Disclaimer: I don't own.
The girls in the art studio had a running bet on when Kio and Soubi would get together. It was pretty obvious, most people said, that they liked each other. After all, Kio acted like Soubi's mother, cleaning up after him, nagging about deadlines, feeding him food and then sometimes he just acted like a proud kid who wanted praise from one of the people he cared about. Soubi seemed to smile more when he was around Kio, to laugh more readily.
They understood each other, it was generally agreed. If you wanted to talk to Soubi, you asked Kio if 'Sou-chan' was okay today. And if you didn't understand what Kio said around the lolly in his mouth, you asked Soubi for a translation. They could interpret each other's work without a blink, and they had the kind of arguments where you could really let your feelings out and know that the person would take them into account and respect them before retorting.
'Kawaii, honto kawaii, ne?' The girls whispered behind cupped hands when Soubi chased off yet another unsuitable suitor, or when Kio reprimanded Soubi for being a pervert yet again. And they looked good together, and had the whole seme/uke thing down. A stoic seme and a playful uke. It was practically perfect for the girls who adored yaoi and typical manga pairings.
But Saki knew the truth. She'd watched them carefully when the other girls had mentioned it to her, and frowned. Because, although she could see where the points of view came from, to her it was obvious that they were just very good friends. Perhaps it was the way that Soubi was completely honest with Kio on most matters. Saki knew that when you loved someone, you tried to protect them from the things that made you sad. Maybe it was the lack of flirty touches and lingering looks, the complete lack of lust. They'd sometimes joke about it, pretend flirt, or play up to the crowds, but Saki could see that it wasn't real.
They did have an understanding between them, a really close bond. But, to her, it just seemed like one of those friendships that were so strong that they only came around once in a lifetime. To her, it seemed like they had made each other their family, and were just riding life out, the only guarantee being that if they could be there for each other, they would. There were secrets and parts of lives shut off from each other, and sometimes Saki would see Soubi tenderly tracing a photograph of a young boy in a manner that spoke more of love and affection than anything Kio and Soubi did. And sometimes, Saki would be walking home from seeing her boyfriend, and she'd see Kio kissing a girl or a boy with the kind of passion he rarely directed at Soubi.
So she placed a bet on them never getting together, and refused to tell the girls about any 'inside info' that she had. She thought it was pretty obvious, in the way they acted, that they were just really good friends. The kind of friends that would last as long as they could. And maybe that was what had caught the girls' attention in the first place anyway.
A/N: Some ruminating on how others perceive Kio and Soubi's friendship.