Starlight Declarations

By FantasiCat

Hey everyone! This fic is written in honor of my one year anniversary as a fanfiction author. Tsume/Kiba is my all-time favorite Wolf's Rain pairing, but there is a definite lack of fics for them, poor dears. So here it is, my own little foray into the Wolf's Rain universe. Happy anniversary to me!

Dedicated, as always, to my beta, thanx4reading. Love ya, sweetie!

Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain and it's characters do not belong to me. If they did, Tsume and Kiba would be canon .

Warnings: shonen-ai (do I write anything else?), definite OOC, fluff

On top of a lone hill in the middle of nowhere, a lone figure sat looking up at the night sky. Tsume sighed, thinking about his… pack, for lack of a better word, Cheza, and whether or not they were ever going to reach Paradise. "If there even is such a place," he muttered. The stars above did not provide him with an answer.

He trusted Kiba; the white wolf had proved time and again that he was worthy of it; but it seemed that they were running in circles, chasing phantoms as fleeting and insubstantial as the night air. 'But still we follow him,' Tsume mused. Toboe and Hige listened to and obeyed him because they believed fully in his cause, and in Cheza, but Tsume was hard pressed to understand why he was still with them. Kiba just had this… way about him, this air of always knowing where he was going, that was hard to resist. Still, deep inside him, Tsume knew this was not the entirety of it.

Sighing again, he lowered his golden eyes to look down upon the rest of the group. He could see Hige and Toboe asleep at the base of the hill, but the white wolf occupying his thoughts was conspicuous in his absence. 'Now where could he be?' Tsume wondered absently.

"Hey," a voice said softly, directly behind him. Tsume practically jumped out of his skin, turning around sharply to come face to face with the owner of the voice.

"Don't do that," he snarled, ashamed that Kiba had surprised him. Kiba just smiled slightly, green eyes warm.

"Sorry," he replied, dropping gracefully to the ground. "What are you doing up here by yourself?"

Tsume settled back down, content to sit and talk with their leader. It was something that didn't happen very often. "Just thinking," he said finally. "And talking to the stars." He didn't know what had possessed him, to get him to share that piece of information. It wasn't something that most people would consider 'normal'. Tsume tensed in anticipation of Kiba's reaction, berating himself for caring so much about the white wolf's opinion of him.

"Are the stars giving you any answers?" Kiba tilted his head slightly, watching Tsume watch the sky. Tsume smiled a little to himself, looking up at the heavens once more.

"No," he whispered. "Just more questions." A companionable silence fell over the two of them, each lost in his own thoughts. 'Why do I feel this way?' Tsume asked himself. 'I feel… warm when he's around. Happy. I've never felt like this before.' He glanced at Kiba out of the corner of his eye. He sat with his knees drawn up to his chin, contemplating the sky much like Tsume himself was. 'I… feel the need to make him happy too.' He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the troublesome thoughts, but they kept pestering him all the same. 'Could I possibly… love him?' The thought shocked him. Tsume examined it, looking at the idea from every angle. It felt… right, somehow. He shook his head again, sadly this time, because although he now knew the reasons behind his reactions to the other male, he also knew that Kiba was unlikely to return his feelings.

Kiba spoke then, startling the grey wolf out of his thoughts. "Tsume?" Tsume grunted slightly in acknowledgement. "Do you…" Kiba hesitated.

"Do I what?" Tsume asked quietly. Kiba took a deep breath and continued.

"Do you hate me?" Tsume turned to face him, startled by the question and was even more startled by what looked like tears in the other wolf's eyes.

He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again without speaking. Tsume considered his options. He could snarl out some lame excuse and shatter the peacefulness surrounding them, or he could be honest. He had always prided himself on speaking his mind, but this could change everything between them. The vulnerable expression on Kiba's normally impassive face decided him. He couldn't bear to hurt him. "No, I don't hate you," he whispered, catching and holding the other's gaze. "I couldn't if I tried. I… I think… I love you." Tsume held his breath, waiting for Kiba's response to his declaration.

Kiba's eyes widened in surprise at Tsume's words, and for a long moment they stared at each other. Tsume's heart clenched at Kiba's silence, and finally he looked away, sure that he had alienated him completely. "Tsume…" The softly breathed exclamation was his only warning before he found himself with a warm body in his arms. Tsume froze in shock for a second, but came to his senses quickly and wrapped his arms around the teen before he could change his mind, burying his nose in his hair. 'He smells wonderfully…" Tsume thought dazedly. Kiba pulled back slightly to look up into Tsume's face. "I thought you didn't feel the same…" he whispered, tears falling from his green eyes.

Tsume brushed the tears away, smiling warmly at the one in his arms. "Well, now you know," he whispered back. "And you're stuck with me."

Kiba grinned up at him wolfishly. [1] "And I wouldn't have it any other way." He leaned up slightly and pressed his lips to his new mate's. The stars smiled down on them, the only witnesses as the two of them explored their new found love.

The End

1- I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!

And there you have it, my contribution to the Wolf's Rain fandom. Short and sweet; my present to myself written in less then 2 hours. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope there will be more Tsume/Kiba fics soon. I want something to read too, you know! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, and flames will be used to s'mores. Thanks again to my beta, thanx4reading, who is the best for putting up with me sending her fics at 3 in the morning. Sorry, sweetie, you still can't patent breathing! Hugs and kisses!