Prompt: Where it is Lin's birthday and Mai has a surprise for him. As prompted by westerngoddess.

A/N: I... actually really love this one. I kind of want to turn it into a whole story.

Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.

There was a hesitant knock on Lin's apartment door. He wasn't sure who it could be. Upon opening the door, he was surprised to see the young woman before him.

"Taniyama-san?" Lin said in disbelief.

"Lin-san! Longtime no see," Mai greeted with a smile.

"Likewise," Lin returned in greeting. "I can't believe you're back in Japan. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I just finished up some research at Cambridge and…" Mai broke off mid-sentence at his look of bewilderment. "Didn't Mori-san tell you?"

"No," he replied. "I haven't heard from her in a month. Just the guys from the lab."

"Well, I guess she likes surprises," Mai smiled apologetically. " —Surprise! Did I surprise you?"

"I was surprised," Lin confirmed. "I still am. I didn't think you'd be back for at least six months."

"Well… here I am," Mai cheerfully announced, briefly lifting her hands in a shrug. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, please, come in," Lin said, stepping aside for her. "It's good to see you. When did you get in?"

Mai stepped by him into the apartment.

"Last night," she said, turning to look at him as he closed the door. "It was really late or else I would have called."

"No, it's fine," he calmly reassured. "How long are you staying?"

"Just the weekend," she replied, "I didn't want to miss today."

"The eleventh?" Lin frowned. "What's happening today?"

Mai looked at him in shock. "Don't you know what month it is?"

"It's January, of course," Lin remarked. "I'm not so consumed by my work that I lose track of what month it is."

"And the day?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"January… 11th," he stated slowly, trying to figure out what she was getting at.

"January 11th," she nodded.

Lin remained silent. After several moments, when the light of realization still failed to reach his eyes, Mai gave up, sighing in defeat.

"Have you forgotten your own birthday?" she finally asked.

"My birthday!" he exclaimed. "You took a 16-hour flight to Japan for my birthday?"

Mai smiled thinly. "Would you rather I didn't?"

"No! I'm glad you're here," he quickly assured her. "But… there's nothing exciting going on today."

Mai lightly shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter, I just wanted to be with you."

"I… don't know what to say," Lin admitted. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was actually here.

"How about a hug then?" Mai asked happily.

Lin couldn't help smiling as he looked at her. She was full of hope and innocence. He hadn't seen the cheerful girl in over a year.

"Of course," he nodded, moving to embrace her. "You can have as many as you want."

"Just this one for now," Mai said with a sigh as she melted into his arms.

Lin held her to him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"I've missed you so much," he confessed.

"I know," Mai whispered. "I've missed you, too. But it's only a few more years."

"Sometimes I think I might go crazy with missing you," he admitted, refusing to release his hold.

"That isn't like you, though," Mai pointed out, happy to remain close. "Besides, we've waited this long already, we can wait a little longer."

Lin looked down at her.

"And you'll marry me at the end of this?" he asked seriously.

"If that's still what you want," she agreed, looking up to meet his eyes.

"It is," Lin confirmed, maintaining eye contact. "Though I won't hold you to a promise you made when you were seventeen."

"You don't think I can wait, do you?" Mai asked somewhat sadly.

"That's not it," Lin insisted. "I just know we agreed we wouldn't stop each other from seeing other people… if someone came along."

"And has someone come along?" Mai asked, worried for the answer.

"No," Lin immediately responded, "there could never be anyone else."

"And I told you I feel the same," she reminded him. "Can't you just believe me?"

"Feelings change sometimes," he reasoned.

Mai hid her face against his chest.

"Why do you have to act so ambivalent," she mumbled.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

Mai looked up at him, pressing her chin to his chest.

"You say you'll wait, you ask me if I'll wait, and then you insist we don't wait if someone else comes along."

"Because I want us to wait for each other," Lin confessed, "but I know you're young. I don't want to hold you to any promises and have you end up regretting this."

Mai sighed dropping her arms from around his waist. She backed up to put some distance between them.

"Don't be upset," Lin gently implored, instantly missing her presence against him. "We only have the weekend."

"I'm not upset," Mai reassured him as she pulled a box from her coat pocket. "I just wanted to give you your present."

"I thought seeing you was my present," Lin admitted.

"It is," she granted, handing him a simple flat box, "but this is, too."

Lin took the box from her and held it in his hands. Looking down at it, he saw it was brown and undecorated. There were no ribbons or note and the lid easily slid off. Inside were two parallel red cords tied into a set of intricate interlocking knots. He carefully placed the lid beneath the box so he could hold them both in one hand. Using his free hand, he shakily lifted the cords from the box.

"Mai..." Lin whispered as he looked up. "Do you know what this means?"

"I do," Mai confirmed, her jittery nerves causing her hands to shake.

"And you want me to have it?" he asked, his voice wavering.

Mai clasped her hands in front of her to keep them steady.

"I know it's simple," she admitted, "and maybe it's not as meaningful as some things, but I made it to remind you that no matter how long I'm away, no matter how much time or space separates us, my feelings won't change."

"Mai.." Lin spoke in quiet reverence, "what could mean more than this? Nothing could mean more than this."

"So, you're saying you like it?" she questioned.

"I'm saying…" he trailed off, trying to find what he wanted to say. "There are no words to express how I feel. Simple 'I love you's' will never do."

"You'll wait for me, then?" she asked earnestly. "And trust that I'll wait for you?"

"When you ask me if I'll wait, all I can say is there is nothing in this life or the next that could tear my soul from yours," Lin pledged. "Three years, ten years, one hundred years, there's no amount of time that could diminish what I feel for you. And if you tell me you're of the same mind, then I'll trust you implicitly."

"That's more than I could ever ask for," Mai choked out, deeply moved by his words.

Lin quickly embraced her. He gently swayed her back and forth in a comforting gesture.

"Please don't cry," he whispered. "I never want to make you cry."

"Then stop being so damn charming," Mai laughed into his shirt.

"It's a rare occurrence, I assure you," he replied with humor in his voice.

"Don't I know it," Mai laughed. "Maybe you should try harder."

"It's too late," Lin deadpanned, "you already promised yourself to me."

"Jerk," she muttered.

"But you still love me, right?" he asked, pulling slightly back.

"I wouldn't have given you a true love knot if I didn't," Mai confirmed.

"Mm," he hummed, "that's good."

"And why's that?" Mai asked expectantly.

"Because I'm certain I love you as well."

Notes:

True Love Knot: Though there are many variations of the true love knot (including among sailors and their wives), in China this knot has an ancient history and very deep meaning. Because of its unique characteristic of being two knots joined together, it has often been used as the symbol of love, having the meaning of being together forever. Knots in general hold very significant meanings among the Chinese.

Miscellaneous: Mai is a college student at Cambridge. She's working as a research member at the Pratt Lab in the Fieldwork division with Mori Madoka and some other unnamed member. Lin has to (perhaps by choice) remain in Japan with Naru.