Carrot sighed as he sat down on a blanket and watched the others settle down. Tira and Chocolat were laughing and talking with Eclair, Gateau's sister and the newest member of the team. Gateau was either stretching or flexing, Carrot couldn't tell which. And Marron was reading, as usual. Carrot's gaze fixed on Marron a bit longer. Marron always seemed to be reading, he thought, always off by himself and lost in thought. Marron was too quiet and solitary for his own good sometimes...too serious. It was like he was 16 going on 30. But that's the way Marron was. 'Wouldn't have ya any other way, otouto,' Carrot thought. Marron, oblivious to the others even being there, let alone his brother watching him, brushed a strand of black hair out of his face and turned a page in his book. Carrot smiled. He was so cute when he did that. It was always the little things about Marron that made Carrot smile. 'He's so beautiful...' One might think Carrot would resent Marron for being "the good-looking one". But Carrot really didn't care either way. After all, beauty was in the eye of the beholder, as the saying went. 'I gotta wonder, how can I chase so many girls when many of em are nowhere near as beautiful as Marron?' Carrot thought, then smacked the idea out of his head. 'Gah, that's stupid. Marron's my brother and pretty girls are pretty girls.' His brother... Carrot sighed slightly. 'My brother...' His own flesh and blood. His almost polar opposite in both looks and personality. His brother. But in the recent months, Carrot had been seeing more than that whenever he looked at Marron. Instead of just seeing his devoted little brother by his side, Carrot saw a graceful, beautiful boy with an air of mystery, deep golden eyes, long black hair, and a calm, peaceful smile that made him melt. But it was more than his looks. His intelligence, his ability to stay calm in the face of danger-even when he went into a psycho-fit over a sorcerer hurting Carrot, he always had an air of control. His kindness, his good judgment...his voice...the way he said Carrot's name... 'Niisan.' The way he always looked out for Carrot. It didn't matter if he was hurt, all he cared about was his brother's safety. Carrot appreciated Marron's selflessness, but he always felt a slight ache in his heart whenever Marron was injured during a battle. He was always so worried that something really bad might happen to Marron... If he ever lost Marron, he didn't know what he would do. 'I love him,' Carrot thought, his eyes filling with tears. And not just in a brotherly way, either. The way Carrot felt about Marron was the way Chocolat and Tira felt about him, the way his parents felt about each other, or Dota and Sirius. 'It makes sense. Somehow I've always felt closer to Marron than anyone else...can't see myself settling down with one of the Misu sisters...' The one person he really loved, he knew was forbidden to him. And even if Marron wasn't his brother, he was still a guy...and Carrot was afraid of how Chocolat and Tira would react if they knew he liked guys. So he did the only thing he could to keep from arousing suspicion. He chased girls. He ran after anything pretty with a chest and a skirt and asked her for a date, or if she wanted to sleep with him. It pissed off Chocolat and Tira to no ends, but at least it would assure them that he was straight. Carrot sighed. He felt so guilty, lying to them and probably getting their hopes up. Even if he didn't love them the way they did him, and often got annoyed at Chocolat stripping her clothes off and trying to boink him in front of everyone, he still cared about the Misu sisters and hated the thought of hurting them. Sometimes he wondered if it would be better to just tell them he was gay. But how would they take it? Tira might understand...she'd be pretty crushed, no doubt. Probably think he was lying at first and slap him good, but she'd understand...Chocolat, on the other hand, would accuse him of making excuses and cheating on her. That, or insist "Darling is just in denial about his feelings for me! Well, one night of passion with the beautiful Chocolat Misu will fix that right up, and he'll be tempted by nobody else!" before ripping her clothes off and shoving him to the ground. If she DID believe him, she'd beat him senseless and probably insist on "punishing the bastard who DARE tempted him away from her". No, telling them he was gay wouldn't be better than lying. Either way, Tira and Chocolat would be heartbroken. 'It's not about being gay, though. I don't 'like guys'. I love Marron.' Carrot hugged his knees to his chest as the cold night air began to set in. 'I'd go to bed, but I'm not going to be able to sleep.' The sound of footsteps jolted him out of his thoughts. He turned around, expecting to be jumped by a half-naked Chocolat, or worse, Milphey. The purple-haired Haz Knight's penchant for appearing out of nowhere was not something Carrot wanted to deal with right now. "Niisan?" Carrot sighed with relief at the sound of his brother's voice. The voice that made him feel warm inside...that deep, beautiful, sexy voice... 'STOP THAT! He's your little brother, you idiot,' he scolded himself. "Hey, Marron." Carrot got up and stretched a little. "What's up?" "I was just coming over to see if you were all right. You've been quiet this evening," Marron said. "Oh...I'm just tired, I guess," Carrot lied. Marron nodded slightly. "It is pretty late," he said. "Yeah." Silence fell over them. Painfully awkward silence. Carrot kept staring at Marron, wondering if he suspected anything...at the moment, he felt like 'Gay' was written all over his face. In bright red ink. 'Can he tell? Is it that obvious how out of it I am tonight? Could anyone else tell how out of it I was earlier?' He turned away slightly, pressing a hand to his forehead and feeling the beads of sweat that collected there. 'Gross. Wonder if he noticed I'm sweating like a pig...don't have a mirror, but my hair's probably all stuck to the back of my neck...' 'Jeez, Carrot, get a grip on yourself!' his mind snapped at him. 'It's not like Marron would CARE what you look like...' "Niisan? Are you all right?" "Yeah..." Carrot turned back to face Marron, forcing a smile. "Niisan...is something bothering you? You seem really distracted," Marron said, stepping a bit closer and putting his arm around Carrot's shoulders. Carrot tensed. "I-it's nothing! I...I'm just tired, Marron...really, that's all." Maybe if he kept telling himself that it'd be true. 'In fact, maybe I just think I have feelings for him because my mind's not working...and tomorrow I'll be able to look at him as my brother again!' 'You always were a better liar than Marron...but only to other people,' his mind scolded. Carrot sighed. "Niisan..." "Marron...don't worry about me. Please?" Carrot looked at his brother with pleading eyes. "If...you insist, niisan..." Marron said quietly. "Now let's go to bed." "Yeah..." Carrot mumbled, following Marron back to camp. Fortunately, the others were busy getting ready for bed, so they didn't pay any mind to Carrot's current state. ~ Later that night, Carrot was still awake. He looked around. Gateau was out like a light several feet away from him. Chocolat was smiling in her sleep, murmuring "darling" every so often. Tira and Eclair lay on either side of her. And then there was Marron. Sleeping peacefully next to him. Slowly driving him insane. 'God, he's so beautiful I can't stand it...' It was so cold...he momentarily thought about slipping under Marron's covers. Sharing body heat was a standard procedure when it was cold, right? And Marron wouldn't mind. "I'd be more than happy to keep you warm, niisan," he'd say. He'd wrap his arms around Carrot, pulling him close, smooth hands gently caressing his arms...Carrot closed his eyes, imagining his face buried against Marron's hair...the softness...the familiar scent... "Marron...this doesn't seem to be working," Carrot would say. "I think our clothes are in the way, niisan," Marron would reply, before remvoing Carrot's tank top and undoing his robes. The warmth of naked skin upon naked skin... 'Oh God!' Carrot blushed deeply when he realized where his mind was headed. He brought a hand to his face to catch the drip of blood from his nose. 'I have to stop thinking like that, he's my brother! It's not right, it's just...Marron, half naked, in my arms...his arms...his hands, his beautiful hands...' Hands...Carrot then realized he was slipping his own hand down his pants. With a horrified gasp, he jerked it away. 'NO! Carrot, pull yourself together!' 'Pull...Marron against me, as he gasps my name...bury my face in his neck, biting at his soft skin... The harder he tried to stop, the more vivid the images became. His hand slipped back down his pants, almost involuntarily. 'I can't stop...this is so wrong, he's my brother...my devoted, beautiful, sexy brother...NO! Gotta stop...can't think this way...can't stop...oh God...!' His hand moved faster as the images continued to flood his mind. No matter how hard he tried to stop it, he just couldn't...he buried his face in his pillow to avoid crying out as the wave of release crashed over him. 'Oh God...' Carrot slowly pulled his hand away, wiped it off on his pants leg, then stared at it. 'I...I didn't...I...someone, anyone...please, tell me I didn't just touch myself thinking about my brother...oh God...' Tears stung his eyes as the reality and shame of what he'd done hit him. 'Marron...' He pulled the covers over his head, buried his face in the pillow, and cried himself to sleep. 'Forgive me, Marron...' ~ Carrot woke up early the next morning and headed for the lake. As he expected, everyone else was still fast asleep. 'Good,' he thought. If he could get in a quick bath, clean his pants, and get back before everyone else woke up, he was safe. Once safely out of the vicinity of the others, Carrot pulled off his clothes, took a handful of water from the lake, and splashed it on his pants. Once he was sure he'd scrubbed most of the stain out, he lay them on a rock to dry. "That should do it for now," he mused as he slipped into the lake, shivering slightly at the ice-coldness of the water. It was a price to pay for bathing at 5am, but it was worth it. The less he aroused suspicion, the better. A cold bath would probably do him good anyway, after last night. He still couldn't get over what he had done last night. How could he have let himself get carried away like that?! God, if someone had woken up and seen him... What if Marron had seen him? "Eh. They'd probably just think I was fantasizing about some girl," Carrot shrugged. "Good thing I was at least QUIET while I did it...if Marron heard me crying his name out I did THAT time..." This hadn't been the first time he'd touched himself over Marron. A week ago, they'd stayed at an inn on a rainy night and he'd found himself doing it...with Marron asleep several feet away from him. That time he hadn't been very careful, and was quite embarassed when Marron rushed to his side and asked if he was all right, after hearing Carrot scream out his name. Fortunately, he'd been able to cover up by saying he was having nightmares about Sacher again. He smiled slightly as he remembered how Marron had stayed by his side the whole night. Just like he always did when Carrot was having nightmares. He always felt bad about waking Marron up on those nights. But Marron didn't care. "I'll stay up with you all night if that's what you want, niisan," he would say as he held Carrot in his warm, gentle embrace. Just knowing Marron was there helped Carrot fall back to sleep. Most of the time, at least. That one night, he'd been so ashamed of himself for not only touching himself over Marron, but for lying about why he'd screamed. He'd spent most of the night crying quietly against Marron, occasionally muttering "I'm sorry" or "Forgive me" into the fabric of his robe. "Forgiving me for waking him up is one thing. Lying? Maybe," Carrot mumbled, looking at his reflection in the waist-deep water. "But if he knew I'd been getting myself off over him..." Tears came to his eyes. "How could he forgive something as sick as that? What I did...that night and last night, the way I've been thinking about him, these feelings in general...it's just wrong..." he sighed. "He's my brother...you don't feel that way about your brother..." The tears began to fall down his cheeks as he closed his eyes. "My brother...my beautiful, wonderful brother whom I love more than anything..." A sudden slight breeze snapped Carrot out of his thoughts, and he remembered that he was pressed for time. Quickly, he finished washing up, stepped out of the lake, and threw his clothes on. Fortunately, his pants had dried pretty quickly. He headed back to camp, praying everyone was still asleep. Unfortunately, just as he was getting back... "Carrot?" 'Damn!' "Carrot, what are you doing up so early?" Carrot turned around to see Tira standing there, holding a towel and a hairbrush. "T-Tira!" He sweatdropped. "I could ask you the same thing..." "Well, you usually sleep kind of late..." Tira said, laughing a little. "Trying to break some bad habits, are we? Think you could work on the girl-chasing a little?" Carrot laughed nervously. "Y-yeah, that...sure, I'll try not to annoy you and Chocolat anymore. 'Sides, they always say no," he said quickly. "Wow, that was easier than I thought!" Tira said brightly. "Now..." "Why am I up this early? Well...I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to take a cold bath," Carrot lied. Tira's face fell. "A nightmare? Are you feeling okay now?" she asked. The concern in her voice was so sweet...so genuine. Guilt ate away at Carrot as he was reminded just how much Tira and Chocolat really did care for him. Gods, he hated lying to them like this! "Yeah, I'm all right now," he said, forcing a smile. "Thanks for your concern." Tira walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's good. But if you're ever feeling depressed about those dreams and need to talk, just know I'm here," she said. "Yeah..." Carrot swallowed the lump in his throat. "Thanks, Tira...I'd better get back now, though. It's pretty cold..." "Yeah, I can imagine, what with you just getting out of the water," Tira said. "Speaking of which, the lake is freezing this morning, so I wouldn't stay in there longer than ya need to," Carrot advised. "All right." Tira smiled, then continued on her way. "That was close," Carrot muttered once she was out of earshot. Tears stung his eyes. "I hate this...being in love with someone I can't have...lying to everyone..." He felt the tears threatening to spill over. 'I won't cry,' he willed himself, trying to hold back his emotions. He failed. "M...Marron..." he choked, falling to the ground and burying his face in his arms. 'Why am I so cursed? If I were normal I could just love Tira or Chocolat and have a nice, normal relationship. They love me, so why can't I just give up on this abnormal love for my brother and pick one of them?' He looked up, brushing the tears from his cheeks. 'Stupid Carrot. You know perfectly well why you can't.' He forced himself to stop crying as he heard footsteps. He didn't feel like telling any more lies this morning. ~ Fortunately, by the time they set out on their latest assigment, he felt slightly better. "Looks like rain," Tira idly said as she walked alongside her sister and Carrot. "I hope not anytime soon! I just did my hair!" Chocolat said jokingly. "Since when were you so vain, Chocolat?" Tira teased. "Since I plan to finally seduce Darling tonight!" Chocolat giggled. Tira frowned. "Oh, no you don't...you want Carrot, you'll have to get through me!" Carrot sighed. Seeing them fight like this...their blissful ignorance of Carrot's true feelings... "Why would he want someone so flamboyant?! You know how shy Carrot really is, and I'm much more sensitive to that than you are!" Tira said. "Oh, he's just in denial about his feelings for me! Anytime, anywhere he wants to do it is just fine with me!" Chocolat said. "Guys!" Carrot screamed. "We have to focus on this assignment! The sorcerer could be anywhere!" "Sorry, Carrot!" "Wow, Carrot's focused on work?" Tira said. "So? Can't a guy be focused on work for once?" Carrot shrugged. "You're usually focused on whatever pretty thing in a skirt comes our way," Gateau teased. "So what if I'm not in the mood for that this morning?" "What?!" Eclair giggled. "You, not into pretty girls? I'm surprised you still didn't jump ME the day I joined your group! "Sure, Darling. You say that now but the second a pretty girl comes along, BANG!" Chocolat laughed. "I wonder how long before you're all over her begging for a date this time..." "I'd give it a second," Gateau laughed. "Nah, he's a bit out of it this morning...ten seconds!" Eclair said. Carrot sighed. "Is that all I am to you? A girl-chasing idiot?" he asked sadly. "Hey...we're just teasing!" Gateau said. "Yeah, don't take it so personally," Tira added. "It's just you aren't usually this quiet." "Well, there's no rule that says he can't be once in awhile," Marron said, coming to Carrot's defense. "Or maybe he isn't feeling well." "...You're right, Marron," Tira said. "Sorry, Carrot. "Yeah, sorry, Darling." "Sorry!" Eclair smiled. "We should give ya the benefit of a doubt. After all, someone as beautiful as Marron can't be wrong!" Gateau said, slinging an arm across Marron's shoulders. "Gateau..." Marron turned away, but Carrot could see the slight blush on his brother's cheeks. 'He's blushing...he hardly ever blushes around Gateau!' he thought. 'Why is he blushing NOW?!' He sighed. 'Why am I getting so worked up about this anyway?' "Hey! Stop trying to pervert my little brother!" he yelled at Gateau. "Oh, you always say that," Gateau said, flippantly brushing him off. "Besides, all I did was state a fact." "Well, quit it, would ya?! It's getting really annoying," Carrot said. "Hey, what's with you? You never get THIS upset over it. Why are you so worked up about it today?" "Well..." Carrot froze. 'Great, Carrot, why don't ya just scream it nice and loud for everyone to hear?!' He'd never liked Gateau flirting with Marron, but lately more than anything it felt like a threat. Gateau obviously had a thing for Marron, and while Carrot didn't know Marron's feelings for Gateau, what if they DID become more than friendship? 'At least it'd be okay if Marron was with Gateau. They're not blood- related, it wouldn't be sick and wrong,' he thought bitterly. "Never mind. Forget I said anything," he mumbled. "Hey..." Gateau gave him a concerned look. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it." "Yeah! You're really worrying us with the mood swings lately, Carrot," Eclair said. "Niisan..." Carrot swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face Marron. "Are you not feeling well? Maybe we should check into the inn nearby early so you can go to a room and get some rest. "N-no...I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well last night," Carrot said. "Come on, let's get our minds back on this mission. The sooner we get to the sorcerer, the sooner we can kick his ass!" "Yeah! That's like the Carrot we know! ...Well, when he DOES have his mind on his work," Tira said. "So, now you admit it?" Carrot smiled a little. "Hey, we were just teasing before!" Eclair said. "Yeah, I know." Carrot tried to smile a little more brightly. He didn't want to worry them any more than he had. As they headed into town, nobody said anything more about Carrot's strange mood, and Carrot managed to get his mind off of his problems by the time they reached their destination. ~ The battle was pretty much the same as always...well, almost. "Okay, prettyboy. Your magic can only take you so far..." the sorcerer growled, slowly advancing on Marron. "I wouldn't do that." Marron held out an ofuda. "Those little slips of paper aren't going to help you this time," the sorcerer said. Even though Marron was holding his own against the attacks very well, Carrot couldn't help worrying. This sorcerer was considerably powerful... and his attacks kept getting stronger every minute... Sure enough, a moment later the sorcerer hurled a blast of dark magic-and it looked like it was about to hit Marron! "MARRON! LOOK OUT!" Without thinking, Carrot charged forward and shoved Marron out of the way. "Niisan!" The blast hit Carrot, transforming him into his beast-self. "Darling!" Chocolat nearly dropped her garrotte wire. "Carrot!" Tira gasped-then quickly turned around as the sorcerer charged up behind her. "Oh, no you don't!" she screamed, lashing him in the face with her whip. "Ow, my eyes!" the sorcerer yelled, falling backwards. As usual, they won the battle. And Chocolat and Tira beat Carrot back to normal again. But Carrot didn't care. As long as Marron was safe. ~ Hours later, the gang checked into the local inn to relax. "Well, I need a shower," Marron said, grabbing a towel. "I'll try not to be in there too long, niisan," he said as he walked into the bathroom. "Okay." Carrot lay back on his bed, glancing at the fading slashes on his arm. Fortunately, Tira had healed him after he'd turned back to normal, so it didn't hurt as much as it normally did. Unfortunately, that was small comfort. After the battle was over, Marron had barely said a word to him...not in the angry sort of way, more like disturbed. Why? It wasn't like Carrot had never protected Marron in battle before, or Marron had never seen Carrot get transformed into his beast-self. Actually, it wasn't just Marron who seemed alarmed. Everyone else had been giving him strange looks since that battle. ~Hours earlier~ "You could've been killed like that, you idiot!" Tira screamed. "What posessed you to run into the line of fire when Marron was perfectly capable of defending himself?!" "Darling, what's gotten into you?! You've never done that before unless the situation was REALLY serious!" Chocolat added. "If you'd gotten yourself killed, I..." "I'd never forgive you, you idiot! You're really important to us, Carrot!" Tira cried. They both looked at him, sadness evident in their eyes...Carrot could have sworn they were about to cry at that moment. "Darling..." "Carrot..." ~Present~ Carrot sighed, rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face in the pillow. He hadn't meant to upset them so much. "They just don't understand how much Marron means to me...that if I had to I'd have given my life for him..." Carrot closed his eyes, blinking back tears. "I love him more than anything," he mumbled into the soft fabric of the pillow. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Carrot?" Great. "What is it, Tira?" "Can we come in, Darling?" 'Could my luck GET any worse right now?!' Carrot sighed. "Fine." He got up and opened the door. The two sisters were at his side immediately, trying to hug him. "Carrot, we're really getting worried about you! Why won't you tell us what's bothering you lately?" Tira asked. "Yeah! Tira said something about you having nightmares when I asked her-" "What?!" Carrot jerked himself from their hold. "I-I'm sorry, Carrot! Oneesama only asked because she was worried about you, and I didn't think you would get upset..." "Darling, why won't you talk to us?! You're so secretive it's driving me crazy!" Chocolat cried. "Can't a guy be secretive without people giving him the third degree?!" Carrot snapped. "Well, excuse us for caring about you and not wanting to see you in pain!" Chocolat said. "Carrot..." Tira sighed. "You mean so much to oneesama and I, and we just want to help!" 'DAMN IT!' Carrot's fist clenched, his fingernails digging into his palm. 'Why does this have to be so goddamned hard?! I hate lying, I hate hurting the girls who care about me, I hate feeling this way, I HATE MYSELF!' "Well, don't! Just go away and leave me alone from now on! Both of you!" "Carrot!" "Darling!" 'Great...now I'm sounding like I hate them! God, WHY ME?! Why does this have to happen to me?!' "Just leave," he said, his voice beginning to break. "I want to be alone." "Darling, I-" "Please..." Without another word, Chocolat and Tira walked out of the room. Once they were gone, Carrot threw himself on the bed and began to cry. ~ "Oneesama..." Tira sighed, brushing her bangs away from her face. "Do you think Carrot...is really angry with us?" Chocolat blinked away the tears forming in her eyes as she put her arm around her sister's shoulders. "He sure sounded like he was. I-I don't get it...maybe we were just trying too hard to help?" she said. "Even if we were trying too hard, he normally wouldn't get so upset," Tira said. "I feel so helpless!" Chocolat balled her left hand into a fist and smacked it against her right palm. "Darling's in pain and we can't even do anything to make him feel better! I hate this!" "So do I," Tira said quietly. "But maybe...there really is nothing we can do about it." "What?" "I think...we just need to give Carrot his space and let him deal with this in his own way. It hurts to stand by and feel so helpless, but Carrot will get through this eventually," Tira said. Chocolat closed her eyes, sighing deeply as she leaned back against the wall. "I guess you're right, Tira." After a moment's silence, Tira looked at her sister. "...Oneesama..." "Yeah?" "What if...Carrot has fallen in love with someone?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears. "Wh-what?! Tira, don't ever say such things!" Chocolat cried. "But what if he is?! Oneesama, he doesn't even know how we feel about him and you know how he's always chasing girls...what if this time he's really in love?" "I...never really considered THAT," Chocolat whispered. "I know he's always trying to score with them, and I always got mad...but I didn't think he would really fall in love with someone." "I know..." Tira sighed. "What if he is in love with someone else?" "Then...I guess there's nothing much we can do about it." Tira closed her eyes. "Of course there is! We can demand to know who stole Darling out from under us and then give Darling the whipping of a lifetime!" Chocolat said, then turned away for a moment. "...No. I-I just...no matter how angry I was, I just couldn't..." "If we really love Carrot, shouldn't his happiness be more important than our anger? If the person he loves is the one who makes him happy, then we should try to accept it," Tira said. "You're right...as much as we want Darling all to ourselves, we can't hold him back if he loves someone else. After all, part of true love is letting go, isn't it?" Chocolat said. "Yeah." "But...it still hurts, thinking he'll never return our feelings," Chocolat said, her voice breaking. "Hurts like hell." Tira buried her face in her sister's shoulder as she began to cry. ~ His brother. His own flesh and blood. The person he loved. The person he could never have. 'Marron...' The pure, simple feelings of romantic love he knew were wrong. The steamy, erotic fantasies that frustrated him every night, but he never wanted to stop. He didn't bother to ask why anymore. He knew he'd never know the answer to this. All he knew was that it hurt more than any physical injury ever could. As Carrot buried his face deeper into the pillow, he was vaguely aware of someone's presence. But he ignored it. He'd had a hard enough time not breaking down in front of the Misu sisters and had no desire to have anyone else see him cry. "Niisan?" ~ Marron dropped the towel he'd been using to dry his hair and knelt beside the bed. He'd heard Carrot and the Misu sisters arguing and, and now Carrot was lying face-down on the bed, his shoulders shaking. "Niisan...what happened?" he asked, resting his hand on his brother's back. "Are you okay?" No answer. Only a sniffle. "Niisan?" Marron gently stroked Carrot's back. "What's wrong?" Carrot sniffled again and rolled over a little. "Nothing." "N-niisan!" Marron gasped at the sight of his brother's tear-stained face. He stood up, sat down on the bed, and put his arms around Carrot. "Why are you crying?" Carrot froze slightly. Marron's embrace was so gentle, his voice so soft...but the knowledge that it was nothing more than a brotherly gesture of comfort only made him cry more. "You wouldn't understand," he mumbled. "It's really nothing." "If you're crying this much it's obviously not nothing," Marron said. "Please...don't worry so much about me, Marron. It's just pointless," Carrot choked. "Niisan, your tears give you away and you're not doing a good job of hiding them!" Marron sighed. "Please, tell me what's wrong!" He held Carrot closer, gently stroking his hair and rubbing his back. Carrot could feel everywhere Marron touched him, and it was unbearable. He wanted to be held in Marron's arms more than anything right now, but it hurt so much. "Please...I-I don't want to talk about it. It's nothing anyone would understand, and it's not that important anyway," he sobbed. "Niisan..." Marron's own eyes filled with tears as he held Carrot in his arms. "If...it's that painful, then I won't ask anymore," he said. He sighed as he continued to run his fingers through his brother's hair. 'I hate seeing you like this, though...I wish you would talk to me.' In the midst of it all, it had started raining. Steady streams fell from the sky, the drops beating against the windows in a sad, slight rhythm. ~ Half an hour later, Carrot found himself lying on the bed, a blanket covering him. "I must've fallen asleep..." he muttered, rubbing his eyes. At least he'd managed to stop crying. "God, I can't believe I cried on Marron like that...not that he'd MIND, obviously, but still...I feel like such a wuss lately, getting so weepy and emotional over him..." Sighing, he dragged himself off of the bed, folded the blanket, and stretched. "Maybe I'll go for a walk to clear my head." Just then, he heard the loud crack of thunder outside, then the pattering of the rain. "...Down the hall," he said. However, just as he was about to get up, Marron walked in. "Niisan, are you feeling better?" he asked, sitting down on the bed. "Yeah...I'm all right now," Carrot lied. He still felt miserable, but at least now he didn't feel like bursting into tears. "Good." Marron wrapped his arm around Carrot and gave his shoulders a squeeze. -- -Gateau comes in, flirts with Marron, Carroot gets angry. The girls hear the commotion and ask what's wrong. Marron politely asks the girls and Gateau to leave the room. He asks Carrot what's wrong. Carrot angsts, panics, and lies that it's nothing. Marron worries and says Carrot can tell him anything. Carrot tells Marron his feelings. Marron is shocked, doesn't know what to say. Carrot angsts, runs out of the inn into the rain, crying. -Marron yells after Carrot, still confused at his brother's confession. Thinks about his own feelings towards Carrot and after much thinking and angsting worriedly, realizes he should go out there and get Carrot back inside. Then he realizes he DOES love Carrot the way Carrot loves him. -Marron sees Carrot crying and tries to tallk to him. Carrot pulls the 'leave me alone, you hate me' routine and tries to shrug Marron away. Marron persists, and they have kind of a confrontation. Carrot says Marron could never feel the way he does...and Marron says that yes, he DOES feel that way about Carrot. Carrot is shocked, asks Marron if he really means it. Marron says yes, says something about Carrot being the most important person to him ever. Carrot cries tears of joy and hugs Marron tightly. Carrot&Marron have a few moments of warm&squishy sappyness, then kiss in the rain. Carrot is happier than he's been in weeks, Marron feels warm and serene to be with Carrot. -The subject of coming out to the others arrises, but they decide to figure that one out later. Carrot sneezes, Marron gets worried that he's going to catch cold, so they go inside. Marron says that if Carrot does get sick, though, he'll be more than happy to take care of him. -They dry off, put on warm dry nightshirts//robes and get into bed...and use their "body heat" to warm up. They kiss, then go to sleep feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. The end.