Chapter Four

The lady just smiled warmly. Aburatsubo had told her of his friend's little 'daydreams' and she thought it was just too cute. Aya and her were good friends, as he visited the orchards occasionally, however it was her first encounter with his friend. Immediately she knew she liked him a lot. The woman just looked on as Aburatsubo crouched in front of Takeo, placed his hands on Takeo's knees and lowered his chin onto his hands. Aburatsubo remained that way for a moment, savoring the look of peaceful satisfaction that had drifted across Takeo's face sometime during his fantasy. She saw the look of adoration and love that shimmered in the emerald green eyes as they drank in what was Takeo. It pained her heart when she figured the slumped over boy in the chair might never reciprocate the maroon haired boy's feelings, let alone notice them. She remained silent however, watching as Aburatsubo finally spoke.

"Takeo-kun" Aburatsubo spoke softly, as he wanted Takeo to rouse himself peacefully without jarring him. It wasn't in his nature to do otherwise, so he carefully spoke again.

"Takeo-kun…"

Takeo blinked and Aya smiled. Takeo looked down when he finally realized there was a slight pressure on his legs, when he saw the smiling face of Aburatsubo he began stuttering and babbling incoherently when he finally realized what he had been doing.

"A-A-Aburatsubo I-oh! I'm sorry I just uh, was uh…uh…" He finally fell silent when Aburatsubo began chuckling to himself. Aya thought it was just too cute when Takeo got all nervous and began tripping over himself, and if he were lucky, letters would pop up on his face. Aburatsubo told him that sometimes he could read what he was thinking like a map, but of course Takeo wouldn't understand what he was referring to. That just made things more interesting. Takeo shivered nervously, wondering just WHAT he had been doing just then. A blush had been creeping across his face ever since he came to and now it was burning quite happily across his cheeks. Aburatsubo saw this and just smiled warmly, before lifting a slender hand and stroking away the brown bangs covering Takeo's eyes. The hand felt strangely cool and comforting against his heated skin, and something else entirely; Takeo gasped softly, shivers tracing along his jaw line. Takeo desperately tried to hide his reaction, and found it much easier once Aya let his hand fall from his face.

"No need to apologize Takeo-kun, but I just wanted to tell you she has our basket ready for us." Aburatsubo had definitely not missed Takeo's evident reaction and was eager to test it out more on the field. Aburatsubo already had one foot in and was testing the waters, hoping it was safe enough to dive in.

The grass was sun warmed and cushy against their feet. They walked side by side, smiling happily at everyone in the orchards. Takeo didn't know it but Aya was carefully scrutinizing every tree they came across, finally stopping Takeo at what he considered a prime spot. The tree was lush, it's branches thick enough to support lots of weight, and it was full of apples. Takeo whistled in low adoration and Aburatsubo blushed, even thought he knew the whistle wasn't directed at him. When Aya motioned to the tree Takeo blushed and backed up a few steps, shaking his head like a wet dog. Taking the initiative, Aya quickly scaled the tree like a cat, completely barefoot, going from perch to perch until he reached a place where he could easily access lots of apples. A breeze wafted through, ruffling Aya's maroon locks, swaying them in the wind. Takeo choked down a lump in his throat, watching Aya naturally perch in a tree like a large cat. He was beautiful; no other word could describe Aburatsubo, from his forest eyes to his Strawberry-at-night hair. Takeo was so lost again he didn't even notice when Aburatsubo began speaking to him. Aburatsubo stopped talking for a moment and admired Takeo from above, the way his eyes were locked on him; Aya could almost see the bishounen sparkles floating about his head. As all good things must end, this too had to end, Aburatsubo's leg was slipping off of the branch. Aya yelled to get Takeo's attention, nearly giggling when he snapped to attention once again.

"Takeo-kun! Catch the apples and put them in the basket!"

"But Aburatsubo! I can't catch!"

"Try!!"

A shower of red began falling all around the poor magic users club president as he scrambled about trying to catch the apples, getting pelted with a few well aimed buds.

"Aburatsubo—Ouch! I (caught one!) can't catch- ow! All!!"

Takeo shrieked as the apples hurtled in his direction. At the sound of his voice the flurry stopped and Aburatsubo laughed, a good deep laugh. Takeo had caught every single apple in the basket, and only a small mess of small green buds lay around him. It seemed the self-proclaimed master of magic was nearly as good as he said. He was certainly as good as he looked, in Aya's own opinion.

Aburatsubo nimbly hopped down to Takeo, still chuckling softly. He reached inside and picked a perfect red fruit from the basket, rubbing it softly before he took a large bite from the apple, white teeth disappearing into the scarlet fruit. Green eyes sparkling in merriment Aya chewed happily, not noticing a small droplet of juice trailing from his lip. Takeo however, did, and was having the hardest time not simply licking the drop right from Aya's lips. He swallowed hard, unable to tear his eyes from the drop hanging precariously close to those sweet, pert lips. As soon as a red tongue darted out to catch the drop Takeo's knees went loose, and he had to struggle to keep from fantasizing right at that moment. He hardly noticed when Aya offered the apple to Takeo, holding the fruit next to his lips. Bringing his lips to the fruit Takeo sunk his own teeth into the offering, savoring the sweet taste that infiltrated his mouth, it's scent tickling his nose.

And so the afternoon continued on for many hours, consisting of tree climbing (and consequently falling) fruit picking, juicing and eating, playing with the kids, and lots of sunshine.

Takeo was rubbing his fingers. On all but his ring and pinkie fingers they were covered in a small white bandage. It appeared as though not only children had to be supervised around the blackberry bushes. Takeo learned the hard way that not every plant a fruit grew on was harmless, even after the numerous spills he took from the elusive peach trees. He was sitting with Aburatsubo on a patch of grass near the giant piles of cherry blossoms, where they could have a bit of privacy.

"Aburatsubo! Why didn't you WARN me??"

Takeo was cut off by a soft laughter next to him and a large pop. He sent a look in Aburatsubo's direction, confusion written all over his face. The teen in question had uncorked a bottle of wine, and was pouring it into glasses. And all this time Takeo thought the maroon haired teen was in the bathroom! It turned out Aburatsubo had exchanged a great majority of their grapes for a bottle of wine from the cellars.  He handed a glass to Takeo, who swirled the rosy liquid suspiciously. He quickly drained his glass without further notice, throat working to get the slightly bitter liquid down. Aburatsubo watched him with amusement, gingerly sipping at his own glass. He quickly went to refill Takeo's glass without being told, wanting to drain as much as the bottle before anyone got suspicious. Aya had to tweak a few strings to get the wine, for the new girl in charge wanted to give him grape juice. The teen balanced his own half filled glass upon two slender fingers, tipping it on edge and swirling it around. The light danced through the crimson liquid, sending ruby sparkles waltzing over Aburatsubo's pale skin and yellow sweater. Takeo watched the spectacle with heightened interest, before trying his own hand, attempting to poorly copy Aburatsubo. The glass dove over white tipped fingers and what once was a balancing act quickly degraded into an ad-lib juggling act. The glass flipped this way and twisted another, not a single drop of the liquid escaping from the glass prison. Aburatsubo's attention turned to Takeo, amusement glittering bright in his eyes. Takeo was still severely inebriated from what little alcohol he had so his timing was far off and it was pure luck alone he had not dropped it, or worse. The glass finally came to a rest on Takeo's right shoulder, the liquid sloshing around, becoming still. Takeo blinked twice in confusion while Aburatsubo clapped, a tiny blush on his cheeks.

Without warning the glass tipped. Takeo gasped, accidentally catching the lip of the glass with his own. He gurgled as the whole glass emptied into his mouth, slipping down his throat. His look of shock quickly dissolved into a sheepish yet happy drunken smile, blushes coming tenfold. Aburatsubo suddenly erupted into laughter as Takeo set the glass down between them.

The laughter continued un damned between them for an hour. The wine bottle lay tipped on it's side, empty and forgotten. Great waves kept flowing by without end. Takeo finished telling a story about how Nanaka had glued her butt to the chair in science, and Aburatsubo leaned back on his hands, great peals of laughter flowing from his lips, tears streaming from in-between shut eyes. Takeo collapsed in a fit of drunken giggles, slapping his knee as he struggled to breath. He suddenly rolled over, complaining about his stomach and Aya couldn't help but laugh more, his voice lifting over the orchards, like a thousand birds singing.

"Oh yeah! Lemme tell you of a time when…" More laughter soon exploded from their area, carrying across the afternoon sky. The lady behind the desk simply smiled as she went back to her work, lifting a document to a piece of paper where she was busy doodling.

Aburatsubo looked across the orchard, eyes glued to the rapidly pinking sky. The sun was barely beginning to set, had it really been that long? Aburatsubo's look became rather sad as he watched the sun begin to set, tendrils of orange shooting across the sky. They would have to go home soon, his mother would be worried. And then, there would be school, and the moment would be lost. Aburatsubo's maroon locks drifted across his back and over his shoulder as he watched it, a breeze quickly cooling the air, telling them night would arrive within an hour or more. Suddenly Aya's mind went from beyond the sunset and onto the future. How long would Takeo and himself have days like this to spend together? Would they stay together through college or go their separate ways? And, as much as he detested thinking of her at a time like this, what of Sae?

Takeo's joyous expression sobered as he watched Aburatsubo's own one fade. His eyes became gentle with understanding as he watched the teen. It was obvious he was troubled, but the sunset was holding them to a level of peace. He watched the fingers of purple stretch amongst the pinks and oranges, turning the white clouds yellow amongst the blue sky. Never before had Takeo ever bothered to watch the sunset but now he was awestruck, and berated himself for never bothering to witness such an impressive spectacle that occurred every single night. He smiled warmly, gaze shifting from the blazing ball of flames in the sky to the beautiful boy sitting right next to him. Why wait all day for beauty when he could watch this sunset anytime he wished, every single day.

Aburatsubo closed his eyes and turned away from the sunset, bringing his face around to Takeo's direction. When emerald eyes met gentle chocolate ones Aburatsubo's heart melted, and he remembered just why he loved Takeo all over again. Takeo carried his own melancholy look and Aburatsubo winced internally, knowing it was him who made the teen look the way he did. Feeling the need to lighten the mood, Aburatsubo became suddenly nervous as to what to do. He gave a sheepish smile to Takeo and bolted, flying across the field towards the cherry blossom piles. Leaping, Aburatsubo landed on a hidden trampoline and vaulted high into the air, sailing straight towards an enormous pile. He closed his eyes, arms spread like a swan's wings as he hurtled through the air. Aburatsubo's hair whipped behind him, and he suddenly twisted, spinning straight for the pile. When he landed, a great spray of pink erupted from around him, floating back down gently.

Takeo blinked once when Aburatsubo suddenly vanished. He jumped to his feet, eyes alert, looking for the teen. He finally saw him, running so gracefully it appeared as if he were flying across the field. Takeo called his name, sprinting after him, but he was slower than the other, who also had a great head start. Takeo stopped, completely shocked when Aburatsubo suddenly became airborne, arms spread like wings. For a moment Takeo's intoxicated mind thought Aburatsubo was really going to fly off when he realized the teen was descending in altitude. The next shock he got was when he thought Aburatsubo was going to hit the ground and die. Without allowing himself more thought Takeo shot off again, right in the path Aburatsubo had taken. He leapt at the same time and hit the same trampoline. Takeo was then vaulted into the sky himself, but with a lot less control, for he was not expecting it. He pin wheeled as he sailed through the air, before gathering his wits and aiming where he went. Takeo burst through a spray of pink petals, gasping as the feathery leaves hit his face. Next thing he remembered was Aburatsubo's sprawled form beneath him.

Aburatsubo let out a squeak of surprise when Takeo's form came down from above, sending them both further into the enormous pile. Catching the body, Aya groaned as Takeo's wiry frame was pushed against him, creating friction between his heated skin and the rough material of his sweater. As much as his body resisted, Aburatsubo tried to move his hips before Takeo came to his senses, lest his beloved become frightened by the pressure against his own hips. Aburatsubo's face twisted in frustrated ecstasy as he worked.

Takeo blinked and sat up, wondering briefly how he was alive. It was then he noticed something warm beneath him; something warm and decidedly ALIVE. Takeo eeped and looked down, completely caught off guard by what he saw. Aburatsubo's eyes were shut, an apparently aroused blush coloring his pale cheeks, and his hands, his gloriously slender hands right on his hips. Aburatsubo looked so…he looked so…

Takeo leaned down and a new level of understanding was forged between them that afternoon.

Chibi T: No! Not sex you hentais! Get cher heads outta the gutter!

Aburatsubo: You ended THERE? But, what about…?

Takeo: ::frustrated, drunk and horny:: You can't just leave the readers hanging!
Aburatsubo: Yeah! Think about the readers!
Chibi T: Well, I suppose if I get enough feedback I May write more…
Takeo and Aburatsubo: MAY!?!?

Chibi T: ::to the readers:: Should I write more with them? Hmmmmm?
Kai: You've gotten FAR to arrogant, and are WAY behind in your schedule!
Chibi T: But, this chapter is TWICE as long!
Kai: That's NO excuse, now write!!
Chibi T: x.x squeak squeak ::runs on her hamster wheel::