Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me, they belong to TV-Asahi and Toei.

Note: 1st in a set of 20 fics revolving around Sakurai Yuuto.

Bitter to Sweet
by Estirose
c 2008

She'd made the coffee too bitter the first time he'd met her, and he'd commented on it. She'd protested that he hadn't taken the time to enjoy the rich flavor of the coffee, to look past the bitterness and enjoy the taste.

And so he'd done that, enjoyed it.

The coffee was bitter, true, but Airi knew her stuff and her coffee beans. She could coax flavor out of them that he'd never tasted, and taught him to appreciate the same. And somewhere along there, he'd talked to her, and she'd talked to him, and suddenly he was dating Nogami Airi.

He'd had plenty of competition, but Airi loved the stars as well, so the two of them had spent plenty of time together. He fostered that interest even more, helped her find books, fell in love with her again. She was a delightful woman with an equally delightful little brother.

Sakurai had wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and found that she wanted the same. So, they made plans to marry, plans to make a family.

It was too bad that it all went wrong.