One Plus One
by Lethe Seraph
Chapter Eleven: In Which Raenef and Eclipse take Action, of a Sort, Erutis and Chris Finally Make It, the Secret is Revealed, and Several Readers Groan
…Wow.
When I began writing this, I had no idea that people would like it so much. I'm flattered, and honored, and – to be honest – kind of afraid. I don't want to let any of you down, and I most certainly do not want to be attacked by shiny things or evil hamsters because I haven't updated in a-
Oh, right.
I haven't updated.
About that.
Uh, I have an excuse. Really. I'm very sorry. It being summer, my family trekked out to visit other family members, see, and … yeah. I couldn't exactly bring this computer with me, so I couldn't work on it, as much as I wanted to – and I did want to! And then, see, there was this TOKYOPOP contest that I had to finish a submission for – before our month-long vacation to Thailand. Auuuuh.
I apologize for the humor (if it can be called that) that began to work its way into the terribly dramatic and clichéd moment. Bad Lethe. It's just that, having read a lot of sappy scenes, it's hard to feel original. I wonder if I pulled it off?
(Feel free to laugh at the fanfic writer who worries about being original.)
One chapter planned after this one. After that, it's done. How about that? It probably doesn't need another chapter, but I'm going to write it anyway.
And now, a special reply to Sophie-chan: I'm very sorry! I thought that I had made it clear that this fic was shounen ai. Yes, Eclipse and Raenef are a pairing. I apologize profusely. No, Eclipse isn't secretly a girl. Thank you very much for reading, though, and I hope this chapter doesn't kill you too much if you decide to continue reading. Confront thy fears!
Have you ever felt it?
When was the last time you felt yourself drifting? You were on the edge of sleep. You felt awake, but you began to dream, and then –
You sensed something. You were jolted off of that edge.
What did you do?
Quandary: Raenef - blond, feminine teenager - does not know his sexual orientation.
Evidence to Female Attraction: None.
Evidence to Male Attraction: None.
Proposed Solution: Under experimental conditions, have Raenef kiss Subject A. If Raenef experiences attraction or enjoyment during said kiss, then attraction to males is affirmative.
Status: Underway.
Raenef tilted his head slightly as he leaned closer. This was how they had done it in the movie he and Eclipse had watched, wasn't it? If he was going to try a First Kiss, then he hoped that it would be a Nice and Accurate First Kiss. He was mere millimeters away, now.
A butterfly and its family had rented out his stomach and invited their friends.
He only noticed when it was too late that the garnet eyes he admired so had begun to open.
Pull back! Pull back!
Eclipse's lips parted, as though he had been about to say something – perhaps to ask just what the heck was going on – but Raenef's awkward positioning finally caused his arms to give way.
The millimeters?
They weren't there any more.
"And there are no elevators, which means that that can't happen again!" said Erutis cheerily, as the two trekked. "So … oh. There it is."
Chris glanced at her. "Do you want to knock, or should I?"
"We could just bust the door down."
"Do you want to knock, or should I?" Chris repeated, squeezing her hand.
"Hmm … rock, paper, scissors?" she suggested.
"Let's."
Eclipse let out a small, surprised noise, eyes widening. One wonders what it must have been like to be in his situation.
Perhaps he would write it later.
At the moment, though, Raenef was on top of him.
Kissing him.
And …
Raenef liked the feeling.
Hence, he decided to keep at it.
"…paper… scissors … shoot!"
"Tied again! Damn it! One more time."
"Rock … paper … scissors … shoot!"
"Rock … paper … scissors … shoot!"
Chris groaned. "Erutis, this isn't working! Maybe we should both knock."
"That's an idea," said Erutis thoughtfully.
Finally, backup troops of sense began to invade Raenef's brain, guns blazing.
What was he doing?!
Eclipse was awake!
Oh, shoot-
He wouldn't be able to explain this one away. This was bad. This was really bad.
At least you know that you're gay?
And then, just when Raenef began to feel a tinge of panic …
… Eclipse began to kiss him back.
Dear sweet mother of Krayon.
Somehow, the two managed to fall off of the couch, stumble up, and scar the bookshelf for life. It had lived for so many decades, only to be present for this? Somewhere, surely, someone was laughing.
Eclipse pressed Raenef against the wall immediately adjacent to the bookshelf, and they kissed most passionately and fervently.
The guns had run out of ammo, the troops had encountered an incredibly large and overpowering army of True Love, and they had consequently retreated, vowing to return another day seeking revenge.
"I think I'm in love with you," managed Raenef during a (very brief) lull.
Eclipse smiled. "Do you?"
Raenef grinned back, and they shared a Moment in which they kissed again, embraced, and looked at each other with bright, lust-filled eyes.
And then, as is required, the moment was interrupted just as they were about to get to the Very Good and Possibly Naughty Part.
Knock.
Knock.
Knocknocknock.
"Rae? You in there, buddy?"
Raenef's mouth formed an o. "What should we do?" he whispered after a silence.
"Don't worry," said Eclipse. He strode over to the couch, retrieving his hair band and slipping it on. He smiled at Raenef again before opening the door.
The girl standing in the doorway gaped at him.
(The boy standing next to her noticed, and was vaguely peeved.)
"Oh! You must be Eclipse," she said in a voice dripping with what was clearly meant to be girlish charm. "I'm Erutis."
"And I'm Chris," sighed Chris. He elbowed her very subtly. Eclipse raised an eyebrow.
"How may I help you, Erutis and Chris?"
"We were wondering if Raenef was here," said Erutis charmingly.
"Why, yes, he is. He felt the need to use the facilities a minute ago-" Raenef dashed into the bathroom – "and should be out shortly."
Raenef waited thirty seconds, in which Erutis continued to use her scary voice and Chris sounded more and more stressed, until flushing the toilet for the drama of the thing. He turned on the faucet, turned it off, and then opened the door.
"Hey! Raenef must be done!" he heard as he rounded the corner.
Raenef grinned what he hoped was a cheerful, normal Raenef grin. "Hi! Why are you here?"
"We just wanted to check up on you," said Chris. "Can we talk to you for a moment?"
Raenef glanced at Eclipse. They shared another Moment, sans the kissing and the embracing due to the presence of Erutis and Chris.
Eclipse nodded. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"Water, please," said Erutis, as Chris shook his head.
Eclipse left.
After Erutis watched to make sure that Eclipse was gone, and listened to be sure that he was preparing her water rather than listening, she spoke.
"Raenef, there's something that you need to know about your tutor."
Raenef was immediately concerned. "What is it?"
"Well, we ran into Krayon the other day …" began Chris. "And Krayon told us that …"
"Well, I don't think that you should have him tutor you any more," interrupted Erutis. "We're looking out for you, Rae."
"What did Krayon tell you?" said Raenef.
She leaned closer.
Raenef waited, breath held, for her to speak.
One almost expected another interruption to commence.
But, this time, it didn't.
"Eclipse is gay," Erutis whispered dramatically.
Raenef's eyes widened as he processed her words.
And he burst into laughter.