Soooo...HAPPY CHRISTMAS! I know, I know, it's not ACTUALLY Christmas anymore...but I was working on this all through Christmas, so consider it my Christmas present to you! :D

Misaki…

"Stop it!" Misaki yelled. "I don't need anymore reminders! You're gone…and you're not coming back!"

The voice didn't reply. Misaki sat with his head in his hands, his body shaking as he tried to suppress the sobs fighting to escape.

Misaki woke abruptly, the ear-buds in his ears silent. He'd fallen asleep listening to music again. He pulled them out with shaking hands and sat up slowly. "What a strange dream...again," he muttered. He shivered violently, but not from cold. For the last week, since the hug incident, he'd been having these dreams. Dreams that made him feel lost and alone though he didn't really remember what the dreams had been about.

Hugging his arms around himself, he looked around, expecting to see something out of the ordinary, but it was all normal; or as normal as it can be when you're missing half of your memories. Misaki looked at his clock and was surprised to see that it was almost noon. he got out of bed and left his room, wondering why Usagi hadn't woken him up to make breakfast.

It was quiet in the apartment- -too quiet, actually. The kind of quiet that screamed, "You're alone! There's no one here!" Misaki checked all the downstairs rooms before going back to check Usagi's bedroom. The bed was made which meant it hadn't been slept in the previous night. He checked Usagi's office next- -his laptop was on the desk, closed and cold. So it hadn't been an all-nighter that had kept Usagi out of his bed. Next he checked the couch for signs it had been slept on. No blankets or pillows, just Suzuki-san.

"Where is he?" Misaki wondered aloud, sitting down next to the bear. "Suzuki-san is right where i left him...no. I didn't leave him here. I took him to the cleaners...he shouldn't be back yet..." Misaki grabbed the bear and inspected it. Due to some unexpected incidents, the cleaners had to postpone Suzuki-san's cleaning and had informed them that the bear would be back later than expected. But it was the Suzuki-san he remembered spilling soup on...or had he? Suzuki-san didn't look like he'd just been to the cleaners...but then again, Usagi took ridiculously good care of that bear so there wouldn't be much difference anyway.

It does smell like soap, he noted, hugging the bear. It smells like soap...and Usagi-san... He breathed in deep, closing his eyes. It's a nice smell. Wait...it smells like Usagi-san? How do I even know what Usagi-san smells like? Stop thinking weird thoughts brain!

A deep sadness welled up inside Misaki's heart; he wrapped his arms around the bear and buried his face into it, seeking comfort from something Usagi-san had held dear.

Misaki's eyes flew open and he shoved the bear way from him. "What...? What's wrong with me?" Confused at his sadness, he stared hard at the bear, trying to figure out why it would make him feel this way. The ringing of the doorbell caused him to jump up in fright. "U-uh...coming!"

"Delivery for Takahashi Misaki." It was an enormous bouquet of roses.

"Wow!" Misaki said, bringing them to the coffee table, the only available surface not already covered in flowers. He'd received many of them since returning home. "Another one? And this one is huge!" Reaching into the bouquet, he found a card addressed to him. "'I'm sorry for your loss...' My loss? What does that...?" Suddenly, the image of a newscaster came to him. "Yesterday, hundreds mourned the loss of renowned author, Usami Akihiko. Usami, age 31, died unexpectedly of natural causes on Monday..."

He dropped the bouquet, his mind freezing up.

...loss of renowned author, Usami Akihiko...

"No...no, that's..."

...Usami, age 31, died unexpectedly...

"That can't...it can't be..."

...died...

Why did these thoughts hurt so much? The thought of Usagi being gone...

DIED.

"No!" Misaki threw himself towards the phone and began dialing as quickly as possible. "Come on...pick up...pick up, pick up, pick up Usagi-san! Pick u- -oh! Usagi-san! Where are-"

"The number you have dialed is out of the calling area or has been switched off. Please check that you have dialed the correct number. The number you have dialed is out of the calling area or has been switched off. Please check that-"

Misaki slammed the phone back down. This can't be right...those were just dreams, weren't they? His hands were shaking; he clasped them tightly together to make them stop. Think, Misaki! Who can you call to make sure he's ok? Aikawa-san...? But I can't remember her number...ummm...who else? Who else? He picked the phone back up and dialed the only number that was coming to him. Nii-chan, of course! He can tell me if I'm crazy!

"Hello, Takaha-"

"Onee-chan! It's me, Misaki! Is Nii-chan there?"

"Oh, Misaki-kun! Yes, he's here...I'll get him. Is everything all right? You sound very flustered."

"I just...I really need to talk to him! Please!" He was trying desperately to keep the panic out of his voice, but was failing miserably. Manami didn't question him any further.

"All right, I'll go get him. Just hold on a moment, ok, Misaki-kun?"

"Th-thanks..." He heard her set the phone down and walk away. Misaki began to pace back and forth in front of the phone, wishing desperately and accomplishing nothing except entangling himself in the phone cord.

"...Misaki? Hello?"

Misaki stopped trying to unwind himself. "Nii-chan!"

"Manami says something's wrong. What's going on? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine! It's not me!"

"It's not you? Then it's Usagi? What's wrong with him?"

Misaki's body immediately relaxed. He was so relieved that he dropped where he stood, his knees giving way beneath him. The phone was pulled down with him and it clattered onto the floor.

"Misaki? Misaki, what was that noise? Are you ok?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. I just- -I just knocked the phone down, that's all. Thank you, Nii-chan. That's all I wanted."

"Wait, Misaki-!" Misaki put the phone back on the cradle, or at least attempted to, since he was still tangled up in it. Instead of extracting himself from the cord, he just sat there, his entire body limp with relief, tears flowing freely. Everything was okay. If something had happened to Usagi-san, Takahiro surely would have known about it.

"Why...why am I so happy? Why did the thought of losing Usagi-san make me hurt so badly inside? Why...?" Misaki rubbed his eyes, trying to make the tears stop. "Why should he matter so much to me?"

I love you, Misaki...

"Love..."

I love you.

The sudden realization hit him so hard he actually gasped.

I love you, Misaki.

"I...I love you...Usagi-san..."

With just that one sentence, years of memories came flooding back. Every word, every kiss, every touch. Joy, sadness, jealousy- -every feeling they'd shared, all of it came back in a rush. Misaki found himself crying harder now, all the emotions mixing together and becoming overwhelming. He buried his face in his hands.

I love you, Misaki.

"I love you, Usagi-san," Misaki sobbed. "I really do..."

At the sound of the door opening, Misaki's head snapped up. "I'm home, Misaki. Are you here?" Usagi-san came into the room to find the tangled and emotional Misaki staring at him with wide, blood-shot eyes. "Misaki...? What's...what's going on?"

Misaki's heart practically leapt into his throat. "U...Usagi!" It came out as a sort of strangled sob. Misaki stood up and stumbled towards Usagi. "Usagi-san!" He flung himself at the astonished Usagi, the phone trailing behind him, the cord still wrapped around his legs. Usagi caught him as he tripped, keeping him from hitting the floor.

"Misaki! What-" He didn't finish his question. Misaki reached up to wind his arms around Usagi's neck, his lips seeking out those of the older man. Usagi stiffened in surprise, caught off guard by this sudden assault. Misaki pulled away, tears still streaming down his face.

"I love you, Usagi-san." He tightened his arms around Usagi's neck, hugging the older man with all his might.

Usagi pulled away this time, confusion written clearly across his face. "Misaki...what...what's going on? You...you're...your memories?"

The younger man nodded vigorously. "I remember. I remember it all. I remember you, Usagi-san!" Misaki grinned through his tears. "It feels so good to remember!"

Usagi leaned forward and pressed his lips to Misaki's ferociously, all the pent up sadness and frustration finally released. When they broke apart, both of them gasping for breath, Usagi crushed Misaki to him, not wanting to let him go ever again. "I love you, Misaki."

"I love you, too, Usagi-san. I'm so glad you're not dead..."

"Dead?" Usagi tilted Misaki's face up to look at him. "When did I die?"

"Well, I think it was a dream...people can dream in comas, you know? So I think that was part of my dream..."

"Explain."

"Well, all week I've been having these strange dreams. Then, earlier, when I finally got up, I was holding Suzuki-san...then there was this bouquet of floweres...and the card said..."

Takahashi Misaki, age 21. Happily ever after? Only time will tell.

Hey guess what? THE END. FIN. Hallelujah, I'm finally finished! I hope you enjoyed the story while it lasted and I'm sorry if the ending is not satisfactory. But I'm DONE. And personally, I'm quite proud. This is the only story I've ever finished! :D

Thanks, everyone who has been reading, and to those of you who left reviews: ILU! It was super helpful to know that people were reading and paying attention to my story! Also, thank you to my laptop and my media player which helped with this last chapter. xD The Gravitation soundtrack and the new Linkin Park cd were the soundtrack for this chapter.

Thank you for reading and please review!