Mikau: Hey everyone! How are you? I'm freaking out. I graduate next week, and I don't want to do my final papers/projects, and I don't want to wear that silly cap and gown. Woe is me. Anyway, this is the last chapter, which I'm a little sad about. I really liked this one, but there will be others soon. Speaking of other works, I have a new HakuKai one-shot called The Pit: A Romance, in which our boys get buried alive together. Check it out if you have time/interest. Also, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed: Syrus07, athieisademon, Cyanide Flowers, NewDCReader 1112, and Aniki-xvi! I really appreciate everyone's support. Enjoy the chapter; although, I realized when I was editing that it's pretty much fluff. Oh well.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd pick more exciting ending themes. The opening themes are always so energetic and action-filled. They get me really pumped up, but then the closing themes are always so chill. They make me sleepy. I always wonder why they pick such relaxing, calm songs for the closing.

….

Back to and Beyond Reality

"Ba-Kaito!" Aoko-kun screamed, lobbing a snowball back at her assailant.

Keiko-san rushed to help her best friend. "Take that!"

"Ack!" the instigator yelped as the projectile hit him in the face. "A little help, Ru? It's two against one!"

"You started it," Saguru chuckled, "…so you can finish it. Besides, my hands are cold."

"You suck, Ru!" Kaito pouted, turning to fire on the detective. "I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends! Why are you turning on me?" Hakuba put his hands up to defend his face.

"You betrayed me first, you traitor!" Kaito laughed gleefully, using both hands to launch half-formed snow wads.

"Kaito, please! It's too cold for this!" Saguru pleaded as he ran for the woods where there would be more cover.

"I surrender!" the Brit yelled when the pelting didn't cease.

"There is no surrender option!" Kaito chortled. "Play with me!"

"No! I don't like playing in the snow!" Saguru fabricated an excuse. "It's too cold!"

"How would you know?" Kaito chuckled, catching up. "You've never played in the snow before! At least, you don't remember, even if you have!"

"Whoa!" Kaito yelped, tripping on a tree root buried in the snow and crashing into Saguru.

Hakuba spun around, propelled by the momentum of Kaito colliding with his right shoulder. He managed to catch the brunette as they fell, saving Kaito from face-planting into the snow. Saguru bumped his head, but the impact was cushioned by the soft, wet stuff.

"Ugn," he grunted, opening his eyes. He blinked.

Kaito's indigo orbs blinked right back at him.

They stared for a while, each slowly becoming hyperaware of his body pressed flush against the other's. They got caught up in each other's eyes, and gulped in unison when they realized that they weren't the only one kind of liking this situation. It was hard to hide it when their pelvises were pressed together like that. They gulped again, both still breathing heavily from their run through the woods.

"R-Ru…I…" Kaito licked his lips.

Whether it was a nervous habit or a sign of arousal, it really made no difference to Saguru. He was done. He'd been in love with this god of a man ever since the accident almost a year before, and he was sick and tired of downplaying his feelings. He closed the scant two inches between their lips and kissed Kaito for all he was worth.

Hakuba lost track of time as they rolled around in the snow like puppies, ice cold hands snaking under clothing, burning flesh and making the experience all the more intense.

"I kinda th-thought you liked me," Kaito gasped, when their lips finally parted.

"Ya think?" Saguru snorted. "I've only been pining after you for as long as I can remember."

"So…one year?" the brunette chuckled wildly, face red as wine. "For me, it's been a little less than half as long. Four months ago when we were doing the butler café for the Culture Festival…we were putting on the uniforms, and you turned around and said, 'Kaito, I can't wear this; I look ridiculous.' I took one look at you and thought, 'Yaowza. You can't wear that; the girls will be all over you like cats in heat.'"

Saguru burst out laughing. "Oh. Is that why you told me to go work in the kitchen and had Koizumi-san take over?"

"It was better for business too." Kaito shrugged. "But, yeah. I wanted to keep the sight of you in that butler uniform all to myself."

"What…what about Aoko?" The blonde held his breath and prayed that this wouldn't be an issue.

"About that…" Kaito chuckled nervously. "She told me at the end of summer, but…have you ever noticed how Aoko always blushes whenever she's around Akako?"

"Oh." Saguru blinked, his own cheeks coloring. "You mean to say that they're…"

"Yeah." The brunette gave a sharp nod. "Yeah, they're definitely together."

"So…you're romantically unattached?" Saguru gulped.

"I'm yours, if you want me." Kaito smiled, and it was like being bathed in sunbeams.

"I want you," Hakuba gasped, as he pulled the brunette back into a fiery kiss. "Good lord, how I want you!"

When they broke for air, out of nowhere, all of the pleasant tingling sensations throughout Saguru's body relocated to his brain and transformed into a powerful headache.

He cried out in pain as his vision faded to white. It felt as if his body had been flash-fried, and the pain slowly ebbed only to increase once again.

"Ru?" He could hear Kaito's panicked voice screaming his name.

"My head…" he groaned.

"Saguru? Stay with me. You're gonna be okay," the angel assured.

"Kai—aaah!" he screamed, and everything faded into darkness.

000

It was dark when he opened his eyes again.

He was in a hospital. He could tell by the beeping machines and sterile décor. It was a hospital like any other hospital—just like the one he had woken up in just about a year before. Only, this time there were no cards or flowers, and this time Kuroba Kaito was sleeping in a chair at his bedside.

Dear lord his head hurt.

He wondered if the chaperons for the school ski trip had called Baaya.

She was probably on her way right now.

It wasn't necessary. He was fine, but, god, how he wanted to see her.

He needed someone who understood what he had been through and would let him cry like an infant while they held him.

It had been a nice, carefree vacation from his real life, but he was back in reality now, and it sucked entirely.

Getting all of those horrible memories back in one go had been both physically and emotionally painful, and now he just wanted to sleep and cry.

How could he face Kaito now?

Unfortunately, the nurse coming in to check on Saguru caused Kaito to stir, and the magician woke up completely when he realized that Saguru was conscious.

"Ru! Are you okay? How do you feel?" His flustered little love spewed question after question, letting his worry and anxiety out.

"It feels like I got run over…again," Saguru sighed. "I got my memories back."

Kaito blinked, mouth opening and closing like that of a carp. "Saguru…I…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to—"

"—Hush," Hakuba whispered, placing his fingertips over the lips he had kissed not twelve hours earlier. "I don't feel like talking at present. There are a lot of things that I have to think about and sort through, and I need to talk to Baaya first but…" He stopped when he saw the crestfallen look on his angel's face. He sighed and pressed his lips to Kaito's. "Don't worry. I'm still madly in love with you, and we'll work things out soon. I just need a day or two to work out some other things first."

"Okay." Kaito nodded, placing a kiss on Saguru's temple. "As long as you still love me and as long as you're still my Ru."

Hakuba sighed. "I don't know if I can still be the carefree man you fell in love with."

"Do you still remember the past year we spent together?" Kaito asked, indigo eyes burning holes into Saguru's flesh.

"Of course I do."

"Then you're still my Ru, and I still love you too. Let me know when you're ready to talk. I'm here for you." The brunette gave his blonde another peck on the lips before he went to sleep in the armchair on the other side of the room. "Night, Ru."

"Night, Kaito," Saguru whispered, feeling lucky to have an understanding man like that.

000

Baaya arrived in the middle of the night and took up residence in Kaito's vacated chair.

Kaito left the next morning, and Baaya and Saguru spent the rest of the day talking.

It was a week before the lovebirds met again.

The next weekend, when Saguru invited Kaito over to his house, the poor Brit was a nervous wreck. By some fluke, he'd fallen madly in love with the magician while his memories had been away, and even now he still adored that little loon. He'd be absolutely ruined if Kaito rejected him after finding out about his past.

"Saguru, Kaito-kun is here!" Baaya called from the foot of the stairs. "I'm sending him up!"

"Okay!" Saguru responded once he was positive that his voice wouldn't waver.

"Hey, Ru," Kaito called quietly from the doorway a moment later.

"Kaito. Come in," he replied, popping to his feet so fast that he felt dizzy (though, it could possibly have been from seeing that gorgeous man for the first time in far too long).

Kaito awkwardly approached, unsure of what he should do.

He and Ru would usually clap each other on the shoulder or ruffle each other's hair when they greeted each other. Kaito and Hakuba had sometimes nodded civilly. However, now they were technically dating, and…Ru? Hakuba? Someone had kissed him at the hospital, so he wasn't quite sure what would be an appropriate greeting.

Saguru solved the problem for him by coming forward and lightly kissing his cheek. He put his hands on Kaito's waist and smiled softly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Kaito chuckled, nipping at his boyfriend's jaw.

"Please, come sit down." Saguru motioned towards the couch as he took Kaito's hand and led him.

Once seated and comfortable, the two sighed in unison.

After a light bout of giggles, Kaito looked his detective in those pretty gold eyes and said, "So…what are we even going to talk about first? There's too much."

"First…thank you for lying to me and creating a group of friends for me. I'm extremely grateful."

Kaito sighed in relief. "Good. I was so scared that you'd hate me or be mad or something at the very least."

"Why would I be mad at you for being kind to me?" Saguru blinked.

"Because I lied." The older teen shrugged. "I thought you'd be angry for me taking pity on you."

Saguru shook his head. "Maybe I would have been a little upset had my memories returned sooner, but a year after the fact, it makes little difference. I have a question, though. How long did you pretend to be my friend before you actually started to be my friend?"

"Oh, Ru," Kaito sighed, drawing out the 'u.' "The only time I ever lied about being your friend was the first time that I said I was. I really have been your friend ever since that day. I wasn't pretending when we sang 867-5309 together, and I wasn't faking it when I offered to walk you home that night. I really did have fun with you, and I truly was concerned about you forgetting where you lived. I really was your friend, Ru."

This caused a relieved smile to spread like a butterfly's wings over Saguru's face. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that." The detective placed a hand on his beloved's knee and gently squeezed.

"So…you're not mad at me?" Kaito confirmed.

Saguru shook his head. "Not in the slightest."

"…And…you still love me, even though you remember everything that…you know…before?" The indigo-eyed boy chewed his lip nervously.

Hakuba leaned in and pressed his lips sweetly to Kaito's. "Of course I do. I'm surprised that you fell for me when you still had your memories of how things had been between us."

"You…you were different after you lost your memories," Kaito explained. "That's what I thought at first anyway, but…I realized that Ru was the real you. Hakuba was just a mask you put on to protect yourself…to hide…like me. Since I got to see the real you, I showed you the real me too. This past year, we've both taken off our masks for each other. I fell for the real you, Saguru; who you had been pretending to be up until that point didn't matter." The magician affectionately nuzzled his boyfriend's ear.

"I…I'm really happy…that you love me…that you really love me. You're right. That was the real me without all of my walls up…. I…I want to tell you about why…" Hakuba took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "…about why I had all of those walls up in the first place, if you'd kindly lend me your shoulder."

Kaito blinked but didn't protest as Saguru wrapped his arms around the smaller teen and rested his head on Kaito's shoulder, Hakuba's face pressed to the side of Kaito's neck. "Ru? Is it that bad?" He felt the detective nod.

"Don't laugh at me when I start crying," Saguru mumbled.

"Oh, Ru, I wouldn't," Kaito assured, giving his love a reassuring squeeze.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and began. "I was an accident. The only reason I was born was because my grandmother was a very devout Christian and she would have thrown my mother out on the streets and disinherited her if she hadn't had me. There was a hasty marriage between my mother and father, and then I was born and forgotten about. Baaya told me that by the time she got to me, I'd stopped crying. Can you imagine a little baby already so devoid of hope that it had ceased calling out for attention?"

Here Kaito placed a kiss on Saguru's ear—it was a little awkward because of the angle—and gave his darling a little squeeze.

"I was largely ignored as a child…my whole life, actually. People only bothered with me when they wanted something—money, influence…. I learned quickly not to trust anyone. I was alone more often than not, and I soon became rather apathetic. Things were very simple back then, though. I loved Baaya, I wanted my parents to love me, and…I hated myself…. Even when I was little, I hated myself because I thought that I had done something wrong. I thought that there was something wrong with me and that was why my parents didn't l-love me."

Saguru cried bitterly for a few minutes before he was able to continue.

Kaito shifted their positions so that Saguru was lying between Kaito's legs, resting with his head on the magician's chest. Kaito rubbed his boyfriend's back gently in circular motions continuously, making little "shh" noises until Saguru was able to go on.

"I always pulled dangerous stunts as a child to try to win my parents' attention, but the only one that ever came running and hugged me when she was sure I was safe was Baaya. I gave up when I was twelve." He swallowed hard. "That was the first time that I tried…that I tried to k-kill myself."

"Ru," Kaito breathed, pulling his love tightly to his chest. He let the tears fall freely down his cheeks and into that golden hair. "Oh, Ru."

"I thought about it a lot after that, and I did little things, but…the next time I really tried was when I was fifteen…and again right before I came here to chase Kid."

"Saguru," Kaito choked.

They were both crying at that point.

"Th-That's the short version," Saguru sniffled. "I might talk in more detail about certain things later, but…that's enough for now."

"God, Ru. No wonder you were in so much pain when your memories came back," Kaito coughed, doing damage control on his damp face with his sleeve. "I can't even imagine getting all of those terrible memories back all at once."

"They usually come back little by little over time, but…I guess I just got lucky." Saguru gave his beloved a little squeeze. "I always knew that they were going to be bad; that's why I didn't want them, but…I…I thought that if I was going to have a relationship with you, I had to know about my past. I wanted to be able to share it with you, but…Kaito, I'm…I'm no good. I'm damaged…broken, and there are pieces missing. Are you sure you still want me when you could have someone perfectly normal? I don't want you to stick around because you feel bad only to change your mind later. If you're going to do it, break my heart now. It'll be easier on the both of us."

"Idiot," Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes. "So you've got baggage? So what? I do too. We'll talk about mine some other day…after it's safe…but just know that you're not the only one that's broken…. Ru…I love you, and I'll take all of you—no matter what baggage that includes. You're the one that I want, Saguru."

"I-I'm glad," Hakuba chuckled through tears, a huge smile on his lips. "You know, I used to think that I was unlovable, but…you love me, don't you?"

"Were you even listening to my bold declaration of love two seconds ago?" Kaito grumbled.

"I know. I know, Kaito. I know that you love me. It's just…I always thought that there was something wrong with me and that was why no one loved me or wanted to be my friend without their parents having told them to…but…now…you love me, and I have friends, thanks to you. People are kind to me without expecting anything in return. It's really wonderful, Kaito. I guess there was nothing wrong with me after all." The blonde smiled sweetly up at him, and it almost broke Kaito's heart.

He leaned in and kissed his darling on the forehead. "No, Ru. There's nothing wrong with you. You just got dealt a sucky hand of cards. I'll see about evening the playing field for you in the future."

"You're the best, Kaito," Saguru whispered, smiling as he lay his head down on the smaller teen's chest.

"How can I be the best when you already are?" Kaito snickered, ruffling his boyfriend's hair.

"Thank you," the blonde mumbled.

"You're welcome. What are ya thanking me for?"

"For everything." Saguru blushed.

"Thank me once I hand your butt to you in a game of chess," Kaito chuckled, clapping his love on the back and sitting them both up.

Saguru blinked. "W-We're still going to play chess?"

"We can't make out all the time." Kaito shrugged, adoring the way cherry blossom pink looked on his detective's cheeks. "Gotta have a good balance between friendship and physical intimacy. After I'm done trouncing you at chess, wanna try tag team Backgammon against Baaya? I think we could win…maybe after a few tries."

Kaito smiled, and all Saguru could do was laugh and grin in return.

"There's my Ru," Kaito declared, ruffling the taller teen's hair with gusto. "You know, you look glorious when you smile? Keep smiling like that, and I'll worship you as long as I live."

The detective blushed. "No need to worship me, but what if I don't feel like smiling?"

"Then…look at me just like that with those beautiful, pleading eyes, and my heart will be yours forever," Kaito announced.

Hakuba sighed. "Great. My boyfriend was a host in another life."

Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes. "What do you want from me, Ru?"

"Just your undying love and affection," Saguru replied coyly.

"Done," Kaito easily agreed. "Sold to the beautiful blonde with bedroom eyes! …So long as I get yours in return."

"Done," Saguru echoed, blushing some more and muttering something about not having bedroom eyes.

"Good. Now get over here and kick my butt at chess," the imp chuckled motioning his boyfriend over to the chess table.

Saguru laughed and got up from the couch with a smile.

….

ゆ

Mikau: It's the hiragana character "yu," and I think that it looks like a fish. Some people see it; some people don't. I can't draw fish, so I draw yus instead. So, I was walking with my friend who has this amazing ability to spot four leaf clovers and pick them without breaking stride. She has, like, a hundred, and I've always been super jealous of her. Anyway, we were walking to the art building so that she could show me her new painting, and she stopped to inspect a clover patch. After a few seconds she shrugged and said, "Guess not," but then I looked, and I found a four leaf clover. I'd never found one in my life before, so I was really happy. Before I met her, I didn't even know that they actually existed. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope to see you again. Take care!