He had changed; for the better. Not just in their still rather wild encounters, more a fight than any sexual contact, but also in his daily affairs. It had started some time after the pardon of Touda, after the whole fiasco with the erotic dream the serpent had sent their master, setting off an avalanche of effects. Touda's pardon had somehow also pardoned Sohryu, allowing him to... live again. He had turned from the unreachable leader to the man he had been before his family's death, before Keijin and Aya had been killed.
The changes had continued, had always chased each other in succession after the arrival of a certain shinigami. Terazuma Hajime. Ever since the man who had been unwillingly possessed by a parasitic shikigami had come here, there had been only two more encounters between Rikugo and Sohryu, and both had been almost tender.
Rikugo had a good idea what had happened, and when the relationship had made it more or less official, he had simply smiled. There was a tinge of sadness to his smile, to his acceptance. No, he hadn't loved Sohryu, and he never would. No, he had harbored no feelings for the dragon. Still, it was like a good-bye. He recognized the seriousness of this relationship and while it was unheard of for a shikigami and a shinigami to be more than fighting partners and friends, well, why not?
So it surprised him that a few days after Terazuma had left GensouKai once again to return to his dimension, Sohryu exhibited the first signs of his old self. And the change for the worse continued. Rikugo watched it with a frown that deepened every day, and he was reluctant to hazard a guess as to what had happened.
It had to be connected to Terazuma.
Something had gone wrong.
Terribly wrong. This wasn't just a bad mood; this was the old Sohryu, the cold, untouchable dragon, the Protector of the East who denied himself any kind of private life, who spent days upon days in the office, who seemed to never tire. It was the man Rikugo had been glad to see leave. It was the man he had fought with over puny little things, the man he had had sex with. They had never made love, just satisfied a primal need, without tenderness, without a word afterwards.
Now that man was back.
And he was also back in Rikugo's palace.
The moment Sohryu stepped into his study and closed the door behind him, those cold eyes sizing him up, radiating aggression and lust, Rikugo knew what was to come.
This time he wouldn't play along, though.
If this change had been launched by something that was between Sohryu and his shinigami lover, there was no way in Hell that the astrologer would play substitute or be the victim of the dragon's fury.
The imposing figure walked over to him, each step measured, the lithe body moving like a great cat. A predator.
Rikugo felt his aura flare. He wasn't prey.
"No," he said softly as Sohryu entered his personal space.
That drew the other man up short. "What?" he demanded.
"I said no, Sohryu. Not this time. Not again."
Delicate blue brows dipped, the eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I don't know what's going on, but I refuse to be your whore any more!"
Sohryu snapped back as if he had been hit. "You're not my whore!" he snarled.
"Oh? For the last years we had sex. You came here or I came to you; we shared nothing but a primal moment of lust and need and hunger. That was that. A carnal desire that has nothing to do with love." Onyx eyes narrowed in turn. "I understood it. I consented to it. I confess to needing it just like you. You're good in bed, Sohryu. And your looks aren't a turn-off either. But not today, not ever again!"
Sohryu snarled silently. "Don't tell me you changed your mind about needing it!"
"No, I didn't. I changed my mind about the reason. I was an outlet for your frustration, for your deeper emotions, and I took the same ones out on you. Like I said, I understood. This frustration," he gestured at the dragon, "is different. This isn't about you or me, Sohryu. It's about your frustration with something else."
Rikugo met the stony expression head on and added,
"If I have to make a good guess, it's about Terazuma."
That got him a reaction. A very definite reaction. Sohryu's aura flared and he glared daggers at the astrologer.
"Leave him out of it!"
"Why should I?" he dug into the now open wound. "He's the reason you came here, looking for a quick roll in the hay, right? Why? You grew tired of your shinigami lover?"
Now the aura spiked dangerously. Rikugo knew he was playing with fire.
"Or has he decided you're not worth the effort?" he delivered his final blow.
"Shut up!" the dragon yelled and for a brief moment Rikugo feared he would attack. "Shut the hell up! You have no idea... you have no idea at all!"
A tremor went through the tall form and suddenly he whirled around, leaving the study, banging the door shut. Rikugo remained behind, shocked, a fine shudder running through him. For just a moment he had been afraid that this would be the final straw for Sohryu to truly attack him. It had been close.
And it had shown him one thing: this was about Terazuma. The sad thing was, he also believed it wasn't that Sohryu had dumped the shinigami and moved on. No, this was a man who felt an incredible pain, was suddenly alone, and Rikugo wondered if Terazuma knew what he had done. For once he wished he could talk to Tsuzuki the way Touda did, to gauge the situation, see what was happening in the other world.
Because Sohryu was turning dangerous. He was close to the edge and had nearly toppled over. The next time, it might not be such a close call -- for whoever was the recipient of the dragon's fury.
° ° °
Touda walked into the study and stopped halfway, eyes on the sole figure at the large desk. The study was wide and high, airy, and the high windows let in a lot of light. It was free of clutter, except around the desk, and the bookshelves and sideboards didn't take much light from the sandy brown walls. All in all, it was a soothing atmosphere, very relaxing, and the view was amazing.
Still, the lonely occupant of the room had no eyes for the beauty. Actually, his eyes were closed and he was sleeping with his head on the desk top, white hair spilling over important papers and reviews, statistics and reports.
Touda approached the desk and smiled slightly at the picture. He hadn't seen his lover all week, mostly because Byakko had been busy with his quarter of GensouKai. He had rarely spent a day at the palace, and the nights had been rather lonely and quiet for the serpent shikigami who shared such a great part of his life with the other man. Today had been the day Byakko had returned from the farthest most region of his lands, looking tired and beat. Still, he had immediately gone to his office, the servants flocking after him, and when Touda had gone to bed, alone, there hadn't been a sign of his lover.
After two hours he had gotten up and searched for his missing partner, finding him here.
"Byakko," he coaxed softly, shaking one slender shoulder.
There was a soft mutter and red eyes blinked open. Confused, the tiger looked at him.
"Touda?" he mumbled.
"Yes, it's me. Let's get you to bed."
There was hardly any protest, just a wince here or there as the younger shikigami stumbled to his feet and into Touda's embrace. The other smiled a little, keeping him steady.
They managed to walk the silent corridors and enter the bedroom without an accident and Touda helped Byakko strip. The tiger yawned and willingly collapsed onto the bed, then curled up and drifted off to sleep again.
Touda settled down beside him, studying the young, smooth features of the man he loved. Either in sleep or awake Byakko looked far from the powerful God he was. He was young, yes. Barely five hundred years. Compared to him, Touda was... old. He smiled humorlessly. But his age had nothing to do with his position and his power. He was a force to be reckoned with, a powerful opponent and a fierce warrior.
The serpent shikigami stroked gently over the white hair, secretly delighting in the softness, the silky feel, the warmth of the body next to him. Byakko had done something to him that he couldn't put into words. He loved him, that was for sure. He loved him with an incredible strength, with a passion that shook the whole foundation of Touda's world. It was a love that had overrun him, that had blown him away, and that amazed him.
It was simply Byakko. Full of energy, bouncy, wonderfully lively and warm, sparkly and bubbly and... Byakko. A wind shikigami but completely unlike Keijin. They were like day and night in that regard. Where Keijin had been a calm center for Touda, a steady rock in a turbulent sea, Byakko was that sea. He pulled Touda with him, made him live life, made him experience life, and he never grew tired.
I love you, Touda thought and let his hand travel over the warm skin, down the muscular planes of his lover's side. I love you down to that obnoxious tail of yours.
Well, he loved that tail as well. He liked the silky fur, the purr he managed to get out of his lover when he stroked it.
A year now, he mused. A whole year now since they had gotten together. A year that had changed him, that kept changing him, and he couldn't deny that he liked it. He wanted to be here, in this palace, in this bed, with his lover. He wanted to feel this strength. It gave him so much strength in turn.
Stretching out beside him, Touda let the warmth and the gentle breathing lull him into a doze.
tbc...
