damned_institute | Nightshift 43: M11-20 Hallway

The overabundance of hair it is not "overabundant" that came with being in Yue's form was something Yukito was still getting used to, and he was almost finished braiding it when the rather loud knock broke the quiet in the room. He pushed to his feet again, frowning slightly at how worried Touya sounded, and went to open the door.

"Touya?" he asked, tying off the end of the braid and pushing it behind his back again. "What's wrong?"

Touya's eyes flicked between the braid and the expression on Yue's face. Alright, that was Yuki--he thought. Though it could switch at any moment. It wasn't something he'd want to talk about with another person in the room, but it was a little inevitable right now. But what if Yue thought he was a stalker too...?

"Can... can I come in? For a moment? Before we get Sakura?" He really hoped Yukito wasn't getting the wrong idea. Like the 'Now That We're Officially Together, I'm Going to Jump You In Your Room' wrong idea. "I need to talk to you." Talk. Just talk. Not take more creepy pictures of you.

"Of course." Yukito stepped back again, pulling the door wider with a look of clear concern. What could possibly have happened to -- oh.

He'd been fortunate enough to not get a visitor this week, but maybe Touya hadn't been quite so lucky. There hadn't been much else going on today that could've upset him, not that Yukito could think of, so that seemed most likely.

"Did...someone visit you today?" Hopefully not his father. And had someone come to see Sakura, too? Was she also going to be upset?

"Uh, yeah," Touya replied, entering the room. He was halfway to sitting on the bed, when he straightened up suddenly. No, he couldn't give Yukito the wrong idea, especially not with the subject he was about to breach.

"Nakuru came to visit me today," Touya said, crossing his arms and looking off at the wall. "She said I was her boyfriend. I tried, I really tried to let her down gently, but then she started saying all this stuff... and..."

He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "And she brought up those pictures I found in the box. My box. The ones that looked like they'd been taken when you weren't looking. She told me that I have a... 'weird' relationship to you."

At this point, all Touya wanted to do was hold Yukito and reaffirm that he'd never do anything like that, and that his affection was not obsession and never would be. But he restrained himself--he didn't want to scare him.

"Yuki... I care about you more than anything else--you have to tell me if I actually took those photos. If you think I would do something like... stalk you."

It was clear that Touya was upset by the visitor, and the little frown Yukito wore only grew deeper with worry. At the name of the visitor, though, he stiffened, eyes narrowing into an expression more befitting his other half. Indeed, it sounded much more like Yue as he spoke, as well.

"Nakuru?" he echoed, folding his arms across his chest. He had seen the photos of her and Touya, but had subsequently dismissed her from his thoughts as unimportant. Of course she had to return in person. "Of course she would -- but, ah, you'd never met her other form, had you."

He glanced away, frowning slightly as he considered, then finally shook his head. "I'd not trust a word she said in reality, much less any semblance of her that this place could conjure up. Akizuki Nakuru - or rather, her true self, Ruby Moon, was quite upset when you chose to give to Yukito what she wanted instead."

'True self'? 'Other form'? Crap, he didn't mean that...

"So she's like you," Touya said, sounding even more miserable. "She's a guardian. And obviously a guardian for one of Sakura's enemies--she was gushing all over the place about how well she and Sakura got along, and how terrible you were to her. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe that Yuki had done something like try to hit her."

He thought back over the conversation briefly. "She also said that you accused her of not wanting Yukito to get better. So, this thing that I gave Yukito instead of her... it was my power?"

God he hoped it was. Because the only other thing he could think of was his affection and attentions, and he didn't even want to think about the catfight that might have ensued should it get out in Tomoeda that Yukito and Touya were going out.

One of Sakura's enemies? At the time Touya was from, certainly Eriol was acting the antagonist, though not from any malicious intent. Yue didn't entirely believe the same of Ruby Moon, of course, given her own temperament, but still - the answer was far more complicated than Yue wanted to give details on.

He remained silent for a moment, then sighed faintly and agreed, "Something like that. Yukito never did a thing to her. She and I, however...have had an encounter." And the less detail in that, the better. Even speaking of the guardian who'd replaced him was profoundly discomfiting.

"And yes. It was." His gaze flicked back to Touya again. "Presumably because we share the same aspect, even if her master was able to maintain her. She did become somewhat less, ah, clingy after you'd gifted it to us."

"Well she's still clingy," Touya said, sighing. "And she thinks I'm stalking Yukito. Those pictures are proof. And when I told her that... I cared about Yukito she became upset."

He'd really been a jerk, now that he thought about it. Brainwashed or no, she still had feelings. If he had come to Yukito, so full of emotion and affection, and Yuki had said those types of hurtful things, Touya wouldn't have been able to stand it. And she was no doubt hurt very much...

"And, no offense, but whatever she is... was... the problem is that she's turned my head inside out. I know I can't trust what she says, but..."

He backed up and sat down on the dresser, contemplating something. The next moment, he was standing. "Nevermind, let's just get Sakura." He couldn't talk about this in front of Yue, and he couldn't demand to talk to Yuki. He was stuck for now.

Perhaps another time Yukito would have simply allowed them to move on without comment, accepting that it truly was nothing. But Touya had sounded so distressed earlier, and the sentence that he'd let trail off into nothing was clearly leading into something - and he well remembered his own reaction to the visitors he'd received the week before.

Yukito stepped forward, feeling Yue settle into an icy knot of tension in the back of his mind, and reached out to rest a hand lightly on Touya's arm. "But what, Touya?" he asked, gently. "Something is still wrong. What is it?"

Touya looked down at the hand on his arm. God this switching thing was going to take some getting used to. First Yue was going on about Nakuru being a guardian as well and the problems this posed, and now Yuki was back and concerned for the point Touya had actually wanted to talk about.

"...those pictures. In the box. She said my relationship with you was... weird. Obsessive." Touya sat back down, leaving enough room for Yuki if he wanted to sit too. Was that too weird?

"I mean, what if I did take those? In the future? When I wasn't confident enough to... tell you what I felt. And I have like... stalker-tendencies buried in me. What if I'm already obsessed?"

There, it was out. That was all he could do was let it out there.

"Touya..." Yukito lowered himself to sit beside Touya with a faint wince (that bite on his leg really did hurt far more than it should) and shook his head a little. "That's what the visitors do, they tell you lies with just a hint of truth, just enough to make you doubt yourself."

He certainly knew about that, after last week. It was almost fortunate that Touya and Sakura had appeared here for real after their "visit," else he might still be harboring those doubts.

"I don't believe that about you," he continued, reaching over to rest his hand on Touya's. "I don't care what she said, I don't think it's possible."

Touya gave a short laugh, looking down at his and Yuki's hands. "It's not possible for me to care too much? I don't know about that, I... already feel like I'm standing too close. Like I'm going to scare you if I approach too quickly."

He put his hand over Yuki's and looked over at his friend. "You know how everyone at school is with me. They're either weirded out by me, or they think I'm the greatest thing since instant curry--but they don't know anything about me. You do. You're... you're my only friend, and I don't want to lose you from pushing too hard."

Now that was a little startling to hear - Touya was afraid of scaring him away? Yukito blinked once, then smiled gently and shook his head. "And you know everything about me, too," he replied, leaning in a little closer as though proximity would emphasize the sincerity of his words. "Both of me."

He paused, then lowered his eyes almost shyly. "After I found out the truth, about...about myself, and Yue-san, you told me not to worry about the false memories, because all the ones since I'd met you were real." His hand tightened slightly on Touya's for a moment before he continued, "In a way, Touya, you're the most real thing there is in this world, to me. And I'd never want to change that. Ever."

Even if he looked like Yue right now, Touya could keenly feel how close Yuki was to him. Part of him cautioned the other part to be slow and that showing the slightest sign of obsession would frighten Yukito away. And the part that wouldn't heed the warning told Touya that he was just as much the center of Yukito's universe as Yukito was his. They were both wound together in their own world.

"Sounds like something I'd say--especially if you were doubting yourself," Touya said, gently brushing a finger under Yukito's chin to encourage him to look up again. "But reality can be a dark, terrifying thing, and I don't want to scare you. I just want what you want, Yuki--I don't want to become something you're afraid of, and afraid to get rid of.

"So if I ever seem that way, you have to tell me. Okay?"

"I promise." It was an easy enough promise to give, when Yukito was quite certain he never would have to say anything of the sort, no matter what. He knew Touya likely better than anyone else, and simply couldn't imagine him ever giving a reason to be scared.

At the gentle prompt he lifted his eyes to Touya's again, as fond amusement quirked the corners of his mouth upwards. "All I want is for you to be happy, Touya. For both of us to be happy. Together."

Touya nodded, feeling as though a weight had been partially lifted off of him. He wasn't completely reassured (mostly because Yuki could be so accommodating sometimes, and polite to a fault), but it was good enough for now. The idea that he wasn't stalking Yuki for pictures was comforting.

At the same time, though, he realized that Yukito was very close to him. At least, their faces were close. It wasn't as though he'd never kissed anyone before and didn't know when the right moment was--this was probably classified as one--but they weren't exactly... alone. Yue was still listening, no doubt. On top of that, he'd never really kissed Yuki before. He didn't know when it wasn't appropriate, or if he liked that sort of thing.

So he went for the sort of middle-school type approach, to test the waters. "We're in that one together, then," he said. He leaned down to kiss Yuki's cheek softly.

Yukito had realized only a moment after Touya just how close they were sitting, and for an instant it seemed that his heart skipped a beat before pounding faster. It would be so easy to...and after their conversation the day before...but there was one small catch - and that would be the one whose body he was currently inhabiting.

Over the last week Yukito had become accustomed to being in Yue's form, but had still always remained acutely aware of the fact. It was rather difficult to forget, after all, when the guardian was permanently there with him, even if he wasn't paying complete attention all the time. But the fact remained that, no matter what he did, he'd have an audience...and felt somewhat awkward about doing anything without Yue's consent.

It wasn't difficult for Yue to notice Yukito's train of thought, though, especially considering the circumstances. The guardian gave a mental sigh and, with an inaudible rustle of feathers, drew back as far as he was able, as though he'd pulled his wings about himself to hide. Do whatever you want, he said silently, sounding only a little irritated. It's not my business.

Though he didn't entirely believe the second part of that statement, Yukito accepted the permission with a flash of gratitude in return (which Yue apparently ignored completely) and just smiled at Touya. The faint quirk of mischief in his eye was all the warning he gave, and at the last second he turned slightly, just enough for the kiss to meet his lips instead of his cheek.

Wait what.

Touya was certain his mind had started playing tricks on him, or it had imploded or something. Since when did Yuki do anything tricky like this? Aside from stealing food off Touya's plate and making it impossible for Touya to be grumpy by flashing that sweet, innocent smile. God damn he was cute.

Even if Touya hadn't been expecting it, though, the fact was that he was currently kissing Yuki--he'd given Touya the okay, it wasn't him being overly obsessive. They just... fit together this easily. He didn't back off, though he paused briefly before leaning in to the kiss and putting a hand on Yukito's shoulder. Oh he could get very carried away if this kept up.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the intercom began another announcement, and Touya's mood was gone in an instant. He instinctively drew Yukito closer, his complexion paling a little as the announcement went on... and didn't stop.

"...we should get Sakura," he said.

Yukito had realized that, especially with the worries he'd already mentioned, Touya wasn't going to actually do something unless he made a move first. And somehow it had been so easy, it hadn't taken much to be brave enough to shift just that little bit and show that he really did mean what he'd said.

Although Touya had been surprised, he hadn't objected at all, quite the contrary, in fact. And that was when the realization hit: he was kissing Touya. It was something he'd never dared dream of until now, when it was happening, and he didn't want it to stop.

That was the point when the almost-inevitable interruption occurred, of course. There always had to be something, didn't there? It could have been worse, Yukito supposed; at least this time it wasn't zombies.

He blinked up at the intercom in alarm, trying in vain to hide the slight blush that touched his cheeks when Touya pulled him protectively closer, and just nodded. They needed to find her anyway for a number of reasons, but that announcement was disturbing enough to them, so she would have to be scared. Hopefully she'd stayed in her room and hadn't come looking for them...

"We should," he agreed, both worried for Sakura and unwilling to leave. But the former was winning out, especially since Yue was concerned as well (I thought you weren't paying attention? he asked, and of course got no response) and wanted to find her. "She'll be worried. Do you know if someone visited her today, too?"

"I don't know," Touya said, getting off of the dresser and gathering his flashlight. "I didn't see her after Nakuru let go of me. They took me back to my room right after that."

If she had, they both needed to be there for her sooner rather than later. Touya didn't like leaving her by herself anyway, so the sooner they arrived at her room, the better for everyone involved. No doubt Yue was worried as well, considering screaming voices were echoing down the hallways and in the rooms.

"Come on," he said, taking Yuki's hand. "She needs us, yeah?" He smiled at Yuki, wishing they had more time to themselves. Unfortunately, that never seemed to be the case here.

(And off to here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/698750.html?thread=58204798#t58436478))

Nightshift 43: M11-20 Hallway

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