Chapter 4 – Seto's POV
He had watched Noa get up and wander out the door, leaving Kaneko hanging with her mouth wide open. Seto smiled at her. He knew the look that had crossed Noa's face. It was the same look that plastered itself on his face every time he saw Serenity. The black haired girl gave him goose bumps still. He remembered fondly getting to know the sweet young girl. Smiling softly to himself, he thought back to those days.
Getting the Empress' permission to take the rest of the day off after the afternoon in the garden, he had wandered over to where Serenity and her friends sat at during dinner. Striking up a conversation first with Kaneko, whom he had met months before, and then Serenity, he had slowly made it a goal to eat with them each night. At first Serenity had been quite shy and quiet when Seto was around. Seeing this made Seto fall even more in love with her. He had talked to her friend and finally, after getting Kaneko, the young girl who happened to share a room with her, to draw Serenity out of her shell during these times, he had begun to familiarize himself with his bashful beauty. From there it had been a whirlwind romance much to Princess Misaki's chagrin. After a few months, though, the young noble had backed off, understanding that Seto was definitely uninterested. Nothing serious had happened but Seto didn't care. He was more than happy. Then to add to their happiness, Noa, the young boy from the north, had arrived. Noa reminded Seto so very much of his own little brother who was killed by a childhood flu. He had readily adopted the young albino and taught him the craft of the sword. After Seto moved the younger boy into their room, Kaoru had been startled and a little angry at first. He and Noa had been all but inseparable.
Kaoru had started to act a little different around the younger boy and Seto was wondering if he could possibly believe the tales that were flying across the palace about Noa being a demon and the Emperor buying him from the far West to protect against enemies. Seto hoped that his childhood friend had more sense then that. Shrugging, he tried not to be hurt by his friend's obvious discomfort towards his all but adopted little brother. Mornings were now spent protecting the Empress, with the occasional afternoon thrown into that mix if she wanted to journey out of the magnificent palace, while afternoons were spent getting to know Serenity better and swapping stories with the other courtiers. Kaneko had all to readily allowed Seto too join their circle and the others had followed the young girl's lead.
Now they were curled up in a room, Serenity wrapped in his arms, listening to Kaneko and Noa chatter happily. Or at least they were before the party had passed the door, moving silently and ghost like. Seto's eyes stayed on Noa, making sure the boy was alright as the young albino hung out the door. Seto always worried about the rose-color eyed boy because of his fragile mental state. He saw Noa take a few faltering steps into the hall. Disentangling himself from Serenity, he wandered to the front of the room and, like Noa, leaned out the door watching the exchange take place. He heard Serenity and Kaneko also get up, then felt their warm presence as they too leaned out the door.
Chapter 5 – Katsuya's POV
Rubbing one hand across his eyes he tried to focus on what he was seeing. It was later in the day and the sun had all but gone down, making the hall seem ghost-like with the flickering torches on the wall being the only source of light. He said a silent prayer to Buddha before taking a few short steps towards the other person. Squinting in the dim light Katsuya made out white hair and a small feminine body. Frowning he took another few steps, pass the torch so it wasn't shining in his eyes. A gasp escaped from his lips before the younger boy threw himself at Katsuya.
Katsuya instantly wrapped his arms around Noa, holding him close. The albino boy had started to cry and Katsuya stroked his hair softly, whispering words to him that others couldn't hear. Over his own words he could hear Mai protesting loudly and watched, as if detached from the whole scene, a man usher her on to the next room. He looked over Noa's shoulder, the boy still clinging to him, to lay eyes on two girls who, noticing him watching them, ducked shyly back into the room Noa had come from. Katsuya felt soft lips press to his neck and in return Katsuya pressed his lips to the other boy's hair. Katsuya wasn't sure how long they stood there like that. It was long enough for Katsuya's legs to give out, but finally Noa stopped crying. They were sitting against the wall, having moved there after the two had sunk to the floor. Noa was curled up in his lap while Katsuya kept stroking his hair. The two boys stayed there for another half an hour before Noa, waking up from his short nap, dragged Katsuya off to his room, hoping that Seto had taken care of his sisters.
Chapter 6 – Serenity's POV
Watching Seto try to calm down the disgruntled Fujikara woman, Serenity's opinion was that her reaction was quite uncalled for. Then again they were supposed to be married. If the man she was married to didn't even act like they were married then she supposed that she'd be angry, too, but since she met Noa first she had to back the other boy up. Plus the idea of the two boys being together caused Serenity to blush. Seto was talking to Mai in a calm voice that he usually reserved for mischievous pickpockets in the market place. Anyone else might think he was as calm as his voice portrayed but Serenity, having been around Seto a lot lately, could tell by the set of his jaw and the tightness in his shoulders that he was angry. He had spent the last few hours talking to the woman trying to calm her down. After pulling her out of the room where Noa and the other man were having their reunion, they had brought her to one of the many sitting rooms found in the palace walls. There they had worked to get her to quit yelling.
Serenity blinked and glanced around the room, noticing for the first time in a while that it was deathly quiet. She locked eyes with Seto then slid her gaze to the other female. The woman was glaring at the floor, taking deep breaths while trying to focus her attention and squash her anger. Serenity got up and went to Seto's side, wrapping an arm around his waist. Mai smiled at them, a smile that was malicious and cruel, before gracefully walking out of the room. Serenity and Seto exchanged concerned looks. A brief silent dialogue passed through them before they left the room as well. They saw a flash of black hair swing around a corner farther down in the hall walking towards the ladies' rooms. Deciding that they had had enough of her for the night, the happy couple wandered into Seto's room instead, knowing Kaoru was away visiting his sick mother. Neither of the two noticed the extra visitor wrapped in Noa's arms.
Chapter 7 - Noa's POV
The young boy woke with a start. He was unnaturally warm this morning. An unusual change to most days when he woke up frozen with grief. Stretching he wriggled out of his heated cocoon and across the floor. Glancing around he noticed for the first time the black hair spilled across his pillow. A smile broke across his face as he remembered the previous night. Crawling forward, much like a dog, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Katsuya's. The other boy's eyes opened slowly and he pressed his lips back to Noa's. The white haired boy squeaked softly and pulled away. A lazy smile formed across Katsuya's face and he patted the futon next to him. Sighing, Noa crawled back into his lover's arms. He snuggled up,burying his head in the older boy's chest. He felt Katsuya's hands wrap around his waist. Noa closed his eyes, feeling sleep's gentle arms encasing him once again. He vaguely heard Katsuya say something, sounded like "I love you", before he was once again deep in slumber.
A few hours later Noa woke again. Katsuya and Seto were talking softly amongst themselves and Serenity was nowhere to be seen. The boys broke off their conversation as they noticed the smaller boy beginning to stir. Katsuya wrapped the boy in a hug and kissed the top of his head. Seto politely excused himself and walked out of the room after rolling up his futon. Noa smiled shyly at Katsuya when they were alone again. The older boy returned the smile before rolling up their futon and stacking the blankets on top of it. The two quickly got dressed and Katsuya wrapped an arm around Noa's waist, pulling him into another quick kiss before they walked out of the room to greet the day. Noa's stomach growled so the first thing they did was search for food. Then they located Hikaru, who was surprisingly in a discussion with Hoshi and Serenity. The two court girls were telling Hikaru of day to day life around the palace. The other girl looked quite happy to see Katsuya but did a double take when she laid eyes on Noa. After much hugging and explaining of what had happened, Noa was dragged off by Seto to practice his sword thrusts. Katsuya tagged along, wanting to see his peaceful lover doing such a fierce thing.
Chapter 8 – Serenity's POV
The raven haired girl frowned as she watched Misaki and Mai come out of the kitchens. The two older girls immediately stopped talking when they noticed Serenity watching them. Both nobles gave her a sneer then continued on their way down the hall. Serenity took a deep breath and counted to seven before exhaling and continuing on her way. It had been like this for the past two weeks. Both jaded lovers had hung close together, whispering in the quiet evenings as they sat around the Empress. Had Serenity cared more about the two she would have wondered what they were up to but instead she spent her time watching Seto. The man watched her a lot to and Serenity knew that it was love from the start.
Silently letting herself into the practice room she sat next to Kaneko and Noa, the later who was looking much happier since Katsuya had arrived. The two were, as always, swapping stories, but Serenity noticed Noa's eyes never strayed too far from Katsuya. The guard was currently doing his best to keep Katsuya on the defensive as the trained swordsman battled for ground. Both wooden swords clanked together and parted in a dull thud. The two were covered in a fine layer of sweat, giving strength to Serenity's thoughts that they had been at it for a while. Katsuya finally managed to lock his hilt up against his opponents and, with a quick flick of his wrist, sent Seto's sword flying to land near Noa's feet.
The albino picked it up and, jumping forward, stabbed a few thrusts at Katsuya's open body. Ever the alert one, though, Katsuya easily parried the novice's jabs. Smiling, Katsuya set Noa in a fast paced retreat with a few well made thrusts of his own. Seto had by this time moved off to give the two more room to practice. He walked over to Serenity and gave her a kiss, before picking her up bridal style and carrying her off to another corner. Kaneko, looking quite put out, shrugged and walked out of the room in search of her kitchen boy, letting the two couples spend time alone. Serenity pulled away from Seto at Noa's squeak. Glancing over at the two boys she smiled when she saw Noa on his back, his sword no where to be seen, glaring up at the sword pointed at his chest. Katsuya had a smile on his face as he reached down to help the youngest boy up. Brushing himself off, Noa tackled the other boy, knocking both of them back to the ground. He quickly kissed Katsuya before jumping up and racing out of the room. Serenity glanced outside, and noticed that some time had passed since she'd arrived in the room. "Must be close to dinner" She commented to Seto and Katsuya. Both boys nodded, and a look of understanding crossed Katsuya's face.
"No wonder Noa ran away," he said chuckling softly. Noticing the other two's puzzled looks Katsuya calmly explained how the last meal of the day was always Noa's favorite at home. The threesome wandered out of the room only to find Noa pacing back and forth outside the door. Smiling he hurried over to Katsuya all but bouncing on his feet. Katsuya returned the smile and wrapped an arm around the albino's waist keeping him in place.
Another section done. : ) Hope you are enjoying it.