"Light My Fire"

Author's Note: Ahhh.. at long last. Finishing up my little Kei x Goh trilogy thing (Sequel to "Comfort" and "The Naming Ceremony"). And wow... it's NOT a one-shot! It's multichapter! GASP!

This ficcy is no-holds-barred shounen-ai! ::throws confetti in the air::.....So... if that sort of thing bothers you, stay away. There are lots of good non-shounen-ai Pretear fics on , after all.  Since the first two stories were told from Kei and Goh's perspectives, I decided to do the last one in third-person. Oh, and this takes place a little more than two years after the end of the series, just FYI. Rating is PG-13 for future suggestive scenes.

Oh, and I had a co-pilot on this magic carpet ride this time around... my delightful younger sibling, Blitzkrieg9688... she provided many lines to get me going again when I was stuck. Read her fic "Reflets Sombres"!! She only has the first two chapters up, but the fic will be worth harassing her to finish it, trust me! And there is lots of Kei/Goh goodness in it, too...

Anyhoo! On with the fic!

Chapter One: Uncertain Flame

Summer sunlight streamed down through the leaves of the trees planted along the street, creating speckled patterns on the tabletops of the outdoor café. The days were not yet so hot that the restaurant needed to roll out the overhangs to make shade for the customers, and the light was like a comforting pat on the back from an old friend.

At least, that was how it felt for everyone else sitting on the diner's patio. Goh squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, tugging repeatedly at his bow-tie. He was on a break, but not long enough of a break to warrant changing out of his uniform. Himeno sat across from him, looking content with both the weather and life in general. The gigantic slab of chocolate cake in front of her certainly didn't hurt her mood, either. The summer breeze rustled her rose-pink hair and caused the yellow ribbons she had run through the tresses, the same ribbons which adorned the straps of her sun-dress, to flutter gaily in the air around her, giving her an almost pixie-like appearance.

"So... what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Himeno asked, after barely containing a squeal of glee when Goh sat the cake down in front of her (his treat, of course). She snatched up the silver fork in her hands, but at least managed to look up at Goh and wait for his answer before digging in. "It must be pretty important if you felt the need to bribe me with cake. I would have come anyway, you know..." She added, a bit guiltily, but her gaze kept shifting back and forth between his face and the cake, her eyes filling with a kind of ravenous, but charming, longing whenever they alighted on the pastry.

"I...I know that, Himeno-chan..." Goh fidgeted, suddenly losing his resolve. This was a bad idea, he told himself. He wanted to go back to this morning and erase the phone call he'd made to the Awayuki residence.

"Are you OK, Goh?" She frowned slightly. "You have circles under your eyes... haven't you been sleeping well?"

Crap. How had such a carefree... well, let's be blunt... ditzy girl grown to be so observant? Then again, his haggard state was pretty obvious to anyone who looked at him closely enough. Goh had hoped that downing enough coffee to kill a herd of elephants over the course of the morning would hide the fact that he had been sleeping very little lately. His nights were full of tormented longing that haunted his dreams when he did manage to sleep, and filled his mind when he was awake and chased away all hope of slumber.

Himeno set her fork down and reached across the table to touch the knuckles of his left hand, which was clenching a napkin on the table in a death grip. Her rose colored gaze softened with worry. "...Goh? What's wrong? Please tell me..."

Goh sighed and looked up, uncertainly taking in Himeno's gaze. Hayate is a lucky man, He thought. The girl's gaze was both beautiful and disarming. Himeno... will understand... I should tell her... But still, he hesitated.

"Goh..." Himeno's pleasant tone and equally pleasant expression never changed, but she tightened her light touch on his hand into a bone-crushing grip and Goh flinched. "Tell me or I'll start screaming about a hair in this cake, and get you fired."

"Himeno-chan..." Goh flushed and looked down at the table-top. "OK, OK, I'll tell you... I guess I have to tell someone, or I'll go crazy. I already FEEL crazy, after all..." He leaned back in his chair, letting out another long sigh as he did so.

Another long moment passed, and Himeno's patience was beginning to wear thin. Just as she opened her mouth to start yelling, Goh spoke.

"...I'm in love, Himeno," He said softly, his tone one of absolute and utter misery.

Himeno blinked in confusion. This was not what she had expected Goh to say! "Uh... love? Well... that's a GOOD thing, isn't it, Goh? Why so sad?"

"I'm in love..." He continued, "But I'm afraid to tell... the person in question... because its someone who is already close to me... someone important to me and important to those closest to me... and... if I tell... the person...." He took a deep breath. "It could affect everyone... and I don't know if its worth the risk."

There was another lengthy, awkward silence, and Himeno wore a pensive expression, as if she were about to choose her words very carefully.

"...I'm assuming by "everyone" you mean the other Leafe Knights..." She said carefully. Goh nodded, looking as if he wanted to shrink into his chair and disappear. "So the person you love is someone close to the Leafe Knights?" She continued, her tone starting to sound distinctly uncomfortable, and she began to fidget and glance from side to side as well. "Um... look, Goh, I'm flattered and all, but..."

Goh suddenly sat up, straight as an arrow, and waved his hands frantically. "N-no, Himeno-chan, I-I-I-I didn't mean YOU! No, not you, definitely not you!" He blurted out, his face going beet red as he babbled crazily. "You're more like a little sister to me, I would never dream of trying to steal you from Hayate!!"

"Oh... well..." Himeno took up her fork again, and stabbed it decisively into the cake. "So... who ARE you in love with? Mawata?"

Goh shook his head.

"...Yayoi? Takako?"

Goh shook his head twice more.

"Good lord, you're not in love with Mayune, are you?" Himeno whispered, her eyes growing wide with horror.

"No!!" Goh hissed, growing redder and redder by the moment.

"You're in love with my stepmother?? You want to steal my FATHER'S WIFE??" Himeno blurted out, her tone rising enough that people were starting to look at them.

Please, God, just let a black hole open up here and swallow me... Goh thought, as he began waving his rapidly again. "No! No! No! Himeno-chan!! I'm not in love with any of them!!!"

"Oh... well..." Himeno flushed and calmed her tone a bit. She chewed on the tines of the fork. "...I've run out of females, haven't I? Do you guys know a woman that I don't know about?"

Goh slumped even further.

"Himeno-chan... I'm not... In love... with... a.... woman..." He hissed, slowly forcing each word out through his teeth.

".............Oh."

Goh flopped back in his chair again, rubbing his temples with his index fingers. When had this migraine come on?

"Well, then..." Himeno said, looking around as she smoothed her hair and regained her composure. "So... you're not in love with a woman... that means you're, er..."

"................Gay." The word barely squeaked past Goh's lips. He stared at the table-top again. He was beginning to find the checkered table-cloth to be his visual refuge.

"...OK. Well... OK.." Himeno shrugged and took a bite of cake. "You're gay!"

Goh blinked and looked up at her. "Just... 'ok'? You're not shocked? You're not freaked out??"

Himeno shrugged again. "Gotta say... I'm a bit surprised, but not that much. I mean.. its not like any of you guys ever date.. and don't give me that bit about being a Leafe Knight and not having time..." She pointed at him with her fork. "It's been over two years since my battle with the Princess of Disaster, and we haven't had a single battle since then. So you guys have been living like ordinary people since then. Also, you have your own little band of groupies here at this restaurant who adore you. So, its not like you're lacking for attention from cute young girls. But, you never go out with any of them."

Goh wondered how much redder his face could get. "...Groupies?"

Himeno gave him the age old "yes, you silly, unobservant male" look that no female worth her salt hasn't given some hapless man a time or two. "Yes, groupies. All those high school girls who come here just so YOU will wait on them! The ones you flirt with, and don't deny, 'cuz I've seen you do it. But, like I said... you never go out with anyone."

"...Oh..." Goh wondered how much farther he could shrink into the chair.

"Therefore, I'm not that surprised to learn you're gay." Himeno finished triumphantly. She held up a finger as she swallowed a forkful of cake. "Though just so you know... it doesn't bother me. And, I don't think the other Leafe Knights would hold it against you. Is that why you were worried about telling them you were in love? You were afraid to come out of the closet?"

"It's not just that..." Goh said uncertainly, dropping his gaze once more.

"After all, I think the guys would be happy for you, just for the fact that you're in love. Which reminds me, you said that it was a guy who you all were close to..." Himeno trailed off as she licked fudge off of her fingers. Her gaze suddenly became dark and deadly. "You're not in love with Hayate, are you?"

"...Hell... freaking... no."

"Good. His ass is mine to tap." Himeno said innocently as she began picking up crumbs off the plate and licking them off her fingers.

"HIMENO-CHAN!!" Goh shrieked, completely scandalized. He had never imagined Himeno saying something so... so vulgar!

"Sorry..." Himeno flushed and waved her hand. "I think all of the free-spirits I've been meeting at the University are starting to affect me... I've become even more outspoken than usual..." She blushed. "OK.. so its not Hayate," She added, immediately switching back to the original subject. "Is it... one of the guys, though?"

"I gotta get back to work..." Goh began to stand up, but Himeno pointed at him.

"SIT!"

Goh immediately sat down without thinking.

"You're in love with one of the guys..." She repeated, sounding a little mystified. "...Wow... no wonder you're afraid to say anything... You guys are so close-knit and everything..."

"It is improper enough for a Leafe Knight to be with a Pretear.. but two Leafe Knights together.. Himeno.. I.. I don't think it's even possible." Goh sputtered, scratching at the checkered table cloth.

Himeno blinked. "Improper? Who is there to judge you? I mean... Sasame is with Takako and there's me and Hayate... I know you guys are capable of feeling love.. and... well.. you were all BORN into your roll as Leafe Knights, so its not like you're priests who took vows or anything... why shouldn't you be allowed to have relationships?"

"Himeno... you know how dangerous it is... look what falling in love did to Takako... and Sasame... we all nearly died because of it..." Goh shook his head. "I just can't do it... and besides... what if he rejects me?"

"What if he doesn't?" Himeno covered his hand with hers again. "If you love him... then that means you must also respect him, right?"

Goh nodded. "I... I respect him more than anyone else in the world... I could never begin to be as wise as he is..."

"Well then," Himeno interrupted him. "Doesn't that mean he deserves to know how you feel, so that you and he both have a chance to find out? Besides... you're Goh! You're the Knight of Fire! It's not like you to be so timid! You're the kind of guy who jumps in there and takes what he wants, right?"

"I guess so..."

"Well, I guess not!" Himeno snapped, waving her finger in his face. "Now, which one is it? No, no, let me guess.." She began, placing her cupped hand to her chin in thought, "You seem like the type who would like someone strong and feisty, like you. But maybe you want someone quiet and reserved. You did say he was wise, yes.. well..." She trailed off, pushing out of her chair. She began to circle the table, her arms folded over her chest. "You are young, and would want someone older and more experienced.. you almost have a naïve personality, so perhaps someone with a dominating attitude?"

Goh blushed. "I am not naïve!"

But Himeno continued. "Yes... someone who is your opposite.. the neat and almost anal-retentive Yin to your carefree Yang..."

"I wouldn't say I'm carefree, I'm very responsible, actually..."

"You have dark hair, so, someone who is... oh... I don't know... BLOND?"

Goh felt like he was going to shrink to nothing. She knew.

Himeno whirled around to face him. "But... isn't Shin a little young for you?"

Goh's head snapped up and he gaped at her in confusion. Shin? Where did THAT come from? "Shin? SHIN? I'm not in love with SHIN, Himeno!" He stood up, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm in love with-"

Himeno put a finger to his lips before he could blurt it out in front of the whole world. "Gotcha! So... are you going to tell Kei?" She asked, her voice falling to a whisper. "Cause... you seemed ready to just scream it out in front of the whole world just now... in front of EVERYONE... which is more like the Goh I know."

"Mmmm.." Goh whined, sinking back into his chair. He twiddled his fingers around a loose string on his uniform, trying to not make eye contact with Himeno.

"Don't go pussy on me, Goh! We're making progress!!" Himeno snapped. Goh flinched.

"You're speaking awfully gauchely today, Himeno-chan..." he said weakly.

"I'm just getting fired up, that's all!" She thrust both fists into the air. "All right! So! Let's devise a plan to capture Kei's attentions You will feel better if you confess!! Who knows? Maybe by the end of the day, you will be lovers!!!"

"Capture? Lovers? I don't want to CAPTURE him..." Goh began, but there was no going back now. Himeno had sunk her teeth in.