With or Without You
By: Luca

Warnings and disc: I own nada, AU and shounen ai; 'nough said.
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He always knew he was a little different, a little odd. But for the most part, he was normal. He loved video games, like any other boy his age. He loved sports, like any other boy his age. Sure, he got into a lot of fights, but that wasn't terribly different from any other boy his age.

And oddly enough he sported orange hair and unique crimson eyes but then again, he knew some boys had purple eyes or gold eyes, so he wasn't too different in that aspect either.

He hated shopping, hated the colour pink and chores. Ew, who in their right mind would like chores? School! Ah, better not forget about his eternal enemy. Yes, like any other boy, Kyou too, hated school.

And why not? It always took away time from playing with the other boys on his street, be it street hockey, or soccer or tag.

Yes, Kyou hated school too. Well, except for recess and lunchtime. Then, he could guarantee some fun on the playground. Like monkey bars; yeah that was fun! Climbing the highest, balancing, walking along the top of said bars.

For once, his mother had taken him to school a little early. She had mentioned something about a doctor or something but distracted by his new colouring book, Kyou had not paid much attention.

So there he idly sat, in one of the seats in the empty classroom. Little pink tongue protruding out of his mouth, he made extra sure to colour within the lines.

When he heard two sets of footsteps, his ears perked up.

Maybe it Shinji's mom, ready to drop him off at school!

But no. It was just his teacher with some strange lady he had never seen before. Like any other curious child, Kyou peered at the newcomer, and at the little child attached to her hand.

His teacher and the pretty lady talked. They talked and talked until Kyou got bored and went back to colouring.

"You're colouring outside the lines," came a soft voice.

"I am not!" He cried indignantly, glaring as his head shot up.

Who was this silly little twit of a girl to criticize his colouring? As if she knew anything! She shrugged and retreated to her mother's side.

"Kyou, come here." His teacher called and he reluctantly left his post.

He scuffled his shoes, not looking up when he arrived.

"Kyou, this is Yuki. I want you to show him around the class and school, okay?"

"Him?" The orange-haired boy couldn't help the words from escaping. His mouth formed a round, surprised 'o'.

"Yes, Kyou. Now run along."

He crinkled his nose cutely and then glanced to the silvery-haired boy. "Well, come on."

The two of them made their way around the classroom, Kyou pointing out the little nooks and crannies.

"And that's our reading corner."

"That over there, that's our fish tank. We have Jozie, Marco, Lulu, and Bella, Ken and Ran in there. See? Ran and Ken like each other. They're way cooler than the other fishes." Kyou nodded sagely, as though it were a given fact.

Yuki said nothing.

"This is the book shelf. We never have anything good to read though."

"Kyou!" His teacher exclaimed, hearing him.

"I mean!" He amended quickly. "Um…well, there's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and…and The Missing Piece and…other books."

Pretty soon, the other children began trickling into the room and Kyou promptly forgot about the silver-haired boy and left him to his own devices.

At recess, he and Shinji made a race for the monkey bars, Yuki slowly following, not knowing what else to do.

Kyou gave a grin, that silly girl-boy would never be able to read the top of the monkey bars. Out of everyone, only he and Shinji had ever braved to reach the top, to walk across the bars of metal.

To the redhead's amazement, Yuki nimbly and rather easily caught up.

The boy took a look around, claiming, "It's nice up here."

"You're pretty cool," Kyou admitted albeit a little reluctantly.

And at lunch, the trio sat together, trading snacks. Kyou offered his crackers and cheese for Yuki's milk carton and Shinji traded away his chocolate bar for the fruit tart Kyou had.

They spent the remainder of the hour playing tag in the basement; although it wasn't really called that. But it was dark in there, with dim lights and a black, lacquered floor. The large space, filled with columns and tunnels, was perfect for tag and hide and seek.

At the end of the day, while the new friends were waiting for their moms, they talked. Then Shinji's mom came and it was only Kyou and Yuki.

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow you could come over and we could play tag! Shinji only lives one street away from me!"

Yuki smiled half-heartedly, "It sounds like fun…"

The redhead paused, peering into his fiend's purple eyes. "You don't seem happy."

"I move around a lot. I don't know how long I'll even be staying this time. But I like it here already. You're my friend."

Simple things. Words. So simple and yet only a child could utterly so truthfully.

"That's okay. We'll keep in touch even if you do move away!"

It took less than a day for the two to meet and become fast friends. By the end of the second week, the two were near inseparable. They played together, had occasional sleepovers, ate lunch together, made fun of girls and did homework together. And it was bliss.

Nothing was ever this fun with Shinji.

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Then…then came the day.

Yuki ran up to him, crying.

"Yuki? Yuki!" The redhead's eyes widened as he hugged his friend fiercely. "What's wrong? Did someone try to beat you up? Let me at them!"

A shake of the head. Hiccups.

"Mom…mom said we're moving!"

"Oh…"

"But I don't want to leave!"

"You could come live with me!"

"But mom would be sad…"

Silence between the two.

The boy paused. Pulling up his shirtsleeve, he took off a bracelet from his wrist, one with black and white beads.

"My grandma gave this to me. She said the beads are opal and onyx, whatever that means. But I want you to keep it for me, Kyou."

The redhead blinked, pleased. "Sure. I'll never take it off. Ever, I promise."

Yuki smiled a genuine one, happy.

"I won't ever forget you, Kyou.

"I won't forget you either."

"I'll come back, just watch me."

A voice.

"Oh, that's my mom. Goodbye Kyou!" The young boy leaned in and sweetly brushed his lips with Kyou's, whispering. "I love you."

Then he was off.

The orange-haired boy was frozen. No one…had ever said those words to him. Not even his mom.

Still, he couldn't stop the smile from escaping.

And that was how Kyou met Yuki. Back then, things were simple and Kyou felt like any other normal child. Love was love and gender never mattered to anyone.
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TBC...?

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A/N: Anyone else ever have those books read to them in elementary school? I always thought The Missing Piece would take forever to read! Anyone else ever try walking along the top of the bars? Scary! My friends Larry and Jennifer loved to as kids. And yes, my elementary school did have such a basement; it was great! And yes, I couldn't help the tiny reference of R/K-ness. I'm a sucker for those two. A one-shot for now. I'm not a really big Yuki/Kyou fan actually. Reviews are cordially welcomed :3