CHAPTER THREE

The knocks were soft, but incessant. Rukawa slowly woke out of a light slumber and realized he had fallen asleep on the posh carpet, clutching the picture frame to his chest.

"Rukawa-kun," he heard his butler's gentle voice from outside as the knocks kept coming. He suddenly felt ill tempered and, despite being thickly wrapped in his winter clothes, cold and chilling to the marrow. Coming back to the real world from peaceful lethargy had always made him feel like this—not that it made any difference from how he normally was, anyway.

He turned his back on the door and stared out the window. Snow was profusely falling once again. He curled himself up into a shivering ball and held on to the frame as more tears spilled from his eyes. The wintry atmosphere was so biting and suffocating, he wished he could just die right then and there.

"Rukawa-kun," the voice called out again. "Rukawa-kun, somebody's here to see you."

Don't kid me, he thought bitterly. Who would ever come to visit him on a day like this? It seemed like the whole supply of snowflakes for the rest of the winter was being disposed off in a single afternoon. Who would ever brave such a furious weather just to see him?

"He's come back," the voice said. "Kiyota-kun is here."

The startled Rukawa almost completely lost his breath upon hearing that. "Nobu-chan," he muttered as he sat up and turned his gaze to the door. Suddenly, his heart was going berserk, his insides shifting places with each other. Why was he here? Why had he come? The last time that guy had dropped by was to beat him up and accuse him of something he had never even thought of doing in his wildest dreams. The creep had even cursed him and vowed to surpass him someday.

But, what was worst of all was that, he had called him "Rukawa" from that day on as though completely condemning everything they had shared...

"Kae-chan," the voice was faint and timid, yet sharp enough to pierce his heart with the old familiarity. The old affection that he had been nurturing and yet was too afraid to show.

In an instant, he was up to his feet and was making his way pass a clatter of unopened gifts to the door. And in another moment, he was face to face with an all grown up Nobu-chan, now medium-built, and a more beautiful creature than he was before with that shabby long hair and wide, infectious smile.

"N-Nobu-chan…" was all he was able to say, still finding it hard to believe this was actually happening. That the last guy he had expected to come see him—not that he was actually expecting anyone anyway—was now standing in the flesh right in front of him.

"Ch! You're all grown up." Nobu-chan smiled wryly as he looked up at him. He raised one hand up and compared their heights. "Even taller than I am now, ne?"

Rukawa felt his cheeks turn warm. "Y-You too. I mean, you've grown up."

"It's been quite a while…"

"Yeah." He could feel the onset of a blush creeping up to his cheeks, but was too happy to see his Nobu-chan again to care.

"Uh…" The shorter guy suddenly became uneasy. And though his head was bent so low that he could already kiss his neck, Rukawa knew he could not be mistaken. Nobunaga Kiyota, the sensational rookie of Kainan-dai, was blushing furiously.

"Well," The guy went on, fiddling with his fingers. "I noticed you haven't made much acquaintance with anybody in Shohoku and I thought you might be feeling alone and lonely today so… so I decided to drop by."

"Nobu-chan…" He felt his lips twitch into a small smile as the other guy looked up at him, eyes soft and imploring.

"I missed you. And… And… I wanted to…"

Rukawa took a step closer to the stuttering guy and gingerly brushed a hand through his hair in a comforting gesture. "I understand. You were very angry."

Nobu-chan shook his head and said, his voice an almost whisper, "I was very afraid."

Rukawa furrowed his brows curiously, "Of what?"

"I was afraid I might lose you."

The words sounded like heaven to Rukawa's ears, complete with a choir of angels and the sweet soothing rhythm of their lyres. He had never ever thought he would actually hear that kind of statement from his Nobu-chan's lips. "Say that again?"

"I meant, I love you, Kae-chan," Nobu-chan said in a quiet, yet more confident voice as he shifted his gaze to the ground once again. "I always have. You can now go and laugh at me all you like, but that won't change the way I really feel for you."

It took a few moments for Rukawa to actually absorb what he just heard. How long had he yearned to hear those words? How long had he dreamt of and waited for this moment to come? If he was gonna laugh, it would be out of joy and nothing else. It may have sounded weird and funny to other people but it was the most blissful thing to him.

His senses finally allowed him to respond. And, not one to follow someone's lead with just the same trick, he used another way to let Nobu-chan know he felt the same…

It was the best way he knew how…

He tilted his Nobu-chan's face with a hand as he pulled him closer by the waist with the other. And in the next second, their lips met in an intimate space that told of the words they had failed to say through all the years they were apart.

It was as if that single special moment had just defined their whole destiny. The rest of their lives. Together.

"That was the best gift I ever had," Rukawa's voice spilled with delight and contentment.

Nobu-chan drew back from the hug and looked up into his eyes, "That wasn't all of it," he teased, a playful smile forming on his lips. "Happy birthday, Kae-chan!" His eyes glinted with mischief as he pushed Rukawa into the room and shut the door close.

And in the next glorious moments, Rukawa felt absolute happiness. The happiness he had not found in all the expensive gifts scattered around his room, he found in the one great gift he held in his arms.

"Do you love me?" he asked, echoing his voice from the past.

"Yes, of course," Nobu-chan replied softly, kissing him lovingly once again. "I love you Kae-chan. With all my life…"

-end-

Note: This story stemmed from a name-confusion. I thought Nobunaga's given name was Kiyota so when Rukawa used "Kiyota" to refer to him, I got this idea that they were somehow acquainted. As it turns out, Kiyota is his family name and Rukawa really has nothing to do with him. But, of course, in fanfiction anything is possible.

Thanks for reading! :)