A Walk with You

~*~

"There's no need to be frightened, my dear Kouko."

Koushirou could barely bring himself to look up at his lord. "I-I'm sorry, Lord Taichi."

Lord Taichi smiled. "No need for apologies. Shall we?" He offered him his hand.

Koushirou stared at his hand – firm and calloused, yet gentle and kind. And, fingers trembling, he pushed himself to accept it.

Lord Taichi's fingers laced through his, and his whole body seemed to quiver. He felt the magnetic pull of desire and the frosty shock to his heart, yet he let Lord Taichi hold his hand, and he tried to revel in it.

They began to walk, starting over the same bridge that Lord Taichi and Mimi had walked down, and they were silent for awhile. Koushirou admired the beautiful garden, but he never forgot that he was holding hands with Lord Taichi. He was nervous that he wasn't saying anything, but at the same time, he didn't know what to say.

He didn't realize exactly what he had been wondering all of this time, deep down, until they reached a gazebo in the middle of the garden. Lord Taichi led him there, and they sat. He gazed into Koushirou's eyes, never flinching once, his eyes deep and wonderful.

The question bubbled to the surface. "M-my Lord..."

Lord Taichi was clearly surprised that he had spoken. "Yes, Kouko?"

"Why..." He hesitated. "Why did you choose...me?"

Lord Taichi broke into a soft smile. "There was something about you."

Koushirou looked up at him and blinked in confusion. "Something...about me?"

"Yes," he replied, furrowing his eyebrows, serious. "I can't explain what it was. It's just..." He searched for the words. "You're absolutely beautiful. But it wasn't just that. It was...it was more than that." He fixed his eyes on Koushirou. "I felt something with you."

"Like a...a connection?" Koushirou whispered.

"Yes..." Lord Taichi replied.

They were close. They could feel each others' breath. The attraction between them...it was incredible. There was a...spark between them; something neither could pinpoint nor describe.

Kami-sama, I want you... Koushirou's thoughts ran rampant as he stared into Lord Taichi's eyes, which looked just as glazed-over with desire.

Just when he thought their lips might touch, Koushirou pulled away in fear. I can't do this! I can't do this! It's too much...

Lord Taichi looked hurt at first, but he relaxed, for he seemed to understand. Instead, he took Koushirou's hand again. "I would like to know more about you, Kouko."

"More...about me?" Koushirou cast a shadow over his eyes. "Well...I'm not very interesting."

"I'm sure you are," Lord Taichi encouraged, taking his fingers and raising Koushirou's face to meet his. "I'm interested, anyway."

"Well, alright..." Koushirou took a deep breath and exhaled. "I was born and raised in a small village far away from here. My parents..." He drifted off for a moment.

That's when he remembered.

Orphan.

It wasn't a lie: He truly was an orphan; he forgot that fact sometimes. He wasn't supposed to know, but he had overheard his parents talking about it one day. His parents had died of fever shortly after he was born, and they had taken him in since they could not produce any children of their own. But they had loved him like their true son, and in his heart, he was their true son – nothing less of that.

"My real parents died when I was very little," he told him. "And some neighbors took me in. They were the most loving parents any child could ask for. They..." He started feeling homesick. "They taught me everything I know. My father, how to work in the rice fields, and my mother, how to cook. And both...both taught me how to appreciate the good things in the world. They...taught me how to love...to love the world we live in..." He turned away. How he missed his parents! "They passed away a couple of years ago," he spit out.

"I'm sorry," Lord Taichi responded, sorrowful, yet somehow full of awe. "I almost wish I could have lived such a life as to relate with you."

Koushirou shook his head. "That is the last thing I would wish for you, My Lord."

He glanced up at Lord Taichi again. He was smiling at him. "I would suffer through it for you, Kouko."

Koushirou blushed hard. "Y-you barely know me."

"I told you: It's something about you." His eyes grew serious. "For some reason, I feel like I could die for you right now."

Koushirou turned away hastily, blushing furiously, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Oh, was that too much? I'm sorry, I didn't mean... Ugh, I'm such an idiot..."

Koushirou peeked over his shoulder to find Lord Taichi with his head in his hands. And suddenly...he didn't look like a nobleman anymore. He looked surprisingly...normal. Human. Equal.

Koushirou scooted over to Lord Taichi and placed his arm around his back. Lord Taichi looked up, hopeful.

"It's okay, Lord Taichi. I..." He blushed. "I've dreamt about you ever since I first saw a painting of you. This is...this is my dream."

Lord Taichi suddenly straightened as he heard this. "You...you feel this, too?"

"I do, Lord Taichi," Koushirou whispered.

Lord Taichi relaxed. "Beautiful..." he murmured as he traced Koushirou's face with his fingertips. Koushirou shuddered in bliss. He couldn't believe Lord Taichi was looking at him like this, talking about him like this, touching him like this... It was too much, all too much!

"My Lord," began Koushirou, trying to start some new conversation. "I, um... I met your sister today."

"Oh?" He pulled his hand away but never took his eyes off of the redhead. "I hope she didn't bother you too much."

"No! She was not a bother at all. She is very kind," Koushirou said. "You are lucky to have a sister like her."

"Ha! See, she acts all angel-like when she's around other people, but when she's just with me, she's a devil!" Lord Taichi exclaimed, starting to break loose. "I swear, I'll do one little thing wrong, and she will tease me relentlessly for it! Doesn't help that Yamato decides to join in, too..."

"Yamato?" Koushirou inquired.

"Oh, that's Ishida-kun. You know, the advisor that was waiting with you?" Ah, the blond. "I'm technically supposed to call him Ishida-kun in public, but he's grown to be my best friend as well, so I'll call him Yamato when it's much less of a formal setting."

"Ah, I understand," Koushirou replied. "Well, anyway, I think it's nice that your sister likes to joke around with you. I mean, I'm sure she's always just playing."

"Oh, she always is, it just gets annoying," Lord Taichi said. "But I suppose that's a sibling's job. I try to fulfill that job description, but she always seems to do it better than me."

Koushirou laughed. "I think, deep down, you love your sister very much."

"I think, deep down, you love me very much." He stared at him as though to challenge him.

Koushirou brought up his courage. "And what would give you the overwhelming confidence to make that assumption?"

Lord Taichi seemed impressed by this response. "Hmm... I don't know. Perhaps it's the way you're trembling right now..."

And so he was. Lord Taichi was reaching over to him...put his hand on his leg...started moving upwards...oh...

But he had to pull away. Still blushing, Koushirou managed to reply, "I thought you said that 'love' wasn't part of my job description."

Lord Taichi paused. "True, Kouko. Very true." It had a note of sadness and frustration to it.

"But..." He looked over at him and put on a sly smile. "I'd be willing to let you make an addendum."

Lord Taichi grinned. "That can be done, my Kouko. But," he moved over to whisper into his ear. "It would only be between us."

"O-of course, My Lord," Koushirou stuttered, his heart pounding. Love?

Lord Taichi tried to turn Koushirou's face to him, but then Mimi's words suddenly echoed in his ears:

"Just play really hard-to-get. It'll make him want you all the more."

So he suddenly stood up and said, "Perhaps it's time we head back."

Lord Taichi, startled, stammered a reply. "Y-yes, I guess you're right." He stood up and took Koushirou's hand. "Let's go."

They walked back in silence, simply savoring the closeness between them. The flowers, the ponds, the butterflies – none of that was any concern to Koushirou. He just focused on Lord Taichi's touch, his breathing, his heartbeat... It was breathtaking. The walk ended all too soon. He was leaving Lord Taichi all too soon.

Yamato was in sight. Koushirou decided to take the opportunity to thank him. "Thank you, Lord Taichi."

Lord Taichi smiled and stopped on the top of the last bridge. "I don't want you to call me that. It's too formal. I don't want our relationship to be that formal."

"Okay...Taichi-sama."

Lord Taichi flinched. "No, that's no good either. Still too formal."

Koushirou fidgeted. He felt uncomfortable calling him anything lower than that. "T-Taichi-san..."

Lord Taichi raised an eyebrow, but Koushirou could only look down and shake his head. "Taichi-san."

Lord Taichi sighed. "Well, that's good enough, I suppose." He smiled. "So polite." Then, he raised Koushirou's hand and kissed it. "So beautiful."

His entire face red, Koushirou quickly bowed and excused himself, scurrying away past Yamato, running to his room, running to collapse on the mattress and rejoice in his happiness, his fright, his exhilaration.

For Lord Taichi wanted to love him.

Taichi-san...