Warnings: AU, semi-spoilers, shonen-ai, strangeness.... you know, the usual.
Disclaimers: "X" and "Tokyo Babylon" are not mine. X Japan frightens me, and they are also not mine... thank the gods above.... or below... or whatever.
Additional Warnings: Kamui has the SAPPIEST LINE EVER, Keiichi is a weird stalker-type... and so is Yuuto, Hokuto is EVIL, and a misleadingly nice chapter ending.
~*~ Chapter Four: To Be in Love ~*~
"Christmas Eve is a time for lovers!" Hokuto declared, grabbing her twin brother�s arm and dragging him in front of the mirror to regard their attire for the cast party that night. Hokuto was dressed in a short red dress with white faux fur trim. She wore little red clips in her hair and had jingle-bell earrings hanging from both ears. Subaru for all it was worth, managed to look fairly dignified wearing a unnecessarily tight Santa Claus costume complete with a huge black belt and the ridiculous hat. "Sei-chan might even propose tonight!" Hokuto laughed shrilly, putting one delicate, white, gloved hand to her mouth.
"Seishirou-san is not going to propose," Subaru said firmly, sounding a little annoyed, but he was smiling. Honestly, Hokuto never gave up. Subaru didn�t want Seishirou to propose to him. But, despite that, he couldn�t deny the fact that it would be terribly romantic to be proposed to on Christmas Eve. Possibly more so if the little white tuft on his hat wasn�t in his face again. "Besides, I want to make sure Kamui is doing okay tonight. The last thing I need happening is Seishirou trying one of his hare-brained acts of random affection."
"Subaru, you just left off the �san�," Hokuto commented quietly, sounding surprised.
"Huh? I did? On Seishirou-san�s name?" Subaru blinked. He hadn�t done it on purpose. The only reason why he continued to use such formalities with Seishirou at all were merely seeds of habit. The fact that he had dropped the formality automatically, especially without noticing, was a shocking as Hokuto made it seem. "Odd. Perhaps it is because we are spending so much time together at work. Now that I am older, the age difference isn�t as obvious. I�m probably just acting more mature, so don�t get too excited, Hokuto-chan." This warning, of course, came too late.
"My younger brother is finally coming to see the truth of his feelings! Sei-chan will be such a wonderful brother-in-law!" Hokuto waved her finger in her twin�s face. "You�d best make me your maid of honor, Subaru!" Subaru laughed, used to these antics after years of putting up with it, and just nodded in agreement. "Good. Then, maybe, Sei-chan will finally admit he likes my husband and take him as his best man.... Then again, obaa-san will never approve of a western wedding. Not to mention, marrying, as she calls him, �that Sakura man�. She never liked him when I was dating him, either."
Subaru, bemused, shook his head and left his sister to rant to herself. If there was anything important she had just said, it was about Seishirou admitting that he liked Kakyou. Subaru smiled at the thought, thinking back on the first time the two met.
"You must be �Kyou-chan�. I�ve heard so much about you."
"I suppose that means you are �Sei-chan�?"
"Yes, Sakurazuka Seishirou. Hokuto-chan�s been so happy since she met you."
"Yes, and her brother sure blushes a lot now that you are around."
"Hm... I suppose."
"If you hurt him, I�ll have to kill you."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I love Hokuto, and she loves Subaru. So, hurting him is hurting Hokuto, therefore hurting someone I love. I�m the protective type."
"I see. I feel the same way, Kakyou. Perhaps we could get along?"
Subaru sighed. Kakyou and Seishirou actually adored eachother, deep down, they just felt it was entirely too necessary to make every attempt they could at being anything but adoring toward eachother. That is, around anyone but Subaru. As soon as Subaru was in the picture, they at least attempted to act civilly. In a strange way, they were like the best of friends, or maybe more like siblings, because their harsh words were really only intended as endearments and honest advice.
Subaru would never know why they were so determined to not show this part of their relationship to the world. Really, it was an amazing display of affection.
Subaru scooped the gifts he had bought for some of the cast members up in his arms, nearly dropping them a moment later when a voice behind him said, "Do you need a hand?" Subaru turned to look at Kakyou, who was dressed in a very formal kimono, already holding a gift in his lap.
"No, that�s okay. I�ll need help with the door, but Hokuto can get that." Subaru smiled pleasantly and adjusted the weight in his arms again, turning from his brother-in-law to exit the room, going back into the entrance where Hokuto was pulling on a coat. Hokuto smiled at him, opening the door, and Subaru stepped out into the night air, enjoying the pleasant smell in the air from all the sweets the neighbors were cooking for the holidays.
Subaru�s car was parked in front of his sister�s house, the trunk already open and half-filled with packages that Hokuto had been packing just before she came to check on Subaru�s outfit. Subaru knew that there was also one more gift, hidden away in the glove box, that was intended for Seishirou. Subaru, try as he did to do otherwise, had to buy Seishirou a Christmas gift.
Reluctantly, Subaru recalled that Seishirou had insisted that Subaru only had to buy Seishirou a bow. When Subaru had been dumb enough to ask why, Seishirou explained that he would put the bow on Subaru and just take Subaru as his Christmas gift. Needless to say, Subaru had been unamused. Especially because the conversation had taken place while the two were supposed to be pretending to whisper to eachother for one of the commercials they had filmed for "Tokyo Babylon 1999". The director had praised their acting ability, unaware that one of his ohmyouji really was contemplating the murder of the other.
Subaru shook his head again as he arranged packages in the trunk. If there was one thing he was dreading more than anything else in the world at that moment, it was the party he was attending that night. Not only would Hokuto and Seishirou be there, but Subaru�s new acquaintance, Setsuka, would surely come with her older brother. Suddenly becoming deathly ill had never looked so appealing.
~*~
It had been an hour since the cast party started, and Kagai Yuuto had just found the man he had been looking for all night. This man was the real reason why he had agreed to work on a project that wasn�t a big-name movie. This man was the real reason why he had flown down to Japan from Hong Kong where he had been finished filming a movie only days before the first day of filming on the set of "Tokyo Babylon 1999". This man, who stood before him wearing a nice suit with a blood red shirt partially unbuttoned and no tie, looking positively edible. "Seishirou," Yuuto said pleasantly, approaching the other man.
"Oh, Yuuto. It�s good to see you," Seishirou replied, smiling broadly. Thirteen years before, they had worked together on a movie... that was when Yuuto fell in love with Seishirou. They had remained lovers for almost a year after the movie was finished, but Seishirou suddenly, inexplicably dropped into his own little world of self-pity, going into another one of his writing phases. Ultimately, he had broken up with Yuuto as a favor to both of them, because he was simply too busy with his writing to be much of a boyfriend. Not to mention, Yuuto was called away to another movie. "I�m glad you could make it."
"I love these holiday cast parties. I wouldn�t have missed it for the world," Yuuto replied, laughing lightly. Seishirou stopped one of the caterers that was holding a tray of drinks, and took two, handing one to Yuuto. "Thanks," Yuuto said quietly, holding up his glass. "Shall we drink to something, Seishirou?"
Seishirou thought on this for a moment, and then put his glass to Yuuto�s. "To old friends and lovers," Seishirou proposed, tapping his glass lightly with Yuuto. The other man repeated the toast back to him before they both drank, regarding eachother seriously afterward. "You haven�t changed at all, you know. Every time I see you on set, I half expect you to be playing the role of Kentarou again."
"You made a wonderful Takeshi, too," Yuuto said with a laugh, noting Seishirou�s slight irritation. "I noticed that you wrote the chokan and his two followers into this script. Are you trying to tie together all of your previous movies in one?"
"Not intentionally," Seishirou said flippantly. Then, he smiled sadly at Yuuto. "I started the bet again," he said, to explain his expression when Yuuto looked at him curiously. "I know you never fell out of love with me, but I can�t get over Subaru. If you only joined the cast to be with me, perhaps you shouldn�t be here." The sudden digression to seriousness unnerved Yuuto.
"Seishirou, you know I would rather be near you and without you than apart from you entirely." Yuuto then shrugged, mimicking Seishirou�s earlier flippant tone. "Besides, I hear your sister is really hot. Maybe I�ll just give up on you an go after her." Seishirou and Yuuto shared a laughed that was interrupted by a shout of disbelief from somewhere nearby.
"Hokuto-chan! Why did you bring that?!" Subaru demanded, moving away from the offending object as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, said offending object was in his sister�s hands.
"Who is that woman with Sumeragi-kun?" Yuuto wondered, looking to Seishirou for an explanation.
"His sister," a new voice said, causing both men to jump. Seishirou and Yuuto both turned to see Setsuka, dressed in a dark green kimono with pleasant gold designs, making a very scary face indeed. "She and I have a lot in common," Setsuka added, looking positively evil. Seishirou blanched while Yuuto looked confused. Setsuka smiled at him. "Kagai Yuuto, right? I�m Sakurazuka Setsuka, this idiot�s younger sister." Setsuka motioned with one hand to her brother. "Anyway, I think Hokuto and I are thinking the same thing about this party tonight...."
"Seishirou-san, Kagai-san, you have to save me!" Subaru said suddenly as he spotted his friends and ran over to them. "My sister is evil. EVIL. She tried to make me kiss Kamui with that damn mistletoe of hers!" Subaru then noticed Setsuka and blanched. "Well, damn," he said quite flatly.
"I brought mistletoe as well, Sumeragi-san," Setsuka opted, producing some mistletoe from somewhere in the sleeves of her kimono. Yuuto�s eyes bugged out, surprised that she was actually carrying mistletoe on her, but Seishirou and Subaru just looked fearful.
"Yuuto, if you ever loved me, hold them off. Subaru, let�s run!" Seishirou grabbed Subaru by the hand, and Setsuka gave an attempt at pursuit. Seishirou and Subaru got away because Yuuto, of course, stopped Setsuka. The blonde would do anything for Seishirou�s sake, after all.
After a pause, Setsuka gave a shrug, and threw her arms around Yuuto, using the mistletoe as an excuse to kiss him. At that moment, Hokuto ran up, saw the two of them, and decided that Seishirou and Subaru must have run off together, so there was no need to worry about the mistletoe. So, happily, she skipped off to terrorize other unsuspecting party goers.
~*~
Kamui had really come to the party to talk to Subaru. As much as he was sure of his decision to end their relationship, he was also unsure that he would be getting over Subaru any time soon, and not seeing him was actually making things worse, because it just made his heart ache every time he so much as pictured his ex. With a deep sigh, Kamui settled against the wall with some eggnog and watched other people dancing and socializing.
Fortunately... or maybe unfortunately... fate would not let Kamui stay a wallflower for long. A young blonde man, perhaps a year younger than Kamui, bounded up to him with a huge smile. He had bright blue eyes and perfectly straight white teeth which, when combined with his height and his hair color, made him look like a gaijin. "Hi! Fuuma told me to come find you!" Kamui blinked at the boy. The boy blinked back. "I�m Segawa Keiichi! You are Shirou Kamui, right?"
"Yeah... that�s me." Kamui continued to blink at the ball of energy in front of him.
"I thought it was you! Fuuma showed me a picture!" Keiichi laughed, taking Kamui�s hand. "Setsuka and Seishirou talk about you a lot, too. I mean, when they aren�t talking about Subaru. I fell like I know you already, and we haven�t even been talking to eachother for a minute! Isn�t that crazy?"
Blink, blink, went Kamui�s eyelids. "I... uh... Segawa-san, it is nice to meet you. But, if you don�t mind, I just had a bad break up, so I�d like to be alone," Kamui trailed off, his voice growing softer and sadder as he went. He looked away, focusing his violet eyes on nothing in particular, as long as it wasn�t human.
"You were dating Subaru, right?" Keiichi smiled brightly. Kamui�s head jerked up to look at him. "He�s a nice man, if not a little too quiet, sometimes. I think he�s afraid to love anyone right now... most of all Seishirou. It�s sad because... well, Seishirou has loved Subaru for as long as I�ve known him." Keiichi paused, his smile slipping. "He really is gorgeous, though. If it weren�t for Seishirou, I�d be all over him. All he really needs is a little energy in his life." Keiichi�s smile returned, this time holding a darkness that wasn�t there before, and his azure eyes narrowed, fixing on Kamui. "Then again, you�re also the quiet, hurt type like him... and gorgeous."
Kamui sputtered incoherently. "I�um... thanks... but, uh.... Segawa-san, could you tell me where Fuuma is?" Kamui was blushing horribly, and he suddenly felt much younger than he was. It didn�t help that Keiichi was reacting to Kamui�s words as one might react to a confused or scared child.
"Yeah, Fuuma came with me," Keiichi assured, placing a hand on Kamui�s shoulder, and pointing across the room with the other. "He�s over there by the tree. You see?" Kamui nodded, and Keiichi released him. "Why don�t you go see him. Perhaps we can continue our conversation over lunch sometime?"
"Um... sure, I�d like that." Kamui stumbled away from Keiichi, making a beeline for Fuuma across the floor, but was most unfortunately stopped when he collided with a stunning woman. From the attire, he instantly recognized her as Kasumi Karen. She was having a drink was Aoki Seiichirou... rather, she was, until Kamui managed to spill the drink on her and on himself by bumping into her. "I�m so sorry."
"It�s okay," Karen assured, helping Kamui up. Kamui excused himself quickly, but not before noticing that Aoki immediately began to fuss over the diva, helping her dry herself off and making sure he was doing everything he could to be helpful. Kamui supposed that he might fuss over a beautiful person like that, too.
"Kamui," Fuuma greeted, as soon as Kamui got over to the tree. Kamui smiled at Fuuma, glad to be away from other people (he had never been a fan of parties or crowds). Fuuma, surprising Kamui, took the smaller man in a bear hug, holding his small frame tight. "Merry Christmas, Kamui," Fuuma whispered, sounding slightly amused.
"Ah, you too," Kamui whispered back, settling into the embrace. He had nearly forgotten how good it felt to just be held by someone. Kamui was just about ready to settle into the moment and enjoy it when it was ruined by a certain evil Sumeragi twin.
"You know the rules!" She declared, holding the mistletoe above their heads. Kamui sighed, and Fuuma just laughed. Finally, Fuuma leaned down, catching Kamui�s lips in a short but sweet kiss that Kamui hardly had the time to return before it was over. "How cute! Go Kamui-chan!" Hokuto giggled, and ran off to bother Karen and Aoki (who was still fussing over Karen�s dress).
Kamui put his head back on Fuuma�s shoulder, ignoring the heat rising to his cheeks. "She was always like that when I was with Subaru. She sees a cute couple, and she just wants to play with them... like a child that pokes at a jellyfish with a stick on the beach."
"Strange analogy," Fuuma commented, his laughter echoing in his chest as Kamui listened with his ear pressed against Fuuma�s collarbone. Fuuma held Kamui a little tighter. "You�re still upset about Subaru, aren�t you?"
"I miss him," Kamui clarified. "I... I never fell in love before him. It�s strange...." Kamui trailed off. "I just miss him."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Fuuma wondered into Kamui�s hair.
"Just... hold me, for now, Fuuma. You�re warm."
~*~
Subaru and Seishirou had ultimately retreated to the balcony where there were a few benches, but no occupants. Subaru went to one bench and sat down, looking up at the stars, or rather, the stars that the Tokyo lights would allow, and waited patiently for Seishirou to sit before he spoke. "Seishirou-san, I got you a gift, but it isn�t under the tree. I was hoping to give it to you in private, sometime."
Seishirou smiled at Subaru. "Now�s as good a time as ever. I actually did the same thing." Seishirou pulled out a small package, holding it out to Subaru with a smile that had every ounce of his emotions in it. "I hope you like it, Subaru." Getting a look like that with the gift.... Subaru would like it no matter what it was. In fact, he almost didn�t want to open it, because he already knew he liked it.
"Here�s yours," Subaru said, handing Seishirou his gift, while placing the gift from Seishirou in his lap. "You have to open yours first, though." Seishirou laughed at that, and tore at the nicely wrapped box, opening it with little precision, but high efficiency. Inside were two matching calligraphy pens with Seishirou�s full name engraved in gold into the blue-painted metal. "You�re a writer, so I thought you might like those...."
Seishirou was grinning. "I love them. Thank you," as Seishirou said the last, he put an arm around Subaru, and kissed the man�s cheek. Normally, Subaru would have protested to both, but it was Christmas, so he just threw a glare at Seishirou before turning to the wrapping paper of his gift. "If all I got was a glare, then I just might live through this."
Subaru opened the box, and saw that it contained a gift certificate to a very high-class restaurant that Subaru was fond of, two tickets to the opera, a gift certificate for a limo service, and was lined with red rose petals. Subaru gaped at the box, not quite trusting his eyes. "Sei�Seishirou-san... this is amazing. Thank you so much!"
"I got it with you and Kamui in mind... I figured that I might as well treat the two of you to a nice date, if he was the one who made you the happiest. But, I guess that idea flopped." Seishirou laughed, scratching the back of his head.
Subaru blinked back tears, looking at Seishirou. "That�s so selfless, though. I thought you were going to tell me this was for us to go on a date." Subaru bit his lip. "Seishirou-san.... why would you do this for Kamui and myself, if you knew very well it would be a romantic evening that would take me away from you even more?"
"Subaru, you�re an idiot," Seishirou said with a surprised laugh. "I love you, so I only want what will make you the happiest. I was thinking of what would make you happy when I bought the gift, so I naturally thought of something I could give to both you and the man that makes you the happiest."
"You�re the idiot, Seishirou-san!" Subaru declared, just before launching himself into Seishirou�s arms, pressing his lips against Seishirou�s. After a moment, Subaru deepened the kiss as Seishirou opened his lips for Subaru�s tongue to enter. Both gifts were temporarily discarded as Subaru put one arm around Seishirou�s waist, and the other hand laced into the man�s hair. Seishirou had both of his hands on the small of Subaru�s back, his fingers just below the seam of the Santa costume.
Neither of them drew away until air became an absolute necessity. At that point, Seishirou was on his back on the bench with Subaru on top of him, both of them breathing hard. Subaru�s eyes narrowed slightly. "You know, Seishirou-san, I may not love you, but I�ve always wanted to kiss you like that." Subaru put his forehead against Seishirou�s and smiled. "I�ve always wanted you."
"I know," Seishirou agreed. "You and half of Japan, too." Subaru and Seishirou shared a laugh. "Even if I didn�t love you, I�d want to kiss you like that," Seishirou agreed, his fingers trailing up Subaru�s back. "Before you say it, though, I know that it�s me and the rest of Japan."
"You said half before," Subaru pointed out.
"Yeah, well, everyone wants you. I only get straight women and gay men." Again, the two laughed, this time a little harder, so Subaru collapsed against Seishirou, hiding his face in Seishirou�s shoulder. It was odd, after kissing anyone else like that, Subaru would not be acting so strangely. With Seishirou, it was like he was drunk. He suddenly couldn�t quite remember why they had come out to the balcony... or even why he had kissed Seishirou. "I love you," Seishirou whispered as he held Subaru tight against him.
"I know," Subaru replied, smiling into the cloth of Seishirou�s shirt. "That�s why I want you to come on that date with me." Subaru could feel Seishirou tense under him, surprised by his words. "Seishirou-san, I�m not the only person in this world who deserves happiness. You�re so selfless... that just proves that you are deserving of all the best things in the world. Especially if a selfish jerk like me deserves your love."
Seishirou said nothing, he just held Subaru a little tighter and nodded into the man�s hair. He would never tell Subaru that, through his tear-fogged eyes, he could clearly see mistletoe hanging above the bench where they were laying so peacefully, if only for a moment. Surely there would be someone from the party out looking for them soon. And then, someone would see the mistletoe and make them kiss. But, for that moment in time, all was at peace.
Silent night, he mused to himself as he closed his eyes to the warmth of the man he loved laying in his arms.
~*~ To be continued.... ~*~
