[Fic] "The Transient and the Eternal: Stop that" -- Angel Sanctuary
I'm doing thirtyforthree again, this time for Kira Sakuya/Mudo Setsuna/Mudo Sara from Kaori Yuki's Angel Sanctuary. There will be spoilers in nearly every theme -- given the characters, it's nearly impossible to avoid them! -- and a lot of potentially objectionable content. This is because the source manga has a lot of potentially objectionable content. If incest squicks you, or you know you'll be bothered by some unusual and often negative interpretations of Judeo-Christian theology, you probably won't want to read any of these stories.
With that said...
Theme: #15 - Stop that
Warnings: spoilers!
Notes: This fic is set pre-manga, between Irritating people (in which Sara and Kira hate Setsuna's girlfriend) and Touch (in which Kira feels less human than usual). In this installment, Kira takes Setsuna and Sara into the city to forget about their parents' impending divorce. (2,950 words)
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The Transient and the Eternal: Stop that
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"They're getting divorced."
Kira shrugged and lit a cigarette. "So? You've been expecting that for years."
"Even if I knew it was going to happen, it still bothers me!" Setsuna yelled. He kicked the dumpster behind the school kitchen, viciously, seeking an outlet for his confusion. "It's not like I wanted this to happen! Yeah, life sucked with them fighting all the time, and it'll be nice not to have Mom breathing down my neck, but they're my parents. They used to love each other -- I don't know what went wrong or why they couldn't fix it, and that scares the shit out of me. What if they were just too lazy to fix things? I have a right to be mad!"
He kicked the dumpster again. It didn't help, and now his toenail seemed to be jammed. It throbbed with a nasty sharp heat.
Kira blew a stream of smoke, looking thoughtful. "Shit happens," he said after a minute. "I don't know what's going on in your parents' heads -- for one thing, your mom's crazy and your dad's a dick -- but it's not your fault and at least now you have an object lesson in what not to do with your girl. Whoever you end up choosing."
"Fuck that!" Setsuna picked up his satchel and threw it against the wall. The clasp promptly broke, spilling notebooks, pens, and two textbooks over the asphalt. "I hate you, Kira," he said as he knelt to gather his things again. "Don't you ever care about anything?"
"I'm here listening to you," Kira pointed out. He knelt beside Setsuna and handed him a stray pencil. "You're not the only person affected. How's Sara taking things?"
Setsuna slumped, letting his forehead rest on the ground. "She locked herself in her room last night and won't come out. Dad didn't care. He said she was being silly and melodramatic, and waltzed off to his office like usual. Mom's been knocking on the door, wheedling, yelling, reading Bible verses, waving food under the keyhole -- you name it, she's done it. She's so focused on Sara that she didn't even gloat at me over breakfast."
"Gloat?"
Setsuna tipped sideways, clutching his knees and curling into a ball on the hard asphalt. "Mom's moving out, buying a new house with the alimony. She's taking Sara with her, but I have to stay with Dad. She doesn't want us to see each other ever again. She always said she wanted to take Sara away and get a restraining order to keep us apart, and now she can." He huddled in on himself, closing his eyes and willing the world away.
Kira's hand touched lightly against the top of his head, fingers combing through his hair. "That sucks. I get it. But it's not the end of the world and your life's not a completely raw deal. You have a roof over your head, you get enough to eat, you attend a good school -- things like that. People would kill to have the luxury to worry about your problems."
Kira's voice was soft, but his words pelted down like tiny hailstones, stirring up Setsuna's guilt and self-loathing. Maybe it wasn't his fault that his parents stopped loving each other, but it was his fault that things had spiraled down so fast these past few years. Mom was right to keep him away from Sara. He was a danger to her. He was a beast.
"On the other hand," Kira continued, "money isn't everything and broken families can rip people to shreds inside. Nobody wants to be the cause of that, not even your mom. I bet if you and Sara whip up a plan and corner your dad into agreeing, you can make your mom back down. I doubt she'll let you and Sara see each other often, but even a few visits are better than none."
"Sara won't talk to me," Setsuna told him. "It's hopeless. I should just give in. Maybe it's better this-- Ow!" He uncurled and glared at Kira, rubbing his head. "Since when do you pull hair? Isn't that too girly or something?"
"Your face was mashed against your knees. I used what I could reach," Kira said. "Listen, moron: giving up is for punks who don't care about anyone but themselves. Right now you and I are going to your house and dragging Sara out of her room. Then we're going out for the afternoon. Shopping, sightseeing, drinking, dancing -- whatever it takes to make you two wake up and stop acting like babies."
"I shouldn't skip. My attendance record for this term is already dire."
"Do I look like I care about your attendance record? Get up before I kick your ass, idiot." Kira uncoiled from his crouch, rising gracefully to his feet, and held a hand down to Setsuna.
After a moment, Setsuna took it.
---------------
"Sara? Sara, please open your door and talk to me!"
Mother was going hoarse by now, her voice ragged with fear and guilt and anger. That was good. She couldn't possibly feel as awful as Sara did -- she wasn't going to lose the man she loved! -- but every little bit counted.
Sara curled tighter under her covers and cried. She'd taken off her ring, the special red ring her brother had given her when they were little, and she held it clasped between her hands. Sometimes she pressed it to her heart. Sometimes she kissed it. Sometimes she stared at it, picturing her brother's face as he'd discovered that it didn't fit right. He'd been so annoyed at her for crying over a dirty kimono, but he'd been willing to drop everything and buy her a ring, and then to figure out a way to make the gift perfect for her.
Now Mother said that she wouldn't let Setsuna visit her or see her ever again! Mother said they would move to another ward of Tokyo so they couldn't just run across each other in the streets or the parks. Mother said that Setsuna was evil, that he was a danger to Sara.
Maybe he was dangerous. Sara knew it was a sin to love her brother, but she couldn't help it. Every time she saw him, every time he touched her or smiled at her, every time he went out of his way to help her or make sure she was okay, she fell in love again. So maybe Mother was right to keep them apart. Maybe then she'd learn to love other men instead.
Sara stared at her ring and cried harder.
Several minutes later, she reached for another tissue and discovered that the box on her night table was empty. Blowing her nose on her sheets would be disgusting, so Sara slithered out of her bed and peeked through the keyhole of her door. It was no good. Mother was sitting in the hallway, her head slumped forward in what might be sleep, but she'd wake up the minute she heard the knob turn or the hinges creak.
Maybe she should try running away again. She didn't have any money, but since she didn't want to go anywhere without her brother, that was all right. The point was to make a statement, to show Mother exactly how unhappy she was. If she broke her leg climbing out her window, well, that was nothing compared to the pain she felt now.
Sara slid her window up and leaned out.
Setsuna knocked on her forehead.
They stared blankly at each other for a moment before Kira's voice drifted up from the alley below. "What's taking so long? You're not light, you know!"
"Um. Is this where you help me climb down and we run away?" Sara asked.
"Kind of," her brother said, making a face. "Kira says we're both acting like babies, so he's dragging us into the city until we stop moping." Then he studied her, one hand reaching out to hover a hair's breadth from her cheek. "Are you all right, Sara? You look awful."
Sara found a smile welling up from inside, even though just a minute ago she'd thought she could never be happy again. "I felt awful. But you're here now, Oniichan, so everything will be all right. Hold on just a minute while I get out of my pajamas."
Setsuna flushed beet red and covered his eyes.
Giggling, Sara pulled the curtains shut and hurried to get dressed.
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They caught a train into central Tokyo. At 1pm on a Wednesday it wasn't too hideously crowded, and Kira intimidated a young salaryman into switching seats, giving them three spots in a row. Setsuna promptly swung Sara into the middle seat where he and Kira could keep her safe from perverts.
"I'm not made of glass, Oniichan," she said, but she smiled so Setsuna knew she wasn't really angry with him.
"Cute," Kira said, and he patted her on the head like a puppy or a toddler. Setsuna scowled at him and Sara kicked his ankle in retaliation, but he just smirked. "I already told Setsuna, but you ought to know too -- I'm paying for today. So don't worry about money, just think of stuff you've always wanted to do but never got around to, stuff that'll cheer you up. Got that?"
Sara nodded.
"You don't have to--" Setsuna started, and then sputtered as Kira wrapped a hand over his mouth.
"I said I'm paying," Kira said, enunciating each word. "Death and divorce aren't the same thing, but I know what it's like when families break. Sometimes you want people to listen, sometimes you want people to tell you it's okay, sometimes you want to wallow in it, and sometimes you just want to get the hell out and forget for a while. Today I want you guys to do whatever you want. Don't think about what you ought to be feeling or doing, just go with your guts. Are we clear?"
He pulled his hand away. "Yeah," Setsuna said.
"So what do you want?"
Setsuna shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe hit up a bunch of famous sights that we never visit because it's silly when we live so close? And take pictures like we're idiot tourists?"
"Why not. I could use a new camera and you could use some hard proof that not every moment of your lives has been angst and misery," Kira said. "Hanami season's done so it's a good time to see the temples and parks without drowning in assholes, and Tokyo tower's always good for a laugh. We can buy a guidebook along with the camera and figure out an itinerary from there. What about you, Sara?"
His sister tilted her head in a considering pose. "Pictures and landmarks are good, but besides that I want-- I want to go to an arcade and play shooter games. I've always wanted to try that, but Mother says they're undignified for a young lady. Then I want to get drunk and go to a dance club."
"Sara!" Setsuna protested.
"It's not like you have any moral high ground, Oniichan. You get drunk all the time when you're out with Kira," she said, folding her arms in a huff.
"That's not the same," Setsuna said, but he could tell from the set of Sara's chin that it was a futile argument. Damn. Dance clubs were no place for anyone as innocent as his sister. How was he supposed to have any fun if he had to watch over her like a hawk every second, to make sure no perverts got ideas?
Kira poked his shoulder and grinned. "Relax, Setsuna; I know just the place. And it's not like you'll be the only one looking after our precious princess."
Sara kicked Kira's ankle again and Setsuna scowled -- he was the only one allowed to tease Sara! -- but inside, he felt a few knots unravel. Kira was a jerk and he didn't take things half as seriously as he ought to, but he understood.
It was good not to be alone.
---------------
By mid-evening, Sara was feeling extremely cheerful. She'd dragged her brother and Kira into and out of several arcades and department stores, gawked at the crazy fashions people wore in Shinjuku, and tossed candy bar wrappers off the top of Tokyo Tower.
She'd also probably had a bit too much sake with their picnic dinner in Ueno Park, but she didn't care, just like she didn't care how Kira had acquired the alcohol in the first place.
"You've been humoring us all day," she said as they fought their way out of the train station into Shibuya. "It's sweet and I love you, but you don't have to baby us! As long as we get to a club sometime, I don't care what else we do! You pick something, Kira!"
Setsuna looked over her head at Kira, and she knew both boys were rolling their eyes at her voice. She didn't mean for everything to come out quite so high and bubbly -- loli wasn't her thing, though some of the subtypes had awfully pretty dresses -- but she didn't want to try being serious right now. It would be too easy to slide past calm sobriety and back into depression.
"We might as well go to the club now," Setsuna said. "Which way, Kira?"
"Left," Kira said, placing his hand on the small of Sara's back and turning her to face the correct direction. "Keep close."
"Like we could do anything else," Setsuna grumbled as a cluster of college students shoved past them, knocking him into Sara's side.
Sara wrapped her arm around his waist before he could try to step away. Her brother twitched like a wild animal, nervous at human contact -- or maybe just afraid of her. Maybe he knew how much she wanted him. Maybe he agreed with Mother that she was a sinner. Then he sucked in a huge breath and nestled closer, his own arm falling lightly across her shoulders.
"So cute, like a matched set of lovebirds," Kira said. He shoved them both forward before Sara could find words to frame her protest that wouldn't make her guilt shine forth in neon lights ten meters high.
Kira led them through the crowded, unfamiliar streets to a doorway lit up in neon. Pulsing music spilled faintly out onto the sidewalk every time the glass doors swung open, and a tall man in his early twenties stood just inside the entryway watching the world with an air of bored superiority.
Kira grinned as he pulled the door open, the same cutting smile he used on Setsuna's would-be girlfriends. "Hey, Tamaki. Been a while."
The man -- the bouncer? -- twitched. "Kira! Uh. Yeah. Definitely a while. You calling in that favor?"
Kira kept smiling. "I don't need a favor to come enjoy a night out with my friends, do I?"
"No, no, of course not," the bouncer quickly agreed. "I'll tell the boys to keep an eye out, make sure nobody bothers any of you. Have fun."
He twitched again, as if about to head for the inner door, then froze as Kira dropped a hand onto his shoulder.
"Hold up one second. I had a thought," Kira said. He slipped his new camera out of his jacket pocket with his other hand and held it up in front of the bouncer's face. "Take a picture of me and my friends, and I might take a little interest off what you owe me."
It was always weird to see Kira threaten people older than him, Sara thought, though at least half of the weirdness was the way it started to seem normal after a while, like of course Kira could boss anyone around, even in his school uniform and glasses. (Except her and Setsuna, and she didn't like to think too hard about what her casual acceptance of that special treatment said about her.) The bouncer smiled nervously and took the camera from Kira with jittery fingers.
"Push in close together," he said, and held the camera in front of his face like a shield.
"Oniichan in the middle!" Sara said, and tucked her left arm around her brother. Kira raised one eyebrow -- Sara winked in response, and posed like she was blowing a kiss. Then Kira crowded in on Setsuna's other side and slung his arm across his shoulders, so his hand brushed lightly against Sara's braid and shirt. Setsuna laughed and raised his arms in a victory pose.
"One, two, three," the bouncer said, and the camera flash went off.
He shoved the camera back into Kira's grip and ushered them through the foyer, taking care not to actually touch Sara or her brother. She turned slightly to look at the colored lights around the doorframe as they passed into the main room of the dance club, and caught a flash of baffled fear on the bouncer's face, like he couldn't figure out what they were doing with someone like Kira but assumed they must be dangerous somehow if Kira called them friends.
Well, that was true enough for her brother. And while Sara never normally wanted to hurt anybody, if someone tried to take Setsuna away from her-- if Mother's plans worked out--
Sara stamped those thoughts firmly down into a box and threw away the key. She was here to have fun, and Speed's newest song had just started to play over the speakers.
"Come on!" she said, and tugged Setsuna and Kira out onto the dance floor.
This day was a secret just for her and her brother, a talisman against coming anguish from their best friend who'd been through his own share of pain. She refused to let his gift go to waste.
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End of Story
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My outline for this fic was originally two scenes longer and included an interlude with a jerk hitting on Sara (after which both she and Setsuna angsted a bunch about their forbidden love), but I figured I'd leave things on a slightly less melodramatic note. The photograph described in the text comes from near the end of vol. 3 of the manga.
Only five segments of this project left!
You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth, where there are currently (
comments)
With that said...
Theme: #15 - Stop that
Warnings: spoilers!
Notes: This fic is set pre-manga, between Irritating people (in which Sara and Kira hate Setsuna's girlfriend) and Touch (in which Kira feels less human than usual). In this installment, Kira takes Setsuna and Sara into the city to forget about their parents' impending divorce. (2,950 words)
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The Transient and the Eternal: Stop that
---------------------------------------------
"They're getting divorced."
Kira shrugged and lit a cigarette. "So? You've been expecting that for years."
"Even if I knew it was going to happen, it still bothers me!" Setsuna yelled. He kicked the dumpster behind the school kitchen, viciously, seeking an outlet for his confusion. "It's not like I wanted this to happen! Yeah, life sucked with them fighting all the time, and it'll be nice not to have Mom breathing down my neck, but they're my parents. They used to love each other -- I don't know what went wrong or why they couldn't fix it, and that scares the shit out of me. What if they were just too lazy to fix things? I have a right to be mad!"
He kicked the dumpster again. It didn't help, and now his toenail seemed to be jammed. It throbbed with a nasty sharp heat.
Kira blew a stream of smoke, looking thoughtful. "Shit happens," he said after a minute. "I don't know what's going on in your parents' heads -- for one thing, your mom's crazy and your dad's a dick -- but it's not your fault and at least now you have an object lesson in what not to do with your girl. Whoever you end up choosing."
"Fuck that!" Setsuna picked up his satchel and threw it against the wall. The clasp promptly broke, spilling notebooks, pens, and two textbooks over the asphalt. "I hate you, Kira," he said as he knelt to gather his things again. "Don't you ever care about anything?"
"I'm here listening to you," Kira pointed out. He knelt beside Setsuna and handed him a stray pencil. "You're not the only person affected. How's Sara taking things?"
Setsuna slumped, letting his forehead rest on the ground. "She locked herself in her room last night and won't come out. Dad didn't care. He said she was being silly and melodramatic, and waltzed off to his office like usual. Mom's been knocking on the door, wheedling, yelling, reading Bible verses, waving food under the keyhole -- you name it, she's done it. She's so focused on Sara that she didn't even gloat at me over breakfast."
"Gloat?"
Setsuna tipped sideways, clutching his knees and curling into a ball on the hard asphalt. "Mom's moving out, buying a new house with the alimony. She's taking Sara with her, but I have to stay with Dad. She doesn't want us to see each other ever again. She always said she wanted to take Sara away and get a restraining order to keep us apart, and now she can." He huddled in on himself, closing his eyes and willing the world away.
Kira's hand touched lightly against the top of his head, fingers combing through his hair. "That sucks. I get it. But it's not the end of the world and your life's not a completely raw deal. You have a roof over your head, you get enough to eat, you attend a good school -- things like that. People would kill to have the luxury to worry about your problems."
Kira's voice was soft, but his words pelted down like tiny hailstones, stirring up Setsuna's guilt and self-loathing. Maybe it wasn't his fault that his parents stopped loving each other, but it was his fault that things had spiraled down so fast these past few years. Mom was right to keep him away from Sara. He was a danger to her. He was a beast.
"On the other hand," Kira continued, "money isn't everything and broken families can rip people to shreds inside. Nobody wants to be the cause of that, not even your mom. I bet if you and Sara whip up a plan and corner your dad into agreeing, you can make your mom back down. I doubt she'll let you and Sara see each other often, but even a few visits are better than none."
"Sara won't talk to me," Setsuna told him. "It's hopeless. I should just give in. Maybe it's better this-- Ow!" He uncurled and glared at Kira, rubbing his head. "Since when do you pull hair? Isn't that too girly or something?"
"Your face was mashed against your knees. I used what I could reach," Kira said. "Listen, moron: giving up is for punks who don't care about anyone but themselves. Right now you and I are going to your house and dragging Sara out of her room. Then we're going out for the afternoon. Shopping, sightseeing, drinking, dancing -- whatever it takes to make you two wake up and stop acting like babies."
"I shouldn't skip. My attendance record for this term is already dire."
"Do I look like I care about your attendance record? Get up before I kick your ass, idiot." Kira uncoiled from his crouch, rising gracefully to his feet, and held a hand down to Setsuna.
After a moment, Setsuna took it.
---------------
"Sara? Sara, please open your door and talk to me!"
Mother was going hoarse by now, her voice ragged with fear and guilt and anger. That was good. She couldn't possibly feel as awful as Sara did -- she wasn't going to lose the man she loved! -- but every little bit counted.
Sara curled tighter under her covers and cried. She'd taken off her ring, the special red ring her brother had given her when they were little, and she held it clasped between her hands. Sometimes she pressed it to her heart. Sometimes she kissed it. Sometimes she stared at it, picturing her brother's face as he'd discovered that it didn't fit right. He'd been so annoyed at her for crying over a dirty kimono, but he'd been willing to drop everything and buy her a ring, and then to figure out a way to make the gift perfect for her.
Now Mother said that she wouldn't let Setsuna visit her or see her ever again! Mother said they would move to another ward of Tokyo so they couldn't just run across each other in the streets or the parks. Mother said that Setsuna was evil, that he was a danger to Sara.
Maybe he was dangerous. Sara knew it was a sin to love her brother, but she couldn't help it. Every time she saw him, every time he touched her or smiled at her, every time he went out of his way to help her or make sure she was okay, she fell in love again. So maybe Mother was right to keep them apart. Maybe then she'd learn to love other men instead.
Sara stared at her ring and cried harder.
Several minutes later, she reached for another tissue and discovered that the box on her night table was empty. Blowing her nose on her sheets would be disgusting, so Sara slithered out of her bed and peeked through the keyhole of her door. It was no good. Mother was sitting in the hallway, her head slumped forward in what might be sleep, but she'd wake up the minute she heard the knob turn or the hinges creak.
Maybe she should try running away again. She didn't have any money, but since she didn't want to go anywhere without her brother, that was all right. The point was to make a statement, to show Mother exactly how unhappy she was. If she broke her leg climbing out her window, well, that was nothing compared to the pain she felt now.
Sara slid her window up and leaned out.
Setsuna knocked on her forehead.
They stared blankly at each other for a moment before Kira's voice drifted up from the alley below. "What's taking so long? You're not light, you know!"
"Um. Is this where you help me climb down and we run away?" Sara asked.
"Kind of," her brother said, making a face. "Kira says we're both acting like babies, so he's dragging us into the city until we stop moping." Then he studied her, one hand reaching out to hover a hair's breadth from her cheek. "Are you all right, Sara? You look awful."
Sara found a smile welling up from inside, even though just a minute ago she'd thought she could never be happy again. "I felt awful. But you're here now, Oniichan, so everything will be all right. Hold on just a minute while I get out of my pajamas."
Setsuna flushed beet red and covered his eyes.
Giggling, Sara pulled the curtains shut and hurried to get dressed.
---------------
They caught a train into central Tokyo. At 1pm on a Wednesday it wasn't too hideously crowded, and Kira intimidated a young salaryman into switching seats, giving them three spots in a row. Setsuna promptly swung Sara into the middle seat where he and Kira could keep her safe from perverts.
"I'm not made of glass, Oniichan," she said, but she smiled so Setsuna knew she wasn't really angry with him.
"Cute," Kira said, and he patted her on the head like a puppy or a toddler. Setsuna scowled at him and Sara kicked his ankle in retaliation, but he just smirked. "I already told Setsuna, but you ought to know too -- I'm paying for today. So don't worry about money, just think of stuff you've always wanted to do but never got around to, stuff that'll cheer you up. Got that?"
Sara nodded.
"You don't have to--" Setsuna started, and then sputtered as Kira wrapped a hand over his mouth.
"I said I'm paying," Kira said, enunciating each word. "Death and divorce aren't the same thing, but I know what it's like when families break. Sometimes you want people to listen, sometimes you want people to tell you it's okay, sometimes you want to wallow in it, and sometimes you just want to get the hell out and forget for a while. Today I want you guys to do whatever you want. Don't think about what you ought to be feeling or doing, just go with your guts. Are we clear?"
He pulled his hand away. "Yeah," Setsuna said.
"So what do you want?"
Setsuna shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe hit up a bunch of famous sights that we never visit because it's silly when we live so close? And take pictures like we're idiot tourists?"
"Why not. I could use a new camera and you could use some hard proof that not every moment of your lives has been angst and misery," Kira said. "Hanami season's done so it's a good time to see the temples and parks without drowning in assholes, and Tokyo tower's always good for a laugh. We can buy a guidebook along with the camera and figure out an itinerary from there. What about you, Sara?"
His sister tilted her head in a considering pose. "Pictures and landmarks are good, but besides that I want-- I want to go to an arcade and play shooter games. I've always wanted to try that, but Mother says they're undignified for a young lady. Then I want to get drunk and go to a dance club."
"Sara!" Setsuna protested.
"It's not like you have any moral high ground, Oniichan. You get drunk all the time when you're out with Kira," she said, folding her arms in a huff.
"That's not the same," Setsuna said, but he could tell from the set of Sara's chin that it was a futile argument. Damn. Dance clubs were no place for anyone as innocent as his sister. How was he supposed to have any fun if he had to watch over her like a hawk every second, to make sure no perverts got ideas?
Kira poked his shoulder and grinned. "Relax, Setsuna; I know just the place. And it's not like you'll be the only one looking after our precious princess."
Sara kicked Kira's ankle again and Setsuna scowled -- he was the only one allowed to tease Sara! -- but inside, he felt a few knots unravel. Kira was a jerk and he didn't take things half as seriously as he ought to, but he understood.
It was good not to be alone.
---------------
By mid-evening, Sara was feeling extremely cheerful. She'd dragged her brother and Kira into and out of several arcades and department stores, gawked at the crazy fashions people wore in Shinjuku, and tossed candy bar wrappers off the top of Tokyo Tower.
She'd also probably had a bit too much sake with their picnic dinner in Ueno Park, but she didn't care, just like she didn't care how Kira had acquired the alcohol in the first place.
"You've been humoring us all day," she said as they fought their way out of the train station into Shibuya. "It's sweet and I love you, but you don't have to baby us! As long as we get to a club sometime, I don't care what else we do! You pick something, Kira!"
Setsuna looked over her head at Kira, and she knew both boys were rolling their eyes at her voice. She didn't mean for everything to come out quite so high and bubbly -- loli wasn't her thing, though some of the subtypes had awfully pretty dresses -- but she didn't want to try being serious right now. It would be too easy to slide past calm sobriety and back into depression.
"We might as well go to the club now," Setsuna said. "Which way, Kira?"
"Left," Kira said, placing his hand on the small of Sara's back and turning her to face the correct direction. "Keep close."
"Like we could do anything else," Setsuna grumbled as a cluster of college students shoved past them, knocking him into Sara's side.
Sara wrapped her arm around his waist before he could try to step away. Her brother twitched like a wild animal, nervous at human contact -- or maybe just afraid of her. Maybe he knew how much she wanted him. Maybe he agreed with Mother that she was a sinner. Then he sucked in a huge breath and nestled closer, his own arm falling lightly across her shoulders.
"So cute, like a matched set of lovebirds," Kira said. He shoved them both forward before Sara could find words to frame her protest that wouldn't make her guilt shine forth in neon lights ten meters high.
Kira led them through the crowded, unfamiliar streets to a doorway lit up in neon. Pulsing music spilled faintly out onto the sidewalk every time the glass doors swung open, and a tall man in his early twenties stood just inside the entryway watching the world with an air of bored superiority.
Kira grinned as he pulled the door open, the same cutting smile he used on Setsuna's would-be girlfriends. "Hey, Tamaki. Been a while."
The man -- the bouncer? -- twitched. "Kira! Uh. Yeah. Definitely a while. You calling in that favor?"
Kira kept smiling. "I don't need a favor to come enjoy a night out with my friends, do I?"
"No, no, of course not," the bouncer quickly agreed. "I'll tell the boys to keep an eye out, make sure nobody bothers any of you. Have fun."
He twitched again, as if about to head for the inner door, then froze as Kira dropped a hand onto his shoulder.
"Hold up one second. I had a thought," Kira said. He slipped his new camera out of his jacket pocket with his other hand and held it up in front of the bouncer's face. "Take a picture of me and my friends, and I might take a little interest off what you owe me."
It was always weird to see Kira threaten people older than him, Sara thought, though at least half of the weirdness was the way it started to seem normal after a while, like of course Kira could boss anyone around, even in his school uniform and glasses. (Except her and Setsuna, and she didn't like to think too hard about what her casual acceptance of that special treatment said about her.) The bouncer smiled nervously and took the camera from Kira with jittery fingers.
"Push in close together," he said, and held the camera in front of his face like a shield.
"Oniichan in the middle!" Sara said, and tucked her left arm around her brother. Kira raised one eyebrow -- Sara winked in response, and posed like she was blowing a kiss. Then Kira crowded in on Setsuna's other side and slung his arm across his shoulders, so his hand brushed lightly against Sara's braid and shirt. Setsuna laughed and raised his arms in a victory pose.
"One, two, three," the bouncer said, and the camera flash went off.
He shoved the camera back into Kira's grip and ushered them through the foyer, taking care not to actually touch Sara or her brother. She turned slightly to look at the colored lights around the doorframe as they passed into the main room of the dance club, and caught a flash of baffled fear on the bouncer's face, like he couldn't figure out what they were doing with someone like Kira but assumed they must be dangerous somehow if Kira called them friends.
Well, that was true enough for her brother. And while Sara never normally wanted to hurt anybody, if someone tried to take Setsuna away from her-- if Mother's plans worked out--
Sara stamped those thoughts firmly down into a box and threw away the key. She was here to have fun, and Speed's newest song had just started to play over the speakers.
"Come on!" she said, and tugged Setsuna and Kira out onto the dance floor.
This day was a secret just for her and her brother, a talisman against coming anguish from their best friend who'd been through his own share of pain. She refused to let his gift go to waste.
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End of Story
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My outline for this fic was originally two scenes longer and included an interlude with a jerk hitting on Sara (after which both she and Setsuna angsted a bunch about their forbidden love), but I figured I'd leave things on a slightly less melodramatic note. The photograph described in the text comes from near the end of vol. 3 of the manga.
Only five segments of this project left!
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