The title of the story says it all. And, just as a note, this happens while the three are in high school. Despite what a lot of people may or may not think of me, I'm not into kiddie-porn. Inevitability part 1 by Kristin Huntsman Suoh lay on his futon, wishing the hot summer night would go away and let him sleep. It was sweltering, the cicadas were driving him crazy, his skin was all prickly and soaked in sweat, and inside his stomach there was a knot of something that had all too much to do with something he wished to forget!! He growled and tossed so he was laying on his right side, staring at his wall. Nokoru. It was all Nokoru's fault. he added. Suoh angrily tossed onto his left side and closed his eyes, glaring in defiance at the backs of his eyelids and wishing that damn knot of emotion that was tying him up so much would just go the HELL away. * * * Suoh looked at the clock, which read five p.m. He hadn't gotten any sleep until sometime around three a.m., and had awoken at six. He'd been out of it all day, drifting, his mind always teetering on the verge of sleep because the restless night hadn't been a first; ever since the heat wave had hit Tokyo a week ago he hadn't gotten even four hours' sleep in each night. Surreptitiously, he glanced at Nokoru. The sun was to Nokoru's back, light streaming through his gold hair and giving him the look of an angel complete with halo. Suoh grumbled, remembering all the times Nokoru had manipulated Akira and him for whatever reasons, great or small. At least it was air-conditioned in CLAMP Campus, so Suoh could concentrate on the blessedly cool air rather than the knot of churning, molten feeling inside of him. he mentally reminded himself, turning back to his paperwork, blocking the pictures that seemed to constantly reside in the back of his brain. Pictures that involved his sempai shirtless at the very least. Pictures with *far* too many pastel sparkles in the background for Suoh's taste and peace of mind both. A small sound from Nokoru's desk almost made him look up, but he didn't, forcing his inaction, staying still and *trying* to concentrate on his paperwork. Thus, Nokoru's hand landing on his shoulder caught Suoh utterly off-guard and he started with a shout; "GYAH!" Nokoru jumped away too, looking startled at Suoh's reaction. Akira glanced up from his desk, looking curious at the two of them. "Don't DO that!" Suoh almost-yelled. Nokoru blinked, blue eyes confused, then shrugged a little. "There's a technicality in one of the reports I need to check out, Suoh. I was wondering if you and Akira would like to come with me?" His smile was beguiling. Suoh looked over at Akira, who glanced at his remaining paperwork with a sigh. "I think I'd better not," Akira replied, then turned his smile onto Suoh and Nokoru. "But why don't you go, Takamura-sempai? That way you can be sure Kaichou will actually come back to finish his paperwork." Involuntarily, Suoh and Nokoru glanced at the two hills of paperwork that flanked Nokoru's desk; the smaller one on the left was the "finished" pile; the one on the right (about twice as big as the other) was the "to be finished" stack. Nokoru looked back at Akira, a sweatdrop beading on the side of his head. "Th-thank you for reminding me, Akira...." he said weakly. Akira smiled. "You're welcome, Kaichou!" he brightly replied. Suoh joined Nokoru in the "Sweatdrop Club for Men." "Anyhow, did you want to come with me, Suoh?" Nokoru asked, his manner as mercurial as ever. "Y-yeah," Suoh said, hesitating only a little. He stood and pushed his chair in, then followed Nokoru to the door of the Student Body Government room. "We'll be back soon, Akira!" Nokoru said with a smile and a wave. "Have fun, Kaichou, Takamura-sempai!" Akira returned before the door closed. They walked to the library in silence, leaving Suoh time for his own thoughts. He glanced to his right at Nokoru, and realized that his growth spurt of the last few months had made him taller than Kaichou for the first time in years. he dared hope. "How is Nagisa-jyou?" Nokoru asked suddenly. "Ah...." Suoh found himself wondering, not for the first time, if Nokoru had the power to read his mind. "She's... fine." It seemed the safest thing to say. "It must be hard having a girlfriend four years younger than yourself, Suoh," Nokoru remarked. "Why don't you have a girlfriend, Kaichou?" Anything... there had to be a safe topic somewhere. The look Nokoru gave him was no less than shocked. "To choose one and say that she means more than me to the rest... Suoh, that wouldn't be fair!" Suoh retreated into silence until they reached the library. Nokoru ran ahead of him, knowing the exact section it was in, and likely the exact page and paragraph of the book he was looking for as well. Really, he was so happy to get away from the paperwork... Suoh almost found it in himself to consider letting his Kaichou off the hook more often. Almost. By the time he caught up, Nokoru was already thirty feet in the air up on a ladder, pulling the text he needed out of the shelf. Rather than coming back down to read it, he simply flipped to the page he needed while Suoh waited patiently, leaning against one of the free-standing bookcases and crossing his arms. Then Nokoru's foot slipped. As it had thirty-six times in the past, time slowed for Suoh. Nokoru's expression became surprised as he fell, arms waving as if they were supposed to be wings keeping him in flight, while Suoh ran. This happened no less than four times a year, Nokoru's lack of athleticism getting to him in high places from which he fell, slipped, or was pushed. Suoh thanked the Gods daily that Nokoru had never been interested in rock-climbing; ladders, balconies, trees, and rooftops were bad enough. There was a second's pause between when Suoh got into position to catch Nokoru and when Nokoru actually crashed into him. Despite Suoh's physical strength and Nokoru's light weight, momentum bested them this time and sent them both to the ground. * * * was Suoh's first dazed thought. That was followed by a sudden awareness of Nokoru-- On. Top. Of. Him. Suoh quit breathing as every nerve ending started feeding him data. Every instinct was telling him to take advantage of the position, but how could he when Kaichou *didn't* *even* *know,* and he had *no* *right* to anyway-- Nokoru stirred, lifting his tousled blond head off of Suoh's chest, and levered himself up slowly, Suoh's every sense spinning at the heady contact as his mind fought off instincts that had been gnawing at him almost constantly for a year now-- "Suoh, are you okay!?" Nokoru asked, checking him for wounds. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "No," Suoh said tightly, still not moving, caught between a moan of anger and a scream of frustration, neither of which he dared voice. Nokoru sighed, closing his exotic blue eyes in relief. "That's good," he said. "I'm sorry I'm so unathletic, Suoh; you're always having to rescue me." "I promised to protect you; I will," Suoh rationalized, still not moving. "Kaichou, hadn't you better get your book?" "Ah! That's right!" Nokoru said, opening his eyes and scanning around for the book. It had fallen only a few feet away, open on its face. Suoh winced inwardly, thinking of the strain that would be putting on the book's spine. He was almost there... almost had control back.... "Suoh?" Nokoru asked, concerned again as he closed the book and looked back. "Are you sure you're okay? You're not moving." "I'm just getting my breath back," Suoh replied, closing his eyes and stalling. Almost there.... "You're heavier to catch than you used to be. Adding muscle, Kaichou?" He *knew* that sounded weak.... "... Suoh?" Nokoru's voice was soft now, oh-so-gentle, his tone the quiet one Suoh had hoped Nokoru would never use on him until he got over this entire infatuation thing. It made him want things he couldn't have, want them so badly. "Suoh, will you look at me?" Suoh opened his eyes just in time to see the blond head descending towards him. He remained very very VERY still as Nokoru's warm lips touched his, the blue eyes looking so gentle and compassionate and loving.... The world quieted around them. Eventually Nokoru pulled away, a slight smile on his lips. "Kaichou..." Suoh whispered, stunned. And there were so many parts of him, so many different reactions. There was the part that was scared that this had happened, the part that marvelled at Kaichou's astuteness, the part that demanded that he take charge and pick up where the kiss had left off. And then there were the many, many parts that were too confused to think and knew only that what had been a slow, molten knot in him before was a singing, free-flowing liquid now. "I thought so, Suoh," Nokoru whispered back. "Why?" Suoh asked, letting that one word carry the myriad of meanings he wanted to know. Nokoru smiled and shrugged. "The way you've been watching me, or trying not to," he answered. "And because I think I feel some of the same things too." "Kaichou...!" Suoh said again, really stunned now. Nokoru sat back on his heels as Suoh pushed himself up into a sitting position. He pulled out his fan from somewhere and pointed it, closed, at Suoh. "You are more into denial than anyone I've ever known, Suoh," he declared. "How long has this been going on, anyway?" Suoh met that blue gaze steadily. He couldn't let Nokoru take the advantage position in this. "A little less than a year," he answered. "Since last August." "LAST AUGUST?!" Nokoru demanded, losing his balance and falling backwards with a slight crash. "Suoh," he asked, "didn't it ever occur to you to ASK about something like this?" "Ask YOU?!" Suoh retorted. "Are you CRAZY!? You were the one I was WORRIED would find out!!" Nokoru, having pushed himself back up into sitting, just stared at him for a minute, then started giggling. "What?!" Suoh asked, confused at the reaction. "We're arguing," Nokoru replied, laughing. "This has to be the first time we've argued since you promised you'd protect me."