Blargh; Valentine's Day…February 14 is no longer Valentine's Day. By order of the Chaotic one and the Queen of Fluff, it shall from this day forth be known as "Bishonen Day."

Be sure to let your bishies know you love them.

*runs off for bishie glompage*

Blargh…I was hoping to have this fic done by now -.-

@--,---'---

There was a long awkward silence.

Red-faced and mortified, Sojiro stared at Kietsu. She was looking at him eagerly, awaiting an answer to her innocently-asked question. She wondered why he wasn't answering. It had been a simple enough inquiry; one which should not have required much thought on his part, yet he had not responded.

She blinked. In her mind, the question was logical. Her mother and father were always kissing one another. This was because they loved one another. Kietsu, although only a small child, was well aware of the mutual affection between Sojiro and Harusame. So why did they never kiss one another?

Bored with waiting for his answer, she climbed out of his lap and went around the table to Sonomi.

Still he sat there, having not even noticed the absence of the child, his face a brilliant crimson hue.

Why don't you ever kiss her? Oh, that's right; you're a coward. Grow up, Sojiro. Grow up and get over this damn shyness. How are you supposed to ask her to marry you if you can't even give her a kiss? My God, you're pathetic. Get a grip on yourself, boy. Just do it already!

All right; all right! I'm going…I'll do it. I-

"Harusame, will you marry me?" He blurted out.

Both women snapped to attention, looking at him with wide eyes. A slow smile spread across Sonomi's face and her eyes lit up with glee. Finally! It had taken him long enough. Five damn years was plenty of time.

Harusame looked like she was about to pass out. Sojiro clapped a hand over his mouth. Did I really just ask her that!? His gaze darted from one woman to the other, taking in first the joyous expression of Sonomi, then the shocked, terrified one of Harusame. He wanted to crawl under the table and die right then and there. She hasn't said anything…Inwardly, he began to panic. Was she in shock? Harusame…God dammit; I've screwed up!

Kietsu began to tug on Harusame's sleeve. "Haru? Haru, Sou asked you a question…" She said pointedly, jerking her head in the young man's direction. She didn't know what "marry" meant, but she did know that Harusame was being incredibly rude, ignoring Sojiro like that.

Harusame's mouth opened. Then it shut again. She stared at Sojiro, her brown eyes wide in disbelief. Had she heard correctly? Had he really just asked her to marry him? What kind of proposal was that? Where had all the nice, romantic stuff gone? And what was she supposed to do? Dive across the table and into his arms? Inner-Harusame was screaming with joy -He asked! He asked! He asked!!- but she couldn't seem to make her mouth form any words. All she could do was sit there and stare at him, her face getting more and more red with each passing second.

"I…I know I don't have much to offer." Sojiro stammered, filling the silence that had enveloped them, "I don't have much money and I have no family. There's not even really anything I'm good at. The most I can offer you is myself. I love you, Harusame, and I want to be with you forever." He finished in a rush, his goofy smile lighting his face and making him look even more anxious.

Another long silence followed.

Harusame's mouth opened again and this time she managed to squeak out an "um." She brushed back her hair, blinked, brushed back her hair again. "Sojiro…I…I…Oh…I don't care what you have and don't have. I love you too and it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor or anything. Of course I'll marry you…"

"But?" His heart sank at the hesitance in her voice. Why had she just trailed off like what? What was going on in her mind?

"But nothing." She smiled shyly, "I accept. That's all."

Relief washed over him. The grin grew wider and even goofier as he scratched the back of his neck. "Really?"

"Of course really. I wouldn't lie about that." Her smile grew. He was so cute when he was blushing. "We have a home and you have a job. We can have a good life together, Sou."

"So dêsu; we can." He felt extremely content on top of his relief. This was all he wanted in life; to be free and happy with Harusame by his side. He loved her deeply and knew she loved him in return. "Anô, Harusame, can I kiss you now?" He blushed lightly, his deep blue eyes fixed upon her pretty face.

She nodded slightly, her nose and cheeks tinged pink. "You may."

He leaned across the table, kissing her tenderly, her lips soft against his. His kiss was just as shy as it had been under the moonlight that first night, just as incredibly innocent. Harusame fleetingly thought about Kamatari and Gessho. She had seen the way they kissed -their passionate hot spring embraces- and she wondered how long it would be before Sojiro kissed her like that.

@--,---'---

Gesshoku yawned.

She and Kamatari had been in the office for a long time, looking over one of her mother's account books and oh it was boring work. How could Kumori stand to look at that thing on a regular basis? No wonder she was always so bitter and angry, if she had to deal with this. And poor Kamatari…Kumori wanted him in charge of the springs when she was dead? It would drive him mad.

This would not due.

This would not do at all. The whole business rightfully belonged to Nisshoku anyway; she was the older of the twins. She also had a better head for something like this and far more business sense than either her sister or her husband. So why had Kumori…?

It was because Nissho had never married. Gessho cursed her parents who hadn't found a husband for her sister. Why was she so special as to be the one who was married? She had never wanted it. Nisshoku would have been much better suited for the job. But she was relieved that they hadn't decided to marry Kamatari and Nissho; it would have just killed her.

"Can we please stop now?" She whined, drawing one hand up to stifle a second yawn. Any more and she would die of boredom. Never one for math, all the numbers and figures in the book were making her head pound.

"Hai." Kamatari's voice held relief as he answered her. He hated this as much as she did; maybe even more so. He hated the thought that he would someday be in charge of all of this, but he suspected there was nothing else he could do. Kumori wanted him to run the Aoiroten-onsan. His mother wanted him to run the Aoiroten-onsan. Someday, it would belong to Kietsu, or possibly the new baby, if the new baby was a boy.

"I don't see why Mama doesn't want Nissho to take over here. She's smarter than both of us and she's older than me. The place should be hers." Gessho sighed as she shut the leather-bound book, leaning back against Kamatari's chest. They were still sharing the chair; she was on his lap and he had his arms around her, his chin rested on her shoulder.

"I don't know, Darling…Nissho's not all she seems to be. There's much more to her than meets the eye." Kamatari worried about the older twin. He'd recognized something in her; something he hadn't seen in a long time. She had wild, staring eyes. She had a strong urge to fly. But nowhere could she fly.

He knew exactly how she felt.

"Are you saying my sister isn't capable of running the hot springs?" Gessho twisted around to look him in the eye. This was new and interesting. Nisshoku had always seemed far more capable of it than Gesshoku felt.

"I'm saying that the way she is now, she's not capable of running the hot springs."

"What does that mean?"

"Come now, Koishii. You have to have seen it in her, that lost, desperate look. Every time I see your sister, she looks more withdrawn; more bewildered. I don't think she can go on much longer if she doesn't find what she's looking for in her life." He touched her cheek, caressing the smooth skin with his thumb, "I see in her what I used to feel myself."

She stared at him a moment, taking in all of his past sorrows; all of the sadness hidden in his rich brown eyes, then she fell into his embrace, her head under his chin. "I know. I know my sister is lonely. I know she's confused. I know that's why she doesn't come home. But I love her and I know she would be way better at this than us. She just needs to get her life on track. I was like that for a long time too, Kamatari."

"Iie…You were never so confused." He kissed her hair, "You knew exactly what -or should I say who?- you wanted."

A grin crossed her face. "True. I wanted you and only you. I would've wanted you even if you were a woman." Her arms snaked around his neck, her fingers twining through the short locks of his hair.

"You know…When I left you the first time, when you were little, I didn't want to. I wanted to take you with me. Mama wanted me to be one thing. My uncle wanted me to be another. Your mother expected me to be like my father. But you…You were the only person who loved me unconditionally." A soft smile crossed his face at the fond memories of a smaller version of Gessho running to him, hugging him, telling him she loved him. He looked down at her, still able to see that child in her eyes. "It was so hard to leave you here."

"You came back…That's all that matters." She informed him, "I waited so long for you…And you didn't let me down. You said you would come back and you did." She didn't mention all the years of sadness; all the days she spent as a child staring at the front gate of the spring, watching, waiting. She had waited faithfully for him to come home until she and Nisshoku had left after seven years.

"I don't break promises, Koishii." His fingers tipped her chin upwards, capturing her mouth with his, telling her he loved her without saying a single word.

"I know." She whispered as the kiss ended. This is why she continued to trust him. He had never lied to her in all the years they'd known one another. How did it happen like this? How did I ever get so lucky?

"Now, who all did you invite here for the little lady's birthday?" He asked her curiously. He wondered how much of a crowd there would be on Valentine's Day and how little time he would get to spend alone with her. He didn't really like to admit it much, but he loved to be with her.

"Well, your mama and your uncle and my sister, of course, and you got Sonomi, Harusame and Sou here. I also told Misao that she, Aoshi and Aoi should come by so the girls can see each other. That's it. There's really no one else to invite. But that's plenty for Kietsu to be happy. I am still worried though…She'll be so upset if Nisshoku doesn't come home."

"She'll manage." He assured her, "And we're going to tell her about this little one on her birthday?" He patted her belly, causing her to giggle.

"Mm-hmm; it'll be a good gift for her. But I don't think she'll understand why she has to wait to get a sister or brother. She'll want the baby right away. She'll want to know where her sister is." Her hand folded over his, a smile on her face. Baby, know that we love you already…

He grinned, knowing his wife was right. Kietsu wouldn't understand. She would just keep asking where the baby was no matter how many times they explained. But that was half the fun of having a toddler, wasn't it. "Do you remember, the day after we got married, when you asked me if I was happy?"

"Yeah?"

"And I told you of course I was happy…"

"What about it?" She looked up at him, her eyes full of curiosity. Where was he going with this?

"I didn't know what happiness was then." His smile softened and he touched her cheek again, pushing back her hair, pulling her closer to him, "I was so stupid back then…If I thought I was happy then, what am I now?"

"Still happy." She buried her face in his shoulder, "You and I and our children…We're all happy together. Thank you for giving me a chance…For loving me and coming back to me."

"I will always come back to you. I-"

"Mama! Papa!" Kamatari was interrupted when Kietsu burst into the room, "Sou asked Haru to stay with him forever and ever and they're gonna be happily ever after like all o' us!" She beamed, wriggling with excitement.

"What?" Gessho pulled back from her husband to regard their small daughter, "Slow down, Sweetie."

"Sou asked Harusame to marry him, finally."

The couple looked up. Sonomi was leaned against the doorframe, a smug expression on her face. "He just blurted it out and it was really awkward, but she accepted." Her complacency became a cheerful smile and she flashed them a peace sign. "Victory for all!"

The two smiled. Everything had worked out perfectly.

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Sakura Butterfly: You were my 100th reviewer. Kudos to you! *tosses you a Sojiro plushie*