Hidden Destiny

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi or its characters.

Miaka strolled through the imperial gardens, reflecting on the events that had taken place in the past couple of weeks and the one big event that had not; she still had not worked up the courage to confess to Tamahome.

Sitting on a nearby bench, she gazed towards the palace, just able to make out Tasuki's chamber door and smiled to herself as she thought of how understanding he had been these two weeks. Him staying with her through the night had become a ritual for the two of them, and waking up in his arms had given her the greatest joy she had ever known.

The morning after the first night he had stayed with her, Miaka had awakened to his soft snores . She had taken a moment to observe him as he slept, before the panic of being discovered made her shake him awake. Thankfully, no one had noticed Tasuki's absence from his own room during the night, and he had carefully made his way back there after a kiss and promises to meet later.

Miaka shook her head now and turned her attention to the flower she held in her hand. Plucking at the petals of it absently, she pondered her dilemma. She had put off telling Tamahome for far too long. All this secrecy was driving her crazy and she knew Tasuki felt the same way. It had gotten to the point where they could not even be in the same room together, lest the chemistry between them apparent to anyone who was around them. The nights were the only time they really could spend time together, but eventually someone would find out Tasuki was visiting her in her room at night- which made it imperative for her to tell her former love before he heard gossip from someone else.

She giggled as she suddenly felt a warm breath being directed into her ear.

"C'mon, I have a surprise for ya." Tasuki whispered, before quickly moving in front of her and pulling her to her feet.

"What kind of surprise?" She asked, hurrying to keep up with his long strides.

Noticing that she was falling behind, Tasuki slowed his pace to match hers. "You'll see." He said with a grin.

"If it's anything like your last surprise, I think I'll pass." Giggling, Miaka remembered how Tasuki had "found" an elaborate necklace that a rich vendor had "dropped" on his way through the capitol. When she had finally pulled the truth from him, she had thanked him profusely but immediately made him return it. Thankfully the merchant was just grateful to have his merchandise back and no one was the wiser.

"Hey, he got his stupid necklace back. It wasn't pretty enough for ya anyway." The bandit mumbled, as he guided her towards the dining hall. Gallantly opening the door for her he stood back and waited for her to proceed him. "All right, now close your eyes." He said, suppressed excitement in his voice.

Miaka grinned, her curiosity peaking, but she did what he asked; she closed her eyes after placing her hand on his arm so that he could guide her. A thrill rushed through her as it always did when they touched and she leaned into him slightly.

"I smell food." She said, trying to distract herself from the attraction she was feeling towards him.

"Just keep your eyes closed." Leading her slowly forward, he glanced at her to make sure she wasn't peeking. "A little farther." He muttered and stopped, positioning her carefully. "All right- open 'em!"

She obeyed his command and gasped loudly at seeing the display in front of her. She now stood in front of a long table covered with dish after dish of mouth-watering food. "What in the world…"

"I had the cook prepare all those foods ya were tellin' me about." Tasuki shifted his weight nervously; afraid she wouldn't like what he had gone to so much trouble to prepare for her.

"You had him fix all my favorite dishes?" Miaka repeated in amazement, her gaze going from the feast laid out in front of her to the blushing bandit beside her.

"Yeah."

"But how? I mean, most of the stuff I told you about you hadn't even heard of!"

Tasuki's blush deepened and he looked down at the floor. "I have a good memory. Why do ya think I was askin' ya all those questions about em? When I told the cook what I wanted ya should have seen his face." He laughed, remembering the strange looks he had gotten at his request. "They all thought I was crazy, that's for sure." Glancing up, he gave her a shy grin. "I had Nuriko distract the others for a little while today so we could be alone. They shouldn't be back for a few hours yet. So…do ya like it?"

"Like it?" Miaka shook her head slightly, tears coming to her eyes. "I love it!" She threw herself in his arms, pressing small, tender kisses over his face. Finally she stopped, but continued to smile up at him. "And I love you. Thank you, Tasuki, this is the best surprise I've ever received."

A slight blush still stained the fiery-headed seishi's cheeks but he smiled brightly, before his lips captured hers for a sweet kiss. "Ya better eat before it gets cold." He said, reluctantly pulling away from her embrace.

"Only if you eat half." Taking a seat, she picked up a pair of chopsticks and looked at him expectantly.

Tasuki nodded, while eying the foreign looking food warily, He took a seat next to her and picked up his own set of chopsticks. Cautiously picking out a piece of food and putting it in his mouth, he chewed slowly, swallowed- and smiled. "Wow, this is really good."

Miaka nodded, and then quickly set to work devouring what was in front of her. When she was done she sat back and patted her stomach, giving Tasuki a lazy smile. "I'm stuffed!"

Laughing, he shook his head. "I've never seen anyone eat as much as ya do."

She looked down at her hands. "You probably think it's gross."

"Huh?" He narrowed his eyes and stared at her lowered head for a moment then sighed. Reaching over he lifted her chin. "Don't put words in my mouth. I think it's kinda cute. Besides why do ya think I told the cook t'make so much? Now stop frowning and smile at me." A hesitant smile came to her lips and he grinned. "That's better. C'mon, let's clean up this mess before the others get back."

"Just how did Nuriko get the others away from the palace, anyway?" Miaka asked as she started to pick up dishes from the table.

"Oh that. Well, with Hotohori it was easy. He's in meetings for the rest of the day." Shrugging he started for the kitchens. "With the others, I don't know what he told em."

"I hate all this sneaking around." She said softly.

"Yeah, me too. Look, I'll tell Tama if ya can't. I know how hard this is on ya."

Shaking her head, Miaka frowned. "No, I have to do it. I'll tell him tomorrow." She nodded her head once as if to convince herself. "Definitely tomorrow. I don't want to ruin the memory of this perfect day." Smiling she set down the items in her hands and wrapped her arms around Tasuki. "Thank you so much. I've been a little homesick lately and this helped a lot."

"No problem. I've been thinking…"

"What?" She asked when he paused.

"Well, did ya mean it when ya said ya wanted t'stay with me?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I thought maybe we could visit Mt. Leikaku pretty soon. I can tell Kouji about our plans and they can start on that house ya were talkin' about. It should be finished by the time we go back."

"That's a terrific idea!" Miaka exclaimed squeezing him tight. Suddenly she frowned and pulled away slightly to look at him. "Do you think he'll mind me living there?"

"Nah, he likes ya. In fact, he wouldn't shut up about ya after ya left before. Don't tell him I said so but I think he's got a crush on ya."

"Oh….then maybe it's not such a good idea. I mean, I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings or anything…"

Grinning, Tasuki wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "Trust me, he'll be cool about it. He knows how I feel about ya without me even havin' t'tell him. He'll be happy for us."

"I love you, Tasuki."

"I love ya, too." His eyes softened and he leaned down to press his lips against hers when they heard a door open nearby. Kissing her quickly, he released her and winked. "I'll see ya tonight." He whispered before disappearing into the next room.

Miaka stood there for a moment, letting a goofy grin linger on her face, thinking that she had never been as happy as she was at this moment.

Hugging herself she giggled softly spinning around in a circle, promptly bumped into a hard body. She gasped and looked up to see Tamahome frowning down at her. "T-Tamahome." She stammered wondering how long he had been standing there.

"Where were you today?" He asked flatly.

"W-What do you mean? I've been here all day."

"Nuriko had us on a wild goose chase all afternoon, looking for some stupid relic that we supposedly needed to summon Suzaku."

"Did you find it?" She asked innocently, trying to appear oblivious.

Tamahome's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's going on, Miaka? You've been avoiding me for weeks now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She walked past him, patting him on the shoulder. "You should get some sleep, you're acting paranoid."

Tears came to her eyes as she left the room. She hated lying to him but now was not the time to tell him. No time is going to be the right time. But she would tell him tomorrow, just as she had promised Tasuki.

No matter how much it hurts, I'll tell him.