Disclaimer: They're not mine...but could I just have Nakago? Pleeease? ^^;;;
Title: Carnival Kisses (1/?)
Author: lorien
Summary: An AU Fushigi Yuugi highschool fic. Tamahome's been trying to get a date with that cute cheerleader, Miaka, for ages, but she's only got eyes for the captain of the soccer team, Nakago. However, a night out with his friends at the town carnival convinces Tamahome that maybe *Miaka's* not the one that he wants...YAOI warning. ^^
A/N: Yes, I am perfectly aware that they wouldn't be using their seishi names in a *highschool*. But heck, this is totally and completely AU, and I like their seishi names better. *g*
Warnings: YAOI, loads o' fluff.
Pairings (in this part): Hotohori+Nuriko (yay! ^__^), eventual Tamahome+? (if you've read my previous FY fic, you'll know this one *grin*)
by lorien
Tamahome dashed through the school doors exactly twelve minutes after the bell had gone.
"Damn, damn, damn!" he cursed to himself, scowling. He was late yet again, and if his teacher wasn't feeling charitable, it would be his fourth detention this week. And today was Friday; the last thing he wanted was to stay back in some stuffy classroom instead of getting out for the weekend!
He made a quick stop at his locker to pick up a couple of textbooks, then hurried off to his classroom. To his great disgust, his teacher was already there, and by the looks of it, she was quite a way into the lesson already. Sighing in resignation, Tamahome knocked on the door.
"Tamahome." His teacher regarded him sternly. "Late yet again, I see."
The class let out a few titters. Tamahome was notorious for being late.
"Gomennasai, sensei," said Tamahome, meekly.
"I'm sick of giving you detention." She shook her head severely. "Go to your seat."
//Yesssssss! No detention!//
Tamahome walked into the classroom and looked around for an empty seat, trying to stifle his smirk lest his teacher change her mind and give him detention after all.
He slid into the empty place beside his best friend and roommate, Nuriko. "You could have woken me up this morning, y'know," he murmured reproachfully to the violet-haired boy.
Nuriko shrugged and grinned apologetically. "I tried...but you refused to wake up. You had this silly grin on your face...were you dreaming about that cheerleader again or something?" He stifled a laugh as Tamahome turned red. "Bingo! I'm right, aren't I?"
"Shuttup," muttered Tamahome, burying his face in his hands.
Nuriko giggled.
"Well, she's cute," protested Tamahome, face still flushed.
"But she's kinda - uh - " Nuriko coughed delicately. " - ditzy, don't you think?"
Tamahome opened his mouth to answer, then snapped it shut and just glared.
"Okay, okay," Nuriko held up his hands in surrender, chuckling softly.
"Tamahome! Nuriko!" snapped their teacher. "Do you two have something you'd like to share with the class?"
"......"
"Right. I thought not. So please stop talking and pay attention to my lesson." She gave the two boys the Evil Eye.
"Sunakake-baba," muttered Tamahome under his breath. Nuriko hurriedly stifled the laugh that bubbled up in his throat.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Nothing, nothing." the gray-eyed boy lapsed into silence.
It was then that he realised that Miaka, the girl of his dreams - the one he and Nuriko had been talking about earlier - was sitting two rows up, directly in front of him. Stifling a big grin, he rested his chin on his folded hands and proceeded to stare at her for the rest of the lesson.
//Finally!!!// thought Tamahome, stretching as the bell rang, signalling the end of classes. It had been a long day, and he was tired...he'd also been trying to work up the nerve to ask Miaka out, seeing as this was the first Friday in he couldn't remember how long that he didn't have to stay back to serve a detention. The problem was, he didn't know Miaka very well, and she didn't seem particularly interested in getting to know him better.
He hurried out of the class right behind her, waiting as she waved goodbye to her best friend and fellow cheerleader, Soi, then he tapped the brown-haired girl hesitantly on the shoulder. "Um, Miaka? Hi."
She spun around, and smiled brightly at him. "Tamahome, hello!"
"Um..." //You're sounding real smooth, man. Idiot.// "I was wondering - "
"Oh!" She cut him off as her eyes widened, focused on a point somewhere behind him. She shot the aqua-haired boy an apologetic smile. "Excuse me for a minute, 'kay? I'll get back to you in a sec!"
Tamahome turned around and saw what had distracted Miaka - Nakago, the handsome, blonde captain of the soccer team, was walking down the hallway in their direction.
The gray-eyed boy gritted his teeth as Miaka skipped up to the blonde and shot him a brilliant smile. "Hi, Nakago..."
The soccer captain nodded politely to her. "Miaka."
"I was wondering," she said, smiling sweetly, "if you're free tonight. Soi had a pair of extra tickets to the new movie, and she gave them to me - "
"Um," Nakago coughed. "Unfortunately, I have something on tonight. Sorry."
Tamahome scowled. Obviously, Miaka wasn't interested in him, so...
Hitching his file up under his arm, he decided to give it up as a lost cause and went to look for his friends, shooting Nakago a particularly evil look as he walked past the pair. Nakago, whom he knew only slightly, responded with a raised eyebrow. Flushing, Tamahome stalked off.
Tamahome sulked. Today was obviously not his day. First he'd been late for class, then Miaka had totally ignored him in favour of Nakago, and now he couldn't find his best friend. He'd searched everywhere, but Nuriko seemed to be nowhere to be found.
The aqua-haired boy stopped at his locker to put his textbooks back, then walked down the hallway, stopping at the canteen and peeking in to see if he could spot Nuriko.
"He's not there," murmured a deep voice behind him, making him jump.
"Wha - " Tamahome spun around, and found himself looking at the object of most of his nasty thoughts today. "You!"
"Yes, me." Nakago raised an eyebrow again, regarding Tamahome with a coolly amused look.
"What do you want?"
"Why are you pissed with me?"
"Wha - what?!"
"You heard me."
"Who says I'm pissed?" the gray-eyed boy shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.
A smirk. "You're a lousy liar."
"Hey!" Tamahome looked indignant.
"I'm not interested in her at all, if that helps."
Tamahome sniffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Like I said...you're a lousy liar." The blonde chuckled drily.
"Oh, fine." The aqua-haired boy flushed. "And no, it doesn't help."
"Oh well," Nakago shrugged, a wry smile quirking the corners of his mouth upward. "I tried."
"...and you rejected her, too," muttered Tamahome. "Hmph." If she'd asked him out, he sure as hell wouldn't have said no!
"She isn't my type."
Not knowing what to say to that, Tamahome simply scowled.
"...I go more for the cute, blue-haired type, myself," continued Nakago smoothly, running a finger down the curve of Tamahome's jaw and smirking silkily at him. "Oh, and by the way," he added, not missing a beat, "your friend is in the stairwell making out with his boyfriend." The blonde soccer captain nodded towards the door opposite the canteen, and gave Tamahome that cool, ironic smile again. "See ya."
He walked off, leaving Tamahome gaping after him, one hand absently touching the side of his face where Nakago's finger had been only moments earlier.
After he'd recovered from his shock, Tamahome decided that there was no harm in checking out the stairwell after all, just in case Nakago had been right. And true enough, Nuriko was in the stairwell with his boyfriend and Tamahome's good friend, Hotohori, making out like there was no tomorrow. They jumped apart guiltily when Tamahome opened the door to the stairwell.
"Uh...Tamahome, hi!" Hotohori smiled a little sheepishly, smoothing back his long brown hair.
"There you are." Tamahome chuckled. "I was looking all over for you guys!" He eyed Hotohori, and smirked. "Who would've thought...the president of the students' council, hiding in a dark little stairwell, making out with his boyfriend..."
Hotohori blushed.
Nuriko simply grinned merrily at his best friend. "So how did you know we were in here?"
"Nakago told me," Tamahome's mouth quirked up slightly. "Dunno how he knew, though..."
"Oh..." Hotohori blushed again.
Tamahome raised an eyebrow at him.
Nuriko started to laugh. "He was coming down the stairs, and kinda walked right into us...I think we gave him a rude shock."
"And then - " sputtered Hotohori, "Nuriko asked him if he wanted to - wanted to join us!"
Tamahome burst out laughing.
"Awww, c'mon, you know I was only kidding," cooed the violet-eyed boy, cuddling up to Hotohori. "I only want you!"
"Aaackk...sap...too much sap..." groaned Tamahome, pretending to fall over.
Nuriko laughed and swatted playfully at the gray-eyed boy. "So how did it go with Miaka, anyway?"
Tamahome's smiled faded, and he sighed. "Not good. She's got a crush on Nakago."
Hotohori patted the gray-eyed boy's back sympathetically.
"Oh, and speaking of Nakago...you won't believe what happened just now..."
Nuriko slipped an arm through Tamahome's, other hand holding tightly onto his boyfriend. "C'mon, Tama-chan, we'll go back to our apartment and you can tell us all about it..."
TBC...