He hastily made his way over to her. He wanted more than anything to embrace her and hold her in his arms. He almost did just that, but he managed to restrain himself enough that he instead he just stood there awkwardly in front of her. 'You don't know why she's here yet… Don't jump to any conclusions.' He thought to himself, but he couldn't help feeling relieved and excited to see her anyway.

He had forgotten all about the cold until he saw he shiver, and he quickly opened the door. "How long have you been waiting outside for? I'm really sorry, you must have been freezing…" He apologised, and she shook her head.

"It's not been too bad, I've only been waiting here for a little while." She began, following him inside and up the stairs to his place. "I was going to call you earlier, but I knew you'd be in work so I doubted you'd be able to answer, plus, I thought it'd be better to talk in person." She confessed. As she followed him, she decided to continue talking, getting to the point of her visit. "Matsuda, I… I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute...?" She asked. He looked at her and nodded.

"Of course." He replied, not sure of what to expect and not aware of how he was feeling exactly. He was being hopeful, as he was relieved to know that she wanted to see him again, and there was the possibility that everything was okay now, but at the same time he had a feeling of dread that this wasn't the conversation he thought it was going to be. She could have also come over so that she could tell him that she never wanted to see him again, not to message her anymore, and that whatever they had, was over. He couldn't help but panic when that was a possibility. But he managed to compose himself enough to ask her a question as he opened the door to the room. "What's on your mind?"

Sayu sat down on the couch, and patted the place beside her. He complied, sitting down next to her.

"I thought about what you said to me, and how so much of the things I believed was my reality was all actually just a big cover up, planned in advance by the task force…" She opened up, not wanting to look him in the eyes. "I thought about it all; how everything I'd believed in as truth and everything I'd known about the people in the task force, including you, was all a fabrication…"

That hurt for him to hear, and Matsuda winced outwardly at the statement. "That's not… Everything between us was real. I'd never lie about how I felt about you Sayu…" He defended. "It was never about Kira. I care about you for who you are, none of it was ever a lie."

Sayu looked down at her hands, which were clasped tightly in her lap. "I thought about it constantly, and I realised something…" She paused, and Matsuda was silent as he waited for her to finish. "I realised that without you I feel… Lost. I feel relaxed and carefree when I'm with you. I didn't want that to be fake, because you make me so happy…" She paused for a second to compose herself, as she felt herself welling up. After a moment, she continued. "That made me realise that even if you hadn't told me the truth straight away, you were always there for me to make sure I was safe. You guided me and my Mother through it all, because even though you knew the truth, you wanted to make sure we didn't suffer. You took on the burden so we didn't have to. So how can I be mad at you for that?"

Matsuda blushed, taken off guard. He was confused now. Did she hate him or not?

"I spoke to my Mum about it, and she made me realise that I wasn't the only one this was hurting. And when I got your message, I knew that you weren't just saying it, and you meant it…" She placed her hand on his, and he smiled, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. "I'm not angry, and I don't blame you for anything. And… I…" She trailed off, and now it was Matsuda's turn.

"Sayu, I'm really sorry for hurting you, and I promise you that I'll never ever keep anything from you again. That's why, there's something else I need to tell you. There's one more thing I've been keeping from you, because I've been scared of what you'll think of me if you knew…" He said, holding onto her hand tightly.

She was on guard, wondering what other secrets he had kept from her, but she had to trust him. She nodded. "Go on?" She asked. He hesitated, biting his lip.

"I love you Sayu." He confessed. Her face turned bright red, and she remained silent, so he continued. "I've loved you for a long time, but I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to tell you while you still didn't know the truth about your brother, because it just felt wrong, and I didn't want you to think I was saying it just to make you feel better, because that wasn't the case-" His rambling was halted when Sayu pushed her lips against his. Shock set in, and Matsuda didn't know how to react at first. But when Sayu didn't pull away he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close.

Neither wanted to move away, and even after the kiss ended, Matsuda kept his arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too Matsuda." Sayu confessed. "You were my first crush when I was younger, and it only grew stronger the older I got… My friends made fun of me, for liking a guy who was older than me, but I didn't care…" She was blushing brighter now, and she shyly buried her head into his neck. He chuckled, stroking her hair.

"If it helps, everyone in the office made fun of me too when they found out…" He admitted and she giggled.

"I can't believe you told them…" She muttered.

"Well, It was more that I slipped up. Then Mogi told them about that time I said I hadn't gotten the chance to propose to you to your parents and you turned me down because of my age…"

Sayu giggled again, kissing him once more. "Well, now you'll have to tell them that we're in a relationship…" She said, then realisation hit and she became all flustered. "That's if, I mean…"

Matsuda smiled lovingly and stroked her cheek. "I'd like that more than anything." He whispered, and she smiled.

"I'm really glad… Meanwhile, I'll have to tell my Mum that we're together now, not that she'll be shocked." Sayu added and Matsuda chuckled.

"I'll make sure she approves of me…" He promised.

"Don't be silly, she already does." Sayu reassured him, stroking the top of his hand with her fingertips. "She told me that she sees how much we mean to each other, and that if my Dad could see us, he'd be proud of us…"

"I'm glad…" Matsuda sighed happily, relieved that everything between them was alright. "You mean so much to me…" He admitted, and she blushed.

"You're so soppy, you know that?" She teased, then smiled at him lovingly. "It's one of the things I find charming about you. You mean the world to me too." She admitted, relaxing into him.

Sayu was quiet for a minute, before she brought up the courage to ask. "Is it okay if I stay the night tonight...? I don't want to be alone tonight. I can just walk home in the morning when you need to go to work…" She was blushing brighter than ever, and Matsuda blushed too.

"I'll give you a lift home tomorrow morning before I go, don't worry. I'd love it if you'd stay with me…" He admitted, and she beamed happily, kissing him on the forehead.

The two stayed up for a little while longer, watching boring television programs and eating whatever Matsuda had left in the cupboards. Matsuda was relieved that everything was okay now, and couldn't believe that he'd actually confessed to Sayu after all this time, or even more shockingly, that she'd said that she felt the same way.

After the two of them eventually began to show signs of tiredness, Matsuda suggested they go to bed. He led the way for her, apologising for the fact that the bedroom was a bit of a mess. He offered her an oversized t-shirt to sleep in and she gratefully took it, heading to the bathroom to get changed into.

As she made her way into his bathroom, she noticed through the open window that it was now dark outside, and there were a few small stars in the sky. But there was one that shone brighter than the rest, and she smiled. She remembered what her mum had told her when she was a child, about how stars were the spirits of those who had passed away, watching down on their loved ones. Although Sayu was a grown up now, she still liked to believe in that. It gave her comfort.

She looked at the brightest star, imagining her Father looking down on her. "Dad…" She whispered. "I know you said that you'd never let me marry a cop, and I'm sorry, but one day I might have to go against your wishes. I've found my happiness with Matsuda. I hope you can forgive me for that, and that one day you can give us both your blessing…"

She smiled, before adding one more thing. "I love you Dad."

She had one last glance at the stars outside before she leant forward and closed the window, getting changed into Matsuda's oversized shirt before returning to his room.

He was already lying in bed as she walked over to him, and he blushed. "That shirt looks a lot better on you then it does on me…" He remarked and she blushed.

"Move over…" She said, smiling, and he lifted the blanket so she could get underneath it. She got in before shyly cuddled into his chest, and in response he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"Goodnight…" He whispered, resting his head against hers.

"Night…" She sighed happily. Letting herself melt against the heat of his body. She was so happy, and she felt so secure and safe here, in his arms. It was so easy for her to fall asleep when he held her, and within minutes, she was in a deep slumber.

*.*.*.*.

I decided to upload this one two days earlier than normal as today is the 14th of December. MATSUDA TOUTA'S BIRTHDAY! It wasn't planned but i'm glad it worked out that way. So yeah, that was the final chapter! I hope you've liked it so far - I've really enjoyed writing this, and although it's not perfect, I'm still quite proud of how it's turned out. So please let me know what you thought of it, and thank you so much for reading my story!