Milestones

Part Four: Housewarming

Blocky, blurry red numbers stared across the room from the top of the dresser; its very presence seemed to chide the pair curled up in the bed for being there and yet not being asleep. Outside, the moon shone bright, crisp and clear as the wispy autumn clouds floated on by. Kamui burrowed further under the covers, both relieved and disappointed at the time. Still early enough to catch the train back to the dorms, but that would mean acting on his disquiet.

"Mm?" A sleepy sound rumbled against his bare back, warm breath tickled the stray hair on his cheek.

Kamui turned over, automatically starting to slide one arm over Fuuma's hip; he deliberately stopped and settled his arm along his own side. "I should get going," he replied softly. "I can still get the train." They both knew he was perfectly capable of making it across town faster than the trains, but Kamui wouldn't be the one to bring it up.

His friend's eyes opened slowly, far more alert than the initial question had implied. Fuuma lifted his head and craned his neck to see the clock, then settled back down on the pillow with a gracefully arched eyebrow. "Oh?"

A lead lump settled in Kamui's stomach as he chewed on the inside of his lip. "I have school tomorrow."

Fuuma snorted. "That hasn't stopped you before."

A pathetic, pleading sort of smile. "I used up all my skip days."

The mattress shifted as Fuuma propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at him. "Go in in the morning, then. We'll wake up early."

Kamui tried not to look away and failed; his eyes settled on the faint water stain on the wall just below the ceiling. In the dark, he couldn't actually see it, but he remembered where it was. "I think I left some notes I need for the test tomorrow. Segawa was going to help me study."

"Any other conveniently scheduled study dates I should know about?" Fuuma's tone made Kamui wince. Looking back at him, he saw narrowed eyes and a scrutinizing expression. Pushing the covers off, Kamui sat up and peered at the floor to find his clothes. "Not that I know of."

"That you'll tell me about, you mean."

Bristling, Kamui completely moved off the bed. "Cut it out, Fuuma." A moment's hunting and he'd collected all this things. He leaned against the far wall to slide his pants back on.

"Think I touched a nerve."

He hadn't heard Fuuma use that infuriatingly smug tone in months, and the sound of it twisted Kamui's insides. "Can't you ever not push?!" he demanded, temper flaring. "Since when do I have to tell you everything?"

"Since when have you needed to hide stuff from me?" Fuuma sat up in the bed, propping an arm up on his knee. He watched the younger teen calmly, his regard cool.

Kamui's hands bunched into fists, but after a handful of deep breaths, he was able to uncurl them and yank on his shirt. "I'm not hiding anything! What are you, my mother?" Shirt and pants securely fastened, Kamui stuffed his socks into his pocket and stomped out toward the door. His feet protested being stuffed into his shoes, but he ignored them. He heard the bedroom door close and gritted his teeth as he looked up, mildly surprised to see Fuuma leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Again, just watching, evaluating with that freezing mask.

"Can I expect a call the next time you can pencil me in? Surely Segawa can spare you sometime in the future." The smile turned nasty. "Maybe New Years?"

If it wouldn't have been completely going against everything he'd wanted at the end of That Year, Kamui would have strangled Fuuma right then and there. Or blown him out one of those wide glass windows to send him plummeting twenty floors down. Instead, pulled his coat off the rack hard enough to send the hook clattering to the floor. "Fuck you, Monou." Wrenching the front door open, Kamui stepped out into the chilly night air. He made sure to slam the door as hard as possible. Would serve the other right if he got some noise complaints.

Stepping up onto the balcony rail, Kamui jumped off, falling fast toward the ground. The floors blurred past, the wind whipped at his hair and stung his eyes until he checked his fall, slowing the descent three or four floors from the sidewalk. As he touched down, he turned up the collar of his coat and stalked off between the buildings. He could have gone back to the dorms via rooftop, jumping from building to building until he crossed into the pentacle-shaped campus. But that left little time to burn off his anger before facing his roommate.

And, honestly, given Fuuma's assumptions -- genuine or not -- he really didn't want to see Keiichi. If he walked to the dorms, the blond would be asleep by the time he arrived. Kamui turned right at the intersection and watched his breath make little clouds in the air as he walked. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets; in his pique, he'd left his gloves at Fuuma's and the hell if he was going to go back and get them.

"Can you pencil me in?" he mimicked, voice dripping with spite. "Asshole..." But the further he walked from the apartment, the colder his hands became and he spent more time chewing on his lip, scuffing his foot against stray stones in the sidewalk.

He'd wanted this, hadn't he?

"Be careful what you wish for..." he muttered, then laughed painfully as his chest constricted. Everything came back to wishes. His had been granted, that night, bringing with it all the complications and quirks and joys of keeping Fuuma in his life. Sometimes it was hard to remember that nothing in life was ideal.

As much as he tried to be optimistic and resist Fuuma's unique sort of realism, he had too much happen in his life to not be paranoid when things seemed to go too well for too long. The past months had flown by in a haze of starlit intimacies and good morning kisses at dawn. Stop, slow down, take a breath before the wave comes and crashes over your head, drowning you in the undertow. Happy as he was, nothing so good could last forever. Leaves died and fell, coated the ground and were walked on. Winter winds drove away the sun's warmth, until it had enough of the beating and cut back its hours.

The second full year had begun to wind down, and the idea of surviving yet another twelve months opened the door to claustrophobia. The second shoe always dropped. Somehow, Kamui couldn't help but hold his breath and wait for Fate to decide she had given too much and someone owed the difference. Things always turned out that way.

As he'd hoped, Keiichi's light snoring filled the dorm room by the time he crept in. Kamui tossed his coat at the foot of the bed, kicked his shoes under it, and crawled between cold sheets. Worn out by more than just the exercise, he fell asleep almost immediately.

A pillow whacking against his head startled him awake, so much so that he grabbed it and pulled back and wound up with half a pillowcase and a head full of feathers.

"Oi! That was mine!"

Blinking down out of his eyes, Kamui just stared at Keiichi stupidly, briefly wondering what his roommate was doing so far across town. Then he remembered, and his mood instantly soured. "Jackass," he muttered, tossing the empty case at him.

Keiichi made a show of scooping up the feathers from the floor and dumping them on Kamui's head. "I didn't do whatever ticked you off so bad, Shirou," he said with a half smile. "So don't take it out on me, ok?"

Kamui's mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. A blush spread over his cheeks and he looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."

A hand ruffled his sleep-mussed hair. "S'ok. I didn't think you'd be home last night. What time'd you get in?"

Kamui tried to smooth down his hair. "About midnight, I think." He looked around for the clock. Six-fifteen. Though he doubted he'd be able to concentrate, he gave up spending the night with Fuuma in order to come back to campus; he might as well go to class. Somehow the thought buoyed him. One less lie he'd told.

"Really? I never heard you." Keiichi stripped off his t-shirt and hunted in his closet, eventually pulling out a towel. He glanced over at Kamui and tilted his head to one side. "Want to vent?"

The shorter teen blinked, startled as he tended to be by his roommate's insights. "Well, I..." Kamui shook his head. "Nah. I'll be all right."

Keiichi tossed the towel over one shoulder and grabbed his shower supplies. As he walked past, he ruffled Kamui's hair again. "Remember, Shirou," he said with a grin and wagging his finger. "A blocked toilet eventually overflows. And it isn't pretty when it does."

"... you're insane, Segawa."

The blond left for his shower, laughing his head off all the way down the hall. Kamui snorted, shaking his head.

Once showered and dressed, the two made their way to class. As predicted, Kamui paid absolutely no attention for the first half of the day; he should have stayed in bed. Once in a while, Keiichi shot little paper balls at his head to try and get him to pay attention, but even Mr. Persistence had to give up. By the time lunch came around, he had firmly resolved to go back to the dorms and sleep for the rest of the day. Maybe he'd go visit Kotori's tree; his attentions had lapsed since getting more involved with her brother. With a pang, he changed that "maybe" to a definite.

Even his childhood friend's final resting place was not immune to the movement of the seasons. He started picking up the leaves that had fallen around the base of the tree. Eventually, he had to remove his uniform jacket and roll up his sleeves, brushing slightly damp bangs off his forehead. He took a short break to hunt for a rake. Three buildings over, he found one in a landscaper's shed. Hefting it on his shoulder, he made his way back to the tree. He stopped short when he saw his small but carefully stacked leaf pile strewn around the ground...

By a large but still highly energetic spirit dog.

Kamui smacked his forehead with his hand. "I think I liked the first version of you better."

"Sorry, Kamui-san!!" He turned and saw Yuzuriha running toward him, waving her hands frantically. "No, no Inuki!!" The object of their irritation barked happily and bounded over to his mistress, who shook her finger furiously. "Kamui-san worked very hard on these leaves. You go apologize!"

Chastened, Inuki slunk over to Kamui's side and sat down. When Kamui failed to immediately respond, the dog nudged his leg with his nose and whimpered. Sighing, Kamui bent down and rubbed his head. "Accepted." He looked up just in time to drop the rake and catch the ball of teenaged girl that came hurling toward him. She beamed at him and hugged him very tightly. "It's been so long, Kamui-san! We've missed you!" She stepped back and used her hand to compare their heights. "I think you've gotten taller since Arashi-san's wedding."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kamui had to smile. "How are you?" he asked, picking up the rake again.

"Oh, let me help!"

Kamui shook his head. "No, it's okay." He glanced up into the tree's branches. "I'd rather do it myself. I kind of owe her."

"Okay" she chirped, finding a clear place near the base of the tree to sit. "I'll keep you company, then."

"Sure."

Yuzurhia carefully tucked her skirt around her legs as she settled herself. "And we've been really good," she said, smiling up at him. "I love high school!" She stuck her hand out, a fist with two fingers in a "v". "You're graduating in March, right?"

He chuckled and nodded, scraping the leaves into a pile that he saw Inuki eying with interest. "Yeah. Miraculously enough."

"Well, you managed one miracle," she replied gently. "This one is easier."

Rendered speechless for the second time that day, Kamui just stared at her with a lump in his throat. He swallowed painfully and nodded. "This miracle's called Imonoyama Nokoru." The leaves seemed much more interesting at that moment. "He wouldn't let me fail even if I tried."

She looked at him for a minute, then just made some "tsk" sounds and shrugged. "Well, then someone made a miracle for you. No one expects you to do everything." She smiled, then brightened. "Oh! I have the best news!"

The transition from calm to squealing had driven him crazy the first few months after he met her, but now Kamui just smiled bemusedly and found a spot closer to her to rake. "What is it?"

"Kusanagi-san--" she stopped, covered her mouth, then blushed. "I.. I mean Kusanagi..." she giggled and waved her hands a little. "Um um, Kusanagi and I found a place to live..." her voice dropped to a whisper. "Together!!"

Kamui blinked, then his eyebrows crawled up his forehead. "That's great, but... what does your grandmother think about that?"

Yuzuriha managed to stem the flow of giggling, and folded her hands primly in her lap. "She didn't like the idea at first, but she met Kusanagi and he promised to take care of me as long as I'd have him." She beamed. "Grandmother warmed up to him after a few more meetings. She likes him almost as much as I do now."

The older teen set the rake to the side of the tree and sat down beside the radiantly smiling girl. "I'm glad for you," he said with a smile. But he couldn't help feeling slightly jealous. "Are you ready for that, though?" He asked as he pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn't dislike Kusanagi at all. If anything, he thought the man's calm, grounded personality complimented Yuzuriha's extremely well. But living together... meant certain things. "You're still in high school."

She batted at him. "I'm already sixteen! I know what I'm getting into."

"You're too young to rent it together though."

She shrugged. "Oh, that's all right. Kusanagi's name will be on the lease, no one will bother us."

Inuki had finally decided the humans were not going to properly use the leaf pile that Kamui had made and pounced on it, rolling and barking with glee. Yuzuriha covered her face. "Oh, I'm sorry Kamui-san," she said tearfully. "He's gotten so big but he still acts like a puppy sometimes..."

"What if he throws you out?"

Big brown eyes blinked at him. "What?"

Kamui shifted uncomfortably and looked out in front of him. The lunch period was ending soon, and the students had started to drift back toward the school building. "What if Kusanagi-san decides he doesn't want you there any more? You won't have any standing." He was glad not to be looking in her direction; the silence that followed his question felt like a hurt one.

"He won't."

Kamui risked a glance at her and found none of the recrimination he expected. She simply smiled at him, hands at her heart. "He won't. I know he won't. Even if we break up, he wouldn't hurt me like that."

The force of her belief left him feeling hollowed out, smaller and sad. "How come you're so sure?"

She reached over and took one of his hands in hers. "Sometimes, you just have to trust someone." She lifted one of her hands and pressed it against his cheek, startling him a little. "It's not easy, and sometimes I feel bad because he's so nice to me and I wonder if he loves me as much as I love him, but..." She clasped both his hands again. "I made the choice to trust him."

Violet eyes widened and for a minute, all he wanted was to have his hands back. He tried, but she held on. "Kamui-san," she said softly. "You don't have to make all the miracles." With that, she let his hands go and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Don't forget that, okay?" Another smile, and she stood, brushing the leaves off her black skirt. The bell rang just as she waved to Inuki. "I'll send you an invitation to the housewarming party!" She called as she ran back into the school.

Kamui sat for a long time in front of Kotori's tree, playing with the leaves.

In the end, he left them ringing the base of the tree; Kotori would have liked the swirl of autumn colors. He left around the end of the school day, moving through the throng of elementary schoolers who all called to him, wondering if he'd been sent home early. He just shook his head and continued back to the dorms, and then out into the city, only half aware of the world around him. By now, he knew the way by heart, having had plenty of opportunities to memorize the route. His feet carried him past the potholes where the rock slabs used to be, up the ridiculous number of stairs and down the hall to the apartment at the end.

He knocked, even though he didn't need to, and waited for the door to open. When a minute or two passed, he chewed on his lip, shifting his bag to his shoulder. Then he heard the lock turn and the clang of the door opening. He looked up to see Fuuma watching him warily, as if bracing for another outburst. As he passed into the apartment, Kamui searched his friend's face for some sign of the coldness he'd seen the night before.

Slipping his shoes off, he tried not to fidget. The window drew his attention immediately, as it always did, but he stayed by the door, where Fuuma still stood. With a deep breath, he turned around and met his still-cautious expression. Kamui backed up a step, effectively putting himself a little taller than the other, and then held up the bag. Fuuma took it and raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering..." Kamui hesitated, jaw tightening. "If you had room in your closet for one of my spares?" The other poked around inside the bag and pulled out a black sleeve. "So I don't have to go back to the dorm before heading to school."

Fuuma turned the sleeve over in his hand, then tucked it back in the bag. "They'll kick you out if you show up in something that wrinkled." He set the bag down and slid his arms around Kamu's waist, tilting his head back to nuzzle under his chin.

Kamui's arms wound around his shoulders as the younger teen purred softly. "Then I'm glad you have an iron."