Disclaimer: Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

Author's Note: Thanks to Winterwing3000 for this prompt. :) If you guys haven't checked out her works yet, please do. You won't be disappointed!

Our Promise

Prompt: Can't say what's goodbye to what is mine (fluff-themed)

Setting: AU. A bit of OOC from Ruka forewarned. Though to be fair, five year olds are hyperactive, right?

His call went straight to her voicemail.

"Hi, this is Ruka. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now, please leave a message – "

With a muffled curse, Akatsuki snapped his phone shut.

"She'll come," Hanabusa said for the umpteenth time. It was slightly disconcerting to see the two of them having a role reversal. He was the one trying to rein in his emotions while his blonde cousin was the mature one trying to keep him calm. "She knows how important this is to you."

"Yeah," Akatsuki breathed out a sigh as he wearily sat down next to his cousin. His back protested as he leaned back. The plastic benches in the airport terminal that they were in were hard, unyielding and unforgiving to his tall frame.

Ruka knows. She always knows.

To spend a year in the United States – it was the chance of a lifetime. Sure, they were all raised with a silver spoon in their mouth. But this was more than just a year-long prepaid study abroad. Akatsuki was going to spend a year studying under the tutelage of last year's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. It was his chance to finally embark on his journey to become a writer, something that Akatsuki had wanted ever since he was little. He, with his calm and pensive persona, had always been a dreamer. It was time for him to start making those dreams happen.

"So, any plans for what you will do when you land?" Hanabusa asked, hoping to distract him.

The redhead's broad shoulders moved up and then down. "The semester doesn't start until next Monday so I'll have a week to settle in and get all the paperwork sorted. But beyond that…" He groaned in frustration as he tried to picture himself going out and seeing the city. What would he do? Where would he even start? "This is why I've never travelled on my own before. I could always rely on you and Ruka to plan our trips."

At the mention of her name, he swallowed and glanced over at the escalators again.

Ruka had been so excited for him when he got the offer. She knew it had always been his dream. Hell, she was the one who prodded him into writing the competition piece in the first place. And when he was too unsure of himself to enter it, she had posted it off behind his back. Then, when he got the offer, she was the first one to congratulate him with pride sparkling in her eyes, even though she knew it would mean temporary separation between the pair of them.

However, the last few days hadn't gone down so well. No matter how much she tried to stay upbeat and cheerful for him, he saw through the cracks. How could he not? They had grown up together. There was nothing about her that he didn't know. And despite her best attempts to hide it, he knew she was struggling with the concept of not being with him for a whole year.

Hanabusa sighed as he followed his cousin's gaze to the terminal entrance. The three of them had grown up together, meaning he knew both his best friends inside out. Though rare, he's seen that look on Akatsuki's face before. The usually calm and collected redhead was clearly not at ease, with traces of agitation bubbling underneath his outward appearance. If Ruka didn't show up soon, Hanabsua wasn't so sure Akatsuki would even go through with this trip.

But as soon as it arose, Hanabusa quickly banished it from his mind. There was no way Ruka would do that to Akatsuki.

"Sorry! Hit a bit of a traffic jam. We thought we weren't going to make it!" A cheery voice rang out through the terminal.

Both boys lifted their heads to the source of the voice to discover Takuma Ichijou waving at them madly as he made his way over. Now that boarding was about to start any minute, the terminal was abuzz with departing passengers and their loved ones. Not that it deterred the ever cheerful blonde as he barged his way through the crowd as if they weren't there, leaving Rima Toya and Senri Shiki to mutter apologies in his wake.

"Hey," Akatsuki greeted as he stood up. "Glad you could make it."

"Here." A man of few words, Shiki took Akatsuki's hand and dropped something into it. Looking down, Akatsuki discovered a box of pocky sticks.

"For the flight," Rima chimed in helpfully.

Akatsuki chuckled as he stowed it away inside his jacket. "Thanks, guys."

From those two, a box of Pocky really meant a lot.

"So where's Ruka?" Ichijou asked as he looked around. "Did she duck out for the lady's room? Or something to eat?" He trailed off when he realized the downcast look on his friend's face and the murderous glare that Hanabusa was giving him. "Oh."

The group fell into a state of awkward silence.

"You know what," Akatsuki bent down to retrieve his duffel bag. "I'm going to go outside and try calling her again."

"But you can't," Hanabusa protested. "They are going to start calling passengers to board any minute now."

Akatsuki could only shake his head determinedly as he pulled out his cell phone. But just as he was about to hit speed-dial, his phone started crooning out "So Long" by Randy Newman.

Without a thought, Akatsuki flipped his phone open while shooting a glare over to his cousin.

"Akatsuki?" Her voice, small and familiar, rang clear through the phone.

Relief flooded through his body, making him feel momentarily light-headed. With his phone still attached to his ear, he glanced around the terminal, trying to find her face in the crowd of strangers.

"I just wanted to apologize," Ruka continued talking quietly.

"It's okay," he replied quickly, still glancing around, looking for her. "I know it's been tough the last couple of days but sweetheart, where are you –"

"I can't," she interrupted forcefully. Stopping herself mid-sentence, Akatsuki could hear Ruka take a small shallow breath as she continued talking. "I can't see you right now."

Icy water quickly doused into his veins. "Ruka?"

"I just can't," her small steady voice quickly derailed into short shallow gasps. "I can't say goodbye. I promised. It was our promise."

"Ruka." He repeated, gentleness seeping into his tone as fear slowly faded. She wasn't leaving him. That was a good sign.

"Remember when we first met?" She asked. "The little play date at Hanabusa's house?"

He could feel his lips turn up into a smile. "You made quite an impression." She still did, in fact.

For that, he received an unlady-like snort. "No thanks to Hanabusa." Ruka grumbled. "He almost ruined my chances 10 years before we even started going out."

For that, she received a heartfelt chuckle.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Flight QF135 is now ready for boarding. We are now welcoming all first and business class passengers to come to the boarding desk –"

"Akatsuki," Hanabusa warned as he handed over Akatsuki's duffel bag and boarding pass.

Glancing down at it and thinking about the girl at the other end of the phone line, Akatsuki offered to Ruka. "You know what –"

"Oh don't you dare!" Ruka interrupted him before he could even start. "You are going to board that flight and go to America and follow your dreams. I don't want to be the one who held you back. But I can't say goodbye. I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Ruka," he started talking only to be met with the repeated sound of the dial tone. Snapping his phone shut, he sighed as he turned to face his concerned friends.

"It's okay." He reassured them.

They didn't look convinced but didn't push, knowing it wasn't their place to do so.

"Of course it is!" Ichijou exclaimed as he stepped forward to pat the taller guy on the back. "It's you and Ruka. If this crazy blonde cousin of yours couldn't stop you two from getting together, then nothing would be able to tear you guys apart."

Behind him, Rima and Shiki nodded their heads in agreement. When Hanabusa tried to voice his protests for being painted as the evil villain, Rima discretely jabbed him in the stomach.

"Yeah," Akatsuki murmured as he glanced down at his phone again.

But he couldn't help wishing that Ruka's last words to him weren't an apology.

Throughout the flight, Akatsuki had nothing but his memories and his tattered notebook to keep him company. He wasn't in the mood for any of the flight entertainment on the screen in front of him and despite repeated offers by the pretty blonde flight attendant, he didn't think alcohol was going to drown out the thoughts in his mind. Ruka's words kept replaying over and over again.

I can't say goodbye. I promised. It was our promise.

Deep in thought, Akatsuki flipped open to a blank page and started scribbling down his thoughts as they came.

Their first play date at Hanabusa's house, she had said. He remembered that day well.

It wasn't his first visit there. Being cousins and born within months of each other, they were always at each other's house. He distinctively remembered referring back to that period of their childhood as their parents' excuse of taking shifts in looking after the pair of them. It should have been like any other day. But from the moment he stepped into his cousin's room, he knew something was wrong.

Because Hanabusa was not reading a university textbook. Or disassembling an electronic item. Or playing around with his chemistry set.

Although, he stared at Hanabusa as he ran around the room, Akatsuki wasn't sure exactly what he was doing.

"You sure you don't want something to drink?" The flight attendant was back, smiling and batting her baby blue eyes down at him. "We have a huge selection on board." If she thought it made her look more appealing to him, it didn't.

For the second time within 24 hours, Akatsuki wished he wasn't alone. Ichijou would have happily leapt in, catch the flight attendant's attention and flirt with her for the rest of the flight. Hanabusa would have looked up, found the flight attendant's mind wanting, and proceed to reduce her into confusion with some long complicated rant about current research in the sciences. Ruka would have (and had done so on numerous occasions in the past) scared the woman into leaving with her famous ice-queen glare or, her new tactic more recently, wrapped her arms around his waist and curled into his side to mark her territory.

But none of them were here. So the best Akatsuki could do was politely shake his head, return his attention back to the pages in front of him and fervently hope that this was the last time she'll bother him.

That day, all those years ago, it turned out that Hanabusa was in the process of hiding his items. Despite his incredibly high IQ, the five-year-old had ridiculously bad organizational skills and his method of "hiding his possessions" consisted of him chucking random items into the cupboard, or study desk drawers or wardrobe – whichever storage space was situated the closest really. When he questioned Hanabusa's method of madness, Akatsuki received a quick run-down of the impending doom.

"She is coming," was the first thing out of Hanabusa's mouth. As if those three words were suffice in explanation. When Akatsuki remained visibly confused, Hanabusa heaved a sigh as he continued explaining as he chucked more of his items into the cupboard behind him. "I don't know why Mum started inviting her to visit. She's small, loud and a girl!" That last bit was said with the typical scowl of disgust of a five-year old boy.

"What's more," Hanabusa continued as he moved over to his desk and started rummaging through the pile of pens scattered across its surface. Picking up several, he pulled open a drawer and dropped them in there. "She keeps taking my stuff! Th-That's stealing!" He pouted at that thought. "I can't argue with her. Or fight against her. Because Mum always, always just laughs and takes her side. It's not fair. So," he said triumphantly as he stepped away from his desk. "I'm resorting to hiding stuff."

"What stuff?"

"The red stuff," was the answer. Apparently, it was really obvious.

The two boys stared at each other from across the room before a look of horror dawned on the blonde's face.

"You're red."

"Dinner, sir," The blonde flight attendant was back, jolting Akatsuki out of his thoughts. Sighing, he pushed his notebook onto one side as the flight attendant began setting up his dinner for him. He wasn't really hungry but figured he might as well eat. The flight was long and he had a layover in New York before he catches a second flight into Seattle.

"Thanks," he murmured as he took the hot towel off the tray to wipe his hands with.

Visibly disappointed, the flight attendant moved on to serve the next row of passengers. But Akatsuki didn't notice. By the time his hands were clean and he had taken the first bite of the steamed trout, his mind had already wandered back into the past.

The object of Hanabusa's fear turned out to a little girl.

Even looking at her with the inexperienced eyes of a five year old, Akatsuki found her pretty. Dressed in a cream jumper and yellow petticoat, she was as pretty as a picture. She was all hazel eyes and chestnut curls. She stood by the open doorway and let her eyes wander all over the room. When her wandering eyes landed on him, her smile, which was already threatening to take over her entire face, grew even bigger.

"Hi!" She chirped as she bounded over to where he stood.

"Uh," Akatsuki darted a glanced over at Hanabusa, who was still standing frozen by his desk. "Hi."

Her smile never wavered. "I'm Ruka."

It was impossible not to smile back at her. "Akatsuki."

Before Akatsuki could figure out how she did it, Ruka had stepped forward and put her small hand in his. It was strange though. He didn't feel uncomfortable like he did when his parents made him play with other children and they latched onto his hand. This felt, he thought about it for a moment, nice.

That small movement seemed to jolt Hanabusa out of the frozen state he was in.

"Hey," he protested as he marched over. "He's my friend. Not yours."

Like a light bulb switching off at the press of a button, Ruka's sunny smile disappeared. She frowned as she turned her head to Hanabusa. "Mine."

"He's my cousin." From past experience, Akatsuki knew Hanabusa could be stubborn if he wanted to.

"So? He can be my friend now." So was Ruka, it would seem.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Deciding to step in before it escalated any further, Akatsuki interrupted the fight. "I can have more than one friend. Can't I?" Taking advantage of his height (even at that age), he stared down at the two of them until they both nodded glumly in agreement. Though he had just met Ruka, Akatsuki had a feeling that this wasn't the first time Hanabusa and her clashed and that their previous fights weren't pretty. "Anyway, why don't we go down to the kitchen? I'm sure there will be some cakes and tea there for us."

At the prospect of satisfying his sweet tooth, Hanabusa brightened up again and led the way. Every now and then, he would cast suspicious eyes behind him at the pair of them, as if he suspected that Ruka was going to steal Akatsuki away from him. It was only after the tenth head check from Hanabusa that Akatsuki realised his hand was still captured by Ruka's.

"Uh," Akatsuki gave their joint hands a little tug. "You going to let go soon?" It was nice, he decided, holding hands with her. But he had only met the girl two minutes ago. He wasn't sure what to make of her yet.

"Nope," she beamed up at him as she practically had to jog to keep up with his long strides and Hanabusa's eager steps towards the kitchen. "You're my friend now. I'm not letting go."

"Is that a promise?" He couldn't help smiling back at her. Ruka was a strange little girl but she seemed harmless.

"Yup." She nodded. "I never let go of what's mine. And you're mine. Not Hanabusa's." She added the last bit under her breath.

He squeezed her hand in mild reproach. "What makes me yours?" He wanted to know.

"You're red." As if it was obvious.

With dinner finished and cleared away, Akatsuki reopened his notebook and dove back into writing.

It was that afternoon that he discovered truly how serious Ruka's promise was. True to her words, Ruka didn't let go of him all throughout that afternoon, much to Hanabusa's annoyance and his own discomfort. It certainly made drinking tea and eating cakes rather difficult as she had captured his dominant right hand.

And at the end of the play date, when their parents had come to collect them, she was still refusing to let go of his hand. She was scared that if she let go, he might not want to be hers anymore and they would have to say goodbye.

"Don't think of it as goodbye, sweetheart," her mother tried to convince her. "You two are still friends. You can see each other any day you want. Now, say bye to Aka –" Her mother winced at the accidental slip of the tongue.

"But I don't to say goodbye." Ruka, who had been sunny all afternoon, now looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"So we won't." Akatsuki offered, his hand still tucked securely in hers.

"We won't say goodbye?" Ruka repeated slowly, her eyes wet from tears yet to be spilt.

Akatsuki nodded.

"Promise?"

"It's a promise."

Abruptly jerking into the present moment, Akatsuki pressed his pen down onto the page and paused. Was that what she meant? She was keeping their promise. If she meant what he thinks she meant, then…

Without even finishing that thought, Akatsuki unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up from his seat. Glancing around the small cabin of the first class, he could only see a couple of businessmen on their laptops or asleep. Of course, Ruka wouldn't make it this easy.

He strode down the aisle and through the partition into business class. It was slightly more crowded but still no sign of the brunette. Economy class was pure chaos and even then, Akatsuki didn't manage to find her. He went back and double checked. Twice.

Dumbfounded, Akatsuki returned back to his seat. Did he misinterpret Ruka's words? He was so sure that her not saying goodbye meant she was here. With him.

His right hand felt strangely bereft of something.

Despite not finding Ruka on the flight with him, Akatsuki still couldn't shake off the conviction that Ruka had followed him across the Atlantic. With eight hours stuck in JFK, he took to roaming the large busy airport. He searched for her in every face he saw but to no avail. Even on the flight to Seattle, he searched the cabin for her with no luck. By nightfall and in Seattle, he was close to admitting defeat.

It was only when he exited Sea-Tac Airport and climbed into a cab that he allowed himself to think that perhaps the reason he clung so fiercely to the belief that she had followed him was because he wanted her to be here with him. She wasn't the only one who made that promise that day, fifteen years ago.

Sure, it had taken him another ten years to realize Ruka was no longer the strange little girl he first met. She had grown taller, though she was still a head shorter than his towering 1.88m. Her brown curls, which used to shape her heart-shaped face, had lengthened to cascade down to her lower back. Her body had … well… even now, Akatsuki flushed as he thought back to the day he first realized Ruka had grown curves.

But there were something that didn't change. Her eyes still dominated her face and captured his attention. And though she had perfected her ice-queen persona that she showed the outside world, her smile was still sunny when she was looking only at him. The pair of them still shared everything with each other. It was them against the world. That feeling never faded and never changed.

It took another couple of months for him to pluck up the courage to ask her out and despite much persuasion, bribery and eventually blackmail from Hanabusa for him to think twice, Akatsuki hadn't looked back once. On some level, Akatsuki had known from the first day that when Ruka said she wasn't letting go of what was hers, she was being completely and utterly serious.

Outside the window, the beautiful scenery of Seattle flew by unnoticed by the pensive redhead.

He should have asked her to come with him, Akatsuki thought as he slid the key in and entered into the apartment that he would be calling home for the next year. Why was it only now, when facing the prospect of 12 months without her, that he realized he needed her beside him?

Leaving his suitcase in the living room, he made his way towards the bedroom. It was late. He'll unpack and settle in tomorrow morning.

He froze.

Because sitting on the bed was the person who had been haunting his waking thoughts ever since he left Heathrow.

He couldn't be more in love with her than right at this moment.

"Hi," she smiled up nervously at him. It wasn't the bright beaming smile that she usually reserved for him but in his eyes, it still shone.

"You – you're here." Akatsuki said slowly, as if he was still in disbelief. He took a step into the room. Then another. And another. Before long, he was standing in front of her, gazing down at her with indecipherable feelings swirling behind his eyes. "You're actually here with me."

"Yes." Ruka bit her lips. "I'm sorry. I know this is important to you and I want you to succeed and strike it on your own, but I couldn't stand not being with you. I'm so –"

The rest of her words were lost as Akatsuki knelt down and pulled her into his arms. Blindly, their lips found each other, clashed and then clung to one another as both of them tried to convey their feelings in that kiss. Relief. Gratefulness. And above all, love. It was the two of them again. Just them. Akatsuki and Ruka. Ruka and Akatsuki.

The way it should be.

When breathing became necessary, Akatsuki reluctantly drew back and stared at her. "How?"

Still breathless and looking thoroughly kissed, Ruka flushed underneath his scrutiny. "I was the one who booked your flight, remember? I took a later flight but had a shorter layover."

Akatsuki chuckled as he settled down on the bed next to her. Unwilling to let go of her just yet but exhausted from two days of travel, he laid down onto the bed and drew her down with him. "I love you." He said simply as he tucked her into his side.

"Good." There was satisfaction in her voice as she snuggled in. "Because I'm not letting you go."

"Is that a promise?"

"Our promise." Ruka agreed before a yawn escaped. "I love you, you know."

"Good." Akatsuki pressed a light kiss to the crown of her head. He closed his eyes. He was still wearing the clothes he wore on the plane. He should really get up and change. Plus, it wasn't proper for them to share a bedroom yet. Chivalry dictated that he take the couch. But this was so comfortable. And Ruka was here. Akatsuki couldn't quite get himself to move.

Just before his mind was lulled into sleep, a final thought came to him. "I guess I better marry you then."

Half-asleep herself, Ruka hummed in agreeable assent.

Author's Note: You know you've left a fandom for too long when you had to refer back to the manga for Ichijou's name. :P Sorry for the delay guys.

And well, Wing, hope you liked this one. When I first saw the prompt, all I could think of were sad or bittersweet drabbles. In my head, the word "goodbye" has so many sad connotations to it. Then I saw that you wanted fluff. Took me a few days to turn around my way of thinking regarding the prompt but I really like how this turned out. Thanks for the prompt.

Coming up (This one's a doozy from Lushard):

Words: Rain. Drawn. Light.

Prompt: Post-83 multi-chapter depiction of a bittersweet relationship with lots of angst.