Yep, I'm uploading. Thank you, OnigiriCat4Ever for leaving me a wonderful review! I hope you continue supporting my little story. Thank you as well for those who had followed and favorited this work. You guys are awesome.

I do not own Fruits Basket, as well as some references which were used from Nodame Cantabile. Ninomiya-sensei owns them.

That said, I hope you guys like it.

Her heart thumped wildly and unevenly in her chest. She knew she would see him in a matter of minutes – or was it seconds now? – and she couldn't bring herself to calm down. A lot has happened in the time he had been away, and truth be told, she was too focused on her relationship – then relationship now, to correct herself – to even be able to keep in touch with him regularly, aside from the skype calls which would happen almost once in a blue moon, and only when it was with another Sohma. What was he thinking of her now? Does he still see her as Tohru, the girl who used to work part-time in his father's building? Does he still see her as the girl he had taken to the Sohma estate hot springs as a return gift to her for White Day? Was she still his friend? She hoped that he would forgive her for keeping her distance from him, unintentional or not.

When Kisa told her the news of his return, she had broken down into tears. She hadn't realized how much she missed her best friend, her adorable bunny. She was completely aware of how he had done so well for himself the past few years. He had made a name for himself in the classical music world. His wonderful violin playing – something she had the privilege of listening to before – was now being heard by thousands of people. His stage name, Henry, had become a household favorite. People of all ages had heard of him, his prowess, and were questioning whoever they think was responsible as to why on earth he had only appeared now, indeed.

Deep down, she was asking herself, was he still Momiji? Her Momiji? Then she would mentally kick herself. She had no right to ask who he was when she had almost lost all contact with him, even if she hadn't meant to.

Don't get her wrong. Yuki meant a lot to her. He was like her brother in so many ways, and she would do anything for him. And she loved the other Sohmas unconditionally. For her, they were her family, even if they weren't in flesh and blood. If she had to go through what she went through to be able to help break their curse, she would gladly do it all over again.

But Momiji held a special place in her heart. He was her best friend, her confidante. She hadn't realized this until one day, a few months after he had won the Henri Vieuxtemps competition. He had released a cd compilation of songs he had performed then and she had bought a copy and listened to it, and heard his recording of When You Wish Upon a Star, for the first time.

According to a poll created online by his fans, it was the most listened-to song that he had recorded.

She remembered telling Kisa that she was unsure if she should go with them at all. It was supposed to be a family affair, and even though nothing had changed with her firm belief that they are her family, she was unsure if the sentiment is still returned, especially after the fallout between her and Kyo.

Kisa had looked at her, and had held her hand. Tohru-nee… of course you should. You're family to us, to Momiji-nii… you're best friends. Nothing's changed. I'm sure… I'm sure you can make it up to him if you're there.

As she stood hidden, she saw a genuine smile pulling the corner of his lips as his cousins welcomed him home. He had grown taller, if that was even possible. Sure, he had his growth spurt when he was in his second year of high school. Now though, he seemed to have added a few more inches, and could rival Yuki in looks alone, who had always been known to be the most attractive of the Sohma cousins, asserting himself as definitely another of the eye-catching bachelors of the Sohma clan.

"Let's bring out the surprise." She heard Yuki say. That was her cue to show herself, and as he joked around with his cousins about his expectation that they were his surprise, Yuki clarified that they weren't the only ones who had wanted to see him.

As they parted for her, and she finally met his eyes, she couldn't stop the flow of tears anymore. There he was. Her Momiji.

"Tohru." He called out, arms outstretched towards her.

Tohru didn't know if he realized it himself, but his arms lifted to her, almost automatically. Without further hesitation, she jumped into them, welcoming his embrace.

"Tohru." She felt, more than heard, him breathe into her hair. "Tohru no baka. You're crying as if we hadn't seen each other for ten years." He admonished jokingly, to which she looked up to him. Now she had to look up to him. Even when he had his growth spurt, back in high school, she was still at his eye level. Now her head barely touched the tip of his chin.

Her vision was blurry due to all the tears, but she could make out his smile and his own tears. "I-It's been a long time, Momiji-kun. And besides, you're crying too. Welcome home!" she greeted, like an afterthought, causing Momiji to laugh heartily, the sound echoing pleasantly – reminiscent of bass strings – in her ears.

"Come here, you."

The next thing she knew, she was lifted off her feet and swung around gently in a circle, and she couldn't help the squeal which escaped her lips, her arms automatically falling around his neck, as Momiji completed two more turns. She felt like a little girl once more, squeals and laughter falling off her lips, unbeknownst to her, joining his laughter in a harmony of soprano and bass.

"You're gonna drop airhead girl if you continue doing that, Momiji-nii." Hiro muttered almost blandly in the background as Momiji finally set her down on her feet, and she was wobbly and all, but she didn't care. It felt like she had just flown – she was so high off the floor when he had lifted her so easily – the former rabbit of the zodiac had definitely grown to be impressively tall.

"Would I ever?" Momiji answered his cousin, though his eyes were still on hers. "You and I would have a lot to talk about, Tohru."

Trepidation suddenly filled her, forgetting her joy of seeing her best friend in flesh once more after quite some time. "Momiji I – I'm so sorry – "

But he lifted her hands to his lips, laying a soft kiss on them. "Later. For now, I just want to be happy that I'm seeing you again. I've missed you." His topaz eyes lingered on hers, as she met his gaze, still teary-eyed.

"I-I've missed you too." She responded, trying to convey all the sincerity she felt behind the simple phrase. She hoped that it reached him. She hoped that it was enough.

He pressed another kiss to her knuckles to show her that it did, before he turned to his cousins once more. "If this is the surprise, I definitely loved it. Thank you, you guys." He addressed them, receiving smiles in return. "Now, I don't know about you, but I am famished. Let's go?"

Everybody chorused their agreement, Haru taking over his trolley, as Momiji turned to her with a smile once more, hoisting his bag properly over his shoulder. "Come on."

She fell into step beside him as he took her hand, feeling incredibly nostalgic. She and Momiji used to hold hands all the time whenever they were together – in school or whenever they would go out with some of the cousins that Haru even commented once that everybody would mistake them for a couple, due to this very closeness. But where before she was holding hands with a boy, now she was holding hands with a man, his hand now covering her own entirely that felt bizarrely pleasant to her.

Once she and Kyo started dating then, Momiji showed up less and less – though he was present when the cousins sent her and Kyo off when they moved out of town – so that Kyo can focus on the dojo he would be assisting the master of, which is quite far from the city. He would visit with the others when he had the time, though it wasn't often due to the distance alone from the town itself. Two years after their move, Momiji then flew to Paris to further his education there, after only a year of entering Momogaoka University, which was a well-known music university in Japan. She was happy that he was able to pursue his music, since it had been put into question years before since Momo, his estranged younger sister due to the jyuunishi curse, started showing interest in him and wanted to play the violin as well under his same teacher. She recalled Momiji admitting to her that his father feared she might find out the truth regarding him as her older brother, and destroy everything he had desperately built.

It had come with a price – she felt like she had lost him the years he was out of Japan. Though the other Sohmas had visited them every now and then and vice versa, it always felt somehow… incomplete. She had never realized how much she missed Momiji's sweetness and attentiveness – not that Kyo was not – but Momiji had been a sweet little boy, with emotional strength and maturity that was far beyond his years and much more than what she had seen from Kyo and Yuki themselves.

A tug on her hand brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to meet Momiji's gaze.

"Don't go daydreaming on me now, Tohru." He said, a little mischievously. "I want your full attention."

She smiled, both shy and indulgent. "I wasn't… I was just thinking." She looked down, almost fidgeting, as she and Momiji walked behind the others, heading towards the cars the cousins had driven to the airport.

He was watching her, she could tell. She could feel his gaze on her. "You may want to give yourself a break from all that thinking. It isn't healthy. And besides… I'm back now."

Her head snapped up. Truth be told, she was nervous. Momiji was sure to have undergone changes, and her of course, during the time they were apart. If she were to be honest, she was expecting him to be giving her the cold shoulder, or at least an invisible wall that would have probably been existing now between them, as saddening as it is to think about. It was actually amazing how they were able to keep interacting like this, especially since the last time she saw him, he was the epitome of a teenager.

Now though, she was reminded that a different Momiji was walking beside her – mature and confident. The thought was bittersweet to her.

As if hearing where her thoughts had taken her, he turned to look at her, meeting her eyes directly. "I'm still Momiji, Tohru. I'm still me."

She didn't understand why the tears formed in her eyes again the moment he had said it, clouding her vision. She couldn't help but slow down, embarrassment creeping up on her. She did not want to cry in public, for goodness' sake! "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't want to do this, I didn't mean to be so emotional, I don't know what's wrong with me today, I'm – " her voice broke, hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her tears.

But Momiji understood, like he always did. It had always been one thing unique about him as a man – she never needed to explain things to him, like her thoughts, her feelings on a subject. He just understood as clearly as if she had said it out loud herself.

He stopped walking, facing her. She tried to hide her face away from him, but he caught her chin before she could do so, uncaring if they were in the middle of a busy airport. Looking at her tenderly, he held her face between his hands. "Do you know what I was most thankful for right now, Tohru?"

She shook her head no, meeting his warm, topaz gaze.

He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead towards hers until they touched. "I'm thankful that Kami-sama decided to have you meet us. I'm thankful that I no longer have the curse. If I still have the curse, I would never be able to do this again." So saying, he swept her into an embrace, this one more gentle than the one he had given her earlier, something that almost made her want to sob even more.

Tohru lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest. She knew she looked like a mess, but she couldn't help it. Hearing Momiji tell her that he was still him, that he was still the same person she knew, it was as good as telling her that nothing had changed between her and him. "Momiji…"

"Susse," He continued, amidst her whisper, gently stroking her cheek, "Do not fret. No matter if we are together or apart, even if it is for days, months, or years – know that I will always be there for you, I will never stop being your best friend, and I will never stop being your Momiji."

Thanks for reading, and as always let me know what you think. See you in the next one!

Love,

Michiko