RP Log: Saeki & Eiji
Who: Saeki & Eiji
Where: Sae's room, Dusk Dorm 301
When: July 24th
What: Eiji decides it's finally time to talk to Saeki about everything. Then they're cute together.
Warnings: None.
Rating: PG
Comments: I have none but feel free to leave some.
Wind ruffled locks of dark crimson hair as he made his precarious way across the series of handy carvings, loose tiles and protruding windowsills to the open window that was his destination. It hadn’t occurred to him that the owner of the room would be in or that the window would be closed, because like with most decisions Kikumaru Eiji made, this was made with as little thinking as was possibly necessary. Thinking too much never got anyone anywhere, anyway. He settled himself cross-legged on the bed and undid his uniform jacket from around his neck- it had helped him transport Daigoro and Kagetora across the roof from his room. They were necessary to his plan, after all.
As for his plan itself, Eiji thought, swallowing slightly, he wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he was going to do it anyway. Nodding to himself determinedly, he firmed himself, and waited, watching the door, more than a little hopeful that Sae-chan took all the time in the world getting back.
Unfortunately for Eiji, Saeki Kojirou was on his way back from visiting with Yumiko. He would have stayed longer but she seemed to finally be relaxed and relieved of her pain enough to get some needed sleep and let himself out. He had thought to wander the campus a bit, maybe visit a friend, but the idea of returning to his room to think on things or possibly even do some studying was too good to resist and he skipped through the shadows, making his way back.
It didn’t occur to him that anyone would be in his room and while he was normally alert to his surroundings, Saeki returned home without much fanfare and show as he slipped through the door, locking it again behind him and toed off his shoes. It wasn’t until he was working at the fly of his pants that he turned to face his bed and spotted an odd but pleasant surprise. “Eiji! Here I thought I was the master of sneaking around.”
Eiji had very nearly fallen asleep in his task of waiting, and just stopped himself from jumping half a foot in the air when the door swung open to admit his… for lack of a better word… target. Strangely, it seemed Sae-chan didn’t quite notice him there at first and before he could think to throw a pillow at him to get his attention, he turned around.
Despite the fact that he’d been worrying about what he was going to say and how he was going to say it for the past week, he couldn’t help but grin in response to the boy’s remark. “Hee, you shouldn’t underestimate Kikumaru Eiji-sama’s almighty skills,” he said, putting on his best Atobe air.
“I don’t think I have yet to do that; well, maybe with your dancing skills,” Saeki laughed as he recalled Eiji’s protesting against dancing and how he had easily fallen into a nice step with little guidance. The redhead was surprisingly a mystery considering how energetic and easy to read he appeared to be.
Forgetting his task of undressing, Saeki sauntered over to his bed and flopped down beside the man with his teddy bears. He was glad to see the bear he had given Eiji was there with him, showing it had been a good choice and well received after all. “So what brings the mighty Eiji-sama to my humble room?”
“Still don’t like dancing, nya,” he muttered, crossing his arms. He wouldn’t admit that it had been fun, though. Like most things that involved the pale haired aristocrat… Which brought Eiji back to the problem at hand… A rush of colour streaked across his cheeks as he took a deep breath, shifting to turn and face the boy, arranging Kagetora and Daigoro between them so the bears were facing Saeki as well.
“…” he swallowed, taking a moment to recall the way he’d practiced what he was going to say. “I’ve got a… hypothetical question,” he said, stressing the word he’d only recently learned the appropriate usage of. Just to make sure he was clear, he added, “Kinda a ‘what if’ thing.”
Saeki felt a little uncomfortable with the bears now looking up at him, as if they were a part of the conversation and about to talk to him as well. It was a part of Eiji’s charm, though, and he couldn’t stop from smiling as he eyed the bears and the way his friend moved them about. Who said everyone had to grow up fast and act mature all the time? That thought led him to poking one of the bear’s on the nose and making a face at it as if it had complained over the playful abuse.
“Hmm?” The lead up to the talk he felt approaching seemed a bit odd and the hesitation caught Saeki’s full attention. “Then ask away and I’ll see if I can help,” he leaned back on his palms and eyed Eiji with keen interest, hoping he could solve a problem for another friend that night.
Eiji nodded again, grinning a little at Sae-chan’s exchange with Daigoro, and willing the blush away with little avail. “Well, okay… What if…” He swallowed. “Mm, suppose…” He held up the female bear, more out of a desire to hide his face, “Suppose Kagetora really, really liked Daigoro.” He held up the other bear as well as the story continued. This was the beginning, and he gave Saeki a half-glance to make sure he wasn’t laughing yet. “And suppose Daigoro apparently really liked Kagetora too…”
Another half-glance, and a moment to figure out where he was going… Oh yes! He’d almost forgotten the extra character. Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out a mini-box of pocky. “And suppose there was this box of pocky… And Kagetora told the box of pocky that Daigoro was interested…” He frowned. Even when he said it now it didn’t make sense.
Saeki ruffled his hair in confusion as he stared at the bears and box of pocky. “What?” he wasn’t sure any of that had made a lick of sense but went back over it all in his head again, hoping it would piece itself together. It didn’t. So one bear liked the other and the other liked the first one back but there was food that was apparently liked by the one that wasn’t telling the secret... was it possible to confuse yourself further when trying to sort something out?
“I think I might need a little more information to help you out.”
Eiji frowned. It was obvious enough. Somewhat. He tried again. “Kagetora probably likes Daigoro. Daigoro probably likes Kagetora.” He added the element of uncertainty because he really wasn’t sure anymore. “And the box of pocky probably likes Daigoro too. But Daigoro probably likes Kagetora, right? And then Kagetora said Daigoro is… interested in the box of pocky.” And that was all of it, he thought, checking the parallels in his head. He looked at Saeki. “Imagine the box of pocky’s alive too, nya,” he added.
Surprisingly, thinking of the box of pocky as alive made things a little clearer. Wait, did that mean he had already been accepting the fact that two teddy bears were alive? That was another confusion to work out later; first, he had to work through a love triangle or was it a square? “Okay... so... Daigoro and Kagetora likely like each other but Kagetora told Pocky that Daigoro likes him, possibly because she realized Pocky likes Daigoro as well?” If he didn’t stop to think about what he was saying, Saeki felt confident he’d work through it.
“I guess what we need to know is Daigoro’s feelings for the other two.” That made sense but then, so did liking both. “But why can’t he like them both? I’m assuming this isn’t a friendship thing but more like a committed relationship sort of thing?” That wasn’t something he was so hot with, especially considering his own problems lately.
Oh.
Fuji had said something to Eiji hadn’t he? Something that neither of them would tell him a thing about and it left both of the men acting strange toward him. Maybe he was reading too much into the bear drama now but was one problem related to the other?
Eiji blinked, surprised and a little proud of himself for making up so perfect a story that Sae-chan could not only understand but also come to a conclusion about without… coming to the other conclusion. About what this was supposed to be about…
“Interested,” he corrected, specifying the word because really, what did Fujiko even mean by that?! “And that’s the problem, nya!” he exclaimed. “No one knows what anybody’s feeling! The poor pocky box doesn’t get what’s going on at all,” he said, holding up the box in question sympathetically. He sucked at all this relationship stuff, he didn’t really get most of it anyway, and so Sae-chan’s question only made things more complicated. “Because… because… It’s all weird,” he finished quietly, lowering his hand.
“It is all weird,” Saeki agreed and leaned back until he was lying flat on his back. His ceiling wasn’t nearly as interesting as Eiji and the bears but maybe what he wanted right then was something plain and not so complicated. He was under the impression that not only had Fuji and Hiyoshi confessed to him but Eiji seemed to want to as well. What was he going to do? He liked them all a hell of a lot and it just didn’t seem fair to anyone-including him-to simply pick one.
Sitting up just enough to lean on his elbows and eye up Eiji, Saeki posed another question at the vampire, “what does the pocky box want to happen and is he glad that Daigoro is interested?”
Eiji opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. Somehow, he had a feeling, a very good feeling at that, that Sae-chan was on to him. Was that possible? Could his cover have been blown? That would be bad! And embarrassing! And bad!
Turning his gaze down at the bears that were supposed to have done their job and kept the boy’s attention away from any parallels he could think of drawing, he made the quickest decision he’d made in a while, and grinned. “It’s a box of pocky, nya,” he said cheerfully. “Silly thing… It’s glad that Daigoro’s interested, whatever that means, but it’s also glad when Daigoro’s happy…” He grinned. “Kinda like me, I guess.”
Saeki contemplated this for a while and then nodded. Assuming he was right about the pocky box being Eiji and that Eiji was telling the truth, he could offer up his own truth in the guise of the bears. “What if,” he sat up properly again and grabbed Daigoro, sitting him on his lap so he faced outward to Eiji, “Daigoro is just happy to have both in his life and is afraid of messing things up by doing anything to change things with them?” A little bear paw was waved at the redhead as he spoke before Saeki cuddled it close with arms wrapped around the middle and head resting on top of a furry little head.
Yup, definitely on to him. Either that or Sae-chan was psychic. Well, he did spend time with Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei, so she could have rubbed off on him… But that wasn’t important right now! What was important was that what he said that Daigoro wanted- because if there was anything Kikumaru Eiji wanted to hear at that moment in time it was that nothing was going to change and things could go back to normal. Normal as in before he had to worry about whether things were going to change (like when Sae-chan said he and Fujiko were going out), and whether they were actually changing before he could do anything about it (like when Fujiko said they weren’t).
It was a surprisingly wonderful thought and it made him grin even more, without even having to try this time. He perked up, bouncing a little in slowly increasing cheerfulness. “Daigoro’s a good bear, nya,” he said brightly. “I knew I could count on him, and Pocky-chan did too!”
Saeki was relieved to see Eiji looking genuinely happy for the first time since being discovered on the bed-no, the first time in weeks. “I think Daigoro is a pretty awesome bear myself. He seems to care about his friends a lot, making their happiness his.” It was a lot easier to talk about his feelings when he was pretending they belonged to someone else; even a teddy bear. He could imagine having to suck up his pride and just spill all of his thoughts otherwise and that would have been hard to do when he wasn’t sure what all of his thoughts were just yet. At least he did know that everyone concerned from Fuji to Hiyoshi to Eiji were all important to him and he would do whatever he had to in order to keep them all happy and safe.
He wasn’t really sure if the other was still talking about himself or the bear, because admittedly Daigoro was awesome. But so was Sae-chan, and Eiji chose to work on the assumption that he was referring to himself because it wouldn’t make sense otherwise. He nodded. “Just like Pocky-chan, and Kagetora, too” he said, nodding firmly, pulling the other bear into his own lap and smiling to himself in the memory of the fact that it was in this very room that he’d gotten her.
“Ne, Sae-chan,” he began again, a little thoughtfully, tilting his head to one side and looking across at his friend, “D’you think things’ll get… weird… after all this?” A split second and he added hastily, “For- the bears, I mean.”
Weird? Saeki hoped not but what else would it become with all the feelings people involved? “I hope not. I mean, they seem to have a great friendship and what’s that goofy English saying?” He paused for a moment to bring up his English-his favourite subject-and recalled some of the odd sayings he had found online sometime ago when bored and avoiding proper homework. “Ah, ‘bros before hos’ that’s it. So friends before lovers,” the translation was tacked on for Eiji in case it was too much slang in a foreign language to make sense.
“Someone is bound to get hurt because they can’t all get what they want in this situation but if they all continue to talk and not hide things, I think they’ll be okay.” That was a hell of a lot easier said than done in Saeki’s opinion since he wasn’t one for talking about his feelings if he could avoid it. Fuji would be angry and distance himself if he wasn’t chosen, Hiyoshi would likely withdraw a bit again like when they first met, and Eiji might try to ignore him again like he had been doing for weeks. He was one confused vampire and wondered if he could just pretend he had gone deaf or had amnesia to forget the confessions.
Eiji felt his brain reel briefly when Sae-chan brought up English, and the quotation almost scared him until the other boy translated it for him. Lovers was a complicated concept as far as he was concerned and he wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to be… Not when it brought to mind women in low-cut dresses and too much lipstick, anyway. He also didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially not Sae-chan.
Holding Kagetora a little closer, he nodded, frowning a bit. “Talking’s harder than it sounds, nya,” he observed, remembering how long it had taken to get his head in order enough to get here. “But…” He shook his head: being gloomy wasn’t his thing and it never got him anywhere. “It’ll be okay!” he said. “It always is! Because…” Okay he couldn’t really think of something philosophical and stuff like Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei could. “Because we want it to be! I mean they want it to be! The bears and Pocky-chan.”
Saeki smiled at the slip up and the brave face of optimism. It would be nice if everything worked out okay but while he continued working on seeing the future, he’d just have to hope and believe it would like Eiji suggested would work. Lifting Daigoro up to face him, the bear was treated with a little nose to nose kiss and then set down on Eiji’s lap to join the female bear. “Then everything will be okay. True friendships are hard to break and a little test here and there is good for them.”
Eiji grinned, giving Saeki a teasing laugh. “You’re better at sounding philosophical and inspirational ‘n stuff than I am,” he told him, which was true. “I’m glad the bears decided to get me to come ask you, Sae-chan! And…” Here he had to look away because he knew if he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be fair. And it wasn’t like the other aristocrat hadn’t realised it, after all. Examining the little bow on Kagetora’s head (her ear, actually, but where else would she put it?), he muttered, “Sorry for being weird at you for the past coupla weeks, nya.”
Saeki found the awkwardness of the moment cute on the redhead but instead of teasing him like he would have done with anyone else and even Eiji in different circumstances, he decided to be a bit more reassuring. “Don’t add to your worries, darling. Worrying over the bears took a lot of attention and I can tell they’re grateful,” even as he wondered if it would just add to the complications of everything they just discussed, Saeki found himself moving a bit closer to his friend and placing a kiss on the tip of his nose-though with his lips and not nose like Daigoro had received.
If there was one thing Eiji had learned in recent times (and this was not including all those other things that he went to school for), it was that he blushed far too often and far too easily. And his cheeks started heating up the moment the pale haired boy even began approaching him, blossoming into a lovely flush by the time his nose was kissed. “Yeah but still…” he’d begun, but it ended in a little yip of surprise. Honestly, he thought to himself, Daigoro hadn’t blushed, had he? He pouted a little in complaint. “Humph,” he said in a huff that he didn’t really mean and knew Sae-chan would know as well, “Making fun of me, nya.”
“Definitely not making fun of you,” Saeki sat back to give the redhead room before he turned into a new shade of red waiting to be discovered and named. He had been playing along but they seemed to both need it and it worked out in the end given they were talking now and neither seemed upset or storming out of the room. And that reminded him...
“By the way... how did you get in here?”
The world was out to tease him as far as Eiji was concerned: Bane-chan, and Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei a bit, and Sae-chan too. The sooner he got his blush under control the better.
He blinked, however, at the question. Wasn’t it obvious? “The window, of course,” he said simply, gesturing in the direction of the open one with his head. "Don't worry, I didn't track any mud or anything in!"
“The window?” Eiji said it like was the obvious and most logical entrance point and Saeki alternated his stare from window to vampire. “I’m not worried about mud but maybe your safety,” a tongue was stuck out to add a note of teasing to his confusion as to why the window seemed like such a good thing to use when there was a perfectly good and working door that would have made more sense.
“Anyway, I hereby grant you permission to use my door whenever you need to from now on. Unless you want to make another dramatic entrance, of course,” he doubted Eiji would use the door even with permission but it seemed like a good idea to try anyway. Actually, Saeki sort of liked the off-beat nature of the vampire that was a little goofy and childish at times-it brought out that side in him as well and it wouldn’t do to be serious and proper all the time.
“Nah, I won’t fall! I know the rooftop like the back of my hand!” he said proudly, sticking his own tongue out in retaliation. “I’ll show you one day, if you want!” Although he wasn’t sure if Sae-chan would enjoy being out on the rooftop as much as he did... “I guess I could use the door but window’s funner! Especially when it’s raining,” he added. “Maybe I’ll just surprise you each time!”
“As I said before, it’d be a pleasant surprise to find you here,” unless he happened to be with someone at the time but the way his love life was flowering so well lately, Saeki was inclined to just lock his door against everyone before more suitors came along.
The mentioning of the rooftop, however, distracted the pale-haired vampire away from any brooding thoughts that wanted to return and a grin appeared. “You should definitely show me. I’ve been up there a few times to stargaze and relax when I want to escape from adoring fans but I wouldn’t mind going up there with you.” True he went up there for solitude but going with a friend for a little mischief and exploration sounded like a good time to him.
“Really?” he chirped, both surprised that his friend used to visit the roof too and pleased that he wanted to come along. “That’d be so great, nya! I can show you all the best ways to get up and down and there’s this nest up on a tree by the far end of the dorm and there’s a spot where you can make people think it’s raining if you conjure the right kind of water dragon and…” He stopped mid-ramble with a sheepish grin. “Lotsa stuff to do,” he said simply, nodding. “It’s a great place to talk to yourself too, but that doesn’t work with another person around.”
“I guess talking with another person around makes a conversation but I think we’re both getting the hang of that... with and without bears,” Saeki gestured to the pair Eiji had and leaned back to rest on his elbows again. “But, I look forward to seeing all of your tricks as well.” He knew the redhead was a water-user but had never really seen the vampire in action and it would be fun to see what playful tricks he could do. Maybe in exchange he’d show off some of his own tricks-assuming the fear of the shadow spears he still couldn’t control didn’t rear its ugly head again. He had been a lot more careful since the attack about using his powers around other people and he’d be absolutely mortified if something happened to a friend.
“Yay!” he cheered. "Seeing your shadow powers will be cool too!" It’d definitely be fun, and it was a sure sign that nothing was going to be weird for a while at least. Or at least he hoped so. He knew Sae-chan knew stuff about… stuff that he didn’t really tell him, or probably anyone else. And he had as much of a chance to force it out of him as the box of pocky did, maybe even less. Which was why it was just best to do what he could do for now and help cheer him up and have fun so he wouldn’t have to think about… stuff. He nodded to himself, firming the resolution in his mind. “You’re the best, Sae-chan!”
“Yeah... I am pretty amazing,” Saeki grinned, infected by the energy that Eiji always seemed to have. They were not only talking again but having a good time and joking around so it was pretty hard not be in a good mood but still he wondered if they shouldn’t end their odd night and continue on with their nightly plans. He really didn’t have any besides brooding and a hot bath but maybe Eiji had other people to surprise and he didn’t want to deprive people of the energy rush. Then again, it was tempting to keep it all for himself as well.
“So do you wanna hang out here a little longer or do the bears need to get to bed?”
Eiji frowned as he thought over it. He could never say no to company of any kind, especially not of people he liked, but he also didn’t want to intrude on his friend’s time. “The bears usually sleep when I hafta study,” he explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “But if you have to do important and awesome Sae-chan stuff I’ll take ‘em back,” he finished.
“Nothing’s ever as important and awesome as hanging out with a friend; bears and pocky included, so you can hang out a bit longer if you want,” he really didn’t mind and it seemed like Eiji wasn’t ready to leave just yet either so why force it? There was still plenty of time left to the night and it was the weekend so who needed proper sleeping schedules? “Although I may make you dance with me again if you stay too long.”
He let out a cheer at the thought of staying a little longer- it was nice to know he wasn’t outstaying his welcome or forcing it… but froze in a moment of brief horror at the conditional statement. “Ehh?! Sae-chan! You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, I would. I’m evil like that,” with a devious grin, Saeki jumped off the bed and stood in a pose that resembled someone about to dance ballroom style with an invisible partner. He began swaying around the room in light and fluid steps that showed off his agility before stopping by the bed again, hand extended. But instead of waiting for Eiji to accept or freak out, the sneaky vampire swooped up Kagetora and began his waltz again with the bear. Eiji’s cheerfulness was infectious and Saeki couldn’t help but act a bit carefree and goofy.
He didn’t doubt for a moment that his friend was every bit as evil as he claimed to be- in a good way, of course, but when Saeki started waltzing around the room the admiration he had for the other vampire somewhat cloaked his feeling of comical dread. The dread was heightened a bit when he saw him approach with what was clearly evil intent, but he outright laughed out loud when he grabbed Kagetora instead of him.
“Nya, Sae-chan, Daigoro’s gonna be jealous now!” he giggled, giving him a teasing grin.
“You could always dance with him,” Saeki pointed out as he dipped the bear although it looked awkward given the small size of the stuffed creature. As he spun around again, blue eyes darted to the window to see if the curtains were drawn since that would be quite the sight to look up at. It wouldn’t do to see the popular and fairly pretentious vampire dancing with a bear and enjoying it. Then again, most knew him to adapt to any situation and might think he was entertaining a kid or something strange.
“Or,” Saeki swooped by the bed again and grabbed Daigoro on the way by, adjusting his grip on both bears so he could hold them both comfortably, “you can sit and watch while we have a good time.” Another spin and a tongue stuck out as Eiji as he faced the redhead before moving on again.
He pouted. Now he was bearless and… this he admitted begrudgingly, it looked kinda fun. It wasn’t fair. He stuck his tongue out in retaliation and crossed his arms, trying to pretend like dancing was not for him and that was that.
But it did look fun. With a little cry of exasperation he got to his feet, hands on his hips. “No fair, nya!” he frowned. “I want in too!”
Saeki laughed at how predictable Eiji could be and how easily baited he was. He thought about capturing the redhead as he went by, leaving the bears between either their torsos or trapped between their hands but it would make the dance messy and if a bear fell; he knew there would be panic. So, instead of that plan, the mastermind behind the dance gently set the pair down on his bed by the pocky and quickly grabbed Eiji’s hand to get him to follow along. “While they’re light on their feet; I kind of prefer you as my dance partner.”
Eiji fell into step almost automatically, remembering subconsciously the way he’d been taught to. It took him a moment after the bears were gone to realise that he’d fallen for his friend’s scheme hook, line, and sinker- without the necessity for either hook or line, even! He didn’t break away, though, because it really was fun, dancing with Sae-chan who knew how and wouldn’t tell him off if he happened to step on his feet (which he wouldn’t).
He did, however, pout at him. “You tricked me, nya!” he scolded.
“I warned you that I was evil,” Saeki merrily quipped back, trying his best not to find the pout extremely adorable and want him to kiss it away. That probably wasn’t the best move to make after their conversation of earlier even if he did sneak in the playful peck to the nose. Why add further complications for both of them to stress out over? So instead of his usual move of stealing a kiss, the evil vampire in the room went for a different tactic.
He started singing.
It was softly done, almost a whisper, and while singing ‘Be Our Guest’ came to his mind almost immediately thanks to all their practices together for the musical, Saeki ended up going with a song he remembered dancing to years ago so it would serve as a treat for Eiji but also to help them keep time in their dance around the room.
“Very evil,” Eiji insisted, but any further complaints were blown out of his mind when his friend suddenly started singing. Midnight-blue eyes widened briefly in surprise before he let out a delighted laugh, allowing the boy to lead the dance and the song too, now… It was like they were in a scene from an old musical. (Like that one about the woman who ran around on hills singing, but not as loud.) He grinned, half-forgetting about watching his feet but stepping lightly enough to avoid smashing the taller vampire’s foot into the ground.
He loved attention, which was why he had been in the musical, but singing was something he didn’t often do for an audience and with the exception of that musical, it was reserved mostly for close friends. Eiji probably didn’t know how lucky he was to have the serenade and Saeki wasn’t going to tell him either. He just continued on singing and leading the dance as the music played in his head to help him keep time to his multi-tasking. But once he felt it had gone on long enough and he was close to mucking up the words, he drew it to an end by fading out and slowing their steps.
When they reached a halt, Saeki stared at Eiji, smiling softly, and took a step back for a small bow. “Thank you for the wonderful dance, Sir Eiji of the Teddy Bear. It will always be my pleasure to escort you around the dance floor.”
Eiji grinned back, a little flushed from the proximity and the dancing itself, and returned the bow a little more exaggeratedly, with much fluttering of hands. “It was an honour to be danced with, Sir Saeki the Secretly Devious,” he pronounced, winking up at him before impulsively leaning forward to fling his arms around his neck in an impromptu hug. “Thanks a lot, Sae-chan! For everything, nya~”
“The Secretly Devious... I like it,” Saeki wrapped his arms around Eiji’s waist to complete the hug, savouring the moment a little longer than he should have but what if he was never allowed to do such a thing again? He didn’t know how he was going to answer everyone’s confessions just yet, but enjoying the small perks where he could before that time didn’t seem like such a crime.
“I’m always here if you need me.”
“Hee, the name suits you,” he said with a smile, somehow both surprised and quite glad that he was being hugged back. “I’m gonna try and be there for you too, Sae-chan. Even if you don’t need me, and even if I don’t know where there might be,” he added with a little nod.
“Thanks,” Saeki chuckled at the odd way in which Eiji’s support was worded. At least he knew if he ever needed help with something, the redhead would be there, but like he said, who knew what there might be? He released the slightly smaller man from the hug, hoping to get out of the clinging vine himself. There wasn’t really anything wrong with hugs but they kind of had a time limit on them for the flirty vampire that liked touch but not to be trapped.
“The offer extends to Daigoro and the gang as well. Since I’ve already helped them once, I might as well continue offering my services.”
He half-stepped, half-bounced back when the hold on his waist was released, and flashed his friend a victory sign. “I’ll tell them that when we get back to the room or they’ll wanna stay here,” he said with a laugh, spinning on his heel to skip over to the bed and gather the bears as though half afraid they’d already decided to, but more because he knew he was going to want to stay until Sae-chan threw him out if he didn’t get a move on. “I should take ‘em back, nya,” he said.
“Okay but no more being a stranger,” Saeki was partially afraid that once Eiji stepped out the door-or window-they would go back to awkward conversations or not talking at all. There was a desire to keep his friend in his room forever to make sure everything was fine but he knew that was ridiculous and he had to let the parting happen. “We have rooftop dates after all.”
He shook his head vigourously. Ignoring Sae-chan had been hard enough with so much to think about, doing it when there wasn’t anything to think about would be impossible. “I can’t be there for you if I’m a stranger,” he chirped, tying his jacket around his waist and taking hold of the box of pocky, hesitating before he put it away again. “It’s strawberry flavoured,” he pronounced, taking Saeki’s hand and placing it in the palm. “And we want you to have it as a… sign of the promise!” It was a fancy sounding term, but he did mean it (even though the pocky would be gone by morning).
“Then I accept your promise token,” it was a strange gesture but coming from Eiji; it made sense. Saeki held onto the pocky which had been the representative of Eiji earlier and now it seemed a bit odd to be in possession of it. It didn’t have any secret meanings, right? He didn’t think there was and honestly hoped there wasn’t given all their talking about not wanting anything to change and become weird. “And as a token on my end, I won’t ask what method of opening you’ll use to leave.” He stuck his tongue out again and flopped down on the bed, eyeing the box he held for a moment before sending a dazzling smile Eiji’s way.
Eiji coloured. “I do know how to go out the door, nya,” he said, once again retaliating in kind by sticking out his tongue. And he really, really didn’t care much what anyone thought about the fact that he was going down the corridor with two teddy-bears. Taking Daigoro and Kagetora in his arms, he tilted his head to look at his friend; he hadn’t seen Sae-chan smile that way too many times before- he wasn’t really sure if he ever had. He darted forward and kissed the other boy’s nose just like he had earlier in the night and grinned. “Night, Sae-chan!”
It wasn’t often Saeki was left shocked or speechless and while he wasn’t right then either, he had to admit that Eiji did pull a fast one on him that he hadn’t expected. Eiji could be predictable most of the time but it was that odd time when he did something random that made the dual-coloured haired vampire grin largely at the back of his retreating friend. It made the guy fun and kept him from being boring with that predictability. “Night, Eiji. Sweet dreams.”
He left through the door, as promised, and couldn’t help but half-skip the way back to his room. How had that poem gone? About the lark on the wing and stuff? “All’s right with the world,” he said out loud: it was the only line he remembered and the one that mattered right now, ‘cuz he couldn’t help but feel that, in a way, it would be.
Where: Sae's room, Dusk Dorm 301
When: July 24th
What: Eiji decides it's finally time to talk to Saeki about everything. Then they're cute together.
Warnings: None.
Rating: PG
Comments: I have none but feel free to leave some.
Wind ruffled locks of dark crimson hair as he made his precarious way across the series of handy carvings, loose tiles and protruding windowsills to the open window that was his destination. It hadn’t occurred to him that the owner of the room would be in or that the window would be closed, because like with most decisions Kikumaru Eiji made, this was made with as little thinking as was possibly necessary. Thinking too much never got anyone anywhere, anyway. He settled himself cross-legged on the bed and undid his uniform jacket from around his neck- it had helped him transport Daigoro and Kagetora across the roof from his room. They were necessary to his plan, after all.
As for his plan itself, Eiji thought, swallowing slightly, he wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he was going to do it anyway. Nodding to himself determinedly, he firmed himself, and waited, watching the door, more than a little hopeful that Sae-chan took all the time in the world getting back.
Unfortunately for Eiji, Saeki Kojirou was on his way back from visiting with Yumiko. He would have stayed longer but she seemed to finally be relaxed and relieved of her pain enough to get some needed sleep and let himself out. He had thought to wander the campus a bit, maybe visit a friend, but the idea of returning to his room to think on things or possibly even do some studying was too good to resist and he skipped through the shadows, making his way back.
It didn’t occur to him that anyone would be in his room and while he was normally alert to his surroundings, Saeki returned home without much fanfare and show as he slipped through the door, locking it again behind him and toed off his shoes. It wasn’t until he was working at the fly of his pants that he turned to face his bed and spotted an odd but pleasant surprise. “Eiji! Here I thought I was the master of sneaking around.”
Eiji had very nearly fallen asleep in his task of waiting, and just stopped himself from jumping half a foot in the air when the door swung open to admit his… for lack of a better word… target. Strangely, it seemed Sae-chan didn’t quite notice him there at first and before he could think to throw a pillow at him to get his attention, he turned around.
Despite the fact that he’d been worrying about what he was going to say and how he was going to say it for the past week, he couldn’t help but grin in response to the boy’s remark. “Hee, you shouldn’t underestimate Kikumaru Eiji-sama’s almighty skills,” he said, putting on his best Atobe air.
“I don’t think I have yet to do that; well, maybe with your dancing skills,” Saeki laughed as he recalled Eiji’s protesting against dancing and how he had easily fallen into a nice step with little guidance. The redhead was surprisingly a mystery considering how energetic and easy to read he appeared to be.
Forgetting his task of undressing, Saeki sauntered over to his bed and flopped down beside the man with his teddy bears. He was glad to see the bear he had given Eiji was there with him, showing it had been a good choice and well received after all. “So what brings the mighty Eiji-sama to my humble room?”
“Still don’t like dancing, nya,” he muttered, crossing his arms. He wouldn’t admit that it had been fun, though. Like most things that involved the pale haired aristocrat… Which brought Eiji back to the problem at hand… A rush of colour streaked across his cheeks as he took a deep breath, shifting to turn and face the boy, arranging Kagetora and Daigoro between them so the bears were facing Saeki as well.
“…” he swallowed, taking a moment to recall the way he’d practiced what he was going to say. “I’ve got a… hypothetical question,” he said, stressing the word he’d only recently learned the appropriate usage of. Just to make sure he was clear, he added, “Kinda a ‘what if’ thing.”
Saeki felt a little uncomfortable with the bears now looking up at him, as if they were a part of the conversation and about to talk to him as well. It was a part of Eiji’s charm, though, and he couldn’t stop from smiling as he eyed the bears and the way his friend moved them about. Who said everyone had to grow up fast and act mature all the time? That thought led him to poking one of the bear’s on the nose and making a face at it as if it had complained over the playful abuse.
“Hmm?” The lead up to the talk he felt approaching seemed a bit odd and the hesitation caught Saeki’s full attention. “Then ask away and I’ll see if I can help,” he leaned back on his palms and eyed Eiji with keen interest, hoping he could solve a problem for another friend that night.
Eiji nodded again, grinning a little at Sae-chan’s exchange with Daigoro, and willing the blush away with little avail. “Well, okay… What if…” He swallowed. “Mm, suppose…” He held up the female bear, more out of a desire to hide his face, “Suppose Kagetora really, really liked Daigoro.” He held up the other bear as well as the story continued. This was the beginning, and he gave Saeki a half-glance to make sure he wasn’t laughing yet. “And suppose Daigoro apparently really liked Kagetora too…”
Another half-glance, and a moment to figure out where he was going… Oh yes! He’d almost forgotten the extra character. Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out a mini-box of pocky. “And suppose there was this box of pocky… And Kagetora told the box of pocky that Daigoro was interested…” He frowned. Even when he said it now it didn’t make sense.
Saeki ruffled his hair in confusion as he stared at the bears and box of pocky. “What?” he wasn’t sure any of that had made a lick of sense but went back over it all in his head again, hoping it would piece itself together. It didn’t. So one bear liked the other and the other liked the first one back but there was food that was apparently liked by the one that wasn’t telling the secret... was it possible to confuse yourself further when trying to sort something out?
“I think I might need a little more information to help you out.”
Eiji frowned. It was obvious enough. Somewhat. He tried again. “Kagetora probably likes Daigoro. Daigoro probably likes Kagetora.” He added the element of uncertainty because he really wasn’t sure anymore. “And the box of pocky probably likes Daigoro too. But Daigoro probably likes Kagetora, right? And then Kagetora said Daigoro is… interested in the box of pocky.” And that was all of it, he thought, checking the parallels in his head. He looked at Saeki. “Imagine the box of pocky’s alive too, nya,” he added.
Surprisingly, thinking of the box of pocky as alive made things a little clearer. Wait, did that mean he had already been accepting the fact that two teddy bears were alive? That was another confusion to work out later; first, he had to work through a love triangle or was it a square? “Okay... so... Daigoro and Kagetora likely like each other but Kagetora told Pocky that Daigoro likes him, possibly because she realized Pocky likes Daigoro as well?” If he didn’t stop to think about what he was saying, Saeki felt confident he’d work through it.
“I guess what we need to know is Daigoro’s feelings for the other two.” That made sense but then, so did liking both. “But why can’t he like them both? I’m assuming this isn’t a friendship thing but more like a committed relationship sort of thing?” That wasn’t something he was so hot with, especially considering his own problems lately.
Oh.
Fuji had said something to Eiji hadn’t he? Something that neither of them would tell him a thing about and it left both of the men acting strange toward him. Maybe he was reading too much into the bear drama now but was one problem related to the other?
Eiji blinked, surprised and a little proud of himself for making up so perfect a story that Sae-chan could not only understand but also come to a conclusion about without… coming to the other conclusion. About what this was supposed to be about…
“Interested,” he corrected, specifying the word because really, what did Fujiko even mean by that?! “And that’s the problem, nya!” he exclaimed. “No one knows what anybody’s feeling! The poor pocky box doesn’t get what’s going on at all,” he said, holding up the box in question sympathetically. He sucked at all this relationship stuff, he didn’t really get most of it anyway, and so Sae-chan’s question only made things more complicated. “Because… because… It’s all weird,” he finished quietly, lowering his hand.
“It is all weird,” Saeki agreed and leaned back until he was lying flat on his back. His ceiling wasn’t nearly as interesting as Eiji and the bears but maybe what he wanted right then was something plain and not so complicated. He was under the impression that not only had Fuji and Hiyoshi confessed to him but Eiji seemed to want to as well. What was he going to do? He liked them all a hell of a lot and it just didn’t seem fair to anyone-including him-to simply pick one.
Sitting up just enough to lean on his elbows and eye up Eiji, Saeki posed another question at the vampire, “what does the pocky box want to happen and is he glad that Daigoro is interested?”
Eiji opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. Somehow, he had a feeling, a very good feeling at that, that Sae-chan was on to him. Was that possible? Could his cover have been blown? That would be bad! And embarrassing! And bad!
Turning his gaze down at the bears that were supposed to have done their job and kept the boy’s attention away from any parallels he could think of drawing, he made the quickest decision he’d made in a while, and grinned. “It’s a box of pocky, nya,” he said cheerfully. “Silly thing… It’s glad that Daigoro’s interested, whatever that means, but it’s also glad when Daigoro’s happy…” He grinned. “Kinda like me, I guess.”
Saeki contemplated this for a while and then nodded. Assuming he was right about the pocky box being Eiji and that Eiji was telling the truth, he could offer up his own truth in the guise of the bears. “What if,” he sat up properly again and grabbed Daigoro, sitting him on his lap so he faced outward to Eiji, “Daigoro is just happy to have both in his life and is afraid of messing things up by doing anything to change things with them?” A little bear paw was waved at the redhead as he spoke before Saeki cuddled it close with arms wrapped around the middle and head resting on top of a furry little head.
Yup, definitely on to him. Either that or Sae-chan was psychic. Well, he did spend time with Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei, so she could have rubbed off on him… But that wasn’t important right now! What was important was that what he said that Daigoro wanted- because if there was anything Kikumaru Eiji wanted to hear at that moment in time it was that nothing was going to change and things could go back to normal. Normal as in before he had to worry about whether things were going to change (like when Sae-chan said he and Fujiko were going out), and whether they were actually changing before he could do anything about it (like when Fujiko said they weren’t).
It was a surprisingly wonderful thought and it made him grin even more, without even having to try this time. He perked up, bouncing a little in slowly increasing cheerfulness. “Daigoro’s a good bear, nya,” he said brightly. “I knew I could count on him, and Pocky-chan did too!”
Saeki was relieved to see Eiji looking genuinely happy for the first time since being discovered on the bed-no, the first time in weeks. “I think Daigoro is a pretty awesome bear myself. He seems to care about his friends a lot, making their happiness his.” It was a lot easier to talk about his feelings when he was pretending they belonged to someone else; even a teddy bear. He could imagine having to suck up his pride and just spill all of his thoughts otherwise and that would have been hard to do when he wasn’t sure what all of his thoughts were just yet. At least he did know that everyone concerned from Fuji to Hiyoshi to Eiji were all important to him and he would do whatever he had to in order to keep them all happy and safe.
He wasn’t really sure if the other was still talking about himself or the bear, because admittedly Daigoro was awesome. But so was Sae-chan, and Eiji chose to work on the assumption that he was referring to himself because it wouldn’t make sense otherwise. He nodded. “Just like Pocky-chan, and Kagetora, too” he said, nodding firmly, pulling the other bear into his own lap and smiling to himself in the memory of the fact that it was in this very room that he’d gotten her.
“Ne, Sae-chan,” he began again, a little thoughtfully, tilting his head to one side and looking across at his friend, “D’you think things’ll get… weird… after all this?” A split second and he added hastily, “For- the bears, I mean.”
Weird? Saeki hoped not but what else would it become with all the feelings people involved? “I hope not. I mean, they seem to have a great friendship and what’s that goofy English saying?” He paused for a moment to bring up his English-his favourite subject-and recalled some of the odd sayings he had found online sometime ago when bored and avoiding proper homework. “Ah, ‘bros before hos’ that’s it. So friends before lovers,” the translation was tacked on for Eiji in case it was too much slang in a foreign language to make sense.
“Someone is bound to get hurt because they can’t all get what they want in this situation but if they all continue to talk and not hide things, I think they’ll be okay.” That was a hell of a lot easier said than done in Saeki’s opinion since he wasn’t one for talking about his feelings if he could avoid it. Fuji would be angry and distance himself if he wasn’t chosen, Hiyoshi would likely withdraw a bit again like when they first met, and Eiji might try to ignore him again like he had been doing for weeks. He was one confused vampire and wondered if he could just pretend he had gone deaf or had amnesia to forget the confessions.
Eiji felt his brain reel briefly when Sae-chan brought up English, and the quotation almost scared him until the other boy translated it for him. Lovers was a complicated concept as far as he was concerned and he wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to be… Not when it brought to mind women in low-cut dresses and too much lipstick, anyway. He also didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially not Sae-chan.
Holding Kagetora a little closer, he nodded, frowning a bit. “Talking’s harder than it sounds, nya,” he observed, remembering how long it had taken to get his head in order enough to get here. “But…” He shook his head: being gloomy wasn’t his thing and it never got him anywhere. “It’ll be okay!” he said. “It always is! Because…” Okay he couldn’t really think of something philosophical and stuff like Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei could. “Because we want it to be! I mean they want it to be! The bears and Pocky-chan.”
Saeki smiled at the slip up and the brave face of optimism. It would be nice if everything worked out okay but while he continued working on seeing the future, he’d just have to hope and believe it would like Eiji suggested would work. Lifting Daigoro up to face him, the bear was treated with a little nose to nose kiss and then set down on Eiji’s lap to join the female bear. “Then everything will be okay. True friendships are hard to break and a little test here and there is good for them.”
Eiji grinned, giving Saeki a teasing laugh. “You’re better at sounding philosophical and inspirational ‘n stuff than I am,” he told him, which was true. “I’m glad the bears decided to get me to come ask you, Sae-chan! And…” Here he had to look away because he knew if he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be fair. And it wasn’t like the other aristocrat hadn’t realised it, after all. Examining the little bow on Kagetora’s head (her ear, actually, but where else would she put it?), he muttered, “Sorry for being weird at you for the past coupla weeks, nya.”
Saeki found the awkwardness of the moment cute on the redhead but instead of teasing him like he would have done with anyone else and even Eiji in different circumstances, he decided to be a bit more reassuring. “Don’t add to your worries, darling. Worrying over the bears took a lot of attention and I can tell they’re grateful,” even as he wondered if it would just add to the complications of everything they just discussed, Saeki found himself moving a bit closer to his friend and placing a kiss on the tip of his nose-though with his lips and not nose like Daigoro had received.
If there was one thing Eiji had learned in recent times (and this was not including all those other things that he went to school for), it was that he blushed far too often and far too easily. And his cheeks started heating up the moment the pale haired boy even began approaching him, blossoming into a lovely flush by the time his nose was kissed. “Yeah but still…” he’d begun, but it ended in a little yip of surprise. Honestly, he thought to himself, Daigoro hadn’t blushed, had he? He pouted a little in complaint. “Humph,” he said in a huff that he didn’t really mean and knew Sae-chan would know as well, “Making fun of me, nya.”
“Definitely not making fun of you,” Saeki sat back to give the redhead room before he turned into a new shade of red waiting to be discovered and named. He had been playing along but they seemed to both need it and it worked out in the end given they were talking now and neither seemed upset or storming out of the room. And that reminded him...
“By the way... how did you get in here?”
The world was out to tease him as far as Eiji was concerned: Bane-chan, and Yumiko-nee-chan-sensei a bit, and Sae-chan too. The sooner he got his blush under control the better.
He blinked, however, at the question. Wasn’t it obvious? “The window, of course,” he said simply, gesturing in the direction of the open one with his head. "Don't worry, I didn't track any mud or anything in!"
“The window?” Eiji said it like was the obvious and most logical entrance point and Saeki alternated his stare from window to vampire. “I’m not worried about mud but maybe your safety,” a tongue was stuck out to add a note of teasing to his confusion as to why the window seemed like such a good thing to use when there was a perfectly good and working door that would have made more sense.
“Anyway, I hereby grant you permission to use my door whenever you need to from now on. Unless you want to make another dramatic entrance, of course,” he doubted Eiji would use the door even with permission but it seemed like a good idea to try anyway. Actually, Saeki sort of liked the off-beat nature of the vampire that was a little goofy and childish at times-it brought out that side in him as well and it wouldn’t do to be serious and proper all the time.
“Nah, I won’t fall! I know the rooftop like the back of my hand!” he said proudly, sticking his own tongue out in retaliation. “I’ll show you one day, if you want!” Although he wasn’t sure if Sae-chan would enjoy being out on the rooftop as much as he did... “I guess I could use the door but window’s funner! Especially when it’s raining,” he added. “Maybe I’ll just surprise you each time!”
“As I said before, it’d be a pleasant surprise to find you here,” unless he happened to be with someone at the time but the way his love life was flowering so well lately, Saeki was inclined to just lock his door against everyone before more suitors came along.
The mentioning of the rooftop, however, distracted the pale-haired vampire away from any brooding thoughts that wanted to return and a grin appeared. “You should definitely show me. I’ve been up there a few times to stargaze and relax when I want to escape from adoring fans but I wouldn’t mind going up there with you.” True he went up there for solitude but going with a friend for a little mischief and exploration sounded like a good time to him.
“Really?” he chirped, both surprised that his friend used to visit the roof too and pleased that he wanted to come along. “That’d be so great, nya! I can show you all the best ways to get up and down and there’s this nest up on a tree by the far end of the dorm and there’s a spot where you can make people think it’s raining if you conjure the right kind of water dragon and…” He stopped mid-ramble with a sheepish grin. “Lotsa stuff to do,” he said simply, nodding. “It’s a great place to talk to yourself too, but that doesn’t work with another person around.”
“I guess talking with another person around makes a conversation but I think we’re both getting the hang of that... with and without bears,” Saeki gestured to the pair Eiji had and leaned back to rest on his elbows again. “But, I look forward to seeing all of your tricks as well.” He knew the redhead was a water-user but had never really seen the vampire in action and it would be fun to see what playful tricks he could do. Maybe in exchange he’d show off some of his own tricks-assuming the fear of the shadow spears he still couldn’t control didn’t rear its ugly head again. He had been a lot more careful since the attack about using his powers around other people and he’d be absolutely mortified if something happened to a friend.
“Yay!” he cheered. "Seeing your shadow powers will be cool too!" It’d definitely be fun, and it was a sure sign that nothing was going to be weird for a while at least. Or at least he hoped so. He knew Sae-chan knew stuff about… stuff that he didn’t really tell him, or probably anyone else. And he had as much of a chance to force it out of him as the box of pocky did, maybe even less. Which was why it was just best to do what he could do for now and help cheer him up and have fun so he wouldn’t have to think about… stuff. He nodded to himself, firming the resolution in his mind. “You’re the best, Sae-chan!”
“Yeah... I am pretty amazing,” Saeki grinned, infected by the energy that Eiji always seemed to have. They were not only talking again but having a good time and joking around so it was pretty hard not be in a good mood but still he wondered if they shouldn’t end their odd night and continue on with their nightly plans. He really didn’t have any besides brooding and a hot bath but maybe Eiji had other people to surprise and he didn’t want to deprive people of the energy rush. Then again, it was tempting to keep it all for himself as well.
“So do you wanna hang out here a little longer or do the bears need to get to bed?”
Eiji frowned as he thought over it. He could never say no to company of any kind, especially not of people he liked, but he also didn’t want to intrude on his friend’s time. “The bears usually sleep when I hafta study,” he explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “But if you have to do important and awesome Sae-chan stuff I’ll take ‘em back,” he finished.
“Nothing’s ever as important and awesome as hanging out with a friend; bears and pocky included, so you can hang out a bit longer if you want,” he really didn’t mind and it seemed like Eiji wasn’t ready to leave just yet either so why force it? There was still plenty of time left to the night and it was the weekend so who needed proper sleeping schedules? “Although I may make you dance with me again if you stay too long.”
He let out a cheer at the thought of staying a little longer- it was nice to know he wasn’t outstaying his welcome or forcing it… but froze in a moment of brief horror at the conditional statement. “Ehh?! Sae-chan! You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, I would. I’m evil like that,” with a devious grin, Saeki jumped off the bed and stood in a pose that resembled someone about to dance ballroom style with an invisible partner. He began swaying around the room in light and fluid steps that showed off his agility before stopping by the bed again, hand extended. But instead of waiting for Eiji to accept or freak out, the sneaky vampire swooped up Kagetora and began his waltz again with the bear. Eiji’s cheerfulness was infectious and Saeki couldn’t help but act a bit carefree and goofy.
He didn’t doubt for a moment that his friend was every bit as evil as he claimed to be- in a good way, of course, but when Saeki started waltzing around the room the admiration he had for the other vampire somewhat cloaked his feeling of comical dread. The dread was heightened a bit when he saw him approach with what was clearly evil intent, but he outright laughed out loud when he grabbed Kagetora instead of him.
“Nya, Sae-chan, Daigoro’s gonna be jealous now!” he giggled, giving him a teasing grin.
“You could always dance with him,” Saeki pointed out as he dipped the bear although it looked awkward given the small size of the stuffed creature. As he spun around again, blue eyes darted to the window to see if the curtains were drawn since that would be quite the sight to look up at. It wouldn’t do to see the popular and fairly pretentious vampire dancing with a bear and enjoying it. Then again, most knew him to adapt to any situation and might think he was entertaining a kid or something strange.
“Or,” Saeki swooped by the bed again and grabbed Daigoro on the way by, adjusting his grip on both bears so he could hold them both comfortably, “you can sit and watch while we have a good time.” Another spin and a tongue stuck out as Eiji as he faced the redhead before moving on again.
He pouted. Now he was bearless and… this he admitted begrudgingly, it looked kinda fun. It wasn’t fair. He stuck his tongue out in retaliation and crossed his arms, trying to pretend like dancing was not for him and that was that.
But it did look fun. With a little cry of exasperation he got to his feet, hands on his hips. “No fair, nya!” he frowned. “I want in too!”
Saeki laughed at how predictable Eiji could be and how easily baited he was. He thought about capturing the redhead as he went by, leaving the bears between either their torsos or trapped between their hands but it would make the dance messy and if a bear fell; he knew there would be panic. So, instead of that plan, the mastermind behind the dance gently set the pair down on his bed by the pocky and quickly grabbed Eiji’s hand to get him to follow along. “While they’re light on their feet; I kind of prefer you as my dance partner.”
Eiji fell into step almost automatically, remembering subconsciously the way he’d been taught to. It took him a moment after the bears were gone to realise that he’d fallen for his friend’s scheme hook, line, and sinker- without the necessity for either hook or line, even! He didn’t break away, though, because it really was fun, dancing with Sae-chan who knew how and wouldn’t tell him off if he happened to step on his feet (which he wouldn’t).
He did, however, pout at him. “You tricked me, nya!” he scolded.
“I warned you that I was evil,” Saeki merrily quipped back, trying his best not to find the pout extremely adorable and want him to kiss it away. That probably wasn’t the best move to make after their conversation of earlier even if he did sneak in the playful peck to the nose. Why add further complications for both of them to stress out over? So instead of his usual move of stealing a kiss, the evil vampire in the room went for a different tactic.
He started singing.
It was softly done, almost a whisper, and while singing ‘Be Our Guest’ came to his mind almost immediately thanks to all their practices together for the musical, Saeki ended up going with a song he remembered dancing to years ago so it would serve as a treat for Eiji but also to help them keep time in their dance around the room.
“Very evil,” Eiji insisted, but any further complaints were blown out of his mind when his friend suddenly started singing. Midnight-blue eyes widened briefly in surprise before he let out a delighted laugh, allowing the boy to lead the dance and the song too, now… It was like they were in a scene from an old musical. (Like that one about the woman who ran around on hills singing, but not as loud.) He grinned, half-forgetting about watching his feet but stepping lightly enough to avoid smashing the taller vampire’s foot into the ground.
He loved attention, which was why he had been in the musical, but singing was something he didn’t often do for an audience and with the exception of that musical, it was reserved mostly for close friends. Eiji probably didn’t know how lucky he was to have the serenade and Saeki wasn’t going to tell him either. He just continued on singing and leading the dance as the music played in his head to help him keep time to his multi-tasking. But once he felt it had gone on long enough and he was close to mucking up the words, he drew it to an end by fading out and slowing their steps.
When they reached a halt, Saeki stared at Eiji, smiling softly, and took a step back for a small bow. “Thank you for the wonderful dance, Sir Eiji of the Teddy Bear. It will always be my pleasure to escort you around the dance floor.”
Eiji grinned back, a little flushed from the proximity and the dancing itself, and returned the bow a little more exaggeratedly, with much fluttering of hands. “It was an honour to be danced with, Sir Saeki the Secretly Devious,” he pronounced, winking up at him before impulsively leaning forward to fling his arms around his neck in an impromptu hug. “Thanks a lot, Sae-chan! For everything, nya~”
“The Secretly Devious... I like it,” Saeki wrapped his arms around Eiji’s waist to complete the hug, savouring the moment a little longer than he should have but what if he was never allowed to do such a thing again? He didn’t know how he was going to answer everyone’s confessions just yet, but enjoying the small perks where he could before that time didn’t seem like such a crime.
“I’m always here if you need me.”
“Hee, the name suits you,” he said with a smile, somehow both surprised and quite glad that he was being hugged back. “I’m gonna try and be there for you too, Sae-chan. Even if you don’t need me, and even if I don’t know where there might be,” he added with a little nod.
“Thanks,” Saeki chuckled at the odd way in which Eiji’s support was worded. At least he knew if he ever needed help with something, the redhead would be there, but like he said, who knew what there might be? He released the slightly smaller man from the hug, hoping to get out of the clinging vine himself. There wasn’t really anything wrong with hugs but they kind of had a time limit on them for the flirty vampire that liked touch but not to be trapped.
“The offer extends to Daigoro and the gang as well. Since I’ve already helped them once, I might as well continue offering my services.”
He half-stepped, half-bounced back when the hold on his waist was released, and flashed his friend a victory sign. “I’ll tell them that when we get back to the room or they’ll wanna stay here,” he said with a laugh, spinning on his heel to skip over to the bed and gather the bears as though half afraid they’d already decided to, but more because he knew he was going to want to stay until Sae-chan threw him out if he didn’t get a move on. “I should take ‘em back, nya,” he said.
“Okay but no more being a stranger,” Saeki was partially afraid that once Eiji stepped out the door-or window-they would go back to awkward conversations or not talking at all. There was a desire to keep his friend in his room forever to make sure everything was fine but he knew that was ridiculous and he had to let the parting happen. “We have rooftop dates after all.”
He shook his head vigourously. Ignoring Sae-chan had been hard enough with so much to think about, doing it when there wasn’t anything to think about would be impossible. “I can’t be there for you if I’m a stranger,” he chirped, tying his jacket around his waist and taking hold of the box of pocky, hesitating before he put it away again. “It’s strawberry flavoured,” he pronounced, taking Saeki’s hand and placing it in the palm. “And we want you to have it as a… sign of the promise!” It was a fancy sounding term, but he did mean it (even though the pocky would be gone by morning).
“Then I accept your promise token,” it was a strange gesture but coming from Eiji; it made sense. Saeki held onto the pocky which had been the representative of Eiji earlier and now it seemed a bit odd to be in possession of it. It didn’t have any secret meanings, right? He didn’t think there was and honestly hoped there wasn’t given all their talking about not wanting anything to change and become weird. “And as a token on my end, I won’t ask what method of opening you’ll use to leave.” He stuck his tongue out again and flopped down on the bed, eyeing the box he held for a moment before sending a dazzling smile Eiji’s way.
Eiji coloured. “I do know how to go out the door, nya,” he said, once again retaliating in kind by sticking out his tongue. And he really, really didn’t care much what anyone thought about the fact that he was going down the corridor with two teddy-bears. Taking Daigoro and Kagetora in his arms, he tilted his head to look at his friend; he hadn’t seen Sae-chan smile that way too many times before- he wasn’t really sure if he ever had. He darted forward and kissed the other boy’s nose just like he had earlier in the night and grinned. “Night, Sae-chan!”
It wasn’t often Saeki was left shocked or speechless and while he wasn’t right then either, he had to admit that Eiji did pull a fast one on him that he hadn’t expected. Eiji could be predictable most of the time but it was that odd time when he did something random that made the dual-coloured haired vampire grin largely at the back of his retreating friend. It made the guy fun and kept him from being boring with that predictability. “Night, Eiji. Sweet dreams.”
He left through the door, as promised, and couldn’t help but half-skip the way back to his room. How had that poem gone? About the lark on the wing and stuff? “All’s right with the world,” he said out loud: it was the only line he remembered and the one that mattered right now, ‘cuz he couldn’t help but feel that, in a way, it would be.