Fandom: CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan
Title: A Dark, Dark Night
Author: SweetFirefly
Rating: PG-13/T
Genre: Angst/Friendship
Pairings: Hints of Suoh Takamura X Nokoru Imonoyama; mentions of Suoh Takamura X Nagisa Azuya and Akira Ijyuin X Utako Ohkawa.
Spoilers: Up to Chapter 20.
Summary: Suoh and Nokoru head home.
Disclaimer: I don't own CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan, that's quite obvious.
A/N: My first Detectives fanfic! I love Suoh and Nokoru, and I wrote this after I watched the first episode of the Idomu Yudaiji arc. It's just after the attack at the amusement park. Hope you'll like it!
I call this fandom CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan because there are a lot of translations to Gakuen. I'm more used to "School", but I've also seen "Campus" and "College". In fact, I think the best would be Academy, but, well, who am I.
The fic is unbetaed, and there are probably a lot of errors on it. If you see any error, please warn me so I can fix it! \o/
A Dark, Dark Night
"Good night, Takamura-san, Nokoru-sama", Nagisa-san said.
They – "they" meaning him himself, the Kaichou and the young girl – were at her house's gateway. Despite the fact that their bond was growing steadily, as time passed, Suoh had never visited Nagisa-san's house before, and he knew that that should have been somewhat of a special moment – but his already overexcited nerves just couldn't give the fact the importance it deserved.
He just wanted to see the ones he held dear safe, at home, and out of the reach of maniacs and bombs.
"Good night, Nagisa-san", he said, holding one of her small hands on his. "Sleep well."
She smiled, and he gulped, blushing.
"Farewell, Nagisa-jou", the Kaichou stepped in when Suoh released the girl's hands. "I wish, with all my heart, that you have beautiful dreams."
Suoh tried not to smile. No matter what problems lay ahead, the Kaichou always found some time to be kind to ladies.
"Thank you, Nokoru-sama", Nagisa-san said, smiling. "I wish you have beautiful dreams too."
The Kaichou smiled; however – and Suoh could tell it better than anyone – that smile was just a concealment, a way of hiding the bitter truth from a lady who needed not be troubled by the menace of a mysterious challenger.
The Kaichou was smart. He knew as much as Suoh did that that had been a danger of a level they had never faced before.
They waved Nagisa-san goodbye until the moment she crossed her home's doors. Then, Suoh let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
The blond boy at his side smiled.
"I can send some security guards to watch over her, if you wish. I'm already going to send some to watch over Akira and Ohkawa Kaichou."
"If you could, I would be most relieved", Suoh said, as they slowly walked away.
The Kaichou nodded absent-mindedly.
For some moments, they just walked in silence, Suoh alert and tense, the Kaichou tired and apparently very interested on the ground. The neighborhood of Nagisa-san's house, expensive houses decorated in ancient Japanese style, was slowly replaced by sparse buildings and the Americanized architecture that announced that they were almost getting downtown.
Then Suoh interrupted the silence:
"Kaichou, you can call your driver, now. I'll wait with you until he arrives."
The Kaichou raised his head. An apologetic smile graced his mouth, and sadness was written all over his face.
"I – I'd rather take the subway, today. I feel like taking a long ride home. You can – head to your home, Suoh. Or – we could head to your home, and I'll take the subway from there."
"I'm not leaving you alone."
"You don't need to do this."
"You know that I do. It's fine, we'll take the subway and head to your home."
"I don't want to – to trouble you."
"You aren't troubling me. I've sworn to protect you, and I'm not going to leave you alone, not with such a dangerous person out there."
"Then I'll call my car."
"Stop it. If you want to take the subway, then we will. It's no sacrifice."
The Kaichou looked at him, then. Suoh blinked, startled, when he saw the tears on those blue eyes that were so precious to him.
"Suoh…", the Kaichou mumbled, and, all of a sudden, hugged him.
Keep breathing, he thought, as his body welcomed the blond's warmth, as his arms carefully, but tenderly, involved the Kaichou's body. He was even more startled when Nokoru's delicate frame started to shake, sobs being muffled into his shirt.
Suoh had never felt so anguished before.
"I'm – I'm sorry – it's just – I'm sorry—", the Kaichou was incoherent, which was surprising by itself, since he had always been a master of the words. "I—"
"Shhhh", Suoh whispered in his Kaichou's ear, hugging him tighter, trying to calm him down. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here."
"Because of that person's mercy!"
Suoh then understood what was troubling the blond boy.
"Nothing happened, Kaichou. You shouldn't dwell on it."
"But it's impossible to forget!", the Kaichou said, raising his head to meet his eyes, his arms still tight around Suoh's waist. "When – when that thing started to shine, and you were so close to it – I thought – I thought – if it had been a bomb, you would have died before my eyes and I wouldn't have been able to do a thing! Died, Suoh!"
"It wasn't a bomb."
"But it could have been!"
Suoh could not answer to that. Again, the Kaichou buried his head in his chest, sobbing. This time, however, the Secretary could easily understand what he was saying:
"I almost lost you – I almost lost you all…"
No one had ever taught Suoh how to comfort another person. He hadn't been comforted since he was a baby, for a Takamura had to be strong; how could you protect someone if you needed to be protected? The only person he'd ever seen comforting another was the Kaichou, when it involved ladies, and he managed to do that guaranteeing that everything would be alright.
And that Suoh could not do, not when he felt, deep in his veins, that everything had just begun.
So, instead, he just caressed his Kaichou's head, quietly, and let the boy cry as much as he had to in his shirt, wondering how long had it been since the blond had allowed himself to cry for anything.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the Kaichou calmed down, and stopped shaking. He stood on his own, and his arms left Suoh's waist, sheepishly. Trying not to face the ninja's eyes, he suggested:
"Maybe we should get going."
Knowing that the Kaichou was embarrassed, Suoh indulged in his pretense. However, he took his Kaichou's hand on his, sternly, and he didn't let it go even as they started to walk, trying to transmit him his feelings through that grip. From the corner of his eye, he could see the blond boy blushing, but looking more peaceful.
They took the subway, almost empty by that hour, and, despite Kaichou's feeble protests, headed to his home. The ride was a silent, sadness-filled one; Suoh could tell that the blond was reviving that moment when their lives seemed to have come to an end thousands and thousands of times. He himself could not forget the way the Kaichou's knees had faltered, in the amusement park, and the way he had painfully cried in his arms. He could not forget that he still needed to say something, to say anything that would ease the Kaichou's worry and sadness.
They reached the station twenty minutes later; still holding hands, the two boys walked, alone, to the Imonoyama Zaibatsu's main manor, Kaichou's home. They stopped at the gateway.
"I'll be safe from now on", the Kaichou said.
Suoh still wasn't convinced.
"That person was able to hack through the gakuen's systems, Kaichou. It is possible that he hacks, too, through your house's security systems…"
"And that's why my family has dozens of bodyguards. There is nothing to worry about, Suoh – unless you want to sleep over."
Suoh blushed heavily.
"That wasn't what I meant—"
"Oh, come on, Suoh, you're my best friend. You're definitely allowed here, and, besides, how long has it been since you've last slept here?"
"Since the day we met, I think."
"See! A lot of things changed here! You've gotta see them, and don't even think about complaining, now. Let's go inside, you'll call your mother, and you are sleeping over."
Suoh couldn't help but smile, when the hand on his started dragging him inside. Nokoru Imonoyama was his favorite person in the world.
Then the Kaichou stopped.
"Kaichou?", Suoh asked, worried at his sudden change of mood – his easy joy had all but left him.
The blond let go of his hand almost absently.
"Maybe", the Kaichou started, his back still turned to Suoh, "three years ago, when we met… maybe, if you hadn't decided to follow me, you would be safer."
There was a dull bitterness in his voice, a bitterness that Suoh couldn't stand.
"Maybe", he agreed.
The Kaichou winced.
With one swift movement, he forced the Kaichou to turn around, meeting his sapphire blue eyes, and then put his hands on the blond's shoulders:
"But, if I hadn't, then my life wouldn't be a life worth living", he said, with all the seriousness he could muster, pouring the feelings on his heart.
Because that was what the Kaichou needed to hear.
The blue eyes blinked, and became shiny with tears, again; but this time the Kaichou did not cry. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then caught his hand again, and, that time, a true sincere smile – one of those smiles the Kaichou almost never smiled, and the type of smile that Suoh cherished the most – graced his lips.
Then, he started dragging Suoh inside again.
"We're going to watch a movie, and I'll ask someone to put another bed on my room – I know that there are spare rooms for visitors, but I want you to sleep in my room, or else it won't be fun at all – and we still need to have dinner—"
Suoh smiled, a burst of affection consuming his heart.
He knew that not everything was solved.
He knew that there was a shadow in the Kaichou's blue eyes still, and that the mysterious person could, and probably would, strike again. He knew that mayhem would surely come, and that a person that had managed to set a trap as efficient as the one on the Ferris wheel would probably set other kinds of trap too. And he knew that the mysterious person, one day, could succeed. He knew that the Kaichou's feelings would get hurt again.
It didn't matter, he decided.
Suoh Takamura had chosen that boy as his One, and he would protect him even at the cost of his own life. He would be strong if his One needed him to; he would be fierce if his One needed him to, and he would show his Kaichou how strong he was, whenever the Kaichou needed him to. And he would also be tender, if ever again his One needed to cry in his chest.
That mysterious person could act as he wished. Their friendship was stronger than any fear; their companionship much more strong than any jealous individual.
That boy that smiled as he walked was stronger than any enemy.
"Hey, Suoh, we have to hurry!", the Kaichou protested, when he noticed that Suoh had slowed his pace. "It's freezing out here, and I don't want you catching a cold."
Smiling, he hurried to match the Kaichou's pace, and patiently listened to all of the boy's plans for their sleepover, enjoying the softness of the hand on his.
Song I've Heard: Gift, by Maaya Sakamoto!
Thanks to: Excalibur Fansub, which made CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan available!
Glossary:
Kaichou: President, Chairman
Gakuen: School, Academy
-jou: A suffix Nokoru uses when he addresses or talks about Nagisa. It's usually translated as Lady.
-san/-sama: Two suffixes which signal respect for the person addressed. The difference between them is that -sama is extremely formal, meant for a person you really respect. -san is often translated as Mister, -sama is often translated as Master or Lord.