A Note To The Happy Reader-

This chapter contains some themes, which may not be appropriate for the pure hearted. If you are one of the few non-hentai fans out there, then I advise that you not read this is fear that it might damage you and scar you for life.

I'd like to thank Wildefyre, cause she goes through this fic and makes sure that it’s good enough for the rest of the world to read. Liz, with the e-mails that we send each other, I begin to wonder if we’re either totally insane or if we’ve had one too many pixie sticks when we write. I’d also like to say thanks to Cye’s Girl, since she dedicated her super sweet fic “Your Song” to yours truly (I feel loved!). Cye’s Girl, I don’t know what we were on when we did that alternative ending to my fic, but I’m so going to write it! I thank Tenku’s Girl, for talking to me in the late hours of the night. Don’t worry T.G., one of these days we’ll make a lot of money and find away to destroy annoying anime characters! And finally to Djinn, if it wasn’t for her, this fic would’ve never been written (it’s dedicated to her!). Peace out- Hiruma

Chapter 4

Gloves had to be the greatest thing ever invented, or to Seiji they were. He was thankful for the warm, fleece gloves he bought a year ago, the cold weather became worse over the two weeks he had been staying with Touma. The apartment building was poorly heated, so the blond hurried down the corridor to the place he had been living. Fumbling a bit with the spare key Touma had given him, he unlocked the door and went inside the nicely heated dwelling. The small home that he was staying at was a pleasant little place to be in. He found that it was never cold in there, it was just warm enough to walk around bare footed, even on the tile in the bathroom and kitchen. Commonly it was quiet, for the most part, Kenji was never that loud. After dinner, sitting in front of the fireplace, Seiji and Kenji would play with the little boy's toy racecars, while Touma would watch them or sometimes join in. Life was more like a routine with very little interruptions.

The smell of chocolate chip cookies hit Seiji once he got inside. He expected to see Touma in the kitchen, just taking out a tray of cookies, yet the archer was nowhere in sight. A metal tray of cookies was cooling on top of the counter by the stove. Also on the counter was a quick note from the archer, telling Seiji that he went to go pick up Kenji from preschool and to have a cookie or two, the milk was in the refrigerator. Having the blessing of Touma to eat one of the treats, Seiji gave into temptation and snatched one off the tray, placing it on a napkin, careful not to leave any crumbs. Going over to the breakfast bar, he sat down and ate. At this rate, Touma would become just as good of a cook as Shin. It was amazing how good at cooking Touma had gotten, it wasn’t that he was a bad cook before, he just needed more practice at it. Fatherhood probably gave him all the chances he needed to do just that.

Now that his thoughts were on Touma again, Seiji began to think about what the archer had said a couple weeks ago. Touma had loved him. Hearing him say that now, Seiji knew it couldn't be a lie. It also made him realize how much hurt he had inflicted on his ex-lover when he dumped him to be with Ryo. They didn’t talk about what Touma had said to Seiji, partly because the archer was too bashful to bring it up again and because Seiji was almost too scared to say anything.

//No wonder he left the mansion a month after I broke up with him. He loved me, he truly loved me. He never showed it, but back then he didn't know how, I should've known that. I'm such an idiot. Back then I was happily fucking Ryo while being oblivious to my friend's pain. Does he know that I really am sorry? God, how would he react if he found out that I cheated on him? I probably would've broken his heart even more. How did he feel every time he said he loved me and I didn't say it back? Out of six months, I never once told him that I loved him, I just didn't think he really loved me.//

“No, no, no, you can’t eat cookies like that. You need milk,” Kenji corrected him, giving Seiji a glass of milk. Seiji was a little startled that he didn’t even notice that Ken and Touma had returned home. He got too occupied with his thoughts. “See, Seiji, it tastes much better with milk,” Kenji said.

Before Seiji could say anything, Touma whisked into the kitchen, that gorgeous smile on his face, the one that could make anyone melt. “Hi, Seiji. Did you have a good day teaching bright minds?”

“Bright minds? You mean those students who halfway listen to me? Sometimes I think I was tricked into becoming a professor.”

“You probably were and I bet it was Nasuti who did it too.”

“You should’ve heard the speech she gave when I started teaching. I felt like I was sitting in one of my own classes."

Touma chuckled, "Nasuti’s speeches aren't that bad."

Seiji gave him a mock glare. "Like computer programming is the most exciting job in the world."

"At least I don't bore people to death."

"But that's a very good trait about me."

"Lemme guess, everyone loves you because of it."

"You got that right, my dear, blue friend."

Kenji sat on the stool, his elbows propped on the breakfast bar and his chin resting in his palms. There was a big grin on his face, listening to his papa and Seiji talk. "Papa? Are you and Seiji married?" Kenji innocently asked.

Both men fell silent and stared at the little boy, shocked by the sudden question. Their faces were as red as the armor of Rekka. "W-Why do you ask that, Ken?" Touma didn't believe that he heard that from his son.

"When I was at Suzy's house, her parents talked like that and her parents are married. Are you and Seiji married?"

"I think you misunderstood, your father and I are good friends, however we're not married," Seiji tried to explain.

"People start out as good friends and then get married," Kenji pointed out. Before either man could say a word, he hopped down from the stool and ran into his bedroom giggling. Touma was very embarrassed by what Kenji had said, sure he wouldn’t mind if he were married to Seiji, but he knew that the blond didn’t share those feelings, he never did.

“I’m sorry about that,” Touma muttered under his breath. He shuffled over to the refrigerator, took out some chicken and started getting dinner ready early, he didn’t want Seiji to see the mortification on his face. “Shin called earlier, he wanted to know if you’re going to go to Mizu’s birthday party next week? He said Ryo’s going to be there.”

Seiji stared down at this glass of milk, wondering if he should go. He wanted to see Ryo, the blond still had feelings for him, yet it’d bring him pain to do so. Still, he always went to Mizu’s birthday party, he knew he’d get an earful from her if he missed it. “I think I’ll go. I still need to get her a birthday present, you want to go to the mall with me later on?”

“Sure, I need to get one too. You can give it to her for me.” The archer put the chicken to the side and started making some teriyaki sauce.

“You’re not going?” It just occurred to Seiji that Touma never went to any of the parties Mizu and Shin had. The archer would just always send his present to the house with a card, he remembered always seeing a package from Touma, but never seeing him.

“Someone has to watch Kenji. I don’t want to bother the neighbors with it and Grace, his mother, will probably be too tired to watch over him, she works long hours.” The truth was that Touma didn’t want to have to call Grace, he didn’t want to talk to her. He’d been avoiding her for as long as he could, though he knew he’d have to see her to drop Kenji off at her house.

“My mother could watch over Kenji. He could spend a day or two in Sendai, I’m sure my family would love to watch over him for you.”

“I don’t want to burden your family with that.”

“It won’t be a burden and Satsuki will need the practice for when she has to watch over Yayoi’s child.”

“As long as it’s all right with your family . . .” Touma didn’t finish his sentence as he stood on his toes to grab the soy sauce in the cupboard. He bit his lip as it was just out of his reach and stretched even more to get it. He suppressed a gasp when he felt Seiji right behind him, reaching over him and taking down the soy sauce for him. The blush that had been on his cheeks earlier was now back.

“Last time I saw you, you were taller than I, I guess we traded places.” Seiji peeked over Touma’s shoulder to see what he was making. “You’ve become quite a cook, Tou.” The color deepened on Touma’s face, he lowered his head in a vain attempt to hide it. Smiling gently, Seiji ruffled Touma’s hair fondly. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“Don’t mention it. Do you mind if we eat early today? I need to finish some work.”

“It doesn’t matter to me, I have a few late papers to grade anyway. Do you need any help with that?”

“No, I’ve got it,” Touma could hardly keep the heat from rising back up into his cheeks again. It was unnerving to have Seiji so close to him, he could literally feel the blond’s breath against his neck, he had to fight to keep from shivering.

“All right,” Seiji took a step back and sat down on his stool again. His eyes were watching Touma as he moved around the small kitchen when he got the funny mental image of Touma in a pink, girlie apron, a spatula in his hand and fussing over about the neatness of his kitchen. Now if Touma were a woman, he'd make the perfect mother. He had to clamp his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, still, a few chuckles escaped.

"What's so funny?" Touma demanded, looking up from the vegetables he was chopping. He didn't think that there was anything funny about him holding a dangerous looking knife and ruthlessly dicing some poor plant to pieces, yet for some reason, Seiji was laughing at him. He could tell that it wasn't something else by the way the blond was looking at him, he had to be, one way or another, the reason why Seiji was laughing. "What? Is there something on me?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" Touma put down the knife and took a step towards the blond.

"If I tell you, you'll get mad."

"Come on, tell me."

"Not a chance, Blue Boy."

"Oh? So is this how we're going to play, huh?"

Before Seiji could blink, he was tackled off his stool and Touma was tickling in every ticklish spot he had. Now he was laughing uncontrollably, his sides ached as he tried to squirm away from Touma's long fingers. Gaining some control of himself, Seiji managed to grip Touma's arms and swing him onto the floor, so their positions were reversed. With the tables turned, Seiji showed no mercy to the man that was once torturing him. The blond's fingers glided along Touma's sides, making him thrash about, trying to get away. Sitting on his thighs, Seiji made sure the archer was staying right where he was. Eventually, Touma was able to knock the blond off balance, making him fall forward. Placing his hands on the floor to keep from falling on top of Touma, Seiji saw that his hands were on either side of the head of the man under him, their faces only inches apart.

Staring down into bright blue eyes, the blond could see several different emotions going through them, yet they were all unreadable. Soon his eyes traveled over the other's face, to the lock of blue hair the still fell between blue eyes, to pale, pink lips. Observing the handsome face below him, Seiji idly wondered when was the last time someone kissed him. Not just a quick peck, but a true kiss, with so much passion and love it overwhelmed the archer and forced him to lower his guard. He also wondered what it'd be like to kiss those lips again, would they be as soft as they were six year ago? Would they be as sweet, or even sweeter?

Very slowly, he brought his hand up and brushed the hair out of Touma's face, not wanting it to cover that soft, white skin. His hand stayed up in locks of silky hair, lightly caressing it. He had always liked how Touma's hair felt against his cheek and the smell of his shampoo mixed with his own scent that reminded Seiji of a summer night. The archer's eyes were closed, a content look was on him, if he were to make a sound, it would’ve probably been a purr.

"Seiji," Touma whispered.

"Yes?" He was still occupied with touching those locks of azure hair.

"I . . ." Pausing, he took a deep breath. //Come on, Touma! Just say it!// "I think that I need to get back to making dinner." Seiji nodded and carefully got off of Touma. Getting off the floor, the archer went back to his cooking. //Coward.//

//What was that about, Date?// Seiji questioned himself. //You have no right to do that to him. I made him uncomfortable, didn't I? I hope that I haven't wedged the gap between us even more. We might be living in the same apartment for two weeks now, but I can still feel the distance between us. I wish we were still as close as we used to be. I miss that . . . I miss him and he's right in front of me.//

Later on, while Touma was in his bedroom, finishing up his work, Seiji sat in the living room, grading papers. On the floor by the fireplace, Kenji read quietly, once in a while he'd climb onto the couch and watch Seiji work, then go back to the floor to read. As soon as Kenji finished his book, he settled down next to Seiji, quickly reading whatever paper that was in front of the blond. He was waiting for Seiji to be finished, so he could talk to the blond. Earlier that day, he had spotted him and his father in the kitchen playing, the way they were looking at each other reminded him of the way that his friend’s parents looked at each other. He had to make sure that Seiji and his papa weren't trying to trick him and that they were actually married, or like Matsuji and his momma, not married, but really close. Though what puzzled him, was that if his papa and Seiji were indeed married, then who was the wife? And if they did get married, who would be the wife?

Leaning his head against Seiji’s arm, he closed his eyes, reading made him sleepy sometimes. Usually Kenji would fight to stay awake, however the papers Seiji was reading weren’t very good, they were rather boring. Knowing that he really wasn’t missing anything, Kenji curled up and fell asleep. There would be other chances to talk to Seiji.

Seiji finished grading his last paper only a minute after Kenji fell asleep. Putting the stack of reports to the side, he picked up the boy and carried him to his bedroom, tucking him in under the blankets of the bottom bunk. Reaching into the top bunk, Seiji pulled out the large teddy bear the young boy was so fond of and placed it by the sleeping child. Going over the bedroom across the hall, he went to go bid Touma good night. He found Touma already sleeping, his head resting on the cold surface of his desk and the computer still on. Chuckling to himself, Seiji saved what Touma was working on, closed the program and turned off the computer. Taking Touma into his arms, he tucked him into bed, spreading the extra blanket at the end of the bed over him. This bedroom was much colder than the rest of the apartment, he wasn’t surprised when Touma shivered lightly.

“You feel like a piece of ice, Tou,” Seiji muttered to himself as he rubbed Touma’s arms from under the blankets to warm him. When the soft skin was warmed, Seiji removed his hands and smoothed the covers over the dreaming man.

“Seiji . . .”

Smiling softly at the sound of his name, Seiji pressed a light kiss on Touma’s forehead. “Sweet dreams, Tou.”

<<>><<>><<>>

Fiddling around with the seat belt, Touma stared out the car window. He felt awful about bothering Seiji’s family to watch over Kenji just so he could go to a party. No matter how many times Seiji assured him that his family didn’t mind, he still felt guilty. Not only that, but he always got this empty feeling whenever Kenji was away. He wasn’t worried that his son wouldn’t behave himself, he was just worried that maybe one of these days his son wouldn’t come back. It was a silly thing to concern himself with, still, he was afraid for both Kenji and himself.

Glancing over at the blond, he remembered last week when he was pinned to the floor, underneath the other man. He badly wanted to stay like that, he wanted Seiji to kiss him so much. He wanted to grab Seiji and kiss him with everything he had and confess to him that he still loved him after all these years. The risk of being discovered like that by his son was too great though and he didn’t want to take it. But when Seiji was touching his hair like that . . . it almost made him melt into a gooey puddle of happiness. It made him think that maybe the blond had some feelings for him, even if it wasn't quite the right time to pursue a relationship yet.

Shin had told him that Ryo was going to be there, was Ryo going to be horribly depressed as he was when Seiji broke up with him? He didn’t want Ryo to go through that kind of pain. He knew Seiji was hurting, it wasn’t even a month since the couple broke up, of course Seiji was hurting.

The car came to a stop in front of Shin’s house, parking on the curb. There were many cars in the driveway and on the curb, showing that there were going to be a lot of people attending this party. Touma hoped that Ryo would just get lost in the crowd and Seiji wouldn’t have to face him.

“I didn’t think we were that late,” Touma commented as he glanced at his watch.

“Well, if you didn’t take forever to wake up from you nap we would’ve been here earlier,” Seiji replied.

“Be quiet, don’t forget that I’m housing you for free.”

“And you’re the one who keeps telling me I don’t have to keep saying thank you for it.”

Touma just gave him a cheeky grin and knocked loudly on the door. They didn't have to wait long until a delighted looking Mizu answered it.

"It's about time you two got here!"

"Don't worry, we come baring presents," Touma handed her two wrapped up gifts.

“Happy birthday, Mizu.”

"You guys are too sweet sometimes." Giving both men a hug, she let them inside. The house was filled with people, some Touma and Seiji knew, others they didn't. Mizu led them to where they could put down the presents. She couldn’t wait until she got the chance to start trying to hook those two up. Mizu, the master of match making, will strike again! Looking around, she found that she had lost them. //How am I going to hook them up if I don’t even know where they are?//

Seiji and Touma slipped into the kitchen, knowing that in there was where Shin and Shu would probably be. Sure enough, the two friends were chatting at the breakfast table, no one else was in there. Taking a seat at the table, they waited patiently for Shin and Shu to notice that they had arrived.

“How you doing, Blue?” Shu stood up and gave his smaller friend a crushing bear hug.

“Good,” Touma got out, he literally couldn’t breathe in Shu’s smothering hug.

Seiji gently detached Shu from the archer. “I think you’re going to kill him if you squeeze him like that for another second.” He put his hands on Touma’s shoulders to steady the slightly swaying archer.

“Sorry there, I forgot that he’s still super skinny.”

“Why didn’t you do anything about that, Seiji? You’re the one staying with him,” Shin scowled.

“I try to get him to eat, yet he always says he’s too full or something like that, when I know he’s ready to eat everything on the table. I can’t shove it down his throat,” Seiji defended himself.

“Still, you need to make sure that he eats, he looks just as skinny as he was when he was a teenager,” Shin pointed out.

“Will you guys stop talking like I’m not here!?” Touma snapped, he hated that they were talking about him like he couldn’t take care of himself.

“Sorry, Touma,” all three said at the same time.

"Did you and Nasuti enjoy your trip to China?" Seiji asked Shu, changing the subject.

Shu shrugged. "It was nice, we did a lot of shopping. Way too much shopping for my tastes." Seiji nodded sympathetically.

Touma got bored way too fast in the kitchen, so he went out into the large living room where almost everyone else was. He talked to some people, only briefly, though he really didn't want to talk to people he didn't know and probably would never see again in his life. He wanted to find Nasuti so he could harass her about hooking up with Shu. Though everyone knew it wasn't a serious thing, he had to do it. It was difficult searching through crowds of people you didn't know, it was even more difficult trying to find Nasuti.

Then he saw the back of Nasuti’s head. And he saw Ryo, with his arm around the waist of some other guy with short, black hair and chocolate brown eyes. Touma didn't want to think that Ryo already had a another boyfriend, he wanted to believe that this was just a close friend of Ryo's. He couldn't believe that after he saw the tonsil hockey kiss the bearer of Rekka gave the other guy when Nasuti went to go talk to another woman.

Weaving his way through the crowds again, he did his best to get to the kitchen as fast as he could, he didn't want Seiji to see Ryo with another man. Thankfully the blond was still in the kitchen talking with Shin, Shu had left to find his girlfriend, Nasuti. Sitting up on the counter, Touma listened in on the conversation. He intended to keep Seiji as far away from Ryo as possible. He wanted to break the news to the blond before he spotted his ex-lover making out with a stranger. He was also angry that Ryo had found someone so soon and he had the nerve to bring him to the party.

//Why am I even bothering with this?// Touma asked himself. //I heard Seiji and Ryo doing much more than locking lips even before we broke up. Man, I don’t have to ask that. I’m still in love with him, I can’t let him get hurt like this.//

“Well, I guess I should go back out there before Mizu drags me out of here,” Shin sighed.

Touma patted Shin’s arm with pity. “Be brave, my friend, while us chickens cower in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” Shin walked into the living room to be swamped by a bunch of Mizu’s friends.

“You don’t want to go and mingle with some people?” Seiji turned towards Touma.

“No, I’ve already been out there. Too much of a mob, I like it right here.”

Shaking his head, the blond leaned against the counter. “So you’re going to hide in here for the entire party?”

“Just until Mizu comes storming in, beats me up and you’re forced to carry my half conscious body out or suffer the same fate.”

Seiji had to laugh, that sounded like something Shin’s wife would do. He wouldn’t be surprised if she really did beat Touma up for hiding. “All right, I guess I should keep you company then.”

Touma was about to say something when he noticed the kitchen door opening. He caught a glimpse of Ryo’s face and that other guy he was with. //Shit, Shin or Shu probably told him that Seiji was in here. Damn it, there goes my plan of keeping Seiji away from Ryo. What now? How is he going to feel when he doesn’t even have a date and Ryo has a freaking boyfriend?// Suddenly he got an idea.

Grabbing Seiji’s arm, he jerked the blond towards him and kissed him.

He heard a soft noise of surprise from Seiji as he mashed their lips together. Touma didn’t want to deepen the kiss, afraid that Seiji would get mad at him, as it was, the blond had no clue what he was doing. To his shock, a warm tongue gently brushed against his lips, demanding them to open, he eagerly complied. He clenched the fabric of Seiji’s shirt as that tongue slowly caressed the inside of his mouth and strong hands grasped his hips. Bringing his free hand up, Touma entangled it in golden locks of hair, lightly pressing Seiji’s face closer to his.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything,” Ryo’s voice said to them.

Pulling himself away from Touma, Seiji turned to look at Ryo and another young man. He wanted to say something, anything, but he found that he couldn’t get his voice to work. There was no way to explain to Ryo what he saw, other than Touma kissed him and he responded favorably. It practically made him feel like he was cheating on Ryo, then he noticed Ryo holding the hand of the other man. All guilt he had felt died away and sadness filled him.

//I didn’t think that he’d find someone else so soon. I had this coming, I now know how Touma felt and I deserve every second of it.// Misery weighed down Seiji’s heart, it lightened though as he felt Touma take his hand and lace their fingers together. The archer smiled sadly up at him and gave his hand a little squeeze.

“It’s quite all right, Ryo,” Touma answered shyly. “Sometimes I just can’t keep my hands off of him. So, who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is Nakamura Yuji, my boyfriend. Yuji, this is Date Seiji and Hashiba Touma.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Yuji said softly.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Seiji finally got out.

“Likewise,” Touma replied.

“How long have you guys been going out?” Yuji asked.

Seiji was about to say that they weren’t going out, but Touma answered before he could. “Only about a week now, nothing too serious.”

“You wouldn’t know by that kiss.”

“Well, I do like to be modest when it comes to relationships.”

Seiji then understood what Touma was doing, the archer was trying to protect him. Even if he couldn’t save Seiji from the pain he was feeling, he was saving him from the embarrassment of having Ryo pity him for not having anyone yet. //Touma, why are you protecting me? Don’t you think that I deserve everything coming to me? You’re too kind, I won’t ever forget this.//

“I FOUND YOU!!!!! YOU BLUE LITTLE DEMON!!” Mizu all but screamed. “THE FIRST TIME COMING TO MY PARTY AND YOU HIDE IN THE KITCHEN!?!?!”

All color drained from Touma’s face and fear rose up into his eyes. Jumping off of the counter, he groveled behind of Seiji, pushed his face in the back of the shirt his friend was wearing. “Save me! She’s going to kill me!!”

“No way! You have to live to see the rest of my party,” Mizu grabbed a fist full of blue hair and literally dragged a whining Touma out of the kitchen with Seiji following them. //He’s ticked me off too much by hiding! Like hell am I going to help his love life now! I’ll just have to do it later.// “You, my little blue friend, are going to come with me and talk to some nice people.”

“Help, Seiji!” Touma wailed as Mizu tightened her grip on his hair.

Snickering quietly, Seiji shook his head. “I’d save you from an entire army, but Shin’s wife is not a force meant to be challenged.”

“Ya got that right, Blondie. Sit, Blue Boy, I want you to meet some of my friends.”

“Kill me, someone have mercy and kill me!”

Sitting at Touma’s side, Seiji suffered along with Touma and endured some of the most boring people in the world. For an energetic woman, Mizu sure had dull friends. Half the time, Seiji’s mind was somewhere else. He kept thinking about Ryo and his new boyfriend, he wanted to know how long they’d been together. Where did they meet? Was Ryo serious about Yuji? Or was this just a fling?

He also wanted to know how he felt about Touma. When Touma has kissed him, it made his heart pound and his knees weak. The desire to run his hands all over the archer’s body and to make him groan with need was indescribable. In those thirty seconds they were lip locked, Seiji wanted to rip off Touma’s clothes and rediscover the beauty underneath of them. The question was if Touma wanted that too. And it just wasn’t lust that was going through him, it was the love that he had for this man, who had shown him much compassion and love of his own. He wanted to hold Touma and make sure he was never alone again.

“Hey, Blondie, snap out of it.”

Seiji looked up to see Touma smiling brightly at him.

“Come on, we’re going to miss the main event. The cake!”

“Still have sweet tooth, huh?” Seiji got up and took Touma’s hand. “Let’s see if we can get you an extra big piece then.”

Touma’s cheeks turned a pale pink, he enjoyed being so close to Seiji. His hopes had risen when Seiji responded to his kiss, it reminded him of back when they were together six years ago. //Don’t think about that, don’t get too hopeful.//

In the dining room, everyone was gathered, watching as Mizu opened her presents. Many were nice gifts, like an exquisite ruby necklace from Shin. Seiji and Touma had bought her a silk, black dress, since she was the one who always claims that gay men have the best taste in clothes.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?” Mizu exclaimed, looking at the GIANT, blue dress with white, polka dots, Touma had bought her as a gag gift.

“It’s for when you get big, you know, in the later months of your pregnancy, and then you can’t fit into anything,” Touma smiled. “Or when you get older and heavier, but don’t worry, I’m sure Shin will still love you.”

“Touma!” Nasuti gasped, then hit Shu, who had burst out laughing.

“You’re so mean!” Mizu leapt out of her seat and was about to strangle him, Shin was able to hold her back, reminding her that she could hurt herself and the baby. The rest of the present opening went smoothly as all other gag gifts were secretly removed from the table. The whole time Seiji had his arm around Touma’s waist, knowing that Ryo would look over at them from time to time. He didn’t feel as hurt anymore, knowing that Touma cared about him so much, he didn’t know what he did to deserve this from the archer, but he was glad that he did it.

After presents, Seiji sat on the floor in the living room with Touma, watching him eat a thick slice of chocolate cake. Some of the guest had already left and the remainder were either eating cake or dancing in the living room. The two friends made sure that they sat away from the dancers, not wanting to be accidentally trampled by Shu.

“Will you give me a bite?” Seiji leaned closer to Touma, eating the generous piece the archer gave him. He blushed as Touma wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin.

“You had some frosting there,” Touma grinned.

Wrapping an arm around the archer, Seiji rested his cheek against Touma’s hair. “You’ve done so much for me, Tou. Thank you.”

“I know you’d do the same.” Touma put down his empty plate and leaned his head on Seiji’s shoulder, playing with the hem of the blond’s shirt. “Let’s go outside, it’s getting too warm in here.”

Normally, Seiji would’ve objected, however he couldn’t deny Touma of anything now. The frosty air stung his warm skin and the dark unnerved him like it always did. Up above in the sky though, was a sea of bright stars, giving off a light that felt far more comforting than that of the sun. Shifting his gaze from the sky to Touma, he observed the younger man as he looked up at the stars.

“I know how you must be feeling,” the archer stated softly. “I can’t do anything to make the pain go away, if you want to talk about it though, I’m here to listen.”

“It did hurt me a lot when Ryo said that guy, Yuji, was his boyfriend, but the pain has faded. It doesn’t hurt as much with you here, you seem to make everything better.” Seiji hugged Touma, holding the other man closely, he could no longer hold back his emotions. “I just want to be near you now, I want you to let me hold you, maybe even let me love you.”

Nuzzling Seiji’s neck, Touma took in his scent, his senses overwhelmed by something he needed for so long. It felt like a dream, a wonderful dream that he’d wake up from and find himself alone. It was real though, all of this was real. Tears of happiness filled his eyes, he didn’t think this was possible, that Seiji would be saying such tender words to him, to hold him like this. After all those years alone, after the fight with Grace, this was what he longed for.

Seiji tucked his fingers under Touma’s chin and lifted his face so the archer was looking at him. Quickly closing the space between them, Seiji kissed him, slowly and intimately. Touma melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around the blond's neck. Soon, the innocent kiss turned into something more, it was more demanding and aggressive. They fought for dominance, but Touma slowly succumbed to the blond’s advances, allowing himself to let Seiji take control. He then grunted softly as Seiji gave his ass a good squeeze, he could feel himself getting hard with Seiji handling him like that.

"I want you, Touma," Seiji breathed into Touma's ear.

"I want you just as much, it's just that I don't think at a party is the best place to be expressing this. We . . . we can go back home and . . ." Touma didn't get a chance to finish, Seiji had captured his lips with his own again.

"Let's go say our good-byes and get out of here."

Touma nodded and followed Seiji back inside.

<<>><<>><<>>

Two young men stumbled into the apartment, neither of them could seem to keep their hands off each other. The sexual tension that had built up during the past three weeks and even the car ride home was all being released. Touma couldn’t ignore the hands that were working their way under his shirt and up his chest. They slid over every muscle, giving each one special attention. As the muscles of his chest began to relax, another part of his body was beginning to get hard and tense, even more so as velvety lips kissed up the side of his neck and then a moist tongue outlining the outside of his ear. The hands traveled down to his ass, groping him roughly, pushing him closer to Seiji’s hot body. He could feel Seiji’s length press up on his thigh, his face went red, knowing that he caused the blond to react this way. Grasping Seiji’s hips, he let the blond feel just how aroused he was.

“I’m glad I turn you on, Tou,” Seiji whispered huskily. He rocked his hips against Touma’s, making the archer pant. “I want you so badly, Touma.” Reaching between the blue haired man’s thighs, he gently rubbed the hardness he found there, pleased by the response he got. “Maybe we should go see how durable that bed of yours is.”

Touma silently agreed and led Seiji into his bedroom while taking off both of their shirts, sending them fluttering down to the floor. He hissed in pain as he banged his leg into the coffee table, he couldn’t see that well in the darkness of the apartment.

“My poor Touma,” Seiji cooed, rubbing the sore spot on Touma’s leg. The simple rub changed into something more sensual, Seiji almost became fascinated by how firm the leg under his hand felt. He groaned as Touma at leisurely nibbled at his chest, if they didn’t get to a bed soon, he was going to take Touma right there. Lifting the archer into his arms, he hurried over to the bedroom.

Once Seiji deposited Touma on the bed, the blond climbed on top of him, kissing the blue haired man. While assaulting Touma’s mouth with hungry kisses, Seiji worked on unbuttoning the tight, black jeans the archer wore. Once he succeeded in that, he wrenched them off him and threw them somewhere to the side. The archer started taking off Seiji’s pants, cursing as the zipper became stuck.

“Goddamn zipper,” Touma grumbled.

“Careful there, you don’t want to damage something,” the blond warned.

Touma smiled sheepishly and planted a kiss on his cheek, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Giving it one more yank, it came down, without any damages to much of his and Seiji’s relief. Another pair of pants then joined the rest of the clothing on the floor.

Settling between long, muscular legs, Seiji took a minute to gaze upon the heavenly looking young man in front of him. It was as he remembered him, smooth, pale skin, well toned muscles, light blue hairs that covered his legs and completely responsive to every touch and kiss. He knew all the places that could drive Touma wild, every spot that could make him wither with pleasure and he planned to use his knowledge.

Touma let his head sink farther back into his pillow, letting out a groan as Seiji massaged the sensitive flesh of his upper thighs while his mouth teased his nipples, then finally stroking one with his tongue till it was taunt, then worked on the other. His back arched off the bed, his nipples were just about as sensitive as his thighs. Each little bit of contact made him more excited.

He trembled at the sensations the blond was causing, they all felt almost new to him after this long of a time. He wanted Seiji to relieve the increasing ache between his legs, but that was ignored as the blond’s hands went down instead of up, bringing more attention to his legs. There was new promise as Seiji’s mouth went down from his chest, but it stopped at his stomach, a tongue tracing his bellybutton.

“Seiji . . .”

“Patients,” Seiji chuckled at Touma’s pout and nipped at his nose. “All in good time, my lovely archer.” He then started to suckle the skin at the base of Touma’s neck, after leaving a mark there, he moved onto another patch of skin.

“Oh gods . . . it’s been too long,” Touma moaned.

“When was the last time someone has touched you like this?” The blond grasped Touma’s length, pumping it torturously slow. Seiji realized that Touma hadn’t done this in a long time, the archer was practically acting like a virgin. He could tell that all the other wanted as relief and he was determined to give it to him. Just about ripping Touma's boxers off of him, he slid the archer into his mouth.

Touma’s mind was in a total haze, he couldn’t answer Seiji if he wanted to. Delicious pleasure coursed through his veins as Seiji seemed to swallow him whole. He cried out when he felt a warm tongue move up the side, then to the slit of his penis, pressing against it gently. Sharp, white teeth lightly scraped along the base, leaving a near tickling feeling. His hips bucked, wanting more, but Seiji held him down on the mattress, working carefully. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way, being stroked and suckled like this, feeling loved. His own emotions attacked him in such a frenzy, he couldn’t talk or think straight all he could do was feel. He let out another moan when Seiji sucked on him harder, concentrating on getting him to climax. Seiji’s cool fingers then cautiously probed his tight opening, stretching it out.

//He’s preparing me.// Touma thought as reality began to hit him. //We’re going to have sex . . . Wait. Do I even know how he feels about me? Does he really love me? Is this going to be a one night thing? Is he just fooling around with me?//

“S-S-Seiji, puh-puh-leeeease st-st-op.” Touma barely got out.

Seiji was surprised to hear Touma say that, nonetheless he obeyed. Releasing Touma from his mouth and withdrawing his hands, he laid down next to him. He was very concerned, maybe Touma didn’t want this, perhaps he had taken things too far and now he could never hope for a relationship with the archer. “What’s wrong, Touma? Am I making you go too far?”

Turning on his side to look at Seiji, Touma tried to think of what to say. “No . . . well, yes, maybe. Seiji, do you love me?”

<<>>

Touma: You're going to leave it off like that!? No lemon scene?????

Hiruma: You were being mean to me, so I decided to be cruel ^_^

Seiji: I can't believe you ended it like that!!!! What kind of horrible bitch are you?

Hiruma: Watch it Blondie, or I'll put you on the bottom.

Seiji: O_O

Touma: Hey! I like the sound of that!!!

Seiji: Please boost Hiruma's ego by reviewing this or e-mailing her, she likes e-mails.