Author's Note: I was extremely disappointed in the lack of romantic conclusion in Dragon Zakura between Yajima Yuusuke and Mizuno Naomi (played by Yamashita Tomohisa/YamaP and Nagasawa Masami respectively). Also between Ogata Hideki (Koike Teppei) and Kobayashi Maki (Saeko), but we'll see if I write for them? I'm disappointed that there's no category or anything for Dragon Zakura and I can't find any communities for it. If you have found the fandom let me know?! Anywho, enjoy~

Japanese stuff: Todai= Tokyo University
sensei= teacher
omae= you, but it's kind of a rude way to speak to someone
Also last names come first in Japanese. But if you saw this drama you probably know all this

Naomi was jolted from her thoughts as soon as she caught Yuusuke from the corner of her eye. He leaned against the railing next to her silently, watching the water flow under the bridge as if searching for what kept her attention there.

"What you doing here so late? It's dangerous for a girl to be on these streets at night," he slurred—sober, but cool. Her eyes ran over his weird hairstyle: long on the right, shaved on the left, bangs in his eyes in a semi-mohawk that looked like he lost a fight with a razor. Yuusuke was always trying to prove something.

"What are you doing out here, Yuu-kun?" she countered, half-smile never leaving her face. It rarely did.

"Nothin'… You?"

"Nothin'."

There was the familiar brief silence between her evasive answers and his stumbling questions.

"You need to stop wanderin' around at night, it's not safe. Anyway, don't you have studying to do?"

Her smile widened briefly. "Are you angry at me?"

"I'm not angry," he said with a furrowed brow.

"You sound angry," she teased. It was an old routine.

"I said I'm not angry! I was worried."

"About my mother? She'll be OK."

"About you." He flipped over so his back was against the railing. Midnight traffic was more fascinating?

"About me? I know the way home, I'm fine." She smiled forcefully. "Everything's fine."

She dared to meet his eyes, and there was her downfall. One by one, the tears forced themselves out, despite her attempts to calm down, don't let him see you like this…

"Boo…"

The pet name was too much. She couldn't hold anything back from him. This time, she didn't have to reach for his hand. Yuusuke's warm, strong arms encircled her and hugged her close to his chest. His chin rested on the top of her head while she cried.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she mumbled. "I was supposed to go to Todai with…with the rest of Sakuragi-sensei's class…"

"Nao-boo, only Yoshino and Okuno went to Todai. Kobayashi and Ogata are still tryin' to get in, but… it's not over…" Yuusuke struggled for more comforting words, but she knew he wasn't that sort of guy.

"I-I'm sorry," Naomi said abruptly, and pulled away. "You don't need to… I mean, you have a girlfriend…"

He pulled the same frown she'd seen him stare down a physics problem with. "Not anymore."

Eyes wide, she repeated, "Not anymore? You and Yoshino—"

He looked away and scratched the back of his neck. "We haven't exactly been on the same page for a while, and now that she realized she can't convince me to go to Todai with her… and she already decided she was gonna go either way…"

The shock hit her harder than she thought. After all, Yoshino's jealousy hadn't been misdirected. Now that she was out of the picture, could Naomi finally… No, that wouldn't be…

Looking up she saw he had been watching her for a while as her thoughts raced. She saw he was trying to read her mind, the way his eyes bored into her. What answer did he expect?

"I see…" was all she could come up with. It was a safe answer.

Yuusuke pressed his lips together and shifted his weight. "So… You can't use that excuse anymore."

"What excuse?"

"That I have a girlfriend. That excuse."

"Oh." Did he expect her to throw herself back onto him? They were childhood friends, there was no way things would happen so qui—

"I love you."

He looked her in the eyes with an intensity she thought he reserved for textbooks and punching bags. She had never even seen him look at Yoshino that way…maybe once, in the early days, but now… now he was looking at her…

…She scrambled for a response, anything but the obvious…

"You gonna say something?"

"Do you have to say you like that? It's always omae, omae, can't you be nicer for once…?"

"Me be nicer? A guy says 'I love you' and that's the answer you give, how nice is that?" he retorted.

"What do you want me to say?"

"That you love me back, of course!"

"It's not that simple! There—"

"Of course it's that simple!" He raised his voice, but he didn't seem to be angry at her, necessarily. "I'm not proposing, all you gotta do is answer the question!"

"There was no question."

"Do you love me?"

She stumbled, "Y-Yes…"

"Then that's settled." No real change came over his posture or expression, but Naomi knew something was different about him. Was he standing a little taller, looking at her more warmly, was his expression a little less reserved than usual? She looked up at him searchingly, speechless.

"I'll walk you home," he offered, finding anything to look at besides her face.

"W-wait! Nothing's been settled at all!"

His penetrating gaze returned. "Are you saying you changed your mind?"

"No," she pouted, "but you make decisions too hastily."

"Hastily?" he repeated in disbelief. "I… But I've liked you for years…"

Years, he says… She said softly, "You never said anything."

Yuusuke scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "I didn't know how…"

Naomi sighed quietly, and he continued, "You liked me too, right?"

She nodded silently, inching ever-so-slightly closer to him. Now that they had confessed their feelings—surprisingly easily, in fact—things were different, right? They could no longer be the easygoing, teasing childhood friends anymore. This was new territory. What was she supposed to do?

"Don't make that expression," he scolded her with a disapproving frown. "It's not like anything's changed."

"What do you mean? We were childhood friends," she began, but he cut her off.

"I don't want anything to change," he said firmly. "That's why I began to like you…and all…"

"Mm, I understand," she answered, not understanding anything but resigning herself to wait and see. If in a year she could go from slacking dummy to Todai caliber student, she could certainly handle transitioning from Yuu-kun's close childhood friend to his… his…

"Aren't you cold?" He took her by the wrist. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

They walked in silence for a while; his hand had slid from her wrist to her hand, which she clasped firmly. He even slowed down to walk beside her. The night was chilly to begin with, but a breeze picked up as they strolled under dim streetlamps and hollow moonlight. Last week's snow froze on the curbs.

The unlit Yuuko sign welcomed them warmly. Naomi invited him in, expecting him to stubbornly decline and brave the cold home, but to her surprise, he accepted the offer and kicked off his shoes. She missed seeing his characteristically sideways shoes in the well around the door.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty…?" Her sentence trailed off as once again his arms enclosed her from behind; she felt his chin at her shoulder. Without the padded jackets between them, he was so warm and comforting. Naomi wondered how she had survived without him so close for so long, how she had survived him giving this warmth to another. She regretted her years of silence now, now that she knew what she had been missing.

"Yuu-kun, we don't have to stand in the doorway you know," she teased gently, sliding out of his embrace until only their fingertips touched, luring him further into the small restaurant. It sold only tofu and drinks now that her mother was in the hospital; she only had so much time and could only do so much. Todai was not far out of reach.

Naomi glanced at her watch out of curiosity. "Ehh?" she groaned, "It's already this late? Yuu-kun, your mom will be worried about you."

"It's fine," he said simply.

"We both have studying to do in the morning," she continued. "I have to go to sleep."

His eyes met hers with that dark soulful calm that made her heart falter. "I'll go home, then."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry for making you walk all this way with me. You'll freeze walking back."

"It's fine." In a swift motion he drew near her, hesitated for a split second, and kissed her gently on the lips. Yuusuke pulled away, his mouth turned up at the corners in a rare smile. "I'm warm on the inside."

Naomi couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face. "One for the road, then?"

Again their lips met. Again Yuusuke was the first to pull away.

"One more and I'll never leave," he said in a low voice.

"You sound like you enjoyed that too much." She smiled warmly, easily.

"You can't enjoy that too much," he disagreed.

"Sounds to me like you did."

"I said I didn't," Yuusuke countered, but he didn't even put up a sulky façade. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Technically, it is tomorrow," she corrected.

He slid his shoes back on. "Goodnight." With some hesitation, he left, and with significant reluctance, she watched him go. A year ago she never thought Tokyo University would be so near her grasp, never mind proud, stubborn, clumsy, kind Yajima Yuusuke. His leather jacket and bleached hair shone under the flickering streetlights.