Legend:
Emphasis is shown with * *
Thoughts are shown with / /
Telepathic communication is shown with italics

Glossary:
aa - yeah
aishiteru - I love you
arigatou - thank you
daijoubu - it’s okay; I’m okay
daijoubu?/daijoubu ka? - are you okay?
e? - huh?
fukaku - deeper
gomen - sorry
gomen nasai - I’m so sorry
hai - yeah, okay
hai, hai - okay, okay (as in, ‘have some patience!’)
hoe - this doesn’t mean anything in particular…it’s just something that Sakura says/exclaims in any situation where she’s surprised
iie - no
ima yo - now
ja matta - bye (casual)
ja ne - bye (casual)
Kami-sama - God
koi - come here (the double meaning referred to lies in the fact that ‘koi’ also means the equivalent of ‘beloved’ or ‘sweetheart’)
konnichiwa - hello
motto - more
nan demo nai - nothing
nani? - what?
ne - sort of like ‘eh’ or ‘hey’…a word used to emphasize a point or get someone’s attention
oi - hey
onegai - please
To-ya - an alternate romanization and pronunciation of Touya’s name---Yuki’s affectionate nickname for Touya
un - yup
wakaranai - I don’t know; I don’t understand

*****
You are my only…
You are my treasure
*****

“Yukito-san!!” Sakura whispered breathlessly as she got up on her knees, placing her hands on his shoulders and peering into his eyes. “Gomen nasai!! Daijoubu ka!?”

He couldn’t help himself; his depression lifted instantly, and he was laughing, his eyes closed as he chuckled merrily.

“Hoe?” Sakura squeaked softly, before closing her mouth and looking confused.

“Sakura-chan,” Yuki said, finally opening his eyes to grin warmly at her. He gently squeezed her hand, and she finally seemed to realize how tightly she was grasping his shoulders. Her eyes widened and she whispered another quick “Hoe!” as she pulled her hands away. “I thought I told you it was dangerous to skate without watching where you were going…?”

Somewhere deep within his mind, he was aware of Yue trying to contain the urge to laugh. It was rare for Yue to feel inclined towards humor, so this only made Yuki’s smile widen with delight.

“Hoe…! Gomen!!” Sakura said again, groaning at her own stupidity as she carefully got to her feet, balancing herself precariously on her rollerblades. By the time he got up and brushed himself off, she was blushing bright red, and he couldn’t help laughing again, mainly at the fact that no matter how many times this very situation occurred, Sakura neither learned her lesson, nor ceased to be extremely embarrassed about it.

“Gomen nasai, Yukito-san!” Sakura said again, her voice breathless with embarrassment. He finally managed to open his eyes to see her clutching her clasped hands to her chest just as she had when she was a little girl, which she most certainly wasn’t anymore. At twenty, Sakura had become a beautiful young woman, still as slender and long-legged as she always had been. Her movements, normally so graceful and poised, became characteristically skittish in her embarrassment. “I really didn’t mean to…”

“Daijoubu, Sakura-chan,” Yuki said warmly, reaching out to touch her shoulder lightly. Her blush only worsened and she dropped her eyes for a moment, which gave him a second to get a closer look at her expression. He could see that the pink tinge to her cheeks wasn’t only the result of shame…she seemed flushed with something more than that, something more like joy. “Tell me, Sakura-chan…why are you so happy today?”

Sakura glanced back upwards, and finally smiled a bit sheepishly when she saw the grin he directed at her.

“Oh, you noticed,” she said softly. “I’m just in a very good mood today. I feel so happy lately…I guess that’s why I was so distracted.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Yuki said, falling into step beside her as she slowly started to skate again, glancing to the side to make sure he could keep up with her pace. “But why? Has something wonderful happened?”

Her eyes widened slightly, and then her smile slowly became an almost sly grin.

“You mean you don’t know?” she said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Know what?” Yuki asked, his expression becoming confused. In his mind, he felt Yue echo his question.

She laughed, a sound as bright and cheerful as a crystal bell.

“Well, I won’t tell you then,” she said cheerily, grinning at the confusion on his face. “I’ll let you figure it out for yourself…it’ll be more fun that way.”

“Sakura-chan…” he began, but she only chuckled and wagged her finger before her eyes came to rest on her watch.

“Hoe!” she said quickly, catching her breath. “I’m already late for class! I need to go…ja matta, Yukito-san!”

“Un, ja ne, Sakura-chan!” he called back quickly as she waved, smiled warmly, and skated quickly away. He watched her leave, curiosity still keeping him distracted until a moment later, Yue’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Won’t you be late as well?

Yuki caught his breath as he glanced at his watch, and ignored the vague amusement that reappeared in Yue’s thoughts as he had to hurry to make his way to the office, only realizing when he got there that he’d entirely forgotten to eat lunch, the bag still clutched in his hand, untouched. And despite his earlier thoughts, he was hungry, his stomach growling slightly as he thought about it.

Touya was across the office, refilling his cup at the water cooler, when Yuki rushed in. Yuki sensed Touya’s look immediately and glanced up, their eyes meeting over the sea of cubicles and desks. Yuki smiled and waved, then weaved his way among the cubicles until he reached Touya.

“Konnichiwa, To-ya,” Yuki greeted his boyfriend, who nodded almost gravely in his typical fashion, his eyes glancing over Yuki’s messy hair, flushed cheeks, and general harried appearance.

“What happened to you?” Touya asked, lifting an eyebrow as he took a sip of his water.

“Oh, I lost track of time…I even forgot to eat lunch,” Yuki said sheepishly, blushing slightly with embarrassment as he reached up to put his hair back in order.

“E?” Touya said, eyes widening slightly. “*You* forgot to eat lunch?”

“Don’t be mean, To-ya,” Yuki said, pretending to frown as he poured himself a cup of water.

Touya smirked a bit and placed a hand casually on Yuki’s shoulder.

“Come and find me when it’s time for your break then, ne?” Touya said, and when Yuki glanced toward him in surprise, Touya winked. “We’ll catch a bite together.”

“H…hai,” Yuki said, and he watched as Touya moved back into one of the offices in the back, which was currently reserved for his project. For a moment, Yuki felt paralyzed by a blissful sense of warmth, and he wondered what on Earth he was worrying so much about less than half an hour before. He was in such a good mood that he didn’t notice---or didn’t *want* to notice---that within him, Yue remained hesitant…and Yue’s discomfort was growing.

*****

For most of the day, Yuki’s thoughts remained on work, and Yue remained in silent contemplation, his thoughts closed off from Yuki’s scrutiny. Yuki didn’t mind this---Yue usually tended to seclude himself when Yuki was busy with something, in the hope of not distracting Yuki. Yuki was so distracted by the document he was working on that by the time his break rolled around, he almost forgot that he had a date.

Check the time, Yue murmured eventually, and Yuki was so surprised by the abrupt intrusion of Yue’s voice into his thoughts that his elbow slipped slightly against the desk where he’d been resting it. He quickly glanced towards the clock, and he realized that there was only a moment left before his break would begin. Catching his breath, he shuffled his papers and placed them aside, reaching under his desk to fetch the large shopping bag that carried his uneaten lunch. As soon as the minute hand ticked over to the time his break began, he shot up from his chair and hurried towards the back office he’d seen Touya go into, but he stopped in his tracks when Touya came out of the office, closing the door behind himself. Touya glanced up, caught Yuki’s eyes, smiled, and gestured towards the nearest exit, and Yuki nodded, glancing towards the clock and wishing that they had more time.

A moment later they were outside, settling down to sit on the lawn, and almost before he’d sat down Yuki was shuffling through the contents of his bag, taking out several things and handing them to Touya, while he kept other things for himself.

“Yuki, I don’t need this much,” Touya said with a slight trace of humor as he dropped a few of the things he’d been handed back into the bag. “I’m only eating for one.”

Yuki blushed, and again, Yue seemed faintly exasperated, on the point of demanding that Yuki tell Touya to mind his own business. But this time, the thought remained unspoken; Yue only grumbled slightly before subsiding, waiting patiently as Yuki and Touya ate in companionable silence.

Although Yue said nothing, Yuki had a sense that Yue was thinking about something, trying in the most indirect way to encourage Yuki to say something particular. Yuki knew what he wanted, and after a few moments spent in silence, he swallowed and cleared his throat.

“To-ya…” Yuki began, and Touya glanced up, one eyebrow twitching upwards again. “Who was on the phone this morning? You sounded…upset.”

Touya’s eyebrows settled down into a mild frown.

“I told you, it was someone from work,” Touya answered, glancing down at the remaining bits of sandwich in his hands.

“Someone you don’t like very much?” Yuki asked, trying to push aside that uneasy feeling he felt again, deep in his belly.

“Aa,” Touya said with a nod, sighing quietly before he paused to finish the rest of his sandwich. Brushing his fingers together carelessly and tossing the wrapper back into the bag, he focused his eyes on something in the distance and his frown grew worse. “Someone I don’t like very much at all.”

Yuki couldn’t hide the look of concern that came over his face.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he said hesitantly after a moment of allowing Touya to stew in silence.

Touya seemed to consider this for a moment before he closed his eyes briefly and shook his head, turning then to glance at Yuki and offer him a slight smile.

“Iie, Yuki…maybe sometime I’ll tell you about it, but right now everything feels so…busy and confused…I don’t want to talk about it yet.”

Yuki nodded slowly, still uncertain, the feeling in his stomach telling him that something about this conversation, or more likely the meaning behind it, was out of place. But when Touya smiled at him and reached up to gently brush his hair out of his eyes, some of the tension in his gut lessened and he forced himself to relax, smiling slightly. For several moments they made small talk, until both of them realized their break was about to end, and they got to their feet, quickly making their way back inside.

It wasn’t until Yuki got back to his desk that he slowly let out his breath, placing a hand to his stomach. Food had only seemed to make it worse.

/Lying…/ he heard echo through his mind, and this time he closed his eyes and couldn’t suppress the slightest shiver as he realized that it wasn’t Yue’s voice…the thought was his own.

*****

That night at dinner Yuki was quieter than usual, and worse, he seemed to only pick at his food, his eyes unfocused, staring at something only he could see. Touya watched him, gradually growing more and more concerned until finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Yuki?”

After a few seconds, far too long for Touya’s comfort, Yuki’s head lifted and his eyes cleared, finally focusing on Touya.

“Mm…nani?” Yuki asked, in a soft voice that confirmed his distraction.

“Is there something wrong with the food?” Touya asked, lifting his eyebrows and pointing to Yuki’s mostly-full plate. His own had long since been emptied.

“Oh…iie,” Yuki said, his cheeks flushing slightly. “It’s good.”

“It should be…you made it,” Touya said, but he didn’t say aloud that he’d noticed that Yuki had also seemed distracted as he’d cooked, and that if Yuki remembered his earlier promise to make something out of the ordinary, he’d obviously decided not to keep it.

“Is there something wrong with *you*?” Touya continued, his face settling into a mildly concerned frown.

Yuki swallowed and then quickly dropped his eyes, shaking his head.

“Yuki…” Touya said quietly as he pushed back his chair, getting to his feet. Yuki didn’t look up as Touya came around the table and knelt on one knee next to Yuki’s chair, placing a hand on Yuki’s knee. “Yuki…onegai…tell me what’s wrong.”

As Yuki placed his hand on top of Touya’s, he closed his eyes, swallowing back the instant impulse to parry back the question.

“Wakaranai,” he said quietly, finally meeting Touya’s eyes, surprised by the depth of concern in them. Slowly, he turned in his chair until he was fully facing Touya. “Lately I feel like…something’s wrong. I don’t know what.”

“Wrong?” Touya repeated, his frown deepening instantly as he leaned forward, both hands taking hold of Yuki’s. “Is it Yue? Are you…?”

“Iie, it’s not that,” Yuki said quickly, realizing instantly what Touya was asking. Years ago, when Sakura had first inherited full responsibility over the Clow Cards and the two guardians, Cerberus and Yue, her magic hadn’t been enough to withstand the burden of both transforming all of the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, and sustaining Yue. Cerberus’ magic existed independently of Sakura’s, but Yue had to rely on the power of his mistress, and when that power hadn’t been enough, he had started to fade away…and so had Yukito. When Touya had transferred his power to Yue, Yue’s strength had been replenished, and the danger of he and Yukito disappearing had vanished. But Touya had obviously never forgotten what it was like to slowly watch his lover fade away…

“Are you sure? Yuki…” Touya said, his voice becoming a whisper. Yuki watched as Touya leaned forward, dropping his forehead to rest against Yuki’s thighs, his hands still clutching Yuki’s. “I…”

“To-ya…” Yuki whispered, gently taking back one of his hands to run his fingers back through Touya’s thick, dark hair.

“I can’t lose you,” Touya said quietly, slowly lifting his head to meet Yuki’s eyes. “Please…please tell me if something’s wrong.”

Yuki was silent, his mouth open slightly, unsure of what to say to Touya’s naked display of emotion. Touya’s eyes flicked downwards, honing in for a moment on Yuki’s lips, and then he leaned forward, and Yuki caught his breath quickly before it was swallowed away by the press of Touya’s kiss.

“Yuki…” Touya whispered against his mouth, before he pressed deeper, his tongue gently parting Yuki’s lips further and moving inside, exploring Yuki’s mouth. One hand remained entwined in a now slightly sweaty grip with Yuki’s hand while the other reached up to tangle in Yuki’s hair, holding Yuki still as Touya continued to deepen the kiss.

“Mm…To-ya…” Yuki whispered, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as Touya broke the kiss and trailed his lips up Yuki’s jawline to his ear, then down the side of his neck. The hand in Yuki’s hair slid down, closing briefly over the nape of Yuki’s neck before continuing down to Yuki’s shoulder and then moving around to Yuki’s front. Yuki gasped when he felt Touya’s fingertips loosen his tie and then undo the first few buttons of his shirt before rubbing against Yuki’s breastbone. Within seconds, Touya’s lips had replaced his hands, gently licking and sucking the skin until Yuki felt his whole attention focused on that one place, every nerve alive and poised in waiting between each time that Touya lifted his mouth, only to place it down again, dropping gentle kisses along the line of Yuki’s collarbone until he reached the hollow of Yuki’s throat and dipped his tongue inside.

Yuki shuddered so deeply his bones felt jarred; Touya knew this was a sensitive place, and he always used it to full advantage. Without pausing, Touya dragged his lips slowly back up Yuki’s throat, and Yuki dipped his head back farther and farther, until his own hair was tickling the nape of his neck. His breath was already coming fast and hard as he focused on the feeling of Touya’s mouth leaving a wet trail along his neck, and then the almost painful sensation that seared along that trail when Touya blew lightly and air hit the moisture. Yuki’s hands, both free now as Touya’s hands had moved around to touch Yuki’s back, gripped insistently on Touya’s shoulders, holding tightly as Touya made his way back along Yuki’s jawline and then kissed a careful line across Yuki’s cheekbone, stopping to give his nose a quick peck before he moved upwards. As Yuki tilted his head back downwards, Touya’s hand again gently cupped the back of Yuki’s neck, and he slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips just above Yuki’s left eyebrow.

“Yuki…” he whispered again, and this time there was a note of urgency in the way he said his lover’s name.

“To-ya…” Yuki whispered back, finally regaining himself enough to open his eyes and meet Touya’s hungry gaze. “I think we should…”

“…get to bed,” Touya said, smirking slightly when Yuki grinned and nodded. Touya’s smile widened as he got to his feet and took Yuki’s hand, murmuring a gentle, “Koi…”

Yuki laughed softly at the double meaning, and as he followed Touya towards their bedroom, he loosened his tie and cast it off the moment they got through the door, thinking with a smile that he wouldn’t have another chance to get rid of it. True to his thought, the moment they were through the door, Touya turned back and seized him, hands gently tugging Yuki towards him as he bent and captured Yuki’s lips. Yuki gasped into the kiss as he felt Touya’s knee gently press between his legs, brushing his burgeoning erection. Touya had again fixated on Yuki’s neck, licking and kissing his way down one side of it as Yuki grasped helplessly at Touya’s shoulder blades.

“Oi, To-ya…” Yuki began breathlessly, but he didn’t have time to say anything else; in the next second, Touya had pushed him down to the futon, and Touya’s hands were skillfully ridding him of his clothing as quickly as possible.

“Nani?” Touya asked, but Yuki only shook his head.

“N…nan demo nai,” Yuki breathed, again closing his eyes and leaning back his head as Touya’s lips now made their way down his neck to his shoulder, eagerly tasting the skin that was revealed as Touya pulled off Yuki’s shirt. His lips continued downwards, pausing only long enough for Touya to circle his tongue teasingly around each of Yuki’s nipples and then again as he dipped his tongue lightly into Yuki’s navel, before dragging maddeningly slowly along Yuki’s lower abdomen. By this time Touya’s hands were well on their way to divesting Yuki of his pants, and Yuki was panting, his hands clutching the sheets beneath him, eyes closed as he squirmed under Touya’s continued, tantalizing onslaught.

“To-ya…onegai!” Yuki whispered, opening his eyes to glance down just as Touya’s fingers curled under the waistline of Yuki’s boxers. Touya glanced up in response to Yuki’s plea and grinned slightly, quirking an eyebrow before he pulled Yuki’s boxers off, quickly but carefully, only slightly brushing Yuki’s erection in the process. It was enough to make Yuki nearly jump off the bed, his grip on the sheets tightening, twisting them harshly between his fingers.

At the urging of Touya’s hands, Yuki lifted his knees, and Touya settled himself between Yuki’s legs, hooking his arms underneath Yuki’s thighs and pressing his hands against Yuki’s hips, gently keeping him anchored to the bed as Touya took a quick breath and descended to his task. Yuki whimpered softly as at first Touya only breathed along the length of Yuki’s erection, and then the very tip of his tongue traced the same path.

“To-ya…” Yuki said hoarsely, his voice breathless with need. He opened his eyes to watch as Touya carefully grasped the base of Yuki’s shaft. Then, his eyes finally dropping away from Yuki’s face, Touya’s mouth slowly engulfed the head, and Yuki’s hips bucked, unable to thrust upwards because of the press of Touya’s hand keeping them locked to the bed. Yuki groaned with frustration and need as Touya gently tongued around the ridge at the head of Yuki’s penis and then laved the sensitive skin before moving downwards, enfolding more of Yuki’s length into the warmth of his mouth.

“Ah…” Yuki whispered, his eyes closed one moment and flying open the next, always wanting to watch as Touya’s head bobbed up and down over his shaft and yet wanting to shut away the sight for fear that the added visual stimulation would mean this would be over far too soon.

Gradually, and then more pressingly, Yuki became aware of the second layer of desire and need beneath his own, giving an extra edge to his arousal, and he became aware of the distinct sound of quickened breathing in his ears, a layer of sound over his own feverish pants.

For the most part, Yue always affected not to experience the normal sensations of an ordinary human. He didn’t eat---unless one counted the sheer bulk Yuki always ate, which he knew now was partly to sustain the energy of two beings---and claimed that if given the choice he wouldn’t sleep. Yue had never directly said whether or not he naturally felt sensations of desire or lust, and Yuki had never felt it prudent to ask, particularly since in this case, thoughts spoke louder than words.

True to form, Yue always tried valiantly to close his mind entirely off from Yuki’s whenever Touya and Yuki decided to get amorous. Whether this was because of some sense of propriety or because Yue himself felt uncomfortable with the prospect, Yuki had never been sure. But as time had passed, more often than not, Yue’s efforts had for the most part failed, and Yuki had realized that Yue was just as aware of what was going on as he was, and very nearly as aroused. By the time Yuki had discovered this, he had already become so used to Yue’s presence in almost every other aspect of his life that he’d felt no particular shame or embarrassment.

He had, at the very beginning, felt some stirrings of jealousy at what he saw as Yue’s intrusion into the single most private part of his life, but the very first time Yue had entirely lost his composure and followed Yuki into orgasm, Yuki’s mind had quickly changed. Not only had the dual sensation of his pleasure and Yue’s been an overwhelming and breathtaking experience, but he had also become aware in the aftermath of that incident, particularly as Yue had quieted and withdrawn into a state of something almost like shame, that Yue was…lonely. Yue desired and needed companionship and the touch of another being just as much as Yuki did, and he had no one to give that to him, and was ashamed to impede, even unwittingly, on Yuki’s pleasure, something that he too obviously considered private.

So, as time passed, Yuki had come to realize that he no longer harbored any jealousy at all towards Yue…instead, he had come to accept the fact that in a way, Yue was as much Touya’s lover as he was, and it gave Yuki almost as much pleasure to know that Yue was comforted by Touya’s touch as it gave him to feel that touch himself. However, Yuki was also aware of the fact that Yue still, despite the fact that he was aware of Yuki’s change of heart on the matter, always felt a faint stirring of shame after Touya and Yuki’s lovemaking, and also something else…a soul-deep, almost heartbreaking yearning. Yuki had come to realize that for Yue, this wasn’t enough…he wanted someone of his own to love.

Of course, Yue would never admit to this…to Yuki or otherwise. When it came to the matter of his own feelings, Yue continued to remain stubbornly private.

Yuki gasped again as his hips once more lurched upwards, trying to press closer, in spite of his own efforts to remain calm. He had no desire to choke Touya, but if this continued for much longer…

“To-ya…!” he whispered insistently after another moment, opening his eyes to stare down, his hands tightening slightly where they’d come to rest in Touya’s hair. “To-ya…motto…onegai…”

Touya slowly drew back, kissing the very tip of Yuki’s erection gently before he withdrew and lifted his eyes to meet Yuki’s, smiling when he saw the pleading in his lover’s eyes. He was breathing just as hard as Yuki, his chest rising and falling quickly as his eyes took in the sight of Yuki’s body writhing gently against the bed, Yuki’s hair strewn messily over his forehead as his eyes urged Touya to hurry. Touya laughed quietly when he realized that he had stripped Yuki of all his clothing except his socks, which made for a somewhat humorous sight. Yuki groaned quietly when Touya’s warm hands ran down along his legs, then stopped to pull away the socks, tossing them aside. Then Yuki’s eyes focused again on Touya, watching with almost desperate anticipation as Touya quickly pulled off his own clothing, dropping it all in a messy pile at his feet, stopping long enough to pull off his own socks and giving Yuki a brief grin when Yuki chuckled at this.

Touya fumbled for a moment at the night table, then collapsed between Yuki’s still-raised legs, his hands shaking as they unscrewed the tube he’d grabbed. Yuki waited, hand against his chest now as he watched Touya spread some of the lubricant onto a finger and lean down, gently pushing the finger into Yuki’s body. Yuki hitched in a breath, groaning again, long and low, at the blissful feeling, and he jumped slightly when Touya’s fingertip gently teased at his prostate. He felt more than heard the deliciously low sound of Yue’s moan ring through his mind, and it only made him desire Touya more.

“To-ya,” he pleaded again, almost whimpering.

“Hai, hai,” Touya said with a grin, shaking his head slightly at Yuki’s impatience. He glanced up towards Yuki’s face and lightly touched Yuki’s knee, asking a silent question, and Yuki shook his head, moaning softly once more as he used shaking arms to raised himself and turn himself over, until he was on his hands and knees.

“Ima yo…To-ya…” Yuki whispered, closing his eyes again as he felt Touya’s hand gently come to rest against the small of his back before he gently grasped Yuki’s hips. Yuki sucked in a breath as he felt Touya’s knees brush his, spreading his legs farther, and then Touya positioned himself behind Yuki and Yuki felt his entire body tense…

He cried out loudly when Touya slowly thrust himself inside, his hands tightening carefully on Yuki’s hips as he positioned himself for a better angle, aiming to give Yuki the most pleasure possible.

“Yuki…? Daijoubu ka?”

Yuki could only nod mutely as he fought to catch his breath, then groaned again hoarsely at the slick feeling of Touya pushing harder, deeper within him.

“Kami-sama…” Yuki whispered, dropping his head slightly and breathing deeply as Touya slowed slightly for the last few inches.

Fukaku… Yue said in Yuki’s mind, so softly that Yuki might have imagined it. But he could feel the pressure of Yue’s need pressing on his mind and his groin, pulling him ever closer to the edge.

“Ah…To-ya!” Yuki cried as Touya finally thrust the rest of the way in, rubbing firmly against Yuki’s prostate.

“A…aishiteru, Yuki,” Touya whispered hoarsely between breaths as he sped his pace slightly, and Yuki’s hands again twisted the sheets tightly as he fought for a grip. Touya’s hand resting securely around his waist kept him upright, but the sensation of Touya’s thighs pressing against the back of his, and of Touya pulsing deep within him…

Too much… Yue whispered, and silently, though with the knowledge that Yue would hear him, Yuki agreed.

“To-ya…” Yuki whispered once more, projecting all of his love and desire into his voice before he fell over the edge and into the abyss, throwing back his head and crying out as wave after wave of intense sensation rippled through his body. Only a few seconds later, Yue followed him, making a softer sound of release before his presence dissolved into a thick layer of pleasure streaming above and through Yuki’s. Only a moment later, Touya brushed his lips gently along Yuki’s backbone and then his breath caught before he called out Yuki’s name and shuddered, releasing himself into Yuki’s body.

A few minutes later, as Yuki’s quivering arms threatened to give out, Touya slowly leaned back on his heels and gathered Yuki in his arms, pulling him tightly against his chest. Touya rested his forehead on Yuki’s shoulder as he struggled to catch his breath, and Yuki kept his eyes closed as he too tried to calm his racing heart. Eventually, Yue’s presence solidified in his mind, and he again became aware of the terrible sense of yearning that Yue tried to hide. Yuki found it saddening that for Yue, the experience of lovemaking was always tinged with sorrow.

Finally, Touya’s tight grip around Yuki’s waist loosened, and Yuki slowly lowered himself to the bed, groaning quietly as he felt Touya pull away from his body. Yue had quickly subsided to the state where his consciousness was dozing, despite Yuki’s continued wakefulness, and Yuki didn’t disturb him, his own thoughts still entirely on hold, his body fighting to catch up after the exertions of the past few minutes. Yuki rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, watching as the vaguely blurry form of Touya brushed his hair out of his eyes and then lowered himself to lie partly against Yuki, his head resting on Yuki’s chest. Yuki ran his fingers through Touya’s hair, smiling warmly as he felt Touya’s arm settle around his waist.

“Daijoubu ka?” Touya asked again, softly, his breath warm against Yuki’s skin.

“Aa,” Yuki answered, running his hand in gentle circles over Touya’s back, even as he felt himself drifting to sleep. “Arigatou, To-ya.”

“Mm,” Touya murmured in response, and then he brushed a quick kiss across the skin of Yuki’s chest before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into sleep. Yuki waited until he was sure Touya was asleep before he let himself relax, his hand still gently tangled in Touya’s hair.

*****