Okay, it has been quite awhile, but I swear I haven't forgotten this story. I have been, for the past few weeks, without a computer. But now I have one, and classes are the only thing in the way of writing. Classes and a short attention span, so if you want me not to forget this story, send reviews so I remember I'm writing something.

Taka waited until eleven forty-eight to call. He had found himself unable to sleep at the ungodly hour of ten. True, classes started before then, but classes always were ungodly. He had dragged out everything he had to do this morning to postpone making the phone call. A call he didn't really want to make, even though he felt in an awful hurry to make it. So at eleven forty-five, Taka had taken the number and his cell phone to a bench outside of the library and commenced staring at them. It took him three minutes to dial.

"Hello." The sleepy voice on the other end sounded a little different, but who can tell how a voice will sound with cell phones.

"Chuin…" Taka began, hesitatingly.

"He's in the shower. Can he call you back?"

"Sure." Taka gave the unknown voice his number.

"And who shall I say called?" The voice mocked the tone of an efficient answering service.

"Brad." Taka hung up the phone. He watched the few students who headed into the library. He thought about going in for something to read, but decided to wait. It took ten minutes for the call to come.

"Hello?"

"I was unaware that I knew anyone who was actually named Brad." Tomo's smirk was audible over the line.

"I wasn't sure you'd remember Taka." There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I didn't. But I remember what we discussed. Where are you?"

"Right outside the library."

"The campus library?"

"Yes."

"Can we meet you at the Student Union for lunch, then?"

"Who's we?" Taka demanded. "I don't want to get all your Seiryuu friends involved in this."

"There never were any Seiryuu friends. We would be Jake and myself. He's got to bring me back to campus anyway and he wanted to go to lunch. Another person never hurts when you're looking for someone." Tomo was starting to sound testy.

"Okay, I'll meet you there. Half an hour?"

"Fine." Tomo hung up. Taka began working hard at killing thirty minutes.

Finding the couple in the Student Union was easy; Tomo had never quite mastered the art of being inconspicuous. Even conversation wasn't overly difficult once the awkward beginnings were past. Taka and Tomo shared a common goal and with less effort than he thought, Taka was able to discuss his roommate and his ideas for finding Amiboshi. The hitch in their conversation came not from Taka, but from Miaka.

"Taka! I've been looking…." She didn't finish her sentence. Miaka stared straight at Tomo, shocked and vaguely angry.

"Uh…Miaka, this is Chuin and Jake. Guys, this is Miaka, my girlfriend." Taka introduced them haltingly.

"Nice to meet you." Jake's tone put a chill in the normally polite words. Taka glared at Jake wondering what reason he had to dislike Miaka before realizing Jake had just reacted to her attitude. She was creating the tension. Taka had never expected Miaka to bring anything but ease and comfort to a situation. Of course, he had never introduced her to Tomo before.

"We've already met," Tomo's response made sense; it explained Miaka's coldness without making her seem overly rude. Since they knew each other, she could, and did, have every legitimate reason to dislike him. Even as Taka admired the cleverness of the lie he had to bite back a laugh when he realized it was the complete truth. "I knew her a lifetime ago."

Jake nodded grimly and shifted his gaze back to Tomo, his eyes steeped in sorrow. Taka felt a little sorry for Tomo. Even as he fought to escape his past, it arose to poison his new love. Perhaps it was only karma, but it just didn't seem right to Taka. The young man sitting across from him wasn't Tomo; he was Chuin. And Chuin deserved some chance for a life aside from Tomo's hell.

"…later, than?" Taka pulled his thoughts back from the daydream and stood with Miaka. She was his blessing: love, compassion and true understanding.

"Later, after your classes, and then later again and again." He drew her to him and felt her warmth in his arms. He breathed across her face, "Wo ai ni."

Miaka glanced back at Tomo, half shrugged and returned her eyes to Taka. "Wo ai ni."

"You didn't tell her." Tomo's tone was completely flat. "With your open and honest relationship, shouldn't you have mentioned why you're eating lunch with me?"

"She trusts me. If I tell her now, she'll want to help find Amiboshi. I'll tell her when Shun's seen his brother. It only seems fair that he gets to before Miaka does."

"So it's not really lying if you're going to tell her later?"

"It's still a lie, but I trust her to understand why I didn't tell her at first." Taka glanced over at Jake, left out of the loop and clearly displeased about it. Tomo followed Taka's eyes and shrugged.

"Very well. Then in the spirit of honesty, I ought to just give you this." Tomo tossed a folded piece of paper at Taka. "I ran into him a few days ago myself. I think he just started this semester. He didn't want to talk to me, for some reason, but this is the rehearsal room he uses for flute practice. I don't know when he'll be there, but I bet he wants to talk to you."

"Thanks." Taka knew it would only waste time to ask why Tomo hadn't simply given him the information last night, or even over the phone this morning. At least he had given it. "Oh, Jake, your boyfriend may be a bastard, but he's not crazy."

Tomo glared at Taka's smiling face. Now when Jake demanded an explanation, hopefully Tomo would tell the whole truth. And hopefully Jake could accept it. Taka waved a cheerful goodbye and set off to find Amiboshi.