Disclaimer - I don't own the characters... But with each passing word I write I grow ever so much sadder with realization...
A.N. - I hate Thanksgiving.. I wasn't allowed to even be near my computer! Those devils know my weakness!! *hisses* But, anyways, here's the next chapter. I tried not to confuse myself while writing this, so let's see how it turns out! Ugh, sappy chapter...
To summarize this chapter for you wonderful readers : Oh looky, Seiji's pissed and Touma finally admits his feelings straight to his face! O.o ...or vise versa...
Heh, I like that summary.. Enjoy!
Faraway Star
Chapter Four
Tsukiyo Hoshi
Seiji sighed as he looked around the room. Everyone was chatting happily and it was starting to get stuffy. He needed to get out of the room before he fell over from boredom and lack of oxygen. Turning to his left where Shin was sitting, he lightly pinched him to get his attention.
"What?" Shin looked over at him and rubbed his arm, over-exaggerating the pain of the pinch.
The blonde smiled, "I'm going to step outside okay? It's getting stuffy in here, that, and this, slash these, conversations are boring me."
"You just don't know what fun is, Seiji." Shin turned his back to him and went back to talking to Makoto.
'Well, I do know that fun isn't staying in here.' He thought to himself as he stood up, stepping over Shuu, and opened the door that had been distinguished as the door that led to the backyard.
He felt the cool breeze on his face and tried to change his mood to a more calmed one as he listened to the crickets chirping. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Touma yet and it was driving him insane. Touma had stepped outside saying he needed some air and he remembered this, looking around for any sign of the archer. To his surprise, Touma was sitting not too far away, ten feet at the most, on another set of stairs.
Smiling, the blonde straightened up, starting to walk towards him, "Tou -" He barely rose his voice above a whisper as he walked slowly, stopping when he noticed a certain other warrior sitting next to Touma. 'Ryo...' Seiji tiptoed now, trying to catch their conversation. He stood behind one of the rails that held up the porch's roof, listening closely.
He watched as Ryo turned toward Touma, apparently saying something that surprised him. The archer had only kept his head turned away as Ryo walked back into the house smiling to himself. 'This is my chance...' He said to himself and started, once again, towards the archer.
"Touma?" He pushed blonde locks from his face as he watched his friend turn and smile.
"Hey, what's up?" Touma looked up at him.
Seiji sat down next to him and looked up at the sky, "Nothing much really. I just needed some air and I remembered you were out here, so now I'm killing two birds with one stone; no more boredom and now I have air to breathe."
"Well, that makes me feel even more special."
He laughed, "Sorry, that was just another way of saying 'Hey, wanna talk?' and I said it wrong, ne?"
"Yeah, but I got ya," he paused, looking at the blonde, "What...do you want to talk about?"
Seiji took a deep breath and, letting it out, scooted a little closer to him, "I-I want to know why you left."
"I already told you," Touma's heart was racing and he was worried that Seiji might have figured it all out, "I left because Tokyo has a much better academic pro-"
"It's Winter and there's no school right now."
"But there will be, soon, and then you'll see." Touma sighed in relief.
Seiji merely laughed, "That's not why you left, is it? You can't possibly tell me that Hashiba Touma could sink low enough to leave his friends, no, his family to find a better 'academic program?!'"
Touma winced at the anger in the blonde's voice, "I didn't mean for it to sound so .. that way..."
"Touma, just tell me...," He stood up, standing in front of Touma on the steps and then, sitting on his knees, placed his hands on the archer's shoulders, "Please, Tou?"
"I-I... No, I can't tell you..."
"Why?"
Seiji was so calm and Touma couldn't put his finger on it, "Because, I can't."
He smiled, "Yes you can, and you know it."
"Seiji, stop!" He pushed the blonde off him, "Just leave me alone." This wasn't how he wanted it and if he didn't tell the blonde how he felt, and soon, he might really screw something up, "You wouldn't understand...."
The blonde's hand returned to his shoulder, "Try me..."
Touma looked down, trying to get Seiji to take his gaze off him, but nothing worked. He sighed, staring into those clear, violet eyes he loved to catch small glimpses of. 'Whoa, not now, he could be onto me! Should I try and make him think something else.. or tell him the truth. Damn, no matter what, there could be little to none in the happiness department for me once it's over! Wait, great! Now I'm talking to myself! Okay, time to say something.' He once again looked down, "I-I would, but.."
"But what?" Seiji sighed, trying to get more comfortable as the concrete steps dug into his knees.
He couldn't get himself to say it but he wanted to... so badly. Suddenly, he felt the grip on his shoulder tighten until he flinched in pain, "Seiji.. That kinda hurts..."
"Then tell me Touma! That's all you have to do!" Seiji squinted his eyes in the darkness so he could still see the archer. He wasn't trying to hurt him but his emotions were getting the better of him.
"S-Seiji! Let go! It hurts!"
"Tell Me!" Seiji shook him, the anger he felt was on the brink of coming all-out. Why was Touma lying to him? "Why?!" He loosened his grip slightly as he calmed down and looked the archer in the eyes. Fear and sadness filled the midnight blue orbs as he looked into them.
Touma closed his eyes tightly, "Seiji...no...I-I..."
"Touma!!" He let go of the archer, falling back on the staircase but catching himself and he sat there, slightly falling, "Why... Why can't you just tell me you love me? Is it that hard? Can't you.. Can't you see that I love you..." He felt something warm on his face and he realized that tears were falling. 'Me.. crying? I-I..can't believe it...'
Looking up slowly Touma tried to make out what he had heard, "What... Y-You... I mean, I.. How, Seiji?"
"Because..." Seiji looked up, smiling, "Once I realized you loved me, I starting thinking. And, I figured it out; I love you too."
Touma closed his eyes and he felt his own tears fall, "You mean it..?"
"Yes," He sat up and knelt down in front of him, "Once realization hits it's hard to fight it off and I've learned to give into it when it's screaming out at me.. Yes, I love you, a-and I hope that you'll.. accept that."
He ran a hand through his hair and tried to stifle a laugh, "I-It's funny really."
Seiji's eyes got wider as he watched Touma laugh, "What?"
Reaching out with his right hand, he touched Seiji's cheek and smiled as the blonde leaned into the touch, "I've been wanting to say the exact same thing for so long now.."
"You could have, you know.."
"I was afraid.."
Seiji smiled, "I know, so was I."
Touma smiled and leaned forward but caught himself, "Does this mean I-I can kiss you...?"
Leaning forward, the blonde smiled and looked into his eyes, "Well..." He closed the space between them, touching his lips barely over Touma's. He felt the archer's warm breath against his face and kissed him, this time with more force causing the archer to lean back some. 'He's so warm..' Thoughts raced through his head as Touma kissed him back. It was just them now and no one else.
Touma was the one to break the kiss, "You know, this screws a lot up."
Seiji's head shot up in surprise, "What?!"
"Wait, no, that's not what I meant! I mean that, well, I moved here.. and now I have to move back." He smiled nervously.
The blonde came back up the stairs and sat next to him, pulling him closer, "You don't have to. I'll stay here for a while with you."
"What? You can't do that."
"Heh, yes I can. In fact, we're all aware that the school's are having their Winter Vacation right now and so we're staying here for the next two weeks."
Touma winced, "Ouch, you've figured everything out."
"Yep," He leaned in and kissed Touma again, "Mmm, I could never tire of this."
"Well, you'll have to give me up for a while." Touma stood up and put his hand out for Seiji.
The blonde took it and stood up as well, "Why?"
Touma pulled Seiji closer so there bodies were only centimeters apart, "It's late and Raye will be out looking for me soon."
"She's too damn overprotective," Seiji laughed.
"No, she's .. well, yeah, overprotective of her new 'treasure.'" He smiled.
Seiji made an annoyed sound, "You mean she likes you...?"
"Sadly," Touma smirked, "She does. Why is everything so complicated?"
"Oh well, we'll deal with that later, ne?" Seiji leaned in trying to catch the archer's lips again.
Touma pulled away slightly, "Seiji, there's another problem, too."
"Damn, what is this one?"
Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, "I think Ryo's in love with me too.."
========================
A.N. - Gah, I'm bashing myself, so you don't have to! I know, I know.. Why did I do this? Don't ask me, the little people in my mind tell me to toy with these wonderful.. people... *coughs*
Anyways, please review! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible and I'll try to fix up these almighty emotion rings between characters... Ooh, this is fun! (insert maniacal laughter here)
A.N. - I hate Thanksgiving.. I wasn't allowed to even be near my computer! Those devils know my weakness!! *hisses* But, anyways, here's the next chapter. I tried not to confuse myself while writing this, so let's see how it turns out! Ugh, sappy chapter...
To summarize this chapter for you wonderful readers : Oh looky, Seiji's pissed and Touma finally admits his feelings straight to his face! O.o ...or vise versa...
Heh, I like that summary.. Enjoy!
Chapter Four
Tsukiyo Hoshi
Seiji sighed as he looked around the room. Everyone was chatting happily and it was starting to get stuffy. He needed to get out of the room before he fell over from boredom and lack of oxygen. Turning to his left where Shin was sitting, he lightly pinched him to get his attention.
"What?" Shin looked over at him and rubbed his arm, over-exaggerating the pain of the pinch.
The blonde smiled, "I'm going to step outside okay? It's getting stuffy in here, that, and this, slash these, conversations are boring me."
"You just don't know what fun is, Seiji." Shin turned his back to him and went back to talking to Makoto.
'Well, I do know that fun isn't staying in here.' He thought to himself as he stood up, stepping over Shuu, and opened the door that had been distinguished as the door that led to the backyard.
He felt the cool breeze on his face and tried to change his mood to a more calmed one as he listened to the crickets chirping. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Touma yet and it was driving him insane. Touma had stepped outside saying he needed some air and he remembered this, looking around for any sign of the archer. To his surprise, Touma was sitting not too far away, ten feet at the most, on another set of stairs.
Smiling, the blonde straightened up, starting to walk towards him, "Tou -" He barely rose his voice above a whisper as he walked slowly, stopping when he noticed a certain other warrior sitting next to Touma. 'Ryo...' Seiji tiptoed now, trying to catch their conversation. He stood behind one of the rails that held up the porch's roof, listening closely.
He watched as Ryo turned toward Touma, apparently saying something that surprised him. The archer had only kept his head turned away as Ryo walked back into the house smiling to himself. 'This is my chance...' He said to himself and started, once again, towards the archer.
"Touma?" He pushed blonde locks from his face as he watched his friend turn and smile.
"Hey, what's up?" Touma looked up at him.
Seiji sat down next to him and looked up at the sky, "Nothing much really. I just needed some air and I remembered you were out here, so now I'm killing two birds with one stone; no more boredom and now I have air to breathe."
"Well, that makes me feel even more special."
He laughed, "Sorry, that was just another way of saying 'Hey, wanna talk?' and I said it wrong, ne?"
"Yeah, but I got ya," he paused, looking at the blonde, "What...do you want to talk about?"
Seiji took a deep breath and, letting it out, scooted a little closer to him, "I-I want to know why you left."
"I already told you," Touma's heart was racing and he was worried that Seiji might have figured it all out, "I left because Tokyo has a much better academic pro-"
"It's Winter and there's no school right now."
"But there will be, soon, and then you'll see." Touma sighed in relief.
Seiji merely laughed, "That's not why you left, is it? You can't possibly tell me that Hashiba Touma could sink low enough to leave his friends, no, his family to find a better 'academic program?!'"
Touma winced at the anger in the blonde's voice, "I didn't mean for it to sound so .. that way..."
"Touma, just tell me...," He stood up, standing in front of Touma on the steps and then, sitting on his knees, placed his hands on the archer's shoulders, "Please, Tou?"
"I-I... No, I can't tell you..."
"Why?"
Seiji was so calm and Touma couldn't put his finger on it, "Because, I can't."
He smiled, "Yes you can, and you know it."
"Seiji, stop!" He pushed the blonde off him, "Just leave me alone." This wasn't how he wanted it and if he didn't tell the blonde how he felt, and soon, he might really screw something up, "You wouldn't understand...."
The blonde's hand returned to his shoulder, "Try me..."
Touma looked down, trying to get Seiji to take his gaze off him, but nothing worked. He sighed, staring into those clear, violet eyes he loved to catch small glimpses of. 'Whoa, not now, he could be onto me! Should I try and make him think something else.. or tell him the truth. Damn, no matter what, there could be little to none in the happiness department for me once it's over! Wait, great! Now I'm talking to myself! Okay, time to say something.' He once again looked down, "I-I would, but.."
"But what?" Seiji sighed, trying to get more comfortable as the concrete steps dug into his knees.
He couldn't get himself to say it but he wanted to... so badly. Suddenly, he felt the grip on his shoulder tighten until he flinched in pain, "Seiji.. That kinda hurts..."
"Then tell me Touma! That's all you have to do!" Seiji squinted his eyes in the darkness so he could still see the archer. He wasn't trying to hurt him but his emotions were getting the better of him.
"S-Seiji! Let go! It hurts!"
"Tell Me!" Seiji shook him, the anger he felt was on the brink of coming all-out. Why was Touma lying to him? "Why?!" He loosened his grip slightly as he calmed down and looked the archer in the eyes. Fear and sadness filled the midnight blue orbs as he looked into them.
Touma closed his eyes tightly, "Seiji...no...I-I..."
"Touma!!" He let go of the archer, falling back on the staircase but catching himself and he sat there, slightly falling, "Why... Why can't you just tell me you love me? Is it that hard? Can't you.. Can't you see that I love you..." He felt something warm on his face and he realized that tears were falling. 'Me.. crying? I-I..can't believe it...'
Looking up slowly Touma tried to make out what he had heard, "What... Y-You... I mean, I.. How, Seiji?"
"Because..." Seiji looked up, smiling, "Once I realized you loved me, I starting thinking. And, I figured it out; I love you too."
Touma closed his eyes and he felt his own tears fall, "You mean it..?"
"Yes," He sat up and knelt down in front of him, "Once realization hits it's hard to fight it off and I've learned to give into it when it's screaming out at me.. Yes, I love you, a-and I hope that you'll.. accept that."
He ran a hand through his hair and tried to stifle a laugh, "I-It's funny really."
Seiji's eyes got wider as he watched Touma laugh, "What?"
Reaching out with his right hand, he touched Seiji's cheek and smiled as the blonde leaned into the touch, "I've been wanting to say the exact same thing for so long now.."
"You could have, you know.."
"I was afraid.."
Seiji smiled, "I know, so was I."
Touma smiled and leaned forward but caught himself, "Does this mean I-I can kiss you...?"
Leaning forward, the blonde smiled and looked into his eyes, "Well..." He closed the space between them, touching his lips barely over Touma's. He felt the archer's warm breath against his face and kissed him, this time with more force causing the archer to lean back some. 'He's so warm..' Thoughts raced through his head as Touma kissed him back. It was just them now and no one else.
Touma was the one to break the kiss, "You know, this screws a lot up."
Seiji's head shot up in surprise, "What?!"
"Wait, no, that's not what I meant! I mean that, well, I moved here.. and now I have to move back." He smiled nervously.
The blonde came back up the stairs and sat next to him, pulling him closer, "You don't have to. I'll stay here for a while with you."
"What? You can't do that."
"Heh, yes I can. In fact, we're all aware that the school's are having their Winter Vacation right now and so we're staying here for the next two weeks."
Touma winced, "Ouch, you've figured everything out."
"Yep," He leaned in and kissed Touma again, "Mmm, I could never tire of this."
"Well, you'll have to give me up for a while." Touma stood up and put his hand out for Seiji.
The blonde took it and stood up as well, "Why?"
Touma pulled Seiji closer so there bodies were only centimeters apart, "It's late and Raye will be out looking for me soon."
"She's too damn overprotective," Seiji laughed.
"No, she's .. well, yeah, overprotective of her new 'treasure.'" He smiled.
Seiji made an annoyed sound, "You mean she likes you...?"
"Sadly," Touma smirked, "She does. Why is everything so complicated?"
"Oh well, we'll deal with that later, ne?" Seiji leaned in trying to catch the archer's lips again.
Touma pulled away slightly, "Seiji, there's another problem, too."
"Damn, what is this one?"
Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, "I think Ryo's in love with me too.."
========================
A.N. - Gah, I'm bashing myself, so you don't have to! I know, I know.. Why did I do this? Don't ask me, the little people in my mind tell me to toy with these wonderful.. people... *coughs*
Anyways, please review! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible and I'll try to fix up these almighty emotion rings between characters... Ooh, this is fun! (insert maniacal laughter here)