[Even if it's for a moment]
Feelings like this shouldn't have existed in the first place. The piercing sensation whenever he thought about the brunet kept torturing him. He wished someone hit him with white-hot iron pipes because in his current state maybe this pain would cease the other for a while until he heals his heart. Loving someone who lived far in the past was one thing, he could overcome that obstacle without a problem, but loving someone who shared the same blood as him and lived in the past was the most impossible romance he could ever dreamt of. More painful than any drama, more torturing than any torture-chamber. After all he couldn't tell his secret to his loved one. If he did and by a miracle that person would feel the same, history would change. No one would die, but something worse might happened.
And Saryuu's love for Tenma was the same as this. He did his research on the boy, but at the same time he could feel admiration appearing in his heart as he scrolled through the old pages of Tenma's history. He rewatched Tenma's old matches, saw the times when he felt weak and fell face first into mud and the times when he soared like a Pegasus. By the time he realized watching these old memories from Tenma's life became his hobby.
That boy from the past was his biggest enemy and ally at the same time and thanks to Saryuu's little conspiracy he fulfilled his team's role in history perfectly laying down the road to the future where his reign began.
But one thing was enough for him to start dancing the tragic waltz of death. He would've never expected to fall in love...
First he wanted to brush it off, saying it's just his imagination and the pain was only the side effect of the medicine, but the closer Tenma was to him, the stronger his feelings were. However no matter what happened he had to restrain himself. Even if he wanted to touch him. it had to be brief and light as a breeze to prevent any kind of second thoughts in Tenma. He thought he could do this for a few days until their visitors rested enough to go home to their own time. After all dodging glances, avoiding Tenma was the easiest thing he ever did.
"Is everything alright, Saru?" Tenma asked once when they met at dinner.
"Oh? Yeah. Why?" the spoon stopped in mid-air as Saryuu looked at the boy curiously. His strategy worked fine, but he hoped Tenma wouldn't think he is neglecting him.
"It's just...You said we are friends but every time I want to spend some time with you, you keep disappearing. You can't befriend with someone if you don't let them get to know you." Tenma explained "I know you're not used to this but sometimes you have to let people near yourself."
"Ah, right."
After that Saryuu started to think about Tenma's words more and more until another plan emerged. Why trying to avoid the inevitable? When he was a second stage his clock would stop sooner than anyone's else because that was the price they had to pay for inhuman powers. At the same time what would happen if telling the truth once would stop the clock in a few minutes? It would just end everything creating a new but unknown timeline.
Like a reset.
The last day went away uneventfully. Everyone was talking about future. The kids from the past started packing for their departure at noon.
To suffer or to gain salvation from suffering?
This thought lingered in his brain, blocking his mind from thinking logically. That's when he decided he will be coward once in a life and listens to the torturing urging.
Tenma was about to leave and if he let his last chance slip away from his grip there would be no second times as there was no way they would allow him to travel through time.
"Tenma!" he called after him from the door.
"Saryuu! You will come saying goodbye too?"
"Something like that. Look, could you come with me for a moment? It's important."
Tenma hesitated looking at his friend.
"Yes. But what is it?"
"I'll tell you soon."
Then he asked Tenma to leave his bag there and grabbed his hand to lead him to a secured place. He stopped at back of the building turning to face Tenma. The boy seemed to be scared as Saryuu started closing the distance between them inching forward step by step, until Tenma's back hit the wall.
The scenario was planned out well.
"Don't run away. I wanted to tell you that..." the words stopped as he couldn't continue anymore. "I wanted to..." he tried again but his courage was drained and the once proud emperor was nothing but a poor mortal. "I..."
In the end he decided to do what seemed to be the best way to get rid of his feelings.
The kiss was far from perfect; more like a hasty trying to express one's feelings for the other, yet Saryuu was lost from the moment his lips touched Tenma's. Losing the last piece of self-restraint he had. He ran he fingers through the boy's brown hair deepening the kiss.
If this was the end for him, he wanted to make it last at least a little longer.
"I'm sorry." he murmured after they parted. "But I loved you."
Tenma stood there speechless a slight blush appearing on his face. First he thought this whole scene was just a dream, but when he held Saryuu's hand in his he could feel warmth, a sign that the kiss was very real.
he was about to reply when Saryuu prevented him.
"So you do too, huh?" he spoke but his voice was not happy and Tenma could swear his image wavered before him.
"Yeah... I think...Is everything alright?" asked Tenma as Saryuu's image went transparent for a few seconds. It looked like a weird game glitch that sometimes occurs when the graphics decide to do odd things and the data gets broken.
"You know I never expected you to say this."
"I thought maybe I can survive this feeling for a little while longer..."
But in the end.
I was happy to do what my heart truly desired.
A/N: I don't really know what to say about this fic. Really. The thought occurred to me when I started thinking about the hows. How can I make this work? Then I realized: there is no way this can be a happy romance story.