DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters.

Please R&R^^

The sunset seemed to last forever that evening, Lucille feeling safe and almost happy in Kohaku's strong arms. Still, they had to keep in mind that this trip wasn't for fun, and they had something important to do tonight. Right now, however, Lucille didn't even want to think about that. Right now, he just wanted to watch the sun going down, listening to Kohaku's soft breathing, and feeling the fresh wind on his face. His hair got blown into his face a bit, making him struggle a bit to free himself.

"You know, I can tie it up for you. Might be more safe if we're going to break in tonight, especially since we have no idea if there are people or guignols behind that hidden door."

"Hm, indeed," Lucille sighed. "Well, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't pull too hard at it." His hair wasn't something he'd just let anyone touch, but he knew Kohaku would be careful with it.

Softly, Kohaku placed his arms a bit tighter around Lucille. "It's almost dark."

"Just a few more minutes, please?" the blonde asked. They'd have to go back soon, but he still wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as he could. Quietly, he leaned his head back a bit and sighed deeply. "You're so nice to lean against."

He felt more than heard Kohaku chuckle. "Well, thanks."

It was really getting cold outside now, and with a sigh Lucille had to force himself to get out of Kohaku's embrace. "Tonight in bed, you're gonna hold me just like that again."

"Do I get a choice in that?" Kohaku chuckled. "Not that I'm complaining."

With a fake glare, Lucille stood up and started walking away. "You coming?"

"Duh." Together, they managed to sneak back in and get back to their room without being noticed. In there, Lucille let himself drop down on the bed, dragging Kohaku with him. "Oi, watch out!" Accidentally, the dark-haired mane landed fully on top of the slender singer, catching himself on his elbows just in time. Their faces only inches apart, they stared at each other for a moment. Then, suddenly, Lucille let his eyes slid shut and smiled softly.

"Oi, moron!" Kohaku grumbled, a bit worriedly. "You okay?"

"Hm…" The blonde sighed deeply, Kohaku feeling the small chest moving against his own. "Just enjoying the moment." He looked beautiful, even more than usual, with his pale face so relaxed, a faint blush still on his cheeks from the cold wind outside, and his long thick eyelashes almost touching his cheeks. The snowy blond hair laid sprawled around his face, curling gracefully against his face and shoulders. And somehow, lying underneath Kohaku's bigger and physically stronger body, but still being completely relaxed, made him even more breathtaking.

Okay, the blonde merely had to open his mouth and sing to kill him, but he still looked beautifully vulnerable right now. And it made Kohaku feeling completely clueless about what he should do now.

"Either kiss me now, or get off me," Lucille whispered, his eyes still closed.

That was an easy choice to make, at least to Kohaku it was. Gently, he pressed his lips against Lucille's, feeling the slender body underneath him going limp for a moment. After a short moment, Lucille threw his arms around Kohaku's chest, pulling him even closer and deepening the kiss. A stifled gasp escaped Kohaku when he felt Lucille's tongue inside his mouth, and them felt himself returning that movement automatically. He had already known the singer tasted sweet and fresh, but kissing like this, the sensation was almost overwhelming.

A faint sound reached his ears. Lucille was moaning almost inaudibly, his cheeks having turned into a deep shade of red. His arms slowly slid off Kohaku's back, dropping down at the bed with a soft thump. Despite how much he wanted this moment to last forever, Kohaku realized the blonde still had a fever, which probably had gone worse after sitting outside in the chilly weather. Reluctantly, he forced himself to pull back and break their kiss.

"L-Lucille? You okay?" The singer just laid there, and Kohaku could feel him breathing deep and quick. Resisting the urge to kiss him again, he gently placed a hand on the blonde's cheek, feeling how warm he was. "Oi, Lucille!"

"Hm…" A faint smile appeared on the smaller man's lips. "That… was…" With a shallow sigh, he opened his eyes a bit. The crystal-like blue was sparkling and seemed more deep and clear than ever before. "That was probably the most amazing feeling I've ever had. Thanks." His eyes closed again. "It's still too early to break into that room. H-hold me for a while, please?"

"I'd be glad to," Kohaku mumbled, carefully moving a bit until he was laying next to the blonde, and then pulled him on top of his chest. Though they had practically switched positions now, Lucille somehow still was the one seeming vulnerable, his heart beating gently against Kohaku's chest, and his head hanging over the taller man's shoulder, leaving it resting against Kohaku's neck. He had the feeling the blonde wouldn't dislike Kohaku lying on top of him, but the dark-haired man just didn't dare to take the risk right now, remembering how that had worsened Lucille's stomachache last time. Better not try that again until they'd get off this ship.

Wrapped in Kohaku's arms, being pressed against the dark-haired man's warm body, Lucille felt himself getting sleepy. The taste of their kiss was still lingering on his lips, keeping the blush on his cheeks, and his heart was pounding from excitement. At the same time, though, he felt so tired that he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep for some hours, until all the ship's employees would have retired to their rooms for the night. But wouldn't Kohaku mind?

Like he had been reading the singer's thoughts, Kohaku suddenly mumbled something. "You can sleep, if you want to. I'll be right here."

"I love you," Lucille whispered, snuggling against his beloved one before relaxing again. Far away, he heard Kohaku telling him he also loved the singer, then he drifted off to sleep.

Kohaku had been a bit afraid of falling asleep and missing their last chance to find something to defeat the guignols on this ship and their master. But having Lucille sleeping like this, his soft breaths against the taller man's neck, that slender body resting on top of him, feeling every unconscious move Lucille made, that made it impossible for him to fall asleep. Simply because he didn't want to miss a moment of it, knowing he was the only one that was this close to the singer.

"I really love you, moron," he mumbled, softly hugging him. "Geez, unbelievable." A few days ago, it would have seemed impossible to him to ever be this intimate with the blonde. And it still somehow felt like a dream, even though he'd never tell Lucille that. Either way, he wasn't at all unhappy about their relationship, and how it was developing.

Lucille groaned softly in his sleep, moving a little until he was comfortable again. Tenderly, Kohaku caressed the singer's back, earning a content little sigh from him. Since the singer obviously didn't mind the touch at all, Kohaku gently traced the smooth curve of Lucille's back with his fingertips, stopping at the edge of his shirt. After a short moment of doubt, he slid his hand underneath the shirt, touching the soft skin underneath.

The singer groaned again, stretching his back a bit. Immediately, Kohaku froze, hoping that the blonde wouldn't wake up. After what had to be some of the longest moments of his life, he felt Lucille relaxing again. Still, better to be happy with keeping one hand on Lucille's bare skin and the other one softly stroking the blonde's hair. If he'd go any further, Lucille would surely wake up, and this position would be kind of hard to explain without sounding like he had some rather wrong purposes.

Nearly four hours later, just when Kohaku had started wondering if he should wake him, Lucille woke up by himself. Sleepily, he stared up at Kohaku's somewhat startled face. "What's your hand doing under my shirt? It's cold."

"Eh… I was… well…" Kohaku stammered, making Lucille grin a bit.

"Hey other than it being cold, I don't really mind," he reassured his friend. "You allowed me to use you as a bed, so I guess you should be allowed to hold me like you want."

"Eh… okay… I guess." The dark-haired man actually blushed a little, only causing Lucille's grin to widen. "W-we should get to work. You take the knife, I'll take my gun."

"Whatever you want," Lucille chuckled, before slowly sitting up to free Kohaku from underneath him. He still felt rather tired, but the long nap had helped a bit.

A few minutes later, they had reached the wall with the hidden door, luckily without having been seen by any sailor-girls. Carefully, Lucille held the guignol-piece against the strange marking on the wall. "Ouch." He couldn't stop a soft groan when he felt something like electricity coming from it, making his hand a bit sore.

"You okay?" Kohaku hissed.

"Yeah," Lucille whispered. In front of them, the door quietly slid open, disappearing in the wall. Behind it, there was a small room with only a desk and some monitors. "That's the hall where the dance is going to be tomorrow," Lucille remarked.

"Meaning we're gonna have to hurry," Kohaku replied, quickly searching through the desk. In one of the drawers, a small box was hidden. "What's this?" The lock was easy to get opened, and inside the box were multiple glass beads lying next to each other, rather large and in a strange color of red. One was missing, the captain probably had it.

"Looks like we've found what we're looking for," Lucille whispered. "We should be able to control the guignols with this."

"Yeah, but where are they?"

"We don't have the time or luxury to go search, but I'm pretty sure we'll find them at the dance," Lucille said softly, taking one of the beads out. "Let's hope they won't notice this one missing before the dance."

"Well, if we won't get caught, they'll have no reason to think we stole it. So let's go!" After putting the box back where he had found it, Kohaku dragged him through the hallways, back to their room. Looking behind for a moment, Lucille saw the door sliding shut again, like it knew the room was unoccupied again. Hopefully, there weren't any devices at work to check who went in there, otherwise they'd have a big problem.

With a soft click, Lucille closed the door of their room behind them. "Now we just have to hide it until the dance. Same place as the guignol-piece?"

"No, if they find it, we're doomed. Just keep it in your pocket," Kohaku suggested.

"Okay," Lucille agreed after some thinking. "If they'd lose this thing, then they and every other passenger would get turned into a guignol. If they'd get caught with it, they'd have to fight, but at least they'd have a chance if the guignols happened to be anywhere near.

"Lucille?"

"Hm?"

"Can I hold you while we sleep?" Kohaku stared at the floor, refusing to look at him while making that request.

"Sure," Lucille answered with a soft smile. "That'd be great."

Yay, they did something useful for their assignment! They only have one day left on the ship, but knowing myself that could be either one chapter or five… It also depends on where I'm going to end this and start the sequel, but either way, there'll be at least two more chapters ;)

I'll update in a week^^