Title: One
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: CLAMP School
Pairing: Suoh/Nokoru
Rating: PG
Status: one-shot, complete
E-mail address for feedback: belong to me? I could only wish. Nope, not mine. All recognizable characters are the property of CLAMP. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is made. This is purely to silence the voices in my head.

Notes: for Amet's birthday! Happy Birthday!

Summary:
Warnings: Shonen ai.

The change in Suoh's demeanor was so small that it almost slipped by Nokoru's notice. There was just a hint of sadness and resignation, but no regret. No grief.

Just... acceptance for the way things were.

It intrigued the blonde president and made him worry for his long-time friend. None of Suoh's family had died recently, he knew. The other man would never have kept something like that from him. He and Akira were healthy and happy, so it couldn't be them. Going through the process of elimination of the things that could make the ninja sad left only one possibility.

Nagisa-san.

Though he considered turning to the gossip mill within Suoh's fan club, in the end, he decided that it would be wrong to do so. This was Suoh, his best friend, the one dearest to his heart, and Nokoru wasn't going to go snooping around behind the young man's back.

But he couldn't just come out and ask either. It would just be rude.

Luckily, Akira had a naiveté that allowed him to just trample over such social niceties without offending anyone. It only took a small suggestive question about the younger boy's own girlfriend to steer the conversation to Nagisa-san and Suoh and the second their blue haired ninja friend appeared in the office, Akira jumped on it just as Nokoru had planned.

"How is Nagisa-san, Suoh?"

Perhaps he should have suggested Akira approach it a little more subtly, Nokoru thought with a wince.

Suoh paused a moment, blinking in a certain calm bemusement Akira frequently inspired in him, before shrugging and continuing towards Nokoru's desk. "I don't know, Akira. She and I are no longer seeing one another."

The ninja sorted through some papers, shuffling a few into a different order before sitting them down in front of Nokoru, calmly ignoring the shocked expressions his quiet words caused.

"Suoh?"

There was a slight pause before Suoh seemed to set his shoulders and resign himself to interrogation and met his gaze squarely. "Yes, Kaichou?"

"When... When did this happen?" He tried, but he couldn't quite keep the hurt out of his voice. Suoh was his best friend in the whole world! He'd certainly never keep this kind of news from Suoh so how could the ninja keep it from him?

With a sigh, the blue-haired boy leaned against the desk and stared down at his feet. "At the beginning of last week."

So occupied with each other were they that neither boy noticed Akira slipping away and out the door, a small secretive smile on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Suoh's uncomfortable glaze never left the floor as he shrugged again. "It wasn't important and I didn't want you to worry about it. Last week was the talent show and the aerospace conference. You had enough to deal with."

Standing, the blonde rested both hands lightly on one of the ninja's taunt arms. "You're more important than a stupid conference or talent show. You should have told me." His voice dropped down to a whisper. "I know I've been a lot busier since we got into high school, but aren't we still friends?"

"I'm sorry," Suoh whispered back. One of his strong hands patted Nokoru's. "It really isn't a big deal, but I shouldn't have avoided telling you. Forgive me?"

Nokoru frowned a little, sure it was upsetting his friend more than Suoh was letting on. Why on Earth would the pair break up? He'd always thought Nagisa-san and Suoh had the perfect relationship, second only to Akira and Utako-san. "What happened?"

Suoh would never lie to him, Nokoru knew. He occasionally omitted things and in the right circumstances he could be as manipulative as Nokoru himself. But he'd never outright lie. Not to his 'One'. But from the look on his face when asked directly, he certainly wished to reconsider that policy.

"She asked me a question and didn't care for the answer."

"She broke your heart over one disagreement!" In that moment, Nokoru suddenly found himself wanting, with surprising ferocity, to make a girl cry. Nagisa-san had broken up with Suoh over a stupid question? Didn't she understand how lucky she was to have someone like Suoh?

There was a soft chuckle from Suoh as the ninja shook his head in quiet amusement. "Apparently girls don't like being told they're not someone's 'One'."

As rapidly as it had focused on Nagisa-san, his rage turned on himself. It was his fault? Suoh had lost the girl of his dreams because of their friendship? Nokoru began to shake under the force of his guilt and self-loathing. He'd never intended to be a source of pain for Suoh. All he'd ever wanted was for his friend to be happy.

"-chou...Nokoru" It was the use of his name that finally got his attention and he glanced up to see worried golden eyes focused on him.

"I'm sorry,"' he whispered. How could he have been so selfish and insensitive to have destroyed his best friend's one chance at true love, however unknowingly?

Gentle understanding chased away Suoh's worry and he shook his head with a soft smile. The hand that had been patting Nokoru's hands lifted up to caress his cheek. "Don't be. I always knew you were my 'One', Nokoru. That was never in doubt. I will always choose you over anyone else. And when I thought about it, Akira is also more important to me than Nagisa-chan. It was unfair of me to make her settle for whatever affection I have left over."

Such open emotion from Suoh was a rarity and Nokoru savored it as he pressed his face against Suoh's hand. "Suoh..."

"Now do your paperwork and if you want we'll finish this discussion afterwards."

He was well through the mountain of documents that covered his desk before he realized he'd been manipulated, but for once Nokoru didn't mind at all.