Shelves surrounded the room on all sides, each one cluttered with various objects in careless disarray.  They looked expensive and mostly unused.  Shion was intensely curious about them, but at that particular moment, he found their sheer immensity just a bit overwhelming.

"All this- is yours?”

The boy dismissed his awestruck remark with a casual shrug.  "I suppose you could say that.  They were all gifts from Kamui.  Not that it really matters, since I'll have to leave most of it behind."  He paused, watching carefully for Shion's reaction.  "If I'm running away with you, at least."

His companion simply smiled.  Shion already had an answer, but it would have to wait until morning.  He didn’t want to talk about it.  He only wanted to sleep.  His steps were becoming heavier by the moment.  So much had happened within the space of a single day, it had begun to seem unending.

"You really are tired, aren't you?"  Kagamine's hand pressed gently at his shoulder.  "You can sleep here.  I'll go back to Kamui's room."

Shion caught at the boy's fingers with his own.  "No need for that.  Stay with me.  I found it immensely comforting last night."

Kagamine's startled, half-opened mouth compressed itself into a lopsided grin.  "I'm sure you took far more comfort in it than I did.  You just kept tossing and turning and shoving your elbow in my face."

"Then tonight I'll be sure to keep a careful distance."  He flopped onto the mattress with a sigh.

"Shion,” Kagamine protested helplessly, “that isn't what I meant!”

The incorrigible boy was actually blushing.  It made him laugh.  The sound reverberated strangely in his throat, as though it belonged to some foreign language he barely remembered how to speak.  Lately, his life had seemed so filled with significant questions, so fraught with unseen dangers.  It was such a relief to be faced with a choice so natural and easy as this.

He fought back the immediate drowsiness threatening to overtake him, wanting to feel Kagamine’s warmth beside him.  After a moment, Shion glanced over questioningly and found the boy removing his clothes.

He watched with quiet interest.  Kagamine's frame was hardly more substantial than his own, wiry and lean with muscle.  It was much like a laborer's body, but his posture was straight, and his movements were almost acrobatically graceful.  He seemed to inhabit his flesh entirely.  There was no conflict between his movement and his thought, no fear, no hesitation.  For a moment he envied how comfortable the youth seemed inside his own skin, then he smiled, half to himself, and closed his eyes.  They were very different, weren't they?  And yet, there was nothing about him Shion didn’t like.

He felt the warmth he craved there, at his back.  After a moment's hesitation, the boy's arms fell around him.

"You don't mind, do you?,” Kagamine asked softly.

Shion smiled at this sweet, uncertain awkwardness and drowsily shook his head.

Sunlight flooded the world.  A hand was brushing softly through his hair.  He couldn’t remember ever having slept so late before, but no one chided him for it.  Those light fingers were eminently patient.  Shion opened his eyes and found himself in an entirely new and unfamiliar world.  He had little recollection of being brought there, dazed with exhaustion as he was, but he found he’d awakened in Kagamine's room, in Kagamine's bed, with Kagamine gazing out at him and grinning.

"You're finally awake.  Feels pretty good to have slept as much as you want, doesn't it?"

"How long have you-?"

The boy gave him a one-sided shrug.  "A couple of hours.  Don't worry about it too much.  I've enjoyed watching you sleep so peacefully, especially after the night before last."  The back of his fingers brushed thoughtfully against Shion's cheek.  "You probably have lots of nightmares, don't you?  Kamui used to as well.  I did for a while, after-"  His voice trailed off uncertainly.  "That was such a long time ago, but I still remember how vivid they seemed, as though they weren't dreams at all."

"I told you your presence was comforting."

"It'd be a bad sign if it wasn't."  Kagamine sighed, rolling onto his back and folding his arms underneath his head.  "Whenever you make your decision, no matter what it might be, I'm ready to hear it.  We still have four days, although I'd rather not wait that long.  It'd be best to have a day's start ahead of them, at least."

"Four days would be better," Shion countered with a smile.

"In four days we could very nearly be clear of this province," Kagamine answered, turning his head towards him.  "Assuming, of course, you can make do with significantly less sleep than you had last night."

"And here I thought you were bad at making plans."

"I'd do nothing but make plans day and night if I thought you might be better off for it, Shion."

Heat suddenly tinged at his face.  He could not tear his gaze from the boy's earnest smile.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy,” Kagamine continued softly, “even if that means letting you go."

"That wouldn't make me happy at all," Shion murmured, lifting himself up on one elbow.  He met Kagamine's expectant look with a sigh.  "I've already decided.  I'm going with you."

Uncertainty played at the edges of the youth's quivering mouth.  "Don't you want to consider it a little longer?"

He shook his head.  "I don't need to.  I don't want to have any more regrets."

"Ah, Shion."  The boy reached out for him.  "You won't ever regret this.  I promise."

This warmth surrounding him wasn't entirely physical.  Was that why he'd wanted it so badly?  Why he could no longer imagine- being without it?

Kagamine regarded him intently.  "May I kiss you?”

The question was so innocent and sweet it made his heart ache.  Shion nodded, and the boy pressed soft lips to his.  It was less awkward than he'd expected.  Perhaps this wasn't Kagamine's first kiss.  Shion pressed his hand to the back of the boy's head, pulling him closer, and their tongues met and intertwined.  He allowed himself to sink into Kagamine's warmth as the lingering kisses continued.  Had he ever felt so at ease with anyone?  It was as though the youth's body was an extension of his own.  There was no direction, no intention, only this gentle outpour of long-held emotion, raining down on all of his senses, drenching him with its sweetness.

"We can leave tomorrow or the next day, but for now, I want to stay here, just like this."

Shion laid his head on Kagamine's chest, and the boy stroked rather thoughtlessly at his back.  The heartbeat beneath him was quick and even.

"If we mean to leave tomorrow," he began, "we should pack up our supplies-"

"Later.  I want to hold on to this moment.  If we fail, and I'm forced to return without you, I would like to have the memory of this, at least."

He sighed, and the boy's arms gathered him closer.  From somewhere in the distance came the sound of thunder.  The sky was becoming overcast.

"The more rain we have, the better.  It'll slow Lord Hatori's progress."

Shion realized it would also slow their own, but he left that thought unsaid.  He could feel the tension filling his body, tightening in every part of it.  They absolutely could not fail.  Shion refused to abandon Kagamine to a man who’d lock him away without his having any choice in the matter.  As for what would become of Shion himself, he’d have to continue journeying on his own.  He could hardly remain in the province after what the apothecary had forced him to agree to-

"You worry too much, Shion,” Kagamine teased gently, rubbing more firmly at his back.

"Perhaps you don’t worry enough-“

“Why?  What good would it do?”

Probably none, Shion admitted to himself, sinking further into Kagamine’s embrace.

“I trust you to guide me.  You know every detail of this province far better than I do, and definitely better than strangers who have never set foot here before.  If anyone can do this, we can- I just need you to trust in that.  To trust in me.”

“I do trust you, Kagamine.  It’s myself I don’t-”

The youth sighed.  His hands kept kneading at Shion’s back.  “You only think that way because of what the old man said to you.  Not a single thing he told you is true.”  Kagamine’s fingers drifted up to his shoulders, pressing insistently at his flesh.  “You aren’t useless.  You aren’t stupid, or clumsy, or pathetic, or weak, or any of those things.”  His massaging fingers felt incredibly good.  Shion arched his back in a luxurious stretch and found the tension had already loosened.  “You’re the thing I want most in this world.”

He lifted his head, gazing down at Kagamine with a smile.  The rain was beginning to beat down outside.  The boy seemed to notice it too.

"The harvest should go well this year,” he murmured, reaching up to stroke Shion’s cheek.  “Kamui would've been proud to see it.  It’s a shame Lord Hatori will receive the credit for it, when he had nothing to do with it at all.”

"I'm going to miss the harvest festival for the first time in my life," Shion answered as he watched the rain descend.  "Everyone will wonder what has become of me."

“There will be other villages, Shion.  Other festivals.  We'll make our way and find our place somewhere else."

He sighed, glancing back at Kagamine.  Shion had never once left the place of his birth, but this boy had probably already traveled all over Nihon-

"What is it like where you're from?,” he asked curiously.  “Do you ever find yourself wanting to go back there?"

Kagamine gave him a lopsided grin.  "It's on the coast, and there are boats and people everywhere but hardly any trees.  As for wanting to return there-"  He shook his head.  "It's the absolute last place I'd ever want to be."

"Why not?  From that description, I'd expect you to find it rather exciting-”

"For the same reason Kamui never returned there.  His father is still its daimyo."

Shion hadn’t realized the two of them had come from the same province.  The rumors he’d heard had Lord Kamui going into exile some ten years before, which meant the two of them had probably been living together for at least that long.

"I heard they had some sort of disagreement with each other-”

"Kamui had such 'disagreements' with his father as you had with your master," Kagamine answered quietly, "until he became strong enough to leave and take nearly half of Lord Kamui's men with him."

That many?  Shion understood that Kamui had been very persuasive, but this-

Something caught in his throat.  Kamui had been taken away from his family, too, had been beaten and mistreated and forced to become a thing he’d never wanted-

"If my lord could accomplish such a thing,” he answered slowly, “there must be some hope for us as well."

Kagamine drew Shion down against his body, crushing at his shoulders in an almost painful embrace.  "You're always so serious!  Last night I could've sworn I heard you laughing, but I'm beginning to think I'll never hear it again.  Where did it go?  Is it here?"  The boy's fingers brushed lightly underneath his ribs.  "Or maybe here?"  He reached for the back of Shion's knee.  He realized somewhat belatedly that Kagamine was attempting to tickle him- and failing miserably.  "Maybe I should look for it here," he whispered against the back of Shion's neck, sending a tingling sensation shooting down along his spine.

"I think you've found something else," Shion murmured with a smile.

Kagamine, blushing furiously, pulled him closer, all the same.

"I haven't ever-"  He faltered, swallowing hard.  Something about this awkwardness was strangely appealing.  Shion lifted his head, favoring the youth with an indulgent smile.

"Do you want to?"

"Of course I do," he mumbled.  "I've wanted to have you here, in my bed, beside me, for such a long time-"  Kagamine sighed rather heavily.  Something was weighing on his mind.  "You know, Kamui used to bring me along with him, to keep watch during his liaisons-"

"You were watching the wrong thing, weren't you?”

"I can watch two things at once!,” the boy protested, indignant.  “And anyway, anyone made of flesh and blood would’ve done the same.”

Shion was tempted to point out how spurious a defense this actually was, but something shifted in Kagamine’s expression.

"Those men didn't love him.  They wanted something from him.  Their so-called affection was nothing but payment for favors, and he knew that, too, but he still went to them.  I never understood why someone as idealistic as Kamui would do something so cheap and transactional, how someone who seemed so kind could become so-"

Shion propped himself up on an elbow and regarded Kagamine with a sympathetic smile.

"It's stupid to be frightened by such a thing, isn't it?"

"No, Kagamine.  It's not."

The boy closed his eyes.  "I'm supposed to be capable.  Strong.  Nothing should be holding me back."

"It doesn't have to be the way you think it does," Shion answered quietly.  "It's not supposed to be anything but pleasurable."

"I'm not sure- how to make it that way for you-"

He gently kissed the boy's cheek.  Kagamine turned to look at him.

"Whenever you think you are, I'll be here, waiting.  Every night, I'll be beside you, until it happens, and after.  We'll find out what it's like to be with someone we truly care about, together."

“Stop saying things like that,” Kagamine mumbled, the slightest tinge of red still coloring his youthful features.

"You just don’t want me to see you blush.”  Shion caressed the boy’s hot cheek with the back of his fingers.  “It’s adorable.  I like it.”

Kagamine impatiently brushed his hand away.

“I like your beautiful eyes, and your insolent little nose which is always turned up at the world, and the way your lip droops- here-“ he poked at the corner of Kagamine’s mouth, “so you're always half-frowning whenever you dare attempt a smile."

“Didn't I tell you to stop?"

He silenced Kagamine's half-hearted protest with a lingering kiss.

“I like the softness of your lips, even with those sharp words coming out of them.  I like your slender waist, and the way your hips move when you walk.  I’m absolutely certain I’ll like all the other parts as well, once you stop hiding them away from me.”

The boy glared at him.  Shion kissed him again, a little more forcefully this time.  Their tongues slid around each other, and Kagamine clutched at the back of his head, refusing to give way.

The rain thudded down loudly outside, pounding like a frantically beating heart.

Shion finally broke away from him, panting and breathless.

"I’m supposed to be the one saying those things to you,” Kagamine muttered almost sullenly, his arms tightening around Shion’s body.  “Making you blush.”

Of course.  He’d always seen Shion as someone who needed his protection.  Someone to whom he had to prove himself.  Someone that Kamui had placed in his explicit care.

Shion lay there, in the boy's encompassing arms, as the rain beat down outside.

“All right,” he answered.  “Give it your best attempt.”

Kagamine’s arms fell away from him.  Shion watched him go to one of the shelves and pick up a strange little box which appeared to be made of carved ivory.  He held it out with a playful smile.  "Open it."

Shion lifted the delicate latch, tilting back its lid.  He stared at its contents, not exactly sure what he was seeing.  The gleaming jade had a peculiar shape and texture, almost as though-

"What is this?"

"Exactly what it looks like," Kagamine answered.  He placed it in Shion's hands.  It was lighter than he'd expected, probably hollow.

The boy shrugged lightly.  "I'm giving it to you.  Thought it might be useful to have while you're waiting around for me."

Shion just stared at Kagamine as he brushed his hot cheek with a smile. "There it is.  That's what I've been longing to see.  It was kind of humiliating when Kamui gave it to me, too," he admitted.

Shion laughed in disbelief.  "Kamui gave this to you?"

"Yeah.  I guess he thought of it as a coming-of-age present."

"He must've really enjoyed giving gifts."

"Kamui was the least ostentatious person in the world, but you would’ve never known it if you saw what he left with others.  We used to go to the theater together, and he'd dress me in the most outlandish little robes-"

Shion sighed.  "I've never been anywhere like that."

Kagamine brushed the hair back from his face.  "Then I'll take you,” he whispered.  “We’ll go wherever you want.  Whatever you want, I’ll find a way to get it for you.  Some things might take longer than others, but-”  The way he shrugged was gentler than usual, more serious.  “We have time.  I’m not leaving your side until you tell me to go.”

He found Kagamine’s devotion about as embarrassing as the extravagant object he held within his hands.  Shion was equally unused to it, and he didn’t feel exactly deserving of either one.

Kagamine leaned over to kiss his forehead.

“Kamui left some things behind for you, remember?  I want to make sure I don’t forget them, so I’m going to dress and bring them back here.  Will you be all right by yourself for a moment?”

Shion nodded.  He’d quite forgotten Kagamine’s nakedness.  It didn’t seem to matter to the boy at all.  Maybe it was the result of his having grown up among soldiers, or perhaps Shion was overly conscientious of his own body.  He tried to imagine what other circumstances might've made of him while Kagamine’s laughter echoed from the corner of the room.

“What are you giving so much thought to?”

“You seem far more comfortable in your body than I do in mine."

Kagamine sighed.  "Having someone tell you you’re disgusting all the time probably hasn’t helped.”  The boy reappeared in front of him and gently took his hand.  “But I’ll replace all those words with better ones, Shion.  Any time you hear his voice, telling you those things, I want you to remember mine instead.”  Kagamine gave his fingers a little squeeze.  “You’re the purest person I’ve ever known, and you're far too beautiful to belong to this world of mud and shit."

Shion stared up at him for a moment.  He wasn't used to this, either.  Kagamine had a certain way of saying exactly what he needed to hear, with a sense of clarity Shion found unfailingly poetic.  Finally, he nodded.

Kagamine left him, and his gaze fell on the gleaming object held pressed within his hands.  Surprisingly, it had absorbed some of their warmth.  Such care had been taken in its craftsmanship- certainly whoever made it could hardly have regarded it as ugly or indecent.  Kamui must not have regarded it that way either, and Kagamine-

He glanced back to the shelf.  There was dust on everything there, except the ivory box.  It had no doubt been recently used.

Shion smiled at this.  Something about it made the gift seem endlessly intriguing.  It stoked his curiosity even more-

"Kagamine," a voice called rather suddenly from outside, "may I come in?  I brought some food for you."

Shion glanced up.  He didn’t quite know how to respond.  In the end, his growling stomach decided the matter for him.

“He isn’t here,” Shion answered, “but you can leave it inside if you like.”

The screen slid open, and a youth who was barely older than Kagamine stepped inside.  For a moment, they simply stared at each other, Shion wondering why someone dressed as a samurai was bothering to bring food to a servant, and the young man wondering, no doubt, why he’d stumbled across some strange man in Kagamine’s private chamber.  His gaze caught for a moment on the object in Shion's lap, then he averted his eyes, halfway blushing.

"Please excuse me.  I was not aware he had company.”  The youth made a short bow, and Shion returned it.  “I can bring up something more, if you would like."

“Thank you for your kind trouble, but I would rather not impose upon you further.  If my lord would leave it here, the two of us will gladly share it.”

The samurai seemed taken aback.  He paused.  “May I ask you a personal question?”

Shion frowned slightly, but nodded.

“Does Kagamine intend to run off before Lord Hatori arrives?”

His face went white.  It was the absolute last thing he'd ever expected to be asked.  At the moment, these men were masterless, having been sworn to Kamui, yet awaiting the new lord's imminent and inevitable arrival.  Shion ultimately had no way of knowing where the young man’s loyalties lay.  Kagamine had so far been allowed to travel freely, and the youth *had* asked for permission to come inside-

“With all respect, my lord, how could anyone expect him to stay?  He might have been part of Lord Kamui’s household, but our beloved daimyo would not have wished him left to a man who means to disregard his wishes and bypass his consent.  Were he still with us, he would never have allowed such a thing.”

The youth studied him carefully, then slowly shook his head.  “No.  He would most certainly not.”  He gave Shion a challenging look.  “Do you mean to accompany him, then?"

Shion lowered his eyes.  Before that moment, he'd never considered what he meant to do as treacherous or shameful, but it was quickly becoming apparent others might not agree with that assessment.  “He thinks we might be successful together, as we could not be apart.”

“Then allow me to give you a warning.  Lord Hatori will not let go of him so easily.  Kagamine is a prize he has sought for years on end, and the man will not rest until he has him ensnared so surely he can never break free.”  The platter fell before him with a soft thud.  “I wish you both the best,” the young samurai murmured.  “You have my word of honor- I will keep his secret, and yours.  Please, take care of him."

“I will do all I can, my lord,” Shion answered, bowing his head.  “I swear it.”

The youth made something of a dissatisfied grunt as he turned away and left Shion sitting alone there in the silence.  He exhaled the breath he'd been holding for far too long and stared out glumly across the room.

All he could do- what exactly was that?  He was absolutely useless.  Everyone knew it, too.  Everyone, except Kagamine.

“Ah.  I see Toshi brought up food.  A good thing, too.  I’m famished.”

Kagamine reappeared, along with whatever it was he’d gone out to retrieve.  Shion had no interest in any of it any longer.  He kept staring out, seeing nothing, until the boy's hand fell gently on his shoulder.  He gazed up at Kagamine with a stricken expression.  That innocent, oblivious grin was painful to see.

“Shion,” he began, his voice ringing with concern, “what’s the matter?  Did he say something hurtful to you?”

“Not exactly.  It’s just- he doesn’t think we’ll make it-”  Kagamine’s arm fell softly around his shoulder as he sat down beside him.  “He asked me if you were going to leave, and if I meant to go with you, and I told him the truth.  I promised to do all I could to take care of you, but- I don’t think I can do anything for you at all-"

“That isn’t true, Shion.  You can do everything I need you to."

“No," he answered, his voice a broken murmur.  "You need someone who can fight.”

Kagamine sighed, taking hold of his chin and forcing Shion to look at him.  “Do you really think that’s all that matters?  That it’s even useful, when there are two of us, and hundreds of them?”  He smiled.  “There might be strength in numbers, but there’s more strength in intelligence.  That’s how two people win against an army.  I need this-”  He tapped at Shion’s chest.  “Not this-”  His fingers squeezed at Shion’s arm.  “You understand that, don’t you?”

Hesitantly, Shion nodded.

“If it comes down to it, I can fight well enough to disarm a man and knock him out cold.  If I have to steal a horse, I’ll know how to ride it.  If I have to swim a river or climb a tree, I’ll know how to do that, too.  I can pass through virtually anywhere unseen.  I don’t need another person to do the same things I can.  I need someone to compensate for the things I can’t.”

Kagamine tousled at his hair.  “Come now, let’s eat.  You need to keep your stamina up as much as I do.”  He placed the platter between them.  The rain continued to beat down relentlessly outside.

“It’s going to be a mucky slog if we leave tomorrow,” Kagamine remarked in between mouthfuls.

“It might still be a mucky slog if we leave the day after,” Shion countered.  He desperately wanted to eat, but he found he had no appetite at all.  The food was the same as it always was, but he could hardly taste it.  Sighing with frustration, he dropped his head in Kagamine’s lap.

“You know, a little sake might help improve your appetite.”

He didn’t respond.  That acrid burning sensation was the last thing he wanted in his throat

“You should at least try it,” Kagamine coaxed.  “It was one of the things Kamui left for you, after all.”

“I thought he was opposed to drinking alcohol.”

He felt the boy's shoulders rise and fall in a casual shrug.  "Kamui felt it wasn’t the best way to promote discipline, but he probably also thought you had a bit too much discipline, Shion.”

​He laughed softly, settling deeper into Kagamine’s lap.  It was warm there, and the youth’s body carried a pleasant scent he found far more appetizing than the food he was supposed to be eating.  “Perhaps I do,” he murmured.

His enjoyment was short-lived.  The boy's knee nudged uncomfortably at his face.  He lifted himself up, only to find Kagamine holding out a little bowl filled to the brim with pale, glinting liquid.

Sighing, he took it from the boy’s hands.  To his surprise, it barely tasted like alcohol at all, leaving nothing more behind it than a pleasant little tickle.

“You know, this is actually good-”

“Kamui wouldn't have bothered giving you anything but the very best."

“I didn’t realize it could even be like this."  He paused.  “Do you think I might have a little more?”

Kagamine gave him a teasing grin.  “Why not?  It’s not as though we can lug it around with us very easily, and you’ll probably insist on packing only the most necessary supplies.”

“Indeed I will,” Shion agreed.  He didn’t notice the sly look in Kagamine's eyes, but the next moment the boy had filled a bowl for himself as well.  Shion’s elbow shot into him, and part of the drink spilled into his lap.

“You know, you should at least be polite enough to ask.”

“And you should know better than to expect that,” Kagamine retorted.

“You’re polite enough when you want to kiss and caress me-”

His companion took a deep swallow, emptying out the rest of the bowl.  “I never stop wanting that, Shion, and if I was already sure of the answer, I wouldn’t ask about that, either.”

​He raised a bit of rice to his lips and took a tentative bite.  It was still somewhat bland, but he found it far more palatable than before.

“Where I come from, there are fish like you’ve never seen,” Kagamine told him.  “Some of them don’t have fins at all, but things that look like tiny arms.  There are crabs, and mussels, and while it’s hard to get into them, the meat is really tasty.  Seaweed is good, too, as long as you season it correctly.”

“You mean there are plants in the ocean?"  Shion frowned.  "But wouldn't they need soil to grow?”

​Kagamine beamed at him.  “No one knows what’s down there.  Maybe there’s soil and maybe not.  There are all sorts of things in the ocean, Shion.  It’s so deep and so vast you can’t even see the end of it.  Light shines on it and gets lost.  It’s a beautiful place, but it’s dangerous, too. Sometimes there are waves so tall they wash across the land and drown everything in sight.  Other times, the boats go out but never return.”

“I think I'd much rather stay inland and keep eating rice."

​“Well, you’re going to have to stop now.  It’s all nearly gone.”  Kagamine lifted the platter and placed it beside him on the floor, then he stood up and once again began to undress.  “Thanks to you, my clothes are soaked.”

“Is that the reason you’re so eager to be out of them?”

The youth paused for a moment before giving Shion a sly, teasing smile.  “How much sake will it take to get you out of yours?"

“That depends,” he remarked dryly, “on whether you mean to throw it at me, or not.”

Kagamine glanced back at him.  He filled the bowl again and held it out for Shion to take-

Then promptly dumped it out all over him.

“Consider us even," he smirked.

The liquid ran down Shion’s chest, chilling at his skin.  Perhaps he should’ve been angry about it, but- something about the unpleasant sensation seemed to pull him back into awareness.

*It's as though you only halfway inhabit this world.*

Kagamine understood what he was doing.  Shion watched him undress, just as he had the night before, only this time there was no thought attached to it, only feeling, only-

Need.

"It's cold, Kagamine," he murmured.

The boy knelt beside him.  Light fingers brushed across his neckline.  “Then I’ll warm you,” Kagamine whispered, sliding the wet fabric back from his shoulders with a deliberate smile.

Sensation overwhelmed him.  He existed here and now, no other time, no other place.  The world overflowed with nothing but this presence, the echoes of that soft voice, the slightly uncertain warmth of those hands against his skin, those emerald eyes glinting with reflected light as that gentle mouth smiled at him, amused at its own hesitation.  Shion closed his eyes.

A hot, slippery tongue trailed along his chest as shaking fingers unfastened the knot at his waist.  Even through the thin fabric, he felt himself scorched by their cloying heat.

“The sake tastes even better coming from off your skin.”

Shion smiled at him.  Was that the cause of the boy's sudden courage?  Either way, he supposed he didn't mind.

"You know," he murmured suggestively, "there's more-"

"Doesn't that seem a bit wasteful?"

"Not to me, but- perhaps you have more discipline than I do," Shion teased, his voice filled with laughter.

"You leave me no choice, then," the boy announced sternly, "but to defend my reputation."

Kagamine grinned.  This time the cold liquid coursed down Shion's face, dripping down along his neck.  Even though he'd expected it, the sensation was startling.  He shivered as the the boy’s hot tongue lapped against his throat.

"That'll teach you to question my recklessness."

Kagamine paused, lightly brushing his tongue across Shion's lips.  What had once been a comfortable ache suddenly transformed into something much more intense.  Kagamine felt it as well.  He breathed as though the air had gotten caught somewhere between his mouth and his lungs.

Shion reached up to brush at his hair.  It gleamed in the scattered rays of sunlight falling between the clouds like strands of golden silk, smooth and just as soft.

“Lie back, Shion.  I want to look at you.”

He wasn't asking for permission anymore.  He knew he already had it.  If he wanted to drench Shion in liquor, or take him out of his clothes and stare at every centimeter of his naked flesh, or even if- he wanted to-

Reverent fingertips drifted lightly over Shion's collarbones, then down along the center of his chest.

"Your body is so elegant."

"Usually men tell me it reminds them of death," Shion murmured softly.

Kagamine's fingers trailed down his stomach, then traced out the lines of his hips.  "They're a bunch of ungrateful, unappreciative idiots if they think that."  With a light caress, the boy's hands fell upon his thighs.  Kagamine laughed softly at his flushed face.  Hot, slightly damp palms pushed back insistently at his knees.

"Kagamine-"

"I just want to look at you.  I promise.  No one's ever let me get so close to their body before."

This pose was unquestionably obscene, and Kagamine's light fingers pressing and pulling at his most secret places didn't lessen the feeling of exposure, but Shion never remembered it leaving him with quite this same impression-

He held his breath, stunned beyond words, as Kagamine's lips brushed against him in the most perverse place imaginable.  Shion closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Kagamine was smiling down at him, his chin perched dreamily on one of the knees he still clutched within his hands.

"There," he whispered.  "I checked.  Nothing disgusting at all."

Shion sighed.  The atmosphere had grown heavy with a weight impossible for air.  He was being pulled under, and whenever the big wave finally crested, he felt sure he was going to drown.

Kagamine was still gazing at him with that same thoughtful expression.

"No one's ever kissed you there, have they?"

He shook his head.

The boy gave him that familiar grin he’d begun to find so charming.  "Then, in some ways, you're still a virgin as well.  All I have to do- is find out which-”

"Kagamine!"  He shoved at the youth with his knees and managed to squirm out of his grasp, which was completely self-defeating, since Kagamine's breath now fell hot on the nape of his neck.  His arms were around Shion's waist, holding him tightly, his hands drifting lower-

"Kagamine, you can't-"

The youth laughed softly, placing his head against the curve of Shion's neck and peering down over his shoulder.  "Do you think a little half-murmured protest is going to dissuade me, when you were willing to give up everything but a moment ago?"

Warm hands caressed his aching, throbbing flesh.  In spite of himself, Shion moaned.

"You're maddening.  Everything about you, is just-"

"You've- had too much- sake-”

"No," Kagamine answered, his voice low and quiet.  "I've had too much you.  Looking is not enough.  I want to touch you, to hear your little panting breaths, to feel your body quiver in my arms-"

Shion's breath came sharp and ragged.  His shuddering body was no longer under his control.  Hearing Kagamine describe it only made it immeasurably worse.  The boy was staring down at him, fully aware of his helpless responsiveness-

Those inescapable hands felt so much better than his own.

He sank back against Kagamine's body.  Hard flesh pressed into his spine, mildly damp and unquestionably ready.  The sensation left him gasping.

“You're dripping wet, Shion."

"So are you."

Kagamine laughed.  "That's because I want to be inside you.  What's your excuse?"

"I don't- have one, only- your hands- feel really good-"

Those fingers tightened around him.  One of Kagamine's hands reached up to brush at his chest, pressing him close as the youth's fingertips teased at his swollen flesh.  His neck was assaulted with little biting kisses, and Shion's choked moaning broke entirely free.  He wasn't holding back any longer.  He couldn't.

"It's close now, isn't it?," Kagamine whispered.

Somehow he managed the tiniest nod.  He leaned his head back against Kagamine's.

"All I want is to know I can please you, to watch it come from my very own hands."

His voice was sweetly seductive.  Shion reached back to cradle the boy’s head, holding it close against his shoulder.  His legs were shaking.  All his muscles strained against each other.  He gasped and panted in Kagamine's arms.  What the boy wanted from him, and what he fervently wished to give-

Was-

This-

His back arched, and the pressure within him gave way to explosive pleasure.  He cried out as it saturated his skin, then collapsed with heaving shoulders, struggling to catch his breath.  Kagamine gently pulled him onto his back.  Shion stared up at him with heavy-lidded eyes, still shivering all over.

The boy's damp hand caressed his face, and he kissed Kagamine's fingers.

"You're trembling," he whispered, as Shion smiled up at him softly.  "Why?"

"It was- very intense."

The look on Kagamine's face was almost concerned.  Shion couldn't help but laugh.

"There's nothing to be worried about.  I promise."  He placed the boy's hand over his heart, twining their fingers together.  "It beats like that because of you.  You’ll make it beat even harder, so hard it might even scare you, but it’ll all be all right, Kagamine.”

The boy laid his head on Shion’s chest, listening as the pulse beneath him grew ever calmer.  “Thank you,” he whispered.  “For everything.  If it were up to me, we would never leave this place, or this moment, but stay here, like this, forever-"

Shion reached up and gently stroked at his hair.

"If we wait another day, the ground will dry out a bit.  We'd make better progress that way.  Hatori is still very far from this place, and surely such a short span of time wouldn’t make any difference-”

Leave the next morning

Remain another day