Title : Picnic
Disclaimer : I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari. It belongs to Sai Yukino.
Rating : T for themes only
Genre : Friendship
Warnings : Yaoi, talks only
Pairing : Reishin/Kijin and Koyu/Shuei
Summary : Kijin seeks Shuei's advise on a personal matter.
Time-fit: Between 307 and The Melting Snow Party
Shuei groaned in exasperation.
"Good grief! Undressing you is more difficult than I thought!"
Through his hands, Shuei felt Kijin's silent chuckle. Shuei persevered in his task, muttering under his breath.
"And I thought, with my vast experience in this task, that it would be a breeze."
"Maybe it's different when there's no motivation, General Ran!"
"Anymore such comments, Lord Kijin, and I'll leave your precious Dumpling to freeze!"
With a final tug, Shuei freed Kijin's outer robe. He felt Kijin shudder a little as the cold hit him. Shuei moved around in front of Kijin and draped the still-warm robe over the sleeping Reishin. Reishin sighed contentedly in his drunken sleep, and snuggled closer against Kijin's chest.
"Hurry up, Shuei, my butt is freezing, the cold is seeping up from the ground."
"I'm hurrying already!"
Shuei undid his obi and peeled off his outer skirt, folding it into the appropriate dimensions.
"Alright, Lord Kijin, lift."
At the command, Kijin raised his butt off the ground. Shuei tucked the folded skirt beneath, leaving half of it extending beyond Kijin's behind.
Shuei took off his outer robe, and left it on the ground next to Kijin. He crawled forward and lifted the sleeping Koyu off the ground, and shimmied his way back with Koyu in his arms. Shuei checked to make sure that he was sitting on the folded skirt, and leaned his back against Kijin's. He arranged Koyu, placing Koyu's head against his chest, and pulled Koyu's legs into position between his own. Then he reached for his robe and covered Koyu, and as much of himself as possible.
"Thank you, Shuei. That was a brilliant suggestion."
"So does that mean I'm forgiven for botching the transport arrangement?"
Shuei asked hopefully. He had given the wrong instructions, and the carriage would not return to pick them up from their picnic until the next morning.
"I'll consider forgiving you AFTER we get out of this intact."
Shuei sighed in relief.
"Thankfully Koyu over-provided, so at least we wouldn't go hungry."
Seated back to back, and with their lovers warm and snug in their arms, Kijin and Shuei soon warmed up enough to relax their muscles.
[Time lapse]
"Shuei, are you asleep?"
"No."
"Can I run something by you?"
"Sure, Lord Kijin."
Shuei successfully kept the surprise out of his voice.
"Do you remember the story Reishin told of our first meeting?"
Shuei chuckled.
"How can I forget?"
"Well, Shuei, two years after that, I discovered that not only is Reishin responsible for my first-ever erection, he is also the only one that can induce an erection in me."
Stunned, Shuei took a while to respond.
"I . . . you . . . I can't even imagine what that's like, Lord Kijin."
"No, of course not. I'm abnormal."
He felt Shuei's movement against his back, and added.
"It's alright, Shuei, there's no need for you to be embarrassed. I know I'm not normal."
"Does Lord Reishin know? How does he feel about it?"
Kijin laughed.
"Reishin enjoys the exclusiveness."
Shuei laughed, in relief.
"Then it all works out fine."
"Yes, except that it's no longer true, and I'm wondering what's the right thing to do. To tell or not to tell. I would like to hear what you think, Shuei."
Shuei let his breath out in a slow hiss.
This is a tough one. Poor Lord Kijin!
"Your new, uh, ability, is it limited to just one person? Other than Lord Reishin, of course."
"Just one. So far."
"That's NOT good, Lord Kijin!"
"No, it's not. On top of that, it's someone Reishin holds dear."
"Oh hell! Let me think about it."
Shuei kept silent for a few minutes.
"Do you have feelings for this person?"
"No. Well, yes, I'm fond of him, but that's about it."
"Him? Someone Lord Reishin holds dear? It had better not be Koyu, Lord Kijin!"
Shuei's cry was almost a plea.
"No, not Koyu."
"Thank goodness! I would have to fight you otherwise!"
"It's you, Shuei."
Shuei froze. The contact area between their two backs burnt him. He had trouble breathing.
"How? When?"
"Just now. When you were tucking the folded skirt under me, your hand brushed across my thigh, and . . . it just happened. I'm sorry, Shuei."
"No, no, Lord Kijin. I can't tell you how relieved I am! I thought you were going to say it's been going on for sometime, or something! This in itself is nothing. Similar accidental touches have brought about the same response in me. But it's just that, in your case, it's . . . awkward."
"I know. Do you think I should tell Reishin?"
"Damn! I don't know! Why does it have to be me?"
"I'm sorry."
"No! Don't apologize. Like I said before, this is nothing."
Shuei chuckled.
"You can at least console yourself that the touch you reacted to was by someone young and attractive!"
Kijin laughed.
"Now I'm intrigued. I want to hear about this."
Shuei squirmed.
"She was eighty-two years old."
"WHAT?"
"It's not what you think! She fell on the road. I went to help her. She pulled herself up with her hands, using my knees, my thighs. It was excruciatingly slow. But she refused to let me pull her up. And then her hand accidentally touched my crotch. She recovered from her initial shock to smirk toothlessly at me, and to give me a squeeze! Just before she left me, she said it was her eighty-second birthday, and that I had given her the best present ever!"
Kijin shook with laughter.
"Oh, Shuei! If you are trying to make me feel better, you have done a great job! Does Koyu know this story?"
"No, and I don't intend to tell him. He will never let me live that down!"
"Great. Fodder for me to blackmail you."
"Uh-huh, and right after that, I'll tell Lord Reishin that you have the hots for me!"
They both fell silent, each thinking their own thoughts, their backs still pressed together in solidarity.
Finally, Shuei spoke.
"Lord Kijin, I think you should let Lord Reishin continue to enjoy the exclusiveness. And, you should just enjoy your new-found normalcy surreptitiously."
"I think so too."
Kijin chuckled.
"And, Shuei, come to think of it, I'm glad it's you."
"I don't know if I can say the same, but I'm working on it."
They laughed, their backs warm against each other.
"Goodnight, Shuei."
"Goodnight, Lord Kijin."
Shuei paused.
"And don't you dare dream of me!"
[The End]
Notes: (1) I know it's technically incorrect to say "the cold is seeping up from the ground", but I figured that sounded more natural than to have Kijin say, "my butt is losing heat to the cold ground"! ^_^
(2) The story of Kijin's first-ever erection is narrated by Reishin in chapter 7 of Twin Irises.
(3) The story of Kijin's discovery that he can't get it up with anyone other than Reishin is told in flashback in 307.