Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (anime)
Date Finished:
Classification: Romance, Humor, Angst
Pairing: Seiya/Yaten, references to past Fighter/Kakyuu, shades of Seiya/Usagi
Rating: NC-17

Give Unto Me
By Elsewhere
elsewherecw@shaw.ca

All other information in Part One.

Part Three: So Close

Glossary:
aa - yeah
ano - um
ano ne - hey you
arigatou/arigatou gozaimasu - thank you
baka - idiot
doumo arigatou - thank you very much
doushite? - why?
gomen/gomen ne/gomen nasai - I’m sorry/excuse me
hai - yes; okay
hai, hai - all right, all right
hontou ni? - really?; truly?
kuso - shit
moshi moshi - hello (on the phone)
na - hey
nani? - what?
Odango - dumpling---Seiya’s affectionate nickname for Usagi
oi - hey
sugoi - cool; incredible
yare yare - well well

*****
You think that I can’t see right through your eyes
Scared to death to face reality
No one seems to hear your hidden cries
You’re left to face yourself alone
*****

Yaten was incredibly disturbed to be led to his own apartment by the three girls. He hadn’t been aware that they knew where he lived, and was just thinking to himself how he was going to have a talk with Taiki and Seiya later that night about how they should have spoken to him before revealing their whereabouts to their classmates when Rei spoke up, just as they were going up the front walk to the apartment complex.

"Minako-chan said to congratulate you guys," Rei said, turning back to give Yaten a wink. "It’s never taken her so long to find anyone before. You’ve done a really good job of keeping yourselves secluded, despite so much of the press knowing where you live. You must’ve really pulled some strings."

Yaten blinked and then frowned deeply.

"What gives her the right to sneak around looking for our private residence, anyway?" he said irritably, and although both Makoto and Ami bristled, looking concerned, Rei’s expression only changed to a soft smile.

"No particular right…just curiosity and admiration," she agreed with a nod. "But her affection for you, Taiki-san and Seiya-kun is harmless, Yaten-kun. She hasn’t done anything since she found where your apartment is, has she?"

"How long has she known where it is?" Yaten growled.

"A couple of months," she answered casually as she stepped back, waiting for him to open the door.

He paused as he searched his pockets for his key.

"I’m sure Minako-chan would apologize," Rei said quietly, and Yaten sighed, closing his eyes as he finally found his key and opened the door, then stepped back to usher the girls inside.

"Never mind," he muttered before moving inside, shutting and locking the door behind himself. He’d been relieved to see no reporters outside; this lightened his mood slightly, but only slightly. He was still far too worried about what Taiki and Seiya were up to to lighten up too much.

"Wow," Makoto said bluntly as she stared around the spacious condominium. "This is…incredible."

"Sugoi!" Rei agreed, clapping her hands politely.

"You might as well make yourselves comfortable," Yaten said as he slid off his own coat and shoes and tiredly made his way into the living room to sit on the couch, putting his presents down under the coffee table. He watched as the girls all removed their coats and shoes and followed him, hesitantly arranging themselves on the couches and chairs around him.

"Well…" Makoto said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence had passed. "I’m going to make us something to eat, okay, Yaten-kun?"

Before he could protest, she bounced to her feet and made her way into the kitchen, with a bag of fruit she’d brought.

"Is she trying to destroy my figure?" he growled, and Ami and Rei chuckled, seeing the humor that finally flickered in his bright green eyes. He turned to them and, with a soft sigh, decided to make an effort. "Ano…gomen ne; I’m not used to entertaining guests. Can I get you anything?"

"Oh…no, Yaten-kun. Thank you," Ami said hastily, and Rei quickly shook her head.

"What would you like to do?" Yaten said, frowning a bit and glancing at the clock. "It seems like we might be here for a while…"

"We might be, yes…" Ami whispered, seeming even more uncomfortable than he was.

"I’ve got it!" Rei exclaimed suddenly, bouncing in her seat, and Ami and Yaten turned to her curiously. She grinned. "We could play truth or dare."

Yaten looked only mildly nonplused, but Ami went pale as a ghost.

"Rei-chan…" she whispered, horrified.

"What?" Rei said with a shrug. "I’ve always wanted to play truth or dare with an idol."

Yaten pushed his bangs back off his forehead as he leaned forward.

"Ano…what is ‘truth or dare’?" he asked, hoping he didn’t sound too clueless.

Ami looked even more mortified.

"Rei-chan…" she whispered again, this time clutching onto Rei’s arm, but Rei ignored her.

"It’s simple!" Rei said with a beaming smile towards Yaten. "You pick whether you want ‘truth’ or ‘dare’. If you pick ‘truth’, then you have to truthfully answer whatever question we ask you. If you pick ‘dare’, you have to do whatever we dare you to do. Then when it’s your turn, we have to answer whatever question you ask us, or do whatever you dare us to do."

Yaten stared at her in silence for a moment, trying to contemplate whether she could possibly be serious. Eventually, he ended up decided it couldn’t be too bad…surely nothing they could ask of him would be too harmful, so he simply shrugged and sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Sure, why not?" he said, which only made Ami squeak, seeming on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"All right!" Rei said, rubbing her hands together. "Do you want to go first?"

"Whatever," Yaten said with another noncommittal shrug, to which Rei only responded with a grin.

"All right, I’ll go first," she said, leaning forward. "Truth or dare, Yaten-kun?"

He considered this, and decided to go with what seemed safest for now.

"Truth," he said, lifting an eyebrow in mild challenge.

"Is it true that you would take a bubble bath with a cat?" Rei asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Rei-chan!!" Ami moaned, burying her face in her hands.

Yaten’s eyebrows spiked towards his hairline and then he blushed slightly, again bringing up a hand to adjust his bangs to hide it.

"Hai," he said gruffly after a moment. "I find it relaxing."

"Seriously!?" Rei said, seeming on the verge of collapsing in a fit of giggles.  

Yaten tried not to blush any further.

"All right, your turn, Ami-chan," Rei said after taking a moment to recover her composure.

"I don’t want to play," Ami moaned from behind her hands.

"Hmph…you’re no fun," Rei complained, before turning to Yaten and smiling. "In that case, it’s your turn, Yaten-kun."

"All right," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she said with a wicked grin.

He lapsed into thoughtful silence for a moment, trying to think of something he wanted to know about this girl.

"What is it that fascinates you so much about me?" he asked finally, frowning slightly as he spoke.

This time it was her turn to look surprised.

"That’s your question?" she exclaimed, stunned. Even Ami looked shocked, her hands falling away from her face.

"That’s right," Yaten said quietly, frown deepening. "That’s my question. Don’t act as if the answer is obvious, because it isn’t to me. You don’t even know me…don’t think just because you’re a fan you know me. So what is it about me that makes you think I’m so great?"

"Yaten-kun…" Rei whispered, seeing the anger in his eyes, but then determination solidified in her own gaze. "All right, if it’s so important to you, I’ll tell you, then. It’s not just that I’m a fan. Before you came to Juuban Koukou…yes, I only liked you for your looks and your voice. You’re gorgeous, and you know you are. And you have a beautiful singing voice. But since you came here that’s not all. You might think we haven’t got to know you, but I don’t think that’s true."

Yaten blinked, his frown relaxing slightly despite himself, seeing the determination blazing in her eyes.

"We’ve all tried our best to make friends with the three of you," Rei continued. "It’s not just because we were fans. You seemed lonely! And we liked you…you seemed nice. As we got to know you, we learned that that was true. Taiki-san, Seiya-kun, and you, Yaten-kun. You’re a really nice person who’s really loyal to his friends, and I have a lot of respect for you now that I know more about you than I did when I was just a member of the Three Lights fanclub. Even if we’re not friends…I think I know a little more about you than that, enough to say that you *are* a great person. So…*that’s* why. Is that okay with you?"

Yaten blinked again, his eyes moving back and forth between Rei’s determined expression and the mildly expectant look on Ami’s face. The look in Ami’s eyes told him that she agreed with everything Rei had said.

"H…hai," Yaten said finally, turning his eyes away. His heart was thumping madly. He wasn’t sure which was worse…the prospect that these girls were lying to him, or the prospect that they were telling the truth.

"Yaten-kun," Ami said suddenly, gently, and he glanced up to find her smiling just as gently. "Truth or dare."

"Wait a second! You said you didn’t want to play!" Rei said with a laugh.

Ami didn’t answer, keeping her eyes fixed on Yaten, who sighed softly before giving in.

"Truth," he chose reluctantly.

"How do you feel right now?" Ami asked softly.

He stared at her in sullen silence for a moment before he sighed again and closed his eyes.

"Confused," he confessed, the whisper-soft quality of his voice conveying his honesty. "To be honest, I’ve always…well, it’s not that I hate the fans. But I hate it when they fawn over me, send me their ridiculous little notes and love letters without even knowing me. Just because they’ve read the information in the fan club doesn’t mean they know me. And just because I look good is no reason to claim they love me…that’s just shallow, and I don’t like it."

He opened his eyes, taking in the open expressions of curiosity on the faces of the two girls sitting before him.

"But…you’re right," he said finally, quietly. "You’ve seen more than you would just being members of the fan club. Maybe you do know me a little better than that. But I’m still confused. I don’t know whether to believe you---to believe you’re telling the truth when you say you like me for anything other than my looks---or to believe you’re saying this because you think you might have something to gain as fans by trying to get closer to me."

"Neither of us has ever sent you any little notes or love letters, Yaten-kun," Rei hurried to say when she saw him starting to frown again.

"And we didn’t do this today because we hoped to gain anything as fans," Ami said, quickly shaking her head. "We did it because we like you and we want to be your friends. We’re sorry if you find that hard to believe, but there’s nothing better we can say to prove it to you."

He started to say something in reply but was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. It seemed unnaturally loud in the silence that followed.

"Oh…may I get it, Yaten-kun?" Ami said, her cheeks burning as she asked. "So that you don’t have to deal with it if it’s reporters…"

He blinked.

"You shouldn’t have to do that…" he began to say, starting to rise to his feet, but Rei reached out a hand, gesturing for him to sit.

"It’s fine!" she said, using the other hand to gesture Ami towards the phone. Ami nodded and made a beeline for it, picking it up before the next ring.

"Moshi moshi," she said politely. Her expression became panicked almost immediately. "Hai, this is the residence of the Three Lights. Am I…? Ano…no…no, I’m not…"

She blushed.

"No! No, you’ve got entirely the wrong idea! Please, wait…!"

Just as Yaten was about to intervene, Makoto came rushing out of the kitchen and grabbed the phone out of Ami’s hand, looking worried.

"Hello, this is another of the Three Lights’ assistants…yes, that’s right, *assistants*…is there some kind of problem?" Makoto’s eyes widened. "Excuse me? I think I misunderstood you…could you repeat that? That’s what I thought you said. I don’t appreciate that implication. No, you may not speak to Yaten-kun; he’s busy at the moment. What!?"

Before she could say anything more, Rei appeared at her side and bumped her out of the way with a single violent motion of her hip, grabbing the phone out of her hand.

"Ano ne!!" Rei screeched into the phone before launching into a tirade that had the other three occupants of the room blinking, entirely stunned, before she was finished. "How’d you like that!? NANI!?!? WOULD YOU CARE TO REPEAT THAT!?!?"

Yaten sighed, getting to his feet and walking over to Rei.

"Give me the phone," he said, holding out a hand. Rei stared at him before reluctantly handing it to him.

"Yaten-kun, are you sure…?"

"I know how to handle these people," Yaten assured her, sighing before pressing the phone to his ear. "Moshi moshi, this is Yaten Kou."

Then, as the girls watched and listened, Yaten proceeded into a stream of invective such as none present had ever heard. By the time he was finished, all three girls were blushing to the tips of their ears and wondering if Yaten was related to any sailors.

"Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m a little busy at the moment," Yaten snapped in closing before slamming down the phone. The girls all watched in stunned silence as he walked back towards the couch, so tired and distracted that for the first time he did something that he’d never done in front of them before: he let his hair down, fingers nimbly undoing the ribbon and letting the brilliant silver curtain tumble down over shoulders and hips. All three of them fought not to let their mouths drop open when he turned back to them, running his fingers through his hair, shaking his head to let the silver mane move freely down his back.

"Yaten-kun," Ami breathed after several moments, and when he noticed the way the three of them were staring at him, he brushed his bangs back out of his face and frowned slightly.

"What?" he asked.

Ami finally shook herself out of her daze.

"N…nothing," she said with a nervous chuckle before going back over to the couch. "Are you sure that was the best way to handle that reporter, though…?"

"It’ll blow over in a few days," Yaten replied noncommittally as he slumped back into his place on the couch, hair tumbling into his lap.

"Are you okay?" Rei asked quietly as she took her seat next to Ami on the couch. She tried to avoid Yaten’s hair, but it was difficult; he didn’t seem to care where it went.

His eyes met hers briefly.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Just tired of the life of an idol."

Both were silent to that. A moment later Makoto reappeared from where she’d disappeared back to the kitchen, carrying a small tray with four bowls of fruit salad.

"I made it only with fruits Seiya-kun said you liked, Yaten-kun," Makoto said as she knelt to set the tray down on the table, and Yaten murmured a quick "thanks" to her as he leaned forward to pick up a bowl. To his relief, the coolness of the fruit soothed the ache that seemed to have closed over his heart. He was tired, he was lonely…the fact that it was his birthday only made him want to be with *her* all the more. And where were Taiki and Seiya!?

"So what were you doing while I was busy?" Makoto asked curiously as she picked through her fruit, chasing a green grape.

"Playing truth or dare," Rei said simply, and Makoto laughed, obviously thinking she was joking.

"Speaking of which," Yaten said as he swallowed the strawberry he’d been chewing on, "I think it’s my turn again."

Makoto blinked at him, obviously shocked. Rei and Ami also looked surprised, especially when they saw that he was serious. He shrugged and smiled. To himself, he was thinking, /Anything to kill some time…/

"Mizuno-san," Yaten said, turning his eyes to Ami, who blushed slightly under the bright green of his curious gaze. "Truth or dare."

"Truth," she said, a little too quickly.

He paused again for a moment, to consider, then smiled slightly before dropping his slippers off and folding his legs under himself, getting more comfortable.

"You like Taiki, don’t you?" he asked, casually.

Ami nearly coughed up a grape. She blushed a deep crimson as Rei patted her on the back, laughing quietly.

"Wh-wh-why would you think that?" Ami asked finally, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on her fruit bowl.

"No reason," Yaten said with a shrug, smile widening a bit. "Mainly just curiosity."

"My turn now," Makoto said. "Truth or dare, Yaten-kun."

"Truth," he said, turning his eyes towards her.

"Why would you be curious about whether or not Ami-chan likes Taiki-san?" Makoto asked, tilting her head to peer at him curiously. Ami and Rei were also looking at him, and he coughed quietly.

"I…shouldn’t say," he said after a moment.

"You can’t back out, Yaten-kun," Rei pointed out with a grin. "You chose truth."

Yaten frowned.

"It’s because it’s not my truth…it’s Taiki’s," he said, and then his frown deepened as he realized he’d given too much away.

"Taiki-san likes Ami-chan, doesn’t he?" Rei asked, her eyebrows raising sharply. "Doesn’t he!?"

When Yaten was silent, Rei chuckled softly.

"Yare yare…"

"How do you know that?" Ami whispered suddenly, eyes wide.

Yaten sighed, closing his eyes. This could get him in real trouble.

"He wrote a poem about you," he said quietly. "A beautiful poem, actually."

When he opened his eyes, he found Ami blushing bright red, both her friends grinning like fools. He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smiling slightly to himself behind the curtain of his hair.

He glanced up at the sound of a loud knock on the door, and started to get to his feet, only to be pushed back down to the couch by Rei.

"You just wait there, Yaten-kun," Makoto said suddenly as Ami dashed to the door, blush not fading as she ran. Yaten started to frown again as he watched them.

"Oi, it’s us," Seiya said in a loud stage whisper as he stuck his head around the slightly open front door. "Is he unconscious yet!?"

"Shh, Seiya-kun!" Makoto said, trying not to laugh. Yaten watched all of this from his position in the living room, eyebrows raised.

"Mizuno-kun, you look like you have a sunburn," Taiki said as he peered at her from over Seiya’s shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Ami’s face only grew worse.

"Yes, I’m fine…thank you for your concern, Taiki-san," she said in a hushed whisper.

"Never mind all that," Seiya said with a grin. "We’ve got it."

"I’ll take that," Makoto said with a smile, reaching out to accept the small bundle from Seiya. She cradled the small, dark package in her arms and made her way quickly upstairs, followed by Taiki, Usagi and Minako, as Seiya and Ami closed and locked the door and made their way to the living room.

"What’s going on?" Yaten demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," Seiya said with a grin as he plopped himself down on the couch between Yaten and Rei, which meant quite a squeeze. He didn’t seem to care, merely casually wrapping his arm around Yaten’s shoulders and moving some of Yaten’s hair out of the way as well as briefly picking up Yaten’s legs, then placing them back down in his own lap. Yaten responded to this with nothing more than a patient sigh, while the girls watched on, blinking.

"So how was he, girls? A total nightmare?" Seiya asked with a smirk, reaching up to lightly tousle Yaten’s hair, to which Yaten grumbled. "How much do we owe you for baby-sitting duties?"

"Oi," Yaten said, elbowing Seiya in the ribs.

Seiya chuckled, and Rei and Ami joined in.

"It was no problem, really," Rei said with a smile. "At least, I hope we didn’t bother you too much, Yaten-kun."

"No…it was fine," Yaten said, shaking his head.

They all watched as a moment later, Taiki and the rest of the girls trooped down the stairs.

"All right! Everything should be fine now," Usagi said, giving Seiya a thumbs up sign to which he responded with a wink and a ‘V’. "We should be going, everyone."

"Right," Rei said, getting to her feet. "Well, thank you for having us, Yaten-kun…it was fun. I hope you had a good birthday. We’re sorry for troubling you."

"It wasn’t a problem," Yaten repeated, forcing himself to offer them a small smile as he got to his feet to show them to the door. He waited until the five girls had left before he rounded on his two supposed best friends.

"You two!" he hissed. "What were you up to!?"

"Your gifts, of course!" Seiya said with a smile, and then he laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "We had a few unexpected problems…sorry. A few damages to pay for…"

"Damages!?" Yaten repeated, eyes widening. "What the hell…!?"

Taiki chuckled quietly and took Yaten’s elbow, gently leading him over to the couch.

"Sit down, Yaten," he said, guiding Yaten to sit down. Then he glanced up. "Do you want to go first, Seiya?"

"No, you go first," Seiya said, looking suddenly very excited, as though he was about to start bouncing around to let off excess energy. Yaten stared between his two friends as though they’d gone crazy.

"All right," Taiki said, a bit hesitantly. He put on his glasses and Yaten watched, stunned, as Taiki dropped to one knee next to where Yaten sat on the couch. Taiki reached into his pocket and took out a sheet of parchment paper, unfolding it. He cleared his throat softly and closed his eyes briefly before he started to read.

Yaten’s eyes slowly widened, his eyes fixed on Taiki’s face as Taiki read the poem, his tone slow, measured and yet impassioned in a way that Seiya and Yaten rarely had a chance to hear. It took Yaten no more than a few lines to realize that the subject of the poem was him: the poem spoke of someone who was both cold and warm, someone who had the power to both heal and hurt, someone who possessed a clear understanding and yet lacked confident comprehension. Most importantly, there was a theme of pain and longing running throughout the poem, less in the words themselves than in the spaces between them---it was in suggestion rather than lyric that Taiki’s talent lay---and the closer Taiki drew to the end of the poem, the more Yaten’s eyes narrowed, not in anger or hurt, but because he was trying to keep away the hot feeling behind his eyelids that always signaled tears. He could feel Seiya’s eyes on him, piercing and gentle, and he would die before letting Seiya see him cry over this.

When Taiki reached the last two stanzas of the poem, he folded the paper and pulled off his glasses, closing his eyes briefly before fixing his cool lavender gaze on Yaten’s face. Yaten caught his breath, his resolve weakening as the poem was now recited directly to him. Taiki’s eyes, always so full of insight and intelligence, were now heavy with some kind of bright warmth that Yaten saw in them only very rarely…Taiki was even more cautious with his emotions than Yaten himself.

Yaten continued to stare in silence, a silence that became so deep it bordered on uncomfortable, as Taiki’s voice fell into quiet and he lowered his eyes.

"Here," Taiki said, his voice becoming breathless, as he held up the folded piece of paper, not looking up. He sounded so quiet---almost exhausted---in the wake of his emotion. "Happy birthday, Yaten."

Yaten took the paper from Taiki hesitantly, letting out his breath slowly when his fingers lightly brushed Taiki’s. A million confused images flashed through his mind in that moment, some of them his own, some of them Taiki’s. Yaten was confused; he was tired; some part of him was touched so deeply it was almost like elation, an emotion so foreign to him it ached…it was enough that the normal barriers were absent.

"Taiki," he whispered after a moment, noticing with detachment that he was clutching the paper so tightly to his chest that he was probably damaging it. "You wrote this for me? Hontou ni?"

"Yes," Taiki breathed, his shoulders slowly slumping with the motion. "Hontou ni. I knew you probably wouldn’t like it…"

Before Yaten could open his mouth to speak---before he could even think of what to say---Seiya reasserted himself firmly into the scene.

"Oi," he said, sounding somewhere between agitated and totally flabbergasted. "Taiki, would you give it up!? Look at him!"

/You’re always looking at me, aren’t you, Seiya?/ Yaten thought, without turning his head to look at Seiya where he now stood behind the couch, lingering over Yaten’s shoulder. /Doushite…?/

Taiki reluctantly lifted his head, and Yaten watched Taiki’s eyes widen as he took in the sight of Yaten sitting on the couch, trembling slightly as he held Taiki’s poem to his chest.

"Yaten…" Taiki whispered, sounding shocked, and Yaten had to close his eyes, unable to face the look on Taiki’s face.

"Taiki," Yaten murmured, again trying to swallow back the heaviness in his throat. The hot ache was back in his chest, making it hard to breathe. "Doumo arigatou."

Silence closed down over them again; how long it lasted Yaten wasn’t certain. All he was aware of was the loud sound of his own heartbeat penetrating the stillness he was trying to bring to his mind.

"Mm, I think he likes it," Seiya murmured after a moment, his voice just a bit breathy but still silly enough to break the tension. Yaten didn’t open his eyes, but he could hear the soft sound of Taiki’s chuckle.

"Yaten…" Taiki said softly, and Yaten caught his breath quickly when he felt a quick sensation of warmth and another brief flash of Taiki’s emotions---/joy, arigatou, want you to share this/---before Taiki’s hands touched his shoulders and drew him into a hug. Yaten’s eyes flew open and for a moment he floundered, unsure what to do, before he slowly wrapped his arms around Taiki in return and dropped his head to rest against Taiki’s shoulder, hoping Taiki was unaware of his discomfort.

Silently he cursed himself for his own foolishness. What was the matter with him!? If it had been Maker, he knew he wouldn’t have hesitated. It was just a hug---they’d shared hugs like these and more intimate embraces since they were kids. Just because Taiki felt different in Yaten’s arms---just because *Yaten* felt different to himself---was no reason to freeze. But the fact couldn’t escape Yaten…it *was* different. He could feel himself slowly tensing, withdrawing, and Taiki was starting to react, just about to notice and say something…

"Oi, group hug!!"

Both he and Taiki cried out in surprise and dismay when Seiya suddenly launched over the back of the couch and bounced into place next to them before throwing his arms around both of them, pulling them into a bear hug.

"Oi, *Seiya*, let go!" Yaten said, voice rising as he tried to get out of the choke hold the over-excited singer had on him.

"Aw, but you can’t leave me out of such a cute hug!!" Seiya protested, relaxing his hold slightly and grinning, his indigo eyes sparkling as he looked from Yaten to Taiki, who merely rolled his eyes and sighed at Seiya’s behavior.

"Na na, Yaten," Seiya said, poking Yaten’s hip several times, which made Yaten try to squirm away from Seiya’s loose hold, nearly knocking Taiki off the couch in the process. Seiya grinned, pressing his newfound advantage, the poke turning into something of a grope, his hand curling around Yaten’s hip and tickling firmly while the other arm kept its hold on Yaten’s slighter form. Taiki quickly hopped off the couch and out of the way while Yaten made an unmanly squawk and pushed against Seiya’s chest, trying to get him to stop.

"Seiya, what are you…" Yaten began breathlessly before he started to laugh helplessly when Seiya’s fingertips brushed an especially ticklish spot, finally having worked their way underneath his jacket and shirt to bare skin. He’d always been extremely sensitive to any tactile contact, especially around his waist and stomach.

"Oi, I’d forgotten how ticklish your hips were, Healer-chan!" Seiya said with a grin before feathering his fingertips over the same spot again. Yaten burst out in laughter again and tried feebly to push at Seiya’s hands, but unbeknownst to him, his legs, reacting on their own as a reflex action, did a far better job of stopping the other teen.

"Kuso…not again…" Seiya whispered suddenly and sharply, his eyes closing tightly as his hand left Yaten’s side. He tried to keep himself upright, but with a soft groan he collapsed on top of Yaten, who opened his eyes with a start, arms instantly coming up to catch his fallen comrade.  

"What is it?" Yaten asked, at first sounding only concerned, obviously having heard the genuine pain in Seiya’s voice. When Seiya didn’t answer---he was too busy panting helplessly against Yaten’s neck---Yaten finally seemed to notice the fact that he was entirely pinned under Seiya, and that Taiki was lying on the living room floor on his back, nearly paralyzed with laughter.

"Hey, what’s going on!?" Yaten said, suddenly becoming suspicious. "What’s so funny!?"

"Unnnnn…" Seiya mumbled after a minute, trying and failing to get himself up. "S…sorry, Yaten. I didn’t mean…"

Yaten didn’t respond to that; he was too busy freezing entirely, eyes widening. The movement of Seiya’s body against his had caused him to come into contact with rather a lot of firm muscle that he hadn’t been quite so intimately aware Seiya had possessed, not to mention the way Seiya’s leg had slid between his thighs for a moment. *This* seemed…a little more intimate even than the way Fighter, Healer and Maker sometimes used to share a bed or a bath when they were children.  

Just then, Seiya seemed to notice the way Taiki was behaving too.

"Hey, you! Shut up!" Seiya said, and then he groaned softly. "I won’t forgive you, Taiki! This is *not* funny!"

Taiki took several slow, deep breaths, a hand against his chest, before he finally recovered himself enough to sit up and focused his attention on the dilemma of the two on the couch.

"You’re right," he said, trying to keep himself from smiling. "I apologize, Seiya. It’s only that…twice in one week…"

"Yeah, yeah," Seiya grumbled, before letting his head rest on Yaten’s shoulder. He let out a quiet sigh, obviously feeling more than a little disgruntled.

"Hold on!" Yaten grumbled, trying to shift a bit under Seiya because his left butt cheek was starting to go to sleep. When Seiya moaned softly with pain, however---a pain that flickered ever so briefly in Yaten’s own mind---Yaten quickly stilled. "What the hell are you two talking about!?"

"We’ll explain in a moment," Taiki said simply as he stood by the couch, considering how best to proceed before he finally took a firm hold of Seiya’s arms and lifted, exerting all his strength. Seiya protested only mildly at the yanking his arms received, but ended up looking vastly relieved to be off of Yaten.

"Yaten, you okay?" Seiya asked, immediately bending down to help Yaten sit up. Yaten brushed himself off as calmly as he could, paying careful attention to getting the wrinkles out of Taiki’s poem before he pocketed it. He then glanced up towards Seiya, prepared to snap at him irritably, but the annoyance in his eyes faded away when he saw Seiya’s expression: a cross between a wince and genuine concern.

"I’m really sorry," Seiya continued, the wince becoming the overriding expression for a moment as he gingerly lowered himself to the couch. "I really didn’t mean to fall on you like that…I was just giving you a hard time. I didn’t expect you to give *me* a hard time, if you know what I mean."

"No, I *don’t* know what you mean," Yaten said, the irritation back in his voice now as he brushed his bangs away from his eyes and focused on Seiya. "What the hell were you doing!?"

Taiki started to laugh again, stifling it quickly behind a hand when Seiya shot him a glare.

"Well, uh…truth is, I didn’t expect you to be *that* ticklish," Seiya said with a weak laugh, reaching back to rub his head. "Your knee sort of met my…uh…yeah."

Yaten stared at him in blank incomprehension for several minutes, so long that he could hear Taiki snickering behind his hand again, until finally Yaten’s eyes traveled slowly downwards to where Seiya had folded an arm over his lap when he’d sat down. Yaten had thought nothing of the gesture at first, but now that he thought about it, it seemed rather odd…even protective.

His eyes widened.

"Kuso," he blurted out, so loudly that both Seiya and Taiki burst out laughing. Yaten’s eyes flew up to Seiya’s. "Are you all right, Seiya?"

Seiya tried to stop laughing, bringing up a hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes.

"Yeah, I’m fine," he reassured Yaten, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "It’s just that it’s the second time this week, like Taiki said…good thing I don’t plan on ever having kids…"

Taiki snorted quietly into his hand.

"Second time?" Yaten asked, his expression a mixture of disbelief and horror.

"Aa…let’s say it involved Odango and a broom closet and leave it at that…" Seiya said, and he and Taiki started to laugh again.

"A broom closet?" Yaten repeated, eyebrows spiking upwards. "Were you alone with her at the time?"

"Heck no," Seiya said with another laugh. "That was the problem…too many people shoved into too small a space…"

"We were planning your birthday surprise, Yaten," Taiki said, lightly touching Yaten’s shoulder as he took his seat on Yaten’s other side.

"Exactly, otherwise we would have invited you to the broom closet party, rest assured," Seiya said, patting Yaten’s knee and watching as Yaten jumped slightly. Seiya grinned; he was well aware that knees were another place where Yaten was extremely ticklish. "It was a blast. More for some than others…"

He winced to illustrate his point as he got to his feet.

"Oi, what were you doing tickling me like that in the first place?" Yaten said, frowning up at Seiya almost petulantly. He was trying to cover the guilt he felt for causing Seiya’s pain by attempting to pass the blame off on his friend. "It serves you right; you got what you deserved!"

"Hai, hai!" Seiya said with a grin and a wink as he made his way into the kitchen and reappeared with a soda pop and two juices, giving the juices to the other two before cracking open his coke. "Truth is, I was just going to tickle you into submission so you’d agree to let me give you my gift next."

"Hmph…baka," Yaten said, rolling his eyes, and Seiya laughed, watching as Yaten sighed. "All right, then…I hate to think what it is, but let’s have it."

"Yay!" Seiya said, bouncing up off the couch like a little kid and then moaning softly, quickly slowing to a more subdued walk as he made his way to the stairs. "Be right back!"

"What’s he got hidden up there?" Yaten asked, suspicion and curiosity getting the better of him as he peered up into the dark stairwell, in the direction Seiya had gone.

"I think you’ll like it," Taiki said softly, and Yaten turned to stare at him, surprised by his tone, his astonishment only growing when he saw the way Taiki’s eyes glowed as he looked at Yaten.

Yaten watched as a moment later Seiya came back down the stairs, walking slowly and cradling a small grey draw bag against his chest. He held it so carefully that it obviously held something very precious---perhaps something breakable---and Yaten felt his curiosity spiking to new heights.

"Okay," Seiya said quietly, his tone almost a whisper, soft and careful, just like the way he held the object in his arms. Yaten blinked and stared at him, watching as Seiya approached him with the gift. "The truth is that this present is from both Taiki and me…my separate gift to you isn’t ready yet…it’s more like Taiki’s, which’ll probably lead you to guess what it is."

Yaten shook his head slightly to indicate that he had no idea, but Seiya didn’t seem to notice the motion, because he didn’t explain.

"Anyway, this is from the two of us, but Taiki wanted me to give it to you ‘cause I was so excited about it," Seiya said, turning to grin at Taiki briefly before Seiya stopped in front of Yaten, who stared up at him, obviously confused by his behavior. "I hope you like it, Yaten."

Seiya gently held out the gift, and Yaten started to lift his hands.

"Be careful, Yaten," Seiya warned, his tone gentle. His eyes were sparkling as he smiled down at Yaten. "It’s fragile, so don’t shake it or anything."

Yaten paused, then nodded to show that he understood and reached for the gift again, only to pause, eyes widening, when the bag suddenly seemed to shiver. At first Yaten only blinked and stared at it, sure that he must have imagined it, but as he watched, the bag started to move more energetically and then it let out a loud mewling sound.

"Seiya, what *is* this?" Yaten breathed, eyes wide now as he stared at the bag held so gently in Seiya’s hands.

"Just take it," Seiya said softly.

Yaten opened his mouth but realized he had nothing to say. He moved his hands the last few inches forward and closed them carefully around the gift, and his eyes widened further when he felt the warmth of it through the bag. Slowly, he lowered the gift to his lap, and with a single last glance towards Seiya and Taiki, each of whom were watching him, the same warm twinkle in their eyes, he dropped his fingers to the drawstring. He noticed that it was only done up very loosely, leaving a lot of open space at the top. Suddenly he couldn’t seem to breathe, and his fingers were shaking…it took him a moment before he finally got the bag open and slowly lowered it, revealing the present within.

He caught his breath and then let it out slowly as his eyes fell on the tiny silvery-grey kitten sitting in his lap, now blinking its little bright green eyes confusedly as it stared at the room around itself. He felt the same hard knot catch in his throat again when the kitten’s eyes focused on him for the first time, first on his belly and then, more gradually, on his face. He heard the soft sound of Seiya’s chuckle when the kitten reached out a paw and slowly scraped at the fabric of Yaten’s jacket until Yaten finally broke out of his daze and lifted a hand, delicate fingers stroking along the kitten’s back. He felt a whisper, nothing but nonsense, come to his lips at the silken feel of the kitten’s fur against his fingertips.

"So?" Seiya murmured, close enough to Yaten’s side that Yaten could feel the warmth of Seiya’s breath against his cheek. Yaten was surprised to realize that Seiya’s fingertips were lightly playing through the hair at his temple, much the same way Yaten’s fingertips stroked through the fur on the kitten’s back. Even more of a surprise was the fact that Yaten really didn’t mind.

"What do you think of her?" Seiya asked, and then he leaned back, withdrawing his touch. Taiki, too, was watching Yaten curiously, awaiting his reaction.

"She’s…beautiful," Yaten whispered finally, and he heard Seiya’s soft breath of surprise when a single tear rolled down Yaten’s cheek. Yaten quickly pushed it aside. "But…why?"

"Don’t you like her?" Seiya asked, sounding surprised by the question.

Yaten couldn’t help a slight smile as he watched the cat yawn widely, revealing tiny but extremely sharp teeth and a little pink tongue.

"Yes…I like her very much," he said softly, scratching behind her ear with a fingertip, his smile widening when she purred softly.

"Then that’s why," Taiki said with a warm smile, and when Yaten looked up and saw the grins on his friends’ faces he felt tears welling up in his eyes again and had to close them, afraid he might break his promise to himself not to let Seiya see him cry.

"Arigatou, Seiya, Taiki…arigatou," he whispered, hoping they could hear his sincerity. "Hontou ni."

*****

END PART THREE