[Week 80] [Word Count 400+ words] [Theme: When I get my hands on you...]

Prompt: When I get my hands on you…

Pairing: Ryuuren x Shuurei, Kouchou x Seiran, Eigetsu x Kourin
Rating: M
Author: beyondthemoor on LJ
Beta: nikolita! (Thank you for beta'ing this... as I typed it!) XD

Summary: Conclusion to the Modern University AU. (Follow-up to "Aftermath" "Touchdown" and "The Wise Fool".)

Words: approx. 5,000 words
Week 80: Prompt: When I get my hands on you…
Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Seiran shook his shaggy, sleep-mussed hair from his eyes and walked down the hall to the entranceway, the polite, if insistent, knocking having roused him from his sleep early that Sunday morning. His lover still lay fast asleep under their blankets, completely undisturbed. In his efforts to give her some time to rest herself, he'd crept as quietly as he could from their bed. She was normally a fairly light sleeper, but the past few mornings, nothing could wake her until she was good and ready. He'd debated preparing tea when the door had sounded.

Opening the outer door of their condo, though, nothing could have prepared him for his surprise visitor.

"Aniue!"

Strong male arms flung themselves around his middle, trapping his arms at his sides, and a blond head buried itself in his shoulder, comfort and excitement warring for dominance.

Shell-shocked to the soles of his slippers, Seiran felt his chest tighten in recognition.

"Ryuuki?" he breathed.

The faint rumbling emanating from outside her room woke Shuurei that morning. It was with some trepidation that she noticed her bed was… humming?, or vibrating faintly, too.

Eyes opening widely as she took in her surroundings, the lovely young woman bolted upright in surprise—or tried to.

She was caught half-way by the seatbelt across her lap; and the light blanket tucking her snugly into her seat.

…Seat?

Not bed?

Definitely not bed – she was indeed quite upright.

Thoughts whirling faster in growing suspicion, Shuurei glanced about her and noticed the small, rectangular windows beside her; the leather seating; the undersized television screens in the back of the seat in font of her…

Her wine-coloured eyes flashed with indignant fury.

"Ryuuuuuureeeeennnnnnnnn!" she screamed between her tightly clenched teeth.

From his spot across the cabin of his private jet, the young man waved the steward closer as he sat gazing longingly as the object of his affection.

"S-s-sir, is your young companion all right?" asked the man carefully, trying not to fidget with his tie at the blood-curling sound.

"Absolutely perfect," he replied, smitten. The dreamy look never left his face.

Of course, the 'object' in question took that moment to declare very clearly exactly what she would do to her 'bosom friend' when she got her hands on him, if he didn't turn their plane around right now and take her home again.

In a way, he could hardly wait until they had their heartfelt discussion, where he could admit his feelings, confess what he truly felt for his beloved Treasure-Bead-.

In less than a split-second he was dodging (by a hair's breadth) the meal-tray she frisbeed at him, only to have it lodge itself into the cabin wall beside him where his head had been but a moment ago.

… Then again, perhaps he should have asked her permission first, he reconsidered, noting the wild, angry flush about her cheeks.

They were only going two or three countries away, though. Was it really such a big deal?

The cup—minus its coffee, thankfully—whipped past his nose and struck the seat ahead of him, cracking the tv touch-screen.

… Apparently, it was.

Eigetsu wasn't faring much better in his camp.

He raised his arms up placatingly for the –enth time that morning.

"I'm sure she's perfectly fine!"

"That son of a-!" Kourin ripped a pillow from their bed—she hadn't bothered sleeping in the cot they had provided for her for her visit since her first night with Eigetsu on the couch—and hurled it angrily at the wall. "She isn't perfectly fine; he's been stalking her obsessively, you idiot! How did you not notice?"

"Huh? Ryuuren doesn't stalk Shuurei…"

"Are you blind?"

Completely confused, Eigetsu shook his head as another projectile rocketed past him.

"No, he doesn't stalk her, really."

Fwoooosh! went another cushion, and he ducked out of instinct. "Or, at least, it isn't as if Shuurei doesn't let him."

"WHAT?" Kourin whirled on him, and his hands immediately flew up in self-preservation mode again.

"If it was a real issue, she could stop him with a word. Shuurei isn't as oblivious as she seems, Kourin," he tried to explain, thinking of their rather strange friendship-slash-living arrangement and what he'd learned or figured out of his roommates since their relationship's inception. He considered his words carefully before continuing.

"If Ryuuren's up to something, she's aware of it, at least in some respect. And she's smart enough to know how to manage him and his… quirks. After we all met as frosh, she sort of became his overseer; she picked up on what made him 'tick', and learned how to work with him, understand him. No one else ever spent time with him as a friend, as a person, until we all met. She did. She learned to sleep lightly because of his visits in the middle of the night and everything, because she knew sometimes, all he needed was some company. And her dad knows about him and stuff."

Freezing as she raised a blanket she'd torn from the end of their bed, the fiercely protective high school student slowly turned her head to stare at her boyfriend in shock.

"What are you talking about?" she whispered incredulously.

"Well, apparently Shuurei's dad caught Ryuuren sneaking around their mansion once, looking for Shuurei, and after that he sat down with Shuurei to explain she needed to be more aware of her surroundings—and friends. Her friend-slash-foster-brother, Seiran?"

"…Yes…?"

"He taught Shuurei martial arts, self-defense or something along those lines, when she was younger so she'd be able to take care of herself a bit if he wasn't there, and it sounds like she learned how to set up some security around herself, too. She's had a hidden camera in her room, whether at home, in the dorm, or here, ever since she was young. I think her father was overprotective or worried about kidnapping, you know? So Shuurei knows if anyone's trying to stalk her. She's not ignorant of people the way others assume of her." As his girlfriend's entire demeanour changed before him, the green-haired former medic realized something very serious was amiss with his beloved. "She isn't… as innocent as everyone believes her to be. I think Shuurei has hidden depths even we, her closest friends, don't know yet."

"Kourin-luv, how much do you know about Shuurei's family? What her family truly is, not the front she puts up?... You know they're more than they seem, right?" he hedged gently, not wanting to betray confidences that weren't his, he waited for her reply.

Her hands slowly lowering to drop the blanket she'd yanked on earlier, Kourin paused and looked down, down at her feet.

Watching her, Eigetsu grew concerned.

"What's wrong?"

Kourin remained silent.

"Hey?" He moved to her, touching her arm with his fingertips, taking her hands in his and bending down to look into her bright green eyes.

For Kourin's part, her thoughts were a mess, and this was probably reflected in her watering eyes.

Had Shuurei known all along about Ryuuren? Had Ryuuren known Shuurei knew? Had they been playing with each other, protecting themselves, protecting each other by feigning ignorance of each other's true motives and feelings? For how long?

Had she fallen into some kind of delicate, subtle mind-game the two of them were playing with each other?...

… or had she triggered something irreparable in her well-meaning interference, something that could never be taken back again once loosed?

"What have I done?" she murmured, looking up at her boyfriend as he collected her into the circle of his arms.

With a patient, understanding sigh, Eigetsu rested his chin on top of her sleek hair. "I'm sure it is nothing that can't be fixed, with those two. They're tensai." Well… "Mostly."

He stood with her, holding her close to him, for a few minutes, his own mind wondering at the strange situation. When they'd woken up, they'd been escorted out and given a ride to an upscale shopping center and provided a blank credit card – which seemed to have no limit. They'd been gone for a few hours, and when they'd returned, it had been to an empty condominium. It hadn't taken long for Kourin to figure out they'd been hoodwinked in order to give Ryuuren the time to 'kidnap' Shuurei…

And of course, as a result she'd felt horribly guilty and responsible for the disappearance of her good friend.

But Eigetsu wasn't surprised that, as the morning wore on, Kourin's guilt over any possible negative influence she may have played in the 'great disappearance' and relationship between their friends was slowly overshadowed by her anger at having been duped by his roommates and their covert intentions—whatever those intentions were.

"When I get my hands on them…." She was seething by lunchtime with her fists clenched tightly.

When he heard that, Eigetsu sighed with relief and knew everything would be just fiiiiine.

The plane touched down an hour later, providing Ryuuren with several more hours of time before his deadline—since Kourin hadn't confirmed in which specific timezone it was supposed to be 'noon' when he spoke with Shuurei.

The latter had calmed down visibly since her tantrum on the plane, and was now tiredly rubbing the bridge of her nose as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders to conceal her nightgown from anyone on the tarmac who may catch sight of her. Not that there were many others around. She wondered if it was a private airstrip. That would be just fantastic. Alone, and severely underclothed, and who-only-knew-where.

Because she had nothing else to wear, obviously, after having been abducted in her sleep.

"We have readings to do, we have assignments to write, I was supposed to volunteer this afternoon," she listed off to herself, under her breath, as Ryuuren waited patiently for their ride to pull up to the plane. "But did that matter? Of course not! How am I supposed to pay my portion of the rent when I'm not even in the country!... When I'm in…" She looked around for a sign, a landmark, even a license plate that may indicate where they'd landed.

There were no clues.

Her eyes burned lividly, and she nearly dropped her blanket-toga when her hands shook with emotion.

"And where are my clothes!" she suddenly burst out, her irritation overcoming her patience.

Adding insult to injury, he offered her his trademark neon hoodie.

Gritting her teeth, she snatched it from his hands and vowed to burn it… as soon as she found something better. But for now, at least it kept her warm.

"Thank you," she muttered ungratefully, "now, where is the closest Goodwill?"

He glanced at her in confusion.

"I need trousers, too!"

Ryuuren didn't pause as his hands went to his belt, and—

"GOODWILL! TAKE US TO GOODWILL! Salvation Army, something!"

"Tally-ho!"

…and off they went.

More comfortably dressed in jeans, t-shirt and cardigan, finally, Shuurei leaned tiredly against the door and window inside the car, her eyes closed as she tried to salvage what was left of her composure.

He'd really done it this time.

She had no idea where they were going in the car; no idea what country he'd taken her to; had no way to contact her father or friends to ask for help.

In total… she was completely isolated, and reliant on Ryuuren. It made her acutely aware of how much she trusted him, in some ways, -because she knew he would never let any harm befall her—but also how much she still felt uncertain about him. Because he was still acting obtuse, refusing to give her any answers at all as to why they'd 'vanished' from the condo so suddenly, without even giving her a chance to make a call or pack her things. Something was off. Ryuuren was unusual at times, yes, but he'd never done something this extreme. Moving her things to a condo? Ok, yes, perhaps; but kidnapping? Never.

Oh, she was sure she could figure out a way to make money to find her own way home, eventually, but…

… but what had pushed him to act so rashly? His normal unconventional behaviour and moods were one thing, but this? This was off the scale. Something had obviously triggered his territorial instincts.

… or protective ones, she realized.

Because Shuurei had known him for almost four years now, and she could recognize him when he was in one of his… phases… and this was obviously a sign he felt threatened by something.

He was worried about her.

And the only way he knew how to handle it was to pull her right out of her life and hide her away.

She'd had a feeling he may resort to something like this at some point, but she'd never expected it to truly happen.

As the car changed course and started climbing what was obviously a steep incline, cornering sharply and often, she opened her eyes minutely to look outside, and saw they were heading up a twisting mountain road.

Her captor must have caught sight of her more wakeful state, as he quietly turned to look out his window, and speak. Instead of his usual exuberance, however, his voice was distant, apologetic, and serious.

"Does Treasure-bead-of-my-heart remember what she said in her residence room, the last day of her internment there?"

"It wasn't a prison sentence, Ryuuren, it was my dorm…" She replied tiredly. "And no, I don't…"

"'I will hunt you down and ransom you for rent money from your family if you get me kicked out of here, so quietly! Please!'That's what you said."

The words floated back to her, vaguely, and she realized suddenly where they were going.

She lunged across the seat and grabbed him by the front of his sweater—the one she'd returned to him when she'd bought, with his money, clothes for herself—her eyes furious.

"We are NOT going to visit your crazy family, do you hear me?"

"They're already expecting us. They can't wait to meet you-."

She tightened her grip, cutting off his airways. Her eyes went wide as she stared murderously into his violet ones.

"We. Are. Having. A. Talk. Right. Now."Still holding him, more or less by the throat, she shot forward towards the driver and in an authoritative voice, ordered, "Turn us onto the first side road you can find. Park, and walk away."

Their chauffeur glanced up in the rearview mirror, met Ryuuren's gaze, and at his master's nod, did as requested. Shuurei's fingers remained tight in his sweater while she moved away from him; he wasn't released just yet.

It was quiet inside the vehicle a moment, as Shuurei breathed hard, panting in anger, actually, at what Ryuuren had been intending. She waited until their driver had made it a fair distance, at least out of hearing range, before acting.

Looking down at her kidnapper, however, she felt her heart tighten inside her chest in conflict.

He deserved a good thrashing. He really, really did.

But at his distant, somewhat sad expression, her shoulders relaxed, eventually fell. Sliding across the bench seat, she loosened her grip on his sweater to place her hands on his shoulders instead, leaning forward across him, her head tilting forward as her hair, still as loose as it had been all day, slid over her shoulders to hide her face.

Her sigh was soft, full of all her anger and frustration, but she let it all go in that one breath.

"Oh, Ryuuren," she murmured in understanding, letting out a long exhalation as she knelt beside him on the seat and embraced him, her arms wrapping around behind his neck.

"Treasure-bead has always known, I think, that I work for my family." His voice was remote, not at all the usual energetic expression most were accustomed to receiving from him.

"You don't have to, Ryuuren. You can be your own person."

"Not if I want to look after you."

"I can look after myself. I can protect myself. I am capable of more than just school work, you know that." And when he still wouldn't look at her, she pulled back a bit and tried to get him to meet her eyes. "And you look after me just fine… in your own way."

"My family could give you more. My brothers have mentioned your family favourably."

She felt herself stiffen slowly at his implication, though she didn't mean to.

"So are you acting for them, or are you acting for yourself? Am I nothing but a marker, tool, advantage to your family, too?"

His violet eyes were dark, cold, but flashing with something hard behind them. "Never, Shuurei," he said, turning finally to look back at her. His use of her proper name broke another barrier between them, baring their honesties to each other more fully, facades slid to the side. "But you need to understand I am a pawn, too. I have always been theirs. Theirs to use, theirs to control, theirs to exploit. That will never, ever change. I never wanted you to get mixed up in any of this. I tried to keep you, and Eigetsu, clear of things. But…" He looked away again, this time at his feet.

"But?" she prompted, stroking his hair. His had been tied up in a ponytail that morning, but had gradually loosened through their morning.

"But… when you were kicked out of residence, I had to act. It was out of responsibility to both you and my family."

He looked up at her again, their eyes met.

"It wasn't because of me that you were kicked out of residence. It was my family who pressured the school to remove you. They wanted to force you into a closer relationship with me so you would become dependent on me and my family, would grow to owe us privileges, once you moved on in your career."

Shuurei's dark brows knit at the far-fetched scheming. "But how…-."

He leaned his head back against the headrest; her hands were trapped behind his head and neck, but neither minded. "That way they thought they would be able to manipulate you and your decisions later, as you gained power. They have been one of your scholarship sponsors, Shuurei. They can see your potential, have been watching you for years. They know about your family's connections," at his words, she stiffened again immediately, "and they want to have you in their pocket, too, to exploit."

His voice darkened.

"Just like me."

"But… I haven't even applied for a job yet… I'm still in university…"

"For now," he agreed, but his tone implied more.

"Shuurei," he said again a moment later, and the young woman couldn't help the flutter that it caused in her to hear him say it. "Did Eigetsu ever mention the conditions of our living arrangements to you?" He was relieved and miserable in equal measure that he could finally address her as he'd always wanted to, as his real self. As an honest man.

"You mean your condo? No. Just… that he thought your family may have owned it."

The self-deprecating smirk on his face hurt her.

"The entire complex, along with the better part of our neighbourhood—up until the reach of your family friends Kouchou and Seiran—are my personal inheritance. I recently took on their management on my own, to function autonomously from the rest of my family's holdings. A test of sorts of my abilities. But they came at a price."

Deep in her belly, Shuurei felt her unease writhe and coil, tighter and tighter as their conversation continued.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes scanned her face, resting on her eyes and lips, and for the first time he reached out to her to run his hand gently over her cheek, cupping her beautiful face in his palm. Long, capable fingers threaded into the loose tendrils of her onyx hair that slipped free.

"You know why I am the way I am," he said.

"You are Ryuuren." My friend, she thought to herself.

The edges of his mouth turned up in a sad smile again. "I am the heir to the Ran Conglomerate, Shuurei." He paused as he watched the confession sink in with her. "And the reason I was permitted to take over my personal shares early is because I answered my family's summons."

A summons was never good news to the youth of the noble ranks, she knew.

"What did you answer them?"

But she had a feeling she already knew.

"I told them I wanted my holdings, that I was ready for them. That I could accept their conditions and would abide by them." His eyes were as sad as his smile. "I'm so sorry, Shuurei. I never meant for you to get so entangled in all of this. You, most of all, I wanted to be free. Free like I could never truly be."

"What conditions?" She could feel her heart swelling, ready to burst with indignation for him, for the way his family had treated him. What they'd expected of him. What he'd had to surrender, give up, forfeit in order to survive.

"That I was going to settle down, marry, and take over the company from now on." He held her gaze. "My inheritance, my family's wealth, is mine to control now," he said, his voice full of apology, "as long as we're together."

"Do you want it?"

"No."

"What do you want?"

"Freedom."

"What is freedom?"

His eyes softened. "I don't know."

Confused, Shuurei leaned back and stretched slightly, her back aching from the crouching position. Seeing her discomfort, Ryuuren let go of her hair and settled his hands on her waist, pulling her easily up and over his lap to straddle him, a knee on either side of his hips.

"There. Your back?"

"Better, thank you." She couldn't help the flush across her cheeks.

He noticed, raised his hand to touch her face again, but paused, dropping his hand once more. With all his confessions, he wasn't sure where he stood in her eyes anymore. If he even ranked as her friend, after all his deceptions. So instead, his hand rested in his lap.

Shuurei tilted her head at him questioningly at the gesture of retreat. He was amazed at how calm and composed she'd been through their discussion, after their driver's withdrawal.

He realized something else, then, and the light in his eyes flared for a second before burning out again.

Shuurei noticed.

"Hmm?"

Outside the car, a light drizzling rain had started. The driver had taken refuge under a tree, digging an umbrella out from his travel-pack.

The raindrops pelted the car softly in rhythm.

"You knew. You already, maybe always, knew."

It was her turn to smile sadly. "You mean about your 'front'? The way you acted difficult in order to keep others from relying on, abusing or asking too much of you? The way you tried to provoke me into revealing I knew you were spying on me for your family when you'd sneak into my room?" She smiled more warmly, though her eyes were getting warmer, too. "The way you would kiss my forehead at night when you thought I really was asleep?"

He didn't speak. Couldn't.

"Oh Ryuuren. You know what my family is, are… What I am destined to become unless I find a private company that will have me. I didn't want to deceive you. I never meant to hurt you."

He couldn't argue with that. He had no grounds to.

So he was surprised when he felt her trembling, her face hidden from him behind her hair…. And the wetness that fell from her face onto his.

Her heartbroken laugh broke softly over him, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.

"I'm so sorry, Ryuuren. I'm just so sorry."

The rain fell harder outside, but didn't muffle the sound of her harsher breathing inside the vehicle.

"… I never meant for you to get hurt, either," she confessed.

"Shuurei…"

Their facades stripped from them, they sat, their arms held loosely at their sides, unsure of what to do.

But through some unspoken confession, they leaned into each other, their arms encircling them, and gently buried their faces in each other's neck, seeking comfort.

"I'm sorry, too," he admitted. "You don't deserve this. We're just…"

"Pawns," she chuckled darkly through her sniffled, and he smiled.

"Pawns," he agreed.

And he wasn't sure what possessed him next to do what he did, but as he spoke the words, he turned his face towards hers as she did towards him. Their breath mixed and passed over their mouths, so close each could feel the heat from the other's lips on their own.

Inside, both knew that there were honest feelings between them. Feelings of respect, adoration, admiration… love.

…and lust.

Their eyes opened slightly, each focusing on the slightly parted lips of the other before them. The tension they'd felt for so long coiled in their lower bellies, and started to slowly flood their systems with what they'd had to deny themselves for so long. Too long.

Hesitantly at first, then more deliberately, Shuurei moved her face forward, her lips gently pressing onto Ryuuren's.

"Tell me to stop," she whispered against the smooth skin of his lips. She kissed him a bit harder, then again, gradually bending forward, sinking into him as his hands slid from his lap to her hips to her waist, her body melting into his as he pulled her against him, her kisses moving from his mouth to his jaw to his lightly stubbled throat. "Tell me you don't want this and I'll stop."

"What if I don't want you to stop?" he whispered back, his mouth now against the sensitive crook of her slender neck, his tongue laving attention on her pulse before he applied subtle pressure and sucked softly, earning a muted gasp in response. Shuurei felt heat pooling in her belly, spiking with each ounce of pressure he applied to her flesh.

"As long as it's mutual," her fingers threaded through his hair, pulling his head back to expose more of his throat. With one hand, she trailed her fingers over the skin of his neck and pulled the sweatshirt away from his pulse-point, kissing it, and letting her hand continue down to rest over his heart.

"It is," he assured her, and she felt his hands caress her back, encouraging her tighter against him until her breasts pressed against his chest.

And all the while, both felt the need, the urge, the desire to just take something for themselves for once, not for their families, while still offering a chance, a choice to the other, to share, to give something unforgettable that would brand themselves onto each other.

Shuurei's hands slid under Ryuuren's sweatshirt and nudged upward; he took the hint and lifted his arms. In response he pulled her cardigan down her shoulders, exposing her arms.

Of course, the roof of the car limited their movements, but it didn't stop them.

With a muffled grunt, Ryuuren twisted his body to slide down the seat until he lay across it on his back, pulling Shuurei on top of him. As their positions shifted, their bodies met in more intimate ways and both arched at the contact, groaning softly. Normally renowned for their self-control, the pair of adults in that moment were consciously abandoning their roles, seeking responsibility, indulgence, only for themselves. And it felt very, very good.

"Your driver?" she asked, her fingers pushing up his t-shirt, exposing his leanly muscled chest and peppering it with kisses. He leaned forward, his torso rising to allow her to pull it off entirely. He returned the favour swiftly, and Shuurei soon straddled him topless apart from her bra. Her pale cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and dark simultaneously. Her long hair fell about her shoulders in dark curtained waves.

Ryuuren had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Won't come near us until I invite him."

"Good."

With that, she ran her hands down his front enticingly, tracing his treasure trail and sliding a finger teasingly along the waist of his jeans and boxers.

In turn, he reached up behind her and undid each hook that held her soft, now-pebbled mounds in place.

When Shuurei arched her back to grant him better purchase in the material, he felt the top button of his jeans pop open, followed by the sound of his zipper sliding down.

His eyes suddenly very wide, he grabbed her wrist quickly.

Surprised, Shuurei glanced down.

Concern lining her face, she paused. "Do you not want to?"

Oh, he most certainly did.

But…

"I don't have anything with me."

She looked confused for a moment, before realization dawned. She smiled at him, slightly pained, but also somewhat relieved.

"I'm covered."

"Are you sure?" he asked, having never forgotten the stern warnings instilled in him as he grew up as a young man in his family's household.

"I can't have children, Ryuuren," she admitted, and there was that sadness in her eyes again, that acceptance, that last secret she'd held back from him.

So that's why she'd…

He cut his wayward thoughts off before they ran away with him.

Because he had far more important things to do now.

Like his soon-to-be lover.

"Are you sure?" And both understood by his tone that he didn't mean her condition regarding whether or not she could have children.

"Yes."

The windows fogged around them as they removed the rest of each other's clothing. The driver waiting for them outside the car, down the road, was ignored as Shuurei was lifted one final time to straddle Ryuuren's lean, firm body, her knees resting on either side of his hips, her pelvis aligning with his as his hands massaged and readied her.

"Last chance to decline," she said softly, holding her palm against the side of his face, trying to memorize the feel of him under her fingers.

Holding her gaze, he took her hand and guided down, down, until she held him and he shifted his hips, rolling them against hers.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

And with slow, careful strokes, they joined.

As he focused all his concentration on not exploding within her wonderful warm channel, Ryuuren remembered what had driven him to go so far out of his way for this woman.

"Shuurei?" he gasped as he rolled his hips up to meet hers, rocking further into her slick depths until he reached the spot that made her eyes flutter and her smooth stomach go taut with pleasure.

"Yes?" She was panting as she eased herself up and down on his length, gradually finding her rhythm matching his as he held and guided her hips. Soon her feminine muscles contracted around him, gripping him, massaging him, and he knew he was so close.

He had to tell her, now.

Their eyes met.

"I love you."

…Their poor driver was left in the rain, forgotten, for the next several hours.

When Ryuuren and Shuurei returned to their condominium, several days later, of course they'd missed Kourin's return home. They'd missed their classes, and due dates for their assignments, but somehow that was smoothed over and they were allowed to submit their work without repercussion or reprisal. Shuurei wryly asked Ryuuren if she should mail his family a thank-you note, and he assured her it was already covered.

Shuurei received the shock of a lifetime when Seiran walked her home and introduced her to his 'long lost' younger brother, Ryuuki, whom she greeted politely before turning her attention back to Seiran (who confided that perhaps she should start trying to keep her calendar clear, in about 7 or 8 months time). In her excitement, she missed the curious, thoughtful looks Seiran's younger brother shot her as she hugged his big brother. Kouchou wasn't quite as enthused, but perked up considerably when Shuurei reminded her she'd be coming to help them, so to leave everything to her.

And as their last school year ended, Kourin eventually forgave them all for their deception—after a few lectures on friendship and integrity. And Eigetsu proposed to Kourin—after a few lectures from Shuurei on how to treat Kourin properly. And Eigetsu and Kourin moved into their own small apartment, once Eigetsu was recruited as a medical advisor for a federally funded research grant in public health policy. Shuurei thought it would be a perfect fit for him.

As for her, and Ryuuren…

Well….

They made the most of things.

… and the sex was totally hot and kinky.

(That's exactly what you've been waiting to hear. Don't deny it.)

;)

And the visit to his family?

… I'll get to that later. Expect pornsy-lulz, if and when I have more time.

The end.

-mm

AN: Confession time: Er, I'm sorry, I admit, I don't like the ending I've written, but I figure it's time to tie this story off. If more inspiration hits in the future, I may come back to it later.

But, regardless of that, I hope you've enjoyed! XD