"Sometimes, morning itself can be a miracle," Natsuo wrote as he was pounding away at a new short story that was inspired by the blessings he had received in recent months. It had been a number of months since that particular day when Hina, whom Natsuo and Rui had believed they had lost, had been restored to them, and at the same time had also discovered their family would be increasing by one member. After turning down the offer to join Kajita at the new brang restaurant in Yokohama, Rui was able to amicably step away from her job for an extended period of time, citing health reasons and a desire to take a step back and reassess where she wanted to go with her career. For her, she was enjoying her 'domestic vacation'; she was able to be around her family more often, and her family benefitted from having a professional chef taking charge of the meals during this time. Rui treasured these moments, as the smiles she put on the faces of her husband, her daughter, and later, her sister reminded her why she walked the path of a chef in the first place.

Though there was doubt on the end of the doctors who worked hard on Hina that she would recover even a meager amount of normalcy, they were astonished when she had regained much of her brain function by half a year, which was yet another miracle on top of waking up in the first place. Natsuo, on his end, superstitiously wondered if the power of his prayer for Hina's aid had been infused in the ring that Haruka placed on her finger the following morning. Regardless, the only thing that mattered was that Hina was back, and they could now communicate with each other. As happy as things were, things weren't easy. The house had to be modified to accommodate Hina, presently wheelchair-bound, as well as how they assisted Hina in caretaking now that she was awake and had a little more degree of autonomy. Natsuo and Rui were also preparing for the arrival of their second child, as it wouldn't be much longer until Rui was to give birth.

The times were busy and filled with excitement. Natsuo had much on his mind as he pounded away on his latest story before being whacked on the head by his wife.

"Natsuo. Did you hear me? Lunch is ready. Hina-nee and I are waiting. Are you gonna join us?" an annoyed Rui inquired.

"Sorry. I guess I got into my zone again," Natsuo apologized.

"Geeze. What happens if you're in the zone when the baby is born?" Rui snapped back. Natsuo had no comeback. All he could do was chuckle at himself. He had become fond of lunch, as he could spend time with Rui and Hina in a way he wasn't able to when they first became family. They could talk to each other about life with a smile on their face.

Hina, at least, made an effort to wear a smile on her face. It wasn't as if she was trying to be deceptive. Being with her family and getting to dote on Haruka was genuinely joyful for her, but as she watched Natsuo and Rui clean up after lunch, she hid a mess of so many emotions underneath her smile that had flooded her since she had recently awoken. She was happy being with her family, but her heart ached as she saw Natsuo and Rui happy together. She felt frustration that there was very little use she could be to her siblings while she was chained to her wheelchair. She couldn't do much to play with Haruka. She was thankful for her new lease on life, yet at the same time despondent for her future. On the outside, she seemed comfortable, yet on the inside, she had grown restless. Deep down, there was a sense that things couldn't continue like this anymore.

That afternoon, Rui had gone to collect Haruka from school and do a little shopping afterwards for dinner that night. Hina had settled in the living room for the afternoon, reading one of the books that Natsuo had authored in the last couple of years (Hina had determined to make up for lost time in many different ways, and she still considered herself one of Natsuo's biggest fans). With Rui away for a short while, Hina felt it was a good time, all alone with Natsuo, to finally be honest about her feelings and put them to rest. Clutching her rings to her chest to gather her courage, she took a deep breath.

"Hey Natsuo-kun, could you come over here for a second?" Hina asked.

"Sure, Hina-nee. Do you need help with something?" Natsuo inquired as he got up from his seat and walked over.

"I love you, Natsuo-kun." Hina suddenly confessed. Natsuo froze immediately where he stood, completely unable to make sense of what he just heard no matter how hard he tried to understand it. "Natsuo-kun, how do you feel about me?" Hina inquired.

At those words, Natsuo was then able to understand what was happening. Deep down, Natsuo knew that when Hina had awakened that something like this would have been inevitable. He could sense that there was a growing discontentment that Hina had been hiding. Something like this had been put off for far too long. Natsuo couldn't ascribe any ill-intent in Hina's words. He could tell that she simply wanted to finally release her feelings to be set free from everything.

"I loved Hina, and I still like Hina-nee. I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. You've inspired some of my writing. You protected my future. You were there for me after I lost Rui and my writing. You were supporting me after Tougen-sensei died and I was able to finally write again. Even though I was sad that you broke your promise to me, I… No. Rui and I will always be grateful to you for saving us from that scandalous report." Natsuo choked up a bit, but forced himself to continue. "I'm sorry. I took your love for granted. Deep down, I knew for a long time how you felt about me, but I was afraid to hurt you. Rather than being honest about my feelings, I kept letting you get so close to me. Hina, I'm thankful for all you've done for me. I'm thankful for the memories we share. I'm thankful you still loved me for all this time. But I'm sincerely sorry. I can't return your feelings the way you want me to. I fell in love with Rui. She is the one most precious to me."

A saddened smile formed on Hina's face. These were the words she feared hearing the most, yet they were the words she knew she needed to hear, now that she was given a lease on life.

"Natsuo-kun, you don't have to apologize. I've ran away from the truth for a long time. There were times when I wouldn't let you tell me the truth. So, thank you for telling me the truth. I don't regret falling in love with you, so please don't feel guilty for falling in love with someone else." Hina confessed, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you for being honest with me about your feelings, Hina-nee," Natsuo replied.

Later that night, as Rui helped Hina to bed, Hina couldn't help but notice the visibly pregnant Rui.

"You really are having another baby, aren't you Rui? You and Natsuo really did create a happy family, didn't you? I really am happy for you." Hina observed.

Rui nodded yes, with a reserved smile on her face. But Hina's words stung Rui, and the smile quickly faded away. She had tried to bury her guilt in the happiness she had achieved over the years, but with her, Natsuo's wife, standing face-to-face with Hina, her sister and Natsuo's former lover, now awake after all this time, the guilt bubbled back up. "I'm sorry, Hina-nee," Rui apologized.

"Why are you apologizing?" Hina asked.

"I took Natsuo from you. I know we promised that there wouldn't be hard feelings. But, I still can't help thinking that I took your happiness away from you and made it my own."

"Would it help If I said that I confessed to Natsuo and that he rejected me?" Hina asked.

Rui stood there in disbelief staring at her older sister. She didn't want to believe what she just heard, yet she couldn't disbelieve it.

"You would confess to a married man, wouldn't you Hina-nee?" a judgemental Rui observed.

"Hey! Hey! Can we bury the past please? I want to forget about that too!" Hina begged Rui. Hina gathered herself and took on a more serious tone. "I knew this would upset you, but I did it because I knew Natsuo would reject me."

"What do you mean?" Rui asked.

Hina answered: "I can't go on in life anymore holding onto these feelings for Natsuo. I needed to hear it straight from him so I wouldn't have an excuse to hold on to them anymore. He told me you were the one most precious to him. Rui, is that true for you? Is Natsuo the one most precious to you?"

"Yes. Natsuo is very precious to me. I truly love him," Rui replied.

"Then," Hina concluded, "as long as you love each other, I can be happy for both of you. So please be happy, Rui."

"Yes, I will be happy, Hina-nee." Rui responded.

"Say, Rui, could I be selfish and ask for a favor, though? Could you two still support me when I go to rehab?" inquired Hina.

"You're going to try rehab, Hina-nee?" a surprised Rui asked.

"I don't know whether I'll be able to walk again, but I really want to try standing on my own two feet. If I can, I can try and find my own happiness again. That way, my cute little sister and brother won't have to worry about me anymore."

An affectionate smile formed on Rui.

"Of course we'll support you. Natsuo and I, we still love you. We'll always be there for you when you need us, I promise," Rui assured Hina.

"Thank you," Hina said with a smile on her face.

That night, Rui and Natsuo talked about their respective conversations with Hina. The two of them collectively felt a burden had been lifted from their shoulders. The things they feared they would never get to say to Hina, to their relief, were able to be said. They felt that they had taken one more step forward in life. It was a small step forward, but it was a step forward towards the future, nonetheless.

It would be several years of difficult rehab until Hina was able to walk again. On the day of her final rehab appointment, as Hina left the hospital for the final time, Natsuo arrived, alongside Haruka and his son, Taiki, to escort her.

"Auntie Hina! Congratulations!" Haruka exclaimed as she and Taiki ran up and hugged Hina.

"Thank you for supporting me, both of you," Hina replied.

"Congratulations on finishing your rehab, Hina-nee," Natsuo chimed in as well.

"Thank you, Natsuo-kun," Hina replied as they began walking towards their next destination. "Still. I wish Rui would have showed up to see me."

"Rui had to be at Tempo Felice to prepare for the party tonight," Natsuo responded. "I'm sure when you see her, she'll be the happiest one of all of us celebrating tonight."

"Rui has really become attached to that restaurant, huh?" Hina observed.

"I'm glad, though," Natsuo admitted. "When Rui took a break from work before having Taiki, she looked the happiest she had been in a long time just serving us food. A place like Tempo Felice lets her be a little closer to the customers rather than be locked away in a large kitchen at a high-end restaurant. She's always wanted to put a smile on peoples' faces with her food, so working there has let her achieve her dream in that regard," he concluded. "So," Natsuo added, "what is Hina-nee going to do now that you're done with rehab?"

Hina pondered her answer for a couple seconds. "I'm going to move back in with our parents for the moment. I'm truly grateful for all you two have done for me, but I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality anymore. I'll start looking for work right away. I'll probably see if the hotel I worked at before might have a position for me still," she announced.

"Have you thought at all about teaching again?" Natsuo inquired.

"Getting back into teaching would be really hard for me," said Hina, "but I guess I haven't ruled it out entirely yet," admitted Hina. Natsuo smiled in relief, as he could tell that Hina was now on the path towards finding her own happiness.

"Hey! Dad! Aunty Hina! We're going to leave you behind!" Haruka cried out from a distance while carrying Taiki on her back.

"Where does she get all that energy from?" Hina asked Natsuo.

"I guess it comes from her mother, because I don't think it came from me," Natsuo confessed.

Rui was waiting at the restaurant to greet Natsuo, Hina, and the kids. Both family and friends had gathered to celebrate Hina's full recovery. The night became a memory for all of them that they would treasure, as it was full of happiness and hope for the future. After the festivities had died down, and everyone had returned home, Natsuo and Rui rested from the busy day, alone, together on the couch in their living room. Natsuo suddenly got up and walked up to a box sitting on the table.

"I almost forgot after all that happened today. This finally came in today," Natsuo declared as he handed Rui a book, titled 'Domestic Girlfriend, from the box.

"This is the book you were writing the last couple of months based on how we met, right? The one you've been asking for my input for a lot?" Rui asked. Natsuo nodded his head. "Thank you," she responded.

"Well, I wouldn't get excited reading it, since you know what's gonna happen," Natsuo pointed out.

"Still, I haven't read the finished product yet, and it's a story you wrote, so I'm still excited to read it," Rui assured Natsuo as she turned the first first few pages. Suddenly, Rui came to a sense of dread. "Hey, Natsuo. You left in the part about how we first met and how wound up doing that, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. That was kind of an important detail. Why?" Natsuo asked.

"Hina-nee knows this story is based on real life, right? I wonder what she is going to say if she realizes what happened between us?" Rui dreaded. Natsuo knew what Rui was implying, and the two began to sweat nervously at the prospect of their secret they kept for years being found out before laughing it off.

"Ah well. I'm sure we'll just cross the bridge when we get there," Natsuo reassured Rui as they smiled at each other.

"Hey, Natsuo?"

"What is it, Rui?"

Rui reached over and kissed Natsuo.

"I love you," Rui confessed.

"Yeah. I truly love you, too," Natsuo responded.