I am soooo back.

Wow. This is my ninth chapter for this story, and the longest one as well. That broke my record for Chapter Six... I think, if I recall correctly.

I would like to give a shoutout to Akitsuki Akira-chan. She described exactly what I had always felt for these two. Yes, I think about them even in my sleep. Yes, I was so obsessed with their pairing that I couldn't help but think of a happily-ever-after for them. She practically bulls-eyed me with her review! Haha. But thank you, Akira-chan. Seriously. You and Pat, who took the time to leave a review, had made me happy.

And so I'll leave you with this chapter. And I hope you enjoy it.


Last minute things needed:

Wedding gifts

Ring of the bride (can't lose it, you'll be dead if you dare try)

Wedding toast (ugh, why the speech? Why do I have to make the speech?)


Taichi resisted the urge to curse out loud as he stared at the man standing in front of his door. He sometimes really couldn't help but wonder if someone out there really happened to hate him with all their guts. Why else would he be bothered by the one man he was willing to bet his entire condo not to have to deal with again?

Not because his pride was acting up once again, but because he knew that he wasn't ready to face the one man who had broken his –and Chihaya's- heart.

"I'm not going to ask how you knew where I live." He began without any preamble, and Arata couldn't resist the urge to smile, despite of the thick tension that was sitting between them like a big, freaking elephant.

"I asked Chihaya."

How on earth could she think of even giving a personal information out to…

…to…

Wataya Arata?

"Of course. She wouldn't hesitate." He muttered, still not making any move to invite him in.

Arata was looking at him with a slightly amused expression on his face. "So… now that your former friend is here, aren't you even going to invite him in?"

He snorted. As much as the feeling of thorough dislike was boiling hot in his chest, Taichi had to admit that the feeling hadn't gone beyond that. "Why should he? He hadn't even acted like a proper friend before, why waste the effort?" Amber hues met the sapphire ones as he muttered the dagger-like words. "Why should he let the man who broke the heart of the woman he had loved his entire life inside his home, after what he did?"

"Because he was here to be a friend." Arata responded shortly, making his eyes widen in surprise. "Because he was here to be a friend again. To correct every stinking mistake he had ever made, his entire life, to ask for forgiveness for the hurt he had selfishly inflicted to the people who had been everything to him."

He froze, his ears heating up and all of a sudden, his eyes beginning to moisten up for some unknown reason. It was a few more minutes that the two men stared at each other, as if sizing each other up, eyes not withdrawing from each other's.

And then Taichi moved aside wordlessly, making no move or gesture suggesting him to go inside as he should.

Arata's smile was watery, and he raised the paper bag he was holding. "I brought some homemade sake. You want to try it?"

Taichi stared at him, unwilling to turn him down despite of the dislike he could feel in his chest. "Not too much. I have a rehearsal dinner to attend."


Then


Chihaya sat on the swing situated off the porch of their home, as Arata stood beside her, their eyes both staring off into the distance, momentarily distracted into each of their meditations as they faced each other once again after the disastrous would-be marriage a year ago.

"… So. What brings the former Karuta Meijin in the home of Ayase Chihaya?" She began, voice bleak with exhaustion, but otherwise free of any indications of anger and hurt. Really, it felt as if she was still talking to her friend, the friend she had always looked up to and admired from afar, the friend who had given her karuta as a gift.

And the ex-fiancé who had taken it away from her.

That was what had been hurting her.

"I would like to give you this." He muttered, pulling out an envelope from his suit jacket and handing it to her.

Chihaya looked up from gazing mindlessly on the ground beneath her feet, and saw the envelope being held out to her. She looked at it, then to him, as if asking her confirmation, and wordlessly, gingerly took it from him.

She could tell that the paper had quality. Just the smooth, satin-like, thick heavy paper told her that this was important, and that it was something which all the effort and time had been spent on that not reading it would be a shame.

She recognized the writing in front, the kanji technique being so familiar to her, the names which had fueled her drive to one day become the Queen and beat the man standing in front of her now, and she nearly dropped it like a hot potato, a gasp escaping her lips.

Bride: Wakamiya Shinobu

Groom: Wataya Arata

She wondered why her reaction had been something like that. She shouldn't be so surprised if he finally found the woman meant to be with him, and that he was once again ready to marry. He still deserved it, sarcasm aside.

"So… you're engaged." She muttered, her tone serious but quite light. "Omedeto, Arata."

Arata glanced at her, a teasing smile making it's way across his lips. "Do you mean that?" He asked playfully, as if hinting at something else which made her roll her eyes.

She managed to glare at him. "What do you think of me, Wataya Arata?"

His sapphire eyes turned serious, his eyes radiating warmth and fondness as they looked upon her. "A very good friend, Chihaya. Always one of the most important persons in my life."

"I am?" Chihaya couldn't help but ask sarcastically as she turned to glance at the tall man who, until a year ago, was the person she had always cherished and spent her energy thinking about. "Hard to believe when you suddenly decided to cut off all relations with me."

He blanched. "Chihaya-"

She ignored his attempt to calm her down. "What are you doing here, Wataya Arata?" She repeated the question from earlier, this time in a deathly calm and serious voice.

Chihaya flinched when he suddenly whirled around and knelt in front of her, taking her hands into his as she stubbornly stared off into the distance, not willing to meet his eyes as her own began to water.

"Chihaya." He coaxed gently, willing her to meet his eyes.

She refused to do so, her eyes still off somewhere behind him.

"Chihaya, please. Look at me."

Unwillingly, she focused her auburn irises on him.

Arata took a deep breath, and spoke in a quiet, uncertain tone. "Chihaya, I am here to ask for your forgiveness."

She was staring at him, unable to stop the tears forming in her eyes, but she remained silent, just looking at him.

Arata's eyes were watery as well, and she knew it was not a trick of the light. He was also in the verge of tears. "I know it's not enough for me to say I'm sorry. It would never be enough for me to just apologize, -because the hurt I've caused you wasn't something that could be so easily apologized for." He murmured, looking down to her hands which he held in his.

"Damn right that was." She muttered in response, also looking down to their hands, and rubbing them together gingerly while still in Arata's grasp.

"Chihaya…"

"Whatever happened to us, Arata?" She continued, her tone sounding confused, and, somehow, still hurt. "I never understood why you had to leave like that… sure, you told me I didn't deserve you. That I don't love you. But how was that possible when I was just…"

Arata was staring at her straight in the eye. "You didn't love me the way I loved you, Chihaya."

"That's it, that's what had confused me." She said, and her tone conveyed just that. "Are you telling me I never loved you?"

"I'm telling you that you've been in love with someone else all this time."

Her dark eyes widened. "W-What?"

A vein popped in Arata's temple, and the smooth edges that had always characterized him for her was suddenly not so smooth. Suddenly he didn't seem so… impassionate. "I hadn't really been the right one for you, Chihaya. All this time I had known that. And yet, the fool that I was, I forced myself to stay with you then, thinking that in time you would look at me the same way I had always looked at you. But no. That was a mistake I had foolishly committed, even when I already knew it was wrong."

"If you're trying to apologize, Arata, you sure as well shot down any chance of me forgiving you." She snapped, not liking the idea of him once again bringing up the pain.

Perhaps that was what was really wrong with her to begin with. Perhaps, the reason why she still felt that little prick of hurt whenever she recalled the memories, despite of her knowing in herself that she had already gotten over it, was that she hadn't really understood Arata even back then, adding to that the fact that she had grown averse to karuta because she couldn't touch a card, as it had been too painful then to even do so.

Arata sighed, this time, the frustration even more evident already in his voice. "Don't tell me that you still haven't realized it? After a year you still hadn't seen it?" He suddenly lost his cool when he saw her expression. "Chihaya! How long were you planning to make him endure? How long were you planning to make Taichi wait?"

She felt the defensiveness work it's way into her bones. "What right do you think you still have to berate me like that after what you did, mister?" She couldn't help but snap harshly at him, her tone and voice unrelenting on him. And then she froze once it sank into her brain what he had just said. "… Wait. Did… Did you know?" She turned to him, dark eyes wide with startlement. It was obvious that she hadn't expected Arata to be aware of what was happening between her and Taichi.

"I obviously don't have the right, but seriously? I had never thought you were this slow, Chihaya." Arata said exasperatedly. Whatever serious mood that had been encircling them earlier was obviously gone with all the frustration that replaced it. "And yes, Chihaya, I knew. I was aware of how Taichi felt for you all this time. Only someone without half a brain, eyes on his head, or incredibly dense would not see it. And unfortunately, you fit the last category." He responded without any sense of remorse at all, his exasperation getting the better of him.

"Is that why you decided to call the wedding off?" She demanded, her tone getting angrier by the minute. "That's why you broke my heart? Because you knew of how he felt for me all this time?"

"No, Chihaya. I called everything off because I was the wrong man for you, and you were so obviously in love with him." He said exasperatedly, which made her flinch.

"I… I'm not even sure of how I felt for him, and there you go saying that I love him?" Her teeth grounded together, and she clenched her teeth at how she couldn't feel any vehement denial deep down inside her.

"It's possible to deny everything to the point that it becomes insanity." He shot back none-too-gently, and then smirked. "But you're denying it, so I guess you're getting there. Denial is the first sign of love, after all. Or as they say."

"I'm not denying anything." She gritted out irritatingly, crossing her arms over her chest to make a point.

"Liars go to hell, Chihaya."

"I am not lying. I don't have to prove anything to you." Chihaya snapped, unable to stop herself from being all snappy. "Weren't we supposed to be talking about forgiveness and apologies and all that?"

Arata sighed once again, as if he had been asked to work overtime on a holiday. "I was trying to apologize, but I can't even do it right because you… you… are so hopeless."

"Excuse me?" She asked vehemently, all her hackles raised as if prepared for a fight.

He shook his head, but gripped her hands in his more tightly than before. "Chihaya please. Let me apologize right by allowing yourself, Chihaya, to believe me, and to admit that you only ever looked at me as a friend."

"But I-"

Arata's gaze on her made her quiet down and listen. "You know, this one line has always been one thing that my grandfather reminded me."

She looked down to him, listening closely.

"Whenever you're cheating on your heart, you always hurt your feelings." He continued, watching her digest everything in as she averted her gaze slowly from his. "Whenever you lie to yourself, you undoubtedly cause yourself injuries."

Chihaya could feel her eyes watering again. "I… I am not… denying anything."

"Maybe, maybe not. But you're lying, Chihaya. Honestly? You have never been a good liar, you know. We could always read past that."

She shook her head, her tears dropping once again, absentmindedly noting to herself that the two men she considered as two of the most important people in her life kept on making her cry the whole day. "I… I would never." She insisted in a shaking voice, trying to wipe her tears in vain.

He shook his head. "Chihaya please. Stop it. You know you love him, just as how much he does you. You're unwilling to admit it to yourself because you were afraid that I was right."

"Why would I be afraid then?" She challenged, still in a watery voice. "Perhaps you know me more than I do myself. Care to explain it to me?"

Arata looked at her with a wistful, almost pained expression. "You didn't want to admit it to yourself because you have spent most of your energy believing and hoping that you will face me in karuta one day. Unfortunately, you had mistaken those feelings as those of love. Perhaps it is, but it was nothing more than the love of a friend." He began explaining, lifting a hand and wiping her tears from her eyes which had made it to her cheeks. "I have always been just a goal for you, Chihaya. A dream."

"You are." She said shortly, and he couldn't resist the urge to let a small smile curve his lips.

"Yes, I am. But Taichi… Taichi is your reality, Chihaya. Your anchor in the real world. The one keeping your feet on the ground." He took a deep breath, and said, almost in a whisper, "The man who will make you truly happy, beyond anything."

Her tears halted, and she felt herself freeze, a tingling sensation shooting past her head into her toes.

Her anchor.

She had always thought Taichi as her anchor. Earlier she had admitted it to herself. Though it somehow felt wrong to compare them, she had to admit, Arata was right.

Arata was her dream and goal. He was the reason why she had dreamed to be the Queen in the first place. He was why she had forced herself to perfect her technique, practice her swings, why she had spent so much energy in karuta despite of countless people telling her that there were better things she should spend her time on.

He was also why she and Taichi had co-founded the Mizusawa karuta club together.

But…

Taichi was the one who had guided her every stinking step of the way.

Taichi had been her sole support, her rock, if she was allowed to describe him like that. He was her conscience, her confidante, her friend. Whereas Arata had always been something like a fantasy, an unattainable dream to her, Taichi had been… yes, her reminder of the real world.

Her reality.

He had never left her side. Most of the time she had found herself missing Arata. Even when they were together, -she realized, just now, despite of Arata being reunited with them, with her, way back their college years, she felt as if he was still missing. As if she was still two or three steps behind him.

"W-What were you expecting me to do then?" She asked in a confused, lost voice.

Arata stared at her. "I don't know. Maybe open your eyes to the truth?"

They both fell into an unsure silence.

Her mind which was racing through all the memories earlier slowed all of a sudden to a sluggish crawl. She suddenly felt the exhaustion more acutely from earlier, as if all of it had finally managed to catch up to her.

"I'm not sure if I'm prepared to accept it now," She began in an unsure voice. "You have a point, Arata, but this time… I want to know what it is that I really feel for him. I don't want to repeat the same mistake I did with you… before. I don't want to continue hurting him, and I don't want to hurt him once again."

Arata sighed in frustration once again. It was not the response he liked to hear from her, but he could make do with it. If he had to go through hell and back just to help her realize things and everything fall into it's proper place then he would do it.

"Do what you think you must. And for your sakes, I hope it will not be too late."


Now


They both stared in front of them, their gazes not meeting each other's but were both lost into nothingness. Honestly, they were both absorbed in their own meditations, especially Taichi, whose glass was nearly empty without even noticing it.

"Arata, you big, freaking bastard." He finally spoke afterwards, shaking his head and suddenly draining his near-empty cup without any care in the world and grimacing when he felt the liquid graze his throat. "Is it really necessary to force it into her? She can think for herself."

Arata suddenly snorted, something which had really sounded strange for a quiet man like him. "I wasn't forcing her. If anything she should have realized it already. I've given her up, because deep down, if unconsciously, I knew she was in love with you, and I was just an obstacle that had blinded her into it. I mean… it's been… so long." He finished lamely, staring into the transparent liquid in his glass. "Chihaya's been avoiding it long enough."

"Then you should have let her avoid it and let her be ready to realize it." Taichi snapped, unwilling to have his heart once again almost broken like yesterday.

His sapphire eyes glinted dangerously at him. "And what? Make you wait for another… what, three years? Five? Or six? There's no sense dilly-dallying with something that she already knew. One way or another she loves you, so why make yourselves suffer for that long?"

Taichi stared at him, a humorless smile curling his lips. "You're doing this because you think once you brought us together you will be forgiven. Am I right?"

The dark-haired man returned his stare, his face unreadable, but Taichi knew him well enough to see the sadness reflecting in his eyes. He knew he had hit a nerve.

"No. I'm doing this because I want you both to be happy."

"Screw happiness. If Chihaya isn't willing to be with me then I have no choice but to let her have her way." Taichi snarled, and took the bottle of sake to pour himself some of it.

Arata grabbed the bottle before the liquid could overflow. "Slow down, you idiot. You're getting yourself drunk."

"You're the one who brought this with you, megane baka."

"I thought you have a rehearsal dinner to attend."

The brunette ignored him. "It's a rehearsal dinner. I think I know myself well enough not to get myself drunk." He muttered, eyeing the other man warily over his glass with a hint of frustration on his tone.

"And you knew yourself well enough to still be acting like the coward you were."Arata lost all friendliness all of a sudden and snapped the response.

"Oh really? A coward huh?" Taichi looked up into the ceiling above him, once again dropping his head into the edge of his couch's backrest. "You were claiming all this time that she was in love with me, and then you decided to propose a year ago, despite of you 'knowing' what was going on with her. What would you call that? Wouldn't you think that's pot calling kettle black?'"

His tone sounded calm enough, but Arata felt the dagger-like words stab him somewhere in the gut.

"That… is true." Arata agreed silently, knowing how much of a fool he had been years ago. "I was an idiot, and I don't want you to be the same as me. It's enough that one of us is an idiot; don't try to be the same as me."

Taichi laughed a humorless laugh. "That's the problem. I have tried so hard to be like you for so long that I don't know what I really should do anymore."

Arata stopped, suddenly unable to believe his ears. "What?"

He didn't know what made him say it, admit it out loud, but he knew that somehow, someway, the alcohol was starting to affect him already.

"I had this delusion that if I tried to be like you Chihaya will see me the way I see her, you know." His eyes were once again beginning to moist. "After all, you have always been the epitome of a karuta God to her. I wasn't like you who could be so confident. I wasn't like you who could do even the impossible. I've told you that I was never more than anything to her than a jack of all trades. That had always been true, no matter which way you look into it." He said in a quiet tone, as he felt Arata's utter amazement at what he was hearing from him.

He glanced over to the dark-haired man. "Don't act so surprised. For someone who has always been so sensitive, you should have known that."

Arata was shaking his head. "But how could you want that? I was so messed up, over my grandfather, over Chihaya, over our friendship… I mean I would understand if you would hate to be like me." The then-Meijin said, truly confused.

"That is what makes us human beings wasn't it?" Taichi responded, still in a silent voice. "We've always wanted the things that has always been out of our reach."

Arata stared at him, trying to read his expression. "Probably. Perhaps, that was why I have always wanted to be like you as well."

He let out a disbelieving snort. "No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did in fact, Taichi." Arata said so seriously that Taichi had to look at him, as if wondering if he had sprouted antlers or tentacles all of a sudden. "While you may always have admired my confidence, I have always felt envious of you. You thought that I had Chihaya's attention without trying? That's not exactly true. During the time we were together… she had never failed to wonder how you were doing, always bringing you up in all the things we've talked about. I thought it was because you guys have always been so close. But more and more did I realize… it was because you owned her attention and affection all this time. She just hadn't realized it earlier."

Taichi's eyebrow twitched. "… And… you never said anything? Never asked her to stop that habit of hers?" It was his turn to stare in wonder at the dark-haired man.

The then-Meijin shook his head. "… No." He turned to gaze out of the window, unwilling to meet the brunette's gaze. "It was so deeply etched on her, -her thoughts of you. Who am I to take it away from her?"

Taichi's gaze went blank. "That's… I really don't know what to say." He took a huge gulp of the sake, not feeling the liquid graze his throat this time. "That must have hurt."

Arata also gulped his own drink down. "It did, and I'm not going to deny that. But, really, I couldn't blame it on her, or you, or anyone for that matter. That was my own fault. I hadn't let her go as I what I should have done. If I had allowed myself to accept that fact earlier… If I only hadn't allowed my pride to get the better of me, perhaps then we could have avoided this whole mess." He said in a quiet voice, staring into his empty glass without really seeing it. He looked up to Taichi again, this time, his eyes with unmistakable tears. "Will you ever forgive me, Taichi?"

Taichi stared at him expressionlessly, his face betraying no emotion. Sometimes Arata forgot how different Chihaya was from Taichi, despite of the fact that they had always been together practically their whole lives. While Chihaya was pretty much an open book for the both of them, -her expressions always so easy to read that you could tell just what she was thinking with just reading her expressions, -Taichi was her exact opposite. He knew how to hide his thoughts, how to keep them to himself without allowing other people to catch onto it. And even when they had been childhood friends for a long time, Arata knew that things between him and Taichi had been strained when he had started dating Chihaya.

The brunette sighed. "Don't do that, Arata. It's not like you did a crime." Arata's eyes widened when he heard his words. "Falling in love with someone wasn't something that you should apologize about. Acting all defensive and protective over her was something normal for any man in love. Even making rash decisions, -that was a part of it all." He muttered seriously, eyeing him with another wary gaze. "But yes, you did mess up big time when you decided to all of a sudden propose to her just to keep her with you, and then suddenly decide to leave her hanging when you promised her you will be with her forever. Yes, you can be blamed for that, because you've decided it. We're human beings after all, not Gods, but even Gods make mistakes from time to time. What we can do is learn from it and grow up, charge it to experience, and hope that next time we won't be idiots enough to repeat it."

The sapphire-eyed man nodded, lowering his head, feeling the truth behind his words.

"I'm not saying that I'm not forgiving you, because I don't have the right not to forgive you. You do realize that you've hurt a lot of people, and to us, that's the best apology you can offer." Taichi added, sincerity lacing his voice that Arata didn't doubt it. "And perhaps another apology you can offer Chihaya was to be happy with your life now and let her be happy with hers, and not repeat the mistakes you once did." He picked up the thick envelope sitting on his coffee table and waved it in front of him. "After all, you did find the one for you now, am I right?"

Arata nodded, smiling gratefully. "Yes. And I love her. So much."

He nodded, satisfied. "Then good. At least then you wouldn't have any regrets."

The dark-haired man stared at him. "Thank you, Taichi. You don't know how grateful I was with that. But now that it was clear that all between me and Chihaya is over, what do you plan now?"

He was silent for a while, listening to Arata's words and letting it sink in one by one into his brain. "That was the eternal question wasn't it, considering the fact you were not the first person to ask it." He swirled his glass, which still had a small amount of the transparent liquid remaining in it. "I told her the truth, Arata, and that I was prepared to fight for her until the end. But honestly, it's all in her hands now. Whatever she decides… I could try to let her realize her feelings, but the final say will come from her. She holds my heart in her hands. It's on her to accept it or return it to me."

Arata stared at him, unable to help himself from admiring his friend. He had always thought of him as a coward, ever since that fateful day that he had stolen and hidden his glasses, but to see him like this now, as a grown-up man accepting the fact that he would have to risk his heart for the woman he had always loved, knowing that he would fight for her but still had to respect whatever she decides, well, it was a surreal moment of his life that he hadn't been unable to stop himself from reaching a hand out and grasping his shoulder tentatively.

When he didn't shrug it off, he then continued. "Don't… lose hope. She's had the same feelings for you, Taichi, I'm sure about that. She just has to realize it." He offered him an encouraging smile. "I would be rooting for you, my friend, to be with her. You deserved each other –I was an idiot to have thought I could fight against it. That was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Arata…"

"And I want you to know, Taichi, that you have my unwavering support. You… and Chihaya… deserved happiness. it's about time that you find each other." He shook his shoulder. "Do everything for her, Taichi."

Taichi had to snort. "When have I not done my best for her? It's not like I gave her half of everything I had ever decided to give her."

The glasses-wearing man smiled once again. "That's right."

And despite of everything that had happened, both of them knew, that finally, they were friends once again.

Taichi raised his glass to the former Meijin. "Omedeto, Arata."

And Arata met his glass with a small clink. "Arigatou, Taichi."


Needless to say, the small reconciliation turned into a small, celebratory drinking get-together of sorts –just between the two of them. In the end, Arata had to leave after helping him fix everything, and he smoothed out everything in his condo back to normal, not leaving any incriminating evidence.

Well he wasn't really that much of a neat freak, but he still liked his things in order.

In the middle of afternoon though, he suddenly felt his temperature change. He didn't know if could attribute this to alcohol, but considering the fact that he had finished three cans of beer last night and had another round of drinking sake with Arata earlier, his body was bound to react.

Well he is not a particularly strong drinker, but he also wasn't prone to getting drunk easily, having been trained by his father the first few years of his high school it was almost funny and ironic, hadn't it been for his father's tendency to let his pride get the better of him.

"Shit."

This was why he had been wary of drinking earlier. Feeling a headache working it's way into his head, he decided he didn't want to push it for the rehearsal dinner.

And then he remembered that he had promised Chihaya to see her there.

Oh well. There were some things that he needed to take into consideration, and he knew he wasn't in the perfect shape for driving his ass there. It would probably be for the best as well, seeing as he knew that deep down, he was somehow scared at the prospect of facing Chihaya once again after THE confession. He wanted to give her some space, not preferring to overwhelm her.

You are once again acting like a hundred-percent idiot, Mashima.

He mailed Kana-chan, apologizing and telling her that he wasn't exactly feeling well to show up for the rehearsal dinner. He got out a pitcher of cold water from the fridge and poured himself some of it, now feeling his headache more acutely.

Sake and it's effects. Statistically proven to be causing hangovers from the Tokugawa era.

He grimaced to himself as he drained the water after three huge gulps. And then his phone beeped. Checking the mail, he was relieved to see Kana-chan's reply.

Don't worry, buchou. We can take care of everything here. But I hope you feel better tomorrow… I would hate for you to suddenly go ill right with our wedding day. You better take care of yourself and feel better by tomorrow, okay? Or else I won't forgive you.

He cracked a smile. Ah, Kana-chan. She had always been the source of his support ever since high school. What would he do without her?

He was about to find out later on with an unpleasant surprise, not knowing that those people he called 'friends' had bigger things planned for him.


Chihaya bit her lip as she stood in front of the door to a unit very much familiar to her.

What in Kami-sama's name am I doing here?

She had this strange impulse to run. She couldn't understand why she was feeling as if a thousand mice were racing in her chest.

She was still wearing her white satin dress with a v-shaped neckline, the neckline still decent enough to stop inches above her chest. She had attended the rehearsal dinner, but almost three minutes after she came in, she was practically all but kicked out by the bride-to-be.

"Buchou is not here!" Was the short phrase that she had been greeted with which had undoubtedly gotten her confused and somehow, worried all of a sudden as to why the former president had gone AWOL. "He's terribly ill, Chi-chan! He was feeling so sick that he couldn't get up from bed, and he had thrown up his lunch from earlier!" Kana-chan had exclaimed in a panic.

She had blanched, all the color draining from her face and making her look even paler than ever. "What!? What's wrong with him, why is he so sick?"

"I don't know! But he needs someone to take care of him, we don't want to have the best man missing tomorrow!" Kana-chan had grasped her hands. "I don't want to ask you to do this, Chi-chan, but please… you're my only hope now. Can you take care of him? He needs it. He can't be missing from the wedding tomorrow… and he's all alone there. Please, Chi-chan? Please?"

Kana-chan was nearing tears that she had agreed before she could think about it further. Seeing Komano sigh in relief told her that she did the right thing, but…

As soon as the words left her mouth, an uncomfortable feeling started twisting in her stomach.

Something about this doesn't feel right.

But as she stood there in front if his condominium unit, she couldn't help but worry. What if Taichi was so sick that he hadn't eaten yet? He had thrown up his lunch. Did that mean that his stomach was rejecting anything he was trying to eat?

Chihaya! You're making yourself panic even further!

Whatever was happening to him, she had to find out. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why she hadn't even thought of calling him.

She stepped forward and raised a hand to ring the doorbell, but remembered that he was sick, and that according to Kana-chan, couldn't even get up from his bed.

Why did I not even think of that before barging in here? Her mind panicked, as she stared in horror at the door. She thought of calling him now, but again… if he was sick…

Damn it. She was running out of options here. She glanced at the pass keys placed on the door, as if it was taunting her.

Chihaya knew his pass code, since she used to pester him during weekends to go practice with her before in Shiranami, but she wasn't sure if he had changed it already. He had given her his access code so that the security didn't have to call him up whenever she came to visit, so that she could come in as easily as she pleased.

She raised a hand and typed in the six-digits of his access code- his birthday.

The thing beeped once, -quite a long one, signaling the code is wrong. She bit her lip.

Darn it, Taichi… why did you have to change your access code now?

Seconds passed, and her heart was starting to race. Chihaya knew that if she didn't do something Taichi's condition might be getting worse. She knew of her friend's tendency to ignore what he was feeling, and they honestly can't have him getting sick right on the day of the wedding.

Think, Chihaya, think… what were his favorite numbers?

It was at times like this that she wished she could read minds.

And then as she stood there thinking –it suddenly hit her. She knew she was going to take a risk, but something told her she was correct.

She raised a hand and keyed in zero-six-zero-one-eight-eight.

The access keys flashed green and the door clicked slightly open, and she stared on in amazement, her mouth dropping open slightly in a small 'o'.

It was her birthday. His access code was her birthday.

And then remembering what she was supposed to do, she shook her head and pushed open the door and came in, only to find herself in a dimly lit unit. His unit was a lot spacious than hers, and she always felt amazed with the sheer size of it. But entering it after a year served to amaze her even more.

"… Taichi? You in there? It's me Chihaya." She called out tentatively, as she removed her heels and placed them on the shoe rack.

No response.

"Oi. You still alive or something?" She continued calling out in a somehow silent tone, unsure as to whether she really wanted to let him know that she had somehow gotten in his unit.

Still no response. She continued stepping inside, her footsteps laced with uncertainty. And then she almost had a heart attack when she reached the living room and saw the large, forty-inch television mounted on the wall still open and flashing a commercial as of the moment, and a figure laying on the couch.

In a split second she froze, and then she exclaimed "Taichi!"

She dropped her night purse anyhow on one of his couches and rushed to his side. Her hands hovered over him frantically, unsure as to what to do for an entire minute. She then placed her hand on his forehead and felt for his temperature but before she could even examine it thoroughly, his right hand suddenly snapped forward and grabbed her arm, and then…

The room spun and the next thing she knew, she found herself pinned on the couch with him on top of her, his legs pinning hers, his hands holding her arms in a tight grip above her head.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, feeling the pain shoot up her arm. That wasn't gentle at all. "That hurt, you moron! What are you doing!?" She snarled, in half-grimace, half-anger.

Taichi froze when he managed to realize who it was that he had nearly crushed on the couch. "Chihaya? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Yes it's me, and I was visiting you, baka!" She snapped in irritation. "Who did you think I was? A robber or something?"

Taichi couldn't help but release out a snort. "Oh, I don't know. I don't just share my access code to anyone, you know, so no one could basically get in and you're not supposed to know it since I changed it." He snapped back as well.

At this, her mounting anger skidded to a halt. "I didn't know. I just guessed right."

A somehow awkward silence followed her explanation, as they stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten the intimate position they were currently tangled in the moment. His lips were once again inches away from hers, his nose nearly brushing hers –she could practically feel his breath mingling with hers.

Her breathing was starting to speed up with the way his eyes were gazing at her, and she knew that her mind was starting to malfunction once again.

"Uh… ouch?" She tried to divert his attention from her pointedly.

He unfroze. "Yeah… sorry." He released her arms, getting himself off of her and plopping to a seat beside her, but in reality there was actually a large gap between them.

Chihaya felt pain –which had nothing to do from earlier, - shoot somewhere near her chest at the distance between them as she straightened herself up slowly into a sitting position as well.

"So… what brings you here?" Taichi asked in a somewhat brooding tone, his eyes fixed on the television, unwilling to look at her. Chihaya gazed at him in frustration.

"I was visiting you, as I've already said earlier."

"Why are you visiting me then?" He was still not looking at her.

Chihaya suddenly felt so mad. What was the point of seeing him when he wouldn't even face her? "Kana-chan told me you were sick! She asked me to look after you since she was right –we can't have the best man going AWOL tomorrow!" She snapped, her irritation clearly showing in her voice.

His tone when he responded to her statement was calm and icy. "… I see. Well for your information lady, I wasn't sick. Feeling a bit under the weather yes, but nothing that big that you should be rushing here all panicky as if I was dying. I'm sure this will be gone by tomorrow."

Chihaya froze with his response, confusion starting to mar her beautiful features. "… But didn't you throw up your lunch…?"

This time he was forced to look at her, all of a sudden confused as well. "What? Where on earth did you hear that? I didn't throw up anything."

"They even told me you couldn't get up from the bed…"

"Who?"

"Kana-chan and Tsukue-kun."

Too late. He realized what it is that his friends did, the brilliant man that he was. He knew how to read between the lines after all.

He face-palmed, sighing in frustration and shaking his head. "We've been couple-trapped."

She stared at him confusedly, as if he was speaking in an alien tongue. "… What?"

"We've been trapped." Taichi repeated harshly, making her flinch he felt apologetic automatically. "I told them I won't be able to attend the dinner this time, since I wasn't feeling that well. They… They must have blown it out of proportion to get you to go here."

Chihaya understood what he was saying all of a sudden that her cheeks colored automatically. "What!? T-Those two!" She exclaimed in an embarrassed tone. "I'm going to strangle them!" She added in a hiss, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"I'm all for the strangling part, but you can't. We can't have you getting arrested for murdering two people whose wedding is to be held tomorrow." Taichi said in calm, almost teasing tone. "And it's partially your fault. You believed them."

"Well excuse me if I had been so worried!" She snarled in response, her temper flaring. "They told me you threw up your lunch –that you couldn't even get up from bed! What was I supposed to think then?" Her cheeks had gone so red as she said so, suddenly not liking the words coming out of her mouth. "And I know how you are –you have this tendency to ignore yourself and not admit that you're sick unless it came to the point that you could no longer eat. Is that wrong?" She muttered in a heated tone, glaring at him.

"No it's not." He murmured silently, and she was startled when he reached forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for the worry, but I would have to apologize. You wasted your time going here when you could have been with them now. I'm sorry they had to joke about this."

Chihaya suddenly felt worried even more as he hid his eyes beneath his bangs, not meeting her gaze. "You can go already. I'm fine, I'm not sick, I'll be present tomorrow. You can reassure Kana-chan regarding that."

"But-"

"Come on." He stood up and searched for his slippers, slipping them on with his foot when he found them. "I'll see you to the door."

She couldn't stop herself from blurting out all of a sudden, "Why are you so quick into kicking me out?"

He froze from stepping forward, his shoulder blades suddenly tensed up. "I wasn't kicking you out." He responded in a tone sounding quite the opposite without turning to face her once again.

"I sure feel welcome." She said in a sarcastic tone which could almost rival his that he resisted the urge to applaud her.

He finally turned to face her. "I was under the impression that you're here because you thought I was sick. Well I'm not. So… you're free to go now."

"What if I want to stay here?" Chihaya couldn't understand why she was feeling that there was something entirely wrong with the way Taichi was behaving towards her. "You haven't even asked me if I wanted anything!"

Taichi raised an eyebrow at her. "Well… do you want anything then?"

Chihaya resisted the urge to slam her head into the nearest wall. Throwing caution into the wind, she blurted out, "Why are you avoiding me?" She demanded, finally standing up with her hands on her hips.

And then everything froze. Time seemed to slow down as Taichi stared at her hard, as if gauging her expression. She was frustrated, that much is clear from the way he was acting.

He couldn't be blamed. The earlier happiness he was feeling from her showing up all of a sudden in his unit had been burst open so unceremoniously that he felt the familiar pain kicking another whole open in his chest. She was here because she thought he was sick, not because she wanted to see him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if his friends had been just trying to help, or whether they had just made the situation worse.

And then he mentally kicked himself. He had no right to think that, knowing that his friends had meant well. They knew how much he wanted her.

"You really want to know why?" He asked in a tone which made shivers run down her spine. His amber gaze was staring at her so unabashedly that made goose bumps appear on her arms for some unknown reason.

When she didn't answer, he took that as his cue. "Because I love you and I want you, and it's honestly not helping me that you're here all alone wearing that beautiful dress and tempting me without even knowing it." He added in a straight, no-holds-barred kind of voice, but she could feel the frustration behind it.

She felt herself grow warm hearing his response. Her fists clenched.

Taichi saw her reaction, and he turned away from her, starting to speak in a monotone. "And I don't want you filing a restraining order for me to the court, so if you know what's good for you, you'll-"

"So why aren't you doing anything?"

He froze, his retort from earlier cut off as he stared at her with an expression akin to someone who had seen their friend sprout out extra pairs of arms and legs.

"You tell me you love me, you tell me that you will court me, that you won't be taking a 'no' for an answer." She said in a somewhat exasperated tone. "Why aren't you doing anything then?" She challenged, her eyes narrowing by the second at him.

His expression grew extremely irritated. "You shouldn't be joking about things like that." He hissed darkly.

"I'm not joking." She muttered in a deathly serious voice. "You are a much bigger idiot than Arata if you think I'm joking."

He took a deep breath, his hands also curling into tight fists. "You don't know what you're asking-"

"I love you!"

The words hang in the air between them like an axe dropping out from nowhere.

Her fists were clenched, but she stood her ground.

What she had realized, after that talk with Kana-chan and Sumire-chan, was that she really was in love with this man all along. She didn't know how she had so foolishly thought that it was for Arata –because, she had been so spectacularly wrong in that department.

What Arata was telling her, that day that he had broken up with her, was that she had never in love with him to begin with. She had refused to accept it because deep down, even unconsciously, she knew that she had ignored Taichi for the better part of her life, and she isn't willing to admit to herself that the person who had always stood beside her was the one she needed all this time, seeing as she had foolishly pined for a different person for half of her life when all the time he had been just right in front of her.

Perhaps, even unconsciously, her pride had acted up, because she was afraid to admit that the person she had always taken for granted was the one she had truly needed by her side.

Arata had been right. She had spent her energy of dreaming so much to see him again one day, facing him and finally defeating him in the game she had given up, that she mistakenly thought of those feelings as love for more than a friend.

She had been afraid to admit it. And because she had been an airhead for Kami-sama knows how long, Taichi had paid the price for eighteen years.

Tears had started to form in her eyes, but she blinked them away furiously, willing herself to be resolute. "I love you, Taichi. So much, that it felt so wrong for me to admit it only now. But I could feel myself bursting in the seams, and I couldn't honestly know how I managed to ignore this for so long, but yes, I love you. Too. You may not want to believe it, and I understand if you won't, but please believe me when I say that I know what I'm talking about, and that I wasn't joking."

Chihaya was caught off-guard when she suddenly found herself crushed against him, his arms around her in a tight, protective embrace. And before she could get a word out, his lips found hers in a gentle kiss once again.

She felt her emotions soar up in elation; -she hadn't even realized how much she missed him kissing her, as cheeky as it sounded. She must have been so enthusiastic –she suddenly found herself wrapping her arms around his neck as she felt his arms go around her waist and she pushed herself against him, pulling him even closer.

She felt his kiss turn passionate. He nibbled on her upper lip, then resumed broader strokes. She was quite helpless at the hands of this strong, sensual man who was lavishing her with his affection. All she wanted now was to let him do whatever he wanted with her.

Impatient to be inside her mouth, he traced his index finger down her spine, which was quite exposed with her dress, -and she gasped in reaction. He took the opportunity to slip inside, and gently and thoroughly, he used tongue and lips to arouse her until she was kissing him back with fervor. She was alternately rubbing the back of his head and petting his shirt as he excited her with his ardor.

Satisfied that she did want him, he pulled back abruptly before he let his self-control completely go. He wasn't planning to completely lose his senses, as much as his body was telling him the exact opposite.

Taichi lifted a hand and cradled her face gently, seeing her cheeks flushed with desire. "That, Ayase Chihaya," he began, straining to catch his breath, "was how you say I love you."

She was so red under his hand that he had to chuckle. "I-I'll keep that in mind." She replied, her dark eyes wide and earnest, also straining to catch her breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

But then, Taichi had to be sure. "You do realize there's no going back now, do you?" He asked in a serious tone, and she met his eyes firmly.

"I know who I can't live without, Taichi." She murmured in a quiet but resolute tone. "I'm sorry… that I took so long. So painfully long."

And he had to laugh, as the tears formed in his honeyed eyes, feeling the rush running from the top of his head down to his toes, finally hearing her tell him that she loved him, not in dreams, but in reality. He didn't know if he must be the happiest man on earth right now.

"I forgive you. As long as you're sure." He said, but the tears had made it's way into his cheeks.

She was crying as well as she took him in an another embrace. "I've never been so sure in my entire life but this." She murmured, burying her face in his broad chest, thanking whoever God it is that may have been listening to them for this moment, for it being not too late to make things right.

And he silently agreed as he laid a kiss on the top of her head.


Yay~! They're together. Finally!

I seriously hoped you guys liked it. And again, you may let me know if you did. Appreciation in advance to all who would take their time to leave reviews.

Thanks, and see you in the next one, dear readers! :)