Duklyon: Romance is for girls by Kristin Huntsman released October 31, 1998 //Takeshi Shuukaidou// It was all he could do to wait for the soft lips to touch his own, to remain still, to curb his unusual impatience. Takeshi jerked himself awake just before Kentarou's lips brushed against his own. His heart raced, his breathing was uncontrollable, and he was for once more worried about whether it had been a nightmare or a dream than if any of his family had heard and were coming to check on him. Slowly he lay back down on his bed and concentrated on calming his breathing, curling into a ball and counting his heartbeats. One-onethousand, two-onethousand.... Why the hell was he dreaming about Kentarou kissing him?! Four-onethousand, five-onethousand.... Takeshi curled around the knot in his stomach that told him the answer he didn't want to hear. Seven-onethousand, eight-onethousand.... Takeshi gave up on his heartbeats and slipped out of his bed and went to the kitchen, opening the freezer and digging to the far back, pulling out a carton of strawberry ice cream that he'd hidden there a long time ago for use in all-night study sessions. Strawberry ice cream was his one dietary weakness, something that not even Kentarou knew about. Defiantly, he sat down at the table and dug in to the sweet frozen confection. Maybe some sugar in his bloodstream would help clear his head and let him sort through these ridiculous ideas about his best friend. He savored the first spoonful. Sweet. As sweet as Kentarou could be, even. Though not nearly as annoying as Kentarou could be when he behaved childishly.... Takeshi frowned. He'd learned to live with Kentarou's endlessly genki attitude a long time ago, but it still got to him at times. Before they had been recruited by the Chief to form CLAMP Campus Cops Duklyon two years ago, he had never had to distance himself from Kentarou the way he did these days. Takeshi knew the dangers involved in being one of the special guards of the school, and knew that his continued involvement in the team might ultimately get either himself or Kentarou killed someday. But he couldn't drop out; it would leave Kentarou as the sole protector of the school and immensely increase the risk of him getting hurt. Then, too, there was the other thought, the one that told him he might be replaced. He didn't know if he could stand watching someone else be half of Duklyon. And either way it would put him too far away from Kentarou. Duklyon was the one thing they shared, something that the two of them alone shared. Erii didn't count, really, as being a full member of Duklyon. Takeshi let another spoonful of ice cream slowly melt in his mouth as he thought. He was so defensive about being "just like other people" because that was what he wanted to be. He didn't want to have to worry about being thought of as weird, or a pervert... which was why he reacted the way he did when Kentarou said things and did things sometimes. Being called "Darling" in front of the entire school freaked him out and made him wonder if Kentarou really even did have a brain in that seemingly-empty head of his. And the excuses Kentarou made up sometimes to get them out of class when duty called.... Takeshi shook his head and treated himself to another spoonful. He had gotten a kiss from Kentarou once, and it was something he hadn't been likely to forget. He wondered if Kentarou still remembered it. During the summer of fifth grade the two of them had been having a footrace across the Higashikunimaru estate and he had beat his best friend to the agreed finishing point, just barely. Kentarou's lips had brushed against his, just for a second, and the world had seemed to stop as Takeshi had had the sudden, novel thought that he liked Kentarou in more ways than one, and had wished that the kiss could go on forever. Then the second was gone and Kentarou had grinned and offered to race him to the main house for lunch. He'd lost that race and all the ones after on purpose, eventually stopping running and letting his friend take all the glory in track events, concentrating instead on his swordsmanship. He analyzed that day to death still, and wondered if he had always loved Kentarou and simply not been aware of it until that moment or if he had fallen for his best friend when he had been kissed. But Takeshi shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind, concentrating hard on his schoolwork instead. He was the only son in his family; he couldn't be gay, even if he was. He had to get a good job, eventually marry a good, respectable woman, and have children to continue the family name. So he thrust it out of his thoughts that he loved his friend, and hoped it would go away. //Kentarou Higashikunimaru// I wonder sometimes what Takepon would think of these dreams. I wonder what he would think if he knew I was serious. I can't tell him. Not that. It'd mean losing him if I ever did. ... I've wanted to marry him since we were in elementary school together. Kentarou sighed and stared at the ceiling. He looked at the journal by his side, reading the last lines of the day again to make sure they sounded right, that they were what he wanted to say to himself. "Ta-ke-shi," he whispered aloud, just to hear the three sweet syllables of the name. He closed his eyes and tried to dream again. His dreams were simple, but they were wishes he could never have. Takeshi... he would never agree to anything like Kentarou wanted, even if Kentarou did tell him seriously about those wants. he thought wryly, He sighed and rolled over on his stomach, knowing there was no way he'd be able to get back to sleep. "Ice cream," he decided, before getting up and heading down to the kitchen. ********* Author's Ramblings ********* Yadda yadda yadda... another day, another story. The first Duklyon story, actually, I believe. This is a vignette, obviously, and leaves an open ending, but that's how it occured to me. Takepon is so fierce about being normal ("I HATE those kind of jokes!!" ) that there *has* to be something there, ne? Though it's been up on Rika's site for a while now, I never properly released it because I was never happy with it before. Ja ne! ^^v