The Universe
Chapter Twelve - I Miss You
By Djinn Hashiba-Maxwell
Djinn: Kaiya and Nai get their own little interlude in this chapter! They have a "moment"! ^_^
To see you when I wake up
is a gift I didn't think could be real.
To know that you feel the same as I do
is a three-fold, utopian dream.
You do something to me that I can't explain.
So would I be out of line if I said,
I miss you.
*~ Incubus ~*
*~ I Miss You ~*
"Seiji?" Touma called, and the blonde mumbled something tired and incoherent in response. Touma, however, was not to be put off. There was something he had to know. "Seiji, I need to talk to you."
The blonde heaved a martyred sigh and rolled onto his side. "What is it, Touma?" He asked with a tired smile.
"I told you that Kaiya and I . . ." Touma couldn't form the actual words and besides, Seiji knew what he meant, "and you didn't care." He paused. "I mean, you hit Ryo for kissing me, but Kaiya . . . and you just laugh?"
Seiji chuckled under his breath. "Touma. I didn't hit Ryo for kissing you." At Touma's skeptical look he held up his hands in defeat. "I didn't say that wasn't part of it. But Ryo accused me of acting like I don't love you. An I suppose . . ." Seiji sighed, eyes darting away. "I suppose I was afraid he might be right." He leaned close to Touma, violet eyes burning into indigo. "Touma do you feel like I don't love you? Would you like us to hold hands in public and things like that?"
Touma was surprised by the question. He had accepted that Seiji was a very private person long before they ever got together. Now Seiji was offering to change for him? Touma shook his head slightly. "Seiji, I don't care what Ryo said to you. You don't need to prove your love to me." Then he laughed. "Honestly, I'd feel weird holding hands and all that lovey-dovey crap, wouldn't you? I thought only girls liked that stuff."
Seiji's smile looked vaguely relieved.
"But Seiji, you didn't answer me." Touma persisted. "Why didn't it bother you, me and Kaiya?"
Seiji seemed to think about that for a minute. "If I said that I was so glad to know you were safe, I didn't care what you'd been doing, would you believe me?" He asked.
Touma smirked. "Only a little."
Seiji gave a brief chuckle. "Touma . . . you're very close to Kaiya. When you want to get away from us, she's the person you go to. You trust her, you rely on her. You love her. Right?"
Touma hesitated a moment, then nodded. "But . . ."
"But it's not the type of love you feel for Shin, Shuu, and Ryo, and it's not the same type of love you feel for me." Seiji looked at him. "Right?"
"Right." Touma agreed.
"Touma . . . the reason I laughed is because I was surprised, that's all. And the reason that I'm not angry is because I know you, and I know that that's not the way you feel for Kaiya. That's why it only could've happened when you were piss drunk. I don't begrudge you your friendship with Kaiya, and I'm not jealous of it, either. Ryo I was jealous of, because I thought he was trying to take you away from me. He said he'd be willing to do as much. That would never be Kaiya's intent." Seiji traced his fingertips gently down the side of his lover's face. "But Touma, there is something we need to talk about."
Touma sat up slightly. "What?"
"You've been drinking a lot lately." Seiji said. "And Touma, I really don't like it. I mean, you're not even of legal drinking age." ([I'm not sure what the drinking age is in Japan, but I'm almost certain it's 18 at the oldest, so pretend this isn't completely incorrect, 'kay?])
"I don't . . ."
"And don't tell me you don't drink too much, or that you can hold your liquor or something like that. Touma you've proven now what drinking does to you, are you telling me that you still don't plan to stop?"
"Seiji, this was just one time . . ." Touma began.
"It's not just one time. When we first go together, where did I find you? Acropolis. What were you doing? Drinking. When Ryo kissed you, where did it happen? Acropolis. What were you doing? Drinking. This time, where were you? Kaiya's house in the mountains. A nice change of scenery. But you were STILL drinking. KAMI, Touma, even after Ryo kissed you and you went to Kaiya's apartment, the first thing you did was have a beer!"
There was a pause. "Do you think I'm a drunk, Seiji?" Touma asked.
"No." Seiji replied firmly, knowing by the look on Touma's face that he was recalling his father's drinking binges from when he was a child. "I don't think you're a drunk, Touma. But I think that if you don't cut back on you're drinking, you might become one." Seiji cradled Touma's face between his palms. "I don't want that to happen to you, and I know you don't want it to happen either. This isn't good for you, Touma, and you know it."
Touma blinked, and looked away. "I'm not an alcoholic, Seiji. It's just that when things get too stressed . . ."
"Then prove it to me, Touma, okay?" Seiji replied. "Just promise that you won't drink for . . . a month. Is that so terribly much to ask?"
Touma decided that this conversation had taken a decidedly bizarre turn. Sure, he drank, but it had never really caused him any problems until now. And it's not like he went and slept with some complete stranger - it had been Kaiya for Christ's sake! And Seiji - asking him too quit drinking, it wasn't like he had a problem, so . . .
He paused.
. . . so why should it bother him not to drink for a month, presuming that he didn't have a problem?
Touma sighed, wondering for a moment if Seiji was right. "All right Seiji. But only to show you that you're wrong."
Seiji smiled slightly, pulling Touma back into his arms with a sharp tug. "I love it when you prove me wrong." He murmured against Touma's lips, before kissing them.
"Nai-chan?" Kaiya called tentatively, just barely poking her head around the door. The front room was empty, so the violet-haired girl deemed it safe to enter. She closed the door behind her with ridiculous care, making sure that it didn't make a sound. She slipped her shoes off in the alcove, putting on a pair of house slippers and padding almost silently into the kitchen. There were a few dirty plates in the sink, but other than that the place was spotless. It had been rather messy when she left, but Nai tended to clean when she was stressed.
At least this means she felt guilty. Kaiya thought, and then cursed herself for the bitter thought. She loved Nai - she wasn't about to end their relationship, but she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to look at her lover the same way, knowing that she had done something like that.
Kaiya sighed softly to herself and padded into the den. It too was spotless, in fact, the couch pillows which had typically been strewn about the room had been arranged neatly, in order of hue. Kaiya's red pillows were on the right side of the couch, Nai's blue were on the left.
Feeling a bit braver, Kaiya ventured into the rear bedroom. She could hear the soft rasp of Nai's breathing coming from the darkened room. Not wanting to wake her (erstwhile?) lover, Kaiya only turned on the desk lamp, providing only enough illumination to see the silhouette of the thin girl underneath a single blanket on the wide double bed. Kaiya took a few careful steps closer, enough to notice that Nai had snitched her favorite bed pillow, the one she loved since it always smelled of her shampoo, and the other girl was sleeping with her face practically buried in it. Kaiya felt some of her righteous indignation melt away at the pitiable sight. She sat herself down on the edge of the bed and shook Nai's shoulder slightly.
"Koi. Jaa, koishi!" She called softly, her voice a mere whisper.
"Kai-chan . . ." Nai murmured, still immersed in some dream. "Iie . . . onegai . . . don't leave me . . ."
Kaiya was a little worried by that response. Nai had always talked in her sleep, but mostly it was nonsense, red wine and cloves, nothing important. She shook Nai a little harder. "Jaa, Nai! I'm here. I'm not goin' anywhere."
"Koibito, ai shiteru . . ." There were definitely tears dotting the pillow Nai slept against.
Finally, Kaiya had had enough of it. She rolled Nai onto her back and gave the slight girl a good hard shake. Chocolate eyes flashed open, and the typically Asian girl gasped in a deep breath. She blinked, twice, before she recognized the form above her, and once she had, she gasped. "Kaiya-chan!" She shot up like a bullet, eyes wide in surprise and mild disbelief. "I was just dreaming . . ."
"Hai, I know." Kaiya laughed, leaning back on the bed. "Who knew you were such a heavy sleeper, ne Nai-chan?" She joked easily. It was so easy to be relaxed with Nai. Even know, when they still had not resolved the fight they'd started before the weekend, she felt serene just being near the other girl.
"Kaiya . . ." Nai breathed, a faint rim of tears shimmering in her eyes. Then she simply folded agaisnt her lover, arms around Kaiya's waist, pressing her face against the side of Kaiya's neck. "Koishi, this was all my fault. Baka, watakushi no baka. I love you, Kai-chan. Only you, always."
Kaiya laughed slightly, her stomach muscles rolling against her lover. "I know that, babe. Nev'ah doubted it. But you gotta think before you do that sort thing."
Nai was still crying. "I didn't mean to . . . he was at the exhibit, he bought one of my paintings, the only one I sold . . . and he asked me back for a drink . . . and I couldn't say no . . ." She sucked in a breath and sobbed some more.
Kaiya ran a hand over her back soothingly. "It's okay, koishi, it's okay. Forgiven. Forgotten."
Nai blinked up at her uncertainly. "Really?"
"Really." Kaiya confirmed, and sealed it with a kiss.
