Author's Notes- Goodness, this story has become far more popular than I had originally thought. I'm so very proud of it.

Disclaimer- Believe me, if I owned Outlaw Star or any of the characters therein, you could tell.

Warning- Yes, shonen-ai, yaoi, that sort of thing. Honestly, I'd think that you would have picked up on it by now.

**************

Gene's eyes widened considerably. Except for the previous night, Fred had never kissed him. And truly, compared to this, the previous night was nothing. He wondered vaguely if they could even be considered remotely similar. However, he didn't focus on that for very long.

Alternatively, he focused on the soft mouth that was currently covering his own. The kiss itself was chaste and innocent enough, but nevertheless, Gene couldn't remember anything that felt near as good. He felt his roommate's arms wrap around his torso, holding him up, as Fred took the redhead's bottom lip between his own, sucking on it gently.

The redhead wasn't thinking logically. He didn't care about the fact that there was a guy kissing him, or that said guy was his roommate, who was possibly in love with him. At the moment, his body and hormones had taken over the thinking process, and all they cared about was how the kiss felt. Good didn't even begin to describe it.

However, it soon became imperative to breathe, and Gene pulled away slightly, gasping for air. His face was titled forward slightly, so his forehead rested against Fred's, and his half-lidded eyes were focused on his roommate's lips. His roommate's parted, incredibly soft lips.

This, of course, is where common sense and fear win the war against desire. Gene's cobalt eyes widened considerable when his mind realized exactly where he was and, more importantly, what he had been doing.

With a strangled yelp, Gene tried to yank away, only to discover that he was still being held in place by Fred's arms. Reaching down, he disentangled himself from his roommate, realizing also that he still sat on the other man's lap. Hurriedly, he scooted backwards, trying to place as much distance between himself and Fred as he possibly could in as short an amount of time as he could possibly manage.

Unfortunately, in his haste, Gene merely ended up falling over and tangling himself quite hopelessly in Fred's sheets. His breath was coming in short, ragged gasps, and he began struggling futilely to escape his apparently inextricable bonds.

Opening eyes he didn't realize that he had squeezed shut, Gene found himself looking up into the amused, confused, and slightly sleepy face of his roommate.

"Um, Gene, are you ok?" He shut his eyes once more as he saw Fred's hand coming towards his face, but all his roommate did was brush a lock of hair from his forehead. "You're going to give yourself an aneurysm if you keep thrashing around like that."

"Giving myself an aneurysm is the least of my worries at the moment, ok?!" Gene scowled, trying once again to escape from the tangled sheets. He realized, perhaps rather belatedly, that he was still somewhat on Fred's legs, and this couldn't be at all comfortable for the other man. Well fuck, like it's comfortable for me either. He believed that. He did.

"Do you need some help?" Well, the answer to that question was obvious enough. It was just the answer Gene was having a bit of trouble with. Or, rather, what the answer would do to his dignity. Ah hell, I'm tangled up in sheets. My dignity is already crushed beyond repair..

"Just a bit. Maybe." He tried to ignore the amused smile Fred gave him as a response. He also tried to remain as absolutely still as possible as his roommate began untangling him from the twisted sheets. However, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Fred's hand rest on his—oddly enough, bare—hip.

"You're going to have to move a bit Gene, unless you want to go around with a sheet tied around your waist." Pursing his lips slightly to hold back a blush, Gene rolled over slightly, allowing Fred to pull the sheet out from under him. Reaching down (surreptitiously, or so he thought) he yanked his shirt back down to cover his hips, not exactly thinking clearly enough to realize that it would have been much more efficient to pull up his shorts a bit.

At the moment, he was trying his best to keep his mind away from his shorts in general. Especially what was happening within said shorts.

This time, he really had to make an effort to fight the blush.

"Rejoice, for you have been freed from your constraints." Gene couldn't quite manage a scowl in the presence of Fred's wide grin.

"Are you sure you're not majoring in some sort of English class?"

"Last time I checked." The redhead sat up, thankfully without sheets holding him down. Fred continued grinning at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Your expression begs to differ."

"Well, if you must know…" Fred leaned forward slightly, placing his mouth mere inches away from Gene's ear. The redhead gulped slightly, fighting an urge to pull away which… Wait, there was no urge to pull away. At least not initially. In any event, by the time he had figured that out, it was too late to act upon it. "You look incredibly sexy right now."

"Eh?!" It was amazing. Gene's eyes had widened to at least twice their normal size. "I look WHAT?!" Fred just laughed at him, and this time there was absolutely no fighting the blush whatsoever. It came and settled in on his entire face without stopping to say hello.

"Well, now, you look like a cherry tomato… Nevertheless, a very sexy cherry tomato…" Gene's head fell back at this, and he stared at the ceiling in denial.

I didn't just hear that, Fred didn't just say that, this is all a dream, a figment of my imagination, and…He blinked. A dream in which there are really good kisses… He shook his head, trying to clear all of the jumbled thoughts and emotions that were currently holding residence there.

"You're going to hurt your neck doing that." Gene slowly let his head fall forward once more, finally letting his eyes meet those of his roommate. "What?"

"What." Gene scoffed slightly as he repeated the inquiry, nearly rolling his eyes. "You can't not know the answer to that question." Fred tilted his head to the side, ever so slightly, giving Gene a confused look.

"Amazingly enough, I don't. What's the matter?"

"What you just called me."

"What? You are. We've already discussed this." Fred rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, giving an exasperated sigh. "It's called a complimenting observation. You needn't get all touchy about something like that! Honestly."

Well, he couldn't argue on that point. He could, however, find another. "And we also covered that I'm not used to guys telling me that."

"And that means what, exactly?" Gene blinked at this. "That you don't like it? That you want me to stop?" More blinking ensued. "Well?"

"Uh…" Oh yes. Ever so clever and decisive. The redhead could have smacked himself for it. However, it was better than saying what had immediately come to his mind. Oh well, it was going to come out anyway. Now he was stupid along with contradictory. Grand. "Well… not in so many words… What I mean is… um…"

"I see." Fred raised his eyebrows. "So, what you're saying is that you like it, but you don't want to admit it to me or yourself?" His eyebrows rose even further. "Is that what you're trying to get across here?"

"No! I'm…" Gene really didn't know how to finish that denial. Well, he had always been a crappy liar. Now was not the time to prove that fact. Unfortunately… Staying silent would condemn him as well. He was stuck.

"Yes?" Fred's expression remained one of polite inquiry. "Should I wait for you to continue, or give it up for a lost cause and fill in the blank with the statement of my choosing?" Gene blinked at that. He seemed to be blinking quite a lot, now that he thought about it. "If you don't say anything, I will most certainly choose the latter option."

"…." The redhead lightly bit his lower lip, thinking. He was definitely stuck. "I… I don't know."

Silence once again reigned supreme. Gene was still worrying his lower lip, but Fred only wore a rather thoughtful expression, eyes carefully resting on his roommate. The redhead couldn't look away, and knew that wasn't helping his situation at all. Finally, the taller of the two men began to speak once more.

"Oh well, it's always best to go with the truth, I suppose." Fred tilted his head to the side. "However, if you don't know…" He leaned closer again. "I think I'll continue acting and speaking as I have been, is that all right with you?"

"Ummm…"

"I'll take that as a yes." A moment's pause. "By the way, Gene…" The dark-haired young man grinned widely. "Do you have a hand in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" Gene's eyes once again filled the entire top portion of his face.

"No! I mean, it's not that… You see, what happened was that… And then… I… Ummm…" He gulped. There was no denying this, and no way around it. Now he wasn't just stuck. He was screwed. He blushed at the connotation behind that particular choice of wording. He just considered himself insanely lucky that he hadn't said it aloud.

"Hm?" Fred's grin stayed in place. Placing a hand on Gene's chest, he lightly pushed the redhead onto his back. Leaning over the shorter man, he lowered his eyelids in a sultry manner. "Why Gene, I do believe that I'm getting through to you."

Leaning down, he placed a kiss on the redhead's lips, chaste but firm.

Gene gasped, trying to get the proper amount of air to his brain. It was proving to be far more difficult than it should have been; his breath seemed to be caught in his chest. However, that was not the problem that he cared about. The dilemma that had him stuck was the choice he had been presented with: fight the kiss, or just go with it.

Fred had pulled away before Gene had the chance to decide, leaving him to try and convince himself that the disappointment was only from not being able to do anything. Fred merely smiled down at his roommate, eyes narrowed in mirth. "I suppose now you should start getting ready for class, right?"

"I… yea… I should." Although relieved at the easy exit he had been given, Gene was slightly confused. What benefit did Fred have by letting him go…? He had basically told his roommate to leave. Well, not in such harsh terms, but still… Gene was confused. Nevertheless, it saved him from making up a crappy excuse.

The problem was, a part of him hadn't wanted to make up an excuse, crappy or otherwise.

"You're… going to have to let me up, though…" Yes, Fred was still holding him down, if only lightly.

"Hm. I knew there was a downside to this plan." Still smiling, Fred sat back, slowly dragging his hand down the entire length of Gene's chest before he finally pulled it away. Gene felt he should somehow be objecting to the action, but, well… And besides, it was too late now.

Getting up hurriedly, he nearly tripped over his own feet upon standing up. Refusing to look back and see the amused look he knew Fred was sporting, he continued walking, trying to retain at least a shred of his dignity. It was not meant to be. Before he had taken five steps, he tripped, landing flat on his face.

Scowling, the redhead looked back, working out a lovely number of curses to use on whatever had caused his abrupt meeting with the ground. His scowl only deepened when he discovered it was his own shirt that he had neglected to put away properly the night before.

"Are you all right?" Gene chose to ignore the hint of laughter behind the inquiry.

"Fine." Reaching back, he grabbed the shirt and threw it with all his might across the room. Unfortunately, being a shirt, it didn't have much velocity. It fell to the ground less than ten feet from his location.

"Need any help?" There was definitely laughter there now.

"No."

"Want any help, then?"

Deciding that he could just avoid answering that question altogether, Gene quickly got up and finished his trek to the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him.

Leaning his head against the door, the redhead inhaled deeply, then let out the breath slowly, trying to calm his nerves. Crap. And that was putting it mildly. Crap crap CRAP. He wondered vaguely what was worse, the fact that he didn't mind Fred's advances anymore… or the fact that Fred had figured that out.

Probably the latter, although the matter was up for debate. Especially considering the problem the former was currently presenting.

Gene looked down.

Fuck.

**************

Gene sighed, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. The professor had been going on for a good half an hour now, and didn't show any sign of letting up. It wouldn't have been so bad if the lecture had dealt with something interesting, or if the professor didn't possess such a monotonous voice… but as it was…

He wondered vaguely if it actually was possible to die from boredom.

If it was, then he was currently having a near-death experience.

Blah blah blah blah blah…. Gene squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on trying to block out the lecture. It couldn't be that important. And besides, even if it was, he valued his sanity far more than a grade on any test spawned from this drab excuse for a class. Sighing, he leaned forward, resting his head in his crossed arms. Luckily, he was seated far to the back, so the professor didn't notice.

Although, really, half the class so far was sleeping or close to it, so Gene wasn't really afraid of being told off. Opening his eyes again, he tried concentrating on his notebook to tune out the soporific droning. He stared, eyes narrowing to slits. He could do this. It was only a matter of will power. It was possible. He would not die of boredom. He would resist.

Or he could just start trying to write a new lyric.

Gene shrugged. That would work.

Opening his notebook, he searched for a clean sheet of paper, at the same time trying to find a working pen in his mess of a book bag. Finally discovering a decent pen, he continued flipping through a plethora of loose-leaf paper, hard-pressed to actually find one not covered in doodles, notes, or some other lyrics. He frowned, wondering if it was time to buy some new paper.

Ah. The redhead grinned triumphantly, discovering a clean sheet. Removing the slightly crumpled sheet of paper from his notebook, he smoothed it out on the table, mind running over possible lyric ideas. He wasn't even hearing the professor any more.

Done that, done that… He tapped his pen lightly against the sheet of paper, thinking. Geez, is there anything I HAVEN'T done… He continued tapping, resting his elbow against the table and his chin in his hand. So much for his brilliant idea. With a sigh, he allowed his thoughts to drift elsewhere.

He wasn't really that surprised on where they ended up.

Fred. His navy-haired roommate was often on his mind, why should now be any different? He was certainly more interesting to think about than whatever he was receiving a lecture on, that was for sure. So, allowing himself another soft sigh, Gene allowed his thoughts to center solely on Fred.

He was surprised (however mildly) to realize he didn't mind all that much.

Gene visualized the taller man, smiling, teasing, just standing. He thought about the things Fred did, tried to understand why he did them. Tried to understand what the hell it was that made him actually appreciate the advances made almost daily now.

As these thoughts romped merrily through his mind, Gene happened to glance down at the blank sheet of paper in front of him. Slowly, and idea began to form in his mind. It was vague, it was hazy, but it was there. And it was beginning to take a very definite and favorable shape. Smiling slightly, the redhead clicked his pen, setting it to the paper almost immediately.

Why don't I know what to make of you?

Why can't I pin you down?

His smile widened. Now he had an idea for a lyric.

You're not like anything I've known before

He tapped his pen against the paper absently, running the three lines through his mind, absently trying to put a decent tune to them while also trying to find a line to finish the verse. He needed a good word for it… something that fit… There was a word that would do, he just had to think of it…

Gene worried his lower lip slightly as he thought, beginning to draw twirly lines on the margins of his paper. Something had to fit, there had to be a word that would go in perfectly… Not secret… Not mysterious… Not cryptic… Not veiled… None of those fit right, it had to be something…

The bell rang, cutting the professor's lecture short, but Gene didn't even hear it. Students all around him began packing up hurriedly, eager to get out of the class before their brains melted. Still, the redhead remained oblivious, eyes still locked on the paper in front of him, mind still trapped in the trap he had made for himself. It was going to drive him insane, and he was not leaving until he had thought of the fourth line for the verse.

Suddenly, he smiled.

Enigmatic, yea, that's the way it sounds

*************

Author's Notes- Ah ha, and so the origin of the title is finally revealed. Yes, I did have this planned from the beginning, it just took some time to implement. Yes, I did write the entire song, but I don't like it all that much, so it won't be posted in it's completion until the final chapter.