Written for the 10 Hugs fanfiction community on Live Journal (under the username: 10hugs). Theme #2: Snow

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. Characterizations in this story are based upon the Hana Yori Dango Japanese drama. Just to be safe, I will say that there are spoilers for the end of both the Hana Yori Dango Japanese drama and Manga Vol. 36 in this story.

AN: What's this? I wrote a Christmas story in May! Anyway, this short story is going to have lots of WAFF which means it will be replete with "Warm and Fuzzy Feelings". Please enjoy and review if you like!

So Obvious
A Hana Yori Dango/Boys over Flowers Fanfiction
By Maho-chan
Blowing on her cold hands, Tsukushi looked at the gray skies with wonder. Snowflake after snowflake fell from the sky, the crystals catching on her hair and her face, occasionally falling on her lips and into her eyes. The snow was soft underneath her feet and the world was quiet and still. It was so beautiful in the park, on this perfectly silent, snowy afternoon. Sighing, Tsukushi brushed off the seat of the old, rickety swing set and sat down, watching as the flurries fell harder, turning her world white.

All day at school, her classmates had giggled and gossiped about their Christmas dates. She had listened politely to their descriptions of where they were going to go, what they might do afterwards and how nervous they were. When they asked her what she might be doing this Christmas, Tsukushi had merely smiled and ignored the slight pang of regret.

She hadn't had the heart to tell her friends that this Christmas she would be alone, Susumu having gone to stay with her parents, the F4 jetting around the world to meet their families abroad and Yuki on a date with her boyfriend.

And Tsukasa…

Reaching her hand out to catch a falling snowflake, Tsukushi stared at it, her sight blurring a little.

Tsukasa was in New York.

He'd called the day before to apologize for not coming back to Japan on Christmas, saying that there was some huge corporate merger that he had to oversee. Of course, Tsukushi had said that it was no problem. She didn't want to be a burden to him, especially since he was so busy.

But she had felt a familiar yearning for him, a feeling that she always had difficulty putting into words.

Secretly, she had hoped he would come home to her and that they might eat Christmas cake together. She had hoped she might be able to see his scowling face.

He'd asked her point blank if it was really alright with her that he didn't come home, even going so far as to say if she lied that he would kill her. But Tsukushi couldn't bring herself to say that it wasn't okay.

Instead she had just laughed and made some offhand comment about how it would be a nice, quieter Christmas without him. It hurt inside to say such a blatant untruth and she'd hoped he hadn't heard her voice breaking a little as they got off the phone.

Closing her fist around the now melted snowflake and then resting her hands on her jeans, Tsukushi closed her eyes and leaned her head against the ice cold swing chain.

She had gotten her quiet Christmas and would have to do without his warmth, his arrogance and his laughter filling her existence.

"I can't believe how much I miss that idiot." Tsukushi muttered, swallowing and trying not to cry. Shaking her head to clear it, Tsukushi glared at the darkening sky.

"I can handle this." She said loudly to the empty park. "I am a weed. I can handle this!"

Tsukushi's breath caught and she felt like sobbing as she remembered how Tsukasa had said he loved her before they got off the phone.

She had mumbled an almost incomprehensible "Me too." and had been too embarrassed to say her feelings properly.

He had wheedled her a bit then, complaining that she never said it enough and stating that he needed to hear her say it. Tsukushi had laughed at him and replied with another gibe, feeling very disconcerted and again unable to say the feelings that were so close to being expressed.

Yes, she was the idiot who couldn't and didn't ask her boyfriend to come home to her on Christmas. She was also the idiot who still couldn't say I love you back to that same boyfriend.

Two strikes for Makino Tsukushi.

She wondered why she couldn't say it. He said it often enough to her, she'd heard it so many times. Whispered, shouted, spoken laughingly, and spoken urgently, so that it was branded on her mind and soul. I love you. It was so easy for him to say. He who many had thought might not be able to love anyone, could say those words to her over and over, day after day, through their arguments, her resistance, other's death threats, you name it.

I love you.

Covering her mouth and crying a bit, she realized how much she had messed up. He would have come home, if she had just said something, anything. He would have dropped everything. And they would be together now, instead of her sitting in the park, freezing and alone.

"I am an idiot." Tsukushi said to herself and then shouted it to the wind.

"I AM AN IDIOT!" The only answer was the wind picking up and the snow falling harder. Blinking, she glowered into the distance, feeling angry with herself. She needed to say it even if he wasn't there to hear it. If she couldn't say it now then she was most definitely an unbelievable fool.

Gathering her courage, Tsukushi shook her fist at the sky and yelled

"I LOVE YOU DOMYOJI TSUKASA!"

"You are an idiot. And, I love you too." She heard his disembodied voice above the gently blowing wind.

Confused, Tsukushi looked around, seeing only the snow covered bushes and trees.

Shivering a little, she continued, speaking again to the sky.

"I want you to come home and eat Christmas cake with me. I want you to stay until New Years so that we can go to the shrine to get our fortunes. I want to drink hot chocolate with you and hear your bad English."

"We can do that. My English is excellent though. You're going to be impervious." He replied.

Tsukushi wondered if she was hallucinating.

She couldn't see him; there was no way he could be here. So how was he speaking and answering her? Was this some kind of bizarre supernatural event? Or was this some kind of dream?

"That's impressed, you idiot!" She answered in spite of herself. Apparently, even in her fantasies, he still made mistakes.

Knocking her forehead with her fist and thinking that she was starting to lose her mind, Tsukushi gasped when she heard a noise behind her and felt very familiar arms embracing her. Looking down at the arms around her, she reached out her fingers and pinched repeatedly, wondering if this was all a dream. His startled shout told her it was not.

"Makino, what are you doing? Stop pinching me!"

Turning her head a bit, she gaped at his scowling face that was now very close to hers. His hair was covered in snowflakes and in astonishment she reached up to brush them off.

"Are you real?" She questioned, still gaping at him.

"Of course I am real. You are the one talking to yourself. I didn't realize missing me would make you crazy." He replied, quirking an eye brow at her. "If I had known you were going to start talking to yourself, I would have come earlier."

"I am not talking to myself! And I am not crazy!" Tsukushi insisted, feeling warmed by his embrace.

"Then who were you talking to?" Tsukasa glanced around. Looking back at her, he smiled knowingly. Tsukushi leaned her head against his cheek.

"I wasn't talking to anyone." She said softly, feeling awkward. "Why are you here?" She asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

Tsukasa grinned mischievously and then replied "Oh, no reason. I was just passing by and noticed you talking to yourself and thought to myself that I'd better rescue that girl from insatiability."

"Insatiability? You mean insanity. And what do you mean, just passing by? You live in NEW YORK!" Tsukushi said loudly, trying to suppress her smile and failing.

"How can you just be passing by?" Elbowing him, Tsukushi blushed and tried to focus on some distant tree instead of him.

Bursting into laughter, Tsukasa hugged her closer.

"What do you want me to say? That I missed seeing your face?"

Closing her eyes, Tsukushi felt the joy of being close to him welling up inside of her. Those difficult to say words were threatening to burst forth again and Tsukushi prayed he'd stop talking soon, so that she could stay in control of her actions.

If he didn't stop...

Letting her go and moving to crouch in front of her, Tsukasa brushed the snow from her hair. "Or that I was lonely in New York, wondering if you really wanted me to stay there so you could have a quiet Christmas?"

No such luck, Tsukushi thought wryly.

Focusing on her scarf as he wrapped it tighter around her neck and then cupping her face in his hands, Tsukasa continued.

"Or that your voice sounded sad and I knew that you were lying to me?"

Closing the distance between them, Tsukasa kissed her then, his lips feeling slightly cold to Tsukushi and his curly hair tickling her forehead. Gripping the swing chain harder as they broke apart, Tsukushi said the first thing that came to mind.

"I love you." She said earnestly, unable to control her emotions any longer.

"I know." Tsukasa responded, giving her a delighted look. "I mean, how could you not love me? It's so oblivious!"

Grabbing his coat, Tsukushi spontaneously kissed him, unintentionally unbalancing them and pushing Tsukasa backwards so that they both fell into the snow. Lying on top of him, nose to nose, Tsukushi replied.

"You mean obvious. It's so obvious."

"That's what I said! Obvious." Wrapping his arms around her, Tsukasa rolled them so that Tsukushi's back was against the cold ground. Speaking with emphasis on each word, Tsukasa whispered in between kisses.

"Merry Christmas, Tsukushi."

Smiling against his mouth, Tsukushi wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The snow continued to fall around them, the trees and bushes silent witnesses as they embraced in the snow, expressing what was so obvious to them both.

Love.

Fin