Desperate Measures

Shiroi spent almost an hour wandering around the forest searching for Hansha, before finally deciding the Dark Magician had gone back to the manor. The Blue Eyes was a little depressed that he'd upset his friend, though he couldn't entirely figure out why Hansha was so upset. Maybe he thought Shiroi was rejecting him…

It was true that Shiroi found the idea of boys with other boys a little disturbing. But just because Hansha felt otherwise didn't mean they couldn't still be friends, did it? Friends were allowed to have differences of opinions. Shiroi sighed. He ought to find Hansha and apologize for hurting his feelings. If the Dark Magician wanted to like guys, it wasn't any of the Blue Eyes' business, and certainly not his place to judge.

Shiroi hoped whomever it was Hansha liked was more understanding and accepting than the narrow-minded dragon was. Hansha really did deserve someone special.

At the edge of the forest, Shiroi stopped to lightly touch the charred, splintered stump he and Hansha had made the day they had met. He smiled slightly as he touched the scorched wood. The Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician had been quite a pair of devils back then. Always getting into trouble, and always getting out of it. Shiroi hadn't realized how much he'd missed his friend over the years until now.

Shifting into his full dragon form, Shiroi spread his wings and started to fly back to the manor. He caught sight of a dark dragon form winging toward him, smiling slightly as he recognized it as Ruby. Landing in the field, Shiroi folded his wings and waited for her.

Ruby landed, her crimson eyes glinting, folding her wings as well and curling close to the Blue Eyes in a gesture of affection. Shiroi returned the gesture with a little nuzzle, smiling at her.

"What are you doing back here so soon?" he asked in his native language, the language of dragons. It was hard to talk common tongue while in dragon form.

"I missed you," she purred back. "Has your guest left yet?"

"Hansha?" Shiroi asked, smiling slightly at the way the Dark Magician's name sounded when he spoke it in dragon-tongue. "No, he's still around. I sort of upset him earlier, I was on my way to talk with him."

Ruby's eyes flashed. "How long will he be staying?"

Shiroi shrugged his wings casually. "I don't know. A while, I hope. He hasn't been around for so long, I guess I've kind of missed him."

The Red Eyes nipped lightly at his scales, murmuring, "Save a little time for me, won't you, lover?"

"I dunno…" Shiroi hesitated. "Ruby, I don't know if all this is working out. I like you and all, but you do tend to get a little possessive. Maybe we should back it off a little for a while?"

Hissing in fury, Ruby tilted her head back and shot a line of flame into the sky in her anger, red eyes glaring at Shiroi. "I knew it! I knew he would mess up everything! You like him, don't you? The moment he shows up you're falling all over yourself for him! It's disgusting!"

"Ruby, it isn't like that!" Shiroi protested, a little taken aback by her outburst. "He and I are definitely not-"

"Save it!" Ruby snapped at him. She unfolded her wings, taking off into the sky and flying away without a single further comment. Shiroi watched her go, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.

Sighing and hanging his head, Shiroi continued his flight back to the manor. He was just making everyone mad at him today, wasn't he?

**

Hansha swallowed nervously when he heard Shiroi come in. Midori had told him to be more direct with her older brother. He ought to just tell Shiroi how he felt, Midori had told him. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

Shiroi trudged up the stairs, absentmindedly pulling back his windswept white hair. Hansha peeked at him uncertainly from the doorway of the guest room, noting how stressed out the Blue Eyes looked. Maybe he shouldn't have run off and left Shiroi in the woods like that. Had the dragon been searching the forest for him all this time?

"Shiroi?" Hansha called when his friend reached the top of the stairs. "Can I talk to you?"

The dragon brightened a little to see that his friend was still talking to him. "Sure," he murmured, walking over. "I kinda needed to talk to you too."

Shiroi settled down in a chair in Hansha's room, and Hansha took his time to close the door, trying to collect his thoughts. Shiroi was his friend; he'd never really reject him, would he? They were closer than that. They'd been friends for a long time. Hansha hoped he wasn't about to ruin that friendship.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Shiroi asked, stretching out leisurely in the chair.

".About… what I told you in the woods," Hansha said slowly, embarrassed at the way his voice gently shook. This was no time to be shy and scared. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, more confident. "Do you want to know who it is that I said I really liked?"

Shiroi blinked. Did he want to know? Something told him that he didn't. "Sure."

Hansha smiled gently at him, making a slight gesture and magically creating a delicate flower, the same icy blue color of the dragon's eyes. He held it out to his friend. "It's you, Shiroi."

The Blue Eyes stared at him, then at the flower. Finally he shook his head, standing up slowly. And when he spoke, there was anger in his tone. "That's sick, Hansha! You're engaged to my sister! Not only that, but I don't even like guys that way! You can be all perverted if you want to, but leave me out of it!"

The Dark Magician watched sadly as the Blue Eyes stormed out of the room. With another gesture, the flower he'd created went up in smoke. He sat down in the seat Shiroi had been sitting in, snuggling into the warmth left behind by the dragon. Guess that was the worst that could happen.

Hansha sighed slightly, shaking his head. "You aren't leaving me much of a choice, Shiroi…"

Because Midori had had a backup plan, if Shiroi didn't take the news well. Hansha had just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

**

Shiroi flopped down on the bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Of all the guys Hansha had to like, why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it be someone who was okay with liking guys, someone that could make the Dark Magician happy? Shiroi didn't think he'd ever be comfortable with liking another guy, and it pissed him off that he was the one now stuck in this situation.

He groaned when he realized he hadn't even had the change to apologize for the scene in the woods. In fact, he'd gone and made it much worse. What a damn awful day…

A slightly warm gust of air swept through the room, scented of magic. Shiroi blinked, sitting up. There was a bluish glow beside him, and he watched in fascination as the same delicate flower Hansha had offered him materialized atop the bedcovers. The dragon blinked at it in incomprehension.

Hansha's soft but clear voice echoed throughout the room. "Chain energy."

Shiroi yelped as thick, glowing green bands rose up and wrapped around him, binding him completely, leaving him helpless no matter how he struggled against them.

"I'm sorry, Shiroi," Hansha said calmly from the doorway. Shiroi stared at him in disbelief. He'd never seen the Dark Magician this way, confident and completely in control, an aura of blue magic surrounding him. "But I really can't allow you to run from me this time."