Short, but hopefully sweet. Thank you so much to LittleBottle, mtnikolle, damons-hot-as-hell, , DragonHalf, Eponine-chan, FeastofDreams, Kasumisou, chichi0396, and nabin07shahi for reviewing this story over time and helping to remind me to keep updating. I don't know if all of you are still around, but finally, here's the last chapter of "Late"! Thank you so much again!

Thank you also to people who have added this to favorites and alerts or just read it as well, but since I don't have to take any action upon those events, I opted out of getting emails about those things, so I don't really know when/if it happens. f(^^; ) I apologize for the lack of personalized acknowledgement your way.

He stopped up short the instant he reached her door. He didn't know why or how he knew, but he was absolutely certain she wasn't there. There was a stillness to the apartment he could feel in his bones. The place was empty.

Turning away, he scanned his eyes over the city. But if not here, then where?

His eyes fell on a one-story brick building close by. Was she at the music school?

No, he decided. That didn't feel right.

Supermarket?

No, not there either.

Visiting family…?

No, that wasn't it.

Then, he knew. And without hesitation, he tore down the stairs. As the buildings flew by, a part of him wondered why he hadn't realized it from the start. After everything that had happened since they'd met, where else would destiny send her but there? Feet pounded heavily on the sidewalk as he ran with purpose in every stride, each footfall bringing him closer and closer to the place where everything had begun. "Wait for me," his heart called to hers. "I'm coming for you."

Her head flipped right and left as she wandered through the park. Where was he? She hadn't known why, but she had felt absolutely certain she would find him here. Pausing to rest, she braced her arm against a tree and brushed away the threads of hair that were sticking to her face. After over an hour of going backward and forward over this park with a fine-toothed comb in this soaking heat, she finally decided that her hunch had been very wrong.

She should camp out in front of his apartment, she reflected. Whether he moved out or continued to rent it, he'd have to come back at some point. And with school starting up again in a couple of weeks, it was bound to be sooner than later. Armed with this resolve, she turned to head back.

And froze as gold locked with amber across the green.

Kazuki studied her through his bangs as he panted heavily, pausing for a minute to catch his breath. When he had seen her across the lawn in the light that was just starting to fade whipping her head from left to right as if she were frantically searching for something, he couldn't stop the small laugh that bubbled from his lips as he put on an extra spurt of speed.

Some things never changed.

He'd always been good at finding her. The way she walked, the little mannerisms she adopted unconsciously, he could pick them out of a crowd without fail. A soft smile flickered across his face as he ran with all that he had toward his future. How could he not? After all, they belonged to the person he loved more than anyone else in the world.

Neither of them moved a millimeter as they stood there watching one another: him stooped over his knees and her with her back against the tree. Then, when his breath flowed evenly again, he straightened up and began to walk steadily toward her. As he did, he couldn't help but think she looked lonely. And as horribly selfish as it was, there was a part of him that was unrepentantly glad. He wanted her to be lonely without him. As petty and small of him as it was, at least he would know he meant that much to her.

As he neared, he slowed until he came to a stop a few meters away. Stuffing his hands in his pockets to hide his nerves, he licked his lips and gazed at her with serious eyes. He really hoped he hadn't misread the meaning behind all of those messages. "Hi, Kaho-chan."

She strode over to close the gap.

"Where did you go?" she heard herself demand. "Where have you been?!" When she had envisioned this reunion, it had never occurred to her just how angry she'd be.

Instead of flinching like he wanted to or launching into an apology, he reminded himself that there are some things worth fighting out and simply said, "My brother's."

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

He surveyed her with guarded eyes. "Should I have? Considering what was said that night, where I choose to go is my business, isn't it?"

"No." She grabbed his shirt and shook her head vigorously. "Oh no, it's not. You walked out on me." Her shoulders trembled. "You walked out on Yuji and me for three weeks, Kazuki-senpai. Three weeks! It most definitely is not just your business!"

There was the hurt again. "If memory serves, you ran first."

Her face crumpled as she let go and shrank into herself. "I know. I know…I…I'm sorry. I didn't…I didn't want to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. But I handled it all so badly." She gestured helplessly as the tears threatened to fall. "I'm sorry, Kazuki-senpai. I…I just…I was so scared. I've always blamed myself for Takeshi-san's death. And when you showed me that ring, all I could see was what a failure I had already been as a wife. How-how painful and frightening losing someone I loved was, how helpless and guilty I felt."

"Kaho-chan…." He reached out to tip her face up. His words of comfort and reassurance stilled on his tongue at her next words.

"I was wrong." She looked earnestly into his eyes, her face resolved. "I can't let what happened back then control the rest of my life or yours. I should have seen that sooner," she turned her head to the side in regret, "and I'm sorry I didn't."

He was tender and warm as he drew her to himself. "Kaho-chan…." He rubbed his cheek against her head, savoring the softness and comforting scent of her hair against his skin. As he held her close, she clung to him desperately. Sweet pangs of longing and dreams regained coursed through her as she found her wishes and needs met in the circle of his arms.

He pressed his lips to her hair in a fierce kiss. He had missed this; even more, he had needed this. For the last three weeks, he had needed this. Why in the world had he ever believed he could do without?

"I shouldn't have left," he suddenly burst out. "Even if you told me to go, I should have realized that that had been your fear talking, not you. I should have stayed by you and helped you work things out—"

She placed a finger on his lips to stop the flow of words and shook her head. "I drove you away," she reminded in a voice choked with remorse. "I broke you as only I could and kicked you to the curb without so much as a second thought." She gave him a fragile smile and swallowed her tears. "But even after that, you came back. That's what matters." She licked her lips. "Kazuki-senpai…." Her eyes were questioning and vulnerable. "Will you forgive me? Have I ruined everything? Do…do you still want me? Please tell me it's not too late."

He stopped himself from kissing her fears away. He needed to know. "Why did you change your mind?"

"Does it matter?" she asked softly, her heart aching.

"Yes," he stated firmly as he released her with a brisk nod. Then, he framed her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers, drowning in her pools of sunlight as he quietly reassured her that his love had not waned. "I have to know you'll be happy." His gaze was serious and resolved. "I want forever from you, and I need to know you want it too, that you want the bad right alongside the good as much as I do. That…that you want the fights, the work, the joy, the laughter, the tears, the support, the…" he paused before shaking his head slightly and finishing, "well, the everything—day in and day out, month after month, and year after year ''til death do us part'."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Kazuki-senpai…."

She took a deep, calming breath. "Alright," she smiled bravely and stepped back a bit. Brushing a cherry strand behind her ear, she looked over at the tree. "I guess the short of it is that my sister sat me down and made me weigh all the possibilities." She sighed. "The one where I didn't have you in my life was terrible, but when she suggested you'd marry someone else, I knew." She looked up at him. "Do you believe in soul mates, Kazuki-senpai?"

His eyes widened in surprise before his lips quirked up at the irony. To think he had asked the same question at this very spot almost a year ago.

She smiled back at him though she didn't know exactly why he was looking at her that way. "I think I might. It wasn't love at first sight, and it took far too long for me to see it, but I'm yours," she touched his cheek lightly as tears pricked at her eyes, "and you're mine."

Her heart flew with her as she made the jump. "So, yes! A million times yes. I'll marry you." She blinked back the tears. "I may have some demons to fight, but I'm not going to let them keep me from being with you, not anymore."

He took her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "I have things that need working on as well." He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "But we'll face them together?"

She leaned her head on his shoulder as he gathered her close and squeezed him tight. "Always."

Before he could say any more, a loud shout of elation had them both turning to see Yuji running toward them, his friend's mother smiling in the distance at Kahoko before giving a quick little bow and disappearing discreetly. The instant he recognized the running figure, Kazuki tore off to meet the boy with a look of pure joy.

"Kazuki-san!" Yuji leapt into the man's arms with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "You came back! I knew you would! Didn't I say he would, Mama?"

"Yes, yes you did," Kahoko beamed as she came up and ruffled his already messy hair.

As Kazuki watched them, a warm feeling settled in his heart. Especially considering what had happened, he knew there was no such thing as a perfect proposal, but as he basked in the smiles of mother and son, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this, this moment right here with the three of them, was what he wanted for all eternity. He wanted their life together to start as soon as humanly possible.

Kazuki looked seriously into Yuji's eyes. "Yuji?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember what we talked about a while ago by the vending machines about your Mama and me?"

Once the light of understanding flicked on in his eyes, he nodded solemnly.

Kazuki grinned. "She said yes."

"Yes?!"

"Yes!"

Yuji reached over to throw his arms around his mother's neck and squeezed her hard. "That means we can be a real family and live together and stuff, right?"

"You talked to him about this too?" Kahoko asked in amazement.

"Well, when a boy's potentially taking on a father, there are things he has to know." He grinned affectionately at Yuji. "And when a man's potentially being given a son, there are things he has to say." He smiled directly at her with a look that made her heart melt. "I told you before that he'd asked if I was in love with you, and well, I wanted him to know my intentions."

"It's man-to-man stuff, Mama," Yuji said proudly. He turned eagerly to Kazuki. "Do you have the ring?"

"Right here," Kazuki shifted to pull the box out of his pocket.

This time when he snapped the case open, all she felt was warmth and joy as her heart sparkled like the stars. Placing her hand on Yuji's shoulder, she met Kazuki's loving gaze with one of her own. "We're both yours now."

Kazuki smiled and shifted so Yuji sat on his hip. Then, with both Yuji and Kahoko's hands clasped lightly in his larger one, he slipped the ring on her finger. Her heart stumbled and fell right at his feet. Nothing could have been more touching or lovely. The moment couldn't have been more perfect.

"We're each other's now," Kazuki whispered as he pulled them both in for a hug.

"A family," Yuji repeated as they broke apart.

"Yes, a family," Kahoko affirmed as she squeezed Kazuki's hand, her already full heart overflowing.

"To family," Kazuki laughed and soundly kissed her on the lips while Yuji looked on with a grin.

Yes, at last, they were going to be a family for real.

The End

And that's the end! Thank you so much to everyone who's come along for the ride! I hope you enjoyed it!