A/N: Haaaaaaaaaa. I wrote two chapters in one day and started a third. It seems I've refound my inspiration to write this. Be shocked and amazed, I know I am…

I'm amused that all these chapters I've written come from maybe a page of script that I hand-wrote.

Let's see how long this one takes me to write ^-^!

Waste Some Time
Chapter Seven
The Rose's Little Problem

It was with a heavy sigh and an eye to the overhead clock that Kaoru discovered one very harsh truth about time. When you had something to look forward to, time ticked by at a miserably slow pace. After most of the week slipping past quickly, here it was Thursday, the day Ryou would be returning to The World, and it seemed as if the minute hand were moving in the wrong direction. He glared at the clock, as if sheer willfulness would set it right.

He somehow managed a smile, serving that self-same pack of girls as they returned for their after school visit. "Come join us again, Kaoru-chan!" they chimed almost as a group, more than one hand reaching past the steaming cup in his hand and tugging at his sleeve.

He pulled back, setting the cup down to raise his hands in defense. "I already took my break for the day," he excused, grinning nervously as they started complaining.

The girls filed back behind the counter and snuck back into the back room, leaving a dumbfounded Kaoru in their wake. He lifted a hand, hesitating as the pushed past him. He turned back to face forward again with a sigh. To the sound of, "Manager-san-- Kaoru-chan needs another break in his day!" being called in the background, he watched as Misaki stepped in.

He felt the butterflies kick back into gear as if on cue when their eyes met and a small smile parted his lips. "Welcome!" he greeted, his face glowing red as the boy watched him awkwardly.

"Ah… Good afternoon-!" he said in reply, a smile of his own lighting up his face. "Have you… taken your break?" he asked after a second, looking a little nervous.

"Unfortunately, yes…" Kaoru responded, blushing deeper as his eyes found the counter between them.

"Go on, get out of here!" came the exasperated voice of his coworker, the man's hands pushing and shoving and nudging at his back to clear out the workspace as the girls came back out to join them. Kaoru hesitated, looking fearfully back at the college student.

He gave one final shove, tugging the apron loose from his thin waist and waving it at him. "They pled your case, now go and get out of here. The manager says we've had a slow enough day. You're free to go." The young man watched him with a frown as the girls voiced their approval of this change in schedule.

"Maa~ Kaoru-chan, come join us now!"

"We want to take you up on that interview."

"You can't get out of this one; you promised!"

Surrounded by the girls' pleas, the twenty-three-year-old floundered for a moment, looking between the girls that were now tugging on his arm, practically dragging him off to who knows where and Misaki, who looked taken aback by what was happening.

They nearly had him to a nearby table when a new hand reached out and grabbed his wrist, stilling his movement. The girls paused at the interruption and all eyes turned to fall on the brunette, who looked suddenly very aware and embarrassed as he dropped his hand back to his side.

"Misaki-kun… knows Kaoru-chan?" one of the girls asked.

Yet again the butterflies were going at it, filling him with excitement and reddening his cheeks. They held eyes with each other for a moment before Kaoru grinned, pulling out of the girls' grip and turning to bow to them.

"I'm sorry. I need to go now, I have a friend I'm supposed to be meeting soon. I promise you can have that interview tomorrow. Come in at lunch, I'll take my break when you get here!" he excused himself before turning and walking out of the building beside Misaki.

Once outside, Kaoru shot the kid a grin, holding it even as the other glared back toward the store. "You shouldn't… You shouldn't spend too much time around those girls. They go to my school. They're just a nuisance." He explained, eyes finding the road before them. He glanced over to Kaoru for a brief second before shooting his yes back in front of him again. "You said you lived just across the street, right?" he quickly amended, looking both ways as they came to a crosswalk.

"…Right," Kaoru replied, still a little red from the hand that had held his wrist so tightly. "Thank you for helping me get away from them."

Misaki started across the street just then, the other following right behind. "It was nothing. Like I said, they're a nuisance. You shouldn't be bothered by them." They came to the opposite corner quickly enough and the boy rounded on him again, still looking a little out of place. "I have to go. I'll see you- after school tomorrow?" he asked offhandedly, looking strangely up at him as if for permission.

"Ah… yes." Misaki nodded and turned to head off when he called out to him again. "Wait- if you didn't want coffee, why did you come to the shop?"

He didn't turn this time, just held his place a few feet away from Kaoru. "I wanted to… Are you free this Saturday?" he turned his head toward him just enough for the blush to be brightly visible on his cheeks.

His butterflies returned full force again at the suggestion, his eyes widening in shock. A broad smile came unbidden to his lips and his enthusiastic 'Yes!' was on his tongue when he remembered something. On Saturdays he spent the day online with Ryou. He hesitated, watching the back of Misaki's head sadly.

"Saturday isn't good for me…" he responded, looking at the ground when the boy turned back to look at him.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I thought you…" he trailed off. Kaoru looked up again and they made eye contact once more. He just confused, if not a little worried now. "Well—I'll talk to you tomorrow, Kaoru," he managed before taking off down the road.

Kaoru watched him, biting his lip solidly between his teeth. "Good bye, Misaki-kun…" he mumbled, frowning in thought as he turned toward his building and entered. The doorman gave him a look as he silently approached the stairway.

Only when he was again safely within the sanctuary of his apartment did he allow himself the sigh that begged for release.

So Misaki was somewhat interested in him as well, at least interested enough to ask him about his weekend plans… So why wasn't he thrilled? That was so much more than Ryou had ever given him after nearly 3 years together. Yet he felt the weight hit his stomach, the unease.

"Ryou…" he muttered, moving to his futon and sitting heavily on it. He didn't know how long he'd be able to handle having a crush on two different people. It was weighing too much on his mind. His fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt and as it slid off he massaged one shoulder, rolling it back and hearing the satisfying 'pop' it gave.

His eyes fell on his laptop and something prodded at the back of his mind. He frowned down at it for a few moments before the reality of the day smacked him in the face with a renewed fistful of excitement. "Ryou!" he exclaimed as he remembered the promise of dungeon crawling.

He changed into some sweatpants and planted himself down in front of his laptop, signing in and checking his mail quickly. He found a message from his sister, telling him to be ready for her to spend the night this weekend. He frowned. What was with people wanting to spend time with him on Saturdays? That day was reserved. He told his sister as much, telling her that maybe the next weekend would be better before opening the shortcut that would open The World to him.

.....

As it turned out, Ryou was late getting on today as well. He grouped up with Atoli as he'd promised the day before and SakuBo had demanded it as well. He agreed, telling her that he didn't know how long he had.

They'd made it through two lower-level fields for the Mage when the alert showed up on his screen. Haseo has logged on. He immediately, wordlessly, booted SakuBo from the party and warped to Breg Epona, Atoli following suit.

When he laid eyes on the white-haired PC, his stomach clenched and fluttered at once, leaving an odd mix for him to figure out. As soon as he was within reach, he flung himself onto the Terror of Death, pulling him into a hug that (if he had anything to say about it) would have crushed the boy.

"So I take it you missed me?" the character's voice was such a reassurance that he couldn't help the huge grin that swept over his face.

"I've never missed you more…" he glanced over to the other character and suddenly remembering himself, let the other go. "Haseo," he finished awkwardly, not used to using his PC name.

Apparently said boy wasn't used to it either, he looked taken aback for a moment before laying eyes on the other as Kaoru sent him an invitation. It was accepted and he gave her a little smile as well. "Atoli. Are you… coming with us today? It seems we have the room…" he explained, looking a little put off.

The girl giggled, grinning to Endrance as she responded, "Yes, Kaoru-kun invited me yesterday. It seems you do."

Haseo's red eyes seeked out Endrance's in surprise, but Atoli intercepted the conversation again, turning toward him as well. "Shall we head out? I'm curious to see if we can find anymore of the new weapons together."

Haseo shot him a betrayed look, promising something, before he nodded. "Yes, let's go…" Kaoru frowned at this reaction before nodding as well. "Let's get some potions before we go into the field though…

He turned around, heading toward the conveniently located shop, leaving Kaoru's character standing there, confused by his friend.

.....

By the time they got to fighting, whatever Ryou's mood was seemed to have lightened. He spoke as he normally did, almost at ease with the girl as they talked amongst themselves, Kaoru giving them some space and keeping mostly to himself. He only spoke when they referred to him, and because of this there wasn't much talking involved in their little adventure. He wasn't going to open his mouth and get a glare from those red eyes again. Even though he'd just about been guaranteed he wouldn't blow up at him again, the residual fear remained.

They battled their way through five of the night temples that night, only the third one having another new weapon.

The chest in the statue room provided Atoli with a brand new, bound staff. This had a thin, long handle, at tall as her PC. It was almost clear but for a light blue tint, the texture of it like ice. Thin cracks of black and white shot through it, little crystalline leaves protruding from them- growing in size until it reached the top. The apex was as tall as her hat, little wisps of black and white intertwining in an intricate design, surrounding a glowing purple orb.

When they put it to use, upon using white magic the orb faded to an icy blue, vibrating her controller and greatly boosting the upped stats they received. When she used the two dark magic abilities she had in her arsenal, the orb all but vanished, receding to a smoky blot above the staff, which shot out the effects she ordered. When she used it for DPS, the monsters always ran away from her, confused, and attacked their allies.

When she used it in a finishing move, her PC closed her eyes, letting the staff float away from her to cup her hands over her heart. It hovered a few feet in front of her, tilted to one side and emitted a bright white light from the orb that spiraled through the rest of it. Then her character opened its eyes, white as well, and the orb shattered, raining what looked like mini- falling stars down over all enemies in the battle area. Then the shattered orb rebuilt itself and returned to that vibrant purple, falling back into Atoli's hand.

All in all they were rather impressed with it. After the fourth temple, she excused herself, claiming she was going to check the forums and see if there was any news of others finding the new weapons.

That left Haseo and Endrance alone together.

Neither of them breached the subject until they'd cleared the fifth temple and returned to Breg Epona. There it was Ryou who finally broke the uneasy silence between them.

"Why did you invite her to go with us?" he asked conversationally, though they both knew the question had been eating at him all night.

Kaoru frowned again, turning to look at his favorite character design. His expression wasn't a glare, but it was a pretty deep frown that was returned to him. "I… she asked me to level with her last night and I agreed." Ryou gave him a moment to continue, but he didn't take it.

"I thought you hated her?"

"So did I. We started talking last night and… I realized she and I have a lot in common with one another," Kaoru said, averting his eyes for a second. Why was he so concerned about it?"

"So why does she know your name?" the younger asked, his tone soft and his frown receding. His shoulders dropped a little, hands falling to his sides.

Kaoru blinked at him in surprise at the question. Was there something wrong with Ryou tonight? "We got along really well last night," he started carefully, not sure how much to tell him lest he give away more than Chigusa would like. "Like I said we have a lot in common. After a while it just seemed kind of impersonal referring to her by her PC name, so I told her my name and she told me hers.

Haseo blinked up at him. "That's it?" he asked dimly, looking surprised.

Kaoru nodded from his room, though his character remained silent. "Yes? Should there have been more?" he asked confusedly. He sighed after a second, relenting his position. "Well… I invited her today because she seemed so down yesterday. She told me how you've been blowing her off since I got back online and… I felt bad for her. It's not like I invited her to one of our Saturday plays…"

The other remained silent for a few seconds before suddenly looking relieved. "That's right. We play together on Saturdays, don't we?" a wide grin spread onto the ex- PKer's lips

Endrance slowly nodded in response, eyeing his friend carefully. There was definitely something off with him tonight.

Suddenly they both stiffened, Atoli has logged in. flashing on their screens. They made eye contact as the girl materialized a few feet away.

"It's amazing! We're the only ones to have found any of the new weapons that were released!" she spouted breathlessly, grinning ear-to-ear. I have work tomorrow night, but I was wondering if maybe on Saturday we might be able to try again? I was—," she began, starting to go of on a tangent, but Ryou cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Atoli. Saturdays are just for Kaoru and I." the girl looked stunned, her mouth falling shut as words failed her. The look on Haseo's face was very nearly venomous. Kaoru's stomach was all aflutter once more at this reaction. Was that jealousy?

She nodded slowly. "Right, well maybe on Sunday, then?" she asked, looking to Endrance this time. He nodded wordlessly. "I'll see you two then." And she was off.

They stood there in silence for a few seconds before Haseo turned toward him, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly. "Saturday…" he hesitated, not meeting his eye. "It is just for the two of us, right?" he asked uncertainly.

Kaoru smiled wildly, wrestling down the urge to hug the love of his life again. "Of course, Ryou." He assured him. It was then that he realized, with a shock, that this was what he really loved. Being here with Ryou, even through Haseo and Endrance, spending this time with the other was worth so much more to him than spending hours with Misaki. If ever the time came he had to choose between them, he knew where he stood.

Ryou was his world.

"Good. So, are you ready to pull an all-nighter with me? Duties be damned?" the teenager asked her, grinning now that the issue was behind them.

"Of course. I already called it in with my boss. I just have to work until noon on Saturday."

They went to the shop to restock on health drinks now that their healer was off for the night. As they approached the chaos gate again, Haseo fixed him with a sly look. "By the way, have you made any progress with that crush of yours?" he asked, a small smile tilting his lips.

Kaoru hesitated, watching him in surprise. "Uh… Sort of. We've spoken now… I think he was going to ask me out on Saturday, but we already have plans." The other nodded at this and he grinned to him. "I'm surprised you remembered."

Haseo's smile was contagious. "Of course. You're my best friend. Is it… a 'real' crush now?" he pressed.

"It is… but I still have my old crush as well," he said pointedly, leveling him with a gaze. His love nodded and told him the area words for another night temple field. At least now it seemed things were back to normal between them. He could definitely handle a few more years of that.