Fly

"I don't know why I was so afraid... all the time
Memories seemed to bother me... my whole life"

Megumi Yamamoto didn't think of herself as a coward. So, she wouldn't call it running away. Just…avoiding a situation and putting it off to a later date. Yahiro Saiga was just going to have to deal with it. The young, aristocratic (and somewhat sadistic to those who annoy him) man was the main reason she was sitting in the closet.

The closet had grown along with the amount of clothes, due to the force of Akira and Sakura. Eventually, Megumi had learned to accept that after Sakura's impromptu redecorating, her closet was almost as big as her bedroom. Surrounded by stacks of shoe boxes, and piles of unopened hat bins, Megumi sighed, and dropped her head onto her knees, curling into a ball. Her brown wavy locks hung loosely down her back as she tried to hold back tears that were welling in her chocolate eyes.

She's harbored feelings for the Saiga family heir for some time now. At first she'd just set out to distract Yahiro, so he wouldn't try to screw up Akira's new relationship with Tadashi. Eventually the feelings that she had faked came to truth. She was in love with the salmon haired young man. He always pretended to be the villain in everyone else's lives. No one but Kei seemed to realize that he was just acting, putting the happiness of others before his own. But Megumi knew.

On their first "date" Yahiro had revealed that he wouldn't do anything to hurt Akira, so he wouldn't interfere with her and Tadashi. A relieved Megumi had continued to pursue him afterwards, trying to make him happy again.

Yahiro Saiga detested the word coward. It meant running away, afraid of something, wimpy, etc. He hated people like that, stories with cowards in them, and the idea itself. Unfortunately, that was a problem at the moment. He didn't consider himself a jealous man; he in fact disliked the concept even more than cowardice. But when he'd seen Megumi getting hit on by the hall handsome heir to a new emerging company at one of Finn's parties, he'd seen red. The man had no right to talk to Megumi! Jealousy was a common and disgusting emotion. He'd been eaten with it. Afterwards, he'd hurt Megumi, saying that she wasn't worth his time; he was still in love with Akira. But as soon as he'd said the words, he'd felt horrible. When the crystal tears had streamed down Megumi's porcelain cheeks, he'd felt as if a knife had been plunged into his heart.

Sadly, the painful emotions he was now experiencing were forcing him to examine his feelings for Megumi Yamamoto. He adored her pouting face. His brain went fuzzy and his heart melted every time she bestowed him with the gift of one of her startlingly gorgeous smiles. His knees went weak when she sang, plucking the strings in his heart. Her laugh was contagious. Everything about her was amazing. Yahiro drowned in the onslaught of emotions for a moment. I love her…the statement scared him.

This discovery was what led to him sitting outside the Yamamoto's residence debating whether or not to get out. He'd been deliberating on how to approach Megumi, how to word his apology. He was trembling; afraid she'd not reciprocate his feelings, worried that she'd finally given up on him. What he was most terrified of, was the possibility that she'd not give him a second chance. Finally reaching a decision, he braced himself and stepped out of his ungodly expensive limo. Breathing deeply, he stepped towards the door, shaking slightly. This was it.

"Megumi-chan!" Her brother's voice startled her out of her reverie. She would wait a few more minutes before coming out of the closet. Jun would realize that she'd been crying, and he and Ryuu would murder Yahiro. "Megumi! There's someone at the door for you!"

She heard a muttering noise.

"Sorry. I guess she left without my realizing it. I can call her cell if you'd like."

The muttering came again, masked by the hard walls of her room, and after a few minutes the door was closed shut. As soon as she'd ascertained that her room was indeed empty, Megumi grabbed a red coat and yanked her waves into two pigtails, shoving a rosy hairband on to keep her bangs from her face. When she was done, she tiptoed down the steps, carefully listening for Jun or Ryuu. When she'd reached the back door, she slipped out, and trotted toward the park.

Yahiro was getting desperate. Megumi wasn't answering any texts or calls, she wasn't at home. Where the hell is she?! He reined in his emotions, and nearly fell off a bench when he saw a familiar shape stepping onto the ledge that Megumi had first stood upon. That was the place that he'd first heard her sing. Curious, he edged carefully up, trying not to startle whoever it was. When he saw who it was, he had to clutch the steel railing for support.

Megumi's hair was dancing on the wind as she spread her arms out, leaning against the railing with her eyes closed, enjoying the refreshing breeze. Her headache was slowly ebbing away.

"What are you doing? You could fall!" The all too familiar voice made her cringe internally, and outwardly. Seeing the stiffening of her shoulders, Yahiro winced. This wasn't going to be easy. She turned towards him, and her smile made his knees weak. His breath caught in his throat. Forcing a grin, she replied to him.

"I'm flying."

"What?" Yahiro asked in bewilderment, pulling her a few steps away from the railing. "Where's your whiteboard idiot? I thought you were saving your voice!" Running a hand through his already mussed salmon hair, he took a deep breath.

"Is something the matter Yahiro-san?" The fact that the honorific was back bothered him more than it should. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the fact that she'd avoided his question about the whiteboard.

"Look Megumi…" Yahiro tried to find a smooth way to phrase it. He couldn't think of any. Then again, those chocolate eyes were making it hard to think at all. "I-I'm sorry!" He stuttered out, cursing himself mentally for his obvious nervousness.

Cheeks flushing, Megumi's eyes searched the ground. Trying to process his apology, she nodded.

"It's alright."

"No its not! I only said those horrible things because I was jealous!" He spluttered, mortified that he'd just said that out loud. "I was jealous of that boy, afraid that he'd steal your heart, worried he'd make you talk all the time and destroy your voice. I was angry, and annoyed, scared and jealous." He heaved a deep sigh and waited for her response.

"Why were you jealous?" Megumi held her breath, hardly daring to hope that maybe, just maybe her thoughts were right.

"Because…because I love you damn it!" Yahiro took her shoulders and shook her slightly. "How could you believe what I said?" He hissed. "After everything you've done for me, I'd thought I was obvious! I'm in love with you, happy?"

Megumi let out her breath in a large gush. "Are you serious?"

Yahiro's eyes narrowed into slits. "Do I look like I'm joking to you?"

Gulping, Megumi shook her head. "You really love me?" He nodded, inwardly begging her to say the same thing back to him.

"Well I gets that is a good thing." She stated calmly. Then, to the everlasting surprise of the Saiga heir, she launched herself into his arms. "I love you too. I always have, and always will."

With that settled, Yahiro bent down, and gave her a tender kiss. The new couple sat on a bench, watching the orange and red meld with yellow and purple as the sun set.

Megumi gave a giggle. Yahiro looked towards her curiously.

"What's so funny?"

"I can fly now."

"I used to carry the weight of the world
And now all I wanna do is spread my wings and fly
I used to carry the weight of the world
and now all I wanna do is spread my wings and fly"

~Weight of the world by Chantal Kreviazuk