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===================================================================== CATACLYSM An EARTHIAN fanfiction by Komadori-chan MD ===================================================================== Chapter One: Dreams to Dream ------------------------------------------------- The days that followed crept by
slowly, but without further incident—the nightmares that had plagued the
younger angel having curiously ceased to play... or so it seemed. Chihaya slept quietly throughout the nights
now, much to Kagetsuya’s relief.
However, the dark angel’s unusual display of edginess did not subside,
but instead shadowed his increasing listlessness. Kagetsuya had said nothing of
this, out of respect to his mate, but grew less and less accommodating with
each passing day—though in his dazed state, Chihaya barely noticed the change
in his mood. But that hardly surprised
him, for Chihaya barely noticed anything
anymore if it wasn’t pointed out to him.
It was such a startling contrast from the vibrant, violet-haired boy
he’d fallen in love with—the one who had always burned with more life than
any single creature had a right to... the one who now stared lifelessly into
infinity, amaryllis eyes flat and bleak with hopelessness. It was enough to make his heart
ache... But at least he was aware of
the source of this enigmatic depression, if nothing else. It seemed that there was something
more to those dreams that was disturbing the violet-eyed youth— something
that he refused to talk about—and whatever it was, it was beginning to
visibly drain the life and vitality out of his lover. Obviously, the silence was getting them
nowhere even faster, but Kagetsuya still knew better than to press the issue. Doing so would only cause what tension
already existed to grow worse... and some things just could not be
rushed. When Chihaya was ready to
discuss it, he would. But no amount of reasoning could
stay the whispering voice in the back of his mind that kept insisting that
Chihaya would wait too long to do so...
And for as irrational as that voice was, Kagetsuya couldn’t help but
wonder... ------------------------------------------------ Hazy eyes of midnight blue
fluttered open slowly, their slight iciness softened in the dim glow of
twilight. A thick fringe of dusky
lashes swept over lightly flushed skin as Kagetsuya stirred from the
indulgent embrace of slumber. Giving a
subtle stretch to loosen up his aching joints, he let his gaze fall on the
empty spot next to him. Reaching out,
his hand encountered surprisingly cold sheets... Chihaya had been gone for
quite some time already. Sighing,
Kagetsuya rolled over on his back, unwilling to look at the intimate
impression that his partner had left behind in the comforter and pillows—another
reminder of their new, uncomfortable reality. For a long minute he lay still,
eyes narrowed in concentration as he listened to his surroundings. Carefully, he began sorting and placing
various insignificant rumblings of sound—the quiet growl of early morning traffic
below, a songbird perched outside the window, the tinkling of crystal wind
chimes blowing in the breeze—but he found nothing to indicate Chihaya's
whereabouts. But that was just as
well, he supposed. Who would expect
the former positive checker to be up and actively doing something this early
in the morning—especially in light of recent developments? 'He's probably off somewhere brooding again...' Burying himself back under the
bulky, quilted comforter, Kagetsuya cocooned himself in the sheets—something
that Chihaya had been more apt to doing on particularly chill days—and
contemplated staying comfortably bundled like so for an extra hour this
morning. But for as tempting as the
concept was—and really, Kagetsuya wanted more than nothing than to forget all
of his problems for a few hours at the very least—the golden-haired angel
found, quite miserably, that he could not get truly comfortable. It was difficult to feel any satisfaction
in toasty, warm blankets on a cold day when you were in bed alone. Sucking his teeth in irritation,
the flaxen haired angel pushed himself up on his elbows, feeling the covers
fall to his waist in a huge, downy pile.
Straightening himself until he sat completely upright, Kagetsuya took
a deep breath and raked a hand through his wavy, Earthian style locks, his
fingers combing through the deceptively short strands with ease. Well, if there was anything good to be said
about having to disguise himself as an Earthian, it was the luxury of going
to sleep without having to tie back or possibly even braid his hair first.
Long hair was hard enough to manage without getting it all tangled up by
sleeping with it down as well. Soundlessly, he slipped from
underneath the heavy covers, noting vaguely how smoothly they slid over the
silky fabric of his pajamas—another wasted indulgence. Reflexively, he smoothed his hands over the
soft, shiny material, watching as it rippled and gleamed like cream-colored
water, cool and feathery beneath his fingertips as he repaired his rumpled
appearance. Yes, water indeed... flowing and sexy against his hot skin... but
like the bed sheets, unappealing to his senses in his overpowering concern
for his wayward boyfriend. Perhaps that more than anything
else was responsible for his inability to enjoy anything lately. Chihaya's apparent misery made it
impossible for him to feel good without also feeling guilty. More recently, the sun wasn't quite was
warm, the water not as refreshing... even his food was beginning to taste
like cotton to him. This oppressive
atmosphere was starting to weigh heavily on him, and if something wasn't done
soon, he had a feeling that Chihaya would be dragging the both of them down. ------------------------------------------------ As he had suspected he would,
Kagetsuya found Chihaya perched on a window seat in their spare bedroom at
the top of the stairs. The dark angel
slouched languidly against the pane, one knee drawn up, to which his arms
wrapped about protectively as he stared pensively out into the still-bleak,
gray sky morning. There was a sad,
wistful sort of expression etched into his delicate features, which, in the
filtered light of dusk, made Chihaya look more like a melancholy pastel than
a real person. "Chihaya-kun..." Misted amethyst eyes, sunken and
over wide, blinked in surprise as they riveted on him, “Ara, Kage-sa... a...
ano...” “Daijoubu ka?” “H-hai... gomen nasai... I didn’t
hear you come in...” came the weak reply. “That’s okay,” Kagetsuya said,
“How are you this morning?” “Fine” It was a lie and they both
knew it, but Kagetsuya made no further remarks on the issue. Instead, he offered one of a set of
steaming ceramic mugs to his lover.
Chihaya stared blankly at it for a few moments before accepting it;
obviously, he hadn’t noticed that his partner had been carrying hot chocolate
with him either. Flashing him a rather
faint, wilted smile more reminiscent of a grimace, Chihaya became absorbed in
the life-defining task of blowing away the thick clouds of whirling
steam. Frowning slightly, Kagetsuya
glanced into his own mug of swirling cocoa with no small amount of
disinterest and made an indistinguishable sound in the back of his throat. “Ne?” Chihaya asked quietly,
peering at his lover curiously through the curling wisps of white. Meekly, he clutched his cup in both hands
and ventured a tiny sip when he noticed the hard, cutting glare he got. Kagetsuya looked very angry indeed. Kagetsuya, meanwhile, had just
noticed his mate look at him and blanch.
Mentally, he gave himself a swift kick in the ass as he realized what
kind of sour expression he must be sporting to scare the younger man that
way. Clearing his throat, he placed his
mug down on a nearby table and moved to sit down next to the dark-haired
youth, waiting silently as Chihaya swung his legs in to give him enough space
to do so. Leaning against the opposite
pane, Kagetsuya tried a soothing smile, “Gomen, Chihaya... I did not mean to
upset you like that. I’m not angry
with you.” “You... you’re not?” Chihaya
blinked in surprise, still eyeing him warily. “No. I...” there was a short pause as he
pondered his response, “I’ve just been a little worried about you lately,
that’s all,” he said as truthfully as possible. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “It...
it just upsets me...” he trailed off, unable to piece together the right
words to convey his thoughts correctly. Not that Chihaya really needed him
to continue. They both knew what it was. “Gomen ne, Kagetsuya...” “No,” Kagetsuya shook his head and
placed a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder for emphasis, “don’t be. It isn’t your fault.” There was a long, meaningful
silence and Kagetsuya found himself nearly drowning in those incredible
amethyst eyes, almost forgetting himself for a moment and letting his hand drift
upward to cup Chihaya’s cheek. The
dark angel closed his eyes and leaned into him readily, but Kagetsuya didn’t
miss the depleted, heavy feeling behind it, which was far from what his heart
had hoped for. ‘Even now... but it’s wrong of me, Chihaya...’ he mused sadly as
he forced himself to withdraw and turn away before he did something
stupid. “Anyway,” he said suddenly, moving
to stand, “since we’re both up already, why don’t we go make a trip down to
the bakery on the corner and catch them when they open?” “Ah...” Chihaya’s mind spun at the
abrupt change of subject, “bakery?” Kagetsuya smiled down at him
tiredly, “Yes, we’ll go get those crème puffs you like so much... while
they’re still warm. What do you say?” “Really?” “Really, really.” And for the first time in longer
than he cared to remember, Chihaya actually smiled. ------------------------------------------------ The sky was already highlighted
with brilliant streaks of magenta and tangerine when the two Earth-bound
angels emerged from their apartment building and set out through the sparsely
occupied streets of uptown Shinjuku toward the Thankfully, though, the
violet-eyed angel had had a shift in mood earlier, when Kagetsuya had
suggested a brisk morning jog in the park and a trip to the neighborhood
bakery to help ease some of the tension, and had remained somewhat amiable
since then. For the most part, this
change of atmosphere was welcomed readily... yet, at the same time, Kagetsuya
had to wonder just how much effort Chihaya was putting into this front. He never realized before how convincing
Chihaya could be at pretending everything was fine—should the time call for
it—but there was something just detectable in his mate’s eyes that continued
to whisper of a deeper sorrow—a burning misery of the soul. Even through the smiles, Chihaya was still
crying... but even in suffering, Chihaya would still always be beautiful to
him. “Na... Kagetsuya!” Chihaya chirped
brightly, cutting through the other’s absorbing thoughts. “Nani?” Kagetsuya blinked,
disoriented. Chihaya giggled at the seemingly
blank expression that had registered on his partner’s fact when he had called
to him. Twirling about energetically,
he abruptly broke into a moderate run, leaving a mildly distracted Kagetsuya
behind, still stuck somewhere halfway between his thoughts and reality. "Follow me, Kage-chan! The park is right ahead! Hurry!” Kagetsuya hesitated, hanging back
briefly before rolling up on his heels and jogging after Chihaya. So lost in
his musings earlier, he had failed to warm up properly. Now he followed at a pace much slower,
almost awkward pace for what he was used to. On his way, he crossed a
provocatively dressed pair of lovers, their identical trench coats blending
almost indistinguishably against their glossy raven hair in the insufficient
lighting. They looked as if they might
be going home from a particularly draining night on the town—a nightclub,
perhaps—lingering tiredly beneath the flame-like glow of the street
lamps. They nodded to him in unison, a
nonverbal signal of greeting, their topaz eyes cool and appraising. Kagetsuya felt the heat rising in his
cheeks at their probing stares. Maybe
they had heard Chihaya call him “Kage-chan”?
Giving them a curt nod in return, he forced himself to look straight
ahead. He would have to remember to
remind Chihaya to be mindful of how he addressed him in public. Earthians might be more liberal about
homosexuality than their own in But even as the unnerving couple
faded into the distance, he could still feel their disapproving gazes
tingling like ice against the back of his neck... and for some odd reason, he
knew that they weren’t doing it because of what they’d heard. And on some irrational level, that scared
him. Pressing forward harder, Kagetsuya
rushed to catch up with Chihaya, for once in his life wanting nothing more
than the quiet and relative safety of the inside of Kamura’s Pastry
Shop. Something definitely didn’t feel
right... and he had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before the
other shoe dropped. ... to be continued ... <<
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