"Stargaze"
by Sara Jaye


A bit of Carrot&Marron fluff I decided to write at the spur of the
moment. ^_^ I was torn between making this a Carrot&Marron or
Marron&Gateau fic, actually...but, I was in a bit of a Carrot&Marron mood,
so...^_^ This isn't actual yaoi/shounen ai, just cute introspective fluff
with em getting cozy and looking at the stars. ^^

[Sorcerer Hunters belongs to Rei Omishi and Satoru Akahori, I'm just
borrowing the characters for awhile.]


~


Marron sat quietly, looking up at the night sky. The first stars of the
evening had just appeared, shining a bit more brightly than they usually
did. Most nights they were just barely visible, little flecks of white
paint against the endless deep blue of the night. But on this
exceptionally clear night, they sparkled brilliantly.

"Beautiful." Marron sighed contentedly, leaning against a large rock. Not
the most comfortable place to relax, he admitted, but it wasn't too bad.
He did come here often enough, anyway.

Marron didn't have a huge interest in astronomy, but he enjoyed looking up
at the stars on nights like this. It felt good to get away from the
others, to have this time to himself.

Not that he didn't enjoy spending time with them. Tira, Gateau, and
Chocolat were his closest friends, and of course he loved being with his
older brother, Carrot. But they could get pretty crazy sometimes-Carrot
chasing girls, Tira and Chocolat screaming at him and trying to keep him
in line, and Gateau constantly flexing and showing off...it was just nice
to be alone once in awhile, away from all the commotion.

Sometimes he felt a bit out of place among them, being "the quiet one".
Not that he had any reason-the others, especially Gateau, made it clear
that he belonged and they liked him the way he was. But still...

"I guess it's a good thing, though...what with all these battles against
sorcerers, someone needs to be level-headed 95% of the time," he mused,
closing his eyes in deep thought for a moment. The only time Marron ever
lost his cool was when Carrot was hurt. Then his mood went from level-
headed to psychotic...he just couldn't stand to see his niisan be hurt!

"Isn't the older brother supposed to be overprotective?" he'd often been
asked. Yes, when they were children. Carrot protected him from the bullies
that tried to beat him up, and now Marron protected his brother from the
sorcerers.

Marron let his gaze return to the night sky. The stars were shining more
brightly now, and there were more of them. The deep blue was becoming
closer to a blackish midnight, and Marron figured he should head back to
camp soon.

Just then, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He tensed, drawing
an ofuda just in case it was a sorcerer.

"Hey, Marron."

Marron put the ofuda away and smiled.

"Niisan."

"Mind if I join you?" Carrot asked. Marron shook his head. Carrot sat down
next to his younger brother and leaned against the rock.

"You find this comfortable?"

"You get used to it," Marron said. Carrot nodded. They were silent for a
few moments as they watched the night sky.

"So...nice night, isn't it?" Carrot said.

"Yeah...I like when I can actually see the stars...they're very pretty,"
Marron said.

"I didn't know you were into astronomy," Carrot joked.

"Not really." Marron brushed a bit of hair away from his face. "They're
just nice to look at," he said.

"Yeah, I have to admit they are," Carrot said. Tentatively, he moved
closer and slipped an arm around Marron.

"Niisan..."

"You looked cold," Carrot said.

"Strange thing to say for someone wearing a tank top," Marron teased.
Carrot gave him a bit of a look.

"Since when did you make jokes?" Marron shrugged.

"Why not?"

"You never usually make jokes."

"Niisan, can't a serious guy make a joke once in awhile?" Marron laughed
softly.

"Otouto, I'm teasing," Carrot said. "Good to see you laughing, though...a
smile looks really good on you, y'know." Marron blushed slightly.

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Marron leaned into Carrot's embrace.

"No problem." Carrot idly ran his fingertips through Marron's hair. It
felt nice, having his brother so close to him like this.

"Do you think we should get back to camp?" Marron asked after another few
moments of silence.

"Do you want to go back?" Carrot asked.

"Not really, niisan," Marron murmured, nestling closer to Carrot.

"Me either," Carrot said, playing with a few strands of midnight-black
hair.

Silence fell over them again, but neither one minded.

On a night like this, why waste time with words?

~End~


Finished! ^_^ I know it's probably been less than a month since my
last fic, but...I was in such a writing mood and wanted to finish
something and post to ff.net...^_^;; I'm rather proud of this, though. ^^