Lured
By: Stupiak Kitty

Behold, the last chapter! First of all, I'm really sorry for the delay. Second, I want to thank all of you who liked this story! Oh my, I can't explain my joy. Third and lastly, thank you so much for Sapphyre Lily for editing the last two chaps. I'm so grateful for your effort. I'm sorry for my lame tenses, I need to learn more. ahaha. :D

"It lured me back to you." –Midorima Shintarou

Chapter's Theme Song:

Ashita He Tsurete – Midorima Shintaro & Takao Kazunari

xXx

Midorima had awoken first, followed by Takao who started wincing the moment his eyes opened.

"Are…are you fine?" Midorima asked, not sure if it was the right question to ask.

Takao's discomfort was plainly obvious, though his faint chuckle eased his worry slightly. "Besides the fact that I feel like my bones will collapse any moment, I'm just peachy, Shin-chan."

"Hmph. Good to hear that."

"Say, Shin-chan," Takao asked after a moment of comfortable silence. "Is it true?"

"What is true?"

"Earlier, you mentioned something about having to do that certain thing for the first time. Was it really?" Takao asked.

Midorima pushed his glasses with that. "Is this kind of issue a big deal to you?"

"No, I…I just want to be sure," He answered. "So you never had anyone during all those years of living in England? To have you satisfied with…you know."

Midorima grunted in response. "No one."

"What about flings?"

"No."

"Not even once?"

"I'm not like you, Takao."

He pouted at that. He shifted to face Shin-chan, plopping his left elbow on the pillow to support his head. "So how come you're good with handling the job?"

Midorima made strangled noises, turned his head away and pushed his glasses up. Takao was sure that was a blush forming on his cheeks.

"Because it's plain and simple," was Shin-chan's reply.

"Come on. No one can do that so perfectly with their first time," Takao reasoned out. "Tell me. No hard feelings, Shin-chan. After all, you already know about my private escapades."

Midorima chose that moment to look at him. His eyes were serious. "That was my third time doing it to anyone."

"Third time?" Takao frowned, then his eyes widen with a sudden realization. "Then it means…"

"You're right," He answered. "My first and second time was you."

"Y-you're kidding," Takao exclaimed, almost speechless for a moment with the revelation. "Then how come you seem so accustomed to doing that? Like you were used to the thing..."

Midorima sighed. "Ten years of having you existing only in my dreams, imagining the things that I would do should we meet again. I had it all memorized inside my brain so I just did what my mind told me the moment I touched you once again."

Takao was left there staring at him.

He could not believe what he just heard.

To be honest, the two of them are the same. Takao had him lingering inside his dreams just like him. He had been imagining everything with him as well. But he could not accomplish what Shin-chan had brought about too perfectly.

Shin-chan, after all, belonged to the Generation of Miracles.

"God, Shin-chan," Takao exclaimed after a minute of shocked wonder. "You're one hell of a prodigy."

Midorima pushed his glasses up, a hint of smugness on his features. "Of course, I am."

"I'm so envious of your skills you know."

"Hmph."

Silence filled them again.

"Takao."

"Hmm? Shin-chan?" He answered.

He was still in a daze.

All of the things happening now, it felt like a dream.

"I have a few things I want to say," He said. "Listen up, because I'm not going to repeat this, even for your sake."

"Go ahead then, Shin-chan. I'm all ears."

"This…this unexpected encounter is something I didn't anticipate nor imagine. I was only led here by the strong desire to find my lucky item," He said. "I know that you're aware how I always give everything with all of my power in order to follow my fate. That's why I always follow Oha Asa's lucky item no matter how bizarre the item is."

"So you're aware of how strange your lucky items are?" Takao asked, amused.

"Shut up, Takao," He scowled, before continuing. "Despite the odds Oha Asa had given me throughout my life, I owe everything to it. You were aware of my prediction, am I right?" When Takao nodded, he continued. "I've gone through all situations — from mundane to bizarre. I've been a living witness on how accurate the prediction was. I have experienced everything unexpected just because the lucky item was not present in my hands. Sakura was my lucky item for that day so I tried anything, everything that concerns it."

Something clicked inside Takao's mind at that. "Ohh. That's why."

"What?"

"Kuroko said he saw you loitering inside the premises of Seirin on that same day."

His eyebrows twitched with that. "I was not loitering. I was only trying to find the key to fix my messed up fate."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know," Takao chuckled. "And then?"

"Finding my lucky item led me to a bistro owned by Seirin's Light and Shadow. It was strange enough to tell that fate was making fun of me at that time."

"Err…Shin-chan," He called. "I think it's safe to say that I own Sakura Bistro too."

"What?" Midorima almost exclaimed. His expression was a mixture of shock and something Takao couldn't name, but he was sure that he was thinking that it had something to do with his missing lucky item.

"Half-own, actually," He explained. He couldn't help but grin at Shin-chan's reactions. "I have the greatest share among us three, but I gave all the rights to Kagami because I know that he can handle it as well as I. And it appears that my guess was right."

Silence.

"I never would have guessed," Shin-chan said after a while. "It never occurred to me that you and the Seirin couple would become friends."

"Yeah, well, I never expected it too," He answered. "It just happened, and I'm more than glad that it did."

"Takao."

"Yes, Shin-chan?"

"I already know the main reason why I am here."

"Yeah?"

"My reason for coming back was to find my lucky item, nothing more. My plan was to go back to England after obtaining it," Midorima pushed his glasses up, looking away. "But I ended up meeting you.

"Oha Asa has my gratitude, and I'm grateful for that. The item is the reason why we've met again," He pushed up his glasses again. Takao noticed how nervous he was just by seeing his usual gesture with his glasses. "The Sakura, my lucky item, lured me. It lured me back to you. It was not designed for me to find it. It was made for me to find you — the most important person to me, but I let it slip out of my hands because of our idiocy."

For the umpteenth time, Takao was left speechless. He stared at Shin-chan, unsure how to respond to that heart-melting confession.

This was the dere part of his beloved tsundere.

It was making his eyes sting and his heart throb. No words could explain how happy he was right now.

So he did the only thing he was familiar with.

"Whoa! Shin-chan!" He exclaimed followed by a hearty laugh. "I thought expressing yourself was not your strongest fit?"

Shin-chan grunted with that. "It is not."

"Ridiculous! Haven't you heard what you just said?" He said. "Heh. So Shin-chan can express himself if he's serious enough."

Shin-chan looked away with that before pushing his glasses up again. The act made him smile. Those actions were hints that Shin-chan was nervous or uncomfortable with a certain situation.

A sudden thought came to his mind.

He smirked, and before Shin-chan could guess what he was up to, he pulled his glasses away from his face and put them on. The lens' high degree made him dizzy all of a sudden, so he put them down the bridge of his nose instead.

Then he cleared his throat, imitating Shin-chan's deep voice. "The item is the reason why we've met again. Na no da yo."

"Takao! Stop imitating me!"

He stood up before Shin-chan could snatch the glasses back.

He cleared his throat again, then he scowled, imitating Shin-chan's own perfect scowl. "The Sakura, my lucky item, lured me. It lured me back to you. Na no da yo."

He had truly missed this.

Messing with Shin-chan was the best part of having this eccentric man in his life.

"T-Takao!" He growled.

When he turned to Shin-chan, he couldn't help but laugh. His face was flustered. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment was beyond him.

Though he knew, the latter was more like it.

"Stop laughing, you fool!" Shin-chan barked.

That only made him snort and laugh harder. "Aww. But you're too cute when you're embarrassed."

When Shin-chan stood up on the bed to seize Takao, he jumped off and laughed again when he heard him emit a frustrated growl. When he tried to look at his beloved green-haired, he saw that he was frowning. He was glaring at him as if he was the person he loathed the most.

"Forget everything that I said," Shin-chan declared. "I take it all back. Coming here is a nightmare!"

"Ohh, Shin-chan," He grinned, waving the glasses in his hands. "I know that's a lie. This is your greatest dream. We all know it."

"That's—"

"Don't bother denying it. Both of us knew how much you love me!"

"Fool!" He was now shouting, making his face look more flustered. "I never even told you that I love you."

"Pft. You just did!"

"That's it," Shin-chan stomped off the bed and walked toward his luggage, he looked almost as if he was a kid stomping his feet. Takao snorted when he saw that. "I'm reverting to my original plan," He continued. "I'm going back to England tomorrow and you will never see me again. Nobody can stop me, not even you."

"Heh. Shin-chan, I think it's impossible."

Midorima cocked a challenging brow. "And why is that?"

"Because I just flushed your passport down the toilet," He grinned. "You have no choice but to stay here with me."

Hearing that made him gasp, he glared at the raven-haired idiot while his hands were clenched so tightly they were almost shaking. "T-Takao!"

"Ahahaha! I'm just kidding, you know!"

Coming back to Japan was a very stupid notion.

Indeed it was.

-THE END-

How was it? I hope you like it!

Yes, I turned them back to their original characters in the end. I can't imagine Midorin actually saying "I love you" to Takao. Well, not when Takao tricked him to do so. I can't make them go lovey-dovey with each other either. It would ruin the main reason why I liked the pairing in the first place.

Again, thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I had this story posted on tumblr too. Thank you for liking this. See you soon for another angsty, heart-breaking MidoTaka stories! Or a sequel, I don't know. Let's just see where my ideas will lead me. XD

(Add the new beta name)

Random trivia:

I have nonstop feels while doing the last part. I was staying at Premiere hotel while doing it (03-15-14) and I imagined them really doing this inside the actual hotel that we were staying. Omo! You have no idea how hard it was to suppress smiling, giggling, and going crazy at the same time with everyone in your family around you.

The feels is too much.

All rights reserved 2014

Created: February 2014
Finished: March 15, 2014