As Dan lied on bed with his wife, he kept staring at her as her eyelashes flutter as she tried to get some sleep . Earlier that night, she nursed Dmitri and put him to sleep . She was clearly tired .

Yet, he was restless and could not help but ruin her almost achieved sleep .

"Darling . " His melodic voice rang in her ears .

"Hmmn?" She raised a brow but did not open her eyes .

"Your birthday is fast approaching . What do you want as a gift?"

She frowned and turned her back on him without opening her eyes . It was not a good enough reason to disrupt the sleep she was trying to get .

"Hey! Darling . . . " his arm slithered along her waist . "If you don't tell me, all you'll ever get is me . " He chuckled with mischievous eyes .

She turned to face him with a glare . "Dmitri is not even a year old . Don't be ridiculous!" She gently hit his shoulder .

He laughed heartily . "Hey, they said that breastfeeding is a form of contraception . Don't you wanna prove it?"

Her brows furrowed deeper . She could remember the doctor telling her this information just before they left the hospital after she gave birth .

"I think you have gathered enough proof of the trustworthiness of the information in MXZ island . " She maintained the furrowed brows but a smile was evident on her lips .

He laughed even more as he pulled her closer into his embrace .

Midori was afflicted with his contagious laugh and chuckled . Her husband was flas.h.i.+ng his toothpaste commercial smile . It was still amazing .

She could not help but stare at his gorgeous face . Too bad for most people, he keeps this smile when he is at work .

"Darling . . . " she called out softly as she looked up to look him in the eyes .

"Hmmn?" He caresssed her face and brushed off some stray hair near her eyes with his fingers .

She suddenly moved her head to give his lips a peck .

He chuckled . His wife continued to play him like this even after they had Dmitri .

"Can I have another one?" he teased .

"Go to sleep . " She turned her back to him and wrapped herself with the blanket .

Dan pulled onto the blanket until he could wrap his arms around her waist and hips .

___________________

Takagi Ryuuji was walking along a path surrounded by cherry trees . It was the season that their blossoms are in full bloom .

He could still remember walking with Midori that spring before they graduated .

As he pondered on his memories, a blossom fell before him, gently swaying in its natural motility, before it landed on his then stretched out palm .

She loved cherry blossoms . She even treated him to sakura mochi .

That was when she revealed that it was her birthday .

She had a rather lonely expression with her declaration .

Later on, he learned that it was on her birthday that her ex-boyfriend cheated on her .

From then on, his yearning to be with her grew, promising himself that if this girl ever gives him a chance, he will give his all to make her happy .

He stared at the flower on his palm as he reminisced their times of being together .

He still could not get why she had to get back together with the man who hurt her .

He closed his palm ever so gently, as if he wanted to protect the flower without crus.h.i.+ng it .

It was similar to how he felt for Midori . He wanted to protect her, keep her close, but he never intended to imprison her in his grasp .

He looked up at the majestic cherry tree with abundant leaves fluttering and flying about, making nature's confetti .

He sighed as he remembered his conversation with the doctor earlier .

Then he opened his palm to see the blossom again .

He smiled as he figured out what he will give Midori for her birthday .