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 Six: Goodnight

Glossary:
baka - idiot
ch’ - damn
chikusho - damn
e? -  huh?
hai - yes; okay
kuso - shit
maa - well
nyan - refers to the noise a cat makes
Odango - dumpling---Seiya’s affectionate nickname for Usagi
ohayou - good morning
ohayou gozaimasu - good morning (formal)
oi - hey
okaa-san(‘kaa-san) - mother
oyasumi nasai - good night  
shimatta - crap
tachi - plural honorific (so, Usagi-tachi refers to Usagi and her friends)

Note: The song Seiya’s singing in the shower at the end of this part is ‘Face to Face’ by Luna Sea. The lyrics are as follows, romanized and translated by Mina-P of http://www.senshigakuen.com/ (and I intend no infringement to her by quoting her translation):

omoide sae - even memories
nokosenakatta kara - couldn’t remain
kuuhaku no mama - it’s an empty vacuum
kokoro ga - inside my heart

Face to Face
hoshi o tobikoete - fly across the stars
toki o tobikoete - fly across time
Kissing in the cosmos

*****
I've been watching you from a distance
The distance sees through your disguise
All I want from you is your hurting
I want to heal you
I want to save you from the dark
*****

Yaten wasn’t sure how long he simply sat on his bed, knees tightly pulled up to his chest as he stared at the paper clenched in his fist. He wasn’t even aware of when his fingers stopped shaking, or when he began to breathe again. Even more slowly, he became aware of a variety of noises---the ticking of his alarm clock; the hum of the stereo he’d left running earlier; a tree branch tapping against the window---beyond the overwhelming sound of his own heart in his ears.

His fingers clenched tighter as he slowly lowered the paper to the bed, as though reluctant to let go, but he forced himself, letting it slip from his grasp before he let out a slow, shaky breath and glanced towards the clock. All in all, no more than a few minutes had passed. It felt like years…

His entire body was shuddering as he got to his feet and made his way to the door, stopping every few steps to wrestle with himself and overcome his hesitation. It would be easiest to just go to bed…he knew that…to pretend that it didn’t mean anything. Of course, Seiya had ensured that this couldn’t be ignored for long. It was a song…he had written music…would he record this?

Yaten might have been tempted by the easy way out nonetheless, if it weren’t for the fact that he knew he wouldn’t be getting to sleep anytime soon. And subjecting himself to further embarrassment was an occupation, at least.  

With these thoughts in mind, and trying to keep his shivers to a minimum, Yaten slipped out of his room and silently made his way down the hallway. He stopped at Seiya’s room first, but by simple feel he could tell that his ally wasn’t present, and he did remember Seiya mentioning going to look for ‘the rascal’. Knowing Seiya, he may well have ended up playing video games…or, if there were a miracle, possibly studying for the English test they had on Monday.

Yaten spotted the subject of his search as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and his eyes widened in surprise at the position he found his band mate in.

Seiya was on all fours on the living room floor, bent down peering under the couch, with his butt jutting directly in the air.

"Hehehehe, I see youuu," Seiya said evilly, slithering a little closer to the couch. "Come here, you little devil."

As Yaten watched, now fighting to keep from smiling as he figured out what was going on, Shiruku abruptly shot out from underneath the couch, just barely escaping Seiya’s grasp and launching herself directly onto his back.

"Oi! What the…!" Seiya cried out in dismay, turning to regard the cat, who merely stared back at him with seeming mischief for a moment before she pounced, directly on the end of his raven-colored ponytail.

Seiya laughed out loud.

"What the heck are you…?" he said, reaching back to bat at the kitten, who jumped off to avoid his hand, and as he maneuvered around, trying to catch her, she easily escaped him again. She’d chosen a target and was evidently determined to get it, because she continued to chase the curl at the end of his ponytail.

"You little rascal!! Oi!!" Seiya yelled through his laughter as he crawled around, trying to avoid the tiny cat, but it seemed he only made things worse.

Yaten brought a hand up to his mouth as a chuckle finally escaped him, and he watched as Seiya suddenly stopped in place, lifting his head, noticing Yaten for the first time.

"Yaten!" Seiya exclaimed, and then he blushed slightly. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Yaten replied with a slight smirk, just in time to watch as Shiruku finally claimed her goal. Seiya’s stillness had given her the opportunity to finally catch the end of his ponytail between her paws.

"E? Oi!" Seiya said, chuckling before he reached down to pluck the kitten away from his hair, instead pulling her close to his chest. She struggled at first, obviously not wanting to give up her new toy, but finally settled down when he started to stroke her soothingly.

Yaten kept his eyes on all of this as he made his way into the living room and, again pushing aside his own hesitation, settled himself on the floor next to Seiya.

"Here you go," Seiya said with a grin as he deposited the seemingly complacent kitten into her master’s arms. Yaten accepted her with a soft smile, his fingers instantly moving to stroke behind her ears. However, Shiruku didn’t quite seem to be finished yet, and before Yaten could protest, she wormed her way out of his hands and pounced on his own ponytail where it rested against his thigh. Unfortunately for the kitten, she’d landed on his knee, which had always been unusually ticklish. He reacted on reflex, jerking, which threw her off even as he started away, surprised by her sudden movement.

Shiruku landed on her feet, and he could have sworn she sent a determined look his way before she jumped towards him, seemingly set on the curled end of his own silver ponytail. Yaten quickly crawled directly over Seiya, who was already laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.  

"Shimatta!" Yaten swore as he crawled around the coffee table, watching as Shiruku simply bounced up onto it, headed directly for him. "The cat’s gone nuts!"

Seiya didn’t answer; he was too busy gasping for breath and clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard.

"Hey, this isn’t funny! Help me!" Yaten whispered through his own laughter as he crawled back around to the side of the table that Seiya was still sitting at.

"Nah, I don’t think I will," Seiya said, finally getting himself somewhat under control as Yaten moved to crawl over him again. "I think I’m enjoying this way too much…"

Just as Yaten started to move over him, Seiya’s hands closed firmly around Yaten’s waist.

"Seiya!" Yaten exclaimed, genuinely shocked by such a maneuver. "What are you…?"

"Come on, Shiruku!" Seiya called, a huge grin on his face as his hands moved to Yaten’s arms and, gripping tightly but gently, he pushed Yaten down to the floor. "Come and get him!"

Shiruku didn’t hesitate; in an instant she’d darted over and, while Yaten struggled feebly against Seiya’s grip, Shiruku pounced on Yaten’s ponytail where it trailed off across the carpet. Seiya laughed as Yaten groaned.

"Quit it!" Yaten cried through his chuckles, but Shiruku didn’t seem to be showing any signs of letting up, and neither did Seiya, who was still poised over Yaten. Poised…extremely close over him, Yaten suddenly realized, his laughter fading away into mild puzzlement as he stopped to consider his position for the first time.

He was pressed tightly to the living room floor because Seiya was so close above him, one knee between Yaten’s legs and the other pressed to Yaten’s thigh on the other side, Seiya’s ponytail coiled lightly on Yaten’s stomach. Seiya’s face was just above Yaten’s, close enough that Yaten could clearly see every detail as Seiya noticed the change in Yaten’s demeanor and his own laughter died away.

"Yaten? What’s wrong?" Seiya asked, voice softening and brow furrowing as he peered into Yaten’s eyes.

At first Yaten hardly even heard Seiya’s words. He was far too focused on other things, like the intensity of the blue in Seiya’s eyes, and the fact that if he relaxed his barriers just a little bit, he could feel some of Seiya’s humor and now his concern leeching into him…but also something else.

It was there again. The same lingering desire Yaten had felt before…it was there again. Seiya was mildly aroused by the position they were currently in, which was the reason for Yaten’s current puzzlement.

"Yaten?" Seiya repeated, tilting his head, his frown growing deeper.

Yaten flexed his fingers slowly and he saw Seiya’s eyes widen when he darted his tongue out to wet his lips. He could feel the gentle weight of Seiya’s hands against his biceps---his hands were warm, and Yaten was surprised to find that Seiya’s touch had become familiar. These hands, so different from Fighter’s…and yet the same. Like Seiya…so different from Fighter, and yet exactly the same. Why did Yaten fail to trust…?

Yaten abruptly felt a tug against his skull and started slightly, turning his eyes away from Seiya’s gaze. Shiruku had wormed her way up right next to Yaten and was pawing underneath his neck, seeking something.

"Shiruku, what…?" Yaten said, eyes widening as he felt her suddenly dip her nose underneath his neck and sink her little teeth into the fabric of his ribbon. She managed a good tug before he hissed and lifted his head.

"Oi, stop that!" he whispered, and Seiya looked down, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. In the process, he let go of Yaten’s arms, and Yaten took advantage of his new freedom.

"She wants the ribbon," Yaten said simply before, with a single sharp tug, he pulled off Seiya’s ribbon.

"Hey!" Seiya protested, but before he could say anything else, Yaten dangled the ribbon in front of Shiruku’s nose and then tossed it across the room.

"Fetch!" Yaten called, and then he laughed as he watched her bound off after it.

"Oi, you little sneak!" Seiya growled, grinning as he grabbed Yaten’s arms again and pressed him back down to the floor. "That was mine!"

"Serves you right," Yaten shot back, fully prepared to send an equally determined look in Seiya’s direction…but he froze, breath catching in his throat, when his eyes fell on Seiya. Seiya’s eyes, so intensely blue they were almost cobalt, were now framed by the full cascade of his jet-colored hair as it tumbled down over both shoulders, pooling over Yaten’s chest and abdomen before trailing onto the carpet.

Gods, Seiya looked beautiful in that moment, eyes shimmering and hair flowing freely…

Fighter had always been extraordinarily beautiful with her hair left down…everyone in the court said so, which was precisely why she usually kept it bound even off-duty, she had once confided to her three best friends. At the time, she had joked that the last thing she wanted was a lot of men slathering drool all over her when she had better things to do, but her three companions had been aware that it really wasn’t much of a joke. Fighter had never had eyes for any of the men of the court.

Yaten closed his eyes, shutting out the sight. Seiya must have guessed some of what was going through Yaten’s mind---the fact that he was remembering something unpleasant, if not precisely what that was---because suddenly Yaten found himself released from Seiya’s gentle grip and Seiya retreated. Yaten relaxed slowly as Seiya leaned back against the couch, adopting a casual position.

It was nothing after all, Yaten thought, smiling slightly to himself. He was thinking of that odd desire he’d felt in Seiya’s mind…in that strange tightening of Seiya’s body as they’d wrestled on the floor.

They’d wrestled far more playfully many times back on Kinmoku, but they were just kids back then compared to now. Sure, Healer had been aware that Fighter had a crush on her when they were younger, but then, Fighter was always chasing all the girls, so one crush was much the same as another.

This could be no different.

But the song…that was something different, something that to Yaten was simply…incomprehensible.

"Seiya…" he said, his voice soft, husky enough that he surprised himself.

"What?" Seiya murmured, so quietly that Yaten finally opened his eyes and turned. Seiya was sitting with his knees up, elbows resting on them, and to Yaten’s surprise, he was resting with his head almost in his hands. His eyes had grown dark, changing with his mood, now almost the color of a full moon midnight as he stared at some fixed point in his own memory.

"That song…you really wrote it for me?"

Seiya was silent for several minutes, long enough that Yaten finally sat up, sighing in mild irritation when he felt his abused ribbon slide away, his own hair falling loose around his shoulders. Yaten sat next to Seiya again, deliberately choosing to sit with their shoulders touching so that he had a physical contact, which allowed him the slightest look at Seiya’s surface emotions without having to do more than bring his barriers down a notch.

The emotions he could feel from Seiya, however, were far too confused for him to be able to sort out, and he doubted whether Seiya could tell them apart any more easily. They were dark, and heavy, and filled with some kind of sense of longing; a deep, abiding loneliness and homesickness…Yaten closed his eyes, swallowing back sudden tears, slamming his barriers back into place.

"Yeah, I did," Seiya said finally, his voice deep and unusually quiet. He remained staring straight ahead as he spoke. "Don’t you like it? I’ll write you another one if you don’t."

"I like it," Yaten whispered, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. "I like it, Seiya. But, I…"

He stopped, struggling with what he wanted to say…what he wanted to feel.

"You don’t know what I’m trying to tell you," Seiya said, in the same quiet, almost deadened tone that sent a shiver down Yaten’s spine. Did Seiya know? Did he know he’d just been rejected, even though the entire exchange had gone on only within Yaten’s mind?

Yaten didn’t answer, and Seiya lapsed into silence again, for so long that Yaten began to wonder if he would speak again.

"Maa," Seiya said finally, his voice considerably higher, back towards its normal tenor. He turned, and Yaten blinked in surprised when Seiya grinned slightly and winked. "You’ll figure it out, Yaten."

Yaten watched as Seiya got to his feet, brushing his hair over his shoulder before he started towards the stairs.

"Oyasumi nasai," Seiya called back softly over his shoulder. Yaten felt his stomach clench when Seiya didn’t look back, instead continuing on up the stairs, and Yaten realized that somehow, he *had* hurt Seiya, badly.

"Chikusho," Yaten whispered, closing his eyes tightly. They were stinging again…why was he crying? "Princess…please…tell me what to do…"

*****

Seiya woke up from his light doze when he felt Shiruku stirring, and he watched, the slightest smile coming to his lips, as the kitten turned around several times before settling back down to sleep at the end of the bed. He glanced at the most recent wet patch on the floor and sighed, rolling over onto his stomach and resting his chin in his hand.

He supposed it was time for emergency measures. Yaten probably wouldn’t like it, but Seiya decided that tomorrow at school he’d talk to Usagi-tachi and see if maybe the girls could come over some time Sunday morning, before the Lights’ studio time, and offer some advice.

Seiya rolled his eyes towards the clock and sighed, rubbing at his eyes when he saw that it was already past two o’clock. He hadn’t slept; he’d done nothing more than lightly doze, and not just because of concern for further kitten-related accidents. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about everything that had happened over the course of the day, with Yaten.

"I must be stupid," he muttered, rolling onto his back and closing his eyes, bringing up an arm to cover them. "Kuso…what am I doing? I want to help him…all I’m doing is hurting him."

He heard a soft nyan and glanced downward, smiling softly when he saw Shiruku’s bright green eyes shimmering in the darkness.

"Sorry, Shi-chan…did I wake you?" he said, moving down the bed until he could lightly stroke her back. She continued to peer at him, blinking and tilting her head, until he laughed quietly. "Oh, you don’t mind? You want to listen to me bitch and moan?"

Shiruku just continued to stare, so Seiya rolled onto his back again and stared at the ceiling, counting the glow-in-the-dark stars he’d painted there.

"It’s just that…I feel like we’re losing him," he whispered, swallowing back the vague sensation of panic that pressed down on him. He tried to focus on the stars above him and the silken feeling of the kitten’s fur against his fingertips. "I can’t…I just can’t let that happen, Shi. You know? We’re a team…but more than that…we’re friends. We wouldn’t be complete without him…the whole would suffer…"

Shiruku mewed softly and Seiya turned to glance at her, then chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Uh-huh, that’s great, Seiya, but what about *your* feelings?"

He sighed, closing his eyes.

"The truth is…I don’t know," he admitted, voice hoarse. "Since we came here…as I’ve watched him draw further and further into himself…I’m surprised how much it’s hurt me. I feel like I’ve lost his trust, lost his faith, and I don’t really understand why…and it *hurts*. I don’t even know why it hurts me so badly…it feels like more than it should hurt as a friend or an ally. But…"

He rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin on his folded arms and staring across the room towards the red roses on his desk. Such a brilliant red…he had chosen the color because it reminded him of her…

"Damn it," Seiya whispered harshly, closing his eyes tightly and burying his face in his arms. "What do I feel!? I loved her so much…I thought it was too soon to love again. But then…I started to feel the same heartache towards Odango that I always felt around her. Ch’, I don’t even know if it’s because Odango *reminds* me of her!"

He swore, thumping his fist against the bed top, startling Shiruku into getting to her feet as he rolled off the bed and started to pace the room. After a moment, Shiruku simply impatiently shook herself and settled back down to sleep as he kept pacing back and forth, continuing his quiet monologue.

"But Yaten…where does he fit in?" he whispered, folding his arms over his chest and frowning to himself. "Chikusho…how do I know!? Why do I feel this deeply? It’s not like how I feel when I think of her, or when I look at Odango…it’s different, but it’s…*real*. Grah!!"

He threw his hands in the air and headed back towards the bed, practically throwing himself in and tugging the covers around himself, determined to *try* to get some sleep, especially since it seemed like Shiruku wasn’t going anywhere.

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he was aware of had to have been a dream. For it to have been reality would have been too much…

The first thing he was aware of was her scent, sweet and intoxicating, filling the air around him until he was reaching up his arms, expecting her, and then she was against him, flesh to flesh. Then he was tasting her skin and it was heaven again, and he knew it had to be a dream because this…could never be.

He tangled his hands in her beautiful, fiery red hair and tilted her head back, burying his face in her neck and listening to her soft sigh of encouragement as he nipped at the sensitive skin behind her ear. One night…nothing more than a night, and he remembered every minute, every inch of her body, every place that made her cry out his name.

He felt her hands press up against his chest and allowed her to guide him over onto his back. He didn’t open his eyes, but he didn’t need to see to feel that something had changed with the motion, and the body that straddled his hips was very different. The fragrance of olive blossoms was still in the air, but not as strong and a little sharper, with something of another familiar musk.

He lifted his arms, accepting his new dream lover, moaning when he opened his eyes to watch the brilliant cascade of silver hair tumble down over his body before his lips met those of the incubus. The kiss was sweet and Seiya pressed closer, his hands reaching out, gripping arms, holding tight. He was surprised to find that he didn’t want this to end. When he finally did pull back, he opened his eyes slowly as he let out his breath, his chest heavy with anticipation of the look he felt he was sure to see in his lover’s eyes…

But all he saw in that painfully familiar gaze, shining brilliant emerald in the darkness, was hurt, and the only expression on the smaller man’s face as he looked back at Seiya was the same puzzled frown he had given Seiya earlier that evening.

Seiya closed his mouth against a gasp as he sat up quickly, hands clenching in the covers as he opened his eyes. At the bottom of the bed, Shiruku lifted her head and regarded him with what appeared to be a sleepy look of concern.

Seiya slowly closed his eyes as he caught his breath, trying to shut out the vision of Yaten’s hurt and puzzled face, but it seemed like it was burned into his eyes.

"Chikusho…" he whispered, bringing up a hand to cover his face. He could taste salt on his tongue, combining with bile to create a bitter brine. "What am I doing…? Kakyuu…"

Without thinking about it…without really thinking at all…he stumbled out of bed and fumbled his way through the dark to the door, padded down the hallway to the next bedroom, and slipped inside as silently as he could.

He held his breath as he crept through the darkness towards the bed, almost afraid of what he’d see. What if Yaten couldn’t sleep either?

His breath escaped him in one long gush at the sight that met his eyes. He could feel his heart starting to pound harder as his gaze lingered on the slender curve of a hip before traveling up to the soft swell of a breast, only barely covered by little more than a flimsy silk dressing gown.

Seiya’s throat suddenly felt very dry. His fingers were itching to touch something---anything, some portion of the tantalizing amount of skin that was revealed to him, illuminated in the soft moonlight streaming through the open curtains, and the only thought his mind seemed capable of formulating was, /Help me…please, someone, anyone, help me…/

Swallowing, Seiya slowly approached the bed and fell to his knees, letting his eyes sweep the figure before him once more before he turned his attention to the practical matter of the goose bumps he could see rising on Yaten’s bare arms. He reached for the covers on the bottom of the bed and carefully pulled them up, being cautious not to wake the sleeping senshi. He hesitated only briefly before he tucked the covers ever so gently against Yaten’s shoulders.

"Do you know what you’re doing to me?" Seiya whispered down towards the sleeping idol’s face before he leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss against Yaten’s temple. "It hurts me too, Yaten…"

When Yaten rolled over a few minutes later, struggling upwards from a deep dream because of the strange sensation of being watched, there was no one there…

Yaten sighed and fell back into sleep, back towards dreams of peaceful times back on Kinmokusei.

*****

When Yaten woke up that morning, he felt even more sluggish than usual, and that was saying something considering he put even the term ‘bad morning person’ to shame. He knew it wasn’t just the fact that he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. He also felt oddly…numb, and vaguely guilty, about what had happened with Seiya, and yet he didn’t understand what had happened well enough to feel that he could make any attempt at amending the mistake.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, shivering slightly at the sensation of the cool early morning air hitting his flesh as the sheets slid along his bare skin on his way out of the bed. He honestly couldn’t remember how he had gotten naked, but then, it *was* his preferred sleeping mode, and he quite often woke up that way without remembering when he’d undressed himself. He was fairly sure he often did it in his sleep.

When he stood up and his bare toes met silk, and he glanced down and saw the puddle of discarded dressing gown on the floor, memory returned to him enough that he did remember casting it off. He also remembered that odd sensation he’d felt at one point…the sensation of being watched. What had that been about…?

Oh well…it didn’t matter. He forced himself to shrug off the slight uneasiness the thought brought as he picked up the dressing gown and tossed it towards the laundry basket before making his way towards the door, casually grabbing a terrycloth bathrobe on the way.

As usual at this time of morning---Taiki and Seiya were always up before Yaten---he found the bathroom unoccupied, so he went in to take his morning shower. As he set about quickly washing and rinsing out his hair, he found his mind wandering over and over the events of the day before, beginning with the fight with Seiya and ending with the odd occurrence before Seiya had gone to bed.

He sighed, allowing himself a moment of silence to rest his head against the wall of the shower stall, his eyes sliding closed. Something was wrong with this picture, very wrong. There had always been tension between him and Seiya, and it had gotten worse since they’d come to Earth, but this was getting ridiculous. The ‘tension’ seemed to be getting out of control, and on Seiya’s part at least it seemed to be becoming something else.

By the time Yaten had finished with his shower and blow-drying his hair, he’d managed to work himself into an even greater tangle of confusion and incomprehension. He was exhausted, he was upset…he might even have said he was miserable…but he tried to keep all of that from showing on his face as he made his way quietly downstairs.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," Taiki said, polite and friendly as ever, his lavender gaze warm as he lowered his newspaper and smiled at his band mate.

"Ohayou," Yaten automatically returned, his voice dying into a resounding silence and eyes widening as he saw that the place next to Taiki at the dining table was empty, the place setting untouched.

Yaten’s brow furrowed slightly. Although he wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, he did feel an immediate niggling of concern in the back of his mind. He couldn’t imagine any reason why Seiya would be up later than him other than illness…unless Seiya had been even more upset by whatever had happened between them last night than Yaten had realized, which would be even worse than if Seiya were sick.

"Where’s Seiya?" Yaten asked, trying to keep his voice even and cringing when he heard the way it slid, revealing his concern.

Taiki’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he eyed Yaten from over the rim of his glasses: not enough that anyone else, even Seiya, probably would have noticed, but Yaten saw it and cringed again as he took his seat, trying to force himself to act normally.

"He slept in a little bit this morning," Taiki said after a pause, long enough to make Yaten shift uncomfortably in his seat. "He didn’t sleep much at all last night."

When Yaten looked up, he found Taiki hidden behind his newspaper again, but the quiet, even tone of his voice made one thing perfectly clear to Yaten, whether it intended to or not: whether or not he knew any details, Taiki was perfectly aware that there was a problem between Seiya and Yaten. But what did that mean…? Was he offering to help? Offering Yaten someone to talk to…?

"Is that all right?" Yaten asked finally, after an uncomfortably long silence had passed. "We won’t be late?"

"I’m sure he won’t sleep that long," Taiki said simply, apparently not concerned in the least about whether or not they’d be late, which wasn’t like him at all.

Yaten’s expression became something between a frown and a pout, the latter because by then he was so flustered by the confused mash of emotions he was feeling that he felt about ready to cry.

"You’re awfully blasé this morning," Yaten snapped, hoping his voice didn’t sound as shaky to Taiki as it had seemed to his own hearing. He got quickly to his feet and started for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Taiki called, sounding genuinely concerned, which only angered Yaten further.

"Somebody’s got to check if he’s up yet," Yaten growled as he made his way up the stairs, only to stop halfway up and lift his head when he heard the distinctive sound of Seiya’s voice carry down the stairs.

"Omoide sae nokosenakatta kara kuuhaku no mama kokoro ga…"

Yaten was sure if he could have looked in a mirror at that moment, he would have seen his face frozen in an expression torn between his rash emotions of a moment before and a sudden desire to both laugh and roll his eyes. He’d heard Seiya belt out a lot of things in the shower before, but he couldn’t ever recall Luna Sea, and especially a song with such a…‘sexy’ rhythm…

He heard the sound of Taiki’s paper rustling, and he pictured Taiki folding it.

"Suddenly I’m concerned about the state of his mood," Taiki murmured, a tightness in his voice that indicated he was trying not to laugh, and Yaten knew that the two of them were on entirely the same page for the first time that morning.

Just as Yaten was considering a suitable reply, the bathroom door opened and Seiya sauntered out, still singing. Yaten blinked; he hadn’t even heard the shower turn off. He supposed he’d been too busy trying not to go into hysterics.

"Face to face…hoshi o tobikoete, toki o tobikoete…kissing in the cosmos…" Seiya sang happily as he made his way down the hall towards his bedroom, eyes closed as he danced along to the beat in his head. He probably would have disappeared into his bedroom without ever noticing he had company if Yaten hadn’t let a small chuckle slip past his lips when he saw the neon purple towel tied around Seiya’s waist.

Seiya’s eyes opened, and at first he blinked when he saw Yaten standing on the stairs hiding a small grin behind his hand, but then he broke into a small smile and strode towards his band mate.

"Yo!" Seiya said, smile fading slightly when he came closer. "You okay, squirt? You look like you’ve been crying."

Yaten blinked; he hadn’t even noticed that he’d let any of the tears slip past his defenses, but the fact of their presence was undeniable when Seiya’s thumbs were gently brushing them away.

"Only out of laughter, baka," Yaten responded, lying both to protect himself and as a way not to let go of his change of mood. Seiya seemed in a good enough mood too, and he certainly didn’t want to do anything to upset that balance either. Yaten lifted his eyebrows and smirked. "Have you listened to yourself, Seiya? Have you *looked* at yourself?"

"E?" Seiya said, lifting an eyebrow of his own before glancing down at his outlandish towel. "Ah, this? Borrowed it from Taiki’s stash…I need to do some laundry."

He glanced up and winked, giving Yaten a trademark roguish grin that for some reason, this time, made Yaten blush slightly.

"What the hell were you doing butchering Luna Sea in the shower?" Yaten demanded, still smirking. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Hai, hai," Seiya said, rolling his eyes and grinning. "I’m coming, ‘kaa-san."

Yaten growled out a swear that made Seiya laugh as he disappeared into his room and shut the door, and Yaten turned and made his way back down the stairs.

"Things always look better in the morning," Taiki mused, sipping idly at his coffee, and Yaten glanced at him, surprised by the odd remark, but Taiki had gone back to reading the paper and said nothing more.

*****

END PART SIX