Tempus Fugit …

XO'MagickMoon'OX

Chapter 10: Home Again

The sun, the salty air, the gulls cawing … a familiar scene with a few bitter memories. I'm hoping that my last memories will be a bit more savory. Hoping, not expecting …

Our last day in America, and we spend it relaxing at the beach. Seeing that it is our last day, Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto decided to take a day off of work and join us. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is yet to be seen.

Our hosts are sitting in their beach chairs, a striped umbrella propped up behind them to block the sun. I'm lying on a beach towel, and Kazahaya … well …

Kazahaya's building a sand castle.

After failing to get me to join him, he simply sat down in the sand and decided to construct one by himself. His attempts really are adorable … as is everything else about him … but really, this time he does resemble an overgrown child.

I glance over at him, shielding my face from the relentless sun. His arms and legs are covered in sand. "Don't you think you're a bit old for building a sand castle?" I ask.

He glares at me. "Oh come on. There's no age limit on sand castle building. And if you'd join me, you'd see how much fun it is."

I groan wearily. Oh wonderful … he's pouting. If he keeps this up any longer, he'll definitely guilt me into doing it with him. Really, is that hard to find a little relaxation?

I sit up. It's so hot; the water really does look inviting right about now, no matter what sort of bad experiences I've had with the ocean prior to today.

"Kazahaya, let's –" I'm cut off by a tap on my shoulder.

I turn to see the blonde girl from the other day. Well, it would be her, if she wore glasses, her hair was cut into a bob, and she was a little taller. The girl I'm thinking of is actually standing right behind this one.

The taller blonde smiles. I stand and brush what little sand I have on me off. The girl – or woman, rather … she seems to be in her early twenties – turns to Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto. They begin talking. Apparently they all know each other.

Kazahaya gets up, brushes himself off, and comes to stand beside me. He wobbles a little on his ankle, but it's pretty much healed. He can at least stand on it without causing too much pain. He glances at the other blonde, who today is wearing a black bikini, instead of her blue one, with a pink sarong. She's scowling.

"Himura-kun, Kudo-kun," Mrs. Yamamoto says.

I turn my attention to her. "Yes?"

"This is Ms. Barbara," she gestures to the older blonde, "and her younger sister, Ms. Jeanne." Mrs. Yamamoto motions towards the girl we are all-too familiar with.

"Nice to meet you." I bow my head in greeting. Mrs. Yamamoto translates for me. Barbara nods.

Mrs. Yamamoto says, "She has something she wants to say to you. Do you want me to translate?"

I look to Kazahaya, who nods. "Sure," I agree. "Thank you."

Barbara begins speaking, and Mrs. Yamamoto begins translating:

"My sister came home the other day and told me what happened with you two and her boyfriend. We came by here yesterday, looking for you, but we couldn't find you. And now that we have you here, today, we want to apologize on his behalf. It was very wrong of him to pick a fight and insult you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being gay, and it was not right for him to make fun of you and your boyfriend."

This earns me three quizzical looks, and I can feel my face reddening. But, I say anyway, "Thanks." Mrs. Yamamoto translates.

Barbara nods and smiles and then pushes her scowling sister forward, whispering something harsh in Jeanne's ear. Jeanne rolls her eyes, and says something, which Mrs. Yamamoto tells us is:

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too. I should've stopped things before they got out of hand, and it was very wrong for my boyfriend to act the way he did. I hope you accept my apology."

I smile and nod. "Thanks. That really means a lot to me," I say sincerely, and Mrs. Yamamoto translates it for me.

Barbara smiles and waves goodbye, and her sister follows.

Well, it's good to know that not everyone in the world is so close-minded.

And now, to explain myself.

"Himura-kun … Kakei didn't tell me you two …" Mrs. Yamamoto's expression is one of blatant surprise.

"WE'RE NOT!" Kazahaya explodes, just as I thought he would if he ever found out what excuse I used to get him out of trouble. I sigh.

"No, Mrs. Yamamoto, we're not a couple. Kazahaya just got into a little trouble the other day with some girls' boyfriends, and I had to bail him out," I glance pointedly at my coworker, "as usual."

Kazahaya glares. "Why you …"

"Well," Mr. Yamamoto interrupts, "it's just way too hot out here. Why don't we get in the water?" He looks around as Mrs. Yamamoto and I agree. Kazahaya grudgingly follows.

The water is amazing, absolutely refreshing. Kazahaya comes up beside me as we wade in the swirling waves, glaring heatedly.

"Why the hell did you tell those guys that we were gay?" he asks tersely.

I close my eyes, as if it'll make Kazahaya go away. But it doesn't. He's still standing there, waiting for an answer. "Look," I say, "it was the only thing I could find in that damn dictionary of yours on the spot. It seemed like a good excuse." I smirk. "I mean, come on Kazahaya, doesn't the idea even appeal to you in the least bit?"

"What? Being your boyfriend?" He stares incredulously at me. Then his eyes narrow. "Is this like that whole 'Are you checking me out' thing?" he asks warily. "Because if it is, I'm not going to answer. You always find a way to twist my words into things I don't mean." He folds his arms and pouts, though he seems to have calmed down a bit.

But I'm just starting. "No Kazahaya. I don't twist your words, I just find the truth in them. You can't lie to me." My smirk widens as his eyes flash threateningly. I move over closer to him and slip my arm around his waist, brushing my lips against his neck.

"GAH!" he cries in surprise, pushing me away.

Is it just me, or was there a suppressed moan under that outburst?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT?" he shouts.

I snicker and roll my eyes. "Idiot, will you stop shouting? Honestly, you are the only person I know who overacts to the extent that you do."

He mumbles angrily to himself, staring out over the churning waves.

I breath in the salty air, enjoying the cool water lapping against my waist. Crazy as it may sound, I'd like to stay here a little longer.

After all, it may be the only time I get to see Kazahaya in a bathing suit, soaking wet …

I shudder involuntarily, earning me an inquiring glance.

---

"Welcome home!" Kakei greets as we bustle through the door with our bags. "How was the trip?"

"Here," I growl and shove a box in his face. "This is the necklace, and a ring that goes with it."

He smiles with that false-innocence that I hate so much. "I take it the job went well."

If by 'well' he means a near-death experience or two, getting possessed by sadistic ghosts, and having a run-in with a bunch of bigoted jerks, then yes, it went very well. Aloud, I say, "Yes. It went fine."

Kakei just watches me from behind his glasses, eyes glinting, a roguish smile gracing his feminine face.

We get through the door and make our way to the back. But not before we're interrupted by none other than …

"Hey boys!"

… Saiga.

"How'd the trip go?"

Here we go again. "Fine," I mutter.

Saiga comes to stand between Kazahaya and me, slinging an arm around our shoulders. "Let me tell you two something." He lowers his voice, and says, "You two are never leaving here again. I had to work both of your jobs 'round the clock."

I smirk, and Kazahaya giggles.

Kakei's voice floats to the back of the store. "But you were well-rewarded."

How the hell did he here that all the way back here? I swear, I will never understand that man.

Saiga releases us and rubs his chin, grinning in reminiscence. "True, true."

Kazahaya looks back. "Hey, Kakei-san. Who was the client for the job?"

"Oh, it was Marianna Greymould."

I blanch. "You mean that ghost was the client?"

Kakei nods, cocking his head innocently. "Why, Himura-kun? Does it surprise you?"

That future-seeing bastard. He knew the whole time what we'd have to do to get that damned necklace … I'm not even going to begin to wonder how that ghost contacted Kakei ...

I roll my eyes and shake my head, heading up the stairs to put my stuff in our room. Kazahaya follows. We make our way to the room and lay our bags down. Kazahaya immediately flops down on his bed while I grab the newspaper. The Japanese characters have never before seemed so beautiful. It's good to be home.

I sit down at the table and make myself some soup. Then I sit down with my paper and begin reading.

But, as much as I want to, I can't focus on the current events held in the pages. My mind is wandering. It wanders right over to a particular light-haired, coworker/roommate of mine, and my eyes peer over the paper at him. He's still laying on his back on his bed, his knees bent over the foot of the mattress, as if he'd sat down and then laid back. He appears to be sleeping, but I won't make the mistake of presuming that ever again.

Nevertheless, I watch him over the paper. Sleeping or not, he looks very peaceful, breathing softly, a slight sweat glistening at his hairline. It's going to be another night without the shirt and shorts, I see.

"The one you love may be gone before you are able to stop it, and then it will be too late."

Marianna's words echo through my mind, and my lips turn down in a thoughtful frown.

I can't tell Kazahaya how I feel yet. I can't tell him until he feels the same way. Until then, I'm just going to have to make sure he sticks around. I won't lose him, not yet. I can't lose him. I'll just continue to protect him and watch over him.

He may never return my feelings.

And, in that case, I'll just have to protect him forever …

Because, no matter whether or not he return's my feelings, my love for him will never die.

-End-

A/N: Special thankies to all of my reviewers! –huggles-

Drakochi: Thanks for being my first and ever-loyal reviewer! I loved your "He Hated Her" fic! It made me laugh, and was amazing! Your reviews were well-appreciated, always long and thoughtful, and thanks for putting in a little review for "Yami"!

poxmaker: A HUGE thanks goes to you, for helping me with my chapters, supporting my story, and just being great overall! Not to mention, you were my second reviewer! I enjoy talking to you and always looked forward to your reviews. I'm sure one day (soon) I'll be reading one of your stories! -hint hint- Gotta keep in touch! ttyl

Ishikawa Ran: Thanks for being my third reviewer! I loved your positive encouragement, and I loved your story "Thank You"! Long live RyouxKeiichiro!

tigermink: Fourth reviewer! Yae! Thanks so much for your reviews, and for being one of those reviewers that stuck with my story all the way through. Maybe will I get to read one of your works soon?

Thimble913: Reviews greatly appreciated! Your second one made me laugh! Thanks so much for your positive encouragement! Wonder, will you be writing any stories soon? –poke poke-

dreamydreamer: Thanks, too, for your review!

Heroin Girl: Thanks for reviewing! I feel honored that mine was the first LD fic you read!

Time Waster: Hehe, I love your pen name! Thanks for your review, too! Positive encouragement always welcomed.

OoshatiElf: Another of my loyal reviewers! Thanks so much! Oh, and your stories – "Caustic Cross", "Sick Cycle Carousel", and "Can't Not" – all brilliant and beautiful! Thanks again!

hakkai-my-youkai: Yet another loyal reviewer! Your reviewers were great! Thanks! Will I be reading any of your stories soon? –nudge nudge-

Dagger Maxwell: Consistent and always thoughtful, thanks for your reviews! And, as for your stories, I loved "Just A Taste"! Yae for RyouxSeto-ness! Oh, and "Monopoly" was hilarious! You also may have turned me into a YugixYami fan, because "Chocolate Break" and "Revision Techniques" were just too awesome to resist! Thanks again!

diamond-princess2006: Thanks for your review! By the way, I loved "Nervous"! A darker side to Sora? Who would've thunk it! Hope you continue it!

missashlee28: Thanks, too, for your review! I appreciate your constructive criticism. And I love your story "In Your Arms"! It's absolutely wonderful. If you're wondering why I haven't posted a review, it's because my computer is being a pain-in-the-ass and won't let me review any stories. It also won't let me preview my own stories or look at the reviews for them! So, as soon as my computer stops acting up, I will go straight to your fic and post something! Thanks again!

Thanks guys! I was honestly surprised to find such positive feedback, and so quickly! To all of my reviewers that stuck with the story all the way through and were with me from the beginning, thanks soooo much!

P.S. I'm thinking of a sequel to this story where Rikuo actually tells Kaza how he feels, but I don't know. I'll keep thinking. For now, it's off to my YGO fics!