Somewhat a sequel to YLN – sadly I can't really remember the whole thing, so this is about as good as I could manage. To old fans of Young Love's Nightmare, 'hi!', to new ones, Im sorry if this doesn't make any sense to you!

Patterns in the Sand

"Do you think we would be who we are now if it never happened?"

Sometimes he would wonder if it had ever happened at all.

The dark haired man that had spoken effortlessly twirled a long silver spoon around his fingers, halting it and then spinning again. His hair, jet black, entrapped by a length of red cord, fought futilely against the wind of the near shore, the essence of summertime lingering in the air like a passing memory. Autumn was drawing in, clinging to the rich strawberry of the preceding season, leaves crumbling beneath bare feet covered with beige sand that glistened in the waning sunlight.

The evening was chill and Rei tried hard not to shiver, drawing the neck of a black jumper above his collar. He tentatively place his spoon on the side of the plate holding the cone-shaped glass that had contained a vanilla ice-cream, now half melted and dribbling down the glass to ooze at the base. He dabbed his lips with a serviette. It was too cold for ice-cream now anyway.

His companion seemed not to have heard, slouched languidly in a deck chair facing the sea, eyes bobbing with the boats in the distance. He was not concerned with the cold – how could a man born with Russian blood be affected in a country that was warm by his standards? – and wore a shirt that revealed the base of his neck and no more. One arm casually slung over the back of the chair, Rei could swear he had not been listening. But he knew better than that.

"I don't think we would," Rei continued, frowning at a scar across the back of his hand. He flexed his fingers and then drew his attention back to his companion, leaning forward in his seat. Amber eyes twinkled curiously, narrowed in speculation. "Kai?"

Kai merely shrugged, his eyes momentarily leaving the sea to focus on something else. When they returned, the sun setting beyond the soft orange horizon, Rei sighed, posture falling slack. Propping his chin in his hand, he followed Kai's gaze across the ocean, clouds drifting in from the west and amassing, grey and drear and dull.

"But we have normal lives now, don't we?" Rei wondered out loud, head tilting at the sight of a young child playing alone in the sand. Kai cast a tart look his way and Rei smiled timidly, waving his hand. "Relatively normal lives. About as normal as we're going to be. Can we complain?"

Silence. Rei chewed thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek, fingers idly drumming against the tabletop. Seven years. It had been seven years. So long ago and yet, a memory like yesterday. And to think, so many times they had almost lost one another; so many times they had come close to letting go. There was strength in their friendship, an odd union that was as strong as it was unlikely. Through that friendship had grown respect, trust and love.

Love. Rei smiled softly. Love. He had loved him for so many years, but had said it but a few times. Did it need to be said? Kai had said it once, when it truly mattered and Rei knew he would probably never speak those same three words again to him or to anyone. He was like a lone soldier, tough, yet outlandish, a law unto himself, yet calm. And Rei had never really cracked that invisible shell, that outer wall of defences that hid all of those emotions.

But it was alright, because Kai loved him. They had been through too much in the past to ever be apart. It was a comfortable idea, Rei thought, shifting in his seat with another sigh, to spend the rest of his life with him. Of course, they were polar opposite – always had been – but they fitted together, key and lock.

"What's so funny?"

Wistful eyes were drawn up and Rei grinned, a fang catching on his lip in the way it always did. He tapped his nose secretively, sliding Kai's tea towards him to take a sip. Kai's brow knitted at the innocent thievery. Rei peered over his eyelashes, nose wrinkling, wincing as he swallowed.

"I'm cold," he stated, pushing the mug back.

"Have it," Kai said, nodding. Long fingers brushed the lightly tanned skin of Rei's hand and then they were quickly withdrawn. "It's your own fault you're cold. I told you not to have ice cream."

"I know," Rei murmured, nimble fingers curling around the mug to warm them. He blew gently upon the surface of the tea and it rippled in protest. Elapsing into silence once more, Rei let his eyes flitter from one thing to the next until they settled upon his lover again, drifting from metallic red eyes down to a defined and angled jaw, a neck curved against the light, the hand tapping a rhythmless beat against his knee.

"I thought you said they were coming at six thirty," Kai huffed and Rei's reverie was shattered, drawn to the most devastatingly alluring aspect of his partner. "It's past seven, where the hell are they?"

Kai should have expected it, the two arms that wrapped around his neck and the screech in his ear that he could never forget, no matter how many months passed, and followed by that remarkable shrieking laugh that made his blood boil with irritation. Rei smiled in amusement as Yuriy clung on, knowing he was purposefully making a show of his arrival. Kai was clawing at his arm, desperate for freedom, screaming bloody murder to the high heavens.

"Let go, you idiot!" he yelled, and with another tight squeeze to his neck, Yuriy stepped away, dancing to Boris's side. He was pleased with his entrance, winking slyly at Rei, whose only response was a little chuckle that was tersely silenced by Kai's seething glare.

"You," Kai continued, pointing an accusing finger at the two of them, "Are three quarters of an hour late!"

"No we're not!" Yuriy denied profusely, flopping into a seat beside him. Arms folded and he mock-glared, stretching up in indignation. "Your watch must be wrong, Hiwatari. We arrived on time, didn't we Boris?"

Boris was busy greeting Rei and he turned to regard the hyperactive redhead, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say- ow!"

Yuriy thumped his arm a second time for his treachery, his look alone promising wicked things for later. Whilst Boris tended to his injured limb, glaring sideways at his assailant, Kai shuffled his chair further from the table, ensuring his back was to the two of them, Yuriy especially.

"Kai," Rei said threateningly. "Stop being a jerk. We didn't come all the way here for you to act like the heartless bastard we know you're not."

Kai snorted haughtily, giving Yuriy, who he knew was pulling faces behind his back, the middle finger. "This was not my idea, this was yours. I did not want to come."

"Love you too," Yuriy chirruped, stealing Kai's mug of tea off Rei and taking a long, long glug. He didn't stop until it was emptied, dropping it onto it's saucer with a clatter and a satisfied murmur. He made a note of Kai's twitching fingers and smirked surreptitiously, arms folding across his chest. "You're too uptight Kai. You should take something for that."

"I should. I should take your head off your shoulders," Kai snapped, only to be admonished by Rei, a swift kick landed against his shin to accompany it.

"Where do the two of you want to go?" Rei asked politely, one hand under the table tenderly patting Kai's knee. Kai, slightly calmed by this, held his tongue, fingers continuing to twitch and flex despite the distraction. He listened very little to the discussion that developed, offering an 'hm' and 'hn' where necessary, waiting for the moment they said it was time to go and the four of them parted ways.

It had been some time, Kai knew, for the sun had long ago set and night time had fallen, the moon's reflection shivering on the oceans surface, feeling the cold of an approaching winter. He perked up at the mention of a college reunion, memories of a time he longed to forget once again falling into place as clear as day. He offered nothing in the ways of conversation, listening intently to Yuriy's words instead.

He sounded so casual. So calm. As if nothing had ever happened. As if their childhood had been like any other.

Rei's hand had moved to clasp his and unconsciously he had tightened his grip, slipping nearer. It was because of the cold, he told himself, sheltering the man beside him against the biting wind that had picked up. It was because of the cold and nothing else. Just the cold.

"Do you want to go, Kai?" Rei asked him lightly, snuggling into the crook of his arm with a shiver of content. "It might be nice to see all of our old friends."

"I'll pass," Kai responded with a yawn. Rei chuckled.

"We'll be there," he said to Yuriy and Boris, ignoring the sound of protest Kai made at the decision being made for him. He gave Kai's cheek a soft tap, pushing cold lips to equally cold skin. "It'll be fun! Everyone will see that you are exactly the way you have always been, only slightly taller and of course, with a few wrinkles here and there."

"I do not have wrinkles!" Kai snapped suddenly, cheeks reddening in anger at the amused stares he received, realising Rei was in fact, pulling his leg. He quietened, composing himself and muttering again, "I do not have wrinkles…"

The conversation drifted here and there and every so often Kai would zone in and out, caring little for what they were saying and why, but sure to keep Rei tightly against his side, drawing lazy patterns against his side. When it was time for them to head home, their goodbyes lasted longer than Kai would have liked, and it was quarter past ten by the time Yuriy waved and yelled for the final time, Boris dragging him along with all of his strength.

They paused on their way home to bask in the glow of the night, the silence and the peace, the delicate tinker of the sea at its quietest, and of course, one another's company.

With a delicate little smile, Rei leaned over to lightly tweak Kai's nose and it wrinkled in response, an irritated hand swatting Rei away like a bee. "You like them really, Kai, admit it."

Kai snorted and strolled away along the pier his hands shuffling deep into his pockets. After a few moments he paused to look over his shoulder, frowning at the solitary figure behind standing motionless, red eyes trickling up and down his slender form. "Are you coming or not?"

Rei barely hesitated and then with a fleeting look, he jogged over to interlink their arms, pressing affectionately against his side.

"You know," Kai said quietly, eyes remaining on the path ahead as they strolled, even though Rei's moved to regard him quietly, "Even after everything, the sacrifices, the fear, the pain… We're better off as who we are now…"

Rei just nodded and smiled.

End