Hattori sat, pinching the bridge of his nose. Aaya always gave him a headache. "You haven't thought about anything," he scolded, "you never do."

"Tori-san!" Aaya whined. "Don't be mean…"

"Mean?" Hattori raised an eyebrow. "I'm only warning you. If you're really in love, then you've gotten yourself into a real mess."

Aaya pouted. "You should be happy for me. Be happy for my happiness."

"I would," Hattori agreed, "if it weren't destined for failure." He sighed. "You know that Akito won't allow it. You knew it when you began this, but you're stubborn, and you're foolish, and you thought you could cheat consequence."

Shigure watched in amused silence. It wasn't that he enjoyed watching Aaya get scolded… but he really enjoyed watching Aaya get scolded.

"I… didn't think it would ever end up like this." Aaya said seriously, after a moment. "I thought it would be a fun little affair and done with it… but Kyon-chan didn't want that. He made me wait and I got too excited by the challenge to give up the game… and then, before I knew it…" he sighed. "I fell in love with him."

"Ah, so you're pinning the blame on Kyo?" Hattori asked. "Well that's fine, you know that Akito will too."

"Tori!" Aaya whined again. "That's not what I meant!"

"Well you should think about what you say." Hattori lectured. "You know how Akito feels about Kyo. He has no love for the Cat and the boy has no love for him. Should Akito find out about this, Kyo is the one he will punish."

Aaya shifted uncomfortably. "Then we won't let him find out."

"Very optimistic of you." Hattori scoffed. "And I suppose you know what you'll do after…?"

Aaya looked away.

"He graduates in less than two years, Ayame. Do you think Akito will let you visit him in his prison?"

"I don't want to think about that." Aaya whispered.

"You'd better." Hattori scolded. "How will you prepare for it if you don't think about it?" he set his tea cup down. "He's going to break your heart," he predicted, "and you'll do so much worse to him."

Aaya slumped, letting his head rest on the table. "Tori-san… you have such an elegant way of making me depressed." He sighed.

"You do make an easy target." Hattori replied.

"What do they say?" Shigure mused. "The higher you hold yourself, the harder it feels when you're knocked down?"

Aaya lifted his head, glaring at the other man and a tear slipped down his cheek. "Then I must think very highly of myself… because this hurts," he replied quietly.

Shigure sat up a bit straighter, startled. "Aaya… if I'd have thought… I mean, if we'd have known you were serious about all this, we wouldn't have teased you."

"I wasn't teasing." Hattori replied, unrepentant. "I only told you the truth. You should know what to expect, Ayame."

Aaya wiped at his cheek. "I know… You're always right, Tori… but it doesn't change the fact that I've really messed up. What do I do?" he asked in a resigned voice.

"Well, there's really nothing you can do." Hattori replied with a shrug. "You can't make yourself stop loving him and you can't take back the things you've done… just hope you don't get caught."

"Aren't you coming home today, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked after school the next day.

"Uh… no," he replied, a bit flustered. "I'm going to Aaya's shop today…" he flushed a little.

"Oh, that's right!" she smiled. "I almost forgot. Say hello for me."

"Yeah." He agreed, waving his goodbye. It was still a shock to him how well she had taken all of it.

"I'm gay."

"Oh, well that's good."

"What do you mean 'that's good'! That's my secret!"

She paused a minute. "That's not so terrible."

"It's.. it's not?"

"Getting red marks would be worse," she decided gravely, "much worse."

A moment later, Yuki had caught up to Tohru, a puzzled look on his face. "Where does he think he's going?" he asked, a note of disgust in his voice.

Tohru shifted her feet uneasily, quickening her pace a little out of nervousness. "Well… he said he was going to visit Ayame-san… today." She replied hesitantly.

Yuki cringed. "They're perverts, both of them," he spat.

"Do you… think so?" she asked politely, trying to keep up her end of the conversation.

Yuki stopped. Did he? "Don't you?"

"Well…" she paused. "I - don't necessarily think… so…"

He balked. What could he say? "But… the things they do… don't you think it's immoral? It's worse than Shigure and Aaya! At least they're just pretending!"

"Well…" Tohru contemplated, "It's not really something I'd thought about. I mean… is it really so bad?"

"You didn't see what I saw." The prince argued, desperately trying to win Tohru to his side, although he wasn't really sure he was on his own side. "It's wrong. I think it is."

"No," she agreed. "I don't suppose I did, but… what did you see?"

Yuki flushed. He couldn't tell her. "I… they were together."

She stared at him blankly. "Yes. That's because they love each other… right?"

"They don't love each other." He argued, although he had nothing to back it up, then paused. "Miss Honda… do you… know what sort of things people do when they're in love?"

"Oh! I think so." She smiled, glad to be on a subject she understood. "When people are in love, they want to give nice things to each other and hold hands. Things like that." She beamed, then looked confused again. "Why is that… so wrong?"

Yuki flushed. He couldn't tell her, or he'd feel like the pervert. "Miss Honda… don't you think it's strange for two men to feel that way? To feel the way a man and a woman should?"

"No," she replied evenly. "Is it strange? I don't think love knows such boundaries."

Yuki was caught off guard by her reply. "But… they can't get married; they can't have children; what justification is there for them to be together?"

"They make each other happy." She replied with a smile. "Isn't that what love is for? If not, then what about women who can't have children? Can't they love? And what about people who aren't allowed to marry? What about the Sohma?" She met his eyes. "Can't you love, Yuki?" she asked.

He blinked and then flushed. "But…" he had no argument. Why shouldn't they be happy? Why shouldn't they be in love? Because they weren't! He reasoned, but who was he to decide that?

They walked awhile in silence. "I suppose… you're right." He finally said, but if she was right, if he could truly accept that, then why was he still so upset?

"You Jerk! Why would I wanna wear something like that! It's embarrassing!" Kyo flung the offending article at Ayame. "It's all a big joke to you, isn't it! Dammit Aaya!" He turned to storm out of the door, but was restrained.

"Wait, Kyo, please!" Aaya held fast to his wrist. "Don't be upset. It was only a joke, look." He picked at a seam, pulling out the embroidery "somebody's gay lover", and handed the shirt back to Kyo. "I really did make it for you." He apologized. "I wanted to create something just for you. The embroidery was just a joke, but… I thought you might like the shirt, at least."

'The shirt' was a modified Chinese style tank-top with a high collar and a shortened torso. It was black with red detailing and really brought out Kyo's eyes, Aaya thought.

Kyo stared at the shirt in his hands. "It's…it's fine," he replied, a little embarrassed by his previous reaction. "I'll wear it."

Aaya's eyes lit up. "Will you try it on now?" he begged like an excited schoolboy.

"Right now?" Kyo asked, then catching the look in Aaya's eyes. "Yah… okay."

Once he had changed, Kyo modeled the shirt for Ayame and Mine.

"Oh! It's perfect, Sensei!" Mine cooed. "He looks very handsome."

"Yes… he does." Aaya agreed, transfixed by his thoughts. He had imagined the shirt would look cute on his little lover, but he'd had no idea how much it would affect him to actually see the boy wearing it.

"You're not mad at me anymore?" Aaya asked hopefully, stroking Kyo's cheek lightly.

Kyo stared at the ceiling. "No," he replied quietly. "And… I wasn't really before. I just… I thought you were trying to… make a fool of me."

"I would never do that." Aaya replied. Then after a moment, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

Kyo shook his head. "I can't. Not tonight."

"I just meant… to cuddle, not anything else." Aaya explained.

"That's not why." Kyo brushed off Aaya's concerns. "I have to write an essay for school tomorrow."

"Ah…" Aaya couldn't help but be relieved. He hadn't really been able to talk to the boy since… everything, and he had begun to worry that maybe Kyo wasn't happy about it. He didn't want to think he'd done anything to make Kyo unhappy. "Well… you should probably go, then… so you can finish on time." He said reluctantly.

"Yeah…" Kyo agreed, but made no move to leave.

Aaya rolled onto his side to study the boy. Kyo was staring at the ceiling, his cheeks slightly pink as he continuously tried to swallow a lump in his throat.

"Do you… want me to kiss you?" Aaya asked slyly.

"… I don't care." Kyo replied. "You can if you want to." But his blush deepened, telling Aaya that he did care.

The snake grinned, leaning over the boy, his hair falling like a silver curtain around them. He gazed into Kyo's ginger-colored eyes for a long moment before leaning in.

He brushed his lips over the boy's, flicking his tongue out to taste Kyo's breath. He placed a chaste kiss on the corner of Kyo's mouth before matching his lips to the boy's, kissing him softly.

Kyo nervously allowed his lips to part, letting Aaya deepen the kiss. He could taste the older man's breath and smell the cleanness of his hair and the sweat of his skin, and he shivered as his rival's older brother moaned gently into his kiss. It wasn't the first kiss they had shared, but the first since they'd made love. Kyo wasn't sure he was ready to do it again. He wasn't sure if he'd been ready to begin with, but he also wasn't sure if he could resist, should Aaya ask him to. It felt so good to be loved, to be touched by someone, anyone. He had never allowed himself to even dream of such things, knowing what he was… knowing that he was… a monster.

"Wait!" he gasped, pushing Ayame away from him. "Wait…"

"What's wrong?" Aaya asked, concerned and slightly out of breath.

Kyo looked away, embarrassment in his eyes.

Aaya recognized that look and cupped Kyo's face, turning it to face it. "Don't think about that." He told him. "I don't."

Kyo jerked away a little harshly. "Well you should," he spat, "Because it's not going to change."

"I don't care." Aaya replied calmly. "I don't want it to."

Kyo chanced a look back at the man. "That's stupid," he told him. "Of course you want it to change. I'm… disgusting. Don't tell me you're not afraid of it."

"I am." Aaya agreed. "I'm afraid that it hurts you, but without it, you wouldn't be Kyo. You wouldn't be the boy I love."

"How can you say that, Ayame?" Kyo demanded. "You don't have to pretend this is anything more than it is."

Aaya flinched, hearing his formal name. "Kyo…" he asked quietly. "Are you pretending?"

Kyo glared at him. "Of course I'm not!"

"Then…" Aaya sat up, offended. "How dare you question me?"

Kyo sat a minute, surprised by Ayame's response. "But…" he protested. "You're not… a monster."

"Yes I am!" Aaya hissed angrily. "I am a monster you couldn't even imagine! I am the sort of monster who cares only for himself! I am the sort of monster that stands idly by while his own brother is abused! I am the sort of monster that dares to put his lover at risk for his own selfish needs. I am the worst kind of monster!"

Kyo sat blinking for a minute. He really didn't know how to respond, and he certainly hadn't expected Aaya to get angry. He cleared his throat, then leaned forward, kissing Aaya softly. "I'm not pretending," he said quietly. "I love you… Aaya."

Aaya smiled, all of his anger melting away. "Good." He replied almost giddily. "You'd better. I made you a shirt."