Title: Crystal
Rating: PG-13/R
Genre: Romance/Angst/Humor
Summary: AU; "He's as… fragile as crystal…" To wear matching rings is believed to be the ultimate expression of love… complete detail inside
Pairing(s): Harry/Tom R.
Warnings: AU Yaoi, slash, Boy/Boy
Disclaimer: Don't own fandom. Concept behind story doesn't belong to me either. Story itself does. So does Moorinto… and various cameo characters. So don't sue me or have me erased because I'm not going to lose my very first-ever paycheck to people who don't know how to read a disclaimer.

Summary: The ultimate expression of love… In the small town of Moorinto, it is believed the ultimate expression of love is to wear a matching ring with the one you love. It could also be the deepest sign of friendship, depending on which finger you wear it on. When the semi-loner Harry Potter suddenly finds his matching ring with the person he least expects, it's an up and down coaster ride to discovering if this person could be his worst enemy… or his greatest love.

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AN: As usual, terribly sorry. I've had a shitty few weeks. My only excuse for being terribly late when I should have had this up last week is that in all of three weeks I ate something I was allergic to, studied for and completed my finals, had a pregnancy scare, started and got caught up in ideas for the sequel to Crystal, and then got a viral infection in my throat that turned into strep, then tonsillitis, back to strep, then back to simple infection. ¬¬"

But, now I'm on vacation so I have more time to write, you lucky, lucky people. :grin:

Dedicated to YummyYaoi, my 100th reviewer! Yay!. :-)

And also thanks to my loverly Beta, Phaidra! Kissess!

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Harry didn't think he could dare to turn around. He felt like a deer in headlights, and probably looked it too. He debated internally. On the one hand, he wanted to turn around and demand Riddle explain himself. On the other, he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"…Riddle…." What do I say to him? Why did I come after him like a lost puppy? Should I turn around… and will he glare hatefully at me if I do?

"Mr. Riddle," Tom corrected. Harry's fingers twitched, the only sign of his annoyance. "I thought you might come running after me if I left, and it looks like I was right. Left as soon as you saw me walk out of the gym, right? Stupid. This will be Morino High's first win in seven years, and you're missing it." A hand on his shoulder made him tense and he spun around sharply to get rid of the burning touch. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat at the calm expression belying the upperclassman's harsh words.

There was a brief moment of silence. "Your shoelaces are untied." Harry stared blankly at him for a few seconds, thrown by the complete non-sequitur and looked down. He blinked, then kneeled to tie his shoes, berating himself silently for his apparent inability to speak. He paused his shoe tying for a moment in surprise as Tom kneeled next to him.

"The game will be over any minute, you know. You sure you want to miss that?"

"You may be able to fool everyone else, but I'm not fooled so easily. You didn't plan on staying for the whole game since the beginning." Harry switched shoes and looked up at him. "It's because of you we're winning. Most likely, the team want you to be there with them." Tom looked at him for a moment before looking away.

"Doesn't matter. It got boring." His jaw nearly dropped in disbelief.

"You're using that as an excuse? It's a lame one, and you can totally tell that you're lying." Tom glared at him, mostly in annoyance.

"If I'd stayed behind, I would have just gotten annoyed. Don't read more into it that that, okay?" Harry frowned and continued tying his shoe. But there is more to it that a that. A lot more.

A shrill whistle and loud cheers pervaded the resulting silence. Voices shouted, "Morino! Morino!" louder and louder, interspersed with cheers and screams and stamping feet. Tom stood.

"It's official, then. We won."

Still frowning, Harry didn't answer. He chose, instead, to consider him somewhat confusedly. He drew his thoughts together as he stood, observing vaguely how much taller the older student was before dismissing the unimportant revelation to the back of his mind.

"Why did you accept?" Tom looked at him, seeming almost startled by the question. "The position, why did you play as a reliever if it was only going to annoy you?" Tom stared at him.

"I'm not sure," he admitted quietly after a moment. He shrugged. "They needed someone, they asked, so I accepted. That's it." He changed the subject abruptly. "I need to go change." He started to walk back toward the gym.

"But that's not it." Tom stopped but didn't turn around. "You didn't leave because you were annoyed. You left because you didn't want everyone to see the win as solely yours. You gave the glory of the win to the team, because you are an outsider, only a temp. Even though you deserve a small part of it."

Tom turned around and regarded him in much the same way that Harry had regarded him previously, only with dim annoyance instead of confusion before his eyes grew blank. Harry suddenly realized his shoulders were tense in trepidation and attempted to calm himself down. Finally, Tom sighed and ran a hand through his still slightly damp hair.

"How would you know anything about me or the reasons behind my actions?" Harry flinched. The question, even though meant as a thought murmured out loud, struck a chord in his chest. A chord that for some reason was painful. He averted his eyes to the side.

"You're right. I wouldn't know anything." Tom sighed again, this time in clear irritation.

"I didn't mean anything by that," he said, rolling his eyes. "It was just a question." Harry looked at him and his eyes were drawn to his hand, still resting on his head, the hand he wore…. Wait, where was the ring?

Did he get rid of it because it matches mine? Harry suddenly felt panicked, hurt, and utterly confused all at once. Why should he care, right? Now he'd be the only one with that ring…. But then why did he feel like he had just lost part of himself?

"I took it off," Tom said, as if knowing, somehow, exactly what was going on in his head. He glanced at his ring-less hand. "I wasn't about to lose it again. That would just be idiotic." Harry frowned, partly at the relieved feeling that eased the pressure from his chest, partly from being called an idiot, even unknowingly.

"So I guess that makes me an idiot then."

"Excuse me?" Harry's eyes flickered to his right hand, at the scuffed-up ring sitting innocently on his middle finger.

"Before that day in the washroom, I'd lost it before. Not long after I bought it, actually." Tom gave him a look he couldn't decipher.

"Really…?" Harry suddenly felt compelled to tell the whole story.

"The situation was almost the same. I took it off to wash my hands, and I guess I forgot about it, because I didn't realize it was gone until an hour later. I didn't pay that much for it, and the reason for it was… petty, really, so I gave up looking for it beyond the last place I remember having it." His eyes held a far away look as he remembered. He couldn't recall the name of the store, or what part of town it was in, but he remembered that it was the only one that was simple to suit his tastes and actually fit. He had bought it right after….

"A week later," he continued, banishing that thought, "It showed up from nowhere, right out of the blue. I came to school a little early that day, and… it was just sitting there, on my desk. I don't know how…. It was like it had fulfilled some sort of purpose and had come back." He shrugged, embarrassed. "Pretty stupid thought, I guess. But I can still remember what it had felt like to see it sitting there when I look at it." He held up his hand and looked at it fondly. "It's my most prized possession. I mean, who wouldn't be happy to get something they'd already given up on?" He fidgeted, suddenly very self-conscious. Why'd he have to go and spill all of that out for?

"Something I'd already given up on….? I guess… that would make me happy too." Harry looked up in barely concealed astonishment. "Still… too bad we have the same design. It looks a lot better on me, wouldn't you say?" Harry gaped at him.

"What are you…"

"You know, your attitude definitely doesn't fit your looks. Not cute at all."

"Cute? Riddle, don't…"

"Mr. Riddle. I thought we covered that last time? Besides, I said not cute, stop getting defensive." Harry glared at him.

Damn you. It was going so nicely, too. Then you have to go and open your mouth, and everything gets shot strait to hell. Now I look like a fool, coming after you all worried…

"One of these days, you'll get tired of your ring," he said through clenched teeth. "And then you'll stop wearing it, or get rid of it. And when that day comes, I'll be celebrating the fact that my ring's alone again. Because I'm never taking mine off again, and that way I'll never lose it."

Behind Riddle, the doors of the gym were opening as people began to leave. Harry felt like kicking himself for saying those words, even if, in a way, he felt justified saying them. It still was not what he wanted to say it at all, but he was almost afraid of blurting out that he had felt the two rings were two halves of the same whole. He didn't even want to think of what that could mean….

Instead, he turned away to leave. He didn't get very far. A hand shot out and grabbed his wrist almost painfully, forcing him to turn back around. He felt a spike of nervousness at the coldness in Tom's eyes.

"You never shut up, do you?" Suddenly and without warning, Harry's ringed hand was brought up and a kiss was placed directly atop the band of silver and gold. Harry froze, stupefied. His fingers tingled, as if burned. Tom gazed at him for a moment before turning and walking towards the gym. Harry didn't stop him this time, couldn't even if he had wanted to.

Tom had just kissed his ring…. The though kept repeating in his mind, over and over like a mantra. But why? Was he just… mocking him? Nadi's words came unbidden and with sharp relief to the forefront of his mind.

("I hate to say it, Harry, but do you think… maybe Tom Riddle just really hates you?")

For some reason, his chest constricted.