Once again, Tsukasa found himself on a plane back to Japan from New York, with a velvet box in his pocket. Tsukushi sat beside him with her head on his shoulder, snoring loudly and drooling a little. He had been afraid to let her sleep the first few nights, fearing she would slip away again, and never wake up. But he was glad she was sleeping soundly just then, even though she was being terribly un-cute. She had been having nightmares this past week, ones that woke both of them up in the middle of the night. She would probably have them for a while, and he swore to be there for each of them, to comfort her through the night.

He was happy to be flying home. New York had never done anything but cause him trouble. As soon as the doctor said Tsukushi was strong enough to travel, Tsukasa insisted they take one of Rui's planes out of there the next day. But the week had passed quickly, because in spite of the dreams that plagued Tsukushi during the night, she was her old self during the day. Her presence did wonders to improve Tsukasa's mood. The change in him was immediate, like wind blowing away storm clouds. He felt lighter than air and was amazed at how readily he smiled. And in those precious hours where they were alone together, he was reminded – time and again – how pointless the past 4 years had been.

"What's that?"

Tsukasa turned to find Tsukushi staring up at him with curious eyes. "What's what?"

"That!" She pointed toward his hand.

He looked down. The velvet box. Without knowing it, he had been twirling it in his hand while he was thinking. He turned red. "Nothing!" he said, jamming it back in his pocket. I'm such an idiot!

"No, really, what is it?" She tugged gently on his arm.

"It's nothing! Leave me alone!" He pulled his arm as if to wrench it away from her, but he rather liked the feel of her there, and let her keep holding on to his sleeve.

"Fine…" she said, sticking her tongue out at him. Her tone of voice said she wasn't really letting it go yet.

Tsukasa smiled and picked up a magazine. "By the way, you were snoring earlier."

"I was not!"

"Sure you were. I bet Rui heard you."

She shoved him a little but laughed. "You're horrible."

"I know."

There was silence for a bit. Tsukushi got an orange juice from the flight attendant.

"Hey, Tsukasa?" she said, sipping thoughtfully.

"Hmm?"

"So… you disowned your family, right?"

He nodded. "Everybody but Onee-chan." He wasn't sure how an adult disowns his parents and not his sister, but he liked how dramatic it sounded. He'd ask Rui's lawyers about it sometime.

"Then, where are you going to live?"

Tsukasa looked up from the magazine. "I hadn't really thought about it," he lied.

"Well…" she began shyly, "if you want, you could stay with me. Susumu will be living at school most of the time, and the rent isn't very much."

He smiled at her. "Really?"

She blushed, nodding.

"Sure, until I can get my own place... Then you could move in with me."

Tsukushi laughed. "Oh, come on, Tsukasa. You don't even have a job yet."

"I saved some money."

She laughed even harder. She was even gasping for breath. "That's too funny!"

"What? It's true! I've got enough for a year!"

"He embezzled!" Rui put in from behind them.

Tsukasa threw his magazine at him. "I did not embezzle! I worked for the Doumyouji Group for 2 years. I deserve a little of what I earned."

"How much did you save?" Tsukushi asked, wiping her eyes.

"Only about a million."

"Wow! That's great!" she said. "A million yen? That'll be a good start."

"Yen?" Tsukasa scoffed. "Who could live off a million yen for a year? I meant dollars."

Tsukushi sprayed orange juice in his face. "A million dollars?"

He gave her a withering look as he wiped at his face with a napkin. "That's what I said, isn't it?"

She shook him by the shoulders. "A million dollars? Are you kidding me? Wait, how much is that in yen?"

Rui came up over the backs of their seats and whispered in her ear, laughing.

"What?!" Tsukushi screeched. "No way!"

"We'll have to rough it for a while," Tsukasa said absently.

"Rough it? Like you know what that means…" Tsukushi muttered.

"But after a year, I should be well on my way to showing up the old hag."

"How're you gonna do that?" she asked.

"I'm going to start up my own company. Those mergers I made while I worked for the Doumyouji Group will fall apart once the CEOs find out I won't be inheriting the company. They'll come to me, because they trust me and never wanted to make a deal with my parents in the first place." He grinned. "I'll be rich again in no time!"

"Geez, you're still so arrogant! And you have a million dollars. You still seem pretty rich to me."

He poked her on the nose and laughed. "That's because you're a commoner."

Tsukushi gave a dramatic sigh. "And here I thought you changed…"

"Only a little at a time."

"So, what's in here?"

She was holding the velvet box.

"What the…?" Tsukasa exclaimed, patting his pockets. "How'd you get that? Are you a pocket picker?"

"It's 'pickpocket,' dummy. And a woman's secrets are her own." She shook the box. "It's for me, right? Can I open it?"

Tsukasa rolled his eyes, but smiled. A few years ago, she would have refused any gift from him. He liked the change. He'd spoil her rotten, if she let him. "Might as well. Go on."

Tsukushi opened the box. She gasped.

His heartbeat thumped loudly in his ears. "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful…" she said in a hushed tone. She took the ring gently out of the box, as if holding something sacred, and held it up to the light. It glittered with impossible brightness.

"Marry me, Tsukushi," he whispered in her ear, slipping the ring onto her finger. "Marry me, and I swear I'll make you happy."

"I know you will," she whispered back. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with love and tears. "I'll do my best to make you happy too." She pulled him by the collar into a deep kiss, her hands reaching up to play in his hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed with contentment.

Tsukasa pulled away from her suddenly. "So, does this mean yes?"

Tsukushi laughed. "Yes, stupid! Of course it means yes!"

They kissed again – Rui, Soujirou, and Akira looking on and cheering – as they flew over the ocean toward the Land of the Rising Sun.

End


A/N: Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it. Since you're here, how about submitting a review? I love knowing what people think of my writing. Thank you!

(FYI - 1,000,000 yen is about $8955.)