Title : Shooting Autumn Leaves
Disclaimer : I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari. It belongs to Sai Yukino.
Rating : T
Genre : Friendship
Warnings : Yaoi
Pairings : Shuei/Koyu
Summary : Shuei finally extracts a promise from Koyu to start on an exercise regime.
Time-fit: Four months into their relationship as lovers. In relation to Twin Irises, this fits between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.
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Shuei, walking four feet behind Koyu, saw the panels of Koyu's long tunic billow out like sails, and then, together with the swirling red and gold autumn leaves, Koyu . . . flew!
Reacting instinctively, Shuei dashed forward and caught his lover round the waist, just in time to stop Koyu from being blown off the covered walkway. Holding on tightly, Shuei spoke only when the wind, and Koyu's agitated breathing, had subsided.
"Good grief, Koyu, maybe you should eat three bowls of rice instead of two!"
Koyu laughed.
"That won't help. You eat less rice than me!"
He shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know why I weigh so little."
Koyu paused, frowning at a sudden thought.
"Do you . . . do I look alright to you? Am I too thin?"
A blush spread across his cheeks, as Koyu mentally compared himself to Shuei's muscled nakedness.
"I mean, without any clothes on."
Looking into those guileless pale grey eyes, Shuei struggled with his reply.
Do I tell him the truth - that he looks way more than alright?
Oh! But this is the best opportunity to convince him to exercise!
Ever since they became friends, Shuei had hinted, suggested, cajoled, threatened, all in vain. He couldn't convince Koyu, who spends the best part of his day stuck to his desk, to start an exercise regime. It didn't occur to Shuei that their changed status from friends to lovers could work to his advantage.
In fact, he was stunned. Given Koyu's fiercely independent nature, he would never have expected this insecurity, this need to have his physical self approved by his lover.
I can't take advantage of his insecurity!
But he really needs to exercise! And it's always better to start young.
Watching Shuei's obvious struggle to find words, Koyu's blush deepened. He buried his face in Shuei's shoulder.
"Shuei, Shuei, Shuei. You don't have to say anything. Now I know why you're always hounding me to exercise. I will start, I promise. Thank you for not being able to lie. And thank you for still desiring me."
"Thank you for still desiring me"!
Hell! I can't let Koyu go on thinking he's some undesirable bean-pole!
"What on earth are you talking about, Koyu? You are seriously desirable! You look gorgeous naked. Besides, I'm not asking you to exercise for my personal sexual gratification!"
Shuei pulled back to look into Koyu's face, and said sternly,
"You owe me, Li Koyu, for thinking so poorly of me. As payment, I want your promise that you'll follow the exercise regime I have for you. Agreed?"
Koyu nodded slowly, smiling.
"I promise."
"Good. Seal with a kiss?"
"Whatever you say, Instructor Sir."
They kept the kiss chaste, being aware that they were in a very public place. When they parted, Shuei caught a passing golden leaf.
Then he grinned at Koyu, waving the leaf at him.
"First Exercise: Target Practice on Autumn Leaves."
"Target practice? You're going to start me with archery? Don't you think I should get stronger first before attempting anything that involves weapons?"
Shuei laughed.
"You won't need weapons. We still have three quarters of an hour before lunch-break is over. Let's do it now."
Koyu watched, bemused, as Shuei stripped off his cumbersome outer robes to prepare for the demonstration. Koyu looked around idly, marveling at the beauty of the palace grounds in autumn. He marveled that he had not once explored the dense vegetation in his five years as a civil servant. He swept the fallen leaves off a large rock, and turned around to sit down.
"No, no, Koyu, you need to put a greater distance between us. A little more . . . Alright, that rock will do."
"What? Are you taking off your undergarments too?"
Shuei laughed.
"It can get a little messy, and I don't have a change of clothes with me. Don't worry, Koyu, we're deep inside the grounds, no one will see. Ready for the demonstration?"
Koyu nodded.
"Target practice is only part of the idea. Once a particular falling leaf is selected as the target, the idea is to keep hitting the same leaf, keeping it from falling to the ground for as long as possible. The designated area is this clearing that we are in, the leaf must not go beyond this area."
For as long as possible?
With Shuei's skills, whether he's going to hit the leaf with his hands or legs or whatever, it would take him a very long time to exhaust himself. Our lunch-break will be over before it comes to that.
"Alright, Koyu, that leaf over there!"
Koyu followed the direction of Shuei's pointing finger to locate the selected target. He gasped as a jet diverted the downward spiral of the leaf. He spun his head towards the source of the jet, just in time to see Shuei exercise precision control. The jet stopped abruptly.
Good lord, how does he do that? Just one short burst? I didn't even know it was possible to STOP urinating!
Shuei dashed after the new direction of the leaf, getting ahead of it. He spun around and took aim a second time, hitting the leaf at an oblique angle. It was not a good hit. The leaf spun on its own axis, magically suspended in mid air. The jet dispersed into hundreds of droplets, refracting the noon sunlight. In the halo of rainbow sparkles, the leaf continued its fall towards the ground.
Mesmerized by the unlikely beauty of a spray of urine, Koyu missed part of the next action. The next thing he saw was Shuei rolling across the leaf-covered ground, stopping directly below the falling leaf.
Noooo! If you shoot in that position, you'll be . . .
The jet caught the leaf squarely, propelling it a good five feet into the air. Shuei, wet and plastered with red and gold leaves in several places, leapt to his feet and prepared for the next shot. Koyu burst out laughing. He finally understood what Shuei meant when he had said that it can get a little messy. He also understood the meaning of for as long as possible. Translated, that would mean, for as long as the ammunition lasted!
The surprise, or rather, the shock, no longer present, Koyu settled back to enjoy the demonstration. And what a demonstration! To see the beautiful Shuei running and rolling naked in the sunlight, his taut muscles rippling, pausing to hold his weapon and take aim, was simply out of this world; and very very tantalizing.
Finally out of ammunition, the autumn-coloured Shuei came to stand in front of his spectator.
"How, Koyu? Want to give it a try?"
Koyu swallowed, his voice coming out hoarse.
"Not possible right now, Instructor Sir. One can't urinate when aroused."
"Ah so! And just how aroused are we?"
Shuei checked between Koyu's thighs.
"My, my, we can't go meet His Highness in this state, can we? Just hang on, I'll rinse off in the lake. I'll be back before you can even start to subside!"
Having adjusted Shuei's outer skirts, Koyu picked up the belt. Kneeling behind the seated Shuei, he reached around to the front and looped the belt round Shuei's waist.
"Shuei, this Autumn Leaves Target Training thing, did you just make it up?"
Without pausing in his task of putting on his boots, Shuei answered with a chuckle.
"Not exactly. Shooting autumn leaves is something I used to do when I was a kid. I had actually forgotten about it. It has to be you, Li Koyu. Sex with a sweet young thing like you makes me young again!"
Koyu gave the belt a hard tug, making Shuei yelp.
"Really, grandpa? And just how old do you think you are, Ran Shuei?"
Shuei laughed.
"Alright, not so old. Just jaded."
His voice softened.
"Being with you has changed all that."
Shuei waited, not daring to turn back to see Koyu's response. He had surprised himself at what just came from his mouth.
Very early on in their relationship, Shuei already knew he wanted it to last, and he wanted Koyu as a live-in lover. But he sensed something in Koyu that prevented him from talking about their relationship in a serious manner. It wasn't that Koyu was holding back, not at all. Koyu gave a lot. Shuei basked in the love, the nourishing tonics, the home-made confections, and a whole host of other things. But somehow, through all of that, Shuei felt an inexplicable but ever present hesitation, an uncertainty. Shuei did ask Koyu to move into the Ran Manor, many times, but always in a joking manner. And as to be expected, a flippant question can only be met with an equally flippant response.
Koyu's heart stopped, and then it raced. The tone of Shuei's voice was definitely sincere. Those words, being with you has changed all that, must surely be a lead-in to a profession of love. Frozen, with his hands still holding Shuei's belt, Koyu waited. And waited.
Desperate, Koyu did the one thing he swore he would never do again.
"I love you, Shuei."
He knew he shouldn't have said it. His hands, on either side of Shuei's waist, picked up the sudden tension in Shuei's body. Koyu cursed his own weakness. It's the same every single time that he had told Shuei he loved him. The same tension. The same silence. And as with all those other times, the only thing to do was to change the subject.
"Are you done with those boots, Shuei? We're running out of time!"
Koyu smiled drowsily, pressing his face into Shuei's warm back.
Mmmm. Shuei smells so nice.
He opened his eyes just a little, taking in the autumn colours flashing by. They had spent a little too much time making out after Shuei returned from the lake. But Shuei, being Shuei, could always be counted on to make things right. He knew the palace grounds intimately, palace security being his job. And so there they were, with Koyu riding piggy-back, and Shuei sprinting across the palace grounds, taking a short-cut to the Archives. Koyu closed his eyes, enjoying the ride.
This feels so good, so right.
Shuei, I would go anywhere with you.
If I could just be certain that you love me.
Oh, stop it, Li Koyu!
You promised yourself - just enjoy the moment.
Yes. Like Shuei's very warm back . . .
Koyu dozed off on that last thought.
Feeling Koyu's arms slacken, Shuei adjusted his hold, making sure that his precious burden wouldn't fall off his back.
Autumn. Shuei had always been affected by the season. Just one week before, he was really down, because of the uncertainty in his relationship with Koyu. They had been lovers for four months, and he didn't even know where he stood. He was listless, hanging around the Archives' bookcases, when a very slim volume caught his eye. It was obviously placed in the wrong place. A romance novel? Curious, he read it.
Shuei, somewhat superstitious, believed that the novel was meant especially for him. The story was simple. A love affair entered into, with both parties knowing that it couldn't last. The lady had a peculiar habit of collecting mental "paintings" of their times together. At a picnic, or walking hand-in-hand with her lover, or even in the midst of love-making, she would frame her lover's face, freezing that particular expression, like a painting, to file away in her mental archives forever.
Since then, Shuei had collected many paintings. Koyu, brow furrowed, biting his lower lip; Koyu's signature wide-eyed glare when he's teased; the special way Koyu laughs, with his frown still in place; Koyu's post-coitus face, the large pale gray eyes luminous in the lamplight; and one of the most precious so far – Koyu's first smile of the day, when they first see each other again after the night apart.
He had just collected one more painting. Koyu, flushed with passion, the filtered sunlight tracing leaf patterns on his face. Shuei smiled at the red and gold leaves falling all around him and his sleeping passenger. He will enjoy this autumn with his love. And who knows, this time next year, they could be shooting autumn leaves together in the Ran Manor.
[The End]
Notes:
(1) "Shuei basked in the love, the nourishing tonics, the home-made confections, and a whole host of other things." For the tonic, read Tonic with Plums, and for the home-made confections, read Extra Extra Sweet ! ^_^
(2) For the reason behind Shuei's tensed and silent reaction to Koyu's professions of love, read Melting Snow Party.
(3) The idea for the mental paintings that Shuei collects is borrowed from the novel titled The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto, by Pico Iyer. Actually, it was "snapshots", but given the context of Saiunkoku Monogatari, I changed that to "paintings".