Title: April 1st - The GIFT
Part: 1/?
Author: Yen
Pairing: Kaede Rukawa & Hanamichi Sakuragi

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{} = Places  [] = Thoughts  " " = Speaking   ^^ = Author's notes  <> = others …
Note: This fic follows the previous one titled: MARCH 31ST -- THE CHOICE

PART 02: A HEART WARMING GIFT

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{At Danny's}

Three figures were sitting by the window with mobile phones stuck in their ears when a dark haired young man suddenly came up to them and said, "Change of plans. We have to go somewhere first."

"What do you mean? We can't just get up and leave. We're not yet finished." Noma complained.

"Yeah, at the rate we are going we'll never finish this in time." Ookusu added.

"Why should we change venue anyway?"

But Mito just laughed and said, "Our problems are solved. Guess who I brought to help."

"Hikoichi!" All three chirped when they saw the short snoop of Ryonan High.

"Hello." He waved. "Mito-san had already filled me in. Don't worry about a thing. I'll make sure everything's ok by this afternoon."

"Well if that's the case. Let's go." The shortest of Sakuragi's Gundan cheerfully declared and handed the mobile phone to Hikoichi. Ookusu and Noma followed suit. Soon all four were outside Danny's but three were gaping.

"Whose car is this?" Noma asked.

"Rukawa's" Mito supplied. But his three friends' still had that inquisitive expressions on their faces thus he just said, "Don't ask me. Rukawa called me earlier just to say that a car will be picking us up."

"That's it?"

"Why? You expect me to chitchat with mister monosyllabic himself? No way!" Mito exclaimed.

"This day is getting weirder by the minute. First we have to change venue for Hanamichi's birthday and now this?"

"Stop complaining Yuji. You weren't the one wakened early in the morning by two irritating guys just because of birthday boy." Mito reproached. "Now get in. The sooner we know what the fox wants with us the sooner I'll feel better."

"You think it's something about Hanamichi?" Noma questioned with a hint of concern.

"We'll soon find out." Was all Mito could say.

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{Rukawa Manor)

Two tall figures alighted from the blue sports car and went hurriedly into the living room. Seeing no one, Rukawa searched for his parents and was glad to see that they had the solarium prepared for their arrival.

Dragging the protesting redhead, "Mom, look who I brought with me."

Naomi Rukawa looked sideways from inspecting a flower nearing its bloom and her aquamarine eyes shone when she saw her son's companion. "Hanamichi, happy birthday my dear boy." She happily greeted, kissing each side of Hana's cheeks.

The redhead blushed for the sweet welcome. "Thank you Ma'm."

An eyebrow rose at such a formal address but before she could comment, her son asked to be excused to look for his father. Left alone with the nervous redhead, Naomi wasted no time in learning more about his future son-in-law and was soon caught in the same web as her son. Whatever worries she might have had about her son's union with the redhead soon dissolved into nothing.

When father and son made an appearance, Rukawa was glad to find his boyfriend at ease and at home chatting with his mother. He was about to go over to him when his father suddenly clamped a hand onto his shoulder and motioned for him to wait.

"Hello Hanamichi, nice to see you again." Shinji Rukawa greeted, extending his hand.

"Nice to see you too sir." Sakuragi replied, accepting the outstretched hand.

"Sir?" Shinji questioned and looked over to his grinning wife.

"He still calls me Ma'm." Naomi teasingly added.

Brown eyes moved back and forth from the two imposing Rukawa's. "Did I say something wrong?"

Naomi laughed and casually placed a hand over Hana's shoulder, "I think you should stop addressing us formally Hanamichi."

Confused, "Er… what would you prefer me to call you then?" Sakuragi asked, and thought he couldn't very well call them Mr. And Mrs. Rukawa, it would be totally weird not to mention awkward. [Where's Kaede when I need him anyway? I'm not used to being this prim and proper.] "How about Mom and Dad?" A deep somber voice he knew too well suddenly suggested.

Taking pity over his beloved's obvious discomfort, Rukawa quickly went to his side and lifted their hands together, showing his parents the rings that adorned their fingers. "He accepted my proposal." He proudly announced to his parents.

Naomi beamed and went to hug her son, "I am so happy for you Kaede." Turning towards the bashful redhead, she said, "Welcome to the family Hanamichi. Now I have two sons." Then she enveloped the redhead in a tight hug similar to the one she bestowed on her own son.

"And you have no other choice but to call us Mom and Dad now Hanamichi." Shinji interjected, beaming like his wife and was patting the redhead on his back.

"Master Kaede, your guests have just arrived." The butler announced.

Rukawa tore his gaze away from the trio and said, "Good. Show them in."

Naomi and Shinji broke away from Hanamichi and exchanged glances. "Are they the ones Kaede?" Shinji asked.

Rukawa nodded. Before Sakuragi could even open his mouth to speak, four figures suddenly appeared from the solarium's doorway and exclaimed, "Hanamichi!"

"Guys, what are you doing?"

"Whoah!!! This is one huge greenhouse you got here Rukawa!" Takamiya exclaimed, roaming his eyes over the expanse of the solarium.

"Welcome, come in, come in." Shinji invited.

"This is the largest part of the estate and my personal haven." Naomi proudly beamed. "It's slowly becoming Kaede's as well but because of a totally different reason." She smiled knowingly at her son who was trying to hold on to an excited redhead.

"I thought you guys have forgotten my birthday." Sakuragi adorably pouted.

"No way! We have a surprise for you later, but for now… Rukawa invited us over, that's why we're here." Mito explained.

"Really?" Brown eyes turned questioningly to the silent guy beside him but only got a nod since Rukawa was already ushering them into the middle of the solarium where a wooden round table, laden with food and drinks, was shaded by a huge sakura tree. Sakuragi stopped short and his question was temporary forgotten; something about the setup triggered his memory and he immediately turned to face a grinning Rukawa, much to the surprise of Sakuragi's Gundan. "Kitsune this is…"

"Just like last year." Rukawa finished for him.

Sakuragi turned his face away and closed his eyes, remembering that fateful day when his feelings for a certain fox-eyed boy had changed dramatically. Last year, his friends had coerced him into going to Kyoto with a promise that it would be his best birthday celebration, ever. Not one to pass such an opportunity, he complied; little did he know that their idea of a celebration was for him to be locked, for a whole day, with someone he wouldn't even dream of spending it with. His companion was not equally happy with the setup and they were at each other's throats in no time. But after half a day, Rukawa had surprisingly called a truce. Left with nothing else to do, he was surprised to have found himself chatting with his rival quite amicably and he soon felt at ease to talk about their so-called differences. Only then did he found out that the 'hatred' between the two of them was just one-sided, his. That night, after they were able to get out of the room, he had agreed to accompany Rukawa to the Heian Shrine, where there was a nighttime concert every year around the lake to celebrate Hanami (Sakura viewing festival). He was totally caught in the sheer beauty of his surroundings that he didn't even mind that his companion was not Haruko, like he would have thought he wanted, but Rukawa himself, and later, he did not even object when his companion suddenly took his hand into his as they sat under a huge sakura tree, taking in the beautiful lit-up blossoms to the accompaniment of the soft music made by the band. That night had been magical and was a huge turning point in his life. As he opened his eyes, Sakuragi was not the least bit surprised when he saw his happiness and contentment mirrored in his boyfriend's usually impassive face. Unmindful of the people around him, he strolled to his fox-eyed boyfriend and buried his face on the crook of his neck to whisper, "I love you Kaede."

Rukawa smiled and wrapped his arms around him. Kissing the side of his neck, he softly whispered, "I couldn't give you Kyoto Hana but… I hope you liked my alternative."

Lifting his head to meet the loving blue gaze, "Very much, thank you." He whispered back and was already closing his eyes to meet his kitsune's kiss when…

"Get yourselves a room!" Ookusu and Noma exclaimed.

The couple broke apart and was blushing really hard. Mito had to stifle a laugh when he saw the normally pale-faced Rukawa actually blushed and goaded Takamiya to take pictures.

Sharing the younger generation's mirth, Shinji went to his son and said, "Kaede, I think it's time we get to Hanamichi's pre-birthday party. We wouldn't want him to miss his real party, don't we?"

"Pre-birthday party?" Sakuragi piped.

Naomi clasped her hand onto Hanamichi's arm and led the redhead towards the wooden table. "This is your pre-birthday party, Hanamichi. Kaede had arranged all this so you could spend the morning celebrating your birthday with us. We requested it."

Glancing towards his still standing boyfriend, "You did?" Seeing a nod, he smiled, but then, "What about them?" He asked, pointing towards his friends.

"Kaede insisted that they be here because they were the ones responsible for bringing you two together." Shinji answered for his son who was already talking to the butler.

"And if it weren't for their practical joke then the two of you would not even be engaged right now, right?" Naomi ended happily.

Sakuragi thought for a while, "I guess," and then was startled when he heard all four of his friends chimed… "ENGAGED?" Now it was his turn to grin, "Yup!" He affirmed, showing them the ring, which was hastily bombarded with pictures by Takamiya and questions from the other three.

"When's the wedding going to be?" Ookusu excitedly questioned.

"Wow, we just found out yesterday that he's your secret boyfriend and now your engaged?" Noma couldn't help but ask.

"Who cares as long as Hanamichi's happy." Mito clipped and was basically glad for his friend who was just oozing with happiness right at that moment.

Though reluctant to break the small group of happy chatters, Rukawa dispersed the small crowd gathered around his giggling redhead and signaled for the butler to start the party. Soon, soft music filled the room and echoed around the solarium as the small party for the redhead went underway.

Rukawa's parents were a gracious host and made the conversation flow around the table without anyone feeling anything less than comfortable. Youhei and the others were soon feeling quite at home while Takamiya and Sakuragi were having the time of their lives as batch per batch of food was being served. Rukawa, on the other hand, just nibbled on each food while his gaze kept returning to the jubilant redhead beside him, his face, stripped off of any mask, thus it was left open and clear for anyone to read.

Mito had never actually liked the monosyllabic guy and had his doubts about their friend's welfare with the silent Shohoku basketball player. But his doubts were slowly being pacified with just one look at the fox-eyed boy's unguarded features. Gone was the hard and cold looking basketball centered raven head and in his place was a smiling and carefree looking Kaede Rukawa whose shining sapphire eyes showed nothing but adoration for the person beside him. [Boy would his fan club have a field day if they ever see this side of him], he thought.

"What's the matter Youhei? You almost haven't eaten anything?" Sakuragi asked his friend who was looking rather thoughtful throughout the course.

Mito just smiled at him and said, "I was just thinking. Don't worry about me. You can have my share if you want?" He offered and shoved his half-full plate over to him.

The boyish face lit up in enthusiasm and accepted the offered plate only to have a pale hand taking it away from him. "Kitsune?" Rukawa's face was turned sideways from him but the unmistakable twitch of the lips did not escape his notice. "It's just Youhei, Kaede."

Rukawa did not turn to look at the redhead; instead he exchanged Youhei's plate for his and handed it to the guy beside him. "Here have mine but don't overstuff yourself, I don't want you turning into a cow."

Sakuragi silently accepted the plate and resisted the urge to question him about the sudden change in attitude. [I'll just have to talk to him about it when we're alone.]

"Hey Youhei, you better watch it. I think the fox is jealous of you." Noma whispered to his dark haired friend whose attention was focused on the couple in front of him.

Mito did not need to be told of the raven head's obvious reaction, but he was rather taken aback with the quick shift in his attitude. It was like a light switch being turned on and off. He would rather have the usual cold brush off from him rather than the piercing cold blue gaze that could freeze anyone on the spot. He resisted the urge to stand up and was silently thankful when their hostess suddenly suggested that they retire to the lounge for coffee, tea or wine. But he politely declined in behalf of his friends and said that they still have their own party to go to.

"I don't think I can eat anymore Youhei." Sakuragi groaned.

"That's because you ate so much." The yellow haired teen admonished.

"Shut up! You know how I hate wasting good food." The redhead hissed.

"Yeah, we know. You even wanted to clean Youhei's plate." Noma reminded him and laughed along with his friends.

Getting embarrassed by his friends' teasing, Sakuragi was almost tempted to deliver a head butt on each forehead but couldn't very well do so in the presence of his boyfriend's parents. Frustrated, he just resorted to glaring and stomping his foot in a pretense that he was killing a bug or something.

Rukawa silently heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Come on Hana. You still have a party to go to."

"What do you mean 'you'? Aren't you coming?"

"I will but a little later. I have to accompany Mom and Dad to the airport, they're leaving today for L.A." Rukawa replied, already leading the small group towards the living room.

"But…"

Rukawa stopped and pulled the redhead away from the others. "Hana, I'll just be a little late, I promise that I'll be there."

Head bent to inspect something on the floor, "Can't we just go together?"

The raven head sighed and lifted the crimson head to level their gazes, "It's your birthday party. You can't be late just because I'm not there."

"But…"

Rukawa silenced him by a shake of his head, "You're going with Mito. They're your friends Hana; I think they're entitled to have you all for themselves without me."

"By the time the party ends we won't have enough time to celebrate it alone!" Sakuragi cried.

The raven head caressed the forlorn looking face with a finger and said, "I promise that we'll have time to celebrate it together, just the two of us."

Brown eyes looked deep into aquamarine colored eyes and sighed in resignation, "Ok. But remember, you promised." Seeing a nod, "I'll wait for you then."

When they rejoined the others, Sakuragi learned that his friends were already waiting outside. With a bow, he respectfully thanked the Rukawa's for their hospitality and for the warm welcome they have shown him, which Shinji replied with, "No need to thank us Hanamichi, we're almost family."

The redhead smiled but said nothing, every time the Rukawa's made a mention of him being included in the family seemed to have made him tongue-tied. It's not that the thought of being wed to his one and only love was not a dream come true but, the thought of being included in such an imposing family was rather overwhelming for him.

Suddenly…

"Oi, Hanamichi, your birthday party won't be waiting all day you know." Mito's voice carried all the way inside the living room which made Sakuragi blush in embarrassment.

After giving an apology for his friend's rudeness, he again bowed his head and bade them goodbye, but before he could even lift a foot…

"Hanamichi, before you leave, could you come to the library with us?"

Before he could even answer, Naomi was already hooking her hand on his arm and was already leading him to the library. Feeling nervous all of a sudden, he threw a glance over his shoulder in silent plea for his boyfriend to follow but Shinji stopped his son and said, "We need to talk to Hanamichi alone Kaede. Go tell his friends that he'll be out in a minute." With that, Shinji went to follow his wife and left the younger Rukawa to ponder over his parents' intentions.

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{Inside the library}

Sakuragi sat nervously on one of the high oak chairs and waited till Rukawa's father handed him a small box.

"We want to give you this Hanamichi. Consider this an engagement as well as birthday gift from us." Shinji said and handed the small box to the redhead.

Sakuragi gulped and opened the box. Inside was a set of keys on two separate key chains. He lifted one up and found that the key chains had his and Kaede's name carved on it. Puzzled, "What's this for?"

"It's a key to a condo that we bought for you and Kaede."

"WHAT?" He couldn't believe that he had heard her right. [A condo? Is she serious?] But the look on both their faces told him that he had heard her right. That left him with one other question, "Why?"

"Like my husband said, we want to give you something and this is our way of thanking you."

"Thanking me for what?" He didn't care if he sounded bothered about the gift because he was.

Both Naomi and Shinji looked taken aback by the sudden outburst but a look of understanding passed between the two after a short while. Naomi went over to the redhead and sat in front of him, clasping one hand on hers, "It's a thank you for bringing happiness back into our son's life. We're sorry if we have taken you by surprise but please do accept it." She implored.

In a small voice he asked, "Does Kaede know about this?"

Naomi removed her hand and sat straight before looking straight into his eyes. "No."

He was silent for a while as if pondering over something. Closing the box, he handed it over to Rukawa's mother and dolefully said. "I'm sorry, but I just can't accept such a gift from you."

"Why?" Shinji asked in a voice that held a hint of that hard tone like that of his son when irked.

Sakuragi stood up and faced the imposing figure of Rukawa's father. "Because I am not made that way. If you want me to keep your son happy then please let me do it my way." Turning to the lady of the house, "I know that you meant well and I thank you for thinking about our welfare but I would rather you give us your blessings and trust me to take good care of your son."

"But where would you guys live when you do get married?"

Sakuragi genuinely smiled at the note of motherly concern on Naomi's voice, "I have a house which my grandmother left me, it may not be as huge and as grand as this but I'll make sure that Kaede will be happy there." Brown eyes turned solemn as they stared straight into eyes that were like a mirror of Kaede's, "I love your son, Ma'm. I truly do. I will not intentionally do anything that would cause him or you pain. Please believe that."

Silence filled the library as the Rukawa's studied the teen in front of them. He may be young but the manner in which he stood up for his principles made Shinji Rukawa feel proud of his son's choice. Though he felt that his wife might still have misgivings, he knew that they could entrust their son's well being to Sakuragi. With that, Shinji pocketed the small box and said, "Well Hanamichi, I guess you won this round of 'future' Rukawa arguments, but don't be too confident in thinking you'd be winning the next rounds as well."

After hearing that, Sakuragi was able to breathe a sigh of relief and actually felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, but anyway, thank you… Mom… Dad?" Taking note of the raised eyebrows, "See I let you win that round." He joked and happily received the hug from his future in-laws.

"How about we go back to the living room? Knowing your boyfriend, I think he's about to come barging in and demanding an explanation." Naomi remarked, brushing the wetness from her eyes.

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{Outside the living room}

A scowling Rukawa greeted the trio and Naomi threw Sakuragi a look that says, 'I told you so'. The redhead laughed and kissed both sides of Naomi's cheeks and shook Shinji's hands before strolling towards his shocked looking boyfriend. "Don't forget your promise Kaede. I'll wait for you ok?" After he gave his boyfriend a quick kiss, he bade the whole Rukawa clan goodbye and went to meet his friends.

"What took you so long? We would be late for your party." Mito chastised.

"I'm sorry Youhei but Kaede's parents wanted to give me something for my birthday."

"Which is…"

"I'll tell you on the way. Now get in, I thought you said we're late already." He admonished but stopped short when he saw the car. "Whose car is this?"

"Rukawa's. Do you know anyone else who is as rich as your boyfriend?" Mito asked as he was opening the side door.

"I hope none anymore. I got my fill of rich people today that could last me a lifetime." Sakuragi sighed as he got in the mini-limousine.

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{At the threshold of the driveway}

"That's one fine lad you got there son. Cherish him well. You might not find anyone else like him." Shinji told his son as they watch the mini-limousine disappear from their view.

[I intend to] "What did you guys do in the library?" Rukawa inquired, still piqued of being left in the dark.

Shinji led his son inside the house and said, "Your mother and I will tell you on our way to the airport. Now go ask the driver to prepare our car, I know you're anxious to join your redhead."

Rukawa blushed, but threw a glare at his father before stomping off in the direction of the garage.

------------------------ To be continued....

------------------------ Comments and Reviews are very much welcomed... thank you to those who have read it

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