Effigies

Yusuke met Kurama at the base of the stairs leading to Genkai’s temple. He had a pack slung over his shoulder and smiled at the redhead as he approached. “I’m sorry I’m late,” Kurama apologized.

“You’re not. I just wanted to be sure to catch you.” He held out his hand and Kurama took it, allowing the brunet to lead him into the forest, ignoring the stairs. They walked in silence, hand in hand, taking their time. Most of the time, they walked so closely together their shoulders brushed and they’d meet each other’s eyes and smile. Kurama’s body felt alive, electric in Yusuke’s presence.

They reached a large oak tree that was just beginning to haze green around the near black of its branches and Yusuke dropped the sack he’d been carrying and leaned against it, pulling Kurama against him. “I thought about what you said last night,” he murmured, his eyes seeking out the green ones. The root of the tree gave him a slight advantage of height, allowing Kurama to lean comfortably against him.

Kurama tipped his head, “What I said?”

“How you said you wanted to make love to me and not just have sex.” Yusuke brushed Kurama’s hair behind his ear, “I think I get it.” He kissed the redhead, holding his chin lightly. Very slowly, he explored Kurama’s lips, tasting them. The kiss bordered on carnal, but there was still a touch of hesitation.

Kurama brought his hand up and covered Yusuke’s hand as he broke their kiss. “Then you know it will be a while before we’re ready.”

“Yeah, I know. But, I really like kissing you, Kurama.”

“And, believe me, I like being kissed by you, Yusuke.” Very slowly, Kurama brought his lips to Yusuke, initiating a kiss for the first time with the brunet. With his lips, he tried to express what he didn’t feel words adequately portrayed, his love and need for Yusuke and his willingness to wait. When Yusuke moaned, Kurama pulled back and leaned his head on the brunet’s shoulder. “I love you, Yusuke.”

Yusuke’s arms tightened around the redhead as he leaned his cheek against the bright red hair. “I can’t say that, yet,” he whispered.

Kurama nuzzled into Yusuke’s shoulder, “You don’t have to, ever, Yusuke.”

Yusuke turned and kissed Kurama’s head and then leaned his cheek back against the red hair. “Kurama, I don’t know how far I want this to go. I like being with you. I like how it feels to kiss you, to hold you, but…”

“But, you still remember what Youko did, even if you’ve forgiven me for it.”

“Yeah,” Yusuke nodded.

Kurama chewed his lip a moment, thinking how to phrase what he wanted to say, “You know, it’s not like you have to be the one penetrated.”

Yusuke was very still for so long, Kurama began to worry he’d said something wrong. Before he could apologize, Yusuke whispered, “I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He nudged Kurama away from his chest so he could look at the redhead, “I thought you would want to because you had more experience and all. I may hurt you and not mean to”

“Yusuke, if it helps you, I can explain what to do, how to properly penetrate me so you don’t hurt me. I told you, we’d go at your pace, and that includes through sex as well, if you decide you want to go that far.”

Yusuke kissed Kurama with enthusiasm, his hesitancy loosing its footing at the redhead’s reassurances. “Thank you, Kurama,” he separated long enough to say, and then returned to kissing Kurama like a man starving offered his first meal. He pressed his lips firmly into Kurama’s, his tongue brushing against the redhead’s mouth enough to sample but not enough to seek entry. Kurama moaned and Yusuke’s lips left his mouth, trailing a path along his cheek to his ear.

“Yusuke?” Kurama groaned, receiving only a hummed answer. “Please. It feels very good, please stop.”

“If it feels good, why do you want to stop?” Yusuke’s eyes were puzzled as he pulled back, but within the brown depths, there was a shrewdness.

“I don’t want to stop, Yusuke. I don’t ever want to stop, but if we don’t stop, we’ll go too far. Neither of us is ready for that.” Closing his eyes, Kurama stepped back from Yusuke. “I love you. I told you before, I want us to make love to each other, not just have sex.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Kurama?”

“What do you mean, Yusuke?” Kurama was having enough trouble just keeping himself under control, he didn’t have much left to follow the strange paths that Yusuke seemed to be traveling.

“How do I know you’re not just humoring me to appease your conscience?” Yusuke tilted his chin challengingly.

Kurama stared at Yusuke a moment, dumbfounded. Robbed of words, and knowing they wouldn’t work anyways, he stepped closer to Yusuke and claimed the brunet’s lips passionately, placing his hands on the trunk of the tree behind him. He tried to take Yusuke into his body, devouring his lips before slipping his tongue out and asking entrance. Yusuke allowed this and Kurama mapped his mouth with thoroughness and passion, groaning as he explored. His body joined in the demonstration, moving against Yusuke’s in such a way that his intent was beyond clear. With his mouth, his body, he showed Yusuke just how much he was wanted. Abruptly, he stepped back, his hands going behind his back, panting. “Does that answer your question?”

Yusuke looked at Kurama, his eyes wide and dazed. “And you’re still holding back?” Kurama nodded, not trusting himself to speak. “Shit,” Yusuke muttered, stepping away from the tree. He sat on the ground and looked at Kurama, “I won’t push you any more. Gods, Kurama, you do love me.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you that, Yusuke.” Kurama sat across from Yusuke, not quite close enough to touch without trying. He was still trying to get his body back under control and didn’t trust himself to touch the object of his affection yet.

Yusuke looked at the bag he’d been carrying. “Hey, are you hungry? I brought some onegiri. I know it’s not much, but…”

“I’d love to eat dinner here with you,” Kurama smiled.

Yusuke grinned and pulled the bag over to himself. He stood and pulled a cloth out of it, spreading it on the ground before sitting again. Kurama crawled onto the blanket and watched as Yusuke pulled out a couple of bento boxes. He set one in front of each of them and looked at Kurama expectantly.

“Itadakimasu,” Kurama murmured, removing the lid from the box. Inside was onegiri as well as a sectioned sandwich and a piece of inari sushi. Kurama smiled, “This is a very fancy onegiri. I love inari sushi.”

Yusuke grinned broadly, “I thought you would.” He looked proud of himself, happy.

“You made it, didn’t you?” Yusuke blushed a little and nodded and Kurama took a bite of the sushi. “It’s the best I’ve ever had,” he said when he swallowed.

“You’re just saying that.”

“I mean it, Yusuke. You made it and that makes it the best.”

Slowly, Yusuke crossed the blanket and laid his head in Kurama’s lap, “You’re very sweet.” Kurama laid his hand on Yusuke’s head, his fingers caressing the gelled strands and Yusuke continued, “I know stars are supposed to be prettier in the fall, but…”

“I’d love to,” Kurama murmured, smiling at the boy in his lap.

Their eyes held each other, speaking volumes, excluding the world around them. Without moving, without speaking, they were whole, together. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. Kurama’s hand continued to caress Yusuke’s hair while his other came to rest on his chest over his heart. Yusuke’s hand covered it, welcoming it. Very softly, Yusuke whispered, “I think I love you, Kurama.”

Kurama’s heart soared, choking him most pleasantly. His face felt warm, his body alive. “I love you, Yusuke,” his voice shook, barely making its way from his lips. A single tear escaped his eyes, tracing a path down his cheek.

Yusuke brought his hand up to catch the drop, “You’re crying?”

“I’m so happy, Yusuke, so very happy.” He laughed, “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am now.”

Yusuke’s hand lingered on Kurama’s cheek, and he just looked at the redhead, not saying anything for a long time. “I do love you,” he said at last, moving to sit and be closer to Kurama. “I love you,” he whispered, kissing the redhead lightly, chastely. He pulled back, looking away, feeling a little shy, “We should eat.”

“Yusuke,” Kurama whispered, his hand touching the other boy’s cheek. When the brown eyes met his again, he whispered, “I love you, and we’re still going at your pace.”

“I know,” Yusuke whispered back. “I need to…I need to get used to this.”

Kurama nodded, “I’ll wait.”

“For how long?” Yusuke’s voice was worried.

“As long as it takes.”

“Even if…even if never?”

“Being with you is satisfying, Yusuke. Even if we never take our relationship farther, I will be happy. I am happy.”

Yusuke looked at Kurama a moment before laughing, “This isn’t what I thought it would be.”

Kurama leaned back on his hands, “What did you expect, Yusuke?”

Yusuke brought his hand up behind his head, “I uh…kinda expected you to want to get right to the…sex.” He looked away, “I thought that is all you’d want, or that you’d try and persuade me to go that way.”

“You’ve been testing both of us, haven’t you?” Yusuke nodded without looking at Kurama. “I knew you’d test me, Yusuke. In all honesty, I’m deeply honored that you were willing to try.” Yusuke’s eyes were surprised as he looked at Kurama again, but before he could speak, the redhead continued, “I expected it, Yusuke, because we still need to work together and what Youko did almost destroyed the trust we’d had. That you’re willing to try for more than just a partnership, but an actual friendship and maybe more, by that, I’m deeply honored.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Not in the least because it’s honest, Yusuke. It’s who you really are. I’d rather that than some fake trust or anything else.”

“And…you’re doing the same?”

“Testing?” Kurama asked. When Yusuke nodded, he considered, “Yes, I am, but more myself.”

“How long have you loved me, Kurama?”

The redhead paused, “Most of the time I’ve known you, though I’ve really only admitted it to myself since just before the tournament.”

“Why?”

“I thought it was just lust, Yusuke. You are the type I prefer for a male lover, physically. I thought it was simple lust I was feeling. But, I knew I couldn’t have you. You wouldn’t have accepted my advances then, so I tried to ignore my feelings for you. Instead of going away when I labeled you unattainable, my feelings changed.”

Yusuke ate silently for a while, his face thoughtful. Kurama ate as well, waiting for Yusuke to continue. While they ate, the sun set, its colors soft, a gradual easing into twilight. Yusuke returned the boxes to his sack then lay across the blanket. “Lay next to me?”

Kurama moved so his body was next to Yusuke’s, almost but not quite touching. They lay quietly for a long time, watching the stars. After a time, Yusuke slid his hand under Kurama’s, holding it lightly. Kurama squeezed a little and smiled. Yusuke returned the pressure and they watched the stars appear through the haze of budding trees and the light pollution of the too near city.

As one, they turned to each other, Yusuke’s hand reaching for Kurama’s cheek, Kurama’s hand seeking Yusuke’s waist. Without a word, their lips met, softly at first, gently, an introduction, a prelude. Butterfly kisses that took weight and substance, deepening into something much less chaste, toe-curling, tongue-meeting. Kurama pulled back and Yusuke followed him, his body rolling onto the redhead’s, revealing their mutual arousal as their lips continued to meld, their tongue caressing, mapping each other.

As abruptly as it started, Yusuke rolled off Kurama, panting, “I’ll walk you home.”

“I think that wise,” Kurama agreed, as breathless. They both stood and shook out the blanket, folding it without looking at each other. As Yusuke was about to leave the clearing, Kurama took his hand. Yusuke’s eyes were wide as he finally looked at Kurama again. “I like holding your hand,” the redhead answered the unasked question.

“But…but, you pulled back and I kept going.”

Kurama pulled Yusuke’s hand gently and the brunet followed the motion. “Yusuke, if I really wanted you to stop, I could make you, right? I have done so, haven’t I?”

“Yeah. But…”

“Yusuke, I love you, very much. I promise, I’ll tell you if I think we need to stop.”

“Even if you don’t want to?” Yusuke asked, stepping closer to the redhead.

“Even if I don’t want to. I don’t ever want to hurt you, Yusuke. Never again.” Kurama’s free hand came up and caressed Yusuke’s cheek.

Yusuke tipped his head into Kurama’s hand, “I love you. I think I can trust you. You are showing me that I can.”

Kurama kissed Yusuke’s forehead, “Shall we go?”

Yusuke nodded and moved so they could walk together the way they’d entered the forest. They walked in companionable silence to Kurama’s house, holding hands the entire way. Yusuke laced his fingers through Kurama’s and the redhead squeezed the hand in his appreciatively, rubbing his thumb along Yusuke’s finger. They arrived at Kurama’s house the same time Shiori did and when Yusuke tried to pull away, Kurama held his hand, “It’s okay, she knows.”

“What?” Yusuke whispered back in surprise.

“When I came home yesterday, I was very happy. She asked me if I was in love. She figured out it was you. It surprised me.”

Shiori waved and called over to them, forestalling any further conversation, “Shuichi, Yusuke! Come in, have something to drink! Join us for dinner.”

“We’ve eaten, Mother,” Kurama answered, squeezing Yusuke’s hand reassuringly. “Yusuke prepared a nice dinner for us.”

Shiori smiled, “Then you’ll have to join us for dinner another night.”

“Thank you,” Yusuke murmured, blushing. He looked up and asked, “You’re really okay with…”

“Yes,” Shiori continued to smile. “As I told Shuichi yesterday, I want him to be happy. If you make him happy and he makes you happy, that’s what’s important.” She tipped her head to the side, “Will you join us for dinner tomorrow night?”

Yusuke bowed, “Thank you, ma’am. I’d be honored.”

“Good night, then,” Shiori waved, going into the house.

Kurama turned, pulling Yusuke against his chest, “Until tomorrow, then?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow. What time?”

“Why don’t you come over after school? We could work on our homework and I could show you my garden. There’s not much really to see, yet.”

“I’d like that,” Yusuke murmured, bringing his lips against Kurama’s chastely. “Good night. I love you.”

Kurama’s heart swelled, “I love you, too. Sleep well.”

A/N: Another chapter...one review...Thanks Devious Li'l Devil *sigh* Where's the rest of you? The hit count goes up but no one leaves me pretty notes *sniff*