A/N: Hello there, my lovely little readers! This fanfic is a little more recent than some of my other one-shots, and was written during a gig my dad was playing, so may be a little weird.

The reason for the story - and thus theme of love between Teito and Mikage - is from a single line I read in either volume 5, 6 or 7, where Teito says (to this effect) 'Mikage's words always went straight to my heart'. I've read it a few times before and never thought anything of it, but this time it suddenly occured to me that Teito actually loved Mikage as more than a friend; he just didn't realise it. Therefore, this was born.

Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own 07 Ghost. It is owned by it's respective affiliates.

He'd never really understood love.

At least, not this kind of love. He vaguely understood the love of a parent, and he knew affection from Kurena, but didn't get love. So, when he finally felt it, he couldn't identify it.

With Mikage, he'd noted his words went straight to his heart. They made him stop and think. When he was concerned for Teito, Teito felt special. Important. It was an odd feeling.

But he couldn't recognise love in its purest form. So, for a long time, he was confused. He found it so simple to push others away, yet with Mikage he just couldn't bring himself to. Scaring, angering or upsetting the other boy made him feel bad, made him want to apologise even when Mikage said it wasn't necessary, and he didn't get why he was so bothered.

When he'd said he imagined their relationship was what family was like, he hadn't been convinced. Not that he wasn't sincere; it was the closest he could come to explaining it. But it still didn't feel completely accurate, and he felt like he had to find the right word eventually.

It was a while later when he started understanding it. At the church, he experienced many types of relationships, saw the bond between loved ones, but still he couldn't quite explain what that feeling with Mikage was.

When Mikage died, he was - as Frau later described it - heartbroken. He was dying inside, desperately wanting to give up living just to be with Mikage again. He thought he would collapse from the pain, but at the same time he felt oddly empty. He couldn't explain the feeling, just as he couldn't explain the affection he'd had before.

Mikage coming back to him, even in a different form, was a huge relief. A heavy weight that had settled in his heart was relieved, and suddenly the drowning sensation stopped. Although he wasn't completely better, he didn't feel as bad as he had before.

Hakuren had definitely helped his road to recovery. Having someone he could rely on, and who cared for him like a parent of sibling, was what he needed to fully get back on his feet. Although that strong affection he'd held for Mikage didn't exist between them, Teito wasn't sure he wanted it to. What they'd had was something he couldn't figure out, but wasn't sure he so quickly wanted to have with another person. So he settled for being mollycoddled.

"You loved him," Frau said one day, while they were traveling.

"Of course I did. He was family," Teito muttered.

"No, more than that. Look, do you know what a 'soul mate' is?"

Teito shook his head, looking up at the tall blond. Frau rubbed his head as he tried to find the best way to explain. "It's a person who's soul matches yours so well, you just click. Your soul numbers are perfectly compatible. More often than not, you end up married."

"Isn't that the same as family?"

"No. It's a lot more than that. The bond between lovers is deeper, and if you're close enough, it physically hurts to lose them."

Teito considered this. "So...there's more than one 'love'?"

"Right. There's loads of different levels, and you and Mikage had a pretty deep one."

"I loved him..." Teito mumbled.

"And he loved you, too," Frau added.

Teito glanced at him. "How do you know?"

"In the end, he was unable to betray you even if it meant his family being hurt. He only wanted to protect you. And even after he passed on, he came back to you, was determined to stay and protect you. It's rare to see such love an loyalty."

Teito glanced down at Mikage on his shoulder, and he gave a litttle cry, nuzzling him. Teito smiled, stroking him gently.

Maybe he was starting to understand love.

A/N: I know it's pretty short, but I hope you liked it anyway.

Review?