Thanks to my reviewers: Lily, Lord of the dead, Violintide, and of course TamChronin, who is the only reason I was finally coerced into finally writing this.
Author's note: Unless you haven't guessed this story contains Shounen Ai (two guys in love). If you find that icky or otherwise have problems with that, that's between you and your sexual identity issues. Don't bother me with it, you've been aptly warned.
Oh and of course I own none of these characters. If I did, I wouldn't be posting here now would I?
The repetitive tapping of the spoon against the bowl was the only sound present to keep Touya company. Sakura was going to be late, busy with practice at school, and his father was late at work. They'd both be home by the time dinner was ready, so Touya continued at his task, finishing the batter for the tempura and reaching into the refrigerator after the vegetables. He washed them carefully under the water, till he was satisfied that they were indeed clean. Opening a lower cupboard, he drew out the cutting board.
He had just started tenth grade a few days ago. It was going nicely so far, Yuki was still in his class, sitting beside him like last year. Yuki would have been there with him this night, except that the gardening club had needed some help getting ready for one of their shows. Touya had thought about tagging along, but for one, that would be ridiculous and overly clingy he thought; and two, tonight was his night to cook. So he was in the kitchen alone, the large knife tapping against the wood as he diced the onion. As he finished with it, he deftly slid the pieces into a bowl with the side of his knife, and then moved on to the carrots.
He had gotten through those and several other varieties of vegetables when the door opened and his father announced his arrival. He called back and looked as his father stepped into the kitchen. "Hello, Touya, dinner coming well?"
He nodded, resuming his work. "Yeah, it'll be done by the time that Sakura gets home. Have a good day at work?"
"Oh yes, I had to go to a few meetings, but they were fast…" Touya looked back as his father continued to describe his day, but he really didn't catch much after that. His father set his briefcase down on the table while he talked to him, and Touya found himself focused on that. There was something in his bag, something odd. He couldn't really guess what it was, just that it was quite potent. His father then picked up the bag and headed from the room. Dimly Touya could recall him just saying that he'd gotten a few things on loan from the university and was going to put them in his study. Hearing him open the hallway door and head down stairs, Touya went back to the dinner; his eyes narrowed. What had his father brought home this time? Whatever it was, it was stronger than anything he'd ever seen. If he thought about it, he could feel it moving down the stairs and into the study, eventually coming to rest there. He reopened his eyes and began to batter the vegetables and prawns. Sakura was home, so he'd have to find out about the new arrival later.
He had just dipped the first bit into the hot oil as Sakura opened the door and called out to them.
He was the first one home again. Yuki was still helping the garden club, so he wouldn't see him again till tomorrow. Sakura was off with a friend; she wouldn't be home until real late. And his father was busy with work, he wouldn't be home for another couple hours. That left Touya free to greet the new houseguest, as it was. He opened the door and headed down the stairs. His father had brought home a lot of oddities over time. Once there had been an enchanted bowl from ancient china, another time there had been a pair of scissors that misplaced themselves randomly. He'd once borrowed from the university a pole arm head that was deranged to say the least, Touya still shivered at the memory of the thing. He'd told his father, outright, to get the weapon out of the house. He hadn't been comfortable having it in the house with Sakura, and its sheer presence was giving her nightmares, though she didn't know why. And who could forget the vase Touya had spent an entire night talking to it about the pros and cons of various flowers and arrangements that could be used. It had particular qualms about peach blossoms, and when it had heard his name said as much (something about the bark staining its interior). If a vase could make a face, it would have.
He crossed the room quietly, despite his large size, and looked around for the new addition. It didn't take him long. There, near his father's desk, was a bright red book. English letters decorated its spine, embossed in gold, and stars as well. He reached out tentatively and pulled it out from the shelf, laying it flat in his hands. On the front was a large beast that he supposed was meant to be frightening, but to him it just looked like it was trying too hard; it was almost comical. He carefully flipped it over to look at the backside, and felt something shift within. It wasn't a physical shift, he thought, but something was stirring a bit. "Sorry." He whispered and turned the book the rest of the way over. On the back, was a large symbol of various markings and circles and squares all interlocked. In the center was the sun that had stood before the beast on the front, and on it's peripheral, were two crescent moons. He thought it odd that there were two moons and only one sun.
Below the intricate symbol was a bit of red leather left blank. Touya ran his fingers across this area. It felt odd, out of place for lack of a better word. He was sure something was meant to be here as well, but what, he couldn't guess. He carefully turned the book back to the front and looked again at the funny lion. As he did, his thumb brushed the gold clasp that sat on its right side. He could feel things stir again, stronger this time and he ran his hand along the clasp.
Locked. His mind said that it was locked. But it also said that he could open it, if he wanted. All he had to do was flip the clasp open. He more pondered what the lock was for, rather then whether to open it. He wasn't supposed to open it, he could tell that much. Whatever it was, it wasn't for him. Touya wasn't terribly disappointed by this; he had no real desire for it, whatever it was.
He closed his eyes and focused on the book, trying to pick apart its identity. He could hear not only one, but a good deal of voices. Most within the book were quiet, only a few aware of his presence. One voice in particular was louder than the others, and was snoring. They didn't feel trapped, or in need of help, they instead seemed to just be sleeping, content where they were. The only ones who felt him were simply curious of him or perturbed at being woke up. He smiled apologetically, "I'm very sorry to have disturbed you," he said quietly, and put them back on the shelf. He felt them settle, some grumbling a bit before going back to sleep, others staying awake long enough to watch him leave. He bowed to them and went back up stairs to cook dinner, content that whatever they were, they weren't malicious. Mischief was all he could think they could get up to, and anyway, who in the house could let them out?
Touya sat at a far lunch table, watching the elementary school kids playing. He liked watching Sakura while he had his lunch, but right now he was absorbed at another task. He had a test in history that afternoon. He thought he had the facts all memorized, but he was still rereading them over and over again. He was so engrossed in the timetable for the Zhou dynasty that he barely noticed Yuki sit down in front of him. "Hi, To-ya. Is your studying going well?" To that he only got a grunt, so he continued. "I really don't think you have to study this much. You've gone over it so many times, you must have it. Why not just relax on the lunch break?"
Touya sighed at his friend's cheerfulness. "I'm just not sure. Some of these guys have really similar names. Then there's the whole mess of the whole feudal system they used… I really have to study this a little longer. I just don't want to mess up this test."
"But you never mess them up. You always get good scores; you should relax a bit. You'll be too tired to take the test properly." Yuki explained logically.
Touya hadn't looked up from his book the whole conversation, but rather stayed focused in the pages lying before him on the lunch table. He could "see" Yuki, so looking up wasn't a real high priority. Touya hated tests that were all memorization; he vastly preferred tests that he'd have to figure out. These types of tests were near torturous. He could hear the crinkling of paper that was no doubt Yuki eating his large lunch. "I know, I know," he said in response. "I just want to be sure."
He'd barely set back to reading the timeline one more time, when a bright green frog jumped onto his book. It startled Touya a bit, but in truth it wasn't a real frog, but a small paper one, made from carefully folded rice parchment dyed a deep grassy green. It sat there happily, tipping a bit to one side as a breeze nudged it slightly. Touya's eyebrows knitted together and he looked up from the delicately folded origami to Yuki.
Sitting before his friend was a small stack of brilliantly colored papers; Touya didn't know where he'd gotten them but obviously he'd been doing that the whole time he'd studied. In front of Yuki was a wide assortment of various shapes of all sorts of colors and sizes. Boats, horses, hats, stars, cranes, foxes, fish, and any other imaginable animal in any color sat around him like a child's coloring book, filled with all sorts of wondrous things, colored with whatever crayon the child's hand grasped at the time. In his tiny, pale hands Yuki held a bright red diamond, a wide smile across his face. Once Touya was facing him fully he put the kite-like piece to his slim mouth and blew. In a short pop, the diamond expanded to a little balloon, and he released it before finishing his breath, sending the little folded bubble at Touya. He caught it easily before it hit his nose, and laughed at the absurdity of it.
Yuki's smile broadened and he giggled softly. "Come on To-ya… Lighten up!" he quickly picked up a circle of multiple colored spikes and plomped it on his head, making him seem a crayon colored Statue of Liberty. Yuki giggled more at this.
Smiling with him, Touya plucked the crown from his head and looked quizzically at his friend. "Yuki, where did you get all this paper?"
"The origami club gave me it for helping out last weekend." He picked up a handful of sheets and tossed them onto Touya's open book. "Come on! Make something; you know you want to…" He said, smiling like the Cheshire cat.
Touya smiled his own troublesome smile and spun the crown on his one finger. With one quick movement, the crown was tossed up and landed on Yuki's head. Unfortunately it had been made for Touya's larger head, so it slid comically down Yuki's face. It stopped, caught lopsidedly on his glasses and nose. "To-ya!" he said admonishly as he pulled the crown up so he could see his friend. He got the crown up, so it rested on the top of his head, the back hanging down at his neck. The circlet made his hair stand up on end in some places, but Yuki didn't much seem to care, and made a mocking attempt at a glare as he straightened his glasses. He barely had them in place when Touya shot a paper balloon of his own at Yuki. Yuki giggled and threw the ball back at Touya, who deflected it easily with an unused piece of paper. They laughed easily at their childish game, tossing a few other helpless, paper animals at each other. The textbook was pushed aside, forgotten completely the friends began to build more additions to the coloring book zoo. They had an impressive menagerie by the time the bell sounded.
The alarm sounded loudly beside him, proudly calling out that it was time to wake. "Yuki!" Touya called out softly before he truly woke and then, realizing where he was, struck the clock quickly. He laid back down, panting a bit. Somewhat red, a thin sheet of sweat covered him. He wiped off his forehead with the back of his hand and covered his eyes. Breathing deeply he waited for the effects of the dream to fade to the point that he could move. They were becoming more intense and no longer waited for the full moon. After waiting as long as he could, he pulled himself up and pushed aside the ruined sheets. Stretching his complaining body enough to stand, he quickly headed for the shower after grabbing his school clothes.
The dreams were becoming a normal occurrence now, coming at least once a week if not more. It was beginning to disrupt his classes, because he wasn't getting enough rest. He carelessly dropped his uniform on the rack and yanked off his nightclothes, tossing them on the floor (he'd carry them back to his room and wash them with his sheets later that afternoon). As he stepped under the hot spray he tried to wash out the effects of the dream from his mind as well. The dream wasn't really changing anymore; it had been the same for the last month or so. He allowed the memories to dart before his eyes as he scrubbed his tired body and started on his hair. He'd been carefully convincing himself that he was just imagining things when he woke, that certain parts he remembered hadn't actually been dreamed, but rather filled in after he woke. Touya had been quite diligent at this theory this last month or so, but it was time to give in. There wasn't any more room for self-delusion, not after this morning. No matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise, he'd plainly called out Yuki's name when he woke. He couldn't say he'd imagined that.
He finished rinsing out his hair and leaned his forehead against the tile wall, feeling the coolness against his skin after the hot water. His life had taken a decidedly odd turn, even for him. He didn't understand why it was happening, but it was. He was aware of how attached he'd become to Yuki, but he wasn't sure what to do about this not-so-new development. He'd never been attracted to a guy before, not once, but none the less, in his dream, where Kaho had always been, was instead Yuki. As he allowed the images of the dream come forward again he yet again could see Yuki clearly beneath him, far clearer than he'd ever seen Kaho.
Once he thought of it, he began to wonder if he'd never really seen Kaho, or rather had simply slipped her into the role, assumed her to be the faceless lover. She'd been the only one he wanted there for so long. And now? Now he could keenly smell Yuki's soft clean scent even through the soapy smell of the shower; could feel the silky coolness of his skin, even as the hot water ran across Touya's back, eliciting memories of Yuki's fingers. His fine white hair tousled, somewhat obscuring the amber eyes that held him far surer than his thin, delicate arms ever could, Touya could feel himself brush away those strands and capture the pale lips in his own. He felt a deep blush slide across his face and he turned to lean with his back against the tiling. He slid down the wall and put his face in his hands, allowing the water to fall past him, untouched, only to run in a river across his toes back towards the drain.
Fear built up from all sides, making Touya feel as if he was a caged animal, penned in with barbed wire. He didn't know what scared him more. The fact that he was extremely attracted to his *male* best friend was a frightening concept that put whole chunks of his life up in the air. Also there was the deep seeded terror of trusting anyone like that, like he had Kaho. He'd seen what relationships got him, and he never wanted to feel that again, ever. He prayed that it was only an infatuation and would fade. It was his only hope.
