A/N: This is my birthday fic for Sakuno! Please Enjoy.

Snow.

That was the first word that registered in Sakuno's mind when she looked up at the cloudy sky. Silver flakes drifted onto her outreached hand, decorating her palm. Pulling her tan trench coat tighter, she began walking away from the Seigaku High campus.

Ryoma yawned as he walked into class. He took his normal seat near the window when he noticed something unusual. Not spotting the normal auburn pigtails he was about to stand up when his sensei walked in. The unfortunate timing frustrated Ryoma, but there was nothing he could do. He didn't worry, though – he safely assumed that she'd come by late.

Tears fell down Sakuno's eyes. She was tired. Tired of life, tired of everything. Although today was her special day, her heart hurt so much because of who she could not spend it with. Even though the news of Ryuzaki Sumire's passing was not recent, it was like a fresh wound to Sakuno every morning she woke up. She could not tell anyone, though; she wouldn't want to be sent to a mental facility for the nights where she would wake up screaming her grandmother's name.

Turning a left in destination of the park, she continued walking.

Class was dismissed. Yet she was still not here.

Ryoma took his hat out of his locker as he nonchalantly walked out the school building with girls calling his name… Mattaku, these people. They've been together since freshman year in the middle school, and here they were as freshmen in high school, so why can't they leave him alone?

He asked the Osakada girl if she had seen Ryuzaki, but of course she didn't know – their classes had been separated once they entered high school. Their bond was still tight, though.

Asking his old teammates would've been ideal had they not went their separate ways. Ever since their coach had died, it seems that they wanted to get away. Ryoma couldn't blame them, though. The news had hit him as hard as it hit them.

Leaving the grounds, he noticed something rare that day. It seems that snowflakes were gracefully dancing around. Seeing this occur made him instinctively know where the pigtailed hair girl had gone.

Why?

Sakuno wanted to know the answer. She had great friends, she had a great life. So why did this have to happen to her of all people?

Sitting on a swing in the desolate area, she covered her face with her icy hands. She might as well stay here to celebrate… the snowflakes brought warmth to her.

He ran as fast as he could. She was alone, he's known, but the snowflakes had prodded a reminder to him.

It was her birthday today.

Ryoma arrived at the empty park to see a huddled girl on the frozen swings. He walked over to her and said her name.

"Ryuzaki."

She looked up, he observed, in disheartened surprise. The only red on her face was from the chilly air. So he was right, after all.

"Nani, Echizen-san?"

That was another thing. Not only had her personality, her way of addressing him, too, had changed. No more Ryoma-kun and he missed that. Ryoma felt his heart beating faster in his chest as he leaned down to give her a tender kiss. The softness of her lips surprised him as he felt tears flowing down her cheeks. This action made him lessen the gap between the two as he put his arms around her. Pulling away, he said one thing with a soft voice:

"You were never alone."

That statement dissolved the emptiness within her.

Sakuno had never felt so happy in the period of her loneliness. She felt him continue their kiss, to which her eyes widened. They slowly closed as she got into the gentle rhythm. While she was still in her embrace, she thought of something that made her respond to his act of love.

The first snowfall of the season… My birthday… two important things that I could spend with Ryoma-kun.

I hope you enjoyed it - please review!

~AnimeObsessedGirl~