Disclaimer: Don't own Hana Kimi or any of the characters there in.

A/N: Ok, so technically this is a little late for this holiday, but I had to post it. I had this idea when I was sitting at work and thinking how much I hate this holiday. Mostly because all my Valentine's Days have sucked for one reason or another. So this spawned and took form. It's my first official try at a Ryoichi x Umeda fic. I hope you enjoy it.

Valentine's Day Special

It was Valentine's Day.

Hokuto Umeda hated Valentine's day. Why? Every year he had to listen to these silly high schoolers whine about how they didn't have girlfriends, or they didn't get any chocolates. Boo-fucking-hoo!, he thought cruelly. It was also inevitable every year that some senseless fool of a student would eat to much chocolate. That idiot would get sick with the stomach ache from hell, and it was Umeda that had to fix him. He should just let the kid die from sugar OD. It'd be one less idiot in the world.

Ok, so normally he wasn't this mean.

Scratch that…

He was always mean. Valentine's day just doubled it. It wasn't just because of the kids though. Nope. He hated Valentine's Day, because he'd never had a good one. Not once. He never got any chocolate. Well except from his mother, but that didn't count. He never had a Valentine, which meant no date for the evening. Every year he hoped it would be different, but it never was. He was constantly disappointed. So far, today was no different than previous holidays. So because of those reasons he'd come to truly loathe this excuse for a holiday. Stupid hallmark holidays. He was convinced he'd never have a good Valentine's Day. So a pox on everyone who liked this shitty day.

As if on cue the kid in the clinic bed with the stomach ache groaned feebly in agony. Yes, suffer, he thought evilly. Misery after all loved company.

He jumped when his phone started ringing on the desk. He snatched up before it woke up his patient. He stared in shock when he saw the name that appeared on the caller I.D. He hurried out of the clinic and closed the door. He glanced both ways down the hall before finally answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"About fucking time. I thought you weren't going to answer," Ryoichi's deep voice greeted him.

"I had a patient. What do you want?" He asked a little snippy with his tone.

There was a pause.

"Are you busy tonight?"

Umeda took the phone away from his ear and stared at it like he'd just heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Answer me." Ryoichi barked gruffly.

"No," Umeda replied slowly. "I don't have any plans."

"Good. I have reservations to this new restaurant called Angelia's. My date bailed on me. I booked months in advance so I'm not giving up this place. You're going with me." Ryoichi explained briefly.

Umeda thought his heart must have stopped. He knew he wasn't breathing. Angelia's was a new Italian restaurant that was supposed the couples place to go for a romantic dinner. There was no way Ryoichi had just asked him to that place. He forced himself to let out the breath he had been holding. "W-what?" He choked out.

"You. Me. 7Pm in front of Angelia's. Don't be late."

"Wait, Ryoichi!"

"No excuses."

"Who is this?" He asked in flustered confusion.

Ryoichi snorted rudely. "It's me. Are you gonna show or not?"

"Yeah," the doctor managed to reply.

"Alright. See you then."

"Hold on!"

"What?"

"What am I supposed to wear? Is this place formal or what?" Umeda asked.

"You're such a girl, Umeda. Dress sexy," Ryoichi said.

Umeda blinked in surprise and stared at the phone again.

"Stop doing that. I know what you're doing. Stop acting like I've lost my mind. And seriously, dress sexy. Bye."

Before Umeda could get another word in Ryoichi had hung up. He flipped his phone closed and leaned back against the clinic door. He was totally shell shocked. He'd have never seen this coming in his life. Ryoichi had just asked him out on a date. Holy fuck! He had to be dreaming! There's no way that asshole suddenly realized how much Umeda meant to him. There had to be another reason. Maybe it was just because the man's date had bailed on him. Or maybe Umeda was the only other available friend he knew to go with him to dinner. Well, whatever the reason he was so freaking happy he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, this day had the possibility to maybe be all it was cracked up to be.

///////////////////

Ryoichi stood outside Angelia's with one hand in his pocket and the other with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked nonchalant and cool when Umeda showed up. The doctor was the first to know it was all just an act. The man was nervous. Even so, he was still beautiful. He was wearing all black as usual. His shirt was a simple, yet well fitting button down, his slacks hugged his hips and thighs, his suit jacket was casually left open, and his shoes were highly polished. The only jewelry he wore was his Osaka class ring and his earrings. He really looked stunning. Umeda swallowed hard, forcing away his lust. He tried not to think how much he'd like to get Ryoichi out of those clothes.

"Hi," he said as he walked up to his long time best friend.

"Hey," Ryoichi replied, eyeing the doctor's clothes. He managed to keep his impassive expression as he assessed Umeda. The first thing he noticed was the lack of Umeda's signature glasses. The doctor wore a v-neck hunter green sweater that made his hair and eyes stand out amazingly. Ryoichi had no idea how Umeda got into those black pants he was wearing. They sensually hugged every curve of the doctor's lower body. He had on a black pea coat that complimented the outfit perfectly. His comfortable pair of black leather loafers didn't ruin the effect at all. He definitely looked fucking sexy. Some of the other customers were eyeing the doctor too. Ryoichi couldn't blame them.

"Does my outfit pass your inspection?" Umeda asked with a quirk of an eyebrow. He ran his hands down his shirt teasingly pretending to smooth out wrinkles.

Ryoichi blinked after watching those hands finally come to a stop. "Yeah. C'mon." He turned away, but not fast enough to miss the knowing look on his friend's face.

Umeda followed Ryoichi inside. He hardly noticed being led to their table. His eyes were focused on his friend's strong shoulders and back as well as the perfect curve of his ass. He blinked when he realized they'd arrived at their table. He sat down slowly trying to cover up his surprise and previous preoccupation. Ryoichi just smiled crookedly at him. Umeda shook his head slightly. This was going to be an interesting dinner.

Neither one really spoke to the other until the waiter arrived. To Umeda's surprise, it was an American guy he knew from a club he frequented. The guy had red hair and ginger brown eyes with a well built body that was leaning towards the stocky side. They had hooked up once or twice, but it had never been anything serious. Just fucking for fucking's sake. It had been fun from what he remembered. Apparently the guy still remembered him too. He introduced himself with a friendly flourish.

"Good evening gentleman. I'm Eric. I'll be your waiter. Can I start you off with a wine selection?" Eric smiled at Umeda. Apparently, he assumed it was the doctor who had initiated this date.

Umeda smiled back in amusement. He saw Ryoichi scowl out of the corner of his eye. Good, let the guy be jealous for once. "Good to see you again, Eric. I trust college is going well for you."

"I'm glad you remember me, Umeda-san. I'm a semester away from graduating. Thank you for asking." Eric replied.

"Well, Eric, this is my best friend, Ryoichi. He invited me out tonight. So it's up to him what kind of wine we'd like for the evening." Umeda gestured over at the darkly handsome man.

Ryoichi looked appeased that the doctor had returned the attention back to where it should be: the host of the date for the evening. Eric bowed and presented him the wine list. Ryoichi perused the list thoughtfully for a moment before choosing an expensive red wine. The American raised one eyebrow in surprised appreciation.

"A perfect selection for the evening. Two glasses or the bottle?" Eric asked.

"The bottle," Ryoichi answered without hesitation.

"I'll bring it out promptly." The American bowed before he turned and left.

Ryoichi glanced across the table at his friend. "Is there any gay guy in this city you haven't fucked?"

Umeda snickered. "That's not exactly dinner conversation, but I'd say the number I haven't is probably less than the number I have."

"Well, I always knew you weren't a prude."

"Life is about living, right? Best part of living-- I think-- is sex," Umeda replied honestly.

"I'd have to agree with that," the other man agreed. It was good to know the doctor had experience having sex with men, because he had no clue. And he'd have to learn if he went through with what he was trying to work himself up too.

Neither one spoke again until after Eric returned with the wine and took their orders for dinner. After that, the conversation flowed a little more easily. The good food and the alcohol helped loosen the tension between them. Soon they were both chuckling over stories from high school and college. Umeda talked about the silly school students he'd had to deal with during the day. Ryoichi found it amusing that Umeda had to deal with lovesick teenagers as part of his job. Somehow, that landed them on a subject that made Umeda cringe.

"That reminds me of that kid that used to follow you around in high school." Ryoichi smiled, sipping at his wine.

"You're talking about Akiha Hara right? He still follows me around," Umeda scowled.

His friend looked shocked. "What?"

"He's a famous photographer now. You've probably seen some of his work and not even known it. Well, anyway somehow he found out I work at Osaka. Ever since he's come around almost every day to bother me. He tries to convince me how much he loves me. It's so irritating," the doctor shook his head. "He wouldn't be so bad if he weren't so insufferably cheerful."

"So you actually like him?" Ryoichi's expression darkened again.

Umeda laughed as he recognized the hidden jealous in the other man's gaze. "Not in the slightest."

"Good. Because if he's anything like he was in high school still, I'd question your sanity."

"So would I."

Conversation moved on to safer territory. The evening hours slipped away unnoticed until they'd been there for three hours. They had killed more than ¾ of the bottle of wine. They were feeling loose and comfortable with each other like they would have been sitting at a bar as usual. Ryoichi finally glanced down at his watch. He looked a bit bemused by the time.

"It's pushing 10 o'clock. You ready to get out of here?" Ryoichi looked up at Umeda.

The doctor shrugged. He wasn't really. He was enjoying himself. He didn't really want the evening to end just yet. He liked the time he spent with Ryoichi, even if it got a little awkward and weird sometimes. "I suppose."

Ryoichi signaled for the waiter to bring the check. Eric walked over a moment later and handed him the leather check folder. He turned to walk away, but Ryoichi stopped him.

"Stay for a moment. I'll be done in a second." The man invited the American.

"Alright. Did you two enjoy you're evening?" Eric asked politely.

"Yes, thank you. You took good care of us," Umeda replied with a charming smile.

"I'm glad you had a Valentine for today. I know how depressed you were about having no one last year." Eric remarked.

"Thanks, Eric. It is nice to have someone to go out to dinner with tonight."

"Yeah, I know how much you usually hate Valentine's Day." Eric laughed.

"It's never been one of my favorite holidays." Umeda agreed.

Ryoichi handed the folder back. "Thank you for the good service."

"You're welcome." Eric bowed. He gave Umeda one last smile. "Well, I hope the rest of this one goes well for you."

"Thank you. Eric. Good luck with your studies." The doctor answered evenly.

"Thank you. Have a good night."

"Good night."

The two got up and went outside. The night had turned a little chilly. Umeda was glad he'd decided to wear a coat. He wasn't looking forward to waiting at the bus stop in the cold though. Ryoichi seemed to read his mind.

"Did you come by bus?" Ryoichi asked.

"Yeah."

"Come on. I'll take you home," Ryoichi said, leading Umeda over to his car.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

There was silence for a few moments as they got buckled in and Ryoichi started driving.

"So what did that guy mean about you hating Valentine's Day? I've never heard you say that." Ryoichi remarked.

"You've never been around me on Valentine's before this year either. I hate this holiday, because I usually end up home alone and I never get chocolate from anyone." Umeda told his friend bluntly.

Ryoichi blinked in surprise. "Oh, I'd never realized."

"There are a lot of things like that you've never realized about me." Umeda muttered quietly.

"What if I wanted too?" Ryoichi asked suddenly.

The doctor looked over in stunned silence.

"I just feel like even though we've hung out together all these years I've never really known a lot about you. And you seem to know everything about me," Ryoichi explained awkwardly.

"I don't know everything," Umeda said. He didn't know how his best friend felt about him. He didn't know why Ryoichi blew him off all the time. He didn't know why Ryoichi wouldn't open up to him after all these years.

The rest of the car ride was in silence. They pulled into the parking lot of Umeda's apartment complex. Umeda started to get out and paused when Ryoichi did too.

"You don't have to come in," the doctor said, a little taken aback.

Ryoichi shrugged. "I wanna walk you to your door. Isn't that what you're supposed to do after dinner together?"

Umeda didn't answer right away. He mulled over the question that had been floating through his mind since Ryoichi first called him. They walked into the building and to the elevator. They didn't speak again until the elevator started going up.

"So was this a date then?" Umeda had to ask. The elevator stopped on his floor.

Ryoichi glanced over as they walked out of the elevator. "If you wanna think of it that way."

Umeda rolled his eyes. "Tsh, that's not an answer. You never had anyone else to go with, did you?"

Ryoichi scowled. "Why do you always have to keep pressing the issue?"

"Because I have to know what this is," Umeda stopped in his tracks. "You've known how I felt about you for a long time. This is the first time you've ever acknowledged it. I need to know why."

Ryoichi stopped a little ahead of him and sighed. He shoved his hands in his pockets before glancing back over his shoulder. "Alright fine. Yes, this was a date. You were the only one I had in mind to take there. And yeah I know how you feel."

"So…why'd you suddenly take me out on a date? On Valentine's Day, no less."

Ryoichi shifted uncomfortably. "Because it's supposed to be romantic."

Umeda felt a slow smile creeping across his face. "You were trying to romance me?"

"Stop grinning at me like that! It was Masato's idea! He told me I need to stop following him around in order to avoid how I feel about you! So I did what he said!" Ryoichi snapped defensively.

Umeda was starting to laugh now. He was so fucking happy he didn't know what else to do. All he could do was laugh as tears started to gather in the corners of his eyes. Ryoichi continued to glare at him. "So you really liked me all this time?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Ryoichi growled.

"Actually no. You didn't," Umeda was suddenly serious. The smile was gone from his face. He stared at his friend's face and waited.

"Oh…" Ryoichi licked his bottom lip nervously. "Well…I like you, Umeda."

Umeda closed his eyes and took a deep breath of relief. It was a start, but he needed so much more than that. He'd waited so long for so much more than that. Now that the moment might finally be here, he didn't want to hear anything but the whole truth. "Is that all?"

Ryoichi looked away briefly. He seemed to be considering something. Finally, he turned to face Umeda. "No," he took a deep breath. He knew the doctor was forcing him to admit what he was so reluctant to even think for so many years. "I love you, Umeda."

The doctor felt like his stomach had flipped over completely. He felt so exhilarated that he was sure his heart was gonna beat out of his chest. He swallowed hard as tears suddenly sprang into his eyes again. "Fuck," he gasped. He was gonna sob right here in the middle of the hallway to his apartment. He whimpered happily when Ryoichi pulled him against his chest in a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around the other man and hugged back hard. He buried his face in Ryoichi's shoulder before taking several deep breaths to calm himself down. He was so overwhelmed by hearing what he'd longed for from the man he loved. He trembled lightly as his emotions got the better of him. He'd never thought he'd hear those words. He had thought that he'd only have boy toys for the rest of his life with no real relationship ever. He had never even believed he'd hear Ryoichi say those words to him so he'd never fantasized what it might be like. He'd only hoped helplessly in the vain desire that someday it would happen.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to say that," Ryoichi murmured against Umeda's hair. Holding his best friend in his arms felt so right. He wondered why he had waited so long to finally give into what he'd been feeling. He'd put his friend through so much pain because of him. "I don't know why you never gave up, but thank God you didn't. Thanks for waiting for me."

Umeda turned his head to look up into Ryoichi's eyes. "You're welcome," he answered simply, because it was all he could think to say at the moment that wasn't incredibly cliché. "I love you," he breathed gently. It was the first time he'd ever said it out loud. It felt so freeing to finally get it out in the open.

Ryoichi dipped his head and paused an inch away from Umeda's lips. "This is really long overdue." He captured the doctor's lips in a heated, lingering kiss. Umeda's body melted against him, pressing every curve and contour of their bodies together. They fit perfectly like they were meant to be that way. Umeda's lips opened willingly under the darkly handsome man's questing tongue. The doctor tasted as spicy as the scent that clung to his skin. Ryoichi suddenly wanted to know what Umeda would smell like with sex mixed in. He broke their kiss and eyed Umeda's apartment door.

"Would you like to come in?" Umeda asked him with a joyful spark in his eyes.

"Yes, I would," Ryoichi replied with a smirk.

The doctor quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. He reached out to take his friend's hand. Ryoichi took his hand and allowed himself be pulled over. Umeda stopped him with a hand to his chest a second before he stepped over the threshold of the door.

"If you walk in you're accepting me as a lover. Is that what you want?" Umeda told him seriously.

Ryoichi paused, considering what the doctor was offering. He found that he was perfectly fine with that. In fact, the idea was suddenly incredibly appealing. "Yeah. It is," he answered sincerely as his eyes wandered over his soon to be lover's body.

"Good," Umeda replied, dragging him in. He kissed Ryoichi roughly as soon as the man's body connected with his. He knocked the door shut as he wound his arms around his friend's neck. Umeda's last rational thought of the night was 'maybe Valentine's Day isn't so bad after all' as the door shut behind them.

The End

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