Once Coco and Fifi left, Vivi carried me to bed. He set me down gently and he kissed my forehead.

"I promised you a massage, do you still want it?" He asked me.

"Oh... that would be nice." I said, my back aching.

"Alright, on your belly, Sweetheart." He said to me.

I turned around and laid down with my back exposed for him. The second his big warm hands met my lower back, I just melted. He massaged my aching muscles and even extended the massage up my back. It felt incredible. I had never had such a relaxing experience before.

I lost my self control and I let out a loud moan as he went over a particularly stiff part of my back. He froze for a second and then he continued. I let myself enjoy the moment, taking in the feeling of his rough, strong hands, massaging me with just enough pressure to ease the ache in my muscles. I couldn't help but let out a few more moans, especially when he grabbed my feet and massaged them as well. But this experience was disastrous in the long run. I was officially obsessed with that kind of physical contact with Vidal.

After he was done with me, I was red as a tomato and I felt hot all over. I let him roll me onto my back and throw a heated blanket over me, making me moan as the warmth enveloped me and spread in tingles all over my body. This was what pure bliss felt like. After that, he got in bed and lifted me so that my head could rest in his lap and he gently massaged my forehead and my scalp. My temples were the best part to massage.

This man was amazing. How could those huge, rough hands be so delicate and deliver this kind of bliss to my poor body.

After the head massage, I felt a pair of lips on my forehead, then my nose, my cheeks and then I felt his breath fan across my face before his head moved away. I opened my mouth to speak and he hushed me quietly, rubbing my head gently until my body slipped into a deep, comfortable sleep. The most comfortable sleep I'd ever had in my life.

I woke up to Vidal gently stroking my hair back.

"Morning, Kiwi." He said softly, kissing my forehead.

"W-what's happening?" I asked, looking around as I got up. My body felt lighter, I felt better than I could ever remember.

"It's morning. Sh... lay down for a little longer, baby." He said to me, running his fingers through my hair.

"It's morning? B-but it was only five when we started the massage." I said in confusion.

"And it was six thirty when you fell asleep." He said with a smile.

"I didn't have to suck my thumb at all." I said.

"Yeah. I'm proud of you, baby. So damn proud. When you set your mind to something, you do it. You're such an amazing person." He said to me, kissing my cheek.

"I can't believe I slept so long." I said with a lazy smile.

"I can. You needed that massage and it helped you relax. From now on, we're having regular massage sessions....Do your muscles hurt a lot, baby?" He asked me.

"Uhm... not a lot. But they get sore easily." I said to him.

"I'll give you a massage whenever you want, all you have to do is ask, ok? And we're going to make sure you get one for your poor back at least once every two weeks." He said to me.

"Ok." I nodded, not minding that at all, but not knowing how I would survive his hands all over me like that on a regular basis if I couldn't even kiss him yet.

"Do you feel alright? Your muscles were really, really bad yesterday before I massaged you." He said to me.

"I feel good. Just like.... it feels like I can work properly and I couldn't before." I explained.

"I'm sorry I never thought of a massage before." He said, kissing my forehead.

"That's ok. You can't think of everything." I said to him.

"I bought you a special something." He told me.

"When?" I asked him.

"Yesterday after you went to bed." He said to me.

"What is it?" I asked, watching him reach behind the bedside table and pull a big box out from behind it.

"It's to say, 'I'm sorry' and 'I'm proud of you' and also to show you how much I care about you and trust you." He said to me.

"You didn't have to get me anything. You have nothing to be sorry for." I said, feeling shocked.

"I wanted to, and I should apologize because of the way I've been neglectful lately. I didn't notice you were in pain and I also didn't listen to you about what you probably know better than I do. I promise that from now on, I'll never make decisions for you. You'll be able to decide what you do and don't do. I won't stop you from doing the things you want to and I'll never be so neglectful again. I'm so sorry, Kiwi." He said to me.

"Vivi. It's ok. It's not that big of a deal. I understand that you just want what's best for me and you're just a little stressed out lately, that's why you didn't really pay much attention. That's ok though." I told him, stroking his cheek with my thumb and watching how he couldn't help but smile at me and kiss my palm.

"Open it." He smiled, nudging the box.

I smiled down at the box and removed the ribbon from around it. It was a really big box. I opened the top and looked down at the thin, blue paper which surrounded my gift. I moved it aside and I saw a bag of Kiwi candies, which was super exciting because I'd never seen Kiwi candies before. I was excited to try them.

"Oh my goodness! Vivi! Kiwi candies! Thank you!" I smiled and he smiled at me, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

"There's more, keep going." He smiled.

I moved the big bag of candy and I removed more of the thin blue paper.

"Wow!" I said, looking down at a cute little book that I could make a cookbook out of. There was a special pen with it and there were small stickers that I could stick in it. And little note cards, glue and all kinds of crafty things to go into the cookbook and help me make it perfect. Beside all that, there was a bag full of cookie cutters and cake decorating tools. I was so excited to get to work on all that.

"Do you like it?" He asked me.

"Yes! I love it! Thank you, Vivi! Thank you!" I cheered.

"Keep going, there's more." He smiled.

"More?!" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded, nudging the box again.

I moved more of the blue paper and I gasped when I saw a brand new phone. I looked down at it in confusion.

Why did he get me a phone? I don't really use phones.

"Wh-what?" I said, looking up at him in shock.

"I just thought that since you're meeting everyone, you'll have lots of people to talk to, and we can add you to the family group chat once you've gotten everyone's number. You can take pictures on your phone and stuff... you can text me when we get to the point where we're not constantly together." He said to me.

"V-Vivi?' I said in shock.

"You don't want a phone?" He asked me.

"I want it." I said, picking it up. "But like... really?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"I love it! Thank you!" I giggled.

"And there's one more thing." He told me.

"What? What else?" I asked in confusion, moving aside more of that gift wrap stuff.

"Oh my goodness, Vivi!" I said, looking down at the stuffed bunny in front of me.

"I know he means a lot to you. I got him cleaned and patched up." Vivi said to me.

"You didn't have to do that..." I said.

"Listen. You and this bunny, you've been through a lot together. Stuff that no one else understands. He may not be conscious. But he's the one you held onto everyday when things were bad. Whatever you went through, he was there with you." Vivi explained. "I don't want you to lose that connection. And now that you're all better, no bruises, all clean and pretty, I thought we could fix him up as well."

Vivi stroked my cheek gently with his thumb, the was he looked at me was special. His eyes watered as he talked about me and going through lots of terrible things.

"Thank you. That means a lot." I said, kissing his hand which still stroked my face gently.

"I'm scared to lose you, you know that. I lived before I met you. The days passed and I dreamed of finding a girl who could be there with me all the time and let me support her as she supported me. I lost hope of ever finding a good person like you, then you came into my life. I just don't think that I could ever live again if you weren't right here beside me." He said.

That's how I felt. I loved him. Maybe he wasn't sure how he felt yet. But I knew he at least cared deeply for me. I really hoped that one day he could just tell me he loved me, that he'd one day look at me the way Uncle Rico and Dad looked at their wives. Maybe we could even get married. Or maybe I was getting ahead of myself.

"There's one more thing, unlock your phone, Sweetheart." He said to me.

I took the phone out of it's box and I unlocked it when it saw my face. Vivi helped me find the contacts and I looked to see five contacts. He was in there, Momma and Daddy were in there. So was Coco, and Fifi too.

"Wow. And I can just collect them now when I meet everyone?" I asked.

"Yup. You just ask them for their numbers before they leave and once you have everyone's, I'll add you to the family group chat. Or if you don't want to do all that. I could add you in there now and you'd get everyone's numbers that way.

"No. I want to collect the numbers first." I smiled, feeling like I could earn my position in that group chat. It was just nice to know I'd achieved it, I didn't want to just be put in there. I wanted that feeling of working hard for something and getting a reward for it in the end.

"I asked Dad to send you a few pictures so you can personalize your phone. You can add them as your background pictures and on your lock screen." Vivi told me, showing me where the messages were.

"Oh my Goodness! It's us!" I giggled, looking at the pictures of Vivi and I at the pond. Neither of us knew we were being photographed, but the pictures were super cute.

"I like this one." I said, picking a picture of Vivi and I holding hands in front of the pond. I was looking up at him and he was looking down at me with a smile. It was just super cute.

"Alright, you want it as your lock screen photo?" He asked me.

I nodded and he instructed me on how to set it up. He also helped me download a game on my phone and he helped me set alarms like the ones on his phone to fit our schedule. There was something special about getting a phone and being excited about how you would use it everyday. I could turn music on while I was in the kitchen cooking, or when I was cleaning.

"Oh... I almost forgot. I also bought headphones." Vivi told me, rushing out of the room and returning with some headphones.

"Headphones?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah. You can connect them to the phone and then listen to music in them whenever you want." Vivi said to me.

"Wow." I said, taking the headphones from Vivi. "Thank you, Vivi. This is amazing."

"No need to thank me, Kiwi. I love seeing that pretty smile on your face." He said, stroking my cheek.

For a second I thought he was going to say he loved me. In all honesty, I was incredibly disappointed that it wasn't what he said. But it was ok, I could wait for him to finally feel the same way.

"Hey, Vivi... I've been meaning to ask you something." I said.

"Sure, what's up?" He asked me.

"Since I've gained weight, and I've been eating really well. Can I start working out with you?" I asked him.

"You want to work out?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. Maybe not the same stuff you do, but I think I'd like to get in shape, you know?" I said softly.

"Of course you can work out with me, tell me what you want to work on, and I'll help you with a workout plan." He said to me.

"Ok." I smiled, nodding my head.

I'd probably come to regret this decision of working out with him. But for now I was perfectly content.