Gray clouds. Sunlight. Crisp, winter air, shocking the moment it hit your lungs. Footsteps pounding. A rock lying half-buried in mud. A green canopy that blocked out the sky. Panic. Still not there. Still not yet.

The mountainside passed in a blur all around Yuuji. Pale sunlight filtered down through gaps in the trees, snatching at his vision through the thick curtain of leaves. The path beneath him jolted rough against his shoes. He stumbled over rocks and maneuvered around fallen branches. Everything flashed by in shades of brown, green, or gray.

Yuuji's breath rushed in and out of his lungs. One trip on the train, the scent of metal still clinging to his sleeves, one quick jog to the school, and now a dash up the mountainside…no wonder the Class E kids were so fit. It hadn't seemed this bad when Yuuji was walking to their Fall food stall…

Taking a moment to breathe deeper, Yuuji focused. He imagined his limbs regaining their strength. He had to keep going, he was the hero, the hero would never-

Nope. The sound of pounding footsteps ceased in Yuuji's ears as his feet lurched, almost of their own volition, to a stop. He gasped for few seconds, bending over to brace both hands on his knees. Frustration burned within his heart almost as bad as his legs did. This felt pathetic. But whatever. He was only human, Yuuji thought to himself. This wasn't some action movie—real human beings had to rest.

But he couldn't let himself stop for long. Danger lurked like a shadow in the back of Yuuji's mind. He felt his fingers tremble whenever he considered Nagisa, or anyone, getting hurt. Plus, if he stopped, he might lose this feeling, lose what he wanted to say, and then…

Yuuji gritted his teeth. He wiped one arm across his forehead, standing to look back up at the rest of the mountain trail. Then, he took off once more. He had to get there.

He didn't know what led him to the equipment shed. He didn't know when he noticed that the long, low classroom building was suspiciously quiet. He didn't know how he knew that there were no shadows beyond the filmy windows, no people moving within. He didn't know why the birds had stopped chirping in the trees. He didn't know whether the shed might have reminded him of another fateful meeting, months in the past.

But Yuuji was led there just the same.

He flung the door open in a burst of noise. "Nagisa!"

The boy was there.

Within the first glance, the first flash of blue hair, Yuuji had spotted him. The boy was lying tied up on the floor. Ropes could be seen binding his arms to his torso. His head was closest to Yuuji, with his legs drawn in behind him. The boy had been gagged too, apparently, with some kind of tape covering his mouth. As Yuuji opened the door, Nagisa looked up, having just managed to scrape one side of the tape off against the floorboards.

"Yuuji? What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, voice high with shock.

Yuuji moved on automatic. He sank to the other boy's side, ignoring the churning in his stomach and the electricity that rattled through his nerves. He started working at the ropes. Grimacing, he tried pushing them up, then moving them down. Crap! Yuuji's mind raced. He could loosen them slightly, but that wasn't nearly enough.

Something on the floor a few paces away caught Yuuji's eye. It was one of those fake rubber knives, a green one like what he had seen used in the past. Yuuji reached out and grabbed it. He slipped the tool to Nagisa through the ropes, trusting the other boy with it. Two hands set to work, immediately flipping the knife around underneath their bonds.

But Nagisa seemed to be interested in something else. After transferring the rest of the tape onto the floorboards with one flick of his head, the boy's gaze whipped up. Anger blazed in his ocean-blue eyes. "You came here…all by yourself?"

Taken aback by the strident tone in Nagisa's voice, Yuuji shuffled back slightly. He gave a dry nod.

The expression on Nagisa's face turned into indescribable rage.

In one motion, the boy's arms burst free of the ropes. Nagisa moved fast as a striking cobra, throwing the knife in a green blur towards Yuuji's head.

Yuuji had just enough time to feel a jolt of pure fear. He closed his eyes-

And heard a 'thunk' somewhere behind him.

Yuuji turned to see a man collapsing. Someone else had appeared in the doorway—a figure wearing a white-collared dress shirt, wide-brimmed hat, and all. The man's black hair fluttered in the air for a moment as he crumpled, head jerked back with the blow from the hilt of the knife.

Yuuji's mouth fell open. He scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, withdrawing even further inside the shed. At the same moment Nagisa darted to the door, pushing against the heavy sliding compartment until the door groaned closed. He placed another board horizontally across its surface, blocking the latch.

"You must have drawn him here," Nagisa explained loud enough for Yuuji to hear. "An inexperienced civilian crashing through the undergrowth, with no equipment and not even bothering to hide… No one could possibly be that stupid. Any decent assassin would get suspicious and move to address that change in plans. You're lucky that you made it here."

Nagisa turned to look back at Yuuji. "So," he said, voice dry with sarcasm. "I assume you found something else in that picture you wanted to tell me about?"

Some of the humor managed to cut through the icy fear of Yuuji's thoughts. He nodded in agreement. Vaguely, Yuuji was proud of himself—usually he would have lost it by now, but this time he had managed to keep some thoughts in his head clear, like icebergs in a storm. He understood. That fury and desperation hadn't been aimed at him. It had been aimed toward the assassin that Nagisa knew would be appearing in the doorway.

Finally, Yuuji relaxed, the back of his head hitting lightly against the wooden wall behind where he was sitting. He swallowed, gathering his strength. First things first. He had to say what was most important-

"I saw something weird about that man in the photo," he said. "There was something…else hidden behind his face. Everything else was perfect, but…I couldn't explain this strange feeling if I tried. It reminded me of back when you fought that guy, when he snuck up behind me, and how you moved when-"

Yuuji's speech trailed off. "I think your substitute is dangerous," he summarized.

Nagisa's eyes widened as if he recognized what Yuuji was talking about. "You were able to pick up on that from a photograph? Your observation skills are even better than I thought."

Before Yuuji could ask what the boy meant, Nagisa had taken his cell phone out of his pocket. The boy fumbled with it for a moment, wincing slightly at the grooves in his wrists. "I have to alert the others," said Nagisa as he typed a rapid set of numbers into the phone's surface. "The sub scattered us all around during the beginning of lunch, saying something about 'chores' that needed doing. I'll bet I was his first target."

Nagisa scowled, bringing the phone up to his ear. "Should have known," he muttered.

Nagisa glanced to the side as he got a response. "Ritsu?" the boy spoke. "Ritsu, come in. Oh thank god, your mobile form still works. Listen, I need you to-"

Yuuji blinked at the cell phone, staring for a moment before letting his gaze wander away. Yet another string of words he didn't fully understand. Would Nagisa's life never cease to be fascinating?

After a long minute, the boy hung up. "Whew. That's the best I can do for now," he said. "The others will have to take care of the rest."

Nagisa turned to Yuuji and gave a kind smile. "I'm glad you're here, Yuuji." Then he blinked and looked away. "Um. So I can protect you," he said, voice flustered.

A kind of warmth spread through Yuuji's chest. He had never wanted to be protected by someone before.

"Although, you sort of protected me today, too," Nagisa admitted, scratching his head in embarrassment. "And all of Class E. If it weren't for you, I would have stayed tied up even longer. So, thanks."

Then Nagisa frowned. "Although I told you to stay out of it," Nagisa muttered, as if remembering how cold he had acted to Yuuji over their messages. He turned to face away, towards the shed door.

Something about the sight pushed Yuuji to his feet.

"N-Nagisa!"

Yuuji fought the urge to freeze as the boy's gaze drifted back to him. Oh, god. He had spoken like something out of a dream, but now suddenly everything else felt way too real. He was immediately aware of each wooden floorboard, each brush of stale air against his cheek. His heart hammered within his chest, loud enough to block out any other sounds. He couldn't think, and yet somehow it was only now that Yuuji felt he had ever been thinking clearly.

But Yuuji took a deep breath. This time he needed no threats, no bribes to make himself speak. This was his basic instinct.

He closed his eyes.

"Nagisa… I-I'm going to say something for a moment, so just hear me out. I know that you think I fell in love with you as an accident, but that's…that's not true!"

"When I saw you on that island, I thought…you were really cool," Yuuji said. "And you turned out to be inspiring. But more than that, Nagisa, you were kind. I…I've never forgotten it."

"Everything that I've seen since then, everything I've watched you do, every time we've been together, has only reinforced those thoughts," he continued. "I don't even think you realize. You always look at people with kindness first. You're clever. You're funny. You've got this sense of determination around you. And you know how to be gentle without losing any of your strength. I seriously can't think of anybody else that amazing."

He paused for breath. "In short, you're the same person as back then, so…my feelings are the same, too."

Yuuji looked directly at the boy. "I would do anything if only it would keep you near me. I would search through a thousand nightclubs if I could find you there again. I would climb a mountain just to make sure that you were safe, and make a fool of myself a dozen times if it would get you to laugh. I would chase after your smile for months, for years, knowing that you'd be on the other side."

"So, as for how we met, or what you're a part of," Yuuji blabbed, "that doesn't matter! None of that, it doesn't matter to me, Nagisa. The only thing that matters to me is you!"

It was all spilling out, everything, one word pulling on another until entire ideas broke free. And as much as Yuuji was saying, he found that he didn't regret any of it. After being silent for so long, who would have known that finally putting things to words would make him feel so free?

"I can't explain it, but… You give my life some kind of meaning," Yuuji continued. "I want to be a better person when I'm around you, Nagisa. And that's incredible. It's something I don't want to let go of."

"None of that has anything to do with what you were wearing," declared Yuuji. "Like I said in the past, all of that stuff is gender-neutral, and I was so blind…" He hung his head.

"So," Yuuji spoke again after a moment. "I don't want you to ever feel like nobody cares about you, because I do! I care so much, Nagisa! It's not just how you look, or the way you act, or even your smile that drew me to you. It's who you are as a person."

"I didn't fall in love with your clothes," Yuuji said at last, feeling his full strength behind each word. "It was with you, Nagisa. It was always with you. And it still is."

As Yuuji finished, he became aware of his stomach twisting into knots. It was a sensation that he had felt before, many times, and had never been sure what to think of. But Yuuji knew now. He could finally admit to himself that he liked the feeling, had always liked how Nagisa made him feel, but just hadn't been sure about coming to terms with it.

He was willing to risk an answer now.

"So yeah, that's…that's it." Yuuji attempted to speak past the furious blush on his cheeks. "Today I at least wanted to keep my promise, about not running away from you anymore. 'Cause I meant it. And, well, I'll be here if you…if you're willing to have me."

Yuuji scratched the back of his head. "Nagisa, I once asked you to be honest, about what you thought about me. Well…this is how I feel about you."

There was silence from Nagisa's end of the shed.

Yuuji felt his shoulders sag. "I know I'm really stupid, and all I do is pull you away…"

"Stop."

Nagisa's voice rang softly through the building. "Don't say that." Yuuji's heart skipped a beat at the boy's words. When Nagisa spoke again, his voice was brimming with honesty. "I never wanted you to leave."

He looked up at Yuuji and their eyes met. "You were never unimportant to me."

Yuuji felt his breath slow. The remark had been said so casually, and yet Yuuji knew that Nagisa meant it. Nagisa was standing there staring right at him, with a small smile, one of the smiles that Yuuji had just told Nagisa how much he loved. And it meant more to Yuuji than anything else in the world.

Then the other boy paused. Nagisa glanced off to the side and sighed. "This won't be easy, you know? Not even because of…the gender thing. Because of who I am."

Yuuji nodded, the sound of Nagisa's words washing over him like waves. "Of course," Yuuji heard himself say. "I wouldn't have charged into an assassin-infested mountainside otherwise."

Nagisa blinked. A short, heavenly laugh escaped him. "My knight in shining armor," he teased Yuuji.

Then he buried his face behind one hand, a small smile still showing through the gaps in his fingers. "God, why do you… This is what I mean. How was I not supposed to fall for you if you keep making me laugh?"

At last, Nagisa took the hand down from his face. He fell quiet, staring at some other point. He mumbled softly as if to himself, "Well…Irina-sensei always said to never kill your feelings along with your target."

The silence stretched on.

"Um," Yuuji said, becoming uncomfortable. "Nagisa-"

"I love you too!" Nagisa exclaimed, looking straight up at Yuuji. The words were laid on him like a mercy. The other boy's tone was gentle, decisive, as if he had been waiting to say those words for a long time. And was that—yes, a blush rising to the boy's cheeks! "You dork," Nagisa added.

A broad grin spread across Yuuji's face. Never before had he been so happy to be called a dork.

"Or at least, I'm pretty sure I do." Nagisa shrugged. "You wanna just stick together in the meantime? We've still got the rest of our lives ahead of us, after all…"

Yuuji nodded wordlessly. He couldn't believe it. His memory held tightly to the words Nagisa had said, to the image of Nagisa saying them, holding it close and stowing the memory somewhere deep inside of him, in a place Yuuji was sure he would never forget. Had he really heard that right? So, from now on they were…?

Nagisa had said yes. Yuuji felt so happy he could hardly contain it—he needed to smile, to stand lighter on his feet, just to express some of it outwardly. All of the dark clouds rolled back, washed away by a blazing sun. And this time Yuuji felt like he would never feel such darkness again.

He chose Nagisa. And Nagisa had chosen him back. Suddenly everything was beautiful.

"Yes," Yuuji breathed. "Yes, Nagisa, I promise I'll-"

There was a shuffling sound on the other side of the door.

Both boys' smiles disappeared. The joyous mood vanished in an instant.

When Yuuji next blinked, he opened his eyes to see Nagisa's hand extended out to him, done seemingly without thinking. Nagisa's eyes remained focused on the door. "Stay with me?" he said.

Yuuji took it. "Of course."

They stood there together, hand in hand. Yuuji breathed around the pounding of his heart. It still felt a bit like he was living in a dream, but this was much too real. Suddenly Yuuji found he couldn't think about anything—not others, not the danger waiting outside, not even what people would think. Every part of him seemed to be wrapped up in the feeling of the boy standing next to him, the silhouette of his hair in the dim light, Yuuji's hand held warm in Nagisa's own. The silence wasn't scary anymore. It was a place they could be together. And his heart, rewarded after hammering for so long, felt like it was positively glowing inside his chest.

Nothing had ever felt so right.

Later, after the sun had dipped down a bit farther across the sky, Yuuji stood by the school gate.

In a dot of blue, Nagisa appeared from the main door of the schoolhouse building and began jogging toward him.

"Yuuji," Nagisa called as he approached, waving a hand. Once he reached the wooden post, Nagisa bent over slightly to catch his breath. His blue bangs fell into his face, and Yuuji let his stomach flutter at the sight.

"Sorry for the wait," Nagisa apologized, shooting Yuuji a sheepish grin. "It took a while to figure out what words to say to everyone."

It had taken until the end of the afternoon for the disturbance to get resolved. Yuuji had watched it all from a distance, many meters down the mountain where Nagisa had told him to wait. From where he had been, it just looked like a bunch of shouting. Some black-haired man with bushy eyebrows had been very angry, stalking around and distributing orders to the students, while a foreign-looking blonde woman had been clinging to the kids one moment and shrieking at them the next.

Nagisa straightened up, readjusting his school clothes. "Anyway, everything's all taken care of. Get this," he said, "You were right. That man was a freelancer. Apparently there was an assassin gone rogue."

"Basically, the freelancers started getting nervous," Nagisa explained. "They must have realized that an important deadline's coming up. Real soon, in fact. And they were starting to get worried that if they missed this chance, they might never get their shot again. So one of them broke his contract."

Nagisa said the last bit with stars in his eyes, as if it was terribly exciting news. "We confirmed with a third party that one of their free agents suddenly dropped all communications. It turns out that his profile matches the man who showed up here. He must have knocked out our real substitute before the sub could arrive here, and then took his place. We even found the real guy lying unconscious down one of the alternate mountain trails, to confirm." Nagisa hid a nervous smile. "Guess he won't be teaching us anytime soon."

Yuuji shrugged. "Oh."

"Yeah." Nagisa nodded. "It won't happen again. We got Karasuma-sensei to make some phone calls. According to him, all third-party activity is likely to cease."

"I see."

Nagisa gazed back towards the school building, a nostalgic look settling on his face. "I still can't believe none of us sensed the freelancer's bloodlust," he admitted. "We must have missed it because it was aimed at- uh, something else. Our mutual target. Plus, we've never had to feel bloodlust from a teacher before…" He frowned. "Our main teacher's kind treatment might have spoiled us a bit in this regard."

"Hm."

Nagisa shook his head. "We'll have to work a lot harder," he said, voice rife with determination. "After meeting another challenge, it's up to us to improve ourselves from it. Now that we've learned this lesson, too, we need to get even stronger. That's all part of the path to becoming a better adult."

"Mhm."

Nagisa seemed to agree. The two of them stood side by side for a minute, a cool mountain breeze blowing slowly through their hair. The shape of the Class E building loomed low in the clearing in front of them.

Finally, Nagisa took another breath to speak, turning to look up at Yuuji. "So hey, what should- Mmph!"

His words were cut off as Yuuji leaned in to steal a kiss.

Yuuji had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, softly sealing his lips over Nagisa's in one swift, assured motion. They met with all the heat of a spark, fitting together like two puzzle pieces. Nagisa's eyes flew wide before they slowly fluttered closed, the boy losing himself in the sensation.

When they separated, their gazes stayed captivated, staring into each other's face for a moment. Yuuji's cheeks had gone red as a tomato, Nagisa's expression slack with genuine surprise.

"Well," Yuuji said, managing not to stutter. "Bye, then."

He turned and left, skittering down the path while drawing the brim of his cap low over his face.

Growing ever smaller in the distance behind him, Nagisa's face was lost in the red tones of a blush. He brought one hand up to his mouth, gently touching the fingers to his lips. The boy appeared to be too flustered to speak. For one moment, the hint of a smile played at the edge of his cheeks. Yuuji had managed to do what no one else had done—get the drop on a skilled assassin-in-training. Impressive.

The mountainside passed in earthy tones all around Yuuji. Gray rocks slowly went by on either side, marking the edges of the road and occasionally extending out into the neighboring woodland. Trees stood guard all around like forest-green sentinels. And stretching out above him was an endless, bright blue sky.

Yuuji walked on down the mountain road, watching as the cityscape of home and reality waited for him far out in the distance.

He couldn't say anything. There were so many words and sounds piling up inside, all of them essential but all of them failing to fully describe this moment. So, eventually they all just bubbled up inside, amalgamating into something powerful as all of them at once, Yuuji letting out a short, sharp cry to release it, leaping into the air as he skipped down the path toward home, a single fist held high.

Afterword: And with this, all of my little shippy dreams have come true. :')

(…Hmm, this upcoming weekend is Valentine's Day, isn't it? ;) HMMMM.)

Also I'm LAUGHING so hard at my own descriptions. Of course Yuuji would "skitter" away after just kissing someone. Of course he would. He would also scuttle. And scurry. Bless this dork.