Aiba dreamt of fingers gentle on his skin, perfumed with ginger and mint, carefully brushing hair away from his face.  The cool breath of fall was coming; he nestled closer to the warm body beneath the blankets, lacing ankles and fingers together.  The flavor left on his tongue was sweet.  Whispered sighs in his ears tangled with ( Read more... )

Title: Equilibrium - Chapter Eleven
Pairing: Sho/Aiba
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,904 (total of 34,190)
Summary: Historical AU fic with a romantic twist.
Notes: Okay so, I lied.  The story wouldn't let me rest so here's a new chapter.  Self-betad.  It reads like a shojo manga but I love it so you can fuck off if you don't like it.  Reunion!  I should ( Read more... )

            The attack on the Imperial guard had been the first fracture in the peace of Musashi province, as Miyake had predicted.  He was now certain that the raid on the provincial capital would shatter it entirely, once word spread to the borders.  Okada and the soldiers had been able to secure the village-only just in time-but not without ( Read more... )

The tatami was soft, worn by time and tea ceremonies, beneath his hand.  His skin was raw, the hair on his arms standing straight at the nip of dawn, remembering the careful caresses of only a few hours ago.  Head pillowed on one arm, Sho swept the hair from Aiba’s face, fingertips barely brushing his pink cheeks; the sleeping man ( Read more... )

            The next morning, Aiba woke before Nino.  As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, he wondered if he had managed to fall asleep at all; his sleep had been broken and restless.  He stayed there until it was light enough that the maids would be rising too.  He bathed and dressed before Nino even began to stir and set about his chores.  ( Read more... )

A pair of messengers returned from the borders with more unsettling news of sedition seeping further inwards, closer to villages and townships. A messenger from Kyoto carrying a letter bearing Kimura’s seal arrived with little more advice than, “You know what needs to be done. Do what you have to.” Being more than a week’s ride away ( Read more... )

As the wheel of the seasons turned, the equinox passed and the heavy heat of summer settled. A sullen tension had fallen over Iwatsuki castle since the arrival of the first reports of insurgence. And yet, despite the feeling of something malicious lurking over the horizon that wrapped itself around everyone in the castle, Sho alone ( Read more... )

Sho sat on the front veranda of the guest house, staring out into the darkening night. It had been four days since he and Ohno had been called to the keep for the latest report of the churning tide of unrest in the province. It had been four days since he had been granted a view of Ohno that he had never seen before. He had learned ( Read more... )

            Sho sat on the front veranda of the guest house, staring out into the darkening night.  It had been four days since he and Ohno had been called to the keep for the latest report of the churning tide of unrest in the province.  It had been four days since he had been granted a view of Ohno that he had never seen before.  He had learned ( Read more... )