Carnival
written by: delusionallady
Disclaimer: You people know I don't own them.
A/N: yaoi, mature themes, crossdressing... AU, fantasy.. God, I love this fic.

Green met violet.

"Uh.. Hello." Youji said, grinning sheepishly. Aya narrowed his eyes and tried to get up, only to collapse back on the bed. He realized that he had no strength to get away from wherever he was. Looking around, Aya noticed that he wasn't at a castle of some sort, which meant that the soldiers had not caught him. It appeared to be a small wooden house. His eyes landed back on the pair of Jade eyes he had gazed at earlier.

A small wooden cup was offered to him. "Drink. It's water." A young voice said. Aya stared at the shorter blonde. The latter came closer and helped him sit up with the aid of pillows. Once seated comfortably, Aya accepted the cup and sipped from it.

"It's poison."

Aya sputtered and choked over his drink. He watched as the young blonde crossed his arms and started scolding the taller one. It seemed like they were brothers. Same hair color but definitely different eyes. And then the one with green eyes grinned at him. Aya immediately frowned and glared.

"Gomen ne. Youji can be really stupid sometimes. By the way, I'm Omi! What about you?" Omi introduced himself. Aya simply stared at him, his mouth making no move to answer. "Yare yare. Maybe the princess here needs more time to herself. After all, she must have gone through a lot." Youji remarked, dragging his brother away from the room.

Outside, Omi asked why Youji had referred to the lady as a princess. "Because Omi," Youji chuckled. "That red head inside my room is princess Aya. I told you I've seen the princess during the parade." Omi thought for a second before breaking out into a wide smile and hurrying to the kitchen.

"Then we must hurry and prepare a feast for her! She must be starving! What was she doing in the river anyway? Oh no, Youji! She's still wearing her wet clothes!" Omi cried out. Youji laughed at the way the younger blonde reacted to the news. Speaking of wet clothes, maybe princess Aya needed help in extracting herself from the bothersome garments.

Unfortunately for him, the door opened before he could even lay a hand on it. Aya came out wearing the dry clothes Omi had prepared earlier. "Where is my katana." He demanded. Youji and Omi looked at him in puzzlement. "Katana? You didn't come with one." Youji answered. Aya's eyes widened. He pulled up his long dress and hurried for the door. He would have managed to get out had it not been for the body that blocked his way.

"Get out of the way." Aya said in an icy tone, although his voice was a little raspy. "No." Youji replied, crossing his arms to indicate how determined he was to keep the red head from leaving. "What do you want from me? Money? Jewels?" Aya cried out, almost hysterically. Youji smiled and shook his head. "You're still too weak to get up from bed, much more leave the house. Tell you what, I'll look for your katana but you must promise to stay here and behave."

Aya frowned for a second. He wanted to be the one to look for the katana but it didn't seem like he had any other choice. "Fine." He spat out. Youji grinned triumphantly and patted his head. "Good. Now stay here and I'll be right back." Youji said before leaving the house.

"That dress looks good on you." Omi said as he approached the princess. Aya looked down and examined the clothing. It was made from fine material. Briefly, he wondered how they had managed to get ahold of such an expensive dress when they lived in something like this wooden house. And to whom did the dress belong to anyway?

"It's from my mother." Omi said, as if reading Aya's mind. "I've never met her though but Youji tells me a lot of stories about her. She died when I was only two years old." Aya nodded his head slowly. He looked at the blonde lad in front of him and wondered how the lad still managed to smile. "Oh well, there's no time to dwell about the past now! We have you in our company and I am preparing a meal fit for a princess!" Aya raised his eyebrow. "Youji told me he had seen you during the parade." Omi explained. "Would you like to help?" He added.

Meanwhile, Youji was still looking for the katana. The sun had set a long time ago and the moon wasn't being very helpful. It was a good thing that there weren't any wild animals around these parts. "Where is it? It's bound to be here somewhere." Youji muttered as he searched around the riverbank. He doubted anyone would have stolen it since not a lot of people visited this side of the land anyway. A part of him wanted to come home and get some rest but something inside told him to keep looking for the katana.

It obviously meant a lot to the princess and for some reason, Youji didn't feel like disappointing her. Just then, a yellow light appeared a few steps away from him. Youji stared at it until the light came closer.

"Obaasan!" Youji cried out in surprise. Here was the person he least expected to appear. The old woman smiled and walked up to him. "It's dark already. Why aren't you home yet?" She asked. Youji smiled and explained that he was looking for a katana. "A friend lost it around here." The old woman grinned and pulled out a long weapon from her back.

"You mean something like this?" She asked. Youji nodded his head slowly. "I found this somewhere around here. Thought I'd clear it away before anybody trips on it." She said, handing it over to the blonde. Youji accepted it gratefully and thanked her for her help. "My name is Momo-san." The old lady said as she shook hands with Youji. The latter grinned and introduced himself as well. "Youji."

"Well then Youji, maybe you should return home and tell that friend of yours to take more good care of the katana." Momo-san said. Youji nodded and started walking back. A few minutes later, a thought crossed his mind. What was obaasan doing around the woods at this time? Before his thoughts could wander off, a pleasant aromatic smell distracted him.

"I'm back!" Youji shouted as he entered the house. Omi ran to him from the kitchen, his face glowing with happiness. "Great! We can finally start eating dinner!" He said, leading Youji inside the small dining room. Youji's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. Omi wasn't kidding when he said he was going to prepare a feast.

"You did all this?" He asked incredulously. Omi shook his head. "Aya helped. She's in your room right now." Youji smirked and told Omi he was going to call the princess for dinner. It seemed like Omi and the princess bonded a little while he was gone. They were on first name basis now after all.

Youji hesitated before opening the door. The lights were closed so he turned them on. On his bed was the beautiful red head, sleeping comfortably. "She must have been exhausted." Slowly, he approached the bed and caressed the face of the porcelain beauty. Never had he seen such a beautiful face before. The sleeping figure moved a bit, eyes fluttering open. The violet pools stared at Youji for a while as the latter continued to stroke his face.

"Dinner's ready." Youji said softly and took his hand off. Aya made a small sound, as if complaining at the loss of contact.

In the dining room, Omi was eagerly waiting for them. "Well, now that we're all here.. Itadakimasu!" He cried out. Youji chuckled and dug in. Aya couldn't help but smile at the vibrant energy coming from the younger blonde. Working in the kitchen wasn't as boring as he had used to think. Maybe it was because he was cooking with Omi. Aya inserted a piece of meat in his mouth. It was very delicious and he felt a bit guilty for not being able to offer as much help as he had wanted to. He was simply lost in the kitchen and all he did was ruin a few tomatoes and mix some herbs.

"This is the most delicious dinner I have ever tasted." Youji said, turning to Aya. "You will make one hell of a wife." He added, winking. Aya turned pink and glared at him. However, Youji didn't seem to be affected by it very much.

"I'll wash the dishes. Youji, why don't you escort Aya to her room." Omi suggested as he gathered all the plates. Aya was about to protest, wanting to at least pay Omi back for being such a nice host, but Youji would have none of it. "Time for bed, Aya." Youji said as he grabbed the red head's waist and carried him in his arms. Aya, of course, put up a struggle but Youji was taller and thus had an advantage.

"Now now, there's no reason to be so feisty." Youji remarked as he dropped Aya on the bed. Before Aya could say anything, Youji touched his lips to prevent him from opening his mouth. "It's late and you're tired. Go to sleep." He whispered before turning off the lights and closing the door.

The next morning, Aya woke up to find something beside him. He rubbed his eyes and saw that it was his precious katana. "He found it after all.." He whispered. The red head frowned disdainfully as he realized the need to take a bath. He got out of bed and looked around for Youji or Omi. He reached the kitchen and found his breakfast ready with a note inserted on the tray.

Aya, I need to go to town today. If you wake up and can't find Youji anywhere, then he's probabaly hunting in the woods. If you would like to take a bath, you may do so in the river.

Aya blinked once. Twice. In the river..?

After breakfast, Aya decided to follow Omi's instructions. He was feeling rather filthy and since Youji was not around, it was safe. The red head went out of the house and walked over to the riverbank. He took off his slippers and other garments before submerging himself in the beautiful water. Aya was too concentrated on washing his long, red hair that he failed to notice a deer pass by and take off with his clothes. In fact he had been too immersed with the task of being clean that he even failed to notice Youji's presence.

Youji had just come back from hunting when he heard a splash of water. He was surprised to find Aya taking a bath in the river. Fortunately for him, the red head didn't seem to sense his arrival and the blonde continued to watch the beautiful piece of art play around. However, Aya's back was turned so he could not see more but the milky skin was evident enough. Just then, Aya stood up and walked back.

"Aya!!!" Youji cried out in horror.

TBC

:) Please feed me reviews.