A/N: A birthday present for the lovely Ayu, happy birthday, sweetie! I hope there will be lots of those to come, and that we'll celebrate at least one of them in person, so that I can give you some material present instead of my shitty writing. But for now, please enjoy ~^u^)~

Through thick and thin

She couldn't believe it. The buzzer beater still rang in her ears, the last play still before her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She released the breath that caught in her throat during the last few seconds, now only the sweet lightheadedness of victory humming in her head. She watched the boys hug, their grinning faces relaxed and tears of happiness glistened in her eyes. They did it. They won.

She didn't remember moving. She didn't remember running. But she remembered laughing and crying and jumping right into Hyuuga's open arms. She remembered how he stunk of sweat, she remembered how her hands slipped on his wet arms when she tried to find support, she remembered how she laughed at all of this, with tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.

And she remembered his eyes looking at her with so much love she could get lost in them, and she remembered the feeling of his lips on her own, the roar of the crowd, the cheers of their teammates, the wild beating of her heart. She remembered. And she doubted she could ever forget.

She screamed in pain. Her hands clawed at the sheets around her in a futile effort to relieve the pain. She screamed again.

'Marry me, Riko.'

It wasn't romantic. Not at all. She stared at her boyfriend, half angry, half amused. They were coming back from the movies when they stumbled upon a wedding dress shop. Riko stopped before the front window, drawn in by one of the dresses. It was really beautiful, simple but holding a grace that could make anyone wearing it seem like royalty. Somehow, it reminded her of the one her mother was wearing in the wedding pictures kept safely in one of her father's old albums.

And then Junpei opened his mouth. Riko stared at him, wondering why in the world did he choose a time like this, but then she stopped. Was there really a time set for those things? Did it really matter to her? With a light smile she noticed, it didn't.

By now Junpei must have realized what he had blurted out and was struggling to keep calm. Feeling some sadistic glee, Riko smirked.

'Fine,' she said, although her heart beat wildly in her chest and blood rushed to her cheeks even though she tried to stop it. 'But first you need to get my dad's permission.'

She laughed out loud when Junpei flinched and then swallowed hard. Still laughing, she took him by the arm and tugged down the street, chancing one last look at the dress. Yes, she will marry him.

It was all too much. The pain, the strain on her nerves, the smell, the blood thumping in her ears. She choked on a sob. It was too much…

'Hurry it up, Junpei, will you? We don't have all day.'

She drank another sip of her morning coffee, pulling on her jacket and throwing the keys into her bag, all at the same time. They were in the middle of moving to a new apartment and today, today was the day. The last one in this place, the first one in the new one. Heart beating in nervous excitement, she closed the door after them one last time.

The car was quiet, neither of them feeling like talking, only the soft buzz of the engine disturbing the silence. Their furniture was already in the apartment, most of their things were. And now, they were too.

Riko opened the door, but before she could step inside, she was tugged back and in a blink of an eye she was picked up by her husband, who stepped over the threshold holding her safely in his arms. She blinked up at him in confusion.

'There's this custom in America to carry your wife over the doorstep,' Junpei explained with a somewhat embarrassed grin, as he carefully set her down.

She couldn't help a small chuckle. 'Was Kagami telling you stories again?'

'He might have,' he grinned at her more freely and she only shook her head with a smile.

They both looked around again, and even if they have seen the place before, everything was still new, and fresh, and unblemished. Junpei stepped closer to her, his arms circling around her waist as he hugged her from behind. She touched one of the walls with gentle fingers.

'Our new home.'

Her body was weak, but the frustration of hours of screaming gave her the strength to go on. Just a bit more… She breathed in deep, falling back on the pillow, as the pain dulled for a brief moment.

Riko hated puking. It was raw, animalistic hatred, something she only experienced in extreme situations and happened maybe three times in her whole life. One was at her mother's funeral, where she hated everyone – except her father – and everything. Another was in high school when Seirin played a match with Kirisaki Daichi and she watched helplessly from the bench as her team was breaking. And now was another.

She crawled back to her feet, flushing the toilet, and wobbled to the sink. Looking in the mirror was out of question, she wasn't in the mood. She brushed her teeth, feeling as if she would gag again anytime. With slow, grim steps she returned to bed, curling in on herself under the covers.

A warm arm draped around her shoulders and she turned around to lean into the inviting warmth of her husband's body.

'How are you feeling?' he asked with concern, but she was too tired to care.

'Like shit,' she burrowed her face deeper in his chest. 'When all of this is over, I'm going to kick your ass so bad, just you wait.'

He only kissed the top of her head, and before she could even say anything about how all of this was his fault but she was the one to bear the consequences, she was deep asleep, the sickness wearing her down.

Sweat tickled down her back, her hair was glued to her face in an uncomfortable mess, but she didn't care. Not now. She cried out again, tears of effort rolling down her cheeks.

Happiness. The only thing she felt now was happiness. All the pain, all the exhaustion, all the fear, it all washed away as soon as she heard the shrill cry cut like a knife through the stifling air of the room. She breathed in deeper, closing her eyes and feeling her throat close as tears of relief and pure joy stung behind her eyelids.

'Mrs Hyuuga,' the nurse smiled down at her when she opened her eyes. 'Congratulations, you have a boy.'

A small bundle was placed in her arms, and Riko couldn't tear her eyes off of it. So small, so light, so fragile, she thought.

'Hello, Tora,' she said, the love suddenly attacking all her senses choked her voice down to a whisper.

She laughed quietly, her eyes brightening as she looked up and saw Junpei walking through the door. Cradling the newborn to her chest, she felt a tear roll down her cheek, but she only smiled wider.

'Look, Junpei,' he whispered excitedly. 'We have a son.'