Sorry it took so long... I'm such a lazy writer, lol. And I have soooo mcuh homework, it's insane. And a speaking test in French tomorrow :gulp: BTW, late victory dance about reaching 300+ reviews!

Warnings: Thatz/Rath shounen-ai...

Dragon Knight Snippets: Hiding

"Hm… I wonder where Rath is…" Thatz scratched his head distractedly, "Really, you'd think after years of this happening, he'd just give up and go to his lessons without putting up a fight… Rune's the one who knows where he hides anyway!"

Yes, he was a bit disgruntled. Here he was, looking for Rath so he could happily escort the Fire Knight to Alfeegi's lessons. And Rune, who usually took it upon himself to accomplish this particular Rath-related task, was off on a mission. Thatz preferred hiding rather than seeking- it was something he was especially good at, a skill honed through a childhood spent evading angry shop-owners after successful swipes.

"So…. Where to look? If I was Rath, on a really hot summer day, avoiding lessons… where would I go?"

Thatz figured somewhere around the gardens was a good place to start, at least. The air was heavy with humidity and the scent of the flowering trees. The green-haired knight lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he glanced up at the trees laden with flowers and the barest hints of budding fruits.

A sprig of red contrasting sharply with the green leaves and pastel yellow flowers caught his attention, and he grinned. Stepping underneath the relieving shade of the tree, he looked up to find Rath sitting comfortably among the sheltering branches of the tree, hands tucked behind his head as a make-shift pillow.

"Well, well… let's find a special way to get him off there."

OoO

A couple minutes later, Thatz returned from a short trip inside the castle with a fishing pole and an alarm clock. Tying the alarm clock to the fishing line, he raised the pole, letting the alarm clock hang an arm's length from the knight's sleeping face. He suppressed a devilish chuckle and watched Rath's face carefully, mentally counting down. Three, two, one…

RRRRIIIIIIIING!

Rath's body jumped, and he mumbled something and reached out to shut the offending item off -effectively rolling off the branch.

"Oh shoot…" Thatz muttered as Rath plummeted down to earth.

CRASH

Thatz had forgotten that he was right underneath the spot where Rath would fall. Rath's now-all-too-awake face seemed to be in shock, and Thatz had a moment to feel soft lips crushing his almost painfully, a pale hand stuck uncomfortably between his chest and the small body pressing down on his, limbs tangled together. Then Rath seemed to snap out of his numbness with a violent shudder, his face heating up and his eyes seeking privacy underneath his bangs. The warmth of his lips was torn away fromThatz'sface abruptly.

The Fire Knight scrambled off with unneeded urgency, leaving Thatz rubbing his chest painfully and feeling mildly hurt at Rath's reaction.

"Well, that was a boon to getting you off the tree," Thatz muttered, licking his lips absently, trying to recapture the fleeting feeling of Rath's lips on his.

Rath's ruby eyes were wide with horror, and Thatz felt his stomach sink at the sight of them.

"What, did you not like it?" he knew he sounded defensive, but couldn't help it. Rath lowered his eyes even further to stare fixedly at the ground, "Well, I did," Thatz snapped, feeling his world crashing down as an uncomfortable silence descended upon them like molasses, and the sight of Rath's downcast eyes.

"I… I did too," the small voice was thinner than thread, trembling with fear and another emotion, and Thatz's surprise was replaced with confusion and concern.

"Rath?" he hesitated before reaching out to touch the knight's face, smoothing his fingers over the pale skin.

"But… you know… about me."

It broke Thatz's heart to hear the misery and distress, the self hatred in Rath's quiet voice, and he frowned.

"Know? Know what about—" his eyes widened in realization, and he lifted Rath's chin roughly to look into wide crimson eyes swimming with insecurity.

"So? You think I care?" his lips ghosted over the corner of Rath's mouth as his tone softened and hewhispered, "You think that makes a difference in how I feel?"

Rath's eyes remained wide, as if processing the words, and the silence drifted about them in waves of tension. Thatz's hopes rode on the flower petals the wind carried through the space between their faces.

The Fire Knight's grip tightened on the folds of Thatz's shirt. His face seemed to contort with a mix of relief and confusion, and with his next breath, was buried deep in the warm enfolds of the Earth Knights arms.

So there's the ThatzRath. I'll try my hand at either a RathKharl, TetheusKitchel, or a NadilLyk that I have swimming in my head. Whichever one you want first.

Puppy: Well, not to reveal spoilers but... YES! He does::squeals: I have scans too, of him and Gil, so if you want them, tell me and I'll email them to you. Glad you liked them. The battle scene I really didn't bother with, since if wasn't the main point of the fic, so I just slacked off on it. Lol.

Vera-chan: Bad-ass Gil :Huggles: He's such a great character, cause he can be all tough and icy-cool with a snappy mouth, as well as the most adorablekitten on earth. :hides him in her special closet where only she can have him: And I bet when (or if, lol) we find out more stuff about Ram, my portrayal of him will be totally wrong.

Kage: Yay! You liked! You and Capella are the ones I try to please the most with my Gillaams, so I'm glad you like them.

Schnickledoodle: Um... did I spell that right? Anywyay, I'm happy you found them so funny. I try. Hard. Cause I suck at humor. But yes, I'll try to come up with a Kharl/Rath one.

Long Forgotten Howl::grins: He does reappear. I have scans if you want me to email them to you. :huggles Ram: Love him to death, he's the funnest character to write. :cries too: Poor Gil baby! My sister almost cried when I told her his life story, lol.

Lim: Who doesn't love all-adorable Ram? Lol.

Aquajogger: LOL. I kept their 'sign of maliness' intact, to quote Lagoon Engine. :cracks up:Well, if I ever castrate them, please tell me. Lol. :Shrug: I guess I put up well with annoying reviewers cause by the time I post and respond, the annoyance has worn off and I don't relly give a flip. But yeah, it ticks me off too. Lol, yes P-BAM. That's how I say it too, cause it's too long a name... Did you sleep well, at least, since you were so tired when you reviewed? Lol. I could justsee Alfeegi as the revengeful type when it came to silly grudges. ... I was mentioned in your paper? How the heck does that come about::blink: Not that I'm mad, I'm just wondering how a fanfic author gets mentioned in a school english paper. "and speaking about this, there was afanfic with my two favoreite characters making out, andthe author, etc etc etc..." :laughs:

Dark-birdie: Wow, that's right, I haven't down a Ruweege :likes name: In a while. So I'll keep that in mind too::writes it down:

Capella: Argh, I hate it when my computer screws up and I have to rewrite a review! What's your first fave shounen-ai pairing? I had fun writing Overprotective!Gil, lots of fun. Think I'll use it more often, lol. That is so true, why even bother getting Tsukasa's gender straight when we have an anime/game liek Sukisyo where the seme guy looks like a girl and the uke's the one who looks manly? That really confused me, lol. I'm really glad you like the Gillaam, as mentioned above (like, another-review-above) you and Kage are the ones I try to please with my Gillaams.

THANKS EVERYONE! Next snippet: 330.