3: Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by...




Tsukiyono Omi, first member of Weiss Kreuz, is afraid of dogs.


To his defense, Omi insisted (with no modest manifestations of maniacal panic) that it was rushing towards him with incredible speed and its tongue was out, exaggerating his appearance as a large predator. Yohji was the only one who pointed out that the dog was neither large, and certainly not a predator. In fact, "dog" was pretty much a charitable term for it. He was obviously a puppy that was eye-level with most people's ankles. But of course, I didn't feel the need to say this out loud.


Especially when he ran behind me, gripping my shoulders with his half-open mouth inches away from the back of my neck. His face hidden by my left shoulder and eyes mostly shadowed by his long bangs, he hissed shakily, "Wh-What's that doing in here?!"


"O-Omi? You don't... you don't like him?"


I felt his grasp tighten on my shoulders, and at once I knew that he realized to whom that voice belonged to. Sure enough, Keichi appeared behind the doorway, a look of disappointment lurking near his eyes.


"Keichi! Oh, I -- I like him! Of course, yes, I like dogs!" This was confirmed by the way he shrieked when the puppy took one whole step towards our direction. He yanked me back, still using me as a very willing human shield.


"Obviously," Yohji remarked with a very un-concealed chuckle.


Keichi, trusting as he may be, was still a bit confused as to why Omi was shaking pathetically and holding onto me as if I was a bag of garlic and right in front of him was a vampire. Probably a legitimate analogy, if only you tripled the size of the dog's "fangs", turned the homely drool into blood, and kind of just made it grow at least six more feet. "Are you sure? Because, because Risa thought you'd like it." (Risa, female. Older sister of Keichi. 16 or 17 years old, tops, judging from the tone and decibel level of the squeals she produces whenever Omi is around.) "She bought it for you to give as a Christmas present, but then she heard that you were feeling bad and decided to give him to you now."


"Well, that was very -- eeyaaah!" Omi decided to go for the 'save yourself' method of doing things, letting go of me and simply running away from the menacing puppy. The canine, of course, instantly took a liking to Omi, following him in a persistent effort to frighten the boy away with all of his shaggy fur and wagging tail.


Now, this was all quite cute, but I'm not sure the present was doing very well at helping Omi get better. "Hey, stop running around so much," I call out helpfully.


"Is Omi playing with the puppy?" Keichi asked me softly, a hopeful smile on his face.


I looked at Omi who was pausing for breath, and then instantly bolting as soon as he found the puppy advancing towards him. "...Yeah." I smile back. Well, the dog seemed to be enjoying himself.


"That's great! I'm so glad Omi likes the puppy!" Keichi rejoiced. "I'm sure it'll mean so much to Risa! It means a lot to me."


And Omi, upon hearing this, decided to quell his phobia. Well, at least try to hide it. In a valiant effort to be brave, he reached his arm out towards the puppy and started reluctantly swiping at the spaces beside it. Uh, yeah, actually, he was trying to pet the little dog. He was just shaking so much that he was missing his initial target -- something quite unlikely considering his Other Employment. In any case, when he finally was successful at lightly brushing the dog's fur, he jumped a few thousand meters from his new animal friend. Realizing that the (lowest level of) contact hadn't caused him to explode or grow a third nostril or anything of that kind, he decided to go for a poke at the puppy in another triumphant foray into his bravery regarding (domesticated) beasts from the animal kingdom.


The puppy appeared to be gratified at even the slightest of Omi's attentions. So, me and the little creature have something in common. He responded to Omi's cautious poking by jumping up as if to touch Omi's knees. It looked as if a blur rushed across the room, until Omi ended up clutching my shoulders once again, having seemingly teleported behind me.


"I'm so happy you're getting along!" I doubt Keichi was being sarcastic. I'll stick to charmingly oblivious. "Can I stay here and watch you two play? Pleeeeeease? If Mr. Yohji and Mr. Aya would let me?"


You can call me stupid all you like, and probably have enough evidence to support your case, but I wasn't moronic enough to actually give a chance to Aya or even Yohji to answer. Not only that, but I could practically feel Omi's short-lived bravery unravel with thoughts of having to touch the puppy for longer than five seconds. "I'm sorry, Keichi, but I think Omi has other plans. There's a solar eclipse happening today that he's been wanting to see for quite a while."


I turn to Omi, ready to tell him with my eyes about my impromptu plan. But my words fell meaningless when I caught the look in his eyes, a look not only of gratitude, but also the pleasant surprise in finding out that I still remembered something he told me quite some time ago. He smiles at me, his grip going from tense to thankful. "That's right," he said, turning to Keichi, being the first willing to let go of a heartfelt moment. I felt the immediate loss of not having him look at me with complete abandon for everything else. "I'm sorry, Keichi. Ken promised to accompany me and I really don't want to miss that." He glances at me again with a significant grin.


Ah, so he has found another way to rob me of my more sensible thoughts. By inviting me to go with him, which he more or less did, he sent my heart thundering so strongly against my chest that I was unsure whether I could stand properly without holding onto him. "I-- Yeah. So, well, we're going now." And I hope I didn't sound too eager to have him all to myself.


I blessed Keichi silently for not asking to go with us, which any normal child would've done. Lady Luck was on a roll, she was smiling at me that day. Either that or she was lulling my into a false sense of security as she looked for a rifle. I considered this as I found Aya staring at me with the most unnoticeable glare which would be unreadable to most. I decoded it as concern for Omi, and he was reminding me that I was about to bring Omi out into winter while he was sick. I matched his glare (or at least I'd like to think so. This is Aya after all, and he's far more experienced) with one of my own, one stating my very purpose in life to protect Omi. I saw a slight thawing of frost, something that an untrained eye wouldn't have caught, right before he looked away in seeming disinterest.


Yohji had a few objections, all of which were cheerfully ignored. All he seemed to be worried about was being left puppy-sitting, if that's the appropriate word for it.


I had Omi all bundled up before we left. He was the most multicolored boy I'd ever seen once I was through with him, making sure to wrap him in every single jacket and scarf I could detect in the building. He looked like an overstuffed marshmallow, and you probably don't need to know the kinds of things I imagined thanks to this comparison. Needless to say, they were a tad far from wholesome.


He had arranged some sort of deal with the manager of an apartment that allowed us to get up their roof. I doubt it involved paperwork or bribery of any kind, and solved the mystery by remembering that it was Omi making a deal with someone. He was a manipulative little bastard. His eyes are the worst. They make you think of an absolute absence of darkness, even when you know he's manipulating you, and even when he knows he's manipulating you. Speaking from experience? Obviously.


We sat down on the little tufts of snow. I failed to tell him that I was merely keeping him warm when I put an arm around him and sort of smoldered him into my body, until I could nearly feel him under all the layers of clothing I subjected him to. If I told him that I had but one excuse for holding him, that would've been far worse than a white lie, and I was terrible with those as it was.


I tried not to shatter when he pushed me away to lie down on the cemented roof. In my numbness I didn't feel him tugging on my arm, probably asking me to lie down next to him. He only elicited a response (an "Ow!", to be more precise) when he yanked me down, sending me on a very abrupt meeting with the ground. "Ken! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-!"


"Ah, be quiet, will you?" I grunted mildly, taking one of his arms and pulling him nearer. To my utterly jubilant surprise, he snuggled, snuggled closer, and I felt as if all of his movements were trying to tell me how much he trusted me. I tucked his head under my chin, placing an arm around him, taking advantage of the fact that he wouldn't slap it away. "You're not cold?" I murmured into his hair. I still didn't want to lie and tell him that my only reason for this closeness was purely to keep him warm, but it wouldn't hurt us if I did let him think so.


"I'm warm." He squirmed slightly beside me, trying to get more comfortable. For the first time I was grateful for the folds of clothing between us, else he might have felt just how okay I was in our current position.


We were cuddling. There was simply no better word for it. I was bathed in his warmth, in his nimbus, completely awash in his golden heat. Warm, like every adjective, was hardly enough to describe him, and whatever he was allowing me to feel at that moment. I felt like all the world, all the universe, was suddenly sucked between my arms. I was holding the moon in the silver moist of his awed breath, the stars forever settled in melted pools in his eyes, the sun brightly washing always the heady scent of his hair and the intoxicating touch of his skin.


So you'll have to excuse how if I can't seem to focus on some silly old phenomenon, and how I'm desperately trying to listen to him praising celestial movements, when I'm barely able to understand how majestic I was feeling. I didn't even know what wrongness was, all thoughts not pertaining to him was banished from my mind. The only possible bad thing I was able to register was if I were to take Omi for granted. To be able to belittle what his smiles did for me, for everyone. To stop only at acknowledgement in knowing how big his heart was, to be able to care for us and let it be known. The complete absence of darkness. That was the only thing I could do wrong, to take him and everything he did, everything he was for granted.


"It's beautiful... I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Is it done already? That was fast. Omi then turned completely to me, and just as entirely sagged into me. The intimacy was so divine that it threatened to overwhelm me. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn't.


"Me neither. It was wonderful." Notice how perfectly vague that pronoun is.


"Do you think nobody would think twice about the sun if it weren't for these eclipses?" Omi mused in an enchantingly relaxed rhythm. "Maybe the sun likes being hidden, if only for assurance that people will be reminded of it. I'm not saying that I actually think the sun's alive or something, okay? Or that I believe in the whole world having a spirit, which I'm not sure if I do." I got admittedly lost somewhere in his speech, even after years of sticking to his point in the midst of meandering conversations. "Anyway. I just think it's nice to have something to remind us to appreciate the sun's beauty. Not everything has that kind of luxury, after all. Right?"


I nodded slightly, liking the feel of my jaw against his soft hair. "I don't think I can rhapsodize about the sun's beauty everyday. But I know what you mean. And we should give proper acknowledgement to whatever deserves it."


Another silence came, allowing me to revel in the sound and feeling of Omi's steady breathing. I wondered how we were ever going to get out of here without me protesting powerfully.


"I don't think I can rhapsodize about the sun's beauty everyday."


Depends on which sun, really.




[[Author's note: I tried to phrase the ending the best way possible, which didn't turn out satisfactory at all. ^_^' I wanted to add stuff about source of light, source of warmth, basically what the whole freakin' galaxy revolves around, yadda yadda yadda... but it seemed anticlimactic. Anyway, I just hope the meaning isn't lost. This was supposed to be one of my favorite chapters, until I lost it and was forced to rewrite it. Then I had to lose it yet again, and consequently, write it all again for the third wonderful time. Anyway, I'm already working on the next part, and I'm obviously far from perfection, but hopefully I'm also drifting farther away from complete suckiness. ^_^ ]]