outburst, Yuto finally exhaled after holding onto his breath for the past couple of retorts. "No." He simply replied, not wanting to put a larger damper on the already-ruined vacation. He gazed at Rio who also seemed frightened by their argument and immediately felt guilty for making her feel this way. 

"Then don't get yourself involved." The older latter finally concluded who was quickly met by Rio's dissapointed expression. 

"Ryosuke!" She exclaimed, pulling his arm to face her. "What on earth is up with you? This is so unlike you." 

"Sorry, I'm just overwhelmed." He answered before reaching for his mask. "I'm going to take a quick walk." 

"Wait- I'll come with you." Rio insisted, throwing on her own before stepping out with him. "Are you okay?" She finally asked once they were alone in the hotel halls. "You're acting really different..."

"I'm just really on edge these couple of days..." 

"About what?"

"Everything, Rio. Everything." Ryosuke began impatiently. Luckily, he caught himself just before he was about to rage again and decided to take a deep breath instead. He then pulled Rio into the vending room and began again. "We're getting married soon and I can't help but to feel that suddenly all of these forces are trying to pull me away from you. The fire in our apartment, the baby... that could be mine, and now Yuto- my childhood friend who obviously has a crush on you." 

"Wait what? Yuto doesn't have a crush on me anymore. He made that clear."

"Rio, you see through the most complicated things but overthink the simplest ones." He said, chuckling in disbelief. "Believe me, he completely fell for you again- I mean who won't- I did!" 

Rio rolled her eyes and let out a small smile. "I made up my mind to be with you for the rest of my life and I'm not backing down on my words. I love you, Ryosuke and we'll get through this together." She said before pulling down their masks to kiss him. 

Ryosuke didn't think twice about kissing her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist to nudge her even closer to him. Not wanting to break the kiss, he slowly guided her backward and soon enough RIo found herself trapped against the wall for support.

"What if someone walks in?" She asked between kisses.

"The entire country knows that we're together. Us kissing won't be a shock to anyone."

-- Meanwhile --

Amu reached out and intertwined her fingers with Daiki's. Taken by Amu's sudden affectionate gesture, he glanced down and smiled at her. "It's been a while since we held hands, hasn't it?" 

The latter nodded but immediately felt guilty. She didn't want this to end but she also knew how heart-broken he would be once she tells him the truth and it pained her to see this smile go away.

But she had to- afterall, it was better now than risking the possibility of someone else telling him. 

"Nee, Dai-chan... Promise you won't be mad at me?"

"Why?" Daiki said, pausing in his tracks. "What happened?" 

"OH! What a coincidence, I'm bumping into you two all the time now." A familiar voice called out as Amu rolled her eyes. "What better timing." She mumbled to herself under her breath. 

"Rei?" Daiki asked, tightening his grip on Amu's hand. 

"Good morning to both of you! Are you two going for a morning stroll?" 

"Yeah." 

"I see! You seem a lot better! I'm so glad- you were so drunk last night, you didn't want me to leave at all!" 

"Huh?" Daiki answered, already seeming annoyed with the conversation. "What are you talking about?" 

"You really don't remember anything at all? Not even our kiss?" 

Amu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Daiki. He shook his head and sighed. "She's lying- we didn't kiss. Amu, you already know how I'm like when I drink."

"Say what you want, Dai-chan but that doesn't change what happened yesterday. Besides, it's just a kiss right, Amu?" She said walking towards the younger girl. "Our kiss me