Whole

Chapter 41

Masato's POV

My fingers softly moved through the messy, soft brown locks of her head as her head rested against my chest. Her hair felt like silk between them as I stoked, twisted, and twirled the strands aimlessly. Her fingers traced the small grooves of my muscles as she hummed quietly. Neither of us had said a word for the past half an hour. We were perfectly happy laying there in silence, in each other's arms.

As I laid with her in our bed, in our home, with Akrio curled up in the corner after Kat let him into the room, I had to pinch myself a little. My thumb and forefinger grabbed at the skin of my thigh to make sure I wasn't dreaming. She'd agreed to be my wife, and I could hardly believe it. However, the way the ring glimmered under the gentle light of the bedside lamp, I couldn't deny the reality.

It had taken me forever to find the right ring. I'd ended up having to get it specially made, none that I'd seen in shops seemed good enough. They were too big, too flashy, or too plain and simple. That's when I saw the Claddagh ring, and I recalled how much she loved Buffy. So I had one specially made, with the heart in a Sapphire, her birthstone. Love, friendship, and Loyalty. Except there was a small detail, she'd not seen yet.

"Hey, Koneko, you still awake?" I whispered, moving my head so I could touch my lips to her hair.

"Hmm? Yeah." She shuffled a little, allowing her to look up at me.

"Look on the inside of the band." I gave her a small smile as she looked at me with a slightly raised brow.

She pulled the ring carefully from her finger and studied between two fingers for a moment. As she saw what was inside the band, her other hand came softly over her mouth as her eyes softened.

"You make me whole." She whispered, the words slightly choked — the words inscribed in small, italic writing across the band.

Before I could say another word, I noticed a tear fall from her eye as she placed the ring back on her finger.

"I hope that was a happy tear," I spoke softly, as I reached my hand to her face and brushed it away with my thumb.

"Yeah, of course." She nodded, right before she moved to press her lips to mine. My hand cupped her cheek, keeping her lips to mine as they met and danced softly together. "It's perfect, thank you."

I shook my head, "You're perfect. I'm only sorry it took me so long, and I'm sorry it took me to lose you to realize how ready I was for all of this. I don't deserve you, for all I've put you through and the way you've stood by me."

A small, sweet smile flickered across her lips as she looked at me with all the love in her eyes. "I stood by you because you are precisely the kind of person who does deserve me. It's been hard, sure, but look at all you've done for me, Masato. All the times, you flew back to see me, only for a day. All the times I woke up to find flowers on my doorstep you'd had sent. The song, the sweet gestures, the smiles you give me, how you always make the most of the time you get with me. The way you cook me breakfast in bed, and the nights we decide to push away our want to tear into each other to hold me. All of that has made all the shit worth every second, and I'd have continued to stand by you and agreed to be your wife even if you hadn't decided it was time to step away. You fixed me when I was broken, without even trying."

"You were never broken, baby, just a little bruised from what you'd been put through. And, despite all you've just said, I'm still sorry for making you wait so long."

"You're worth the wait, babe." She smiled before pressing her lips to mine again.

I pursed my lips in thought for a moment as I just watched her, looking at me with the soft smile on her lips, "What do you say, to getting married in the Spring, or maybe the summer? With our schedule, we'll have five weeks off before summer tours and festivals start. I honestly don't want to have to wait longer than we have too."

"I like the sound of that, although, doesn't give us much time to plan."

I shrugged my shoulders softly, "I'm sure our mothers will pretty much take over anyway. Besides I'm not fussed on a big, fancy wedding, as long as I get to call you my wife at the end, I don't care."

"I want to get married in the gardens, between spring and summer, the cherry blossoms will be beautiful."

A wide smile spread across my face, "That's perfect, baby, I'll give the owners a call in the morning, see if we can do that. Once we have a date, we'll get flights and everything sorted for our stateside family. Which is a point, when are your parents getting in tomorrow?"

"Got to pick them up at five in the evening. They're here for two weeks, although Lucas is only staying a week. I got to go back to work Monday, but they're planning on plenty of sightseeing and whatnot, plus you're home."

"I'll keep them busy. Maybe I should see if I can get my brother over here, then we can throw a little engagement party. You know Atsumi, and the guys are going to insist we have one." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot, have all our friends and family together to celebrate."

"Me too, baby."

"Umm, there's something I should probably tell you." Kat's face fell a little as she began chewing on the inside of her mouth, and my heart skipped a little. The look was one she always made when she was nervous.

"What, baby?"

"Well, with all our friends and family going and having babies, I was getting broody. Then I realized I was about to turn thirty-one, and I freaked out a little. So, while I was over in America, seeing my parents before I came home, I went to see my old doctor. You know, to make sure my biological clock hadn't already expired."

The beast called anxiety began to stir from its sleep. I couldn't lie; it was something I'd been a little worried about when I'd decided all of this for our future. For men, it didn't much matter, but for women, it was a different case, there was an age were having children wouldn't be possible anymore. I didn't mind the idea of adopting, but I wanted badly to have at least one of our own.

"What did they say?"

Kat took a deep breath that shook a little, "I, um, I only have about three years left before it's too late. She's not concerned about my health; she said I'd be able to carry with no issue, but getting pregnant is going to be difficult. So I made an appointment here, which I have after work on Tuesday. Basically, going to freeze some, you know, just in case. Are you mad I didn't tell you?"

I sighed as I shook my head, "Not at all, baby. When does your implant run out?"

"Need to get it changed in March, or switch to something else, because it lasts three years."

March would mean I'd have roughly just shy of a year before we started making our exit, and things would slow down. A few short months after that, Coldrain would play their last show, most likely here in Nagoya.

"Well, how about we start trying then? It's unlikely you'll get pregnant straight away. By the time you do, the band would have slowed down and be coming to a close. So, by the time the baby is here, I'll be home to help you and be a family. Even if we only get to have one, that's enough for me."

"Did we just plan our wedding and kids in the space of about fifteen minutes?" She chuckled amused.

"I believe we just did." I laughed with her, "But I'm done waiting, time for our future to start, I think."

"I agree."

"Get some sleep now, baby. It's late." I turned my head to the clock, the red LED lights telling me it was gone one in the morning.

"Okay." She moved and left a soft, lingering kiss on my lips before she cuddled close to me. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, my fingers running through her hair as I started singing Whole to her like I knew she loved.

I was barely halfway through the song before her breathing became calm and shallow. I smiled to myself as I finished the song, leaving a kiss on the top of her head before I fell asleep myself.