Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
-Richard Marx and Donna Lewis
*`~
"Now Misha, hold tight to my hand. I don't want to be separated."
"Chaa…I would never stray far from your side." The boy grinned impishly, his hand tightly in Kamatari's.
Inner Harbor was bustling with activity when the steamer pulled into port. Misharei was bouncing with excitement, eager to explore. He paced back and forth on the deck, prancing around his beloved. There were so many places to go, so many people too see. They hadn't yet reached their final destination -Washington DC- but they were in America and the teen was excited, to say the least.
"Calm down, Darling." Kamatari smiled in amusement at his enthusiasm. He gets joy from the most everyday things…
"Gomen…I'm just ready to try something new. I want to look around and meet people and try some Western food."
"Soon. We need to find the officials first."
"I don't want to." The young man pouted, "Can't we just run away and begin a new life somewhere else?"
"Dearest One," His companion smiled, "I would love to do that." To be with him -and only him- for the rest of my life would be heaven on earth.
"Then why don't we? I have a wicked idea…"
Kamatari blinked. "Ara?"
"We cannot stay in these clothes. We need some Western clothing. You-" He pointed, a devilish grin on his face, "-Will dress as a man. I'll masquerade as a little girl. You'll be my papa. We'll travel north until we find someplace we like."
"You're bold, Misha." Kamatari's pondered over this, "But it is a good idea. They are expecting a woman and a young boy. We would throw them off track that way…" He mulled over the situation for a while.
"Please? I know how miserable you would be in that school, chaa; I do. And you know how lonesome I would be while you were gone. You don't want to do what they asked. But you saw no other way out. This is your way out. You wish to be free as I am, don't you? Here's how…"
Kamatari's gaze swept across Inner Harbor; taking in the bustle of the crowded fish market. Then his ginger eyes came to rest on the expectant face of Misha. This is an adventure worth having… "Hai. We will go."
"Chaa! Come on. Let's go shopping!"
"Hold on a minute." The man caught his love gently by the wrist, "Look how all those girls have their hair." He pointed, "I could braid yours like that."
Misha giggled as Kamatari combed his fingers through his hair and twisted it into two short braids. "How do I look?" He smiled coyly. This will be something new…I have never dressed as a girl before. I have never seen reason to.
"Beautiful. Now, my darling, come here to your 'papa' and we'll head off."
"Hai." He nodded, slipping his hand back into Kamatari's.
*`~
"You look absolutely adorable, Darling."
"Arigato." Misha tugged on the hem of his skirt, then looked up at Kamatari, a slight frown on his face. "How do you dress like this all the time?" He was wearing a gingham dress with a dusty brown pinafore over it. His hair hung in two little braids on either side of his face. Looking at him like that, it was hard to tell he was a boy of eighteen. He looked about twelve.
Kamatari, on the other hand, looked more masculine than he ever had before. He had a plain white shirt on, with a pair of loose-fitting trousers held up by suspenders. Boots on his feet, a sack jacket slung over his shoulder and a brilliant violet tie around his neck.
He shifted uncomfortably. It felt so strange having the fabric of the pants between his legs. He hadn't worn men's clothes in a long time and, when he had, they had been Japanese clothes.
"Chaa…You are beautiful as a woman," Misha reached up, straightening his beloved's tie, "But you are stunning as a man."
A wan smile crossed his face. "Don't get too used to it. I don't plan on staying this way." He wrinkled up his nose, "I don't like it."
The boy laughed. "Well I don't like this. But for you, I would do anything. It's funny," His impish grin lit his face, "How we've switched places. I have always been the man in our relationship. And now…I look like a little girl."
"Iie; you're still beautiful." Kamatari looked around, making sure no one was watching, then bent to kiss the boy, "You will be beautiful to me no matter what."
Misha smiled, his face tipped upwards as he received the kiss. A slight breeze blew, twirling loose strands of his hair around both of them and tickling Kamatari's face. He drew back, observing his friend. Misha's eyes always closed when they kissed, as if their love was taking him to some dreamed of world.
The boy opened his eyes, his lashes sweeping across his cheeks. He was smiling pleasantly, his expression softened by pure bliss. "Chaa…Have I told you how much I love you today?"
"Iie," Kamatari replied primly, "You haven't. Which is unusual." A smile lit his face and he took the teen by the hand, "But I suppose by now I would know it already."
"Hai. If you didn't know by now you would be very ignorant and stupid." He grinned, "I have always believed you to be smarter and more observant than that, Itoshii."
"Don't you mock me." Kamatari scolded him, "Or I may not give you any more of those kisses you like so much. You would be in trouble then."
"That's not fair!" Misha pouted, stomping one foot on the ground. "You can't be so mean to me! I haven't done anything…"
A grin crossed the other man's face and he tugged one of Misha's braids. "I'm only teasing, Darling. I would also suffer if I did that to you. What would be the fun in that?"
"Why you!" The boy tackled him in a hug, the force of which sent him sprawling on the ground. He was laughing, his brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "You are so cruel to me, Itoshii."
"Gomen." Kamatari smiled, kissing Misha softly, "I'll try to be nicer from now on."
"You'd better." He was sitting on top of Kamatari, pinning the man -who could have easily removed him, had he wanted to- to the ground. "We could begin with a nicer kiss." He leaned over, pulling Kamatari up by the collar and planting a spine-tingling kiss on his lips.
"I hate to be rude, my darling, but we can't stay here like this. It would look very compromising, were some one to find us." He stroked the boy's cheek, looking up at him lovingly, "I'd rather not move, but we must."
"Aww…" The boy pouted again, then reluctantly climbed off his beloved, offering him a hand to help him up.
"When we stop for the night, Dearest. Then you can kiss me as much as you like."
This caused Misharei to smile happily, clutching Kamatari's hand tightly in his. "I suppose I can wait…" He grinned, "But they had better be very sweet kisses."
"Don't worry, Darling. They'll be the sweetest you've ever received."
"Chaa…Waiting will be very hard. But it will be worth it in the end."
"Hai. I'll make the wait worth the effort. Now come. The sooner we get a move on, the sooner we stop."