I'll be honest; I didn't want to write this right away. I sort of wanted to put it off. But I really want this thing to be over, although it will be strange not having it to work on. So let's start this final chapter, and save the sappiness for the end.

The thorns of the rose pricked at the man's hand, drawing tiny droplets of crimson. It wouldn't have happened at all, had he not been holding it so tightly. His other hand was holding something, too, although it caused no injury. It was another, slightly smaller hand that was holding his tightly.

The two had spent so much time together, it seemed as though their hands were made to fit with each other, like puzzle pieces. The way they walked was in perfect harmony. If anyone else had bothered to notice them, they would have been jealous.

And so the couple went on, to the same place they always went on that day. Neither said a word, merely enjoying the other's company. The clouds above them, a dark shade of grey, set the tone for the day.

When they arrived, they stopped for a split second, the large gate threatening them, yet welcoming them. Still in complete silence, they crossed through to their destination.

It was when the two finally stopped that one of them opened his mouth. "Do you think he's happy?" the man said, the words breezing by in a thin mist. His lover stared up towards the sky, as though the person in question could be seen.

"That depends," he said thoughtfully, "Where do you think he went after all of that?"

"I hope he went somewhere nice, and that he's happy."

"Really," the smaller one said. "Who would have thought that we would end up wishing the best for him, despite everything that happened?"

The taller one chuckled. "You have a point. But he turned out alright in the end, didn't he?"

"That's true." The two men needed no more words after those, standing with their hands intertwined. One dropped the rose, while the other saved his for the next destination.

It must have been about 10 minutes that they stood there, in complete silence. Finally the words, "We should move on," were spoken.

The tall man smiled. "You're right. Let's go."

This was a short walk compared to the other one, only about a minute away. This time when they stopped, the other boy dropped his rose.

"I wonder if we would have gotten together if all of this hadn't happened. Otherwise, I might still be with him."

The man next to him softly kissed his cheek. "If you think of it that way, maybe it's a good thing that all of this happened."

"You're right." He looked down. "I still miss him, though."

The grip they had on each other's hands tightened. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. The circumstances were different back then."

"You're right. Now it's getting cold. Do you want to head home?"

"Alright."

"Okay then." The man started walking. "Let's go, Ryou."

Xxx

It's finished. It's really finished. I spent all of that time on this, and this was the end result. Did you know that when I first got the idea for this story, it was only going to be a oneshot? But instead, it turned into a fifteen chapter story. And the ending was completely different, too. I never even considered throwing Touzoku into the mix until I was stuck on a chapter, and yet it ended up being the main point of the story.

I should probably end this- I don't want to rant for too long on what could have been, when I should focus on what came out of this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope that everyone enjoyed reading it just as much. I lost some readers along the way, but I gained a few as well. So to anyone- whether you stuck with this story all the way through, or just joined with this chapter- thank you so much for reading what I consider to be my best story to date. I hope to see you next time.