And just like that, here's the last chapter! Thanks to everyone who read, faved, followed, and reviewed!

Multicolor: The perfect way to tailor a unique message to that special someone. For example, a yellow rose with red tipped petals can symbolize friendship developing into love, or white and pink can be used together to convey a message of gratitude.

Had it already been a year? Botan looked at herself in the mirror. Normally she didn't gloss herself up, but today was special. Some eyeliner, blue eyeshadow, and a hint of rogue to add some color to her cheeks. She hoped she'd followed Keiko's instructions on how to apply her makeup. While she thought she looked good, she was still an amateur.

I hope Kurama thinks I look good. Her heart fluttered at the thought of her boyfriend. An entire year they'd been together. Time had flown by. It felt like they had met just yesterday. Sometimes, she still found it hard to believe that everyone had grown up. Kuwabara and Keiko were in school, Yusuke was making his own way in the world with his food cart, Hiei was enjoying himself as Mukuro's right hand, and Kurama was, well…

He's with me. I'm with him. We're together.

It still felt too good to be true. That out of the hundreds, no, thousands of potential partners, he'd chosen her. Yet he had, and they'd been together for one whole year as of today. Botan exited the bathroom, killing the lights, and sat down on the couch, casting glances at her front door every now and then. Try as she might, she couldn't stop the butterflies from squirming through her stomach. While she had no doubt that Kurama did indeed have something perfect planned, she had little to no confidence in her ability to not make things awkward.

What if he takes me to a fancy restaurant? I'm just wearing a blouse and a knee-length skirt, that's way too underdressed! What if he still decides to go and I trip in front of everyone? Or we go to an art gallery and I say something stupid and embarrass him?

Her face felt hot and heavy. Botan resisted the urge to touch it. She didn't want to smudge her makeup.

Oh, and then there's the makeup! What if I did put it on wrong? Maybe I should go wash it off.

Sharp bolts of pain lanced through her skin as Botan locked her knees in a vice grip and dug her nails in. Taking deep breaths, the ferry girl relaxed her hold, one finger on each hand per one inhale and exhale.

Calm down you silly girl. Everything is going to be fine. You don't slip up nearly as bad as you think you do, and even if that does happen, it's not like Kurama's going to break up with you on the spot.

As if on cue, her doorbell rang. Botan sprang up to answer it. Kurama stood in the doorway, one hand resting against the doorframe, the other behind his back. The air around him smelled fragrant and sweet, blotting out the scent of decaying pumpkins left out by her neighbor, those forgotten soldiers of Halloween.

"Good evening, Botan." Kurama said.

"And to you too!" Botan chirped, stepping aside and ushering him in. As Kurama made his way in, Botan tried to peer behind his back to see what he had brought. Ever on guard, Kurama caught her peeping and clucked his tongue at her.

"My dear Botan, trying to spoil the surprise?"

Botan pouted. Kurama chuckled and set the surprise down on the coffee table. Angling his body to block her view as he turned to her. For a moment, he said nothing, instead choosing to stand there and drink her in. Botan weathered the adoring gaze for a moment before she began faltering, resorting to her nervous habit of playing with her sleeves.

"What?"

"You look gorgeous."

"I- Um- It, it must be the makeup!" Botan went to hide her face, but slammed her hands back down against her sides at the mention of makeup. Don't smudge! She scolded herself. A warm mellow light shone from Kurama's eyes.

Chuckling, he replied, "If anything, the makeup is just an accent for the beauty you already possess."

Botan felt all the blood in her body rush to her face. Turning away, she clasped her hands behind her back to give them something to do.

"A-Anyway! You said you had something special planned for our date?"

"That I did." Kurama leaned back against the coffee table. "I figured we could keep it small, head to a nice little café downtown, then walk along that new 'Moonlit Path' they put in Shiozumi Park. Of course," he tipped his head toward the coffee table, "we'd start with what's behind my back."

With that, he stepped aside. What Botan saw took her breath away. A basket of roses sat upon her coffee table, in every color imaginable with nary a solid color among them, rather every rose was a combination of two colors. Here, scarlet bled into canary-yellow, lavender darkened shade by shade until the very tips were dyed a deep royal purple, cream colored roses sported spring green tips, while within another group, coral and orange swirled together in a bright blend more beautiful than all the summer sunsets. On the far edges, black roses bore spots of mint upon their ebon petals. Light pink with burgundy, blue and lilac, and cherry brandy rounded out the plethora of polychrome.

"Kurama, it's…" Words didn't do it justice. He'd gone the extra mile on this one. Every rose in that basket was real. She couldn't being to imagine the effort he'd gone through, tailoring each batch of roses as it grew, tweezing different colors out of their genes, and influencing them to get the ones that weren't. He must have spent days, weeks even to get every flower in that basket just right. There wasn't a single adjective known to man that could do a such a pure declaration of love justice.

Well, actions spoke louder than words, did they not? And so, she surged into Kurama's arms, wrapping her arms behind his neck and kissing him. Botan felt Kurama smirk against her lips as he returned the kiss, embracing her around the small of her back. Breaking the kiss, she nestled her head into his shoulder.

"Thank you. This is such a wonderful gift."

"You're welcome," Kurama said, laying his cheek on the crown of her head. "You know, each color combination represents something."

Botan pulled away and bent down to examine the basket, running her fingers over the roses.

"Oh?"

Kurama pointed to the yellow and red roses. "These here indicate friendship developing into love." He gestured towards the white and green ones, "this group here symbolizes how every time I think of you, it puts a smile on my face and makes me feel better."

Botan smiled and stood, resting her back against the fox.

"The mint and black are my favorite." He continued, draping his arms around her. "The colors may not go together, but I like their message."

"Which is?" Botan asked, snuggling into his embrace.

"Along with its classic meaning of death in Victorian flower language, black can also symbolize rebirth and new beginnings. Mint symbolizes cheerfulness and new beginnings." Placing his lips against her ear, he murmured, "in this instance, it means that I became a new person through you. Every smile, every laugh, every moment around your bright, bubbly self helped change me into the person I am."

He kissed her ear. Botan bit her lip to stifle the giggle. "I don't deserve all the credit." She said. "Your mother and Yusuke helped too."

"My mother did receive a batch of mint roses on her birthday, and as much as I value Yusuke's friendship, I am not sending him roses."

This time, the giggle broke free. Giving her a light squeeze, Kurama continued.

"Lavender and dark purple are for how I fell for you the moment I saw you, and realized over time how much I value you. The coral and orange represent desire and passion mixed together."

Botan craned her head back at Kurama and smirked. "Desire and passion, huh?"

Kurama's face flushed. "Not that kind of passion and desire. It's more of a desire for the same passion you have for everything around you, how your boundless enthusiasm is infectious."

"Mhm."

Kurama glanced away. "Okay, maybe it's that kind too." He muttered. Botan laughed.

"And is there any special meaning for the entire basket?"

Turning her around, Kurama cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

"Just that I love you with all my heart."

I'll let you use your imagination for the color combos I didn't get in. Well, that's the end! And so, I slink back into my cave for another year or more, ready to pop up here and there like a less punctual Persephone. Again, thanks to all those who enjoyed! It was fun to get back to good ol' KxB again. I forgot how much I enjoyed writing these kinds of fics.