A/N: Hi there. I'm Prince Bananafeather and…yeah. This is my first fic up here, so please be nice.
Oh, Doritos apologizes for the wait, but she's at band camp right now. Geek. So she says that she'll have the next chapter of Yaoi Emblem up when she gets back. Or something.
Enjoy…if at all possible…
He wasn't exactly sure when he'd realized what the priest meant to him.
Shinon sighed and nocked an arrow, then released it. The arrow hit its target dead center.
It might have been after he'd been nearly cut in half by one of those damned pirates back in Crimea.
Another arrow went flying.
It might have been after a lance had cut through his side in the dark and he was on the ground dying.
The third arrow sliced his finger open as he released it and he swore.
It could have been that time with the sword and the icicle, but he didn't want to think about that.
All he was really sure about was that when the healer was leaning over him and that glow was illuminating his features and slowly bringing life back, he desperately wanted to entangle his fingers in that beautiful auburn hair and…
…well, he wasn't quite sure what would come after that.
On one hand, Rhys could pull away and avoid him whenever possible, which really wasn't that hard considering they were in an army.
On the other hand, the priest could allow Shinon to pull his head forward and let their lips meet—
"Are you alright?"
The sniper visibly jumped, and Rhys giggled slightly.
"I'm sorry…you just looked rather…lost in thought. Do you require a search party?"
Shinon glared at the priest, who smiled.
"I'm fine," the redhead growled, narrowing his eyes. "Go away."
"What's bothering you?"
"Nothing. Go away."
Rhys sighed and sat down, watching Shinon continue to shoot arrows at various targets until there was only one arrow left. Blood dripped from the sniper's fingers and the priest absently got his Heal staff ready.
The final arrow not only hit its target dead-center, but sliced the previous arrow almost completely in half. Rhys smiled and stood up, taking Shinon's hand and healing it with a wave of his staff.
"Will you please tell me what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong!" Shinon barked. "Leave me alone!"
Normally, Rhys would have backed down and left the sniper alone, but something told him that the sniper wanted him to pry.
"No. Tell me."
Shinon glared.
"Nothing. Is. Wrong."
"Yes there is. You never hurt yourself while training; you've never even popped a blister. Something's on your mind and I want you to tell me what it is because you'll end up making yourself sick if you don't get it off your chest."
The redhead glared and then leaned in.
"You want to know what's bothering me?" he hissed in a voice that was just barely over a whisper. "What's bothering me is the fact that I don't know exactly what my brain is telling me at the moment because I can't stop thinking about someone and it's thoroughly pissing me off."
"Ah, so you're in love, then."
Shinon's brain momentarily stopped working. "I'm what now?"
"Who is it?"
"Nobody!"
"Shinon, who is it!?"
"I said it's nobody!"
"Shin—mmph…"
The sniper flushed the same color as his hair and stormed off, leaving a very confused and slightly blushing priest behind.
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Later that night Rhys was sitting in his room and contemplating the greater questions of life: what was his purpose? Why was he here? How in the name of the goddess did anyone play a sixty-fourth note on a tuba?
Oh, right.
Why had Shinon kissed him?
These questions and many more floated around his head much like a pile of leaves in a hurricane, and the priest was beginning to get a headache.
Wandering down to the kitchens seemed to be cursed. Last night he had found a very drunk Gatrie, and the night before he'd caught Ike and Soren performing a rather interesting act on a counter he'd never be able to look at the same way again.
And tonight, who else would be there than Shinon?
The sniper didn't seem to notice him at first, instead sipping at whatever it was he had in the mug he was holding. Then he turned slowly, almost as though he'd expected the priest to walk through the door at precisely that moment.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I…I don't know. I'm so confused right now. I acted on impulse and it was a stupid thing to do. I apologize."
Rhys flushed deeply and then said something very quietly under his breath. The sniper frowned.
"What?"
"…can…we…again…?"
"What?"
"Again. Kiss me."
Well, the sniper certainly hadn't been expecting that. However, he wasn't about to complain and stood, lightly placing his hands on the priest's shoulders.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Smiling ever-so-slightly, Shinon leaned down and pressed his lips softly to Rhys'. The priest shyly slid an arm around the redhead's neck, and the sniped gently drew the other man close.
"I love you," Shinon whispered. "I know…that you don't…love me but…"
"I do. I've…been thinking about it for quite some time, actually…and…you mean a lot to me, Shinon. You really do. If we lost you…I'm not sure exactly…"
"I love you," Shinon repeated, kissing the priest again. "I won't leave. Ever."
Rhys smiled softly and flushed just a little.
"Thank you.
"I love you, too."
A/N: Heh…poor Doritos…she's still up and won't go to bed…instead she's telling me every five minutes that she's going to band camp in so many hours…we're sitting at twelve and it's midnight…whatta weirdo.
I hope you enjoyed it…please review.