Notes: So...I know I haven't updated for EVER, but Fire-chan had me beta her Shiryuu/Shunrei ficlet (go read it now!) and I remembered my own Shiryuu/Shunrei ficlet that I hadn't written since I got the idea. So, here it is. The song at the end is a traditional Chinese children's song, and if anyone wants to hear it, I can record myself singing it and PM you a link or something. K? K.

Thanks to Digikouichi, cerise888, Fire-chan, and Rihannon for leaving me kind reviews. Special thanks to Fire-chan for being her cute, awesome self and for getting me in the mood to finally write this.

Don't worry, this collection is far from over. Eventually other things will be added, when I think of them.

Oh, yes. The title and/or last line are meant to be a reference from Shakespeare's Hamlet. The whole quote is "And the rest is silence." but I rather liked the fragmented effect. Ok, I'm really done now.

And The Rest

He held her so tightly she wondered if she was suffocating. But he wouldn't let her do that—he loved her. Or so he said to no one but his scoffing mind, the one that wondered if maybe he should say something one day before he lost his chance.

"Why do you wait?" he asked her. She stared up at him as if he had asked the most obvious question she had ever heard, her innocent tears falling freely.

"Because I know you'll come back."

He was silent. He was always silent. Honestly, he really should be less silent, especially towards her. He sighed.

"Shunrei…I'm sorry." Now she looked at him as if he had said Roshi was really an eighteen-year-old boy.

"What for, Shiryuu?"

He sighed.

"You, Shunrei. I'm sorry for making you wait here. I'm sorry for the weeks you've wasted on this barren bit of rock, hoping my voice might somehow carry through the waterfall. I'm sorry that you haven't gone away and found yourself a better life down in the village, with friends your own age, and boys trailing after you for you to pick from, boys who won't leave you alone unless you tell them to, boys who…" He stopped, realizing he was talking way too much. "Boys who are better than me," he ended sheepishly.

She held him now. His grip had slipped helplessly away as he had tried to…tried to…tried to say something he couldn't quite place.

"We're still children, Shunrei," he finally said again. His voice was broken. "I shouldn't matter to you this much."

"Why not?" she demanded, suddenly fierce.

"Because all the normal children I see who are around our age have crush after crush. It's harmless. It's silly. It's infatuation." She stared him in the eyes, fearless.

"Are you like the other children your age, Shiryuu?" she queried softly. He looked down, shaking his head in embarrassment. "If other people can't believe in love just because of age, I certainly expect you to be able to. You're not just a child, Shiryuu. I've seen you fight as a man."

"I just don't want you to—"

It came out in a tumble, but Shunrei stopped him.

"Stop talking." She pulled him forward into a resting position and held him. "Tonight, and for however long you are home, we are simply a girl and a boy. No inhibitions. And when you do go, I'll have today and all the other days to remember until you come back again. Now close your eyes." He obeyed, and she began singing softly as she caressed his chin.

In the blue, blue sky, in the milky way,
there is a little white boat.
On the boat there is an osmanthus tree,
and the white rabbit is playing.
The oars, the oars, cannot be seen,
and on the boat there is no sail.
Float, oh, float, oh, float…
float off towards the western heaven.

Shiryuu smiled a sloppy, sleepy smile at her before letting himself drift off.

And the rest…