Don't Tell Me
Shiroi Ryuu_10
Chapter 10—Stolen Moment
Morning had never felt so good. Last night was… and will always be; leaving me into some sort of secret happiness. I felt totally different now, and Gaea seemed to take part in my jubilee. I quickly jumped out of bed and fixed myself. Some impulse told me to look out of the window, so I did. My heart jumped as I saw Van and Merle on the lawn, stretching their limbs towards the sun. Van's raven hair shone in the sunlight and Merle's raged flaming red. My nerves were breaking out like crazy; probably because of my good mood or probably of something else I couldn't understand.
"Van! Up here!" I called out. Van and Merle spun around and waved at me.
"Morning!" Van sang out and smiled. He definitely looked cuter to me now. Merle waved her arms in the air. "C'mon, Hitomi, come down out here!"
"Wait! I'll be right there!"
In a few seconds I was rushing towards them. I went into Van's outstretched arms and he gave me a hug. He smelled of fresh morning dew and newly- fallen rain. My heart was pumping excitedly and my cheeks stained red. When Van hugs me, I never felt so good. He was like a newfound addiction, something like a drug. Always leaving me wanting for more… and more…
Merle had been jumping up and down excitedly. "How 'bout it if we go to Jiian's Point today, huh, Lord Van?"
"Hey, that would be great, Merle." Van ran a hand through his hair. "What do you say, Hitomi?"
I nodded. "I guess it could be fun."
So all three of us went to Jiian's Point, what Fanelia considered as the coolest hangout for teenagers. It looked like an amusement park, only that the rides were much different—dragons and giant birds they called Frisias. They looked some sort of like blue phoenixes that could carry at least fifteen people at a time. There were a lot of booths, too.
Van and Merle looked around like children. Then Merle excitedly jumped up and down. "C'mon, let's go try the beano booths!" Van took my hand and we ran to the nearest booth. A hawk man was behind the counter, tapping the surface with his knobby claws. His face lit up when he saw us.
"Hello, there Lord Van." The hawk man smiled at us with his big beak. "So whose with ya? Ain't it the li'l catgirl—say, who's the gal, Mester Van?" He looked at me and nodded.
"Hitomi Kanzaki, sir. She's from the Mystic Moon."
"The Mystic Moon, eh? Well, I hope ya enjid your stay in here. Ya see, we was in the war a little lately. How d'ya find Fanelia, li'l lady?" The hawk man rubbed his sharp beak and looked at me with round eyes.
"It's a beautiful place, sir. The people are friendly…"
The hawk man slapped his claws on the table. "Hah! I thought so. There's none other place like Fanelia, yiserrie! 'Course, with Mester Van as the king, what could go wrong? So like his father, am I rightee, Your Majesty?"
"I sure hope so, Mr. Hawk- Man, sir."
The hawk man handed Van a pail of beanbags. "Here, sire. Since yar the King o' Fanelia and ma first customer, you getta shoot at th' figurines fo free."
"Thank you, sir." Even in fairs, Van talked formally.
Then he turned to face me. "Wanna have a go?"
"Err—okay," I said and Van handed me the bucket. I aimed at the figurines carefully, and then I threw the beanbag at it. A clatter of clay sounded as the figurine broke. After fifteen more tosses, I gave the pail to Van.
"You're pretty good."
"'Course I am."
"Betcha I can do better. How 'bout a hundred tosses?" Van had a gleam in his eye.
"Fine, then. How much?"
"I'll tell you later." Van turned to face the new set of figurines. Merle was shouting, "Go, Lord Van! You can do it!"
Maybe because Merle was yelling and cheering, a lot of people came running to see. A hundred tosses was a new record in Fanelia's beanbag- tossing history. And if Van could do it, he'd be the biggest beanbag champion in all of Gaea.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Bring it on." Van replied.
"GO!"
In the next ten minutes, the sound of clattering clay and the shouts of people filled the air. A chorus of counting had already begun.
"Eighty nine, ninety, ninety- one, ninety- two, ninety- three, ninety- four, ninety- five, ninety- six, ninety- seven, ninety-eight…"
"Ninety- nine…"
Van tossed the last beanbag with a flourish. "One hundred!" He yelled triumphantly.
The crowd let out a tremendous roar. Van did it! He broke the beanbag tossing record! I wonder how much will I pay him… I only had three hundred yen in my wallet since I left Earth.
Van was covered with sweat as he went over to me. "What do you think?"
"You were… awesome."
"I never even thought I could do it, you know."
"But you did."
"I have to."
"Why?"
"I had wanted to be the beanbag champion since I was a kid… but I was not allowed to go—since my parents died. Being a prince can be so hard, too. I haven't time to relax since the war ended." Van ran a hand through his hair. "And if I didn't make it, I wouldn't win the bet."
"You took that bet seriously, huh?"
"Yeah, because you'll have to pay back."
"So how much?"
"This." Then Van leaned over and gave me a quick, hard kiss. My heart almost stopped beating and my eyes widened.
"Whoa."
Van's cheeks were flushed pink. The crowd was too overjoyed to see us, thank goodness. His eyes were smiling.
"That's the payment."
I couldn't help but feel a pleasant sensation. I almost never remembered how it felt when Van kissed me, because it was like two seconds when it happened.
"Come on, let's get Merle. I want to go ride the Frisias."
Was he serious about the kiss, or is it just for fun? I could never tell. I tried to read his mind while we rode the Frisia… unfortunately, I read nothing in particular. Only a look of quiet victory was on his face.
Being Gaea's beanbag champion must've really meant a lot to him.
OWARI
A/N: Hehehehe… at least Van had kissed her already.
Hitomi: Could you make it real this time?
Shiroi: Oh, come on, Hitomi. Do you really want that?
Van: I don't know what really entered my mind then…
Shiroi: Baka! This is my fic, okay?
Merle: How come I don't have much appearance in this fic?
Shiroi: It's a V/H fic, you know.
Merle: But…
Van: You know, Shiroi's right, Merle. This is a V/H fic…
Hey Shiroi, could you try to make one fic 'bout Dilandau and me?
Shiroi: YAOI?
Van: (blushes and doesn't say anything.)
Hitomi: You mean you like Dilandau more than me?
Merle: I knew there was something in that pyro before…
Van: (kneels in front of Shiroi) Please? Please?
Shiroi: I don't know… Hey, have you read 'When No One Is
Looking'? That one was one of your stupid requests! V/A! And now you want me to
write one 'bout you and Dilly? (shakes her head)
Hitomi: Are you… gay?
Van: NO!