RYUUEN'S BAN/KAZUKI FICLET COLLECTION

V.

Himiko had asked Ban once, in a rather uncharacteristic bout of curiosity, what it was exactly that made Kazuki beautiful to him. It was a simple question, something that shouldn't have warranted even the slightest of thoughts. Ban had merely shrugged then and carelessly answered "everything", as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. Himiko had rolled her eyes at the awfully clichéd response but did not push for any more answers and Ban simply dismissed the incident as another of Himiko's attempts at dealing with his and Kazuki's relationship.

It is only a few days later, however, as he finds himself lounging on the couch in Kazuki's impeccably clean living room, with his half-asleep, half-naked lover resting against his chest that he realizes just how "everything" doesn't quite suffice. How such a simple word (for isn't "everything" just that -- a mere word?) couldn't possibly describe the way Kazuki's eyes shines almost amber in the subdued lighting of his apartment or the way his hair frames his deceptively feminine face just so. It couldn't describe how soft his lover's skin feels under his callous hands or the way their bodies seem to fit so perfectly together, skin against skin. It couldn't describe the way a rosy blush would stain Kazuki's cheeks every time he'd say or do something incredibly cheesy but nonetheless romantic and how that tinge suits him just fine. It couldn't describe the way Kazuki's hands would instinctively seek and find his, twining their fingers together, even in his sleep, nor could it describe the way his name sounds so right coming from Kazuki's lips. It couldn't begin to describe just how much Kazuki makes him want believe in such ridiculous things as happiness and fate and eternity. And the feeling of home and contentment and this is where I want to be each time they kiss...

A soft sigh, and the body resting against him shifts a bit, allowing him a more unhampered view of his lover's sleepy face. And he smiles, trailing careful fingers over the other's fine features, as he has done a million times before. Kazuki leans in to the touch, almost purring in appreciation, half-lidded amber eyes regarding him with an almost unreadable expression.

"Ban-kun," he greets after a while, finally coherent enough for speech, all the while suppressing a yawn with an expression that Ban usually thinks is just too damn cute. And then he smiles... smiles in that maddening, impossibly beautiful way of his that makes Ban remember what it was that made him fall for Kazuki in the first place.

And then it finally hits him, the moment of illumination fierce, almost blinding. And he couldn't help but laugh out loud at how he hadn't thought of it in the first place.

Kazuki frowns a bit, trying to figure out what could have prompted his lover's odd behavior (not that normalcy was something that could be attributed to said man) this early in the morning. Ban simply shakes his head and laughs even harder.

Kazuki glares at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Ban says. "Nothing at all."

Kazuki pouts then, another of his rather adorable expressions, and Ban finds himself spending the next fifteen minutes kissing that pout off his lips.

"You're beautiful to me," he says simply, when they finally part. "Too damn beautiful."

Kazuki blinks, somewhat taken aback the seemingly random compliment.

And then he smiles, looks into his eyes and takes Ban's hand in his, pressing it against his chest, over his heart, in a silent thank you.

And Ban thinks that maybe "everything" wasn't just a word after all.

"It's the way he smiles," Ban finds himself saying a week after, drawing a confused glance from his companion, who had spent the better part of the last hour glaring at the drink he had bought her.

"What?"

"The way Kazuki smiles... It's what makes him beautiful to me."

"Oh..."

"Ban..."

"Hmm..."

"That sounded incredibly sappy, did you know?"

"Mhmm..."

"Ban..."

"You've got it bad."

Ban shakes his head and smiles in spite of himself.

"Don't I know it, Himiko? Don't I fucking know it."

Not that he was complaining, of course.

End.