Disclaimer: I do not own these boys or their universe; that belongs to Asano Atsuko.

Reviewers: All 18 of you, thank you!

Author's Note: This chapter turned out to be another monster ::grins sheepishly::. Therefore, I decided once again to split it. The title is actually an adapted quote from Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.

I really do like this chapter, though—I think it might actually be one of my favorites. I didn't realize how much I liked Inukashi as a character until I started writing her, and although Nezumi will always be my favorite in this series, both she and Shion are starting to get up there, too. Please enjoy!

Rating: T/M (language, issues, things get a little heated between our two boys)

Summary: Almost exactly three years after No. 6's downfall, the wandering star returns home…(Post-Series. Reunion-fic. Multi-chapter.)

"Speech"

Personal Thoughts/Memories (Italics)

.:No More Farewells:.

By Sentimental Star

Chapter Five: Thou Canst Not Be False (Part I)

Sheets rustle near his head. The mattress dips as a warm weight shifts against his side.

With a soft moan, Shion cracks his eyes open. For a brief moment, he wonders if he is still unconscious: it is so dark, so quiet…then he becomes aware of the soft exhalations against his neck and the steady ba-thump, ba-thump that sounds close to his ear.

The mattress shifts again. Something feather-like brushes his cheeks and forehead.

"Shion…?"

His name is but a breath. When he searches out its source in the darkness above him, a pair of eyes—more silver than gray in the moonlight—glitter down at him.

Ah…it's been so long since I've last seen them like this.

A tired smile breaks out on his lips. "Nezumi…" he murmurs, voice worn and exhausted, but still so, so happy.

Nezumi leans down until their faces are but a breath's span apart. This close, Shion can see the painfully concentrated attention the other boy pays to his every movement, to his every breath…

I think I worried him.

At this proximity, the strands of Nezumi's hair slide easily between his fingers and he makes ample use of that soothing motion now. "…I didn't mean to worry you. This happens sometimes, when I don't eat or get enough sleep."

Nezumi groans, dropping his face into the crook of Shion's neck. "You moron…! I thought you were seriously hurt. You've been out for four fucking hours, Shion! Your mama was worried sick!"

So were you, apparently, Shion notes quietly.

His free hand joins the first, cupping the back of Nezumi's head and tangling his fingers still further in raven hair. Tucking a small kiss against the soft strands curling around Nezumi's ear, Shion whispers, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"My ass it isn't! Shion, you-!"

He is cut off by Shion's lips pressing firmly against his own. Hazily, Nezumi reflects that if Shion ever wants to shut him up, then this is a spectacular way to do it: his adrenaline is so high, and his emotions are so vexed, that keeping his hands to himself and his body under control is damn near impossible.

His hands fly up to Shion's face as he roughly reciprocates the kiss, tangling his own fingers into Shion's hair and forcing the other young man's head back into the pillows as he kisses him without restraint. His message is loud and clear:

You scared the hell out of me!

Shion's fingers clench in his hair and a surprised moan is drawn out through his lips as Nezumi's tongue demands entrance to his mouth.

He gives it, always willing, but his response has a very different effect on Nezumi:

At that first moan, Nezumi's body flushes with so many different emotions and reactions that the most he can do is cling to the collar of Shion's pajamas and do his damnedest not to drown.

His hips jerk forward, pinning Shion to the bed as his hands scrabble for purchase on any piece of clothing that they can find. They feel like they're burning. Wherever his hands make contact with Shion's skin, they feel like they're burning.

Then they brush Shion's stomach and the other nineteen-year-old convulses beneath him with a soft cry, bringing their hips and pelvic bones in direct contact with each other.

Nezumi tears his lips away from Shion's with a desperate snarl as their bodies press together, pleasure shooting straight through his core, "…Fuck! Sh-Shion, we can't-!"

His breathing is ragged and uneven. His own stomach is convulsing, his chest heaving…sweat has already beaded his forehead, but his mind is reeling—at a thousand kilometers per minute.

Shit. I can't do this! He's not ready, and I-!

"Nezumi…?"

Shion's fingers brush his cheek, coming away damp.

"Nezumi…you're crying! What-?"

Nezumi gives a savage snarl, burying his face back against Shion's neck and choking back a frustrated moan.

Oh, Gods, he wants this. More than almost anything else he wants this, this closeness to Shion, but—

"…Do I really scare you so much?"

Shion's voice is quiet, but it gets Nezumi to look at him. Concern burns in his red eyes, apology…and a little bit of hurt, too.

Fuck.

"It's not you," he's desperate to explain himself. "Shion…believe me…it's not you. If this goes any further…I won't be able to stop, Shion. I really won't."

The hurt is mollified, at least, but now Shion is confused…and a bit angry. "Why is that a problem?"

Nezumi's gaze is disbelieving, approaching scandalized: "Shion! You…don't tell me you seriously think you're up to that after what happened today! You just collapsed a few hours ago!"

He is completely startled by the warm laughter that suddenly shakes Shion's body, "Nezumi…I appreciate your concern, truly I do. But I'm not going to break. I'm not made of glass. Of all people…you should know that."

Nezumi sits back on Shion's legs, slightly stunned. He is still very aware that he is straddling Shion, but their position is the last thing on his mind right now.

He's forgotten this, the sheer tenacity and resilience that Shion possesses. And it reassures him a thousand-fold more than any well-meaning or placating words ever could.

And Shion knows this.

Swallowing, Nezumi rolls off of him, utterly unsure how to handle the rawness and sense of exposure Shion's knowledge of his idiosyncrasies elicits from him.

Before Shion came into his life, no one, not even Inukashi, could claim to know shit about who he was or what motivated him. With Shion's re-entry into his life three years ago, that mask had been spectacularly shot to hell.

It had scared him, and he'd run from it, run from the boy who knew his heart. It has taken three years, and several brutal months of self-reflection, but he finally realizes that the only place he will find some measure of peace is at the side of the boy he'd left behind. He has to go back to move forward, and despite how illogical it sounds…he wants to.

…But that doesn't make this situation any easier to handle right now.

So respond how you normally wouldn't!

…

Why does his conscience have to sound so much like the airheaded idiot currently lying beside him?

"Nezumi…?"

Speaking of His Majesty…

Groaning, Nezumi buries his face in the sheets of Shion's bed, resuming his previous position—curled up close to Shion along the edge of the mattress. "…You're such an idiot, Shion."

"Am I?" Shion's response is mild, but the rest of his statement is implied:

You're not making much sense yourself at the moment, Nezumi.

Nezumi's hand lightly raps him across the chest. "Shut up. It's true."

He is grateful to hear Shion's quiet chuckle, "Of course it is."

Nezumi shifts, edging closer to Shion until he can bury his face in the other boy's shoulder. "…Shion?"

"Mmm?" Shion has rolled over onto his side by now and his fingers have once again woven themselves into Nezumi's hair. His nose nudges into the ebony strands.

"…I'd give you anything you wanted, you know. If it were at all in my power…I'd give it. But if you ask me to do it at the expense of your health…" his jaw sets and he pulls back, silver-gray eyes smoldering, "No way in hell is that happening, Shion. So you'd damn well start taking better care of yourself!"

Shion looks rather startled. Half a dozen emotions flicker across his face: anger, amusement, fondness, exasperation…but it finally settles into a softness that has Nezumi's cheeks and ears burning. "What if I promise to try?" he murmurs.

Nezumi scoffs softly, intending to remark that instead of promising, Shion should be doing, but at that moment, Karan's voice carries up the stairs, "Nezumi?"

Nezumi sighs quietly, standing up. "I'll go reassure your mama." Abruptly, he firmly plants one hand on the bed beside Shion's head and leans down so they are at eye level. "Don't you dare try moving, Shion. You move, and you're dead. Got it? I'll bring you some food up. Just so you know…I'm not above force feeding you if necessary. Understand, your Highness?"

A tired smile breaks out on Shion's face. "Nezumi…" he murmurs, lifting his hand to cradle the taller boy's cheek.

Nezumi blushes faintly at the touch, closing the remaining distance between them with a small kiss. The darkness hides his tender expression as he pulls back, moving his lips to Shion's forehead where they linger for a moment before shifting away. "I'll be back in a minute, Shion," he whispers, brushing his fingers through the other boy's hair before stepping towards the door, "Just rest."

That sounds more like an order than a request, Shion notes with quiet amusement, but doesn't have enough energy or will to object.

IOIOIOIOIOI

As the door falls shut behind him, Nezumi slumps against it with a groan, burying his face in his hands as he tries to come to terms with what has just happened.

He isn't used to worrying so earnestly over someone. Even though having Shion live with him three years ago had given him a crash course in what it meant to protect someone—especially someone as dear to him as Shion—it barely even scratched the surface of how this feels. He thinks he can detect his hands faintly trembling.

"Hmph. I was planning to yell at you, but I guess it'll have to wait for another day. Damn…and I was looking forward to it, too."

Nezumi snaps his head up at the disgruntled mutter, staring at Inukashi who is standing in front of him, arms crossed lightly over her chest. She fixes him with a surprisingly impassive look (considering she is usually scowling at him); tinted just slightly with something that looks a lot like compassion.

He can't even muster the will to glare at her. "…How long has he been like this?"

And damn it, his voice isn't that fragile, but he can hardly take it back now.

Inukashi glances away, and he thinks he catches a wisp of sadness in her dark eyes, but that might just be his imagination. "Caught on, have you?"

Nezumi straightens, hands dropping to his sides where they clench tightly into fists. There is so much in her tone, and he doesn't like what it implies. "If you mean I've caught on to the fact that he has absolutely no regard for his own health, then yes! Why the hell didn't you or Karan say something!"

Inukashi's smile is sardonic as she turns back to him. "Well, we would have, but your nonexistent mailbox was sadly out of commission. You should really talk to your post office, you know. I suspect your mailman is a bit of a coward."

Humiliation flushes Nezumi's cheeks and he glances away, ignoring the stare Inukashi now has locked on his back. "…I don't need you to tell me that," his voice is very quiet, "I know I'm a coward. But I'm fucking trying, all right?"

He's turned back to her now, and he looks so angry, and so confused, and so heartbreakingly frustrated and worried, that Inukashi—for the first time in her life—regrets something she has said to him.

She hasn't been idle these past three years—Shion hasn't let her. He's asked her for information regarding Elyurias, the forest folk, and anything about Nezumi in general. Where is he? Has she heard anything from him? Has one of her sources spotted him? Is he healthy? Is he alive?

Half of them have been rhetorical questions, but the other half…she knows Nezumi better now than she ever thought she would after almost three years of keeping tabs on him. Truthfully, more than she ever wanted to.

At the very least, it has helped her understand him better.

"Nezumi…" she certainly isn't apologetic, but at least she can give him this, "You know Shion is in love with you, don't you?"

Nezumi's tired stare speaks volumes. "Why does it matter?"

Although she has promised herself she won't shout, Inukashi is unable to bite back a snarl, "Why does it matter? Think for a minute, idiot! What if I told you he first started collapsing from overwork and exhaustion almost exactly three years ago, huh? How would you respond then?"

Like I just gutted him, apparently, Inukashi notes drily a few moments later, scowling to herself when there is no response. Damn. That's not how it was supposed to come out.

Unfortunately, she is just angry enough with Nezumi, and just upset enough about the fact that he has abandoned Shion for three fucking years, that she refuses to take her words back.

Brusquely, she shoves past him, pausing with her hand on the door before entering Shion's bedroom, "I doubt my forgiveness means shit to you, but just so you know…Karan and Shion already have forgiven you. For that reason, and that reason only, I'm willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Don't you dare fuck it up."

Then she is gone, through the door and into Shion's room behind him, leaving Nezumi to wonder how the hell he is supposed live up to that type of expectation.

IOIOIOIOIOI

Shion is sitting up in his bed when she enters the room, and her face relaxes into a vague smile upon seeing him awake. "Should you be up, Boy Wonder?"

Reaching over to the lamp on his desk, she flips it on and pulls out his chair, spinning it around so that she can flop down onto it.

A faint smile touches Shion's lips. "You're just as bad as Nezumi, you know."

Inukashi shrugs, far less affected than he thought she would be, "You know he has every right to be worried, don't you? Despite how much I detest that fact."

"Inukashi-"

"We've been over this, Shion. I'll forgive him because you have, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

"…You've found out some more information, haven't you?"

"Whatever clued you in?"

Shion's smirk is weary, but he raises an eyebrow, letting her know he isn't beaten yet, "Perhaps the fact that you're being unusually tolerant today? I heard what you said to him before you came in, you know."

Inukashi's cheeks color, "Che…is there anything that brain of yours doesn't know?"

"Several things, incidentally, but I doubt you want to hear them," Shion's smile is just as tired as his smirk.

Inukashi lightly flicks his forehead with her finger. "So lay down, idiot, and I'll tell you what I found."

Shion doesn't move, watching her with an attentive red gaze.

Inukashi rolls her eyes, folding her arms across the back of the chair and resting her chin on them as she smirks fondly. "Stubborn ass. Fine, then…you're explaining to your overprotective caveman downstairs why you're sitting up when he comes back, not me."

Shion chuckles softly. "Nezumi is not a caveman, Inukashi."

"No?" she snorts derisively. "He certainly spent enough time those rocky tunnels under the Correctional Facility that you loved so much."

Inukashi knows just how far she can push Shion when it comes to talking about the Correctional Facility. Three years on, and he has given her the less painful details of his little foray into Hell. That doesn't say much, of course, and it certainly doesn't mean she likes bringing it up, but tonight she has a reason:

"Rou sent Nezumi's robotic vermin back to me last night. You remember? I mentioned it to you when we were at the orphanage today…" she smirks slightly. "Not that I really expect you to remember. You decided to play hero before I got the chance to tell you anything else. The two kiddies are fine, by the way."

Shion sends a small smile her way. "I know—Nezumi and I saw them before we came here. Actually…I never thanked you for that, did I?"

"Bah," Inukashi waves him off, "it's over with now, so it doesn't matter," but she is wearing a very small smile, so he knows she appreciates it. "In any case, Rou had some interesting little tidbits to share with me. For instance, did you know that our rat's tribe lived only near Rose Town and No.6?" When Shion blanches, Inukashi sighs and buries her face in her arms, "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too. Rou looked. He searched for years, talked to everyone he possibly could, but none of the other city-states had anything like it. If there were any other "indigenous" people at any point, they've all long since died out or gone into hiding. Not that I blame them—native tribes don't seem to have a very long life-expectancy, especially if they're part of the minority."

"Nezumi's the last one—the very last one?" Shion's voice cracks. Inukashi knows that if she raises her head, she'll see that he is on the verge of crying.

She hates that look on him.

"Yup. Sucks don't it?" she sounds thoroughly depressed.

I may not like the rat all that much, but I'd never wish this on him…

Even in her own thoughts, she can't admit that she's grown to consider Nezumi something of a friend. Certainly, he isn't Shion, but he has his own brand of kindness and in the deepest part of her heart, Inukashi finds herself crying for him.

She finally looks up at the white-haired boy, "You still intend to follow through on this plan of yours? 'Cause, you know…if there was ever anything you could do for him, well, more than you have already…then that might be it. I have some information on that, too, actually. You interested?"

Shion straightens noticeably. "Of course! What else did Rou say?"

Inukashi is able to smirk a bit wider this time, "He's impressed by your research capabilities, apparently. In the message he sent, he just would not shut up about all the different rituals you could try…"

IOIOIOIOIOI

(Thirty Minutes Later)

When Nezumi shoulders open the door half an hour later, carefully balancing a full tray in his hands, Inukashi is watching Shion doze with a soft, half-smile. Whatever snit she had been in when she confronted him in the hall seems to have long since dissipated…not that he can really blame her for being angry in the first place:

Hell, I deserve it. I know that…but it's not like I need her shoving it in my face. I already know how much I must have hurt Shion.

Somehow, Nezumi can't bring himself to tell her to fuck off. He suspects the food he is carrying has something to do with it: there is stew, and cherry cake, and bread on the tray, as well as hot cocoa. Nearly an exact replica of the meal Shion gave him seven years ago. How on earth is he supposed to muster the proper irritation necessary knowing that?

Inukashi reaches out and nudges Shion's sleeping form with her toe as he enters, "Oi…! Sleepy-head…! Lover boy's back."

Nezumi scowls at her for the newly-acquired nickname, but doesn't verbally object; half of him hopes Shion will continue to doze. He isn't sure what the other boy needs more right now—rest or food. At this point, he'll take either one of them.

Shion wakes easily enough, smiling warmly at her, "Oh…you're still here. I thought you'd be headed to the hotel by now."

Inukashi shrugs, standing and stretching, "Yeah, well…Sion'll be fine with Rikiga and the dogs for a little while. Hmph. If I weren't afraid he'd corrupt the kid I would've stayed a little bit longer. Your mama's stew smells fantastic."

Shion's smile is still tired. "It usually does."

Catching the anxious look Nezumi sends Shion's way out of the corner of her eye, Inukashi smirks, "By the way, Shion…" her tone has both boys watching her warily. "Your boyfriend here could use some reassurance. Perhaps you should show him a few of things you've learned, hmm?"

Shion turns bright red: "INUKASHI!"

The girl's laughter trails her out the door.

End Chapter