Lovers
Ban had rather carefully avoided putting too much thought into his relationship with Ginji. Had, that was, until now. Over the years, they had ranged over the gamut of possible situations, from opponents to allies to friends...to this. For a long time, he and Ginji had hovered between before finally breaking under the pressure of so much unfulfilled and becoming what they now were. That it didn't have a designation or a name in Ban's mind had never bothered him. It wasn't as if it was necessary and besides, labelling it (Ban told himself) might break it altogether.
Now, though...now Ban looked through dark lenses into large, questioning brown eyes, and he simply couldn't refuse to look at it anymore. Not if it made Ginji look like that.
"Yeah," Ban said quietly, placing his hand over Ginji's, "yeah, that's exactly what we are. Lovers." He smiled, thinking what a wonderfully eloquent word it was.
Slave
Slave
That was the word he'd overheard, from the mouth of a punk. Too stunned to react, he had simply stood there, in his concealed place, until the group of boys had wandered away. For a time, he had stayed to himself, even more withdrawn that usual, considering the connotations of such a label. It was clear how it had been intended, but he had never been one to be drawn in by appearances.
Several weeks later, he had come to a conclusion. Laying here in the dark warmth of a shared bed with this slim silken beauty breathing deeply in his arms, Juubei knew that no matter how it was seen or interpreted, he was and would always willingly be Kazuki's slave.
Measure
Sometimes, in the twisted light of Mugenjou, he felt like he was somehow smaller than them. Kazuki and Juubei shone with a light so fierce that it burned the eyes, while he simply tagged along behind. It was a raw, aching thing inside him that screamed for recognition and relief. He would have left, long ago...but he couldn't. Having emerged from a dark cave to bask in the sun, Toshiki simply wasn't capable of returning to the depths from which he had come. Still, it hurt to be so far beneath them.
Until the day came when those hands had reached for him, pulling him into their world of light. Once in a while he would reflect, knowing that this was not the entirety of what he desired. Invariably, he would circle back to the understanding that this was what he could have, and that in the end, it was the measure of their regard that they had let him in at all. He could believe that it was enough, so long as they were always together.