Hi Everyone! I'm BAAAAAACCKK! xD

And for those of you who still care, I've decided to write a little bonus chapter for this story since it's been a long time since it ended. Think of it as my thanks for all the postive feedback I've gotten for this story. Enjoy!

P.S. This whole thing takes place about a year into their marriage. ^-^

...

Hiroki sighed heavily as he shut the door behind him, dropping his bag on the floor.

"Ugh...I'm exhausted..." Hiroki groaned, rubbing at the sore achy muscles near his shoulders. "...and I think I pulled a muscle today while discipling those little tramps we call "the future of Japan."

Hiroki's referring to his "discipling" of his students obviously meant him throwing heavy textbooks at them; while being an effective method for gaining their attention it was a pretty tiring action for the aging literature professor. He glanced around the room suddenly, wondering where his husband was.

"Where is that bastard? He said he'd be home by the time I got back tonight." Hiroki muttered to himself, crossing his arms and shivering slightly. The weather was getting much colder now, as winter quickly approached.

I guess I'll have to get that heater installed after all...its so damned cold in this house now...

Hiroki sighed, glancing at his watch. Where the hell was Nowaki anyway? Hiroki tried to open a book and read to pass the time, but it wasn't long before he found his eyelids drooping without his control as a sense of drowsiness overtook him. His days at work were long, tiring, and mundane...and it took a much greater toll on Hiroki nowadays than it used to.

Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit... He thought wearily as he dozed off.

It was at least an hour later when Hiroki finally opened his eyes, having been awakened by a warm pair of hands on either side of his face. He looked straight into the gentle eyes of his husband Nowaki, who'd finally gotten home, late once again.

"Hiro-san, you were asleep huh?" He said, laughing softly and tussling his husband's hair. "You're just so cute."

"Shut up," He growled under his breath, pushing Nowaki's teasing hand away, but not too forcefully. "Work was exhausting today."

Nowaki nodded. "I understand Hiro-san. I guess you haven't eaten, since it's my turn to make dinner tonight? I think I'll go start it now..." Nowaki smiled once more at his husband and began to walk away.

"Hey wait a second!" Hiroki called, grabbing for Nowaki's arm, but then stiffening noticably in pain, which Nowaki noticed immediately.

"Hiro-san! What's wrong?"

Hiroki groaned, rubbing at the now immensely painful aching between his shoulderblades. "Ugh...I think I pulled a muscle or something...it hurts like hell..." He grumbled.

"Oh...Hiro-san...I'm sorry. Do you want a hot compress? Maybe a tylenol for the pain?"

Hiroki glared at him. "Playing doctor again I see." I sighed. "Don't worry about it Nowaki. I'm a man you know. I can take a little-" Hiroki was interrupted by two familiar hands rubbing and massaging the afflicted muscles between his shoulders.

"Um...Nowaki?" Hiroki asked after a few awkward seconds. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you a massage Hiro-san. I learned how to do it properly as part of my training at the hospital, since a lot of the patients complain of muscle pains as side-effects of the drugs they are given."

"Oh...I...see..."

"Does it feel better Hiro-san? Am I doing it right?"

Hearing the genuine concern in his voice made Hiroki's heart skip a beat. "Uh...yeah. You're doing fine. Great actually. It feels a lot better now."

Nowaki grinned happily then. "I'm glad Hiro-san."

A brief silence stretched between them before Hiroki spoke up again, remembering what he'd been wanting to ask before. "Um...so why were you late anyway? I mean, you haven't really been doing that recently..."

"I sent you a text before telling you I was shopping downtown, but I guess you didn't get it since you were asleep."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess not. But what were you shopping for anyway?"

Nowaki hesitated before answering, with a smile in his voice. "Oh, you know. Just shopping around. Just to kill some time..."

"Humph." Hiroki pouted. "Well, you could have sent me the text earlier. I get..." Here he paused, before continuing in a smaller voice. "get worried you know?"

"Oh Hiro-san..." Nowaki sighed. He leaned over and kissed Hiroki on the cheek. "So adorable."

"Hey! Don't call me that!" Hiroki barked. Nowaki just laughed.

Nowaki prepared the two of them a steaming pot of curry and rice. The two of them ate, finished, did the dishes together, and then went into the living room to watch TV for a couple of hours before going to sleep. It didn't really matter what time they turned in, since it was a Friday night, and Hiroki had no classes to teach tommorow. Also, Nowaki was taking the day off tommorow, so it was going to be just the two of them, although Hiroki had questioned the reason why Nowaki had requested a day off, since the hospital was practically his second home, and he rarely took weekends off.

Hiroki flipped through the channels for awhile, but niether of them found any shows that caught their attention.

"God...television's useless..." Hiroki grumbled as Nowaki suddenly took his hand and gazed at him for awhile. Hiroki met his gaze with confusion. "W-what is it?"

"Don't you know what tommorow is Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked him softly.

Hiroki stiffened. He had no clue what he could have meant. Was there a holiday tommorow that he forgot about? "Um...I guess I don't."

Nowaki chuckled, then leaned forward and kissed him. "It's your birthday silly." He said with a grin.

Hiroki froze. Oh yeah, it really was tommorow wasn't it? Hiroki had totally forgotten about it. That week had been so hectic and all.

Oh wait...so that's why he took off.

Hiroki's eyes narrowed suddenly, and he frowned at his husband. "Oh now I get it. You wanted to do something cheesy and romantic with me tommorow huh? To celebrate my birthday?" He commented in an accusatory tone. He knew his husband all too well, and Nowaki's face gave him away immediately.

"How did you guess?" He said teasingly, lacing his fingers with Hiroki's and pecking him on the cheek.

"Ugh. God...you're too much Nowaki." Hiroki groaned. "You want to do this every year with me, even though we are both men. Don't you ever feel just a little awkward about it?"

"The only person who matters to me is you Hiro-san." Nowaki said softly, making a move towards him, but then stopping abruptly, and being still.

"What is it?" Hiroki asked.

"Well, I really wanted to hold you just now but...I know that your back is hurting you. I don't want to aggrivate it Hiro-san..."

"Er... that's okay. That massage of yours really did the trick. My muscles aren't really sore anymore." He couldn't meet Nowaki's eyes as he said this, and his face was turning beet red. To be honest, his back was still a little painful, but it wasn't the foremost thing on his mind, unlike Nowaki's embrace.

"Just to be safe though, I think it's best if I don't make you strain your muscles tonight." Nowaki said. "I'd hate if you pulled them even more."

Hiroki was a little pissed now. "Look! It's FINE alright?" Hiroki insisted, looking Nowaki square in the eye. "You don't have to go all "Doctor Kusama." on me you know! If I say it's okay to hold me than that means it's okay!" Hiroki took a deep breath, ready to continue before he realized what he'd just done, and stopped dead in his tracks. "Er...well...that is..."

Nowaki's smile almost reached his ears then, as he slowly reached out for Hiroki. "Okay. I understand Hiro-san." He then engulfed his husband in his arms. Hiroki wanted to protest, to save his pride, but, as usual, he found it hard to struggle against the warmth of Nowaki's body. Gradually, he found himself moving closer to Nowaki, until the space between their bodies had almost closed.

"Hiro-san...you make me so happy." Nowaki sighed. Hiroki's ears flared.

"D-dumbass..." Hiroki mumbled.

"What do you want to do tommorow?" Nowaki asked.

"Huh?"

"For your birthday Hiro-san."

"Oh. Well, I don't know. I can't really think of anything."

Nowaki chuckled, running his hand through Hiro-san's long brown hair. "We could shop together, or go out to dinner somewhere? Maybe we could go down to the shoreline and take a walk down the beach..."

"The beach? Nowaki, it's almost winter." Hiroki pointed out, pulling away suddenly and looking him in the eyes. "God, why do you have to be such a die-hard romantic all the time?" Hiroki asked. "Why do we even need to go out for my birthday? It's really not all that important to me, to be honest."

Nowaki blinked. "You mean to say, you don't want to spend the day with me on your birthday?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant!" Hiroki stammered. "I mean...ugh..." He gave up explaining himself, and just rested his head on Nowaki's chest once more. "I mean to say that I'm no good at romantic stuff. No good for cheesy dates and lovey dovey crap. You should know that by now. I've never been that guy, and I was never that crazy about birthday celebrations either. Especially now. I'm almost in my forties..."

Nowaki smiled. "You will be thirty-three tommorow Hiro-san." He pointed out.

"Yeah...Jeez, where did all that time go?" Hiroki asked.

Nowaki chuckled, and held Hiroki closer. "Remember when we first met Hiro-san? You were only 21 then. All those years ago...

"We've been together for almost thirteen years Hiro-san."

Hiroki shifted and, face burning up, took Nowaki's hand. "Y-yeah. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Nowaki grinned and laced their fingers together. "And every minute of it has been wonderful."

Hiroki didn't respond beyond a tiny nod. He was too embarassed.

"Hiro-san, tommorow, let's spend the whole day together. It dosen't even matter what we do. We'll figure it out as we go. We can do whatever you want, so please Hiro-san. Will you let me take you out for your birthday?"

"...Okay." Hiroki whispered softly. Nowaki smiled, and squeezed his hand tightly, kissing him on the lips.

...

The two of them set out in the afternoon the next day, first stopping at the usual family restaurant for lunch. When they left, it was around 1:30; still pretty early. Niether of them had any good ideas of what to do next, and they were merely wandering around the section of downtown they didn't normally visit, glancing at shop displays occasionally yet never finding any good stores to stop inside.

"Where do you want to go now Hiro-san?" Nowaki chirped, taking his hand.

"I told you already. I don't know. And..." Hiroki's cheeks suddenly turned pink. "Do you have to hold my hand in public like this Nowaki? People can see us and...I think they're staring..."

Nowaki only laughed. "It dosen't matter to me what they think Hiro-san!"

Just then, the two of them stiffen as they thought they heard a faint melodious sound playing in the distance. Almost like music The two of them followed the sound down the street until they stumbled upon a carnival that had been set up in celebration of the autumn harvest. There were rides and game booths and food stands set up everywhere. Nowaki's eyes began to glitter with excitement.

"Oh Hiro-san! I almost forgot about this! The yearly Harvest Carnival is in town! Oh, look at all the roller coasters Hiro-san. And they've even set up the ferris wheel!"

"Y-yeah. I see it Nowaki." Hiroki murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was glancing around and saw that a fair amount of people had already arrived. A few stray teen couples were wandering around, checking the place out, or going on the various rides.

"Oh Hiro-san! It must have just been set up today! Let's spend the day here! Don't you think it'd be fun, Hiro-san?" Nowaki stood there gazing into Hiroki's eyes pleadingly, making Hiroki's cheeks tint pink.

"O-okay you moron! Just stop that! It's embarrassing!" Hiroki urged.

"Yay!" Nowaki cheered happily, causing Hiroki to roll his eyes. He can be such a child sometimes... He thought, but while smiling.

At this point it was around 3:00. Nowaki practically dragged Hiroki inside. They bought their admission tickets and began to wander around the place. Hiroki had never been an avid fan of these kinds of things, but he knew Nowaki absolutely adored them. Hiroki winced as he realized that Nowaki had once again taken his hand. It wasn't that he felt ashamed of it, but Hiroki had also been concious of other people's opinions of him. (And sometimes very defensive about it.) Of course, he was proud to call Nowaki his husband. It was just that sort of self-conciousness had always been a part of him, and he knew that homosexuality would never be fully embraced in Japan.

However, this time, he didn't comment on it, and simply continued to walk beside Nowaki, who was clutching his hand even tighter as he pulled Hiroki towards a long line leading up to one of the roller coasters.

"Oh! This one looks fun Hiro-san! Let's go on it!" Nowaki exclaimed. Hiroki shrugged, his lips flushing red. "S-sure. Whatever."

At this, Nowaki made a face. "Hiro-san, don't you want to? If you don't want to...we could do something else..."

"No. It's fine really!" Hiroki reassured him. A young teen couple that stood in front of them on line was eyeing them suspiciously, but soon lost interest and turned around again. Hiroki could have sworn one of them had been staring at the ring on his hand; the symbol of his and Nowaki's wedlock. But he didn't have the chance to give them his signature death glare because at that moment, a cheerful, familiar voice rang behind them.

"Why, I can't believe my eyes! Is that you Kamijou?"

Hiroki spun around. "Miyagi?" He exclaimed in shock.

Before he could stop him, Hiroki found himself practically tackled by the very elated professor. "Oh Kamijou! It must be fate! I never thought I'd run into you in a place like this!" Miyagi said, rather loudly. Hiroki's eye twitched as he realized that the couple that had previously been staring at him were now whispering quite audiably while pointing in his direction.

"Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me." Hiroki growled menacingly, causing Miyagi to let out a mocking laugh.

"Kamijou, you are such a prude! I'm just trying to have a little fu-" Miyagi suddenly stopped dead mid-sentence. Hiroki followed his eyes upwards to see Nowaki glaring down on him, looking quite initimating.

"Excuse me. But what do you think you are doing to my husband?" Nowaki's voice as he said this was downright scary. Miyagi stiffened in fright against Hiroki, while Hiroki sighed. Nowaki had never been Miyagi's...biggest fan.

Miyagi let go of Hiroki and held up his palms, quickly remembering who Nowaki was. "Hey, relax kid! I was only giving Kamijou my usual greeting! Wasn't I...Kamijou?"

"In his twisted little world, yes, that is his idea of a friendly greeting. And yes, it is very disturbing." Hiroki commented to Nowaki in a deadpan voice. Nowaki's body noticably relaxed, but he never took his eyes off Miyagi.

"I see." He said coldly.

"Uh Miyagi, why are you here anyway?" Kamijou asked, trying to move the conversation along. "I thought you had some papers to grade today."

Miyagi sighed heavily. "Well, I did." But then Shinobu-chin..."

"Miyagi!"

"...And speak of the devil...well, the other devil anyway." Miyagi laughed at his own joke, turning around to greet his boyfriend, who had been running towards them holding two sodas.

"Hey Shinobu! What took you so long?" He asked. Shinobu panted and handed him his drink.

"Well, the line was really long and-" He suddenly noticed who was standing beside Miyagi, and he stiffened slightly.

"Um, Miyagi, I just remembered. I wanted to go on the carousel. C'mon." He grabbed Miyagi's arm and began to pull him away."

"Hey! But wait! You said you wanted to go on this roller coaster!" Miyagi protested, until he and Shinobu's figure were lost in the immense crowd of people, leaving Nowaki and Hiroki standing alone.

"Well...that was annoying." Hiroki said flatly.

Nowaki glanced at him, confusedly. "Hiro-san, that boy...he looked alarmed to see you. Why is that?"

"Ugh, it's probably because I walked in on him and Miyagi accidentally once. I don't blame him really, but why does Miyagi always have to embarrass me like that? God...he is such a pain in the ass..."

"I wish he wouldn't touch you like that." Nowaki said, stepping closer to Hiroki. "It pisses me off."

"What?" Hiroki asked, but suddenly, Nowaki turned around and gasped. "Oh Hiro-san look! We're next up for the roller coaster! And it's stopping! Come on! Let's go!" And Hiroki found himself once more being pulled along by his now cheerful husband toward the carts. He sure changes moods quickly dosen't he? Hiroki pondered. Yet, at the same time, it was kind of thrilling to know that Nowaki could get so protective over him like that...like the first time he confronted Miyagi. He'd almost punched his lights out that night.

'It's crude behavior, and a little childish that he's still gets so jealous over someone as trivial as Miyagi, but in a way, it's kinda nice.

I'll never tell him that though.'

After the roller coaster, Nowaki was even more excited to venture all around the carnival with Hiroki. (Even though the roller coaster had almost caused Hiroki to lose his lunch. He'd never had the strongest stomach.) He followed Nowaki around all over the carnival. Over the course of the following hours, Hiroki was aggitated by some clowns, given a free balloon animal, (which was supposedly a giraffe,) coerced into playing skee-ball and whac-a-mole with Nowaki. (Who thought the cheap plastic moles were 'adorable'.) Hiroki merely rolled his eyes and went along with it. Even though the foremost part of his mind kept reminding him of how childish it all was, he wasn't about to say no and upset Nowaki. He really had no better ideas of anything he wanted to do. And he just seems so happy to be here with me... Hiroki thought.

The more they wandered and the more carnival attractions they tried, such as the goldfish scooping or the target practice booths, people continued to stare and whisper occasionally, but Nowaki was oblivious to it all, as he hummed merrily while clinging to Hiroki's arm and pointing at all the things he wanted to see with him. Eventually, Hiroki began to block it out as well. Despite everything, he eventually found himself having fun too. A couple of the games he was urged to try by Nowaki actually were kind of fun. (Especially the target practice one, where he could use his imagination and picture Miyagi's head on the target as he fired away.)

It really wasn't all that bad for him, and the hours passed quickly, until it was 6:00 PM, and the sky was beginning to darken overhead. Also, the lights of the carnival were starting to come on, and everywhere they looked was bright and dazzling against the evening sky.

"Oh, Hiro-san...isn't it beautiful?" He gushed, holding his hand tightly.

"Y-yeah, it is." Hiroki mumbled, fidgetting as his stomach let out a low groan.

"Oh Hiro-san, can you see the ferris wheel from here? Let's go on that later together! Please say you will?"

Hiroki's stomach groaned again. "D-dumbass, you really have to be that cheesy don't you." Hiroki mumbled, cheeks flushing deep red as he looked away.

"Oh, Hiro-san, was that your stomach I heard just now?"

"S-shut up!" Hiroki barked. " I think I'm getting a little hungry. That's all."

At this, Nowaki's face suddenly brightened. "Oh! Okay! Let's eat!"

Hiroki couldn't even protest before he found himself being dragged by an ecstatic Nowaki once again.

The two of them approached a little snack bar that happened to serve pizza and fries and other common assorted carnival foods.

"Ugh...hope you don't mind American Nowaki, cause it looks like that's all this place serves..." Hiroki grumbled.

Nowaki laughed. "I don't mind. It's really not all that bad Hiro-san. Remember I did live in America for a year. I ate this kind of stuff all the time."

"I don't envy you one bit." Hiroki scoffed.

"Oi Kamijou! Is that you?"

Oh Jesus no don't tell me... Hiroki thought pleadingly.

Then, sure enough, Hiroki found himself being glomped from behind, causing Nowaki to turn around in alarm.

"Ah! Fate has brought us together again Kamijou! My sweet honey!" Miyagi exclaimed dreamily, nudging Hiroki's back.

"You just never learn do you." Hiroki hissed, pushing the professor off of him.

"Oh, just one hug wouldn't kill you Kamijou-" It was then Miyagi caught sight of Nowaki's near murderous glare.

"Oh uh...hey Kusama...didn't see you there..." Miyagi stammered, quickly letting go of Hiroki. "So, uh Kamijou, how long are you planning to stay here anyway?"

Hiroki scratched his head and shrugged carelessly. "Dunno really. I think Nowaki has a few more ideas of where we could go after this, right?"

At this Nowaki brightened. "Yes! We're going to go on the ferris wheel, right Hiro-san?"

"Ugh, are you still on that? Yeah, but I meant besides that..."

"Um, well, I don't know Hiro-san." Then, Nowaki inched closer and smiled suggestively. "We could take a walk along the shoreline under the harvest moon."

Hiroki's face turned beet red. "M-moron! How cheesy can you get?"

Nowaki giggled. "Oh, Hiro-san, it looks like we're next to order. Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you." Nowaki looked tentatively at Miyagi, and then glanced at Hiroki again.

"Um, shit. I don't know Nowaki. I guess a slice of pizza. It'll probably all be crap anyway, so I guess it dosen't matter." Hiroki said.

"Okay. I think I'll have a slice too." Hiroki caught him aim one more guarded look towards Miyagi as he leaned forward to peck Hiroki on the cheek. "I'll be right back. You can go pick out a table if you want." Then Nowaki hurried towards the counter to order.

Miyagi chuckled, as Hiroki embarassedly rubbed his cheek. "He is so adamant about doing that in public that it's ridiculous." He murmured, while not sounding completely dissatisfied about it.

"That kid sure loves you Hiroki." Miyagi said, shaking his head. "He's about as protective of you as Shinobu is, and let me tell you, that kid's a terrorist when it comes to me."

Hiroki rolled his eyes. "Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, he's waiting for me to order for us, but the line's a little long so I'll wait for it to shorten a bit. I hope I can find him, this place is getting crowded."

"You're right. Oh wait, I think I see him, he's right there." Hiroki said, pointing straight ahead at a table towards the center of the bar.

"Oh yeah. So, you want to join us? Or maybe that's not such a good idea...since I do want to survive this meal." Miyagi joked.

"I think Nowaki intends to eat with me alone. He's...um...the reason we're here is... he's taking me out for my birthday."

"EH? IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY KAMIJOU?" Miyagi exclaimed in shock. "I completely forgot about that!"

"Big surprise." Hiroki commented sarcastically.

Miyagi slapped his forehead. "Oh man, how embarassing I-"

"Hiro-san. I have the food!" Nowaki called, spotting them still chatting by the counter. Immediately, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Hiro-san?"

"Oh, sorry Nowaki. I'll talk to you later Professor." Hiroki said, waving over his shoulder and following Nowaki to an empty table.

"Okay, see ya." Miyagi called back, turning around to get on line, but not before catching Nowaki give him a threatening look over his shoulder. Miyagi shuddered.

"Jeez, that guy is scary." He muttered to himself.

"Hiro-san? Are you okay? You look like you're in pain."

"Ugh..." Hiroki groaned, swallowing down another bite of his pizza, looking downright miserable. "How do they eat this crap over there?" He glanced up at Nowaki. "How are you still alive Nowaki, after a year of eating this shit?"

Nowaki laughed. "Hiro-san, you've really never eaten pizza before this?" He asked, taking a bite out of his own slice. "I think it's tasty."

"Well, I don't." Hiroki shivered, pushing his plate away from him. "You can have the rest if you want Nowaki. I've lost my appetite."

Nowaki chuckled once more, shaking his head. "Hiro-san, you're so cute."

Hiroki groaned again. Nowaki smiled. He edged closer to Hiroki on the bench and put his arm around Hiroki's shoulders. Hiroki stiffened and looked up. "Nowaki?"

"Hiro-san, what were you talking about with that man?" Nowaki asked.

"Um...er...nothing really." Hiroki muttered, feeling uncomfortable talking about Miyagi. "Um, Nowaki, why are you..."

" I'm sorry. Forget it, it's not important really. Hey, did you want me to get you something else?"

Hiroki blinked and then replied. "Um, no thanks."

Nowaki nodded and then removed his arm. "Okay then. Do you want to go on the ferris wheel now?" Nowaki asked, eyes shining. Hiroki sighed. He was never going to hear the end of it was he?

"Sure. Whatever." He mumbled, getting up to throw away the plates and cups. He took one final sip of his coke and threw it away. Is it just me, or did he seem a little worried just now?

But Hiroki shook away the thought. Don't be stupid. Why would he be worried?

I'm just imagining things.

By the time they'd left the snack bar, it was close to 7:00, and every single light in the carnival was shining against a velvet black sky. Even Hiroki had to admit that the ferris wheel looked beautiful against the night. Nowaki took his hand and whispered to him, "Oh Hiro-san, let's go!" He gushed.

Hiroki sighed as he followed Nowaki towards the ferris wheel, of course, to their dismay, they realized that the line was incredibly long and moving very slowly.

Hiroki groaned out loud. "Oh God, look at this damned line. We're gonna be here a while, you think we should call it off?"

"Hiro-san, let's just be patient. I'm sure it can't be that long."

Hiroki grumbled in agreement, and the two of them sat on a nearby bench, patiently waiting for the line to start moving. Sadly, by the time half an hour had passed, the line had only barely inched forward. It seemed like they would be waiting there forever, when suddenly Nowaki spoke up.

"Hiro-san, since the line seems to be moving slow right now, do you mind if I use the bathroom? I won't be gone long I promise."

"Oh, uh sure. Go ahead." Hiroki replied. Nowaki smiled then and pecked him on the cheek. "I'll be right back Hiro-san." Then, he raced off.

"He really should have gone when we were back at the snack bar..." Hiroki murmured, crossing his arms. A cool breeze flowed by, and Hiroki shivered.

"Ugh...it's freezing out here! Dammit, I could have used him right now-" Hiroki stopped mid-sentence. Did I really say that out loud just now?

Hiroki glanced around, it didn't appear that anyone had heard him. His eyelids drooped. What the hell...am I getting tired? Probably because I didn't have a proper dinner.

And...I am getting older, aren't I?

Hiroki sighed, glancing at his watch. 7:50. He remembered that the exact time of his birth was 6:39 PM. So I'm really thirty three now huh? Hiroki chuckled to himself. Happy Birthday me.

Hiroki waited around a little longer, and Nowaki still hadn't came back. Where the hell is he anyway?

The line was a lot shorter now.

Hiroki sighed. "He should have been back by now..."

It was at that moment a voice spoke up behind Hiroki,

"Well, look what we have here."

Hiroki heard the voice, and knew it was close, but with all the commotion and chatter all around him, he couldn't place it at first. Until he spun around, half wondering if it was Miyagi or maybe Shinobu. Hiroki's entire body froze when he saw who was standing there.

Tsumori...

Hiroki couldn't believe his eyes. He just couldn't. What the hell is that bastard doing here? First Miyagi, now HIM?

"Never thought I'd run into you again. How you been Kamijou?" He said, quite smugly.

Hiroki stiffened slightly. "Fine. Just fine." He replied rigidly. He did not want to initiate a conversation with this guy. Just the sight of this man was making his blood start to boil. How the fuck does he know my last name anyway? Hiroki thought with rage. Don't tell me Nowaki actually chats with this guy about me?

"Funny, I didn't really think carnival's would be your thing." Tsumori commented. "You here alone by any chance?" He then suddenly plopped down on the bench beside him, making Hiroki even more rigid. His eyes narrowed as he gave Hiroki a self-satisfied smirk. He knows how much he's pissing me off. Hiroki thought. He's enjoying this...

"I'm here with Nowaki." Hiroki responded coldly. "He just went to the bathroom, but he's coming back so-"

But Tsumori's attention had apparently diverted to the ring on his hand. The ring Nowaki had offered him that night he'd proposed.

"Goddamn..." Tsumori suddenly muttered to himself, staring at the ring. "So he really was serious."

"Excuse me?" Hiroki barked, snatching his hand away from Tsumori's gaze. "Just what the hell are you talking about?"

The smug smirk on Tsumori's face that had just seconds ago been replaced with a contemplating look returned in an instant.

"Oh dear, I guess you still aren't that fond of me, are you...Hiro-san?"

This cut through Hiroki like the blade of a sword, and suddenly he found himself clenching his fists and just barely restraining himself from punching Tsumori square in the jaw.

"Don't you dare ever use that name to address me again." He hissed

Tsumori blinked a few times, but then his previous confidence (foolishly) returned and he chuckled. "I'm only teasing you a bit. Is that so wrong? Can't you take a little humor once in a while? Gee, I wonder what Nowaki had to do to convince you to come here with him. You're as much of a tight-ass now as when the time we first met."

Hiroki was practically blind with rage at that point. "For your information Nowaki took me here for my birthday and-"

"AWWWW That is just too precious!" Tsumori gushed in a purposely exaggerated voice. "That Nowaki...always wasting his selfless sentiments on people that just don't appreciate it." Before Hiroki could reply to this, Tsumori looked him dead in the eye. "Let me guess, you haven't even thanked him yet for this have you?"

Hiroki's heart thudded hard. He...he actually hadn't.

"Yeah, I thought as much." Tsumori finally sighed, shaking his head. "And to think the guy actually married you. His precious Hiro-san-"

This is the moment where Hiroki lost it.

Without even thinking twice about it, he suddenly was on his feet. He reached down, took Tsumori by the shirt collar and pulled him up until he held his face within inches of his own. Tsumori didn't look quite so smug now that'd he'd awakened the wrath of Kamijou the Devil. His eyes were wide with horror as Hiroki gripped his collar and hissed the following words right in his face.

"I said never use that name again you son of a bitch! Only Nowaki is allowed to call me that! You hear me? ONLY. NOWAKI!"

"Hiro-san?"

Hiroki instantly went from an erupting volcano to an Iceberg, as he rigidly turned to see Nowaki standing by the bench with a confused look in his eyes.

"Senpai? Hiro-san, what's going on here?"

Hiroki lost his hold on Tsumori's shirt collar and expected him to spill everything that had just passed between them to Nowaki in a heartbeat. But instead, Tsumori merely shrugged and said, "I just ran into your hubby here and thought I'd have a little chat with him is all." Tsumori cast a triumphant glance at Hiroki, which Hiroki barely managed to ignore. "It was...interesting...I'll give it that."

Hiroki clenched his fists, his face burning up with fury. One of these days I'm going to murder him.

It was then that Nowaki suddenly looked furious, and he fixed his gaze on Tsumori. "Hiro-san looks pretty upset Senpai. What did you say to him?"

Tsumori looked taken aback by this question. "I told you, nothing! Just a few harmless jokes, a little playful banter-"

Nowaki started to approach him then. "Senpai, something tells me it's not just that."

He stood right in front of senpai now. Taking a deep breath, he took Hiro-san's hand.

"I've told you this before. You're my senpai, and I respect you for that. But I'm not going to allow to you to torment my husband. At all. You show him the same respect that I show you. Are we clear?"

Tsumori swallowed hard. "Nowaki, really, it was no-"

Nowaki looked him dead in the eyes now, and he looked dead serious now. "Senpai. I mean it." He said. "Upset him one more time, and you'll have me to answer to. Understand?"

Tsumori, appearing terrified, simply nodded, murmured an insincere apology, and slinked away.

Hiroki couldn't even move.

Did I...did I just see what I thought I saw?

Did Nowaki just threaten Tsumori?

"N-Nowaki?" Hiroki asked tentatively.

"Come on Hiro-san." Nowaki said softly, squeezing his hand. "Let's go."

Hiroki found himself being led by the hand to the line for the ferris wheel. When they were next, the person running the ride glanced at their tickets and let them through. Nowaki chose an empty booth and let Hiroki go in first. He sat down beside him then and took his hand again. The two of them were silent as their booth began to rise towards the orb of the full moon. It was a beautiful sight, yet it was the last thing on either or their minds now.

"L-listen...Nowaki-" Hiroki began uncertainly. "It wasn't really nessesary for you to-"

"I heard what he said to you Hiro-san." Nowaki replied in a low voice. "I couldn't believe it, but I heard what he said. He said you were ungrateful. Unthankful." Nowaki looked to him sadly. "If only he knew the side of you I know, he wouldn't be so quick to say such things."

Hiroki was blushing furiously, but he looked away. "Well, yeah, but that's not what really ticked me off. It was...um..."

"I already know Hiro-san." Nowaki said with a light smile. He lifted Hiroki's hand and kissed it tenderly. "You got mad that he called you Hiro-san."

Hiroki now felt just about ready to die. "N-no! It's not like that it's-"

"I know you'd try to deny it Hiro-san. But I heard it all. I even caught a glimpse of you shouting it right in his face. The crowd of people behind you was kind of big, so I couldn't see much of what was happening, but I heard it, clear as day. " Nowaki looked into Hiroki's eyes and drew closer. "That made me really happy Hiro-san."

"W-well whatever. It's not like it was that big of a deal. So I get pissed when other people use that name for me. So what?" Hiroki then felt an increase of weight on his shoulder, and he looked to see Nowaki was leaning against him, smiling warmly.

"You may see it that way, but to me, it's something much greater. With so much more meaning..."

"Nowaki?" Hiroki said, as Nowaki took his hand in his.

"To be perfectly honest, there is a part of me that is always afraid that, one day, I might lose you to someone or something. Anything. I know it isn't rational, now that we've been together for so long...but it's the reason I get defensive about someone like Miyagi touching you, or when Senpai antagonizes you that way. I'm afraid of anything that might put any kind of distance between us...I always want to protect you, and keep you beside me, and sometimes it's difficult to conceal just how much I want that.

"To hear you say that I'm the only one that is allowed to call you Hiro-san, means that you have given only me the special privilege of having that intimate connection to you. The same connection we established thirteen years ago when I saw you crying, all alone in that park...

...And that means more to me than words can express Hiro-san."

Hiroki swallowed back the lump of emotion in his throat and blinked away tears. Nowaki had just made a major confession to him, and, as usual for him, he wasn't sure how to react.

"You...you earned it." Hiroki finally said, tears falling down his cheeks. "You've always deserved that right Nowaki...always..." He eased closer to his husband and rested his head on his chest. Nowaki wrapped him in his arms and held him close.

The two of them were quiet for a few moments as their booth stopped at the very peak of the ferris wheel. The inlaid neon of the wheel began to light with a dazzling brilliant, as it lit the booth from within, briefly revealing the married couple to the world. But they didn't care. Hiroki's heart was nestled in a state of bliss and contentment. He couldn't have asked for a better birthday, even if he did have an unpleasant encounter with Tsumori.

"Hiro-san...I love you so much." Nowaki whispered, making Hiroki's lower lip quiver.

"Nowaki..." He murmured softly.

It was at that moment that Nowaki began to pull something out of his coat pocket. It was a small black velvet box. Hiroki's eyes widened at the sight of the little black box and he looked questioningly up at Nowaki.

"Nowaki, what's this?" He asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

Nowaki smiled warmly. "Your birthday present Hiro-san. I ordered it awhile back, since I knew you wanted a new one."

"And you've been carrying it around all day? Why didn't you just give it to me back at the house?" Hiroki asked, until he finally realized something. "Wait a minute...you weren't in the bathroom at all, were you? Let me guess, you were running to the store to pick this up, weren't you?"

Nowaki merely grinned and shrugged. "Just as perceptive as always, Hiro-san."

Hiroki rolled his eyes and took the box from him. So the whole run in with Tsumori had really been his fault, hadn't it? But he decided not to say it out loud.

"Whatever. I guess it's not that big a deal." He muttered, opening the black box and suddenly gasping softly.

A beautiful gold watch with diamond accents was revealed, glittering in the light from the ferris wheel. Hiroki could immediately tell how expensive it must have been. It must have taken a pretty good chunk out of Nowaki's paycheck. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Hiroki bit his lip as he remembered all those times he'd complained about his ratty old watch. Nowaki had apparently been listening. He always listened. Whenever Hiroki had a problem or even just a minor little complaint or gripe about anything, Nowaki was always listening to him, no matter how menial it might be.

"I bet you didn't even thank him."

Hiroki sighed. Tsumori had a point, no matter how much Hiroki wanted to take a machete to his skull. He could be a little more thankful about the things Nowaki did for him.

"Hiro-san? Do you like it?" Nowaki asked, breaking Hiroki out of his thoughts. He looked up at his lover, Nowaki's eyes were gleaming like soft blue orbs. Hiroki felt tears jump once again to his own.

He nodded. "Yes. I do. Thank you Nowaki...

"For everything."

Nowaki smile grew broader as he leaned forward to kiss his husband.

"Hiro-san, I know we're still technically in public, but is it okay if I kiss you now?"

Hiroki sighed once more. "You just never quit do you? Hiroki whispered, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him closer.

"Afraid not Hiro-san." Nowaki whispered back, leaning in and kissing him deeply. Hiroki closed his eyes.

I love him so much, after all these years it still overwhelms me that I could love someone this intensely...

"Happy Birthday Hiro-san." Nowaki said breathlessly as they came apart. As the booth lowered itself back to earth, the two of them still managed to feel weightless together, suspended in their own little world, where it was just the two of them, and their love. And as they walked home together, hand in hand, the night air blowing against Hiroki and raising goosebumps on his arms, he didn't even notice the cold.

He knew the moment they stepped inside their home, Nowaki would embrace him once more, kiss him, and melt the goosebumps and the cold away.

Just the same way he'd done to his heart.