Warmth Under Fading Light

by Red River

Takuya and Kouji's argument over a sweatshirt leads to an evening in the park, and a thoughtful exchange between Tomoki and Kouichi. One-shot. Kouji x Takuya, with some Junpei x Izumi.

A/N: Another one-shot, mainly intended to further the idea that not all slash pairings have to make characters absolutely unrecognizable and turn them into blushing, sap-spewing schoolgirls. That aside, this story is from a floating perspective, but associates more with Kouichi than any of the others. The focus is Kouji and Takuya, but Junpei and Izumi got in on the side, too, so be warned.

Warnings: None.

Pairing: Kouji x Takuya (light), Junpei x Izumi to some extent.

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Another easy late-winter evening. Outside, the day that had dawned so warm was beginning to cool, though the sun now descending through the clear March sky kept away the sting that had been in the air for the past three months. Inside, six children loitered in the front hallway of the Kanbara house in various states of warm winter clothing, pulling on the shoes and hats that would protect them from the evening cold, when it came.

All but one, at least.

"I'm not bringing it."

Kouji glanced up from where he'd been tying his shoes to see Takuya standing behind him, a distinctive glare on his face. In the restless boy's hands was a bundle of red—the sweatshirt Kouji had tossed at his back moments before, while fishing for his own jacket in the hall closet. Takuya held it out defiantly in front of him, shaking it a little to clarify the source of his rebellion when he didn't get an answer.

"I'm serious. I don't want it."

From their position at the head of the entryway, Kouichi and Izumi peered back at the pair, curious what all the fuss was about. They shared a glance before Izumi sighed at her watch, annoyance sending premature wrinkles across her forehead. Tomoki shifted from foot to foot beside them, tugging on Junpei's hand for an explanation.

"What's happening?" the boy—now more or less a teenager—asked in a whisper, wary of drawing attention to himself. Junpei rubbed the back of his neck, leaning into the wall as though in preparation for a long wait.

"It's just one of those fights, Tomoki," his older friend said, wincing a little. Izumi huffed, reaching down to straighten her skirt.

"Well, they'd better hurry it up. If we don't leave soon, we won't make it back before dark…"

The two figures in the hall were oblivious to her comment, too busy exchanging stares to notice their impatient audience. Kouji leaned down to finish tying his laces, and then he pushed back to his feet, donning his own jacket as he gave the rejected sweatshirt a pointed look.

"Don't be an idiot, Takuya."

Takuya made a face at him, flinging the unwanted article back at his best friend. "Don't call me an idiot. I don't need it, okay? We're just going for a walk, and it was seventy degrees today. I'll get hot."

Kouichi bit his lip as Takuya's voice increased in volume, filling the Kanbara hallway with the indignant protest. Kouji balled the sweatshirt in his hands, his stern gaze settling on Takuya now instead of his coat.

"It'll be cold when the sun goes down. You don't have to wear it now—just tie it around your waist."

"I don't want it," Takuya insisted. "And I'm not gonna want it later, either. I hate carrying it around." Kouji scoffed.

"You'd rather trust the weather in March? You'll get cold before we're halfway around the lake."

The dark-haired teen threw the sweatshirt back in his friend's direction, but no sooner had it touched Takuya's hands than it came sailing back again, this time smacking Kouji full in the face. Takuya crammed his feet into well-worn sneakers and stomped past the taller boy, his eyes burning into the door like windblown embers.

"I said no and I meant no, Kouji. Get off my case!"

Izumi and Kouichi ducked their heads back into the entryway as Takuya stormed in their direction, sheepish of their earlier curiosity. But the boy was far too annoyed to notice their guilty faces, and he barely glanced at his four companions before throwing the door open, frowning at them over one shoulder.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his voice still clipped at the corners. The other teens nodded hurriedly and moved after him onto the porch, leaving Kouji glaring after them through the emptied entryway.

"Takuya—"

"Forget it!"

Kouji scowled and hurled the crumpled red fabric onto the hallway's side table. "I am not going to bring it for you," he warned.

"Good! I don't want it!" Takuya shouted back. Then he was down the steps and halfway to the sidewalk, the rest of the chosen children strung out behind him.

Kouichi paused at the edge of the porch, and he waited in the early evening light until Kouji joined him, still grumbling under his sharp frown. The younger twin turned back to pull the door closed behind them, but he paused as the handle turned under his touch, blue eyes narrowing in his darkened face.

"For crying out loud. Idiot didn't even lock the door…"

The dark-haired teen disappeared into the house again, and for a moment Kouichi peered after him; then the older twin smiled to himself and turned back to keep his gaze on the rest of the party, who had come to a restless stop where the sidewalk met the road. Takuya looked more than half inclined to leave without them, but Izumi had his arm and Tomoki, still short at twelve, had grabbed a leg, and between the two of them they managed to keep their unhappy leader in place until Kouji reappeared a moment later, the fading light standing out sharply on his furrowed forehead.

Takuya had his hands on his hips, irritation the only expression in his bright summer eyes. "Would you hurry up already?" the boy shouted.

"Well, if someone had half a brain in his skull," Kouji muttered to himself, rolling his eyes as he moved down the short set of stairs. And Kouichi followed half a step behind, so Kouji wouldn't ask about his persistent smile.

Under a sky gradually filling with liquid red and golds, Takuya took the lead and the others fell into their usual pattern behind him, talking quietly as their eyes roved the brilliant winter sky. Tomoki broke away from Izumi to reach the head of the group, and in a matter of minutes his cheerful voice had put a smile back on Takuya's face, their shared laughter echoing through the silent neighborhood.

Junpei fell into step with Izumi, and she returned his eager smile kindly—but in a moment their conversation had turned to class gossip, and the older boy lost the thread of conversation, his one year advance robbing the names of their meaning. It was left to Kouichi to keep pace with her, and he slid up until they were walking side by side, his good-natured responses balancing her genuine excitement. So Kouji walked alone at the back of the group, and for lack of another option Junpei gradually moved back to join him, hands shoved into his pockets in defeat.

"Nice night, huh?" the high school third-year tried.

Kouji gave a small sound to show that he had heard, but that was his only response, his attention fixed on the back of the brunet up ahead. Junpei winced again, and he glanced at Izumi and Kouichi in search of help—but their conversation had only grown more animated, and he was left scratching his head, searching the trailing clouds above them for any trace of the right words.

"Y'know, Kouji… Takuya really does appreciate you looking out for him." Kouji snorted, and Junpei redoubled his efforts, his voice adopting a deeper note of sincerity. "Really. I mean that. It's just that he's—"

"Stubborn as a mule," Kouji finished for him, pushing trails of dark hair out of his face. "And he has a similar brain capacity, which makes him a royal pain in the neck."

Junpei looked slightly taken aback by the harsh analysis, and the two fell into silence, the evening air growing a little colder between them. It wasn't long before the older boy quickened his pace enough to reach Kouichi and Izumi again, leaving Kouji behind him tangled in his shadow. The pair of gossiping teens glanced back at him in curiosity, and Junpei shrugged, his expression growing sheepish as he lowered his voice.

"I can never talk to that guy," he said by way of explanation, soft enough that the words only fell into the gutter at their feet. "He's always in a bad mood."

Izumi laughed, adjusting the lavender scarf around her neck. "Don't say it that way, Junpei. He's just a little prickly."

Junpei put on a pout, casting a furtive glance over his shoulder as he ducked closer to their ears. "A little? I've met cactuses with fewer spikes."

"Cacti," Izumi corrected, and from her left Kouichi gave a short laugh, waving one hand dismissively at Junpei's persistent frown.

"Oh, don't mind Kouji. He's just sulking."

Junpei's brow crinkled. "About Takuya?"

"About himself," Kouichi answered, smiling secretively beneath the simple words.

Junpei and Izumi blinked at that, their feet faltering in time to their confusion. But the older twin just kept walking, reaching the park a few steps ahead of them and aiming for the group's frontrunners, who had made their way down to the water. Takuya saw him coming and waved high over his head, sending the darker boy a smile.

"Hey, Kouichi! We could use a hand over here!"

Takuya's voice carried unnaturally well through the deserted park, filling the thin winter air with its soaring echoes. Kouichi quickened his steps in response, picking his way toward the other boys through the yellowed reeds of the sleeping winter shoreline.

"What are you doing?" the elder twin asked. Takuya grinned at him, all traces of irritation banished beneath the rays of the setting sun.

"Tomoki saw a frog. We're gonna catch it. Help us out?"

Kouichi glanced back at Izumi and Junpei, who had come up behind him in mild interest, and at his brother, leaning against a nearby tree like a second shadow. His eyes seemed to be asking Kouji a question—but the younger twin turned his gaze to the leafless boughs over his head, and Kouichi shrugged, rolling up his sleeves.

"No promises, but I'll give it a shot."

"All right!" Takuya cheered, punching one fist into the air. Tomoki scanned their other three companions, one hand tugging at the brim of his floppy hat.

"Do you want to help, too?" Tomoki asked Izumi and Junpei, kneeling down into the waterside vegetation. Izumi made a face, holding up her hands in disgust.

"Count me out—mud's just not my color," the girl said, taking a step back. "But if you catch anything, come show us, okay?" And with that Izumi turned and jogged steadily toward the playground equipment a short distance away, plopping into one of the swings and giggling as she kicked her feet back and forth. "Junpei, come give me a push," she called, digging her toes into the gravel.

The older boy bounded to her side like an eager puppy, oblivious to the scoff from Kouji and the snigger from Takuya his enthusiasm earned him. The swings were not made for high schoolers, and Izumi could only just hold her shoes high enough off the ground to keep from scraping them with every pass—but Junpei's pushes were worth the trouble, so strong that she flew almost even with the swing set's crossbar. The girl laughed into the thin yellow air, her feet flailing as her hands clung to the chain supports.

"Junpei, be careful! I don't want to fall."

"I'd never let you fall," her companion promised, and from the lakeside Takuya laughed under his breath, brushing dirty hands against the knees of his jeans.

"Nah. He's the only one who's falling."

"Don't be mean," Tomoki scolded, a frown flitting across features that had not quite lost their childhood roundness yet. "They'll be in love someday."

"I think Junpei's 'someday' was about four years ago," the brunet snickered, tossing a cracked tree branch into the lake. Kouichi smiled as he watched the disappearing ripples, each one glowing with the colors of the sky.

"It could happen to you, too," the dark-haired boy joked, winking at his friend. Takuya snorted.

"Not me. Love is for suckers. C'mon—let's find that frog before we lose the light."

Tomoki nodded and Kouichi smiled, and they dug into the reeds with muddy fingers, their voices no less than their hands scouring the shoreline. The sun rolled back across the western sky, teasing the false horizon of the surrounding roofs; and as the light dimmed, Izumi's swing slowed to a lullaby motion, soothed by conversation and the scrape of her shoes, and Kouji leaned his head back against the tree, his expression vanishing beneath the lengthening shadows. After some time Kouichi left the search party and joined his brother under the empty nest of branches, and the younger twin shifted beneath its motley shade, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Find anything?"

"Miscellaneous vegetation and one dead turtle," Kouichi announced. "And a feather. Here." One pale hand reached out and pushed a white fragment of down into the crease of Kouji's sleeve. The other boy scoffed.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Kouichi replied, and his wholehearted grin made Kouji smile a little, too. Silence settled between them like the heavy rays of the setting sun, and together they watched the figures flitting among patches of shore grass not far away, their occasional shouts attesting to the elusiveness of the quarry at hand.

Kouichi sighed, his lips coming back together in a smile as he closed his eyes. "Kouji… about Takuya…"

Kouji shot him a look—a look his brother didn't catch, his dark eyes hidden from the radiant sky. But Kouichi had no time to finish his question anyway, because a scatter of footsteps brought two running boys into their midst and disrupted their shadows, drawing both twins' attention to the new arrivals. Takuya was scowling a little, and Tomoki looked embarrassed, scratching at one ankle with his second, restless foot.

"Is everybody about ready to go home?" the younger boy asked, glancing at Takuya before his gaze darted away again. The twins blinked at the sudden proposition, and Izumi leaned forward in her swing, curiosity disrupting for a moment her discussion with Junpei.

"Did you catch anything?" she called, her cheerful voice filling the empty playground. Tomoki pressed his lips together, scuffing once more at the rim of his hat.

"Not exactly," he shouted back, sending Izumi a small smile. "It's just getting a little too cold for me down by the water, so Takuya said we could give it up."

The other four children glanced over Tomoki in his thick winter coat, and then their gazes returned to Takuya, whose skin looked a little paler than usual below his short-sleeved t-shirt. The brunet frowned, stomping one foot into the dead grass.

"I'm fine!" he declared, a little too forcefully. Kouji rolled his eyes, adjusting his position against the rough bark of the trunk.

"You're covered in goose bumps," the younger twin pointed out. His best friend made a face at him.

"So? That doesn't mean I'm cold. I could look for that frog all night!" And to emphasize his point, the boy turned back to face the lake, arms staunch and tight in their position over his chest.

There was a moment of silence, in which Junpei and Izumi shared a look and Tomoki blinked thoughtfully up at Kouichi's smile. Kouji pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes growing darker as annoyance overrode the brilliance of the winter sunset. Then a bundle of red flew forward and smacked the back of Takuya's head, and the surprised brunet reached up to discover his unwanted sweatshirt clinging to his shoulders, further upsetting his already messy hair. The boy turned wide, startled eyes back to his companions; only Kouji returned his stare evenly, one empty hand returning to his side.

"Idiot."

Takuya took hold of the sweatshirt sleeves and pulled them down, the fabric clinging to the back of his head as he considered his best friend with a curious frown.

"You said you wouldn't bring it," he said at last, tugging absently on the long red sleeves. Kouji shifted his weight.

"Next time, I won't."

Takuya tipped his head to the side, studying the light and deepening shadows making patchwork of the short-tempered teen's face. Then a grin overtook his features, and the brunet scrambled into the offered jacket, sending his friend another smile when his head emerged once again.

"You're the best, Kouji."

Kouji scoffed and glanced away, focusing his gaze on the quickly descending sun, almost out of sight now behind the burgundy houses. Kouichi and Tomoki shared a look, the elder twin infecting his younger friend with the smile he was fighting so hard to conceal. Takuya took a moment to finish straightening his sweatshirt, brown eyes once again brimming with excitement—then the boy reached forward and grabbed Kouji's hand in both of his, tugging the younger twin back in the direction of the lake.

"Help me catch that frog, Kouji. I'll bet you could get it. You're always good at stuff like this."

"I'm not good at it. You're just too impatient," Kouji objected, a disapproving glance sweeping his best friend's mud-stained clothing. "And what would I want with a frog?"

"You don't want it—I do," Takuya said. "Just come on, would ya? Do something fun for once in your life."

"Define fun," Kouji muttered, casting the other children a last backward look. Then they were down by the edge of the water, winding between clumps of decaying cattails and the surrounding, sagging weeds, and their voices were reduced to melody, the words bleached out by the slowly sinking sun.

Izumi hopped off of her swing and moved to stand at Kouichi's side, Junpei trailing faithfully behind her. "So that's what he was in such a bad mood about," the girl mused, the light adorning her hair with sparks of red and gold. Kouichi shrugged.

"Kouji doesn't like his good points much."

The four shared a silent moment, watching one dark and one bright figure moving along the rim of the water, Takuya's smile just bright enough to turn Kouji's lips up at the corners. Tomoki put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the tree in Kouji's place, looking up at the elder twin with a teasing grin.

"When we first met Kouji, he never would have done something like that."

Izumi twirled a strand of hair around her finger, smiling like her younger companion. "Wouldn't have let himself get dragged around like that, either," she added, prompting a huff from Junpei.

"You make it sound like he's such a great guy now. Not just any of us could drag him around, you know."

Kouichi folded his arms over his chest, a crooked smile tilting his head to one side.

"Love is for suckers, huh?"

Tomoki blinked at the rhetorical question, and Izumi and Junpei's gazes riveted to the darker boy's face, sharp with the curiosity and incomprehension his words had summoned. But a high shout forestalled any explanation he might have given, and all eyes shot toward the lake, seeking their companions among the long shadows. Takuya was running toward them with one fist in the air, his sleeves dripping with mud all the way up to the elbows—but the object truly worth his shout was the bundle of struggling limbs in his hand, the subject of his breathless call moments later.

"Tomoki! I got it! Come on, come see it!"

The youngest boy's face lit up at the announcement, and he rushed to meet the brunet halfway, the rest of the party following at a more relaxed jog. Takuya was grinning like the Cheshire cat as they came running up to him—an expression in sharp contrast to Kouji's, which looked like it might mature at any moment from a passing frown into a full-fledged scowl.

"Here we go!" Takuya said, dropping the terrified amphibian into Tomoki's hands without so much as a warning. The boy gasped at the cold, muddy creature suddenly dirtying his palms, but he managed to cup his fingers into a cage before it could escape. Then he peered in at the confused animal, his eyes bright with sunlight and wonder.

"I've never held a frog before," he said, tipping his head sideways to see it better. Tomoki wrinkled his nose, laughing in spite of himself. "It's really slimy."

"He was hiding down in the mud," Takuya explained, shaking his filthy sleeves as though to prove it. The brunet poked one finger in between Tomoki's, a vain attempt to pet the frog hopping circles around his friend's hand. "Hey, little guy. You sure gave me the run-around, huh? I'm almost as dirty as you are."

Kouichi could have sworn he saw a tiny smile flit across his twin's face, a trick of the disappearing light as the sun descended at last below the edge of the world. Tomoki turned toward the rest of the group with his cupped hands outstretched, his cheerful green eyes falling on Izumi first of all.

"Do you want to hold it?" he offered. Izumi's face scrunched up, hands curling in toward her chest as though just looking at the frog might get her dirty.

"Ugh—no way. It's gross."

"Gross? That's nothing!" Takuya stretched his arms out in the style of a bad zombie, grinning mischievously through the spatters of mud drying over his face. "How 'bout a hug, Izumi?"

"Ew! Get away from me!" the girl shrieked, ducking behind Junpei and giving the older teen a forward shove. "Make him stop!" she ordered, backing away from the mud monster their team leader had become.

"Junpei…" Takuya teased, wriggling his discolored fingers. Junpei took a step backward, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.

"I don't want to get muddy, either," the boy protested, glancing over his shoulder to catch Izumi's gaze.

The girl huffed and gave him a solid kick to the back of the shin. "You're supposed to protect me," she scolded, taking hold of Junpei's shoulders to keep him forcibly between herself and the ever-advancing Takuya. Junpei swallowed a little too hard, his eyes fixed on the mud-covered hands that were just too close for comfort.

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Boo!" Takuya shouted, lunging at them with his hands curled into deep brown claws. That was all it took for the two teens to scatter, darting back across the field in the direction of the road with Junpei lagging heavily behind. As they ran, the brunet behind them doubled over laughing, and after a moment Tomoki joined in, the unified sound of their amusement sending a smile between the twins at their side.

"They're quite a pair, aren't they?" Kouichi said.

Takuya snickered, returning at last to an upright stance. "Yeah. A pair of pansies."

Together, the four watched the fleeing backs of their retreating comrades—watched in silence until Junpei and Izumi realized they weren't being pursued any longer and turned around, the sunset sky brightening their embarrassed blushes. Junpei twisted his neck to check for muddy handprints on his back, and Izumi cupped both hands around her mouth, her shout echoing back over the field still yellow with winter.

"Hurry up, guys! It's going to start getting dark soon. We should head back."

Tomoki obligingly knelt to release the frog back into the rushes, and Takuya gave a groan, peering after his disappearing prey with a sour face. "Aw, man… just caught it, too," he grumbled. Tomoki smiled up at him.

"It's okay. We can just catch it again some time."

Takuya shrugged, the annoyance slowly fading from his face. "If you say so…" Then with his lips pulled back in their customary grin, he turned to Kouji, reaching for the other boy's hand with both of his. "Come on, Kouji. Can't let those slowpokes get ahead of us—"

"Not with those hands," Kouji interrupted, holding his arm well out of Takuya's reach. "You're still covered in mud. Wash your hands before you reach for mine."

"But if I wash them off, they'll get cold," Takuya said, glancing at the lake as his voice borrowed the edge of a whine. Kouji snorted.

"In that case, you're welcome to keep your hands to yourself."

Takuya seemed to consider his options for a moment, his chin tipped to one side as he glanced between the boy beside him and the water that was steadily filling with shadows. Then he reached out and smeared muddy streaks down the front of Kouji's sweatshirt, earning wide blue eyes and a shout that split the evening's gathering silence.

"Takuya! You—"

"Race you home!" Takuya shouted, ducking a well-aimed strike and sprinting across the playground with Kouji hot on his heels. Their voices rang between the leafless trees and over the sun-soaked field, bright as ripe wheat under the last vestiges of the winter sunset, their words disintegrating as the distance made them little more than shadows. Kouichi and Tomoki watched them go without speaking, content for a moment just to listen. Then the elder twin turned to look down at his quiet companion, a playful grin on his generous face.

"Yep. Just a couple of suckers, I'm afraid."

Tomoki shrugged, returning his effortless smile. "Is that such a bad thing?"

Kouichi laughed as he shook his head. "Nope. Not such a bad thing at all."

A last smile slipping between them, the boys turned back to watch their comrades—all four now, as Kouji and Takuya reached the other pair and the brunet dodged behind Junpei to evade Kouji's sweeping arm. Izumi's shout soared in their direction across the empty park, lilting like the early spring wind that had departed with the last rim of the sun beneath the blackened horizon.

"Hey, Kouichi, Tomoki. Come on already!"

The two exchanged a look, and then in unison they began to run—toward the four friends waiting in the fading light, and toward the two muddy hands that had finally caught one paler one, bound up tight and warm in the shadows of the gathering twilight.