9/24/01
Disclaimer: the characters in this fic such as Uriko, Kenji, etc. belong to Hudson Soft; I don't own them, although I sure as hell wish I did! ^^ Brad Crawford and Trowa Barton don't belong to me either.
Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV and giving me a really good reason to write this story, and my readers, especially Nonamura-chan (it's Nonomura, dear! ^^0) LazzyQ, Alica Tylon, Deoku, VGuyver, StarryPeach, AKA, Brad Crawford, Felicia, The Raptor Chic, Alexandra Riot, Arashi, Flyby, Niteflite, and you wonderful readers!!
Special dedication to ~ Irvine Kinneas The Coyote, for getting me interested in the Trowad/Crawton couple, and for encouraging me to write this fic. =D
Bloody Roar II: I'll Change For You
By Tiger5913
Damn you, Schuldich.
The figure shifted his position, pulling his knees up to his chest as he watched a young couple some ways off in the distance running around together. The young woman was darting from her boyfriend, her bare feet padding against the rough grains of the sandy beach, her long brown hair flowing freely behind her. His eyes gleaming with confidence and a smirk grazing his lips, her accomplice suddenly leaped into the air, front-flipping over her head, and landing in front, stumbling albeit when she bumped into him. Recovering, he held the teenage girl tightly in his arms, laughing as she feebly struggled, and she giggled when he turned her around and dug his fingers into her sides, mercilessly tickling her.
…Well, at least those two are enjoying their prime of life. The observer smirked, but couldn't help feeling envious when he spotted the obvious display of love shining in the light brown pupils of the male youth. …Have I ever felt such a strong emotion like that towards anyone?
"No…" he muttered out loud in denial, "What the hell is the point of making yourself vulnerable to wounds?"
But even as he proclaimed that, his thoughts still wandered to his current love affair, the relationships that he had with many other men and women, and how he'd changed partners frequently in the past. Yet as he brooded over the mere concept of ending his present relationship to go pursue another meaningless bed partner, a form of resistance built up inside him. For once, he felt reluctant to walk away and leave… him. His boyfriend, his lover, his Trowa Barton. His, and no one else's. If anyone ever dared try to take his Trowa away from him… well, if they would even live to regret that foolish decision, then they should feel grateful to be granted with such luxury.
"Craw-Craw!!" A feminine voice called out all of a sudden, jolting him back to reality.
His head perked up, and he managed a wry, half-distracted smile. "Hey kid."
Standing before him was the same female that he had been gazing at earlier; she was one of his closest, best friends, and now she offered him a wide grin, enthusiasm aligning her cute features. "Brad! What are you doing sitting over here by yourself! Come run along the shoreline with me and Kenji!"
Brad Crawford couldn't help chuckling at her persuasive insistence. Tilting his head to one side so that the tips of his dark-colored bangs brushed his eyelids, he replied, "I'm just relaxing, taking a break. Been a damn long time since I've had a moment to myself. And besides, with Trowa away helping his friend get through surgery…"
"Aw, I miss Rowa too!" the auburn-haired girl exclaimed, pouting her lips albeit. "But I think it's really nice of him to support his friend, you know! I'd definitely want someone by my side if I ever went through something like surgery…" She turned partially and glanced at her boyfriend, who was purchasing drinks at a nearby stand.
"…You love him, don't you," Brad remarked matter-of-factly.
Her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, but she nodded, and sighed happily, "Kenji… he's so sweet. He was kinda dense in the beginning, back when we were fourteen 'cause he had no idea that I really liked him, but I think he's changed a lot in these last two years."
"Hm," her companion mused thoughtfully. "How long are you planning to stay with him? Have you two slept together yet?"
She blushed deeply. "Craw-Craw!! Th-that sounds like a question that Schuldich would ask, not you!"
He grimaced, but shook it off with a laugh. "And the answer is…?"
"Ummm…" she ducked her head and drew circles into the sand with her big toe. "I…I hope that we'll be together for a long time… you know, maybe we can grow up together and everything… and who know what'll happen in the future? Even marriage…" her voice trailed away.
"Hey," He frowned slightly. "Don't be ashamed of how you feel about him. But hell, if he ever hurts you, you'd better let me know because then I'll find a way to make him pay-"
"Oh no!" The feline zoanthrope interrupted him. "He wouldn't do something like that!"
"You never know." He ground the words out, his tone icy cold. "You never know when someone'll just decide to pack up his things and leave you one day. Be careful whom you give your heart to, Uriko, because if you do, you're leaving yourself open to pain. You're not even sixteen yet - not until the end of this week anyway - and I don't wanna see you get depressed if something shitty like that happened to you."
Uriko Nonomura bit her lip nervously. "Um… okay… I promise I'll be careful…"
"Riko!!" Someone broke into the two friends' conversation.
The fifteen-year-old whirled around in reaction and squinted her eyes as she looked in the direction of where the speaker had been heard from. "Kenji!"
"Come here!" Kenji Ohgami urged, kneeling down beside a large wet boulder near the shore area. "There's a pile of sand dollars and other barely chipped shells lodged under this rock!"
"Okay!" She called in answer. "Hey Brad, I'm gonna go back to Kenji, alright? Feel free to join us if you wanna have some fun!"
He nodded, and she grinned at him, waving briefly before darting over to accompany her beloved. Remaining seated in his spot on the dark brown bench, the man sighed as he once again watched his two young friends playing around and teasing each other. A pang of an emotion that he couldn't identify hit him inwardly, and he groaned, confused and bewildered by what didn't understand, feeling also frustrated by it. Thinking of what he had talked about with Uriko, he reviewed her words over in his mind, getting an irk that he missed something important.
"Ummm… I…I hope that we'll be together for a long time… you know, maybe we can grow up together and everything… and who know what'll happen in the future? Even marriage…"
…Marriage? A glint of interest glistened in Brad's eyes. …Marriage… is that's what's missing from my life?
Being married to his Trowa… spending the rest of his life with him… would he be willing to give up his bachelor-hood for that man? Could he really open his heart, and again allow himself to be sustainable to pain, to leave out the possibility of having his feelings crushed?
"…Yes." He murmured, looking up at the orange-red stripes hanging in the sky. "Trowa-san… I can't let him slip out of my hands and let someone else claim him…"
Marriage. It sounded so easy, yet deep down inside, he felt scared about taking such a leap of commitment; however… he knew full well that he was willing to take that step if Trowa was by his side, supporting him the entire way.
"Trowa…" The name floated free from his mouth, and ran into the sway of the breeze to dance with the wind, gliding over the heads of the bystanders at the beach down below.
Gazing at the young couple, his best friends, seeing how joy lightened up both of their faces when they looked at each other, he made his decision. He would ask Trowa to marry him. It was a huge risk for him to take, especially if his heart were to be rejected… but life was about risks, and Brad Crawford took them on if he felt it was necessary.
Just then, he realized that he didn't know the first step of proposing. "…Damn it," he swore under his breath, "I gotta ask Uriko for help on this."
The End
Author's Note: Yay, my first shounen-ai fic written! =) This one's for you, Irvine Kinneas The Coyote! This story actually DOES have a continuation part: read Irvine's fic, Crawton Wedding to see what happens post the events in here! Thank you readers for checking this out, and please leave a review! Don't forget to read some of Irvine's awesome stories!
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913