Epilogue

The fate of the opportunities you take

Naoki heard a squeal of excitement in the distance and raised his eyes from the magazine he was reading, sitting on a lounger under a beach umbrella.

His eyes saw first the white foam of the waves, advancing on the sand, and then it crossed with Kotoko, into the sea, fleeing Yuuki, who splashed a lot of water thanks to his puberty strength. His girlfriend laughed and waved, trying to keep enough distance from his brother, unfruitful.

He allowed himself to watch them for a few moments. After the return of Aihara to his home, six months after their departure, the relationship between his brother and Kotoko had been closer, although discussions between them remained; his mother said it was as if they were two real siblings, and he could agree on that point.

And now that his brother grew in size, the overprotective demeanor of Yuuki, for her, was more existing, especially because it seemed very likely that he'd be taller than his girlfriend would. The youngest of the Irie liked that—besides, Naoki thought with amusement, his brother was happier being able to surpass his friend Konomi.

The current fight between Yuuki and Kotoko was another demonstration of how they got along, even while on vacation.

The six were in Okinawa; Kotoko had been working for a year and she had a few days off, which they took as an excuse to stay on the beach. He, well, was there only for her; he was in his final year of preparation for his medical degree, doing research while having his residence in the hospital, so he could be using his time in another thing.

Although he admitted that it was his own desire to be there.

Rolling his eyes when he saw his mother take photos of all with a water protective equipment in his inseparable camera, he thought it was perfect she did not insist that he went back to the water, since he had swum one hour before going to his current site.

His mother must have been holding back.

Suppressing a smile, his eyes returned to the magazine's article, which information would be of benefit to support theoretically his thesis.

But again, his reading was interrupted because of Kotoko, who sat in his chair.

He played dumb for a moment, knowing enough how to hide to her what he was doing.

"You should have a little more fun today, Naoki-kun," she said. Askance, he saw her pour cream on her hands to apply it on her shoulders and avoid burns from the summer sunlight.

"I assure you that I will have fun today," he mused, thinking of the night.

He closed the magazine and took the bottle to put a little of sun cream on the palm and continue what she was doing, reaching the site on her back that her hands could not cover.

Kotoko shuddered when he put his fingers on her naked back, which was visible by the swimsuit well designed to cover the places where she felt uncomfortable.

He, mischievous, delineated the curvature of her back with his index, up to a point behind the ear, where he bent.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, despite knowing the answer, the same she had given him a year after she accepted him back.

She tilted her face toward him and smiled. "Yes, Naoki-kun," she claimed before returning her eyes to the ocean.

He continued touring her back with his hand, venturing to apply the sun cream under the straps of her clothes. He knew it was unnecessary, but all the sun block was. His intentions was that she kept shaking.

He bent back to her ear.

"So, will you become my wife?" he whispered.

Kotoko tensed a moment and moved to face him, wide-eyed in disbelief. Then quickly pressed her lips on his, smiling.

"Yes."

However, her mouth formed a childish pout.

"But now it will be very difficult to get a date, you have very little time for your profession and my job… Oji-san has work to do with the fame of the company; not much, he would have time. Dad too. You and I are the ones who are busy… I think we should've accepted years ago… Oba-sama must've prevent something like this, it was very sill…"

"Let's do it here," he interrupted, smiling in a wolfish way.

She gasped, the opportune moment for him.

"We can?" She asked him, stunned.

He nodded and looked away from Kotoko to the sea, where the eyes of his family watched. He looked at his mother and gave her a nod; she let out a scream and ran excited towards both.

His fleeting fiancée gave him a sympathetic look, her face alight… the way he wanted her to look, overcoming the past events, a stage of their relationship.

"We must prepare, Kotoko-chan!" Exclaimed his mother, reaching out to them. "Finally I can officially call you my daughter! And I'll have granddaughters and grandsons! Oh, and I can finally see it! What a beautiful ring! Well done, onii-chan!"

"Ring?" He laughed at the surprised face of Kotoko when she saw her ring finger, where he succeeded in placing a ring while she was distracted. "Naoki-kun!" She yelled incredulously, trying to get close to him, while his mother made her get up from the chair.

"Come on, Kotoko-chan, you must make you more beautiful than you are," his mother said excitedly. "You'll look much better than your friend Chris in her wedding photos with Kinnosuke. I know! Oh! Yes! My Kotoko-chan and my onii-chan going to get married! I've been waiting for this moment so much!"

Naoki saw the two going away, Kotoko almost stumbling, and shook his head. He knew what it was to leave the matter in his mother's hands, but he did not think it could have been otherwise. Once Kotoko had commented that they owed it to her for the previous occasion, and she knew that it would make her oba-sama happy to plan everything.

He only heeded her words.

He stood while the men of his family approached, intending to go to the hotel and rest before getting ready for the time of the ceremony. They looked excited by the event that would take place that day.

He, though he did not externally show it, felt exultant to make her his wife.

More than six years ago, he would have thought it impossible; but in all that time, many things had changed and he was someone different from the naive young man who believed in a hollow and stupid plan. Nevertheless, it turned out to be the best thing that could have crossed his path by allowing him to interact really with Kotoko, to get to know her and himself.

He had been lucky to have her on his way, and that she had apologized him and loved him. He was lucky that she was with him despite everything, to become Mrs. Irie, and to whatever the future had prepared for both, with its ups and downs.

It sounded stupid, even if he only knew it, but he thought off the happy ending she once planned for them, forming his own family with the woman he loved.

Either way, he would feel comfortable having her at his side, as all that time.

Others might say lot of things about both, questioning the relationship of someone as smart and unperturbed as him, with someone like her, so full of life, but he cared little, because he knew her well and did not regret having chosen her. More than anyone, he was aware of the personality of his future wife. She was romantic, chatty, naïve, confident, determined, protective, sensitive, persistent, impulsive, irritating, clumsy, friendly, enthusiastic, forgetful, thoughtless, sympathetic, cheerful, lively, affectionate,…

Imperfect, as much as he was.

But his.

AN: Now, the end! He,he.

I swear this is the most difficult thing I've done in ff. As you read, this story is long, but I wanted to share it with you. I hope you liked "Imperfect girlfriend". Thanks for the favorites, follows, views... for reading it. You are amazing!

I'll look for a beta to make corrections, but not now. Once I reupload one chapter, I'll write it had changes, if you go back to this fic.

In other things, I don't know in which story I'll work with, but I hope you can read me in the future.

Love, Karo!