"Who do you suppose decided that the birds are free..?"
His voice startled him, even though it wasn't meant to. The brunette turned to look at the owner of the voice, and couldn't help but be amazed by the beauty he beheld. The sun was currently setting, and the way the light played over the redheads' hair was stunning. It gave him the look of nothing less than a god. The man was gazing up at some of the birds that were silhouetted against the sky, seemingly lost in thought.
"What do you mean, Gojyo?"
"The birds," he kept his gaze set towards the sky, "they can go where ever they want, whenever they want. They don't have any restraints. They're free."
Gojyo finally took his eyes away from the sky and turned them towards the other man, who was currently sitting on the porch steps of their home. His eyes held something that Hakkai wasn't used to, something like wonder. They still seemed so striking to him, no matter what feeling was hidden beneath them. They were purely Gojyo, and he loved it.
It had been awhile now since they had been living together, as more then friends, and Hakkai cherished every second of it. Gojyo had done so much for Hakkai, and he felt that there was no way that he could ever repay Gojyo for all his kindness, but he still tried. Whenever Gojyo was upset, Hakkai would always be there to fight away his demons. And in the same way Gojyo protected Hakkai. They were each other's sanctuaries.
"Well, Gojyo, the truth is that birds aren't free.."
Gojyo just looked at Hakkai with a quizzical look. To Hakkai, he looked somewhat like a confused puppy, and it made him laugh, if only just a little bit.
"What I'm trying to say is that even birds aren't completely free. Even if they can fly the skies, unless they have a destination and a branch upon which to perch and rest their wings, they might even come to resent having those wings."
Hakkai glanced towards Gojyo, who looked as if what he just heard was in a foreign language.
"What I'm trying to say is that.. freedom, well, True Freedom may be just having somewhere, or someone, to return to. After all, I'm finally free."
He looked straight into Gojyo's eyes, and gave him the smile that he reserved only for his lover. Gojyo's eyes gleamed with a different emotion now. They were no longer filled with wonder, but with a deeper, more passionate emotion. One of love.