BK: Its finally here! Chapter one of my first sequel! happy sigh Well, first solo sequel. Enjoy! I own nothing!

Giving In

Chapter One

"I can't do this."

Nagisa looks up from her tea and blinks. "Pardon?"

I run a hand through my hair, seeing blue strands settle in my peripheral vision as soon as I finish. "This," I repeat. "I can't – I'm sorry, Nagisa-chan, but, I don't...I'm not..." Damn it, why does my normal ease with words have to desert me right now?

Nagisa puts her teacup back in its saucer. "You want to break up." It is not a question, but I answer her anyways.

"Yes," a whisper.

"I thought so."

I look up, and she smiles sadly at me. "I had a feeling it was coming. We've rather fallen out of love, haven't we? Just dating because we've been doing it for so long, rather than out of affection. And you," a sly look, "are starting to feel the age difference."

Ignoring the last comment, I nod. "You feel the same, then?"

"Yes, I do. I realized this was happening quite some time ago."

That takes me by surprise. "You did?"

Nagisa sips her tea and smiles at me. "Oh, yes. You just realized, didn't you?"

"A few days ago," I admit.

"Knew it," she says smugly. She picks up her tea again. "So, Suoh-kun, is there someone else?"

I think immediately of cream skin, gold hair, and eyes like the brightest gems. "No," I say, fighting a blush.

Nagisa gives me an amused look over the rim of her teacup. "Liar."

I scowl, and cut my next bite of cake a tad too forcefully. Nagisa refuses to let the subject drop.

"Come now, Suoh-kun," she chides. "Just because we are no longer boyfriend and girlfriend does not mean I do not have an interest in your life." She smiles at me, a happier one this time. "I do still consider you a friend."

I look up at her and cannot keep the rueful smile off of my face. "I consider you one as well. I would lie to remain friends, even though we dated."

"Wonderful," Nagisa says, and then gives a slow smile that has nothing in it of happiness and everything of affectionate conspiracy. "So..." she purrs, "who's the lucky girl?"

Damn it.

"I told you," I say, feeling my cheeks redden. "There is no one else!"

"Oh, please, Suoh-kun," Nagisa scoffs. "You must have had some sort of epiphany to make you do something about the fact that you were no longer in love with me, and you are a very bad liar. Now talk."

I put my head in my hands and curse the fact that my sense of decorum is so well-ingrained that it will not permit me to swear in front of a lady.

"There is no girl," I mutter.

"I'm sorry," Nagisa says. "What?"

I clear my throat and swallow. "There...is no girl," I say again, louder.

She blinks at me a few times, then leans forward. "Well, that makes this much more interesting."

I stare at her.

Nagisa must have learned to mind read because she takes one look at me and answers the question that I can't seem to voice. "Utako-chan and I decided months ago that the idea of two boys together was actually quite pleasing," she says, matter-of-factly. "So we've been looking around a bit and found some good manga series, but a real relationship is much better."

"I see," I say, even though I really don't.

"So this is no problem at all, but I suppose I should change my question shouldn't I?" She puts her tea down. "Who's the lucky boy?"

I realize, albeit belatedly, that this could go very, very badly, very, very quickly. "Nagisa-chan," I say, "I don't think you understand. There is no relationship, and there never will be."

She frowns at that. "Whyever not?"

I resist the urge to sigh. "Because his parents would never allow it. Because we both have our futures planned, and those plans do not include the two of us as anything more then friends and...Nagisa-chan, there's hundreds of reasons why!"

"And by the sound of them, none of them are very good ones," she says firmly. I gape at her. "Do you know if he likes you back?"

"Yes, he," I swallow, "he does."

"Then you are just looking for a reason not to confess to him, because you're scared," Nagisa gives me an I-am-very-disappointed-in-you look. "Just tell me who it is, please?"

I look down at my hands, and clench them together.

"Nokoru."

Nagisa's gaze softens. "I thought it might be him." When I look at her questioningly, she explains. "A few years after we started dating, I called your mother and asked her to meet me for tea. You had sort of explained the your bond with Nokoru-san, and the reasons behind it, but I had some questions that I wasn't sure that you would answer. So when your mother met me, I asked her to explain the bond more fully, but all she said was that Nokoru-san would always, always, always come first in your life." She takes a sip of tea. "I wonder how many Takamura guards fall in love with their ones?"

I had no answer for her.

She smiles and puts the cup down. "Anyways, as soon as you told me that there was no girl, I had a feeling that Nokoru-san was the one you loved."

I freeze. "Love?"

Nagisa blinks at me. "Yes of course. What else could it be? You don't honestly think that this is just a crush, do you?"

I do not, but am unwilling to admit it and so stay silent.

She sighs, and checks her watch. "You ought to get going. You'll be late for your council duties if you don't."

I stand, and gather my jacket, laying some money on the table for our lunch. Nagisa gets up as well. "Suoh-kun," she says, and I look at her. She hesitates, then speaks. "Suoh-kun, don't be afraid to peruse this. You deserve happiness, you and Nokoru-san both, and I have a hard time believing that the Rijichou will deny Nokoru-san happiness simply because it does not fit in with her plans for him." A sly grin spreads across her face. "And remember, I'm rooting for you!"

There is no polite response for when your now ex-girlfriend tells you that she is all for you getting together with your male best friend so I simply bow and turn to leave. A few steps, and she calls to me.

"Suoh-kun!"

I turn.

Nagisa smiles shyly, and I reflect that the next boy to date her will be very lucky indeed. "Same time next week? For lunch?" she asks.

I am speechless for a moment, and then smile. "Of course."

And we part ways.

When I push open the door of the High School Student Council Room, both Nokoru and Ijyuin are already there. Ijyuin is flipping through papers and fiddling with his calculator, and greets me with a cheerful, "Good afternoon, Takamura-sempai!" as I walk in. I smile and nod at him, and then turn my attention to the back of the room.

Propped up on one elbow, and all his attention on whatever is on the desk in front of him, sits Nokoru. I take a moment to just look. It's a warm day, and the sun coming through the windows turns Nokoru's blond hair into strands of shimmering gold. His eyes are focused not on me, but a book, open in front of him and from this angle all I can see is the length of his lashes and the slightest sliver of blue, beneath them. As I watch, he turns a page (its a manga of some sort) and licks his lips, reddening the bottom one.

I want to kiss him so badly it is almost a physical pain.

Pushing that impulse aside, I drop my jacket and bag at my desk, and then march up to Nokoru's and clear my throat. Loudly.

He jumps, looks up, and immediately beams at me. "Suoh! You're here! How was your date with Nagisa-jo?" Though his eyes are on me, his hands move swiftly, closing the book and tucking it away in a drawer before I can see the title.

"It went fine," I respond, looking at him sternly. "May I inquire as to just why you have not begun your work?"

He waves a hand at me, still beaming. "Oh, come, Suoh, what's a few minutes break? I happened to be at a very good part in my book-"

"Kaichou..." I growl, glaring at him in full. Why must he be so infuriating all the time? "You must stop running away from your responsibilities like this! We're not in elementary school anymore, you will be going to the University next year, and will probably be on the council yet again, and then you will be working for the Rijichou!"

"I know, I know, " Nokoru says, his smile a little sadder. "Soon I will no longer have the choice of just putting things off till tomorrow, so permit me my fun a little longer, hmm? I doubt my secretary under the Rijichou will be as understanding..."

I heave a sigh. I am powerless against those eyes. I send up a small prayer that he never finds that out, or nothing will ever get done. "Get some of your work done, and you can read when Ijyuin brings us a snack."

Nokoru brightens, and sends me another bright smile. "That sounds perfect!" He reaches over, and pulls a stack of paperwork towards him, and I turn and return to my desk. After about an hour of work, there is a knock on the door. Nokoru looks up from his papers and calls out "Come in!"

The door opens and a young woman walks in. Her hair is blond, but more yellow to Nokoru's gold. It is short, with feathery bangs, down over bright teal eyes, a pixie-ish face, and pink-pale lips quirked in a mischievous smile. Nokoru stands.

"Sabintha Winner, of class 3-C. What brings you to our council room?"

Winner-san laughs, and smiles at all of us. "Why to talk to you, Nokoru-kun." I bristle at her familiar tone, but Nokoru ignores it.

"I'll get some tea," chirps Ijyuin. Winner-san smiles at him.

"That would be lovely," she says.

When he has left, she turns back to Nokoru. "I've come to extend an invitation, actually."

"For me?" Nokoru asks, moving down from his desk.

Winner-san laughs again. "Yes, of course. There's this little group, see, of some High School students, and a few University students, all single, that get together on Fridays for some snacks, drinks, and a few games."

Nokoru arches an eyebrow. "What sort of drinks and games?"

Winner-san's grin turns sly, and she steps a bit closer. I resist the urge to walk over there and pull Nokoru away. "No alcohol, if that's what you're asking. As for the games, it's the usual. Truth or dare, I never," a little smirk, "seven minutes in heaven." Her grin goes back to bright and sunny, and she bounces on her heels a little. "So, will you join us?"

Nokoru makes a shallow bow. "I am never one to turn down a lady's invitation. I would be happy to."

"Mind if I come along as well?" The words are out of my mouth before I can think to stop them. As both of them turn to stare at me, I feel nervousness begin to take over the jealousy that was so rampant before. Winner-san blinks.

"Um, I'm not too sure that would be such a good idea," Winner-san says, hesitant. "Usually we make sure that everyone in the group is single, so that there aren't any relationship problems, and you are -"

"Single," I say, immensely relived when my voice comes out firmly. I see shock register in every aspect of Nokoru's face. "As of lunch time."

"But you said your date went fine!" He blurts. I swallow.

"It did. Nagisa and I both decided that we weren't in love anymore, and actually hadn't been for a while. So we broke up." I shift a stack of papers into a neater pile, and place it at the corner of my desk. "We're still friends, though."

A slow smile is spreading across Winner-san's face. "Well then, of course you can come! I 'm certainly not going to complain about having two of CLAMP Campus's most eligible bachelors come to our Friday night parties. They're in the High School Student Lounge, we commandeer it for the evening. See you then!" She leaves, and Nokoru and I are still staring at each other.

"You and Nagisa-jo broke up?" He asks.

"Yes."

"You didn't say." He is staring at me, blue eyes confused. I've hurt him. I look away.

"It would have distracted you, and I've known this was coming for quite some time, so I'm not particularly broken up about it. I didn't think it was necessary. " I can feel his gaze on me still. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why is it when I've hurt him I always feel it myself? "I was going to tell you on the way home. After we'd finished. I wasn't," I swallow. "I wasn't trying to keep it from you."

"I still wish you had told me," Nokoru says, walking back behind his desk. "Why did you break up?"

I swallow again, and fiddle with the papers I am holding. "I already said. We realized weren't in love anymore, and were merely dating out of habit. So we broke up." I pause, and look over at him. "We're still meeting for lunch on Thursdays, though."

He is not looking at me, but down at his desk, and is toying with the handle of one of the drawers. "Suoh..." he says suddenly, with the look on his face that tells me he is doing something he feel is necessary, but doesn't want to do, "I should warn you."

I arch an eyebrow. "Warn me?"

Nokoru sighs. "Sabintha-san is well known throughout my grade for her...interesting tastes." At my blank look, he elaborates. "She is a self-proclaimed yaoi fangirl, and has both the nerves and the books to prove it. If she is the organizer of this...gathering," he blushes slightly, and I cannot help but stare, "then there is likely to be some sort of activity of that nature."

He's trying to warn me that an impish blond 12th-grader who is organizing parties for singles has a thing for seeing two (undoubtedly handsome) boys together. And I just agreed to come. No wonder she didn't argue.

I turn back to my desk. "Thats fine, " I say. "It doesn't bother me." I feel Nokoru's eyes move immediately from his desk to my back. I've confused him, poor boy.

"It doesn't? Wait- don't answer that question, it's not important." Very confused. This is more flustered then he was when I walked in on him. "Suoh- I don't think you understand! She's probably going to dare you to...to," Nokoru stammers, "do things with another boy! Maybe even me!"

I tap the stack of papers on its end, neatening. "Thats fine."

"It is?"

"What is?" asks Ijyuin, who has just entered the room. "Did Winner-san leave?"

"Yes," I answer, ignoring the first question. "But I would like some tea."

He hands it to me with a beaming smile, and I glimpse Nokoru, gaping at me. "Get back to work, Kaichou," I reprimand him, and return to my desk.