alexcer

A ficlet I wrote for 30 Kisses before I realised I was booted. It's a little bit weird.

( They won't get here on time. )

I know, I know... I haven't been around for a while. New job, new life etc etc. The list of excuses goes on. Yahoo actually deactivated my email account and I lost all the wonderful wonderful mail that you people have sent me through out the years. I mourn.

No Yohji and Schu this time but this was a Bday fic for Roc written last Dec (I think...). Hope you enjoy! It's a Persona fic... not sure that many of you are familiar with the series but I loved this game. :P

( Baofu has a dangerous obsession. )

Disclaimer: I own no one.

My second entry for 30 kisses. This is addictive. :P

( Because you always hurt the ones you love. )

Disclaimer: None of the characters here belong to me.

My first foray into Samurai Champloo fandom. Hooray!

( Mugen takes a risk. )

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.

This is the first of what will hopefully be 30 entries to the 30 Kisses community. Many thanks to Rociel for beta-ing this fic (and making me scream in agony and frustration)!

( Rated R for language. )

Finally pulled part one of this fic out of my hard drive and edited it. To read it, click ( here )

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. I'm taking wild liberties with them.

Male/male smut. For everyone who asked for a sequel to 'Last Night'. ^_^

-----

Only Human

"We are going to freeze to death here," the young cook groused.

Zoro glowered but did not reply. Yeah, it was his fault they were stuck here but the stupid cook didn't HAVE to keep harping on it. It wasn't as if he'd gotten them stranded here on purpose. He could have sworn the ship was around here somewhere. Luffy and the rest must have moved it for some reason.

He heard a metallic chink from behind him, as Sanji once again attempted to light his cigarette and then the inevitable long-suffering sigh.

It wasn't Zoro's fault that the dumb cook had gotten himself knocked out when some wild beast had pounced out from nowhere and swatted him head-long into a tree trunk. Hey, he had been kind enough to finish off the feral looking creature before it had decided to make a meal out of Sanji. After that, he'd simply turned around and dragged Sanji's ass back in the more or less single direction that they'd come from.

It was more rather than less, come to think of it, but how was he supposed to know the island changed its landscape daily and Luffy had happily sailed the Going Merry somewhere else?

"Tch. It's your fault for being so weak."

Sanji bristled visibly. If he were a cat, Zoro imagined he would see a tabby yowling and spitting in anger. The thought of having Sanji pass out so easily on him was a little disturbing if Zoro could only stop secretly gloating over the fact long enough to ponder the implications.

"It's your fault for getting lost!"

"I told you, we're not lost. The landscape of this island changes!"

"You are such a typical male. Women like their men to admit to mistakes. Just say it, you got lost!"

Zoro snorted derisively. He was a typical male? And Sanji was not?

"Right, if I'm the alpha male then you're the helpless damsel in distress who passes out in her saviour's arms."

There was a moment of absolute quiet, punctuated only by the distant howling of the frigid wind outside of the little cave they were in, as the statement sunk in.

Then a stinging pain as Sanji's lighter bounced off his head. Zoro whipped around and brought his swords up just in time to deflect a most likely rib-crushing kick aimed at his side. Sanji's face was flushed with fury and perhaps, just perhaps, he'd gone a little too far with that statement. Sanji had gotten pretty knocked up in their last epic battle saving Nami and Usopp. The cook was so impressively skilled at fighting that Zoro sometimes forgot that he was just another human being.

He'd be damned if he was going to apologise though.

"I will take your head off if you ever say anything that again," Sanji growled through clenched teeth, lowering his foot.

"Hnn. Whatever," Zoro muttered. That was as much of a concession as he was ever going to make.

He threw himself down on the hard floor of the cave he had found while dragging Sanji around. The weather had changed all of a sudden when he'd been wandering and before he had known it, it was snowing. Snowing, for goodness sake, and it had been bright and sunny only moments ago. Damn the Grand Line and its unpredictable climate. It was only through pure chance that he had stumbled (or rather fell) into the cave. It was tiny and way too cold, but at least it kept out most of the wind.

It didn't stop him from shivering though, or wishing he had a nice thick coat to snuggle in.

Behind him, he heard Sanji cursing the cold as he settled down on the damp hard floor as well. For a moment, they were silent, each caught up in their own thoughts. There was a curious faint clacking noise that was registering at threshold of Zoro's hearing. It took him a while to realise that it wasn't his imagination after all and it was actually Sanji's teeth chattering together. Surreptitiously, he shifted closer, the sound of fabric shifting suspiciously loud in the tiny enclosed space. He heard the sound echoed as Sanji began shifting about as well.

"... I hope Nami and Robin are okay," Sanji said suddenly, his low voice drawing Zoro out of the waters of sleep like a line tugging a fish in.

"I'd never forgive myself if they froze to death somewhere on this pathetic little excuse for an island," Sanji continued. Trust the man to be thinking of the welfare of the ladies when he was in danger of freezing himself.

"... They'll be fine," Zoro muttered reticently. "Luffy, Usopp and Chopper are with them. Chopper will make them bundle up." He was, in fact, secretly worried about Luffy himself.

What if their adventurous young captain had gone off exploring by himself while the two of them were out scrounging for food and gotten lost himself? Luffy had been at the ship just after having returned from an exploration of the island when they had left. He had been disappointed by how seemingly ordinary the island had seemed, but who was to say Luffy wouldn't get it in his terribly unpredictable mind to head out in the hope of discovering something new again?

Luffy could take care of himself, Zoro knew, but he couldn't help but worry anyway, even if he crossed his arms impassively and watched Luffy's many battles without batting an eyelid.

The clacking noise was getting louder. In spite of himself, Zoro found himself gravitating towards the one source of warmth in the darkness of the frosty cave.

Apparently, Sanji did too, because as he shifted closer again, he felt the warmth of another's back against his own, even as both men tensed at the contact.

"... C-cold, Zoro?" Sanji was the one who shattered the icy awkward stillness of the moment, his tone mocking.

"... Stop smirking, you idiot. I can hear your teeth chattering," Zoro snapped. He strained backwards, pushing against Sanji's back, daring the other man to turn away from his warmth.

As expected, Sanji pushed right back. Well, that suited Zoro just fine. The jostling that ensued took their minds off uncomfortable topics and unexplored territory since their last encounter in the dark of the night when Nami had gotten hurt.

They lay side by side in the quiet dark for an instant, as the pushing died down, unwilling to pull away from each other, but unwilling to get any closer either. Not for the first time since they had arrived here, Zoro found himself wishing that he had Sanji's black tailored jacket to keep him warm.

It was then that he noticed that Sanji was shaking rather violently against him.

Well, shit.

He wasn't about to sit through the silent or verbal accusations the rest of the crew were sure to throw his way if he let their precious cook freeze.

He turned and slung an arm round Sanji's waist, drawing him close, so that other man was pressed flush against his chest.

"W-What are you doing?!"

Sanji was straining against his grip in an instant, squirming and scrabbling about to throw him off.

"Let go, or I'll break your kneecaps," Zoro heard Sanji hiss in his ear angrily.

And he would do it to in a heartbeat without feeling in the least bit sorry. Zoro was willing to bet on it.

"Want to see your two precious ladies again? Then keep still and let me keep you warm before you freeze to death, you dumb ass," Zoro growled back.

Sanji paused in mid-struggle, his eyes blinking rapidly, looking unconvinced. Zoro dragged him back in his arms again, unwilling to lose the warmth once he'd found it. Sanji was all hard angles and sinewy bone. His wiry body was tough, tense, resisting and had none of the softness of a woman's body but it radiated warmth and Zoro wanted nothing more than that right now.

"Are you cold?" Came the sullen question.

"What?" Zoro retorted, none too friendly, unwilling to admit his weakness.

Sanji began to struggle out of Zoro's grip again. Zoro gritted his teeth and squashed male pride down firmly.

"I'm cold."

I'm cold too, so just stop moving, stop struggling and when the blizzard blows over we'll remember nothing of this so just...

Sanji let his muscles go lax within Zoro's embrace.

His arms came up around Zoro's neck, and he pressed himself against Zoro fiercely, greedily, his change of attitude startling Zoro into momentary speechlessness.

"I'm cold too," Sanji breathed into his ear. "So just hold me now and remember that if you breathe a single word of this to anyone, and I mean anyone at all, I'll break a lot more than just those kneecaps."

"Just a little sensitive, aren't we?" Zoro spat out, resentfully. It wasn't as if he was just raring and raving to go to announce to the entire world that he was hugging Sanji in a cold and dark little cave.

The embarassment would kill him.

He brought his hand under Sanji's knee and jerked it upwards, yanking Sanji's leg across his waist suddenly and rolling Sanji onto his back, just so they were quite literally straining against each other.

A tiny little gasp escaped Sanji's lips and his eyes went wide with shock before narrowing into a hard line once again.

"W-What are you playing at?" Sanji snapped, all anger and spit-fire again. "I'm not some woman you can just roll over on her back and fuck." Only the slightest trembling of the taut line of his body gave Zoro any indication that he was at all fazed.

He wasn't pushing Zoro away. Zoro bent his head down, and gently touched his lips to Sanji's. They were not kissing. Just barely holding back.

He could feel Sanji's pulse quicken against the one palm he had placed flat against Sanji's chest, holding him down. His breath skirted over the edge of Sanji's lips as he spoke.

"Why did you kiss me that night?"

Sanji turned his face away, eyes fallen shut.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about this," he muttered, his voice low and reluctant and his throat. His arms were still tightly wound around Zoro's neck.

"You decided. I didn't." Zoro brought his head down to Sanji's skin, blowing down softly on it as he began to kiss and lick a trail to Sanji's jaw.

"Z-Zoro." Sanji's teeth weren't chattering, it was his voice that was trembling now. Zoro paused and drew back slightly to regard him.Sanji's face was flushed, but Zoro had no inkling if it was with embarrassment, anger, need or a mix of all three. His expression certainly was a warring conflict between the emotions.

"Zoro," Sanji said again, and this time, his voice was steady despite the erratic beat of his heart that Zoro could feel through the surface of his palm pressed against the blue starched fabric of Sanji's shirt.

Sanji opened his eyes. They were cold, an intense, electrifying blue that Zoro could imagine himself drowning in forever and ever. The mesh of warring emotions had simply melted off his face in an instant, to be replaced by a simple frown of annoyance.

"... If you'd wanted to kiss me, you could have just asked," Sanji snapped irritably as he jerked Zoro forward, and their teeths clacked together as their mouths meshed together, but Zoro didn't care, he was tasting those lips again, teasing and exploring Sanji's mouth with his tongue like he hadn't before, the taste of cigarettes sharp in his nostrils and he really didn't care anymore if they just froze to death like that, because he was kissing Sanji, the only man besides Mihawk who he had ever felt a true rivalry with, the person he had spent weeks dreaming about after their first kiss and... and...

And Zoro didn't ever want to stop, so it was Sanji who drew back first and buried his face into the crook of Zoro's neck and they lay like that for a little while, breathing heavily and saying nothing to each other because maybe nothing needed to be said anyway, and it was just implicit in the hungry kiss that none of this would have happened once they were back on the ship and they would just go back to hating each other the way they always had.

"Sanji."

Sanji shifted against Zoro, but made no reply.

"... Share the jacket." The semi-request was made in a grudging, reluctant voice.

"... Like hell I will."

The End.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Taking wild liberties with characters.

Author's Notes: Been away from writing for a while, so this is just a little exercise for me to get back into the mood so that I can finish the many epics that I stupidly started. >_<

------

The Argument


Yohji tapped his cigarette on the edge of the ash tray and waited.

The door swung open with the barest creak.

He leaned back in his seat and lifted the drink to his lips.

Approaching footsteps tapped out a steady beat on the floorboards.

He took a small sip from the crystalline glass, savouring the exquisite taste of bittersweet liquid that trickled down his throat like a sinful drug.

A shadow fell across him, and the couch sank with the weight of another person. An empty silence stretched out in the enclosed space.

Yohji raised the glass to his lips again.

The movement was arrested, when his wrist was captured in the strong grip of the other.

"Schwarz slut."

"Weiss whore."

He reeked of beer and cigarettes, much the same way Yohji knew he himself did.

He let the other force him down, released the glass that smashed brutally to scattered fragments on the ground, ignored the dark spill of liquid across the floor.

He exposed his neck to hungry kisses and allowed the other to steal the breath from his lips. His fingers tangled in the vivid tresses of the other's hair.

The world around them faded into oblivion as the barriers between them fell away.

Yohji clutched the warm body to himself and surrendered.

"I missed you." His voice was scratchy and rough, his throat sore from all the earlier screaming.

The blank expression on his lover's face faltered. A flicker of emotion animated his pale features, like a candle flaring to life once, then dying again.

Don't leave me again.

If the other man had heard anything, he didn't show it.

But he was here.

And for Yohji, that was good enough.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Naruto

Again with the random character generator... *hangs head in shame*

-----

"Asuma."

"Asuma."

Genma sighed.

"I know you're in there, Asuma. Playing dumb isn't going to help matters."

A stubborn silence. Genma pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know Kurenai has banned you from smoking in the premises of the school and everything but..."

Genma slammed his fist against the bright pink door that was Kakashi's idea of a horrible joke.

"Will you get out of there now?! Some of us actually need to use the toilet for its intended purposes!"

His only response was a sedate plume of grey smoke wafting out from under the door. Genma growled, kicked the door and stomped off in the direction of the ladies.

If Kurenai had anything to say about it, he would damn well stuff her in the cubicle with Asuma until she asphyxiated.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Naruto

Err... This is what happens when you play too much with a random character generator.

---

Kiba had always thought Chouji was weak.

Everything about the boy had suggested it.

His lack of control over his appetite. The way he gave up so easily. His rapid defeat at the hands of Jiroubou. His inability to defend himself against sharp jibes. The shuttered uneasy look of dejection whenever anyone compared him to Shikamaru. The way he let Ino boss him around. Even the soft folds of his skin at the base of his neck.

Chouji was weak and that really was all that Kiba had ever known about him.

Only he wasn't.

He wasn't, and now Kiba couldn't stop thinking about how wrong he had been. How wrong they had all been.

Akamaru whined softly in his arms as the pallbearers lowered the black solid coffin into the darkness of the earth.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Naruto

I blame OMGNarutoRP for this one...

---

Hayate coughs and the blood on his hands is a dark, ugly stain.

He can't stop staring at that blackish spot. Can't stop the sinking feeling of free falling into a neverending pit of fear.

It is not the first time this has happened. He knows it will not be the last either.

A shadow falls over him where he is half-crouched on the floor.

He looks up, surprised, as warm hands enfold his own and the blood is slowly carefully wiped off with a dark green fabric.

Gai smiles at him, and pushes back the sleeve that has now absorbed his blood. His smile is the same as always, bright and full of the life that is ebbing away slowly from Hayate.

Today though, Hayate thinks Gai's eyes are a little sad.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: One Piece

---------

Waves lapped gently against the hull of Going Merry. Aboard, Zoro leant back against the railings of the ship and stared up into the starless dark of the sky.

Soft trashing sounds and whimpers came from the cabin near him, but he pretended not to hear, blotting the noises from his mind.

Everyone had nightmares.

He didn't want to go in and wake her up. It seemed like an intrusion, a violation of sorts.

So he left her with her private nightmares and continued staring up blankly into the dark abyss above him.

He didn't want to think about what had nearly happened today. The life that had nearly slipped through his fingers. That body lying still and motionless on the wooden planks of the ship. The pale face and those lifeless lips...

Zoro scowled darkly at the shadowed figure lounging against the rail beside him.

"Stop staring at me," he snapped, finally.

Sanji simply looked at him, his face a careful blank mask.

"Spit it out or go away," Zoro growled.

Sanji blinked. After a moment, he cast his eyes down to the deck.

"What was it like?" He asked finally, his voice sounding oddly reticient.

What was what like? What was it like to see that your friend had stopped breathing?
What was it like to dive into the cold icy waters of the sea only to realise you didn't know where she was? What was it like to see blood flowing freely from the open wound in her side? What what?

"What was it like to what?" Zoro demanded, exasperation creeping into his voice. Already, he was sick of the conversation.

Sanji gestured vaguely.

"What was it like to kiss Nami?"

Zoro stared.

"You-" He begun in disbelief, then stopped and shook his head. "That wasn't a kiss, you moron. That was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

Sanji shrugged. It was calculated to be careless, but Zoro could see the taut tight line of his body.

"I can't beli- you're jealous?"

Sanji frowned unhappily.

"You can't be serious," Zoro growled.

"I... didn't even see her go overboard. If you hadn't been watching out for her, she might have been-" His voice broke off as if the thought was too much for him to bear.

The unspoken words were left suspended in the awkward silence of the space that stretched out before them. Zoro shifted uneasily, taking care not to face Sanji directly.

"I promised, Zoro, I promised that I would keep her safe."

Sanji's voice was filled with a bitter self-loathing that Zoro had never heard from him before. There was a message in there somewhere, but Zoro couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You. You're always there. Protecting her, taking care of her. Keeping her safe. The two of you... you're good together."

Was this what it all boiled down to? Misplaced feelings of guilt and jealousy? Zoro didn't quite know what to say to that.

"We're just friends. The woman is a blood sucking, money grubbing leech. I'm not attracted to her. At all," he finally stated simply, wishing the cook would just leave. What did Sanji want him to do? Swear never to step foot near their navigator again?

"Look, she's alright now. And I can assure you that two of us will never ever become a couple. Happy?" Zoro asked somewhat sarcastically. His patience was wearing thin and he was not in the mood to play mind games with the annoying cook.

"You don't get it, do you?" Sanji's features tightened with anger.

Zoro opened his mouth to make an angry retort, but just at that moment, the ship lurched.

The sharp angles of Sanji's body dug painfully against him, as they fell onto the deck in a tangle of limbs. Automatically, Zoro cradled the slender body in his arms protectively. It was really more instinct than anything else, which found him clutching Sanji to himself as the other sprawled over him, his eyes wide with shock.

Below them, came a shouted apology from Usopp, but neither of them paid any heed.

The fall had brought them dangerously close to each other. Sanji's cheeks were flushed and his eyes seemed almost glazed over. It was unsettling the way Sanji was staring at him. More unsettling though was the way his body seemed to be reacting to Sanji's presence. Zoro felt that he should do something, push Sanji away, yell at him or something, but he couldn't seem to move to break the spell.

Then Sanji bent down and pressed his lips against Zoro's.

It wasn't a passionate kiss or even a possessive one. Just gentle chaste pressure of one mouth against the other.

Zoro froze.

It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds before Sanji pulled back. Zoro blinked at him stupidly. His mind was still vacationing somewhere in the lower regions of his body.

Sanji had brought his hand to his mouth and there was a look of absolute horror etched upon his face. Zoro opened his mouth to say something potentially stupid. What it was he didn't quite know. He never got a chance to get it out of his mouth anyway.

In one fluid movement, Sanji was on his feet and darting away.

"No, wait!" Zoro reached out and just managed to snag the edge of Sanji's jacket, but the blonde was too quick for him and yanked free.

"Sorry," Sanji murmured and fled.

Zoro sat there in the dark for a long time after that, his fingers to his lips, thinking.

Sanji had kissed him.

Sanji had kissed him, Zoro.

The world was going to end. There was no other explanation for it.

There was just no way of bending his mind around that. No way too, to stop the thousand and one butterflies fluttering in his stomach and the single thought that dominated his mind.

He wanted Sanji to kiss him again.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
------

Dirty grey smoke drifting lazily to the cracked ceiling of the tiny musty room.

Cobwebs in the corner, a sickly yellow light from a dusty lamp beside the bed.

Clothes strewn in every direction, bodies lying side by side in the empty quiet.

A gentle tap on the cylinder, a scattering of ashes among the creased rumpled sheets.

Fingers stroking across the smooth curve of a cheek.

"It's a nasty habit."

An observation, a statement. Dispassionate, cold.

A pointed look, a darkly amused murmur.

"It's one of many."

The intermingling of red and gold.

A HP fic this time. Written at the height of my grieving over the fifth book. Only released now cos Ru has finally finished reading the book...


*MAJOR SPOILERS*

----------

Breathe. Dodge. Pull back your arm and let loose, a spell ripping forth your lips before you even realise it.

You're moving, flinging one spell after another at your opponent.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A green light flashes overhead as you dive down, your reflexes borne of animal instinct keeping you alive.

All around you, the world is going to hell.

Jets of green and red surround you. Your fellow members of the Order are fighting as hard as you are, each of them determined to protect the boy who has come to mean so much to the world. The boy who has become a symbol of resistance, of allegiance. A symbol worth fighting for, a symbol worth dying for.

You hear the blood rushing through your veins, the pounding of your heart. It's part exertion, part fear. But no, not fear for yourself. Rather -

Your eyes dart to the side for an instant.

A flash of red streaks by you, narrowly missing the man fighting just a few feet away from you. His raven black hair fans out behind him as he tosses his hair imperiously. He's laughing, a sound both sharp and mocking. His eyes are feverishly bright, blazing wildly in his handsome face.

With a start, you realise that this... this is the first time since your reunion that you've seen him so alive.

Not even when he's fucking you wildly into sweet oblivion have you ever seen him like this.

He used to be full of life, like a candle burning too brightly, one that was doomed to burn itself out in a flash.

You take all this in in an instant. Your eyes snap back to the Death Eater you are dueling with and you fling another spell.

You begged him to stay earlier, but you knew even then that it was no use.

Nothing in the world could have stopped him from rushing to the aid of his grandson. Not Azkaban with all its Dementors. Not even you.

He would do anything for Harry.

You had a bad feeling about the whole thing then, and the feeling has only gotten worse ever since you burst in with the others to rescue his godson. Call it sixth sense, animal instincts or whatever, something bad will happen.

But Sirius Black is not a man meant to be caged, not even by you, although he claims he loves you. You have your doubts.

Twelve years have been a long time. The time alone, bereft of your friends, with nothing but the death of James, Peter, Lily and his betrayal to haunt you has turned you bitter, making you a cynic.

The love you thought lost forever has returned, but he, like you, had changed. Still, you let yourself fall for his sweet whispers, allowed him to touch you in a way no one had in twelve years.

You told yourself that he was lonely, that he had suffered, that he needed the physical contact that he had been denied for so many years. You convinced yourself that you were over him, that you would not make the same mistake twice. But deep in the night, when the only sounds penetrating the heavy silence were your moans as you were entwined in each other's arms, you looked into his eyes as his soft long hair cascaded down all around you and you knew.

You could never let him go again.

You cry out another spell, one that brings your opponent down.

And then -

Your gut twists sickly, as dread captures your heart in its cold clasp. You don't even wait to see if your opponent is stunned, to make sure he doesn't get up again and finish you off when your back is turned.

There is no time.

"SIRIUS!"

You dash over, even as the red light is streaming towards him with deadly accuracy. His laughter is ringing in your ears.

He doesn't even have time to scream. He's falling.

You know you will bring this image with you to your grave.

A voice in your head is saying:

No. Not Sirius. Not him. Not again.

He disappears through the veil.

And just like that, he's gone.

Like James, like Lily and even Peter. Like all the other friends you've lost over the years.

He's gone and now you're the only one left to pick up the pieces as you stare into Harry's haunted ashen face.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairing: Schuldig/Yohji
Warning: M/M love. Don't read this if you can't handle the idea of men falling in love.

----

"I don't love you, you know," Yohji remarked thoughtfully. It was the sixth time they had woken up in bed together.

"It's alright," Schuldig said amiably.

The German took a long drag on the cigarette they'd been sharing and exhaled slowly. They were close enough so that they could share in the heat of each other's flushed skin without any body contact. Together, they watched the white wists of smoke drift lazily to the ceiling.

----

"I... *cough* don't love you... you know?" came the weak faltering voice from the unruly blonde head pillowed against his shoulder.

Schuldig glanced out towards the waves lapping gently at the sand, ignoring the throbbing pain at his throat. There was no sign of the fury that had brought the building down around them. He thought he could see his team mates beckoning to him along the distant shoreline.

"I know," he said simply and patted Yohji's back as the blonde coughed some more before passing out.

----

"I. Don't. Love. You," he declared vehemently, glaring at Schuldig, as he swayed precariously on the stool at the bar.

Schuldig noted mentally the number of glasses Yohji had drained.

"It's okay," he said calmly, steadying the other man with one hand. Yohji blinked, then beamed idiotically, in the true fashion of drunkards.

Schuldig thought it was kind of cute.

----

"I don't love you. Really." Yohji muttered miserably, buried under the blankets heaped above him.

"Don't worry about it," Schuldig said cheerfully, before sticking the thermometer in Yohji's mouth and placing a cool towel on his burning forehead.

----

"I don't love you... do I?" He asked desperately, clinging tightly on to Schuldig after having barged through the door.

Schuldig let drop the luggage from his hands. Slowly, his arms came around Yohji in the mostly emptied apartment. The faint scent of cigarette smoke and shampoo was caught on the soft golden strands.

"Of course you don't," Schuldig murmured reassuringly, as he drew back to look into frantic green eyes.

He smiled softly.

"You only need me."

With that, he leant forward and kissed Yohji gently.

Someday in the very distant future, this will be part of a full length fic. For now, it is what it is.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Squall/Irvine
Warning: M/M love. Don't read this if you can't handle the idea of men falling in love

---------

"Squall!" Irvine hissed.

Squall arched an eloquent eyebrow.

"What are we doing?" Irvine demanded.

"Hiding," Squall replied, dead-panning.

"Well... yes." Irvine conceded. "But what eludes me is the why. So why are we hiding and why in the broom cupboard?"

The corners of Squall's lips curved in what could have passed as a smile for him.

"We are hiding because I have just cancelled Zell's leave. They're short-handed over in Trabia and Selphie needed help. All the rest of us are tied up with teaching duties."

Irvine frowned. "Alright... You're hiding because Zell's pissed off with you. What am I doing here?"

Squall gave him one of his rare smiles, the one that he'd only ever seen him bestow upon Rinoa.

"You're here..." he murmured, studying Irvine intently in a way that made Irvine's blood rush to his face, "... because."

He leant over without warning and captured Irvine's lips with his own.

"... Oh," said Irvine after several breathless moments of being thoroughly kissed.

Squall nodded solemnly. "Exactly."

He leant in again, and Irvine gladly surrendered.

Someday in the very distant future, this will be part of a full length fic. For now, it is what it is.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Pairing: Squall/Irvine
Warning: M/M love. Don't read this if you can't handle the idea of men falling in love.

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"This is ridiculous!" Irvine declared vehemently, throwing his pencil down on the table. "I fought against Ultimecia's minions countless times, saved the world from domination by some crazy witch, prevented time from compressing itself and SURVIVED. Why then, am I still required to take the Seed exam when everyone knows I'm just as qualified as the next Seed?"

All around him, students in the library were making shushing noises or giving him the evil eye. Ignoring them all, he glared at Squall, as if daring him to contradict what he had just said. Despite the impassive look on Squall's face, Irvine had the sneaking suspicion that Squall Leonheart was more than just a little amused at his indignance.

"Garden rules. You know what they're like. And it's Sorceress, not witch."

"I still don't see why I have to take this stupid exam." Irvine grumbled petulantly.

The librarian looked like she might come over soon, legendary saviours of the world or not. Irvine scowled fiercely in her direction, for once, dropping all gentlemanly charm. He was not in a good mood. Selphie had just recently called it quits with him and it had just been brought to his attention that even though he had contributed greatly towards the Sorceress War, he would still have to sit for the Seed exams if he wanted full Seed privileges.

"Look on the bright side, Seifer has to take the exam too." Squall offered lightly.

As if on cue, Seifer walked, his arms crammed full of notes and other assorted books, followed closely by his posse. He spotted them and gave them a curt nod but didn't come over, heading instead in the opposite direction.

Irvine noted the nasty looks Seifer was receiving as he stalked past the tables filled with students. As he passed, tables broke into terse whispers and angry muttering. Seifer ignored them all. The memory of whose side Seifer had taken when the world had been under the threat of the Sorceresses was still fresh in the minds of most people and Irvine knew many of them had been furious that Seifer had been given a second chance by the Garden. He'd gotten off with nothing more than a light warning and it still rankled with many of the Garden's students.

Irvine himself couldn't find it in him to hate Seifer. He hadn't really known Seifer as the rest had known him, being in a different Garden altogether. He'd heard of his arrogance, the bully in him and his total disregard for rules but whenever he thought about the man, he remembered a young boy, not much older than him, starved for attention just like the rest of them, lost in a story about a knight he'd read for weeks, convinced that the world would only love him when he became that knight.

Squall followed his gaze, an inscrutable look on his face. Irvine knew a bit about their rivalry from the others and his own memories of two boys constantly fighting to best each other in everything.

Sometimes, it was hard to be the only one with his memories intact.

"Anyway," he continued, picking up where he left off. "I just don't get it, why..."

Squall cut into what promised to be a long tirade quickly.

"Do you want my help or not?"

Irvine glowered, then snatched up the book he had previously abandoned. Soon, both of them were absorbed in the book as Squall patiently explained some stuff that Irvine hadn't quite caught during classes. They reached for the pencil at the same time, Irvine's fingers closing over the instrument the exact moment Squall's closed over his.

The jolt that raced through his hand was electric.

Irvine's head jerked up, his startled green eyes meeting Squall's own blue eyes. The warmth he saw in them made his insides quiver.

"Sorry."

Squall's fingers lingered over his and almost absent-mindedly, his thumb starting sliding over Irvine's hand in slow concentric circles.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Suikoden III
Warning: M/M love. Don't read this if you can't handle the idea of men falling in love.

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You stare after her silently, the longing and desire you feel all too evident in your eyes.

You want to go to her. To stay with her, protect her, be her source of support if necessary. Never mind that she will not need you, for she is a woman like no other.

In a way, I can understand how you feel.

She is beautiful, is she not? SWift and fearless in battle, cutting a swath of destruction through our enemies. The last thing her enemies see is a beautiful goddess of war rushing towards them. Sometimes I wonder... were we in their place, would we die with a smile on our faces?

I suspect the answer would be yes.

Fools. The whole lot of us.

She is one of us, a Zexen knight, devoted to protecting her people. As we are. Why then is there a distance between us and her? Is it because she has set herself away from us? Or is it us who have placed her on a pedestral so tall we cannot reach? I do not know. What I do know, is that her radiance blinds us all.

You want her. I know you do.

Lie to yourself and the rest all you want, but I know you too well. Your emotions reveal themselves all too clearly like that of pages of a book, fluttering in the wind, whenever you gaze upon her fair Zexen beauty.

Hell, I don't need to be your best friend to be able to read you. Just ask any random soldier in the castle.

Fortunately for us both, I am not the same open book that you are.

I watch you quietly, in much the same way, your gaze lingers upon her receding outline. My face is impassive, I know, and I cling to that defense, that mask which hides all that I feel for you away.

Do you know I lie awake at night imagining that you are tossing and turning in bed because your thoughts are on me instead of her?

The truth would shock you I am sure.

She has left with that ruffian of a man who calls himself, "Nash" to find her father.

Perhaps she will not return.

You bite your lip as a tiny frown creases your forehead.

Fear not old friend. She will come back to us. This place is her homeland and her devotion to her people is too strong to be replaced by her search for her father. Only pray you stay alive long enough to see her lovely face again.

You turn to me, your expression stormy as your worries wrestle against each other to gain control of your features. Together, we head back down the stairs leading to our rooms.

Do you have any idea that your best friend is in love with you?

I think not.

God, you're so near to me now, and yet I can't have you. I can't do anything.

It's killing me.

Our fingertips brush and you jerk back, startled at the contact. Embarrassed, you smile awkwardly at me and unconsciously run a hand through those blonde locks of yours. If this is your reaction when we touch, what would it be like if we kissed?

I figure it'll be something along the lines of, "Run blade through ex-best friend".

There was once when we had a chance, when I was sure we had a connection, a certain chemistry between us. But then she came along, and slowly but surely, she became the center of your world. Before her, your friendship with me was all that mattered to you. But then... you turned your wistful eyes upon her, and looked at her with such awe and love in your eyes and I knew it was all over for us. It was finished before it had even been started.

Yet, I cannot hate her.

For I am enthralled by her, drawn to her shamelessly like a moth to a flame.

I am torn between the two of you. Yet, I cannot have either of you.

It is cruel and it is unfair and it kills me, but this is the way things have been and they way they will always be.

The moonlight seeps into your hair from the open window, dyeing in a silvery blonde. It reminds me of her now. Our Goddess. Our Silver Maiden.

I would lay down my life at her feet in a second. So would you.

But she will not have us both.

Why then can we not have each other at least?

You stop at your door and I am shaken out of my forbidden thoughts.

"Good night, Percival."

You hesitate.

In that moment, a horrifying self-destructive urge takes ahold of me.

I want... I want to push you against the wall and pound into you until you cry my name.

I want... I want to taste your sweet lips and run my fingers through your blonde locks

I want... I want to scream 'I love you' over and over and over again.

I want... you.

And then-

The moment passes and the urge leaves me as suddenly as it arrived.

I force a tired smile out.

"Good night, Borus."

For Rurouni who thinks I have forgotten about her B'day fic.

Disclaimer: No money being made out of this. Characters have been borrowed.
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairing: Schuldig/Yohji
Warning: M/M love. Don't read this if you can't handle the idea of men falling in love.

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Do you know I still think about you all the time?

I bet you don't. I'm sure you thought that I'd just put our past behind us the minute you walked out the door without so much as a backwards glance.

I thought I could. After all we were only together for those few short months. And I tried.

But I couldn't.

You know how they say that true love only comes your way once in a lifetime?

It came my way twice. And both times I lost it. Let it slip through my outstretched fingers to scatter like so much dust in the wind.

Would you have stayed that day if I had begged you to?

I doubt you would have.

But it still bothers me sometimes. That I didn't at least try. Maybe in my heart, I knew that we weren't meant to last. Far better for me to let go then and be content with the few bittersweet memories we shared together then to have those few moments forever marred by long years spent bickering and sniping at each other before an eventual ugly break up.

We were no fairy tale couple, but I really did love you.

Maybe it was just sex to you. But for me, it was love, plain and simple.

I don't know what it was about you that drove me crazy. Heaven knows, you drove Ran crazy in another totally different way, self-confident, arrogant bastard that you were.

I wanted to hate you for walking out on me. And I tried.

But I couldn't.

Instead, I ended up hating myself for letting you walk away without a word. That day, I sat there, smoking my damn cigarette with my back turned until I heard the door click shut with absolute finality. Then I threw the ash tray across the room, shattering it into a tiny thousand fragments. A tiny thousand fragments that could never again be put together, never again be replaced.

Just like the time we spent together.

New people walk in and out of my life all the time. None of them has ever replaced you, your memory. 

Where are you now?

I've heard rumours that you'd been spotted in Tokyo recently. You're a marked man now, aren't you? You turned on your former masters. Revenge is on their agenda. You got out of that crazy mess in one piece though. You guys became a legend that night. No one even knows what the hell went on down there. The only news on the streets the next day was that you all had taken out fifty Talents and escaped from Estet's clutches. Incredible feat that. I'll admit it to you in all honesty, Weiss would have gone down in seconds. We never could hold a candle to you guys for all our bravado.

I miss you, Schu. I really really do.
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For some reason, the crumpled scrap of paper lying forlornly on the floor near the bin caught his attention.

He stepped closer, peering down at it.

Blue inked jottings on a white sheet.

What was that...?

... Schu.

Right down on paper. In the man's room.

A small date scribbled at the end of the page told him that the letter had only been written a few days back.

He smoothed out the letter, taking a quick cursory look at it.

Emerald eyes widened beneath red glasses.

He hastily stuffed the paper into the pocket of his jacket and eyed the door suspiciously. He knew there wasn't a soul in the house now, but too many days of hiding had made him paranoid.

Eventually, he began moving through the room, picking up objects here and there and then placing them back down again- a framed photograph of the occupant of the room and his friends, a half-empty packet of cigarettes, a pen here and a book there...

Everything in the room was a representation of the occupant of the room. They were testaments to his existence, his lifestyle, his personality.

He hadn't changed much in five years. A long time to some, a short time to others.

The man need never know of his presence.

He shut the door behind him when he left.