Author's Note: Again, I feel the need to point out that I barely even know what Kureno looks like, sorry if he is wildly OOC. Also, I feel the need to chant "alternate universe" over and over. Thanks to D-chan and Kurai for the beta.
Warnings: Akito, something that might be shounen-ai, Mogeta bashing
Disclaimer: Not mine. Still. I am saddened.
8
The kami is the most important figure in our lives, and we know this on an instinctive level the moment we see that person. What we feel first is not love, nor fear, but the weight of that importance.
-Sohma Nobu, 1544
Shigure and Ayame were still out on the porch when Kureno walked up. Shigure was smoking, and absently nodding while Ayame rambled about his shop, his customers and anything else that came to mind. And if, perhaps, Ayame's chatter seemed a bit forced here and there, at least he had the energy to do it now. It was hard to remember when Hatori was sleeping peacefully, but being close to him right now was draining, literally draining, as the man pulled strength from the other cursed.
Ayame's greeting to Kureno was almost lively, though still quiet compared to his normal volume. Once the good evenings were exchanged, Kureno turned to Shigure. "Akito wants to see you."
"Now?" Shigure was well past surprised and into astonished.
Kureno nodded. "He insists."
"Can it wait until Ayame gets settled back inside?" Shigure suspected that detaching Hatori from Kyo would be at least a two-person maneuver.
"Do you need help?"
Shigure considered Kureno's offer, and was about to accept, but then paused. "Perhaps it would be better if you told Akito that I'll be along in a few minutes?"
Kureno nodded, and headed back to the main house.
Shigure ushered his cousin into the house ahead of him. He was amused to notice that Yuki seemed to have scrambled over against a wall so that Ayame wouldn't see him. Tohru seemed to still be in the kitchen, or had returned to the kitchen. Ayame was so focused on getting back to Hatori that he probably wouldn't have noticed them if they had been wearing pink tutus and dancing a tango. Shigure revised the thought: Ayame would have noticed only if the pink was an unflattering color. This set off a string of amusing mental vignettes that kept Shigure's mind occupied until reaching the bedroom.
Kyo looked asleep, but he was back in his human form, and more or less tangled in a blanket. Kyo's hand was still on Hatori's arm, and, Shigure noted with dismay, Hatori's hand was exactly where Kyo's bracelet would normally rest. For a moment his mind went blank, and Shigure just sort of stared at them.
Then he shook his head, and laughed at himself, because it seemed that Kyo was taking a catnap. "Kyo-kun, wake up."
Kyo shifted, frowned, and reluctantly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times. Finally, he mumbled, "He's not gonna let go of me unless he's touching someone else."
Ayame was already moving. The way he settled around Hatori was a bit possessive--well, for Ayame it was a bit possessive; for anyone else it would have been very possessive--but Kyo didn't react at all. Shigure was beginning to wonder if a very bad thing was happening.
When Hatori shifted to cuddle against Ayame without loosening his grip on Kyo in any way, Shigure began to genuinely think a bad thing was happening, especially when Kyo didn't really try to get free at all. Shigure had expected that Kyo would leap at getting to put his beads back on. In fact, Kyo was normally very alert as soon as he woke up.
Shigure moved forward with no real plan. When he got within a step of them all, he suddenly found himself thinking how comfortable it would be to just join everyone on the floor. There were blankets after all, and since they were all juunishi there wouldn't be any annoying transforming, and.... Shigure gave his head a sharp shake and frowned. He was sure that had never happened before, not even when Akito-
Akito was still waiting. Shigure mentally crossed his fingers and picked up Kyo's beads. There was so much he didn't know about how and why the beads worked, but hopefully it was just a contact thing, and it wouldn't matter which hand Kyo had them on. Shigure mentally crossed his toes for good measure, and dropped the beads onto Kyo's right hand.
Hatori reacted immediately by releasing Kyo and practically burrowing into Ayame. Kyo shivered for a moment as if he'd suddenly felt a draft, before slowly rolling onto his back and pulling his beads onto his left hand. Then Kyo lay there still shivering, destroying Shigure's theory that the beads would make everything better.
"Kyo-kun? You might be warmer if you put your shirt back on."
"Wha? Oh, sure." Kyo started to get to his feet moving slowly almost as if he was under water, but a sudden puff of orange smoke put a stop to any thoughts that Shigure had about Kyo being okay. To make matters worse, the smoke made Hatori start coughing again.
"Dammit, this was a bad idea to begin with. I'll get him out of here before changes back." Shigure scooped up the Cat and the clothes.
"'Gure-san? It wasn't, really. 'Tori-san's fever feels much lower."
Shigure smiled slightly. "That's not why I think it was a bad idea." Shigure walked back to the living room, leaving behind a very confused Ayame.
He deposited Kyo on the couch, and only said, "He's tired," before walking out the door. Behind him, he could hear Tohru fussing over the cat. He felt a small amount of guilt for dropping yet another burden on the girl, but his main focus was guessing what Akito wanted. He came up with far too many guesses, most of them bad, but none of them rang true.
When he reached Akito's house, one of the servants sent him to the bedroom, rather than the room Akito used for audiences. Shigure could feel the frown on his face, but Akito rarely called him to these rooms--these days, anyway. They were among the oldest rooms of the structure, and hadn't even been wired for electricity. It was almost always a bad thing when Akito chose to break his patterns, and Shigure didn't know if he could successfully dance to Akito's whims right now.
He gave his head a quick shake to drive his dark thoughts away, and forced a smile onto his face, before knocking lightly. Akito's voice wasn't weak or ill-sounding when he called out, which threw out any number of Shigure's more reasonable theories. He entered warily, and was mildly surprised to see that Akito was already in bed with Kureno tucked in next to him. Only two candles were still lit, making the scene more, more something. Shigure was too tired to think of an appropriate word, and too tired to feel jealous.
Shigure knew, as did all the older juunishi, about Kureno's sleeping arrangements, but it wasn't something that Akito normally flaunted, at least, not when he wanted something. Shigure occasionally wondered if the discretion was something Kureno requested, or if it was because Akito saw the closeness as a weakness somehow, but it was a question that he would never ask. Kureno rested with his head lower than Akito's, looking almost submissive, but the position of the man's arm was clearly protective. However, even though the positioning clearly defined the relationship, Kureno's face showed absolutely nothing. Shigure realized that he really wasn't too tired to feel jealous after all. Shigure hovered uncertainly in the doorway, and bowed almost formally.
"Shigure, come here." Akito's voice had some negative edge to it that Shigure couldn't interpret, but he managed to keep his body language neutral as he walked to the bed, doing his best to ignore Kureno. From above, in the faintly flickering light, Akito looked even more fragile than he did in the full light of day. His hair seemed truly black, and his skin, ethereal, even more like a doll... or a god to be worshipped.
"Shigure." Akito's voice reminded him to kneel.
Shigure dropped to his knees, allowing one arm to rest on the bed. He found himself reluctant to blink, and had to curl his fingers in to keep from reaching to touch. Akito had been so very young the last time Shigure had reacted this way to him. It had been so easy to blindly love that young toddler, back before life had taught Akito cruelty and Shigure caution. Now, it seemed that Shigure was too tired to remember things like caution, and he was inexplicably sad that caution had ever been necessary.
The moment grew too intimate, too meaningful, too intense, and Shigure had to break it. "I came to see you, Akito-san."
"You always have to state the obvious, don't you?" The words should have expressed annoyance, but Akito's tone was affectionate. Perhaps Shigure would have to stare worshipfully at him more often. Before Shigure could think of any sort of a reply, Akito reached for his shoulder and tugged so that Shigure was leaning on the edge of the bed. Shigure twisted his back and neck into a dreadful position just so he could continue watching Akito's face. "Shigure, if you have such a strong urge to be in pain, I can think of more interesting ways to cause it."
He blinked a few times, and then shifted so that his head was resting on his arms, which were lightly pressed against Akito's side. Shigure looked up at Akito and let the expression on his face ask if the position was acceptable. When he received the barest hint of a smile, he settled his weight more fully onto the bed.
This time, Akito stopped the silence from spreading too thin. "How is my Dragon?"
"He is... He is worse than he was this morning, but better than he was in the afternoon." Akito's hand was running through Shigure's hair again, and it took far too much willpower for Shigure to not lean into that hand. "He hasn't really woken up since lunch, but he's been quiet. He's transformed a few times. Oh, and since lunch he's been clinging to us, Aaya and me. We had to get Kyo-" Akito's hand tightened painfully in Shigure's hair. "Him. We had to ask him to stay with Haa-san so that we could get dinner, and-"
Akito interrupted, "Did my Monster take off his beads?"
"Yes. Well, he allowed them to be removed." Shigure suppressed a wince at the appellation, or perhaps at the pain from having a steady pull on his hair.
"How did you convince him?"
"I don't know. I suggested that he was the better choice because Yuki is so susceptible to colds and such... I didn't ask him why."
Akito finally stopped pulling, but the motions of his hand took on a weighing quality. "And that is why my Dragon is better?"
"I believe so, Akito-san. I only know that things are different with the Cat, not how. I don't know if we should ask him again though. He seemed very... drained by it."
"If I asked you to stay a night with me, would you?" The games began without warning.
"Of course, I would, Akito-san." Shigure answered without thinking, or noticing that the steps had begun.
"If I asked you to stay tonight?"
Shigure took a deep breath, and then answered carefully. "If you asked, I would express my doubts that Ayame could watch over Haa-san on his own."
"And if I asked again for my Dog to stay with me?"
"Then your Dog would stay." And the man would be divided. Shigure was drawn too thin, was just too tired, to keep a small hint of reluctance from slipping into his voice.
"Why?" Akito asked the question that the Sohmas so often avoided.
Shigure wasn't sure if the sharp intake of breath he heard was his own or Kureno's, just as he wasn't sure if it was his words or his tone that were being questioned. "Why? Because, you asked me to take care of Hatori, and to make sure I wouldn't be distracted from doing so. If you were to ask me to stay, I would have to presume that the new request was more important to you than the old one. And 'sides," Shigure broke off to yawn before continuing, "it's comf'terble here." Shigure's brain froze, and he tried to figure out if he'd really just said that. It seemed that his habit of acting greedily childish was catching up with him at the worst possible time. If only he wasn't so, so drained.
"You do seem very concerned with your own comforts, don't you, Shigure? One would almost wonder why you would go to the inconvenience of looking after your cousins." Akito's voice ran like water through Shigure's mind, and it was so tempting to just agree.
"Mmm... no. Need them. Need you, too. You're a cousin, too. Need you all to be ok." It felt so right to be there, and the floor wasn't all that uncomfortable....
"Shigure, sit up."
"Hhn?"
"Shigure. Sit. Up."
He blinked groggily a few times, and finally moved. "I'm sorry, Akito-san. I didn't..." didn't mean to almost fall asleep.
With Shigure out of reach, Akito started running a hand along Kureno's back. Shigure tried to remember if Akito was normally anywhere near this tactile. "Have you arranged to have more help with Hatori tomorrow?"
This time Shigure managed to follow the topic change. "Yes, Akito-san. Ri'chan is coming in the morning, and I'm going to ask Yuki-kun to tell Ha-kun and Momiji at school. Um, where is Momiji, anyway?"
Kureno spoke for the first time. "He went to Kisa's right after school. Something about a Mogeta marathon."
Shigure's face twitched. That show was spectacularly bad, and really only viewable when it was accompanied by Hiro's scathing commentary.
Akito scowled. "The children are forbidden to watch it anywhere I might overhear any of that drivel." For a moment, the three adults were in silent agreement over the horrors of children's programming. "Shigure, will you and Ayame be enough for tonight?"
Shigure hesitated before answering. "I think so, Akito-san. Ky- er, the Cat seemed to have really helped him, but Haa-san was almost violent in the way he clung to Aaya after."
"I see." Akito frowned slightly, lost in some calculation that only he would understand. The only sign that he was even alive was the faint rise and fall of his chest, and the hand moving on Kureno's back. Shigure's mind started slipping back into rapt fascination with the play of light and flickering shadows across Akito's face.
Akito moved abruptly; his hand seemed to leap from Kureno's back to the man's hair, and suddenly Akito's mouth was pressed to Kureno's. Shigure sat there in shock, not managing to think much beyond "Ooh, pretty," with a touch of "Why do I have to see this?" thrown in for good measure. Maybe he should start entertaining the idea of approaching Kureno.... It took a very long time for Shigure to realize that what he was seeing wasn't so much a kiss as a... sharing of air. Other than a flexing of Kureno's hand every few moments, they didn't move.
Kureno was just starting to tremble when Akito broke off the contact, and his motions held that same lethargy that Kyo had suffered earlier. Akito beckoned Shigure with a gesture, and Shigure had to give himself a shake to move again. He wasn't quite sure what he'd seen, but it had been too beautiful for words. He moved forward, eager to touch, yet uncertain of what to do.
Akito's hands were gentle on his face, but almost painfully hot. Surprised concern flickered across Shigure's face, but it was lost as he met Akito's eyes. Akito was utterly, and totally compelling, and his slate gray eyes slowly became Shigure's world. This close, he could see tiny flecks of green and black, and other colors that had no names. Shigure's sharply indrawn breath tasted of heat, life and.... Akito deliberately breathed across Shigure's lips, and Shigure shook with the conflicting needs to throw himself into that warmth and to obey Akito's controlling hands.
The rush from Akito's lips touching his own was moonlit races with his pack, triumph baying at the stars, and sunlit naps in the summer. It was everything good about living, everything good that his human body knew from the so-called curse. Somewhere underneath it all was the scent, for lack of better word, that Shigure associated with Kureno.
Akito pulled back far too soon, but perhaps later than he should have. Shigure felt alert and ready to run races, but Akito was clearly tired as he snuggled back against Kureno. Shigure should have had a mental stutter at thinking about Akito snuggling, but his mind was too active to pause now. Not worrying about the liberties he must be taking, Shigure carefully tucked the blankets around Akito's shoulders, and listened to the orders his kami was giving him.
A/N: No quotes to site this time, so on to the comments!
D-chan: Thanks again for suffering through my rough drafts!
R.C. McLachlan: Eep! No crushing the writer! But I'm very glad you liked it.
Aura Black Chan: Thanks! I have a soft spot for Kyo. Apparently that makes me torment him.
Yukako: Thank you! Your review had me bouncing for hours. Also, that was my 50th review on this, so um, you get a hug. Yes.
LaLa: If you write Torikyo, I'll read it. Heck, now that it's in my head, I might even end up writing it.
Darkest Aphelion: Thank you! I got this review on my birthday, and I swear it was the best present evar!
babymar-mar: Thank you, and sorry about the wait. I hope you think it was worth it.
Lina Darkstar: Thanks!
The-kaiba-heir: Um, sorry for the wait. I hope you survived it.
TapTap520: Did you like your more Akito?
Lisabee: If I could turn the text red, I would, because I still blush when I read that. Thank you so much!
Kashuneko: Thank you! And here is some of your more.