This was supposed to be posted yesterday….but life has a way of derailing a lot of my plans. Oh well. Today is the day! The end of this short and sad fic! But good news…it's a fluffy happy ending. Also, as a warning, when it comes to me and cute love triangles…this is the outcome I usually prefer.

Thanks to the few who have reviewed:

Fierywolfchild

Spiel

Killing Lies

And my bff Lemony Goddess (who still owes me ten bucks)

Cupid's Lost Arrow chapter 5

When Kouichi opened his eyes, all he saw was white. He immediately panicked, assuming that he was either in a hospital or in heaven. Luckily, as soon as he sat up, the white fell away and he realized that he was still in his room. He glanced down and noticed the white washcloth sprawled across his lap. He could feel water coming from it and soaking through the blanket onto his leg. So someone must have placed it on his forehead to help him cool off. He had been feeling hot and sticky earlier…but who could have done this…and why? His parents were out of town and Katsura wasn't…

"Oh," he said out loud.

The door suddenly opened and Kouichi glanced up as Katsura and Sou entered the room. The atmosphere was tense and Kouichi wondered why the other two looked so uneasy.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Katsura flinched and Sou frowned, but neither of them spoke. Kouichi was a now a bit peeved. Why were they acting so weird? First of all, they were in his house! Second, he was still upset about yesterday so he wasn't exactly pleased to see them. Third, he still felt hot and for some reason his arms were itching and slightly throbbing. He glanced down and pushed off more of the blanket to observe his arms, and gasped. There were multiple bandages and most of his arms were wrapped in gauze. The more he moved his arms, the more spots of blood he saw.

"What happened? How did I get hurt?" he demanded.

Katsura again flinched and refused to look up at him. But Sou seemed to have snapped out of his moping period and walked over to stand over Kouichi. The older boy was quite intimidating due to his cool and almost unaffected expression, height, and strong upper body. Kouichi knew that he had pissed his senpai off the night before by kissing Katsura, and he worried that the angry college student would beat him to a pulp now.

Sou surprised him by sighing and gently holding onto one of Kouichi's arms as he murmured, "You had a fever this morning and accidentally knocked over a vase and picture frame off your night table. I think you fainted and landed on the pieces of broken glass on the floor. We cleaned up the cuts and wrapped them to stop the bleeding. They weren't very deep but there were so many of them that you lost a lot of blood."

Kouichi blinked and gaped at him for a few minutes until he got his brain to work again and said, "That makes sense. I remember waking up to the sound of voices and then there was a bright light…and glass shattered and I felt sharp pain in my arms…and then nothing."

Katsura finally approached the bed cautiously and asked, "Kouichi, do you feel better now? Should we call your parents or take you to a doctor? We weren't sure what to do. I was really worried …umm…we were really worried."

Sou and Kouichi didn't miss the hidden significance in that statement, but chose not to say anything. Now was not the time for more drama. Kouichi smiled warmly at his Assistant Captain and held out a hand for Katsura to hold. Katsura blushed and did so, but only after glancing up at Sou for permission.

"Sorry to scare you. I'm much better now, thanks to both of you. I don't think we need to call anyone. So…why are you guys here anyway?" Kouichi said lightly.

Katsura tensed again and Sou's eyes narrowed. The heavy subject which had been looming overhead was once again bearing down on them.

"Kouichi, we came to talk to you about what happened last night. Sou and I decided we should get everything out in the open," Katsura spoke as calmly as he could, despite the fear squeezing his heart.

Kouichi's face lacked expression for a minute but then cracked into a cheesy grin, "Oh that? That's old news. Don't worry about that. I'm past it…so you two need to let it go too! It was a one time thing right? No hard feelings?"

Katsura opened his mouth to reply, but Sou cut him off gruffly, "Sakurasawa, stop being an idiot! Can't you see what's going on?"

Kouichi was speechless and could only shake his head in the negative. Katsura stifled a giggle as his normally cold and unruffled boyfriend scowled and turned away to hide his blush. Speaking from the heart had always been quite challenging for Sou. He only let his barrier down around Katsura, and now it was crumbling in front of Kouichi…his former rival. Why former, one might ask? Because…

"Kouichi…we wanted to tell you why I kissed you and why Sou was ok with it," Katsura began as he smiled and his twinkling eyes stared at his confused best friend.

Sou made a sound of disgruntlement before he turned to face Kouichi, blush still in place and even darker than before, and said, "Katsura never chose me over you…at least not in his heart. He loves you too…and wants to be with you."

Kouichi was stunned and if he hadn't already been sitting on his bed, he definitely would have collapsed. Katsura returned his feelings? He loved Sou but wanted to be with him? And why did Sou seem ok with it? Why was Sou blushing? His head was spinning but he stayed silent, waiting for the punch line…because surely this was some kind of joke…a sick joke.

"Kouichi, what Sou just said is true. I do love him and want to stay with him…but I can't deny that I do have feelings for you too. So, we talked for a long time about this and came to the conclusion that since Sou has an interest in you as well, we'd like to ask you to be our boyfriend," Katsura rushed out.

Kouichi felt as if the breath had been knocked right out of him. He was nearly convinced that he had lost his mind or he was dreaming. There was just no way…

"It's true. I know it's a lot to take in but just think about it for a while before you say anything ok? We'll let you get some rest now. If you need anything, just call us ok, Kouichi?" Sou said as he led Katsura to the door.

Kouichi? Sou never called him by his first name! Kouichi could only nod in response and watched silently as they left his room. Were they for real? Kouichi pinched himself on his shoulder and winced as he felt the pain. Yep, this was definitely real. But how did this happen? He was so sure that Katsura would never love him back…and the idea of Sou having feelings for him too was absurd! No, he'd never be that lucky. He'd always admired his senpai and been envious of him for his beautiful archery and his relationship with Katsura. But he'd never imagined being in that kind of relationship with him! With Katsura…he always felt hopelessly lost…as if Cupid had made a mistake by shooting him with an arrow meant for someone else. He wondered if he was supposed to have fallen in love with another member of the archery team or even a pretty girl at his school. That arrow had to have lost its way and he was the first unfortunate victim in its path.

Could a relationship between three people even work anyway? There were so many problems with just two young men being together…but three? Society would look down on them, they could never get married, they would not have kids (although there was nothing wrong with adoption), and their families would be furious! Katsura was lucky that his dad and brother seemed ok with it…but what about Sou's family…and his own? It was such a heavy burden and Kouichi wasn't sure they would be able to handle it. Why was life so difficult? He finally had a chance at love and happiness with Katsura (his best friend and the one he had loved for so long)…but there were so many obstacles.

Most importantly, Katsura could not be the only one in the relationship being loved by the other two. Would Sou and Kouichi ever develop stronger feelings for each other? They had spent so much time pining after Katsura and battling each other over him…that they had never really taken the time to get to know one another. Sou probably wasn't the insensitive jerk he always pegged him for and Kouichi knew that Sou had always only thought of him as a manipulative brat. The chances of them falling in love were slim to none! Kouichi was about to call them back into the room when suddenly…he remembered something.

His arms were burning from the cuts and he felt the fever leaving his body as cold seeped into him. But then, there was a source of warmth beside him, around him, beneath him, over him. He was cradled in strong arms and his head rested on the firm chest of someone. The voices were muted but in the back of his mind he knew Sou and Katsura were there. Sou was the one holding him? His body was shaking and he could hear the fear in Sou's voice. Where had the strong, calm-headed Vice-Captain he knew gone? This person was completely different. This person was vulnerable and frantic with worry. Worry over him.

As he felt darkness taking over, Kouichi heard Sou whisper, "Don't you dare die Sakurasawa."

Kouichi gasped as his memory was restored. They were telling the truth! They had feelings for him! He felt tears spring to his eyes and tried to call for them, but he choked over his sobs. As if by magic, Sou and Katsura appeared and were instantly beside him. Katsura held his hands and whispered comforting words of affection. Sou leaned over them and rubbed Kouichi's back soothingly and Kouichi could see the concern in his eyes.

As soon as he managed to take in a solid breath, Kouichi said, "I decided that I'd like to try being with you…both of you. But you have to promise that even if it doesn't work out…please don't stop being my friends. It would break my heart if I lost you guys."

Katsura and Sou exchanged a surprised glance, before looking back at Kouichi with identical smiles.

"We promise."

So, I told you it would be short, sweet, and fluffy. Yes, I know not all triangles can be resolved like this…but seriously, there are so many times where I wish all three could be together so that no one would get hurt. Examples: Eerie Queerie (Ghost), Gravitation, Absolute Boyfriend, Fruits Basket, and Alice 19th. Just to name a few. Anyway, thanks for reading! I was happy to write for this great manga series!