Hi again! Here's another story that I did for this prompt on the new Fafner Kink Meme: "What happen after Soushi return to Kazuki. Clingy Kazuki who wouldn't leave Soushi alone for fear Soushi might disappear, or not be real. Everywhere Soushi is being lead to, whether being exam by chizuru, kazuki have to be in the room, not letting Soushi out of his sight for even a second. Everyone is surprised by seeing this side of Kazuki."

Once again I suggest that people come and join in the fun over there. We need more people to get involved and making (and filling) requests. ^_^

Hope you guys enjoy the story.

ME AND MY SHADOW

"Hey, look; he's there again. I never realised Kazuki-kun was so clingy," Maya whispered to Sakura from behind her hand.

"Yeah, I've never seen him act like this before. It's kind of surprising," Sakura murmured in agreement.

"I guess he must have been missing Soushi more than we first thought," Canon added quietly, sounding a bit disappointed.

It was lunch time at school, and the three of them were huddled around the table, peering across the lunch room to where Kazuki was following closely at Soushi's heels like an obedient puppy, as the blond boy lined up for his own food, and then made his way to a vacant table. Kazuki quickly sat down beside him, scooting his chair as close as possible.

"You know, my mother told me that Kazuki-kun's been coming to all of Minashiro-kun's medical examinations, too, and that he refused to leave the room, even when Minashiro-kun had to—" Maya blushed slightly, "—take off his clothes for his physical examination. I heard the last time though they had to actually lock him out of the room to keep him away from Minashiro-kun…"

Sakura burst out laughing at this, earning a few glances herself. "Oh wow, who knew Kazuki could be such a stalker!"

"Sakura!" Maya scolded. She sneaked another glance over at the pair. "… Though Minashiro-kun does look a little bothered by all the attention."

Canon clasped her hands together, shifting awkwardly. "We shouldn't keep staring - it's rude," she stammered. "— and kind of embarrassing."

"Heh, especially for Soushi," Sakura sniggered.

They continued to watch the pair discretely, and saw that Kazuki was now trying to feed the other boy his lunch, seemingly oblivious to the sour look that Soushi was giving him.

Sakura laughed loudly again as Soushi swatted Kazuki's hand away and pointedly looked in the other direction, missing the hurt look on Kazuki's face.

"Geez, he looks like a kicked puppy now," Sakura said between her amused giggles. "What's wrong with the guy?"

"Maybe he's so overjoyed that they're back together again after being separated for so long, that he just can't bare to be away from him for a moment," Canon suggested, taking a sip of her drink. "… It's kind of cute, actually. I'm slightly envious…"

"Still seem pretty stalkerish to me…"

Maya shook her head, smiling to herself in amusement. "— Oh, look, Minashiro-kun is leaving."

"And his faithful dog is right on his tail," Sakura added. She smirked. "Maybe Soushi needs to put him on a tighter leash?"

"Ah, Sakura, stop it— you're giving me weird images…"

To begin with, Soushi had found it kind of sweet.

The first couple of days after his return he hadn't wanted to be apart from Kazuki either; the two of them had spent hours sitting together in his room, on the beach and in the cafe, just basking in each other's presence, relishing the feeling of finally being together again.

But after over a week… this was getting ridiculous.

Soushi hurriedly slammed the door shut before Kazuki could follow him in.

He could hear Kazuki on the other side of the door, his voice full of anxiety as he continued to plead. "Soushi! Soushi, please let me in!"

Soushi felt his eyebrow starting to twitch. "No, Kazuki - I am NOT letting you in the bathroom stall with me!"

"B-but, Soushi—"

"NO!" Soushi snapped. He paused, before adding "… go and wait for me in the classroom. I'll be done in a minute."

"… OK, Soushi."

Soushi waited until he heard Kazuki's retreating footsteps before letting out a sigh of relief. "… Maybe I shouldn't have shouted at him like that."

Soushi ran a hand through his hair, sighing exasperatedly. 'Damn it, why do I feel so guilty…? He's the one acting irrational. I've got to put a stop to this somehow.'

"Good afternoon Minashiro-kun. Oh, I see you brought your new shadow with you again. Are we going to have a repeat of yesterday's performance?"

Soushi bowed his head in apology, while Kazuki just looked confused. "Good afternoon, Toomi-sensei, I sincerely hope we won't… Kazuki, can you wait outside?"

Kazuki instantly snapped to attention. "No, Soushi, I have to stay with—"

"Go. Out. Side. Now," Soushi growled through gritted teeth.

"… yes, Soushi," Kazuki answered quietly, the wounded puppy look back in full force. He sheepishly left the room, before poking his head back around the door a second later. "I'll be waiting right here, so don't you worry!"

Soushi glared at the closed door, before giving Chizuru a hopeful look. "Maybe you could give Kazuki an examination too, just in case he's… hit his head or something without my knowledge?"

Chizuru coughed into her fist, clearly trying not to laugh. "Ah-hem, yes, well, Kazuki-kun does seem to be acting a bit… oddly. But I don't think it's caused by anything physical."

Soushi sighed again and sat down in a nearby chair, rubbing at his temple. "Well he's certainly giving me a headache…"

"He missed you a great deal while you were gone, you know," Chizuru said softly. "I think he's just overwhelmed at finally having you back here again."

"I know, so did I," Soushi said. "I didn't mind at first, but… he's even started trying to follow me into the bathroom now too."

"Well, that is a bit much," agreed Chizuru. She patted him on the shoulder. "You need to talk to him about this, Minashiro-kun, tell him how you're feeling."

"I've never been very good at that," Soushi mumbled, looking away awkwardly.

"The longer you avoid it, the longer he'll keep acting like this. But it's your decision, Minashiro-kun."

After his examination was over, Soushi left the medical room, and, just as he'd said, found Kazuki waiting for him outside in the hallway - not that he'd really been expecting anything different.

"Ah, Soushi, are you all finished?" Kazuki asked, getting to his feet. He picked up Soushi's bag and handed it to him.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks," Soushi answered shortly, taking the bag and starting to walk off down the corridor. Kazuki quickly stepped into line beside him.

"Hey, er, Soushi, do you want to go and have some dinner at the cafe?"

Soushi nodded after a moments though. "Yeah, ok. I will." It was getting late after all… and he was hungry. But he still felt like he just avoiding the issue.

Kazuki looked relieved. "Good. I'll make you some Kazuki-curry if you want."

They walked side by side in silence, until Kazuki reached and tentatively touched Soushi's hand, making the blond jump slightly in surprise."Soushi," Kazuki started, his face suddenly serious, "you are… you are glad that you came back, aren't you?"

"What?" Soushi exclaimed, feeling confused, "of course I am. Why would you think that—"

"I just wondered," Kazuki cut in, refusing to meet his gaze. "Just forget I said anything."

Soushi bit his lip and looked down at his hand, his skin still tingling slightly. Even though Kazuki had been with him almost constantly since he'd come back, they hadn't really… touched at all. Apart from that first moment, when Kazuki, tears of joy running down his face, had flung his arms around Soushi's neck, sobbing over and over how much he had missed him.

'Even now I find it hard to tell him how I really feel,' Soushi thought to himself bitterly. 'I… love him. But surely he's realised that by now without me actually having to say it? Surely he can't think that I'm really regretting being here with him again. But I have been snapping at him a lot these past few days… maybe it's partly my fault because I don't have the nerve to talk to him about it. I really do need to find out why he's been acting so clingy, and stop running away from the problem…'

"Oh, Kazuki, you've finally decided to show up again have you? Well good - we've got a busy night ahead of us." The booming voice of Mizoguchi greeted Kazuki and Soushi as they stepped through the door of the Rakuen Cafe.

"Ah, er, sorry Mizoguchi-san. I just needed a little time off to—"

"Never mind about that; get in that kitchen! We already have a couple of orders waiting," Mizoguchi interrupted, grabbing Kazuki's arm and hauling the boy towards the kitchen.

Kazuki looked of his shoulder at Soushi. "Soushi, please take a seat. I'll bring your food out shortly."

Soushi sat down at his usual table in front of the window, setting his bag down on the spare chair beside him. He watched as Kazuki happily pottered around the tiny kitchen, feeling himself starting to relax.

A little while later Kazuki set a large plateful of 'Kazuki curry' and a glass of lemonade down in front of Soushi.

"Here you go. I hope you enjoy your meal," Kazuki said cheerfully, offering Soushi what he'd heard other people referring to as one of his 'angelic smiles'.

"Thank you. I'm sure I will," Soushi replied, smiling back at him. He meant it too; just the sight of the steaming plate of food was making his mouth water and his stomach rumble with hunger.

This was a great improvement over his vending machine…

Kazuki gave a quick incline of his head before trotting off back to the kitchen. Soushi felt relieved that Kazuki seemed quite content this time to just keep an eye on him over the counter.

As Soushi slowly made his way through his meal the cafe gradually began filling up. Mizoguchi hadn't been kidding when he'd said it was going to be a busy night. Maya and Akira, who were also working that evening, dashed back and forth between the tables, taking a steady stream of orders that they relayed back to Kazuki.

About half an hour later Soushi had cleaned his plate. He drained the remainder of the lemonade before setting the glass back down on the table. Gathering up his bag, he took his wallet out and headed over to Mizoguchi at the till to pay.

"Leaving already, Soushi?" Mizoguchi commented as Soushi handed over the money.

His words were loud enough for Kazuki to hear, and his head jerked up in response, eyes going wide when he realised that Soushi was preparing to leave.

"Here, take this for a minute," Kazuki said, shoving the wooden spoon he'd been holding into the hand of a startled Akira, and pushed the younger boy towards the stove. "Keep stirring that pot for me, alright?"

"Eh? Kazuki-senpai, where are you going?"

Ignoring the other boy's question, Kazuki hurried over to Soushi, grabbing his arm again. "Soushi! You're not going already, are you?"

"Er, yeah, I am. I've finished eating," Soushi began hesitantly, eyes flitting over to the doorway. "It was delicious as always. Thank you."

"Can't you stay for a bit longer?" Kazuki asked insistently.

"No, I have, um, homework I need to do, so I've got to get back to my room."

"In that case I'll go with you! Just give me a minute to get changed and—"

"Oh no you don't," Mizoguchi interrupted, his hand clenching around Kazuki's shoulder in an iron grip. "You're not leaving that quickly when I've only just managed to get you back. Look at all those customers. I need you back in that kitchen now."

"Ah, er—" Kazuki stammered weakly, before looking at Soushi imploringly. "I guess it can't be helped… I'll probably be here for a couple more hours. Please, Soushi, at least stay here until I've finished."

"No, Kazuki, I just told you I have to leave now," Soushi said, feeling his irritation start to grow again, fists clenching tightly. "I'll see you again later on."

"Well, why don't you just do your homework here and then we can—"

"Damn it, Kazuki! What the hell is wrong with you lately?" Soushi shouted hotly, his patience finally snapping. "Why are you acting so damn clingy since I returned? Just leave me alone and give me some space, will you? You're driving me crazy! It's not like I'm going to just fade away or something the minute I'm out of your sight!"

Soushi's outburst turned out to be far louder than he'd intended, easily drowning out the usual background chatter in the cafe. A deathly silence fell over the room.

It was quiet enough for Soushi to clearly hear Kazuki's sharp intake of breath as he abruptly let go of Soushi's arm, and his usual gentle brown eyes filled with horror as Soushi's words sunk in.

Soushi stared back at him, feeling frozen in place, before realisation suddenly dawned on him

'.… Oh? … Oh! … Is that really why Kazuki's been acting like this?'

Soushi felt his face flush with mortification, and then embarrassment when he also noticed that practically everyone in the cafe was gaping at the pair of them in disbelief.

"Kazuki-kun, are you ok?" Maya asked worriedly, appearing at Kazuki's side and steadying the brunette, who had gone pale with shock. Soushi winced at the icy glare Maya suddenly aimed at him, feeling his face burn even hotter.

"I— I've got to go now," Soushi whispered, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Thanks again for the food. I'll see you later."

With that he quickly turned on his heel and bolted for the door, not daring to look back.

Soushi's footsteps echoed loudly as he pounded through the corridors of Alvis towards his room, not bothering to apologise to the few remaining Alvis personnel that he ended up barging into in his hurry to reach his destination; nor did he stop at the concerned call of "Minashiro-kun, are you alright?" from Chizuru as he passed the medical room.

When he finally made it to his room, he hastily unlocked the door and went inside. He let his bag dropped to the floor as he leaned back against the cool metal wall, bringing a hand up to his forehead and letting out a shuddering breath.

"I can't believe I did that. I'm such an idiot," Soushi whispered out loud. "I just blurted that out in front of everyone. Kazuki, he…" Soushi's chest tightened guiltily as he recalled the devastated look on Kazuki's face after he'd finished his little tirade.

Soushi slid to the floor, burying his head in his hands. "It's my fault this got so out of hand. I should have just talked to him right away and asked him what was wrong. How can I face him again now after what I said?"

Soushi felt his eyes burning with unshed tears that he struggled to hold back. "… has he really been worrying that I'm just going to disappear again like before? And then… with the way I'm been snapping at him today, no wonder he thinks I'm regretting being back home. I'm so stupid…"

Soushi drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them tightly and letting his head slump forward as he gave in and started to sob quietly.

After a few minutes there was a quiet knocking at his door. "Soushi-kun, are you in there?"

Soushi raised his head. "… Fumihiko-san?"

Quickly getting to his feet, Soushi wiped at his face with the sleeve of his jacket. He took a moment to compose himself before opening the door and was greeted by the worried face of Fumihiko.

"F-fumihiko-san, what can I do for you?" Soushi asked, his voice still raw from his tears, catching in his throat.

"Soushi-kun, has something happened? Chizuru phoned me just now, asking me to check up on you."

Soushi bit his lip, feeling his composure slip. "I— I had a… fight with Kazuki."

"A fight?" Fumihiko echoed. "What about?"

"Well, not so much a fight. I was just so fed up with the way he'd been constantly following me around since I returned. … I finally just lost my temper and started screaming at him about it in the middle of the cafe, right in front of everyone. He looked… crushed." Soushi's hand on the doorframe started to tremble. "Then I just ran away and left him there…. I, I— "

"Soushi-kun, perhaps you should sit down? You're not looking too good," Fumhiko suggested, maneuvering the blond boy towards the sofa.

Soushi was grateful to be off his feet. He had been feeling pretty sick - mainly with guilt. Fumihiko took a seat beside him and regarded him carefully.

"I have been hearing from the others that Kazuki has been acting strangely. I hadn't seen much of it myself though." Fumhiko let out a dry chuckle. "Mainly because he's spent the whole time with you. He's not even coming home in the evening now - he's been leaving meals for me to heat up in the microwave. I didn't think much of it at first, I just assumed the two of you simply wanted to, ah-hem, spend the night together."

Soushi flushed bright red, and looked away in embarrassment. "Er, no, no, I, we, we haven't— um, we're-not—" he babbled incoherently. "… He's been sleeping on the sofa - honestly."

"Really?" Fumihiko said disbelievingly. "You know… I realised a long time ago just how much you mean to my son, and I hope I'm not too presumptuous in assuming that you feel the same way about him."

"You wouldn't be wrong to assume that," Soushi said quietly. "But even now I find it hard to talk about my… feelings. That's another reason why I haven't talked to him about his recent 'clinginess'. I hoped if I just ignored it the problem would go away."

Fumihiko rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It's strange. I assumed once you returned that he'd go back to his normal self. I don't know what's got into him."

"I think I know why he's been acting like that now," Soushi admitted. "I think he's been worrying that I'm going to… disappear again, like when I was assimilated."

"Why on earth would he think that?" Fumihiko asked, shaking his head in exasperation. "All your medical checks have come back perfectly fine, and we haven't heard anything from the Festum since Misao left. Honestly, that son of mine just has to find something to brood about…"

Fumihiko rose to his feet, still muttering to himself under his breath. "Well, now that you've figured out the problem, I'm sure the two of you will be able to work things out." He smiled at Soushi fondly, "You're a good boy, Soushi-kun. I know I can count on you to take care of my son; and I know he'll do the same for you."

Soushi blushed again when he realised that this was basically Fumihiko's way of saying that he approved of the two of them being together. "Thank you, Fumihiko-san," he said gratefully. "But you might not be so quick to say that if you'd been there in the cafe earlier…"

"Every couple have their arguments, Soushi-kun," Fumihiko said, with a soft chuckle. "Kazuki is a strong boy in many ways, but when it comes to you… let's just say, you're his weak spot. Well, I must be going now. I'm sure you have things you need to do."

"Yeah, you're right. Good night, Fumihiko-san," Soushi said, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if Kazuki is still at the cafe…"

"Good night, Soushi-kun." Fumihiko paused in the doorway, looking back at Soushi with a sly smile. "Should I assume that Kazuki won't be coming home tonight, either?"

Soushi coughed into his hand, bowing his head. "Er, yeah, you probably should," he stammered awkwardly.

With that the door slid shut, leaving Soushi alone with his thoughts. After a minute or so he sighed and reached for his coat. He couldn't put it off any longer; he had to talk to Kazuki.

It had grown dark by the time Soushi made his way back to the Rakuen cafe, but the lights from inside glowed warm and invitingly - not that Soushi was sure he'd be all that welcome right now.

Soushi peered tentatively through the large front window, noting that he couldn't see any sign of Kazuki behind the counter. 'Is he not here any more? Where could he have gone?'

"Minashiro-kun."

Soushi jumped at the sound of Maya's voice, and turned to see her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, frowning at him in disapproval. "I realise that Kazuki-kun has been annoying you lately, but you didn't handle that very tactfully."

"It's not like I did it on purpose…" Soushi said, glancing over her shoulder into the cafe. "Is he still here?"

"No. He said he wanted to go for a walk by himself to think things over." Maya's frown deepened. "He was very upset, you know."

"Yeah, I know…"

"But I did try to convince him that you weren't really angry with him, and you were just uncomfortable with his sudden clinginess."

"Um, t-thank you," Soushi mumbled, feeling rather like a scolded child under her glare. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"No. You'll just have to find him for yourself." With that Maya turned on her heel and slammed the door shut in Soushi's face.

"… I guess I had that coming," Soushi admitted, before heading off to continue his search for Kazuki. He ended up passing Kenji and Sakura in the road, as they headed for the Rakuen cafe themselves.

"Hey, Soushi, I see you've lost your puppy. Maybe you really do need to keep him on a tighter leash," Sakura said with a playful wink.

"… What?"

"Oh, just ignore her," Kenji suggested, exchanging a playful grin with Sakura. "I heard you made quite a scene earlier - real smooth, Soushi."

Soushi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, I already got an earful from Toomi about it. Look, have you two seen Kazuki anywhere? I need to find him."

"We did pass him a while ago actually, but he wasn't exactly in the moon to talk," Kenji said. "We just came from the beach though, and he wasn't there. He's probably gone someplace where he can be by himself."

"Anyway, good luck, Soushi," Sakura said, and the two of them headed inside the cafe.

Soushi sighed to himself; apart from the beach there weren't too many places who could think of looking; maybe the pier, or inside Alvis or perhaps Kazuki had just decided to go home after all. There was only one other possible place that came to mind.

Soushi could already make out the solitary figure sitting on the stone bench as he quietly approached the small shrine, faintly illuminated the by the lanterns above.

"Kazuki," Soushi whispered.

Kazuki looked up at the soft utterance of his name, his eyes widening at the sight of Soushi. "S-soushi," he called back, voice filled with sadness.

Soushi swallowed back another wave of guilt at the sight of Kazuki's bloodshot eyes, and the fresh tears of his cheeks, shining like silver in the moonlight. He nervously took a seat on the bench beside him. "Kazuki, er, I—" he started, trying to gather his nerves.

"Soushi, I—"

"—I'm sorry."

"—I'm sorry!"

They blinked at each other owlishly when their words overlapped.

Kazuki shook his head. "You shouldn't apologise, Soushi, I was the one acting so paranoid. I've practically been stalking you…"

"But I am sorry, Kazuki. I said some terrible things to you earlier. I shouldn't have reacted like that, in front of everyone. I should have asked you what was wrong sooner." Soushi reached over and placed his hand on top of Kazuki's, drawing a quiet gasp from the dark-haired boy. "Why would you think that I'm going to disappear again?"

"On the day you returned, that moment when I saw you standing over me when my vision cleared; I don't think I can ever explain to you just how happy I felt right then." Kazuki let his eyes linger on their joined hands, before looking up to meet Soushi's gaze. "But then, that night I— I dreamed that when I reached out and took your hand you… just started to crumble away into thousands of pieces of assimilation crystals. I woke up, and for a moment I was terrified that you weren't real. That you really had just crumbled to dust in my hands… just like the first time."

"You should have told me, Kazuki," Soushi whispered, shifting even closer and resting his head against Kazuki's shoulder comfortingly.

"I know. There are lots of things I should have told you, Soushi. But I can never find the right time… or enough courage. I thought that if I followed you everywhere I could be certain that you wouldn't fade away again." Kazuki let out a bitter laugh. "I was trying to get closer to you, but I just ended up pushing you further away. How ironic… I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

Soushi let out soft chuckle himself. "We both are, Kazuki." He sat up and took Kazuki's face in his hands, brushing away the remaining tears. "I'm here, Kazuki. I'm real. I'm not going to fade away again. Please believe me."

"I do. I, I'm sorry, Soushi, I didn't mean to—"

"Shh, Kazuki. It's alright now," Soushi said, pressing a finger to his lips. "And I don't regret coming back to the island, Kazuki. I could never regret it. I belong here. I belong… with you. I need you, I—"

Soushi leaned in until his breath tickled against Kazuki's lips, "— I love you." And with that he pressed their mouths together.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, their hands moving up to tangle in their hair as continued to gently explore each other's mouths.

Kazuki finally pulled back, panting for air. His eyes dancing brightly, as more tears, this time of joy, started to form. "Soushi, I love you, too! I love you so much. I wanted to tell you right away, as soon as I'd welcomed you home, but somehow I couldn't get the words out."

"Me too. You know I've never been too good when it comes to my own feelings. I'd hoped that maybe you could tell how I felt without me having to say it out loud," Soushi said, equally breathless. He leaned his forehead against Kazuki's. "Let's try not to keep things from each other any more, aright? If something's worrying us, we should just say so."

Kazuki nodded heartily in agreement. He wrapped his arms around Soushi, nuzzling his face into the other boy's silky golden hair. They stayed like this few a few minutes, until Kazuki noticed that Soushi was shivering with cold.

"Soushi, it's getting awfully late; maybe we should go back home now?" Kazuki suggested. Soushi murmured in agreement, and Kazuki got to his feet, offering him his hand. The blond accepted the offer almost instantly, and the two of them left the shrine hand in hand.

"By the way; you're staying with me in my room again tonight, Kazuki," Soushi announced as they walked together through the dark streets, forcing himself not to blush, "and this time, you won't be sleeping on the sofa."

"Oh? … oh!" Kazuki exclaimed, his own face turning bright red as he realised what Soushi meant. "But— are you sure, Soushi?"

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Kazuki. I'm going to prove to you once and for all just how real I am."

The end. Hope you guys enjoyed it. ^^