This story didn't start off too badly, if I do say so! .:Grins:. I'm glad you like it. I know I'm taking a lotta little bit of poetic license with it, but that's okay, right? I'm a bit behind schedule with updating this fic: I have 14 reviews already. Typically I update every 10 reviews, at the very soonest. Unless it's a story like Dark Night of the Soul, which is based on a game. Hardly anybody reads Chrono Trigger fics, so… yeah. If you've ever played the game and you like Crono/Magus pairings, I've got one!! .:Jumps up and down waving her arms:. Me, me, me!! Pick me, sensei!
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Alysa, my twin, Angel, my love, and Vanessa, my friend who lets me borrow her Gravitation mangas!!
Here's chapter two!
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"Ojiisan, okaasan, otousan, I'm home!" Daisuke called as he pushed the door open. The blunet followed him in and quietly shut the door behind the them. Daisuke, ever the polite host, took Satoshi's coat and hung it up in the closet while the commander took off his shoes. "Has the party started already? I brought a guest, is that okay?"
"Daisuke? We're in the kitchen, sai," came Kosuke's voice from behind the door along the far wall. "Come on."
Daisuke turned to Satoshi and grinned, rubbing the back of his head lightly. "Shall we go?"
"Hai," Satoshi nodded and gently nudged the redhead ahead of him. "Does your mother still dislike me?"
"Dislike you?" he echoed dumbly. "When did she ever dislike you?"
"Because of Krad…" Sapphire blue eyes slid to the side and to the floor, almost shamefully. "Actually, I'm surprised you don't hate me, Niwa-kun. He did try to kill you, after all… Many times… And I couldn't stop him…"
Daisuke's heart nearly melted. He reached up and gently tugged Satoshi's chin, making the blunet look him square in the eye. He smiled softly. "She never disliked you, Hiwatari-kun. And I certainly don't hate you."
Satoshi's eyes widened a bit. "Truly?" he whispered. Cerulean blue glimmered with unshed tears and hope. "You don't hate me?"
"No. I could never hate you." Daisuke's voice was just as soft. "Hiwatari-kun, I…" Slowly he swayed a bit towards the older boy, and Satoshi leaned down. Their eyes drifted closed as their faces came closer together.
"Dai-kun!" Eter happily bustled out of the kitchen, closing the door behind her. The boys froze in place, lips mere centimeters apart, but she seemed oblivious. "Hurry! The party is starting!" She grabbed his arm and began tugging him across the room. Her raven black hair sparked lightly in the lighting, and her green eyes glimmered with mischief. Halfway there she gave up on dragging him along and ran into the other room without him.
Satoshi coughed a bit, clearing his throat, and looked at the wall. A soft blush graced his cheeks, pinkening his features delicately. His azure eyes shifted slowly towards Daisuke, but upon meeting the other boy's eyes, his own darted away. "We probably ought to hurry."
"Hai." Equally embarrassed over what they had almost done, Daisuke sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "We don't want to miss dinner and cake and… all… that…. yeah." He tried to laugh, but it came out a croaky cough. He cleared his throat.
The blunet picked his way across the floor until he was standing right behind the other boy. Daisuke fidgeted and began walking to the kitchen. Satoshi followed, directly behind him. The redhead pushed the door open.
"Surprise!"
Noisemakers boomed, confetti flew, and laughter filled the air. Daisuke stood in the doorway of the kitchen, stunned and confused. Streamers were thrown about and taped up to the walls and ceiling, and it looked like a multi-coloured tornado had blown through and nobody had cleaned up. Daisuke's grandfather, mother, and father stood around the table; with them were Risa and Riku Harada, Eter, and Wiz. On the table dinner was set, enough for a small army, but what caught his eye was the centerpiece. A cake, five layers high and each larger than the one above, graced the lacy tablecloth. Soft blue frosting covered the confection and a dark violet piping read "Happy Birthday, Daisuke!"
"My birthday? It's not…" Daisuke began, but stopped. His eyes widened. It was his birthday—how could he have forgotten?
"You've been so wrapped up with schoolwork and missing Dark-san," Risa began—
"—That we decided to celebrate for you," Riku finished. The two girls were standing beside one another, arms linked. The sisters had become closer since their episode with Hio-san, having actually aided in the downfall of Hiwatari, Satoshi's adoptive father.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Daisuke?" Daizu asked. He combed his gray beard with a knobby hand. "I believe we did an excellent job in putting this whole thing together…"
"Happy Birthday, Niwa-kun," Satoshi said from behind him, resting one hand on his shoulder.
"Hiwatari-kun?" Daisuke whirled around. "You were in on this, too?"
"Hai." A twinkle was restored in his eyes and he grinned softly down at the younger boy. "Your mother called the Harada-san sisters, and they worked it out with me in school."
"But the party for Wiz…?"
The little white-ish rabbit-creature hopped across the table and climbed up Daisuke's sleeve. He sniffed Daisuke's ear, making the redhead flinch and giggle. "Wiz! That tickles!" He picked up the little bunny. "I love you, you fluff ball." Smiling, he gently scratched behind Wiz's ears, then turned back to all his friends and family. "Arigato, all of you."
In turn, each nodded, and the party began.
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The moon shone brightly down over the Niwa house and the stars twinkled as the two teenage girls said goodbye to the birthday boy in the doorway. The identical sisters each embraced the blushing redhead, bestowed a sisterly kiss on his cheek, and climbed into their waiting limo. Daisuke leaned against the door frame and let the breeze play on his flushed face. The night air was so crisp and cool.
"Niwa-kun?" Satoshi came up behind him. "Your mother invited me to stay the night, since it's so late. Is that all right?"
"Hai, of course." Daisuke turned to his friend, smiling. "Arigato, Hiwatari-kun. This was a wonderful surprise. I don't really know what else to say."
The older boy just smiled. "I have another gift for you, Niwa-kun, but you'll have to wait to get it."
Despite himself, Daisuke's curiosity was peaked. "You didn't have to, Hiwatari-kun. Really." He sidled up beside his friend. "But what is it?" He grinned.
Satoshi laughed and drew the redhead into a gentle, friendly hug. "You'll have to wait and see. Shall we see if your mother needs help cleaning up?"
"Sure…" Daisuke's stomach felt like it'd dropped from where it belonged and his had heart jumped into his throat at the moment they touched. He swallowed it back down and cleared his throat. It was just a hug, he admonished himself. Don't read too much into it. He's your friend, after all…
Still…
Emiko waved the boys off when they offered for help. She and Eter had already cleared the table and were in the process of storing the leftovers while Kosuke and Daizu worked their way through the stack of dishes.
"We have it all handled down here," she said. "Why don't you two boys go upstairs and go to bed?"
The teens watched as Wiz pushed a small brush around with his nose, pushing the confetti all into a pile to be scooped up by one of the people. "Yes ma'am," they said and headed for the stairs.
Satoshi hung a bit back. When Daisuke questioned him, he answered, "I can sleep downstairs on the couch, if you prefer."
"It's all right," Daisuke assured him. "I have plenty of extra blankets in my room. Really."
"If you're sure…"
"I am." Daisuke grinned and took the older boy's hand, gently tugging him up the stairs. "Stop worrying; it's my birthday."
Satoshi smiled despite himself and followed the irrepressible redhead up the stairs. His fingers tingled from where their hands were linked and he felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, but didn't act on them. Niwa-kun isn't like that… is he? Still, he said nothing.
Daisuke proudly opened the door to his bedroom, and nearly fell over. Clearly the surprises weren't over yet. His entire floor save one walkway to the ladder to his bed was covered with plastic drop sheets, stapled down to the floorboards along the edges. There was a note on the wall beside his door.
Dying the carpets—no walking on them for two days! Mom
Why does she always interfere? Daisuke thought, distressed. Then his mind latched onto another problem. Where is Hiwatari-kun going to sleep?
Satoshi peered at the note from over Daisuke's shoulder. "You're sure you don't want me to sleep on the couch?"
Daisuke's eyes wandered around his room. He had his own couch, true, but it was inaccessible because of the plastic sheets.
Suddenly from downstairs there was a loud crash and the sounds of something shattering. The boys looked at one another, then took off running down the stairs.
Satoshi reached the landing first but didn't round the corner into the kitchen, luckily for him. No sooner had he stopped than a ceramic coffee mug went flying at head-level to smash into the wall behind him. Daisuke made to run past him, but the blunet caught him about the waist. The younger boy's momentum carried him around in a circle to crash against Satoshi's sturdy body. Quietly hushing the redhead, Satoshi held him to his chest and focused his attention on the kitchen.
The sounds of a loud, violent argument were coming from the kitchen. Emiko and Kosuke, from the tones. Eter was crying, and Daizu wasn't to be heard. Finally the fight escalated into a deafening crescendo in which no words were discernable, and it all came to a crushing silence as a loud crash rent the air and faded into an echo. After a few moments of the unearthly silence, Satoshi cautiously loosened his grip on the redhead. Daisuke started to run around the corner when a content-looking if somewhat red-faced Emiko emerged.
"Kosuke will be sleeping on the sofa tonight," she informed the boys. She smiled apologetically at the commander. "Would you mind sleeping upstairs with Daisuke?"
"That's fine," Satoshi stammered.
"What happened, okaasan?" Daisuke demanded.
"Oh, nothing," she said airily. "Just a teensy argument." Her eyes lighted on the shattered remains of the coffee mug in the corner. "Oh, that was my favourite cup!" She set about cleaning up the shards cautiously, using a handkerchief to pick up the pieces.
Daisuke was already on his way to the kitchen, and Satoshi followed. What met them was absolute havoc. Glasses were shattered, ceramics smashed to smithereens, and the table was overturned. There was nobody in sight. Daisuke stood frozen, one eye twitching. Satoshi didn't quite know what to say and touched the boy's shoulder lightly. "Niwa-kun?"
"Let's… let's go upstairs," the redhead said somewhat stiffly and turned on his heel. Satoshi followed quietly. "You can sleep in my bed," he was saying as they climbed the stairs. "I'll sleep outside on the balcony."
"You'll catch your death!"
"I'll be fine—it's still warm out at night."
"Niwa-kun, there's a skein of ice over the fountain outside my home." A teensy white lie, but I believe the ends may certainly more than justify the means, the blunet thought to himself.
"Oh. Well… I guess the only thing left is to share the bed. Do you have any problems with that?"
"No." But he did. Satoshi's stomach began to knot itself up, and he could feel his palms grow sweaty. Sleep in the same bed as Niwa-kun? And not touch him? How? "That's fine."
Twenty minutes later, with the redhead fast asleep and snuggled up close to him, Satoshi wasn't so certain anymore. It's going to be a long night.
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Author's Notes
Gomen! This chapter is so… dumb. .:Pokes it:. I liked how it was going, but the end was kinda anti-climactic, huh? It'll get better, I promise! Just please, keep reading! The next chapter will be up soon (which knowing me, could mean any given time between tomorrow and next month), so please keep an eye out! .:Bowbow:. For those of you looking for a "scene" (.:Just read Fake number 7:. .:Will never be the same again:.), I'll let you in on a spoiler by telling you that it comes in next chapter. o.- keep an eye out!