Work Text:
Tsukishiro Yukito Is Going Down
The last thing Kinomoto Touya would have ever expected on that hot end-of-summer night was to be ambushed in his bedroom by one very aggravated Moon Guardian.
He had just finished his bath and was too preoccupied trying to simultaneously dry his hair with one towel while trying to keep the one around his waist from slipping to notice that someone else was in room. Someone who didn't belong there and whose huge wings were blocking out most of the moonlight that should have been streaming in through the window. As it was, Touya had just flicked on the lights, dropped the towel, and was reaching down for his laid-out nightclothes when he became aware of the glowering presence. He was so startled he missed the clothes, completely lost his balance and fell flat on his face, giving Yue an unobstructed view of --
Well, suffice to say that Touya was _very_ grateful that Tomoyo-chan and her ever-present video camera were nowhere in the vicinity. (On the other hand, Sakura could have probably gone to college on the proceeds of that particular piece of film, once properly edited and marketed.)
To his credit, Yue did not look the least bit amused, and did not burst into hysterical laughter as his alter-ego (or any normal person in the same circumstance) would undoubtedly have had. (Perhaps he simply wasn't capable of it, thought Touya, grumpily. The Moon Guardian looked like he'd never cracked a smile in his life.) Yue simply watched impassively through narrowed eyes as Touya grabbed his clothes and scampered to hide behind his closet door. Allowing Touya to maintain some semblance of dignity, however, did not lessen in the least his outrage at finding his sister's Moon Guardian and best friend's other form in his room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed, remembering that his father was home and it would not do to have him rush to his son's rescue and find him trapped behind his closet door, naked, cornered by a glowering winged whatever-Yue-was.
There were simply some things parents should never discover about their children.
Yue, for his part, did not seem to find anything about the situation out of the ordinary or was simply too absorbed in his own outrage to care. "This situation will not do," he announced in a growl, his glorious wings fairly quivering with fury. "Fix it. _Now._" He pinned Touya with a malevolent stare. "Or I shall wreak my terrible vengeance upon your person!"
Touya blinked. "Is that so?" he asked, unimpressed.
Yue bared his teeth at the challenge. "I cannot inflict bodily harm," he admitted, eyes glinting with feral menace. "You are the Master's brother after all. But make no mistake, Kinomoto Touya, I have ways of making you suffer. "
Touya had to admit he was _very_ convincing. Finally managing to pull on his pajamas, he felt a little less stupid and stepped out from behind the wooden door. Eyeing the Moon Guardian warily, he edged over to his desk and took a seat, trying to look nonchalant and in control. "Look, you --"
"Yue."
"What?"
"My name," Yue growled, "is Yue."
Touya tried again. "Look, Yue, I'm not sure what this is all about. For one thing, should you even be here? Sakura --"
"Sakura-sama is asleep and shall continue to do so," Yue informed him "We both know she could sleep through an earthquake should one arise."
"Isn't that the truth," agreed Touya. "But really, what are you doing here? I mean, I'm not even supposed to know about you yet. That funny little bear still pretends to be a stuffed toy whenever I'm around. And how do you know I know about _you?_"
"Please," Yue sneered in bored contempt. "It's not as if I don't know _everything_ that goes on around me. Just because --" He stopped suddenly and glared at Touya. "Do not attempt to distract me with trivialities, boy!" he growled.
_Boy?_ Touya blinked again, bristling.
"How do you intend to resolve this situation?" Yue demanded.
"Well," answered Touya, as if considering the matter seriously. "First I'm going to throw you out on your ear." He ignored Yue's disbelieving snort. "Then I'm going to march over to Sakura's room, wake her and that silly bear up and tell them the game is over and they can --"
"Hah!" Yue had heard enough. "You delude yourself, boy! I could flatten you with the lift of one eyebrow. Tell the Master what you wish, it matters not at all to me. What I wish to know is how you plan to resolve this problem with my other self."
Touya's alpha-male buttons had been pushed too far. "Oh yeah? Well, I could --" He did a double take. "Wait -- Yuki? Are you talking about Yuki?"
Yue was absolutely convinced he was talking to an idiot and wondered, not for the first time, what it was that his other self found so endearing about the Master's brother. "Of course, I am speaking of Yukito," he snapped. "Why else would I be here?"
"Something's wrong with Yuki?" Touya asked, forgetting his antagonism towards the winged guardian in the face of his concern for his friend.
"I'll say!" Yue snapped. He flounced over to Touya's bed and sat down, crossing arms and legs and glaring at Touya through silver-colored bangs. "I have taken a _lot_ from that boy," he grumbled. "I have been dragged through every restaurant in town on an almost daily basis, through sleet, snow and rain. I have been subjected to the list of all existing types of honey in the world. I have suffered through, as he waxed poetic about sun-dried tomatoes to the waiter in that Italian bistro. I have been forced to walk three miles, in the rain, at 2 o'clock in the morning simply because he had a craving for Hungarian sausages. And I cannot even begin to tell you about the time he ate two _gallons_ of rocky road ice cream in ten minutes flat! And I don't even eat! All that and more I have endured, without complaint. But this!" The last two words were accompanied by an extravagant shudder and an even more menacing glare towards Touya's direction. "_This_ I will not stand for, do you hear?"
Touya who had been listening avidly, blinked again. "Ummm..." He wasn't quite sure if he should interrupt. "So what's wrong with Yuki?" he asked.
"He's... He's..." Yue shuddered and Touya grew alarmed. "He's _mooning!_"
Touya was even more confused. "Errr... By mooning, you don't mean...?"
Yue arched an eyebrow. "What you did a while ago?" he suggested, evenly. "Why do they even call that mooning anyway? It's completely disrespectful! I ought to --"
Touya coughed loudly.
"But no," Yue continued, losing none of his steam at the interruption. "I mean, he's moping, walking around looking lost. Ever since that... that... _girl_ showed up!" Yue spat out the word 'girl' like it was a nasty pill. "He's been mooning like a lovesick calf!"
"Akizuki?" Touya inquired, feeling a little lump form in the middle of his chest. "Is that the girl you mean?"
"Yes, that one," Yue agreed, oblivious to the sudden dulling of Touya's eyes. "She's got him all distraught and morose. They were giving away samples of a new variety of muffin at his favorite bakery today. Do you know what he did?"
Touya shook his head. So, he thought. It had finally happened. Yuki had finally found a girl he liked. Oh, he knew both Sakura and that little brat Li Shaoran both had crushes on his friend, and so did a hundred other girls at Seijou High School, but both Sakura and Li were just children, and Yuki had never shown interest in any of the others before.
He'd been very glad of it, really. When he'd first met Yukito he hadn't been totally over Kaho yet, and had been grateful that his new friend hadn't encouraged any of the girls that seemed to constantly flit around the two of them. Yuki had been content with his company, and Touya had found his quiet uncomplicated presence restful. They had been inseparable ever since.
When was it, he wondered now, that he started feeling more than mere friendship for the cheerful, perpetually smiling boy? He couldn't remember. It seemed to him he had always felt like this. And he could not for the life of him imagine spending the rest of his life without that sweet presence beside him.
"He took four pieces."
Touya gasped, startled out of his thoughts. "_Only_ four?"
Yue nodded. "And he barely managed to eat the last one."
Touya's hurt evaporated completely and he started to panic. "Oh my God, Yuki's _ill!_ He needs a doctor!" He stood up, ready to run to Yuki's rescue. Then, he remembered that Yue was... Yuki was... *Hell,* he thought. *I wonder if Sakura ever gets confused.*
"What he needs," Yue growled, "is a good whack on the head. I cannot believe I could be so cursed. Of all the people I could have been! Why couldn't my other form have been a corporate raider? Or a racecar driver? Why, not even that Fancy La La person has to suffer the indignities --" He flushed, slightly, for a moment actually looking flesh-colored. He cleared his throat. "I apologize. Kereberus' other form watches too much television and talks incessantly about his shows."
"Sure," Touya nodded, helpfully. "Right."
"In any case," Yue continued, ignoring Touya's disbelieving look, "Yukito is _such_ a trial."
Touya raised an eyebrow. "You know," he said, "some psychologists would probably suggest that Yuki is simply your softer, repressed side. You know, that somewhere deep inside you you're actually a sweet --"
"Don't. Go. There." growled Yue.
Touya harrumphed. "I said _some_ people. Not me. I know you're a totally different person from my Yuki." He bristled at the Moon Guardian. "And in any case, you're _much_ more trouble to him than he is to you. It's bad enough this Clow person has to screw up my sister's life, you think I like him --"
"Do not ever insult Master Clow!" roared Yue, his power gathering around him to wreak his terrible vengeance upon the person who spoke so discourteously about his beloved ex-Master. "You little --"
A knock on the door interrupted them.
"Touya?" Kinomoto Fujitaka's voice sounded from the hallway. "Son, are you alright?" The door started to open. "I thought I heard strange noises."
In a flash Yue had morphed into Yukito, whose upper half was now slumped on Touya's bed while the rest of him dangled to the floor.
"I'm okay, Dad," smiled Touya, sweat-dropping profusely. "I was just... errr... doing my homework out loud. You know, my essay."
Fujitaka nodded, and then noticed Yukito. "I didn't know Yukito was here," he commented. "I didn't hear him come in." He cocked his head at Touya questioningly. "Is he alright?"
Touya laughed nervously. "Yeah. He, uh, he's just taking a little break. I was stuck on a problem and he stopped by to show me the solution."
"He looks uncomfortable," Touya's father noted. "You should wake him up and let him go home."
Touya nodded obediently, eager for his dad to be off.
"And your sister is asleep so try to be a little quieter, okay?"
"Okay."
Touya breathed a sigh of relief as his father finally closed the door behind him. "Hmph," he muttered. "A herd of rampaging elephants couldn't wake that kid."
"Don't insult Master Sakura," a low voice growled. Yukito had reverted to Yue and was again glaring at him furiously.
"But you did the same --" Touya threw his hands up in defeat. "Never mind. Where were we?"
"I was about to blast you into next --"
"Yuki," Touya snapped. "I meant where were we about Yuki?" He sighed. "So he's pre-occupied with Akizuki, is he?" The revelation pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Yes," nodded Yue. "It upsets him that she likes you and that you're spending so much time with her." He glared again. "Don't do it anymore."
Akizuki Nakuru. Touya wouldn't have thought that kind of girl would be Yuki's type. She seemed much too brash, much too boisterous for a gentle person like Yuki.
But then again, if his suspicions were correct, and they generally always were, then it made sense. Yukito was a very special person, and had probably been waiting for a very special girl. Yue probably knew about Akizuki's real identity as well, and that was why he had taken it upon himself to interfere.
"I have to say," murmured Touya, softly, "for all your complaints about Yuki, you seem to be very concerned all of a sudden."
Yue looked slightly uncomfortable, embarrassed by the allegation that he might possibly have a heart. "He _is_ my other form, after all. I don't want him... damaged."
"Damaged?" Touya repeated, weakly. "Isn't that a little extreme?" He was worried about his friend but hoping the situation wasn't as bad as all that Yue was implying. "I mean, sure he's got a little crush. I'm certain he'll get over it."
"No," Yue said, with cold finality. "He won't."
Touya's heart fell further. He hung his head. "What do you know about it anyway?" he challenged hoarsely.
Yue's manner seemed to change, all at once seeming very remote and untouchable. "You forget," he said, emotionlessly. "I've existed for longer than all of you put together. I've seen it all. Of course I understand." He hesitated, his look almost sympathetic. "You know Yukito isn't exactly human. But his feelings are genuine, stronger perhaps, because they are the only things that are his alone. Love is never easy, Kinomoto Touya. Not even for our kind."
"Love?" he asked, huskily. "It's love, then? Yuki's in love?"
Yue looked at him in surprise. "Of course. Despite his friendliness Yukito doesn't give his affections easily. He wouldn't be so upset if he wasn't in love."
That did it. At that moment Touya gave up.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Touya had known that Yukito would someday fall in love with someone and Touya would no longer have his friend to himself. And despite having his heart bruised by Kaho, Touya was still a great believer in Love, -- had been witness to it, was in fact the product of it -- and only wished for his best friend's happiness.
If Yuki was in love with Akizuki, if he had the chance for the kind of love Touya's parents had...
He could _not_ stand in the way of that, resolved Touya. Not even if...
It was the least Yuki deserved.
"It's hard, isn't it?" he asked Yue huskily, somehow knowing that the Moon Guardian would understand. "When you lose the one you love?"
"It's hell," Yue answered, flatly. Then he looked met Touya's eyes squarely. "And if I can never have my love then at least my other form should get his chance, don't you agree? He's already been so shortchanged by this entire situation. He deserves what happiness he can get."
Touya nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Alright," he whispered, quietly. "How do I help Yuki? What do you want me to do?"
"Good!" Yue nodded in satisfaction. "Now, first of all, you have to let that girl down as clearly and as finally as you can. No sparing her feelings, understand? Be brutal! Make her hate you, if possible." Yue was actually rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation. "Any chance you can make her cry?"
Touya half-shrugged, half-nodded. Having Akizuki hate him _would_ make it easier on Yuki -- Yukito, he thought. Yukito could comfort her. The classic rebound relationship. Besides, having Akizuki hate him would mean Touya wouldn't have to spend any time with _them. _ He was certain he couldn't take it.
He wished now that he hadn't been so civil to Akizuki. If he had known that he'd been hurting Yuki in the process...
Hell, it'd be a piece of cake to make Akizuki hate him, he thought. Right now he was feeling all aggrieved and resentful of their new classmate anyway. The mere idea that she could be taking his best friend away... That she could...
"Next," Yue continued. "We have to cheer him up and get him eating to full capacity again. It's bad enough he's so laid-back and easy-going. But when he's so listless like this, it's unbearable!"
"I'll bake a cake," Touya responded, automatically. Touya wondered if Akizuki could cook. He certainly hoped so. Yuki needed someone who could take care of him. But then again, if Akizuki was anything like Yukito she probably did. They really did have a lot in common, brooded Touya.
"That won't be enough," said Yue.
"Two cakes, then," said Touya, miserably. He had just realized that Yukito would probably now be doing with Akizuki all the things he usually did with Touya. They would be spending all their time together. Playing basketball. Eating. Shopping for food. Eating. Studying for the entrance exams. Eating.
The future looked gloomy indeed.
"What you have to do is invite him to the library," Yue said.
"Oka --" He did a double take. "Wait, the library? How is that going to cheer him up?"
"Well, for one thing that girl will undoubtedly track you there," pointed out Yue. "And you'll have the perfect opportunity to brush her off in Yukito's presence That'll make him feel better." Touya nodded obediently. "Then you have to go look for a book in the Special Archives and you --"
"Leave them alone," Touya nodded again, listlessly. "Right. Gotcha."
"No no no." Yue shook his head vigorously. "Aren't you paying attention?"
"Of course I am," said Touya, bristling. "You just told me to go to the Special Archives room and leave Yuki alone with Akizuki."
"I said no such thing," huffed Yue. "What kind of set-up is that? Why --"
*Set-up?* Touya's eyes narrowed. "You're really getting worked up over this aren't you?" he asked. "Are you sure it's the little bear who watches too much television?"
"Do you want to cheer up Yukito or not?" snapped Yue.
"Of course," said Touya. He sighed. "Okay, I go to the Special Archives room and then what?"
"You ask Yukito to help you find the book, and when he's distracted and off guard you drag him into a dark corner and have your way with him."
"Okay, I --" Touya's neck was starting to protest all the double takes he was doing. "I do _what?!_"
Yue thumped his fist on Touya's bed for emphasis. "Push him up against a bookshelf and ravish him."
For a moment Touya was too distracted with the visual and simply gaped uncomprehendingly at Yue. "Ravish him? In the Special Archives Room!?"
"Or in the Copy Room, on top of the big photocopier," Yue said. "That's his second favorite."
Touya blinked again. "Favorite? Favorite what?"
Yue snorted. "Favorite fantasy, of course," he responded equably. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Be sure to use your tongue a lot. Oh, and do the leg around the waist thing. He'll like that."
Touya's mind was whirling, wondering if he was hearing the Moon Guardian right or if he had finally flipped. *Tongue?* he thought. *Leg?*
Yue continued relentlessly. "Then again, you could always invite him to sleep over and then just throw him on your bed and attack him. He has a thing for being taken by surprise and being vulnerable. He does have this grand complicated seduction scenario he plays out sometimes, but under the circumstances I think it'd be better if you just jumped him and settled this matter once and for all."
"Wait --" Touya had to take in great gulps of air and clear his mind. "I am so confused. I thought... What about Akizuki?"
Yue harrumphed and then spoke very slowly, in question-statements that the annoyed sometimes used on the clueless, which Touya inarguably was. "He's depressed about Akizuki, remember? He thinks you like her? That's why we're doing this? To reassure Yukito that you love him as much as he loves you?"
Touya's mouth fell open as Yue's words registered.
"Don't look at me like that," Yue grumped. "I don't understand it either. That boy has absolutely no taste."
Touya was too stunned to even mind the insult. "Me?" he squeaked. "Yuki's in love with me? Not Akizuki? _Me?_"
Yue frowned, raised an eyebrow in sudden understanding, and then gave an aggrieved sigh. "Oh, _please_ tell me you didn't think... What are you, stupid? Did Kinomoto-san get all the brains in this family?"
"Me?" Touya said again.
"At least Master Sakura got the charm and courage," ranted Yue. "But you! It is beyond me what he sees in you."
"Me?"
"Enough already," snapped Yue. "This is getting ridiculous. Are you going to do this, or aren't you?" He tapped a foot impatiently. "Otherwise, I go and ask Master Sakura permission to use the Mirror Card. Oh, wait, that won't work, the Mirror's got a thing for you... The Illusion Card, then. That should work." He looked contemplative. "Or maybe I could just use the Create Card and --"
"Wait!" Touya still couldn't totally believe it, although some parts him were starting to, judging by his smile and the breathlessness in his voice. "Yuki's in love with me? Really?"
Yue sniffed in exasperation. "Would I be here otherwise?"
"But…" Touya's voice faltered. "How do you know? How can you be sure?"
The Moon Guardian looked down his nose at his Master's brother. "I know everything, remember? Do you have any idea how many times he's kept me up thinking up these little scenarios of his?" He laughed, suddenly, and Touya was surprised the Moon Guardian even knew how to. "Some of them are pretty impressive, actually. His taste isn't much but he's got some imagination." Yue actually sounded proud. "It's too bad showers hadn't been invented back in Master Clow's day. And that subway thing --" He stopped again, coughing and blushing ever so faintly. "Never mind."
"But..." Touya was still troubled. "If you know I love Yuki, why doesn't he? I mean, surely he has _some_ idea?"
Yue sighed. He had to give the boy that. "Unfortunately," Yue explained, "Yukito has... Well, let's just say that Master Clow integrated certain... security measures... into my other form. For the most part, it is for Yukito's benefit and protection that he be… errr… oblivious to certain things."
Touya wasn't sure he understood. "But he notices special things," he pointed out. "Things about Kaho and Akizuki, for example."
"I didn't say he was a total idiot," snapped Yue. "It just takes him a while to realize or comprehend other things."
" Does he know about you yet?" Touya asked next. "And about Sakura?"
Yue shook his head. "Not yet. But he will, soon, so stop trying to tell him. These things work out in their own time and you're only confusing him. Better you should concentrate on telling him the things that are in _your_ heart."
"But if he loves me," Touya questioned in a small voice. "Why hasn't _he_ said anything?"
Yue gave a contemptuous wave of his hand. "Oh, yeah, as if. When you first met you were still moping around about that Kaho character. Then there was that Youko girl, and now Akizuki. And you've never once made a move, despite all his come-hither smiles and 'accidental' touching. I mean, come on, man! What did you think that entire hair-cutting thing was all about? You think _he's_ oblivious? You might as well have the words 'terminally straight' tattooed on your forehead." He gave another annoyed gesture. "And also he's got this entire hang-up about not being quite human. He thinks it could be a problem." He sighed loudly, almost mournfully. "Really, that boy's got some issues." Suddenly, as if just remembering what he had come for, he shook his head, straightened his drooping wings and resumed glaring malevolently at Touya. "Enough talking, boy! My patience is at an end! Now is the time for action! Are you with me or against me? "
"Wait!" Touya said again, holding up is hands. "One last question, I promise!" He looked nervous. "If I do what you ask... Err..." He turned red. "Will you... errr... be there?"
"Of course," Yue said, flatly. "Really, you and Master Sakura have to stop trying to separate us in your mind all the time. We have separate consciousnesses but we're one being. It's not like I can step out for coffee whenever I feel like it. Not that I can drink coffee, but still, it would have been nice to have the option."
"But... Ummm..." Touya's face got even redder. "I'm not sure I can... errr... perform for an audience!" he blurted in a rush.
"Oh, and I _really_ want to be see that," Yue said sarcastically. "It's bad enough when he fantasizes, the very idea of witnessing the actual event..." Yue shuddered dramatically. "Anyway," he said, a sudden amused gleam in his eyes. "When you're in the moment, you won't even remember I'm there."
"But --"
"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Touya continued to look unconvinced. "Oh, very well," surrendered Yue. "Just this once, I'll surround myself with the Dark and the Silence, okay? Those are under the influence of the Moon. I won't see or hear anything unless Master Sakura needs me. But don't get used to it, I can't do it all the time. I'm only doing it to get this unbearable situation over with. And only because if I have to endure another round of him sitting and sniffling through 'Braveheart,' I'm going to puke. No mean feat for a being that doesn't eat, by the way."
Touya grinned suddenly. "Poor Yuki," he said, his tone at odds with his words. "He's really upset, huh?"
"Four muffins," Yue reminded him. "Four _mini_-muffins."
Touya's grin got even wider. "Ooh, poor baby's got it bad." He was feeling a little light-headed from the emotional roller coaster of the last half an hour, but was determinedly focusing on the positive. Yuki loved him! Yuki wanted him! Yuki wanted to be thrown against a bookshelf and ravished! By him! His mind was working over-time. *The Special Archives Room, huh? Hmmm... I wonder how I can manage that. Don't worry, Yuki, I'm going to make you feel _so_ much better. And to think, all this time!* Touya continued to grin, his good humor and general fondness for the world now encompassing the irritable Moon Guardian. "Thank you," Touya said, sincerely. "You don't know what this means to me. I wish I could do something for you."
Yue snorted. "Just bring him back to normal and we'll be even. I'd like my dignity back, if you please. Kereberus actually feels sorry for me and _his_ other self is a winged teddy bear." Yue eyed Touya warily. "And don't even think about hugging me, boy. Make a move towards me and I conveniently forget you're the Master's brother. Yukito isn't the only one who can claim selective amnesia."
Touya smiled. "I feel a lot better about you guarding Sakura now. You always seemed so cold and distant, but now I know you're a caring, compassionate --"
"Don't make me hurt you," Yue snarled.
Touya grinned again. Motioning for Yue to be quiet, he stuck his head outside his room and looked around. "I think Dad's asleep," he announced. "Come with me to the kitchen, okay?"
The Moon Guardian bristled. "What am I, your new best friend?"
"You want Yuki to feel better, don't you?" Touya returned. "Well, I'm going to get started on those cakes." He grinned mischievously. "And while I do that, you can tell me all about the subway thing..."
Tsukishiro Yukito found it very strange, and very depressing, that his best friend Kinomoto Touya had been grinning like a maniac all day.
He sighed to himself, wondering if it had something to do with the scene he had witnessed that morning. Touya and Akizuki had been talking in the hallway, Akizuki glomping onto Touya's arm, smiling like a cat that had cornered a canary. Touya had said a few words to Akizuki that Yukito couldn't hear, but he had been greatly mollified when Touya had carefully extricated himself from the girl's clutches.
He winced to himself, feeling guilty for using such a horrid word but he couldn't help it. Really, that girl was so annoying! And where did she get off making arbitrary possessive declarations? 'He's mine' indeed! Why, if he wasn't such a pacifist he'd --
She had been undaunted by Touya's actions, however, merely looking annoyed for a moment but then smiling again exuberantly and flouncing off with a jaunty wave.
Yukito wondered idly if there was a big enough oven in the Home Economics room so he could shove the little witch in and be done with her.
Instead of having that small adorable frown he usually wore in the wake of one of Akizuki's attacks, however, Touya had actually grinned as he'd watched her disappear. And Touya's grin was so rare, and so brilliant, that at least half a dozen senior girls had stopped in their tracks and one actually bumped into the hallway wall at the sight.
Touya really was a girl magnet, thought Yukito, forlornly. And he had to admit that Akizuki was semi-pretty -- okay, _very_ pretty, and even charming in an annoying, loud, slutty kind of way. Yukito had heard that some boys actually liked that, though he couldn't imagine why. Touya probably did, too, because he let Akizuki hang around him all the time, and he never used to even glance at girls. Well, except for Mizuki-san. And there was that time when he danced with Youko...
He sighed again. The truth was, Touya was so quiet and pensive that maybe he needed someone who was outgoing and fun. Someone who wouldn't mind Touya's occasional grumpiness and who could tease him out of his dark moods. Someone who could make him smile, and take care of him, and...
Someone like... Akizuki Nakuru.
Besides, how could he deny that Touya had looked ecstatic, almost rapturous, as he'd gazed after Akizuki? And he'd been grinning like a maniac all day.
Yukito groaned to himself, his head actually hurting from the memory.
He _was_ happy for Touya. Really, he was.
_Really._
*It's probably a good thing Akizuki doesn't like me,* Yukito thought. *At least they won't want me hanging around them.*
"Hey, Yuki, ready for lunch?" Touya asked, his grin still on maximum wattage. "I thought we'd eat under our tree today, it's so pretty out." He cocked his head invitingly. "I've got cake."
*Sure,* Yukito thought, as near to sullen as his relentlessly sunny personality would allow. *That's what I need. Cake.*
He nodded, grabbed his huge lunch bag and stood up lethargically to follow Touya outside. For some reason, he just didn't have much energy these days. And he still ate a lot but really didn't enjoy it quite so much. He had better enjoy these lunches with Touya while he could though, he thought. He probably wouldn't have many more chances in the future.
*But if Akizuki ever hurts him,* he thought. *I'm going to scratch her eyes out. And let's see how bouncy she is with both legs broken and missing all her teeth.*
He sighed again. Okay, maybe cake _would_ make him feel a little better... "Strawberry Torte?" he asked, hopefully.
"And Black Forest." Touya grinned again. "It's a special occasion."
"It is?" Yukito asked. "What?" *I hope it isn't what I think it is. I'd like a few more days to get used to the idea.*
"I'll tell you later." Touya seemed extremely proud of himself. He was actually _whistling._
Yukito wondered if he could get away with whacking Touya on the head and then pretending he'd seen a bug. One little whack, he thought. Just to let a little of his frustration out.
Touya noticed his look and grinned at him again.
Yukito gave another mental groan. Touya was _so_ adorable. It was simply _not fair._
"By the way," Touya said, sending Yukito a strangely sweet smile. "I need a favor."
"Sure," he said, welcoming the chance to spend more time with Touya. Maybe they could do another all-night study session. Maybe Kinomoto-sensei was away and they could make dinner together and he could pretend Sakura was their daughter and...
"I need to do some research," Touya said. "I asked permission to use the Special Archives room. Come with me?"
Yukito blinked. Was it his imagination or did Touya just wink at him? And did he just say that last sentence rather... errr... suggestively?
"Uhh... The Special Archives room?" he stammered, hoping he wasn't blushing.
"There's a very special article I need," Touya explained, cheerfully. "Why, we'll probably spend the entire afternoon in there looking for it. Between the shelves... Among the stacks..."
Yukito halted in his tracks. "Shelves?" he gulped. "Stacks?"
"Just us," added Touya, giving him another sweet smile. "All alone." Was that another wink? "All afternoon."
Yukito didn't know what was happening but he had a feeling that any moment now he would start giggling like a schoolgirl. "All afternoon?" he repeated weakly, meeting Touya's intense, gorgeous, positively _bone-melting_ gaze.
"All afternoon," confirmed Touya, grabbing Yukito's hand and dragging him out of the dim hallway out into the bright sunlight. "And tomorrow," he continued, grinning like a maniac, "I'm going to need your help in the Copy Room."
The End
Copyright Jessi Albano 2001
27 September 2001