Back to Chapter 6 – Last Chapter – Part 1


- - + NINOMIYA KAZUNARI + - -


The day of Shota's wedding is the most horrible day in Kazu's life. He thought he would be prepared for it, he went through the scenario multiple times in his head but in the end, it feels so different from what he imagined, so much worse, that he almost cannot bear it and falls into a deep depressed mood, making him almost unable to move.

He tries to mute the cheerful noises and voices around him, tries to focus onto his tasks, taking longer than usual, and getting scolded in the kitchen that he should serve the plates faster or the meals for the wedding will turn cold before they even reach the tables. Kazu honestly doesn't care. He himself isn't able to taste anything for days, having lost his appetite completely with the day Shota's bride arrived at the residence a few days before the actual wedding ceremony.

Returning to the celebration room feels like being thrown into an ocean of oppressing happiness, happiness that turns into an unbearable weight for Kazu. Looking at Shota, who looks stunning, even more than usual, makes his heart cringe, especially when his look falls onto the beautiful woman to the lord's side. He's such a good-looking and charming man, and she is just a classic beauty, together they look like the perfect match in everybody’s eyes. I's just smashing. Kazu can see that Shota is forcing himself to smile and whenever their eyes meet, he seems to try to communicate with the servant, but Kazu cannot bear it and just averts his eyes quickly. It's too risky, the emotions in his heart will overflow and make him burst into tears and that's the last he wants now.

When he's serving a plate to one of the female guests and stands up again, the servant suddenly feels dizzy, losing his balance. The woman at his side reacts quickly, catching him before he can fall down.

"Are you OK?" she asks, worried.

When Kazu looks at her, the dizziness slightly fading, he recognizes Matsumoto Saki – born Ohno -, the beautiful and friendly wife of Shota's friend, Lord Matsumoto from the north, who he got to know at their wedding ceremony just about one year ago. She's known for her amiableness and Kazu immediately bows his head in apology, feeling bad for causing her worries.

"I'm really sorry, Lady Saki," he murmurs. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine at all," she says in a low voice, trying not to trigger too much attraction.

Luckily, most people are drunk already anyway, and do not pay attention to the servants. "You look pale and you're much too thin. Come with me, I'll talk to your superior, you should rest."

"Really, I'm fine, thank you very much," Kazu whispers. He looks around and his eyes suddenly lock with Shota's, who looks at him, a bit confused. Did he see him stumbling?

"No protest, come with me," Lady Saki insists and stands up, obviously planning to accompany the young man outside of the room.

He follows her when she takes his arm, guiding him toward the door and out to the corridor. She searches for another servant, asking for the superior. She leads him to the respective person, a middle-aged woman, looking a bit confused, but worried too once she sees Kazu's pale face.

"Excuse me, I think, this young man needs some time to rest, he looks ill," the young lady says, with concerns.

"Nino, what happened?" the female servant asks. "Thank you, Lady Saki, I'll take care of him," she adds, tugging at Kazu's sleeve to bring him to his room. The lady follows them, curiously, watching the woman helping the young man to set his futon and lie down on it.

"Lady Saki, shall I guide you back to the celebrations?" the female servant asks, but the lady just shakes her head.

"Thank you, I'll find my way. I just want to make sure that he's fine," she replies, "Maybe he should eat a little, he looks so pale."

"I'll get you some soup and rice, Nino," the servant says, bows at their guest and leaves the room again, quickly.

"Thanks," the young man answers weakly before he turns his attention onto the fine lady again, who's knelt beside his bed, her eyes still watching over him, worriedly. "You're too generous, Lady Saki, I'm very sorry for the trouble."

She shakes her head slightly, her hair decoration causing slight clinging noises as they sway. "Don't be silly. If you are sick, you should take some rest. That's just logical."

"Yes, thank you."

"Tell me… Is something troubling you?" the young woman asks then, slightly tilting her head, after looking at Kazu for a few seconds.

Kazu freezes, staring at her. How is this possible? Is he so easy to read? "What do you mean?"
"I remember your visit together with Lord Shota when I got married to Junta. You've been such a friendly and happy servant, it was a pleasure to watch you. But now, you look troubled. Or is it just the sickness?"

"I… Lady Saki…," he really must be easy to read. Or the lady is just someone with a great power of observation.

"You're troubled, aren't you?" she asks again, empathically.

"It's not my place to annoy you with my worries, Milady," Kazu shakes his head slightly. Further, how can he risk telling someone about his and Shota's secret? It might cause his lord trouble; he cannot risk anything like that. "Please, just return to the celebrations and don't worry about me."

"I want you to tell me," the friendly woman insists. "I might be able to help."

Kazu smiles at her, gratefully. "I heard of your big heart, Milady and I really appreciate your thoughts, thank you. But I don't want to trouble you with my sorrows, really."

"Hm… you're pretty stubborn, refusing help so profoundly, aren't you?" the lady smiles, beaten at Kazu's obstinacy. "You're called Nino, right?"

"Yes, Lady Saki," the young man nods.

"Alright, Nino. Take some rest now. I'll go back to the celebrations but I'll come check on you tomorrow, my husband and I will spend a few more days here in Lord Shota's gorgeous residence," the woman says. "Maybe you want to talk by then. Think about it. Don't be shy, you can trust me. Let us become friends."

Kazu is overwhelmed by her friendliness, feeling almost guilty for not telling her everything on the spot. He nods slightly. "Thank you very much, Milady."

Kazu eats just a few spoons of soup when one of the fellow servants brings it for him, he still doesn't have any appetite. Then, he lies down again, closing his eyes. He tries to sleep, tries to escape from this cruel reality and forget about the pain, but even if he feels tired and weak, he cannot find any sleep. Sometime later, the door to his room gets pushed open and when Kazu opens his eyes, he recognizes Shota entering the room.

"Shota," Kazu whispers, shocked, sitting up, obviously fighting with dizziness again.

The young lord quickly pushes the door close and kneels down beside his lover, reaching his hands to support his back. "Kazu, lie down again, please," he whispers back.

"What are you doing here?" the young servant asks, obeying to his lord's wish as he settles on the futon again.

"I'm worried; I wanted to check on you. I just couldn't come earlier, they didn't let me escape from the table, I'm sorry," Shota answers, brushing the young man's face lovingly, feeling his forehead and cheeks, checking if they feel hot.

Kazu feels his heart constrict. He wants to burst into tears. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Are you really OK? Aren't you sick?" the other asks, concerned.

"Just a little dizzy," Kazu blushes. "Please go back to the celebrations, it's your wedding after all."

"Don't remind me on it, please," the young lord sighs deeply. "Really, I'd prefer staying here with you and taking care of you."

"I just need a little rest," the young man replies. "I'm sorry for being an unreliable servant."
Shota shakes his head slightly. "No, don't say that. I'm sorry that you're forced to witness these celebrations anyway... Did you at least eat properly today? The menu is splendid," the lord says, as if he's desperately searching for something positive in this whole mess. Kazu knows that this day isn't easy for the other man either, after all.

"I didn't feel like eating, but I ate some soup earlier," the servant replies honestly.

"I didn't notice… You shouldn't neglect your health."

"You should better go back to… her," Kazu says, ignoring his lover's comment.

"No," Shota shakes his head. "I don't want to. She can wait. You're more important."

Kazu knows that Shota's words are honest, but he cannot accept them. People would find it strange if the lord stood away from his own wedding celebrations. They couldn't risk anything. "Not today," he whispers, trying to hide the breaking of his voice.

"Oh Kazu…"

"You're going to spend the night with her, right?"

"Yes… But just this night," the lord answers. "I promise. Just this one night, because I have to. But I'll be all yours again from tomorrow onward."

The young servant flashes the other man a little smile. "I can't wait…"

"Please eat some more, will you? Take care of yourself," the lord insists, giving his lover a strict look.

"I will," Kazu nods.

"Good…," the lord replies.

The young lord still doesn't show any intentions of leaving and Kazu finds himself – again – staring at the other, at his gorgeous appearance, his precious clothes, his neat hairstyle, his handsome face. He'll have to share this man from now on, and it hurts just to imagine. But as long as he belongs to him, even if it’s just for a few hours, in the darkest nights, he'll learn to be satisfied by it. It doesn't change that much from how it was before, anyway, right? At least, that's what the young man tries to tell himself, to make it bearable.

"Shota?" the servant then finally asks, his voice still a whisper. He tries his best to hide that he's about to cry. "Before you go… May I… can you… please, kiss me."

His lord bites his lips, nodding. "Of course," he whispers back.

Then, the man leans forward, slowly, over the lying figure of his secret lover, allowing their lips to touch, softly, gently, in a kiss filled with all his love. Kazu replies to the kiss, moving his lips just slightly and then the moment of magic is over and the two lovers get separated again.

"Good night, darling," Shota whispers with a sad smile.

"See you tomorrow," Kazu replies.

The young lord finally stands up and after looking at his lover for a last time, slides the door of the servant's bedroom open again, exiting to the corridor. The voices and music from the celebration reach Kazu's ears and his stomach seems to turn upside down when he imagines Shota returning to that woman's side. He closes his eyes firmly after he took a deep breath. He tries to mute his feelings, calm down his racing heartbeat, fight the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He repeats his thoughts over and over as if he is reciting a mantra. Just this one night he has to get through without Shota. Just this one night Shota will lie down with that woman.

Just this one night…

- + -

On the day after the wedding, Lady Saki searched for Kazu's company again, when she sees him cleaning the rooms used for celebration the previous day and night. She worriedly asks the young servant if he had enough rest and he assures her thankfully, that he feels much better and she doesn't need to worry. Again, she tries to make him talk, since she's stubbornly of the opinion that he still looks troubled and so the two of them end up going for a stroll in the huge gardens of the residence.

After making her promise that she will never ever tell anybody about this, Kazu finally tells the young Lady about his connection to Shota, about their relationship. She just nods understandingly and Kazu hopes that it doesn't mean that their secret relationship is too obvious for other people's eyes. In the end, Lady Saki offers Kazu not only a listening ear for his sorrows, but also tries to encourage him. She tells him that she supports them, since true love should really be supported, not the connection through marriage that bound countries together in a politic way, which is still the most common practice.

A few days later when the Matsumotos are about to leave again to travel back home to the North, Lady Saki gives Kazu a small piece of paper, a written message that she wishes to continue in contact with him to learn about his story and that he should write her a letter when he has some time. Kazu bows deeply in front of her when he and the rest of the servants bid the lord and lady good bye and he smiles back when she waves slightly, thankful for this new friendship he found and that will make the coming few years more bearable for him due to her support.

Regarding Shota and his wife, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be enough, this one night that he had to spend with her. It turns out that the woman doesn't seem to get pregnant easily and so, they have to try again and again. Both Kazu and Shota know that it has nothing to do with love when the latter lies by that woman's side but he has to do so in order to get a descendant as his parents demand. Nevertheless, it hurts Kazu having to share his beloved, even if he knows that officially, he doesn't have any claims on him.

He knows that Shota's wife doesn't like him much, but Kazu doesn't think that she is suspicious of them. Well... he has to find out in the hard way that he's been wrong.

The moment he dies, Shota is whispering, reciting the vow they gave each other; it's everywhere in his mind, giving him hope, when the world goes black.

"You and me together, you and me through all the times..."

Yes, Kazu is sure, they will meet again.

- + -

When Nino wakes up, he feels a stinging pain running through his temples, squinting his eyes again for a moment. He slowly opens them again, trying to adjust to the bright, white light that's flooding the room, looking up to the white ceiling. A second later he lets his eyes wander.

He's lying in a bed, feeling awfully tired. There must be bandages or something around his head, it feels a bit squeezed. White curtains surround the bed he's lying in. Is he in the hospital?

When he hears some shuffling noise beside him and feels the familiar touch of a hand on his, he turns his head to face Sho. He presses his hand, relieved to see his boyfriend.

Sho flashes him his usual gorgeous smile. "Hey…"

"Hey...," Nino answers, trying to smile too but the movement of his face hurts so it doesn't work properly.

"I'm glad you woke up," Sho sighs, brushing his thumb over his lover's hand. "How do you feel? Does your leg hurt much?"

"Eh… what? My leg?" Nino frowns. He follows Sho's gaze, down the bed and it's just then when he realizes that his leg is caught in a huge plaster and placed on top of some pillows, to make it comfortable. "Oh..."

"Maybe you're still under the influence of the painkiller," his boyfriend suggests.

However, Nino finds the fact that Sho's arm is in bandages too, put in a white cloth that's hanging around his neck, more troubling than his own injuries. He frowns, worrying. "What happened to your arm?"

Sho lets his look drop on his own arm for a second, lifting it slightly to demonstrate that it's not as bad as it looks. "Don't worry, it's just a sprain, nothing serious. You got it worse with your leg. The doctors said it was a slightly complicated fracture so they had to operate, but they say you'll be up in a few weeks and you'll be able to run like usual."

Nino is glad to hear those news but he's still a little puzzled. "What exactly happened?"

"We fell down the stairs," the assistant professor says. "You wanted to help me and protected me, thus you hurt your head and leg."

Sho's words trigger Nino's memory, he sees some images flashing through his mind. There's the memory of fear, fear that his beloved could get hurt, a fall, a scream, and then, black. Nino squints his eyes for a second. "Ah yeah, right... Good thing you didn't get hurt worse."

"So you remember what happened?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's coming back," Nino still frowns but yes, he can remember. "Keiko was there and pushed you away from me and then you stumbled and threatened to fall down the stairs…"

"It was an accident..."

"Yeah...," Nino murmurs. "She didn't want to hurt you, did she?"

The older man slightly shakes his head. "I don't think so. But she was furious, seeing us together. I can understand that she… freaked out. She still loves you."

Nino sighs.

"You know," Sho continues, trying to lift the mood. "I don’t blame her. She fell for you, just like I did. And once somebody loves you, it's hard to let go off these feelings."

The younger chuckles slightly. "Idiots... I'm nothing special."

"For me you are. And for her too, obviously," Sho presses his hand.

"Even if she seemed to be in love with you in our past life," the student then points out. "I can't blame her for that either, though."

Sho sighs deeply. They try to live in the present but still, the memories from the past are weighing heavy in the air. "At least nobody died this time…," he whispers after a few seconds of silence.

Nino's heart constricts. "Fate would be a real bitch if that happened." He locks eyes with his boyfriend, and realizes that Sho's eyes seem wet. He presses his hand and tilts his head, slightly, smiling for real this time. "Hey, Awkward, don't tell me, you're crying."

Sho blinks away some small tears, quickly, flashing his boyfriend another smile. "I'm just so happy that nothing happened to you."

A huge wave of relief rushes through Nino's body and he's sure it's the same sensation that Sho feels at the very same moment. It's true. This time, nothing happened. A broken leg, a sprained arm... but if these are things they can bear with, they will be fine with it, Nino is sure about that.

"Give me a hug, please?" the younger then whispers, overwhelmed.

"Everything you want, my love," his boyfriend smiles and leans forward, taking his lover in his arms – trying to avoid his injured one – and hugs him close before he presses a careful kiss on Nino's head.

When someone clears her throat slightly behind them, Sho loosens his embrace and the two men turn their heads to face a woman, standing at the end of Nino's bed and holding some canned drinks that she puts on the side table once she walks a bit closer.

The news about Nino's accident of course have already spread. Not only has Sho called Nino's mother immediately after it happened, also some of his fellow students from the theatre club and several other students, professors and guests have witnessed of the arrival of the ambulance that took care of the injured men. So, it's not a surprise that they aren't alone here.

"Mom...," Nino whispers.

The woman hands one of the cans to her son, who takes it in his hand and reads the label. Green tea with mango flavour – his favourite. He feels a little warm around his heart, at the gesture of his mother and nods, thankfully. Then, his mother reaches out again, this time to Sho, handing him a can of black coffee, even if she doesn't look at the other man directly, as Nino notices. Sho stands up, hurriedly, bows his head slightly and gladly takes the can with his free hand.

"Thank you very much, Ninomiya-san," he says, his look wanders between his boyfriend and the woman. "I'll leave you alone for a while now."

Nino wants to hold him back, but he knows his boyfriend’s good intention, wanting him and his mother to give the time and space for a proper talk. And most likely, it works better without him around, even if Nino wishes for his support slightly. However, Sho is with him, in his heart, even if he doesn't take part in the conversation.

"You look pale, dear," Nino's mother says with a sigh when she pulls a chair closer to the bed besides her son. He doesn't answer and just opens the can of cold tea, taking a first sip. She sighs again. "I'm glad nothing worse happened to you," she then says, sincerely.

Her son looks at her and they lock eyes. It's been so long since they met, Nino thinks, about a month or so? The woman's face has become thinner and suddenly, he worries about her. Did she eat properly? Is it his fault, did he cause her to worry so much? The young man really doesn't know how to join the conversation, there's so much unsaid between them, and so much that they need to talk about again, in order to fix the broken relationship between them.

In the end, he starts with a simple, "Thank you."

His mother opens her own can of tea after looking at her son for a few second. Maybe, she doesn't really know how and where to start either but she tries. "I can't believe what Keiko did… she's always been such a nice girl," she says, referring to what happened. Indeed, the news must have spread quickly. "Do you want to tell the police what happened?"

Nino looks at the woman and thinks for a second. Then, he slightly shakes his head. "No, Mom. It was just an accident."

"But -," she doesn't seem convinced.

"It was just a small fight," the young man continues. "She didn't know what she was doing and I'm sure she didn't want anyone to get hurt, it really was just an unlucky accident. You liked her so much, don't hate her now because of this."

The woman frowns, her eyes filling with tears, slowly. "How can I forgive that woman who almost killed my son?"

Nino sighs. She's becoming too emotional, again. "Mom, a broken leg will not kill me. I'll be fine."

"But you could have died!" his mother replies, a slight hint of hysteria invading her voice. "What if you injured your head badly and fell into a coma or something?"

"It didn't happen. No what ifs, Mom, please," her son says.

Then, she pouts, taking a sip of her tea. "Still, I don't want to see her again."

Nino nods, slightly. "That's your decision. I'm not together with her anymore anyway so you won’t be forced to cross path with her that often."

"Good thing, then...," his mother answers, huffily.

"Mom…"

"I know, I'm sorry," the woman sighs. "I'm just… I was so worried when I heard you got hurt. My baby!"

Nino frowns, chuckling. "I'm not a baby any longer, Mom!"

"My Kazu-chan will always be my baby, you're my youngest child after all!" she exclaims and mother and son look at each other for a while.

Nino can feel it. Feel the sincere love his mother has towards him and also the love he feels for her. They are mother and child after all. They are together since his birth, in this world, they lived together for years. This woman took care of him with all her might, brought him up well, never made him feel unwanted or gave him any reason to hate her – until recently. Well, they had their differences, sure, and the latest fight has been something big and Nino felt like she would never be able to understand him. However, right now, he knows that she will always love him, no matter what he does and he will love her back, unconditionally.

The young man gulps down the small lump that formed in his throat and looks at his mother again. "Then, will you forgive your baby that he left you and ran away from home?" he asks quietly, the woman looking at him with big eyes. "Mom… we still didn't talk about what happened. But I think it's time to."

His mother nods, slightly. "I guess you're right."

"You know…," Nino takes a deep breath. "You might not like it, but... I love him. I really do."

Of course, she knows immediately whom her son is talking about. She pulls in her lips, hesitating for a second, before she replies. "I know. You risked your life for that man after all, what else but love can make people so reckless?"

Nino frowns again. "I didn't… we weren't about to die, Mom, we just fell down the stairs"

"Some really dangerous stairs!" the woman exclaims. "What was Seijo thinking about building such dangerous stairs?"

Her son sighs deeply. "Mom, seriously."

"What?!"

"You're complaining about everything and anything and now you even blame Seijo for building stairs?!" he can't believe it. Is she even serious or is she just trying to run away from the conversation about her son being in love with another man?

"They are dangerous!"

"It could have happened everywhere!" Nino says, slightly unnerved. "Listen, what's done, is done. It's no use to complain about stuff that already happened."

"I know that," his mother pouts and it's just then when her son realizes what Sho actually meant with both of them being stubborn. Maybe, his boyfriend is right.

"I'm happy that you worry about me, Mom," he says, sincerely. "It means you still care, right?"

"Of course I do care about you, Kazu. You're my beloved son."

"Then please don't waste your energy with blaming people or circumstances for what happened," Nino adds. "This was an accident, I got hurt, I'm recovering well. It's a happy ending, isn't it?"

"True...," there's relief written on his mother's face now, as she allows those facts to sink in. "But tell me, where did you learn to think so positively?"

"Surely not at home," Nino exclaims, not able to hold back the comment.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but it's true," he slightly rolls his eyes. A second later, he regrets it. He doesn't want to start a fight again or anything...

Surprisingly his mother doesn't really seem to mind. Instead, she tilts her head, "Probably."

Nino looks at her for a moment. It's true, both of them can be very stubborn and it's hard for them to admit mistakes, but this is a beginning. He should recognize it and so, he finally continues the actual conversation. "I learned it from Sho," he tells her and she looks up at him, wondering. "It's not just about positive thinking, it's about accepting my past and accepting that everything that happened brought me to where I am now. And this is something good, I believe."

The woman sighs. "You really like that man, don't you?"

Nino nods, determined. "Yes. As I said, I love him. We're meant for each other," he adds. He feels the urge to spill out everything, to tell his mother about the past link between him and Sho, to tell her the unbelievable story they went through, to tell her that his boyfriend the soulmate that he found again after hundreds of years. But this might better be a story for another time... "Do you still have a problem with that?"

A few seconds of silence. The woman takes another sip of tea before she asks her son. "Is he good to you?"

"He's the best," Nino nods and looks deep into her eyes to convey his deep feelings for that man.

"Are you happy with him?"

Again, nodding. "Happier than I ever was."

Then, there's a smile dancing on the woman's lips, even if she sighs again. "Well, I think than this is all that should matter, right? As a mother, I only wished for my kids to be happy."

"You'll accept him as my partner?" Nino asks, hope spreading in his heart.

"As long as he doesn't hurt you…"

"He never would!" the young man says, quickly. "I'm hundred percent sure of it!"

"Good then."

Excitedly, Nino looks at his mother. He feels so happy right now, and he doesn't care about admitting that this is what he really wanted – his mother accepting him and Sho, not fighting with her until the end of their days because she said some mean things. "Get to know him, Mom. He's an adorable man. I'm sure you will like him."

"I said so many mean things about him, he must hate me," his mother answers.

Nino is glad that she seems to be willing to admit her mistakes but he slightly shakes his head. "No, he doesn't. In fact, he's the one who encouraged me to make up with you."

"I guess I should give it a try then."

Nino smiles, happily, until another worry invades his mind. "Will you talk to Dad?" he asks his mother, a bit shyly.

"I will," she nods. "He might still object but I think I'll be able to convince him to accept your relationship too."

"Thank you, Mom," her son flashes her a grateful smile.

"Everything for you, Kazu."

Nino would be lying if he said that he's not relieved about having made up with his mother, and he's all smiles when Sho returns to his room and finds him and his mother chatting with each other. The woman has a couple of questions about the play of Nino's theatre club and her son is happy to answer every single one of them. He tells her more about the story and she seems to be pretty fascinated, and not as uncomfortable with the topics as Nino had feared. Sho smiles at him when he settles down at the other side of Nino's bed and he blushes a little when Nino finally introduces him formally to his mother – as his boyfriend.

It's only when a doctor comes in to check if Nino is healing properly, that Sho and Nino's mother have to leave. They bid him good night and promise to come back in the morning and this is exactly what they do. The coming days, not only they, but also Ohno accompanied by Matsumoto at times (who gladly made up, to Nino's relief), come visit him as often as they can, since he has to stay in hospital for a while due to his broken leg. Fortunately, soon he will be able to start some slight therapy for his leg and he will be allowed to get back home, soon.

It's the fourth day in hospital, when Nino was surprised by someone’s visit, someone he doubted he would even see again that soon. He's busy reading some books for university – being bed-ridden because of his leg doesn't keep him from doing the literature homework that Sho brings him regularly – when someone knocks at the door. After Nino asked the person to come in, a young woman with long, straight dark hair enters the room slowly, obviously insecurely. Slowly, she approaches Nino's bed, putting a bunch of flowers on the edge of the bed. He drops his book.

"Keiko…"

The woman brushes a strand of hair behind her ear and blushes, embarrassed. She's not able to look into his eyes. "Nino... How are you?"

"Uhm... quite OK, I'd say," the young man replies.

"Does your leg hurt much?"

He shakes his head. "Most of the time, no. The stuff they give you here against pain really kicks in."

"I see… good then," the young woman says. Still, her eyes are glued onto the white bed sheet. Then, she falls silent.

"Why are you here, Keiko?" Nino then asks, after a few seconds.

The woman takes a deep breath. "Because… I wanted to see if you're OK. Well... as OK as you can be after falling down the stairs… and I wanted to apologize," she says and finally, she looks at him. "I'm really sorry that this happened. It's my fault that you got hurt."

Nino looks at her for a few seconds. He's happy to receive her apologies. He already didn't expect this to happen, so it's a nice surprise. "I'll recover, no worries," he answers. "Just… just tell me that you didn't really intend to hurt us."

"I didn't!" Keiko shakes her head, insistent. "Of course not, I just… I was so angry and when I saw you two kissing, I couldn't bear it any longer and I – I don't know how this could happen but of course I didn't want to hurt you, neither of you. You have to believe me, Nino!"

The young man can see the sincerity of his ex-girlfriend. She really seems to regret what happened. "I do, I do. It's OK," he answers. "I'm glad this wasn't your intention."

"I'm so sorry, really...," she repeats, her eyes teary.

"It's OK. It's done."

"Please, if there is anything that I can do for you to make up for this, tell me!" Keiko says.

"I only want you to promise me that you'll apologize to Sho, too," the student replies.

She nods. "I'll do that. Of course, I'll do that! I just wanted to see you first."

"OK," Nino smiles, relieved. This is enough to satisfy him. He doesn't hold a grudge against Keiko, remembering that she didn't have it easy either. Maybe he is even feeling a bit guilty that he's not able to return her feelings, but he wants her to understand and to bury her grudge against Sho and against him. So that a tragedy like the one that happened in the past will never take place ever again.

"You love him a lot, don't you?" the woman asks in a whisper and Nino just nods, determined. "I guess I wouldn't stand a chance against him anyway."

"It's nothing about you against him, Keiko," the young man explains. "It's fate that brought me to him."

"Fate?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yes. He's my soul mate," the student says. "Maybe, one day you'll understand. I hope you'll find your own soul mate too, one day."

Finally, Keiko's lips form a faint smile. "You're too good Nino. You should hate me now, yell at me, throw me out, but you don't."

"I'm not that good," the young man shakes his head. "I did handle things wrongly too. I'm sorry that I was such a bad boyfriend to you."

"I wasn't really a good girlfriend either," the young woman shakes her head. "I guess we're even."

"You were fine – well, except of the jealous ex-girlfriend behaviour of course," Nino adds. "You will be a fine girlfriend for someone else, I'm sure. Just, the two of us simply are not meant for each other."

Keiko tries not to lose her smile again. She sighs. "It's a pity. I really loved you. I still do."

"I'm sorry I can't love you back."

"Love can't be forced, right?" the woman replies. "I learned that now."

The next day, it's Ohno and Matsumoto's turn again to drop by checking on Nino, together with Sho, who shows up as often as possible anyway. Ohno excitedly tells him that the theatre club gets more and more inquiries of putting up their play once more, since people heard good things about it and want to see it. Most likely, this is – among others – thanks to the positive review Sakumoto-sensei wrote in record time for the campus magazine and even Matsumoto is planning to release a review about the performance in Tokyo Himawari.

Nino is happy to see his senior happy again, his eyes glittering when he talks about their play and his hand linked with Matsumoto's. Their plan is a full success! Ohno is dressed as a girl today – it's one of the days he feels more like a woman – and he's wearing a beautiful new hair pin that he received from Matsumoto the previous evening, as he tells proudly. He also received a pretty cool and manly watch – Ohno teases Matsumoto for trying to find some girlish as well as manly present to prove that he will accept both sides of Ohno, but in fact, he's just immensely happy and proud, gladly bragging about the presents. In the end of their visit, Ohno makes Nino promise to recover quickly, because he and Sho have to come and watch the new kabuki play he's currently working on with TsubakiKabuki.

When the couple left, Sho still stays with his boyfriend and they exchange happy smiles, glad about their friends' happiness. Sho leans to Nino, kissing his cheeks and then suggests to take him up to the hospital's rooftop with the wheel chair to get some fresh air. Nino agrees, and it doesn't take long till they are up there, watching the seemingly endless sky with just a few clouds dancing on the blue horizon and a fresh breeze tickling their noses.

"Keiko came to me this morning," Sho says when the two of them reached the fence and watch the view together, Sho settled down on a bench, Nino beside him, sitting in the wheel chair, his legs covered with a blanket.

"She did?" Nino asks, not so surprised, remembering the promise the girl made.

"Yes. She apologized in tears," the assistant professor continues. "I think she's really sorry, she didn't want us to get hurt."

"I know, she apologized to me too," Nino adds.

Sho turns his head, looking at his boyfriend. "She doesn't remember about her past life, right?"

"Doesn't seem so," the other shakes his head slightly.

"You didn't tell her anything, did you?" Sho asks and again, Nino shakes his head. "Good. I think, it's better if she doesn't know. She will probably blame herself too much. I think she has suffered enough."

"True," Nino agrees. Those are exactly his thoughts. "And I think she learned that hurting others isn't the right way to overcome her own pain."

"I'm sure, she did," the older says and reaches his hand to link it with Nino's. "And I'm still just glad that nothing worse happened. I was worried about you."

"I'm glad too. This time we didn't get separated," Nino says, smiling sincerely, his heart skipping a beat as they intertwine their fingers, firmly.

They both smile and look at each other for a few seconds, in silence, until Sho continues the conversation. "Talking about getting separated… since you made up with your parents, I suppose you won't need to stay at my place any longer?" he lifts an eyebrow.

Nino tilts his head. "Well… actually, there's no need for that any longer, right?"

Sho's smile fades. He presses his boyfriend's hand. "I will miss you. Really."

"I'll miss you too," Nino replies, the thought of leaving Sho's apartment is making him sad.

Then, Sho darts his look in front of him. The slight breeze messes up his hair, making him look incredible cute in Nino's eyes. He can see a small smirk on his lover's lips, and can't help but wonder what the other is up to.

"Listen," Sho then starts. "Aiba told me he got transferred to a new branch of the "LeafLetters" in another part of the city and he's thinking about moving there for a shorter commute to work."

Nino blinks. "Oh really?..."

"Yes, which… basically means that I'm currently searching for a new roommate," the older man continues.

The student lifts his free hand, rubbing his nose. "Are you?"

Sho nods excitedly. "The rent isn't that expensive, you know? The apartment is quite large, we have a small but comfortable bathtub -" at this point, Nino snorts, trying to hold back a laughter but failing - "Furniture is included and it's just a few minutes from university."

"Are you trying to talk me into moving in with you?" the young student smirks.

Sho turns his head slightly, eyeing Nino for his reaction. "Kind of?"

"I'd get my own bedroom?" the younger asks, teasingly.

"Well… I'd say you can turn Aiba's room into your study and… you'll keep sleeping in my bed, as we're used to," Sho clarifies, causing the other to grin.

"Don't you think it's a little too… soon for such a step?" Nino arches an eyebrow, playfully. "I mean we're just together for a few weeks…"

"Well no," Sho objects, immediately. "Theoretically, we're together for several hundred years, if you ask me."

"That's a way to look at it, I admit."

"And you practically lived together with me for the past few weeks anyway, if I might remind you," Sho ads.

"Sounds like a selling point," Nino smiles, pressing his boyfriend's hand.

Finally, Sho fully turns to him, an adorable smile adorning his face. "I'd say, the trials are over and we passed. It worked out well, didn't it?"

"It did."

"So, what do you think? Shall we start living together officially?" he asks, properly.

Nino tilts his head again, averting his eyes and looking at the horizon. "Hm… I don't really know…"

"Come on, Kazu," Sho starts shifting nervously on his spot, looking a bit puzzled when his boyfriend bursts out laughing.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Nino says, conciliating. "So... When can I move in, officially?"

Sho stands up, not letting go of Nino's hand and takes a step in front of him, facing his boyfriend with a wide, happy smile. He reaches his free hand to cup the young man's face and closes his eyes when he leans down, sealing Nino's lips with a tender kiss. Love overwhelms Nino and he reaches his hand up to his boyfriend's neck, pulling him close to deepen their kiss before he breaks it and presses his forehead against Sho's, smiling happily.

They will talk about the details later on, he decides, after all, they had time. They will be together, forever.

Smiling, Nino brings their lips together again.


THE END