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Sounding as hollow and final as if it belonged
on a crypt instead of an
up-class hotel room, the door slammed shut behind
Rowen, leaving stunned
silence to reign uncontested in his wake.
*************************************
"Oh dear! That didn’t go well at all."
Sai started at the sound of his
own voice, overly loud in the hushed stillness
of the room, then winced
as his friends shattered the silence further
with incredulous, excited
exclamations. He wished for the quiet to
return, for he needed to
think. Just how badly had he erred?
For some time, Sai had suspected that Rowen was
interested in Sage, was
most likely in love with their swordsman friend.
Seeing that emerald
earring earlier that evening had transformed
suspicions into surety, had
mutated speculation into belief.
When he’d remarked on the earring, Rowen had been
immediately defensive,
which had led Sai to believe that the blue-haired
archer was resigned to
never act on his attraction. Why?
Probably out of fear of upsetting
the status quo, or of losing the friendships
that had been forged on the
twin anvils of defeat and victory and tempered
by blood. Didn’t Rowen
realize that what they shared could withstand
anything? Sai didn’t
believe that even Sage’s apparent lack of interest
in Rowen was enough
to pull the five of them apart. They’d
survived things Sai considered
to be far worse.
Sai believed that Rowen would never express what
he felt, would continue
to watch Sage date girl after girl, and would
continue to hold his hurt
inside. So, smarting from his friend’s
playful, if caustic, teasing,
and frustrated by the archer’s inaction even
in the face of someone as
unappetizing as Mika, he’d decided, on impulse,
to take matters into his
own hands and give his friend a push. Just
a teensy little one.
Sai had hoped that Rowen would see that what he
wanted was not
impossible, would realize exactly what he continued
to sacrifice. He’d
hoped that Sage would see all that the archer
was offering. But he must
have pushed too much too soon, and it had all
blown up in his face
despite his good intentions.
"What the hell was *that* all about? Rowen
ran out of here like he was
tiger kibble and White Blaze decided he needed
a snack."
Sai tore his eyes from the door and swung around.
"I… think I know,
Kento." He swung around again, already
moving towards the door. "I’m
gonna go talk to him." He had to fix this.
He’d never meant to hurt
his friend.
A hand on his upper arm brought Sai to an abrupt
halt. Spinning again,
and beginning to feel very much like a top, Sai
found himself facing
golden brows drawn together in a frown as deep
as the one on Sage’s
lips.
"I’ll go, Sai."
"But Saaage, I thought you were leaving with meeee!"
Sai had to stifle a nearly hysterical and entirely
inappropriate giggle
when Sage actually winced at his erstwhile girlfriend’s
shrill whine.
Apparently the swordsman had forgotten that Rowen’s
departure had
aborted Mika’s. Too bad Mika was behind
Sage and couldn’t see *that*
particular expression.
Ouch! Sage wondered why Mika was still in
the room after being asked to
leave. How could she ignore the animosity
directed at her? Was her
hearing so selective? Why did she so persistently
want a relationship
with him? Would he have to knock her over
the head with a 2 X 4 for her
to get a clue?
Sage honestly didn’t know what he’d seen in Mika.
Well, besides her
admittedly good looks. Her personality
left so much to be desired. The
girl was so full of herself that there wasn’t
any room for anyone else
in her life. She was loud, she whined far
more than a four year old,
she was *really* getting on his nerves.
Sage wanted her gone,
immediately.
"Mika. I thought you had left." Sage
spoke without turning, having no
desire to look at her.
"I’m *not* leaving without you, Sage baby."
Sage rolled his eyes in exasperation, then returned
Sai’s smirk before
finally turning around. God, her voice.
What he wouldn’t give for
Rowen’s soft, smooth tenor right about now.
"Look Mika, just go. I’m
not leaving with you. Not now, not ever."
Sage stopped, momentarily
taken aback when Mika narrowed her eyes and a
vindictive scowl twisted
her pretty features.
"You keep telling me that this is only a game,
Sage. Forget Rowen if he
can’t take it. He’s *not* important!"
"Enough!" God, she was *such* a bitch!
Sage took a deep, calming
breath, resisting the urge to call for his armor.
Using his no-dachi to
carve the mean-spirited little bitch into itty-bitty
pieces was *not*
the purpose for which it had been created.
Looking over Sage’s shoulder, Sai was glad he
couldn’t see the
expression on his friend’s face. It *must*
be rather daunting since
Mika actually took a step backwards. He
had to stifle a chuckle when
she whipped her head around, finding she’d backed
straight into Kento
and Ryo, neither of whom looked the slightest
bit sympathetic.
"Sage is right. I think we’ve all had enough
of you, Mika." Grabbing
Mika’s left elbow, Ryo looked over her head at
Kento. With a jerk of
his chin, he indicated Mika’s other side.
"Care to help me, Ken?"
When Mika twisted to look at him, Kento smiled
the smile that had made
many an enemy quail. "Oh yeah, Ryo.
I’d *really* like that!"
"Saaaage! Are you going to let them treat me this way?"
God, she was appealing to *him*? Mika was
seriously deluded if she
thought that he, of all people, was going to
save her. Stepping up so
that he was face to face with her, well, actually
chest to face, Sage
looked down at the girl, smiled sweetly, and
brandished his 2 X 4, "Yes,
Mika. Yes I am."
Sai felt like cheering when Mika’s eyes grew impossibly
wide and her
mouth dropped open. Unlike Kento, he managed
to control himself one
final time.
Sage stepped aside and let his two friends ‘escort’
Mika to the door.
Just as Kento reached for the doorknob, he said,
"Rowen is my friend,
and is far more important to me than you will
ever be. Remember that."
His voice was soft, but carried, and Sage knew
that Mika heard him when
she stiffened and turned back as far as she could
towards him. Let her
make of that comment what she will. Sage
ignored her narrow-eyed glare,
turning his back and dismissing her.
"Good night, Mika!"
"Saaaaaage!"
Sage cringed when the loud wail was followed by
a series of knocks on
the door. "My God, how much more plainly
can I spell it out?"
Mia walked over to Sage, laughing quietly at the
desperate note that had
entered her friend’s voice. Laying a hand
on his arm, she gently
reminded, "You’re the one who asked her out to
begin with, Sage."
"Don’t remind me. I don’t know what possessed
me." At Mia’s skeptical
look, Sage smiled slightly. "Okay, so I
do know. So shoot me for being
a hormone driven moron."
"Why don’t we just shoot her instead?" Sai
came up to Sage’s other
side, snickering when his friend opened his eyes
wide in exaggerated
horror.
"No, don’t do that, she’d probably return to haunt
me." God, the very
thought gave Sage the willies.
"Well, at least she’s finally gone." Mia
patted Sage’s arm
comfortingly.
"Yeah, and good riddance!" Kento gave the
door one last emphatic
glare. His amusement won over his annoyance,
though, and he was
chuckling as he re-joined his friends in the
center of the room. "You
guys should’ve seen her face when we slammed
the door on her. Like she
still couldn’t believe that we were actually
kicking her out."
"I don’t doubt it." So much for the direct
approach. That ‘fingernails
on a blackboard’ echo of her final whine still
echoed in Sage’s ears.
God, never! Never again! He stepped
away from Mia and Sai, thoughts
focusing on Rowen. He had to speak with
his friend, had to know for
sure what had made Rowen leave the way he did.
"Now, I can at least go
talk to Rowen."
Uh oh! Sai gulped, then caught Sage’s arm
before he could take another
step, unconsciously mirroring Sage’s previous
gesture. It was suddenly
very difficult to meet that unblinking, pale
gaze. "Um, Sage? I don’t
think you should be the one to go talk to Rowen."
"Why? I’m the one who upset him."
"Maybe, but have you stopped to think *why* he’s
so upset? It was just
a stupid game, after all." Sai watched
his friend’s blond head cock to
one side, watched the pale eyes grow distant.
He lowered his voice.
"Did you happen to notice the earring he was
wearing tonight?" Still
not much of a reaction. Was he going to
have to come right out and say
it?
"Rowen’s got the hots for Sage?"
Nope, not since he had Kento there to say it for
him. Sai rolled his
eyes, suppressing the urge to shake some tact
into his best friend.
Sage let his friends’ commotion fade into the
background. He *hadn’t*
really taken much note when his friend had pierced
his ear. To do so
was so common nowadays. But now that he
thought of it, the archer’s
lobe had sported a spark of… crystalline green
that night. Green, huh?
Such a simple thing.
Lips twisting in self-directed disgust, Sage shook
his head slightly
though he felt more like smacking himself in
the forehead. That stupid
kiss; that stupid game. He wasn’t mistaken,
he couldn’t be. He *had*
seen longing and… love in Rowen’s eyes before
the archer had fled. Such
an idiot! He’d been so wrapped up in keeping
his own attraction from
being discovered that he’d simply never noticed.
"Kento!"
"Well, whatta ya want me to say, Mia?"
"It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it."
"What?"
Mia shook her head in disgust. "You’re impossible,
Kento." Giving up,
she nodded at Sai. "I think you’re right,
Sai, but it wasn’t just that
kiss that made Rowen upset. He was acting
kind of… sad all night."
"He didn’t like Mika, and he hated Sage being
with her." Kento started
when all his friends turned to him, staring.
"What? I’m not
*completely* oblivious, you know. And he
told me as much over dinner."
"But, if he’s interested in Sage, why did he tear
out of here like the
Dynasty was nipping at his heels?" Ryo
scratched his head in
puzzlement. "They were kissing, fer cryin’
out loud." He narrowed his
eyes suspiciously when Sai flushed and looked
down at the floor, seeming
suddenly all too interested in the weave of the
beige carpet. "Sai?"
"Um, I think I kinda nudged him before he was
ready," Sai admitted
quietly.
"Nudged?" Caught in his own thoughts, Sage
had only half heard his
friends’ speculation, but that single word arrested
his attention.
Sai jumped a little and looked up guiltily at
his friend. Sage’s voice
was at its most quiet, and he feared he was about
to bring Sage’s ire
down on him. "Well, I kinda suspected he
liked you, Sage. You know,
more than just as a friend. And then he
wore that earring, and got all
sorts of defensive when I asked about it.
And everyone knew Mika wasn’t
for you. Well, everyone but you, that is.
But I didn’t think he’d ever
*do* anything on his own. You know, about
how he felt. And-," Sai
broke off with an audible gulp, well aware that
he was babbling. "This
stupid game we were playing seemed a perfect
opportunity to get him to
act. So, I dared him, but it didn’t work
out very well at all, and
that’s why you shouldn’t be the one to go talk
to him," he finished in a
rush.
Sage allowed himself a tiny smile, amused with
Sai’s discomfort. Far
from being annoyed or angry with his friend’s
meddling, he was
grateful. Without his interference, who
knows how long he and Rowen
would have continued to delude themselves.
Sage shook his head when Sai opened his mouth,
apparently thinking he
needed more convincing. "No, Sai.
That’s exactly why I *should* be the
one to go talk to him." He turned his back
as his friend’s auburn brows
began to draw together.
"Sage, do you…?"
Sage allowed himself a soft smile. Not the
usual smirk that always
served him so well, not a shadow, but a genuine
smile that reflected his
contentment. He paused with his hand on
the doorknob and turned that
smile loose on his companions. "Why ever
would you believe that I
*don’t* return Rowen’s feelings?"
The door of Ryo and Mia’s room shut with a gentle
click, leaving silence
to once more reign supreme.
"Why ever would we…" Kento’s voice was soft
and incredulous, though it
quickly grew in direct proportion to his indignation.
"Why ever would
we believe you don’t return Rowen’s feelings?
Because you’re so damn,
bloody good at never *showing* what you feel,
Sage! Stupid, idiotic
question. What *else* are we supposed to
believe?"
"Kento…" Sai’s voice cut through his friend’s
tirade as easily as a hot
blade through butter, momentarily quieting Kento.
But not for long.
"Well, it’s true!"
"Maybe so, but you know that’s how Sage is."
Sai leveled a stare at his
friend, as if the force of his gaze could hold
Kento in place. "The
real question is, do you have a problem with
the two of them being
together?"
Another bloody, stupid question. Kento couldn’t
prevent his snort of
exasperation. Sai just didn’t get it.
"Of course not, of all the
silly… He can just be so-, so infuriating
sometimes. And Rowen too! I
hate being kept in the dark! I never even
suspected that they liked
each other like that!"
"Thought you claimed you weren’t completely oblivious."
The smirk was
worthy of Sage in his best form. Sai held
it for the heartbeat it took
for Kento to register the insult, then nimbly
ducked his friend’s
outraged swing.
Ryo watched his two friends squabble indulgently,
then turned to Mia
intending to ask her opinion on whether or not
he should intervene. The
hotel manager was already pissed enough at them,
the last thing they
needed was for Kento and Sai to trash the hotel
room. Besides, *they*
were the ones who were supposed to sleep there
that night. The words
died before being spoken as he took in Mia’s
far away gaze and slight
smile. Moving closer to her, Ryo waved
a hand in front of her face
until she finally focused on him. "Where
were you, and what was the
dopey smile for?"
"Just thinking that had to be the most open and
romantic declaration
I’ve ever heard from Sage about *anyone*.
I think he really loves
Rowen." Mia moved into the arm Ryo held
out, snuggling into the space
that always seemed custom made for her.
Arms around his waist, Mia
tucked her head under her love’s chin contentedly.
"I think they’ll be
good together."
All in all, it had been one hell of a birthday.
There was such a fine
line between a friendship as close as what they
all shared and love, and
somehow Ryo found he wouldn’t be surprised if
Rowen and Sage crossed
that line. He and Mia had begun in much
the same way. Mia was right.
Rowen and Sage *would* be good together, would
complement each other.
He tightened his arms around the warm body molded
to his own, nodding
his agreement. "You summed that up rather
nicely, I think."
Yep, you guessed it... To be continued
Was it all right?
Ladyglen
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