Disclaimer: As everyone knows, I do not own the characters from Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers. If I did, this wouldn't be fan fiction, now would it? wink

Thank you, Kamio-sensei!

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Luck and Miracles

A Hana Yori Dango FanFic

By Janice Rips

Afterwards: Lucky

Finally, an hour or so later, all the visitors, family and friends, had cleared out, leaving the new parents to rest and catch their breath. Tsukasa pulled Tsukushi into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry," he murmured into her hair.

"What? Why?" she stared up at him, bewildered.

"Because I broke my promise. I didn't mean to, but still... I said I would be here for you and I wasn't. I wanted to be, but... and it just seems like I'm never there when it's important to you. Maybe I..." he trailed off, dispirited.

"Tsukasa, what brings this on? Are you... unhappy about our baby?" she asked, unsure how to read his mood.

"No! No, never think that! I'm really, really happy! It's just... I feel like I don't deserve this: the most wonderful woman in the world as my wife, a beautiful newborn son, the opportunity to do things differently than my parents did... All I've ever done is hurt people and break things. Then I look at Rui: he's gentle, he's kind, he's reliable... he would never have missed his kid's birth... but I have all this, and he doesn't. it just doesn't seem fair, somehow," he finished softly, hanging his head.

She took his face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes. "Baka. You're gentle and kind when it counts. You always, always save me. You're annoyingly persistent about it," she gently teased. "And you're warm. It's like when I took your shirt this morning. Your love wraps around me. It keeps me warm and safe, and I know I'll never be cold and alone again."

"Then you don't regret it? Marrying me, having my son, any of it? After all, we've been through so much," he gazed back, yearning for acceptance clear in his eyes.

"That's it exactly: We've been through so much. You and I. Together or apart, it's still 'we'. I don't regret any of it. And now look at that baby, sleeping there. We did that! We created that, together. It's such a miracle," she whispered.

"You're the miracle," he corrected. "I'm so lucky. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mr. Lucky. Now, while our little 'miracle' is sleeping, why don't we take a nap? I'm exhausted," she smiled softly. She snuggled closer with a sigh, and drifted off to sleep. He watched with bemused adoration as his family slept. His family. He was the luckiest man alive.

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AN: Eighteen chapters later, the muse finally stopped shaking me by the scruff of the neck. Gee Starr, I hope you liked it. Remember, real life isn't usually this wack! And now I'll shackle myself to my desk once more and get back to work on my other huge project...