[fic] Inevitable [Kio, Soubi :: PG-13]
Aug. 12th, 2006 05:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
enchanterInevitable [August 11th, 2006]
PG-13 // complete // Kio, Soubi // angst-ish // 1485 words
Soundtrack :: Vienna Teng - Recessional [ download ]
This story references![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aluragayle's Come What May. It assumes that Kio and Soubi knew each other before Soubi's training, and takes place after Soubi returns. Edited by wicked_pistil ♥
Inevitable
by Rhea Logan
"Sou-chan?"
Wherever Soubi had drifted off to, it had to be a place with thick, soundproof walls. He did not look up, did not pause the ceaseless work of his hands that folded his freshly laundered shirts. Kio sprang to his feet, knocking over a plastic cup that sat inches away from his left foot, and waved his hand in front of Soubi's face.
"Soubi!" Disgruntled and more than a little disturbed by the lack of response of any kind, Kio raised his voice. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm still here."
"Mmm."
Another carefully folded piece of clothing landed atop the steadily growing pile on the edge of the bed. Soubi had, at last, acknowledged Kio's existence, but his eyes never looked away from the task.
"Where else would you be?" he asked.
Good question, indeed. "Someplace where I'm not invisible, maybe?" Kio crossed his arms and moved one step closer - close enough to stand in Soubi's way - sharp eyes drilling holes in the mask beneath which, he hoped, was Sou-chan with a more pleasant face.
Soubi met his stare in passing as he gathered his laundry. "You complain too much," he said, rising to his feet. He stepped around Kio who promptly resolved not to let him get away without a fight.
"What's wrong with you?" Kio pushed his hand through his hair, all but giving in to the temptation to pull at the ruffled bangs. "I don't—"
"Nothing is wrong, Kio," Soubi said, glancing at him over the rim of his glasses.
Kio swallowed down the discomfort of anger he did not want to feel, the chills of uncertainty that sent shivers down his back. He had been looking forward to this, counting months, weeks and days until Soubi's return. He remembered someone telling him that friendships like theirs waned, and he clung to the thoughts of Soubi until they grew comfortable, convincing enough to let him trust it wouldn't happen to them.
The whispers of fear had never quite left, but Kio had armed himself in something very much like hope that they could, in fact, pretend they had never been apart.
Except the man who had come back - not to him, it seemed - had different, colder eyes, and an artificial smile that made Kio cringe inside. He wore a poker face, spoke only terse words of two opposing kinds: they either told Kio nothing, or they slashed through him like a shard of ice.
And the worst of it all was that other guy. That dark-haired brat with ears whom Kio had seen around his Sou-chan far too many times.
"Hey, Soubi?" Kio tipped his head, slanted eyes tracing the lean body underneath tight, black clothes. "That Aoyagi Seimei. Who is he, anyway?"
It must have been Aoyagi's name that finally did the trick; Soubi turned sharply, pale eyes glaring.
Bingo.
He decided to pretend he really did not know better, although this Soubi looked scary, his posture and his icy stare designed to intimidate.
Kio took it in stride. "He looks inexperienced," he said. "Don't tell me you prefer—"
"Kio." Soubi put the pile of clothes away, letting the sharp sound of his voice resonate slowly in the brittle silence. "Things have changed," he said after a pause, more softly this time. "It would be better if you didn't ask—"
"Just what kind of a secret is that?" Kio gave his head a violent shake and his fingers curled into tight fists. "I don't get it. What did they teach you at that weird school, apart from dodging questions?"
Frustration welled up in his chest, the cold stone down in his stomach morphing into the heat of molten lava that rushed through his veins. All right. So perhaps he had said too much. He walked to the sink, grabbed a glass from the countertop next to it with a trembling hand, and opened the tap.
"I'm just curious, okay?" he said, watching the small torrent swirl inside the transparent trap. It seemed safer now than looking again into Soubi's distant eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"Seimei is my master."
Kio lost his grip on the glass. It slipped from his suddenly slack hand and smashed against the bottom of the sink. He didn't care if it shattered. Soubi's words hung in the thickening air; Kio winced under their weight. For a longer while he stared blankly at Soubi's face, trying to decide if he'd heard right.
When he regained some measure of control over his voice, he managed to push, "He's what?" from his still-constricted throat.
"My master," Soubi repeated, glancing aslant.
His odd, stoic calm sobered Kio up. "Master? Are you crazy?" He realized he was yelling, and didn't care enough to make himself stop. "What are you, a dog?"
If Kio's brash words hurt him, Soubi did not let it show. "A servant," he said calmly, one hand reaching into the pocket of his pants. "You won't understand."
Kio slumped onto the floor, his head dropping into his hands. "Tell me when this weird dream ends," he groaned, fingers digging into his temples. "Who are you and, more importantly, have you seen my Sou-chan?"
He looked up at the sound of a lighter clicking somewhere ahead of him. Soubi leaned against the countertop, eerily silent despite the provocation, lighting a long, slim cigarette.
"And since when do you smoke?" Kio asked, his eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise.
Soubi blew a cloud of smoke and made a small gesture with his other hand. "Do you mind?"
"Yes." Kio frowned. "I mean, no..." He felt dizzy, nauseated by the bitter taste in his dry mouth. "I mean, yes," he decided. The room seemed to whirl around him when he lifted his head. "It's bad for your health."
Soubi let out a mirthless laugh. "I suppose."
Kio scrambled to his feet, slowly breathing in and out, in and out in a broken rhythm, buying himself time to let his mind roll through the situation, chew on the facts, and make sure Soubi was not pulling some kind of a twisted joke.
"You've changed," he said at last. His heart twisted and knotted in his chest, and he pushed away the hopes, the happy thoughts he had come with. "Not for the better."
There was nobody to share them with, anyway.
Soubi gave him the look of genuine confusion, obvious in his tense posture, in the crease of his brow. Who are you? he wanted to ask, but the words caught in his throat. Soubi did not look like he would understand what Kio meant by them.
"Well," Soubi broke the silence, "Time can do that. I'm not the only one who has changed."
Kio pursed his lips, letting his eyes slide shut for a moment against the oppressive discomfort that saturated the atmosphere. He had to leave, go out – anywhere – and walk until some of this mess started to make sense, or until his legs gave way. Whichever happened first.
"Yeah," he said, forcing a smile, not quite sure what he was agreeing with. "We'll just have to get used to it, I guess." He turned towards the door; confusion gave way to sadness as he caught himself clinging to a pathetic hope that Soubi would tell him to stay, even as he muttered something about homework and the hour growing late.
"Change is inevitable," he heard Soubi say as he opened the door, stiff fingers clutching the doorknob until his joints ached. His feet felt heavy, unwilling to take him away despite the need to think about it all in a more welcoming place.
Outside, Kio wrapped his arms around himself against the shivers that sent his body into a trembling rhythm. The wind had picked up at nightfall; it draped invisible, chilling ribbons around his sweaty skin. So much for celebration, ideas and plans he had carefully crafted to pass the time until Soubi's return.
He jumped when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket and dug his hand inside it, mentally crossing fingers that the news would be good this time. Maybe, he dared let himself think, it was just a bad day, and Soubi had come to his senses, at last.
Anxious, he grasped his phone with both hands to keep it from shaking and scanned the message on the tiny screen with ravenous eyes. He knew the sender's name – or so he had thought – but he had yet to taste this new, silent bitterness creeping from the words.
Before I left, Kio read, again and again, blinking to chase the blurry mist away from his eyes, you promised it would be just like always. It's not.
PG-13 // complete // Kio, Soubi // angst-ish // 1485 words
Soundtrack :: Vienna Teng - Recessional [ download ]
This story references
aluragayle's Come What May. It assumes that Kio and Soubi knew each other before Soubi's training, and takes place after Soubi returns. Edited by wicked_pistil ♥Inevitable
by Rhea Logan
Who are you, the stranger
in the shell of a lover?
Dark curtains drawn
by the passage of time
Vienna Teng – Recessional
"Sou-chan?"
Wherever Soubi had drifted off to, it had to be a place with thick, soundproof walls. He did not look up, did not pause the ceaseless work of his hands that folded his freshly laundered shirts. Kio sprang to his feet, knocking over a plastic cup that sat inches away from his left foot, and waved his hand in front of Soubi's face.
"Soubi!" Disgruntled and more than a little disturbed by the lack of response of any kind, Kio raised his voice. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm still here."
"Mmm."
Another carefully folded piece of clothing landed atop the steadily growing pile on the edge of the bed. Soubi had, at last, acknowledged Kio's existence, but his eyes never looked away from the task.
"Where else would you be?" he asked.
Good question, indeed. "Someplace where I'm not invisible, maybe?" Kio crossed his arms and moved one step closer - close enough to stand in Soubi's way - sharp eyes drilling holes in the mask beneath which, he hoped, was Sou-chan with a more pleasant face.
Soubi met his stare in passing as he gathered his laundry. "You complain too much," he said, rising to his feet. He stepped around Kio who promptly resolved not to let him get away without a fight.
"What's wrong with you?" Kio pushed his hand through his hair, all but giving in to the temptation to pull at the ruffled bangs. "I don't—"
"Nothing is wrong, Kio," Soubi said, glancing at him over the rim of his glasses.
Kio swallowed down the discomfort of anger he did not want to feel, the chills of uncertainty that sent shivers down his back. He had been looking forward to this, counting months, weeks and days until Soubi's return. He remembered someone telling him that friendships like theirs waned, and he clung to the thoughts of Soubi until they grew comfortable, convincing enough to let him trust it wouldn't happen to them.
The whispers of fear had never quite left, but Kio had armed himself in something very much like hope that they could, in fact, pretend they had never been apart.
Except the man who had come back - not to him, it seemed - had different, colder eyes, and an artificial smile that made Kio cringe inside. He wore a poker face, spoke only terse words of two opposing kinds: they either told Kio nothing, or they slashed through him like a shard of ice.
And the worst of it all was that other guy. That dark-haired brat with ears whom Kio had seen around his Sou-chan far too many times.
"Hey, Soubi?" Kio tipped his head, slanted eyes tracing the lean body underneath tight, black clothes. "That Aoyagi Seimei. Who is he, anyway?"
It must have been Aoyagi's name that finally did the trick; Soubi turned sharply, pale eyes glaring.
Bingo.
He decided to pretend he really did not know better, although this Soubi looked scary, his posture and his icy stare designed to intimidate.
Kio took it in stride. "He looks inexperienced," he said. "Don't tell me you prefer—"
"Kio." Soubi put the pile of clothes away, letting the sharp sound of his voice resonate slowly in the brittle silence. "Things have changed," he said after a pause, more softly this time. "It would be better if you didn't ask—"
"Just what kind of a secret is that?" Kio gave his head a violent shake and his fingers curled into tight fists. "I don't get it. What did they teach you at that weird school, apart from dodging questions?"
Frustration welled up in his chest, the cold stone down in his stomach morphing into the heat of molten lava that rushed through his veins. All right. So perhaps he had said too much. He walked to the sink, grabbed a glass from the countertop next to it with a trembling hand, and opened the tap.
"I'm just curious, okay?" he said, watching the small torrent swirl inside the transparent trap. It seemed safer now than looking again into Soubi's distant eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"Seimei is my master."
Kio lost his grip on the glass. It slipped from his suddenly slack hand and smashed against the bottom of the sink. He didn't care if it shattered. Soubi's words hung in the thickening air; Kio winced under their weight. For a longer while he stared blankly at Soubi's face, trying to decide if he'd heard right.
When he regained some measure of control over his voice, he managed to push, "He's what?" from his still-constricted throat.
"My master," Soubi repeated, glancing aslant.
His odd, stoic calm sobered Kio up. "Master? Are you crazy?" He realized he was yelling, and didn't care enough to make himself stop. "What are you, a dog?"
If Kio's brash words hurt him, Soubi did not let it show. "A servant," he said calmly, one hand reaching into the pocket of his pants. "You won't understand."
Kio slumped onto the floor, his head dropping into his hands. "Tell me when this weird dream ends," he groaned, fingers digging into his temples. "Who are you and, more importantly, have you seen my Sou-chan?"
He looked up at the sound of a lighter clicking somewhere ahead of him. Soubi leaned against the countertop, eerily silent despite the provocation, lighting a long, slim cigarette.
"And since when do you smoke?" Kio asked, his eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise.
Soubi blew a cloud of smoke and made a small gesture with his other hand. "Do you mind?"
"Yes." Kio frowned. "I mean, no..." He felt dizzy, nauseated by the bitter taste in his dry mouth. "I mean, yes," he decided. The room seemed to whirl around him when he lifted his head. "It's bad for your health."
Soubi let out a mirthless laugh. "I suppose."
Kio scrambled to his feet, slowly breathing in and out, in and out in a broken rhythm, buying himself time to let his mind roll through the situation, chew on the facts, and make sure Soubi was not pulling some kind of a twisted joke.
"You've changed," he said at last. His heart twisted and knotted in his chest, and he pushed away the hopes, the happy thoughts he had come with. "Not for the better."
There was nobody to share them with, anyway.
Soubi gave him the look of genuine confusion, obvious in his tense posture, in the crease of his brow. Who are you? he wanted to ask, but the words caught in his throat. Soubi did not look like he would understand what Kio meant by them.
"Well," Soubi broke the silence, "Time can do that. I'm not the only one who has changed."
Kio pursed his lips, letting his eyes slide shut for a moment against the oppressive discomfort that saturated the atmosphere. He had to leave, go out – anywhere – and walk until some of this mess started to make sense, or until his legs gave way. Whichever happened first.
"Yeah," he said, forcing a smile, not quite sure what he was agreeing with. "We'll just have to get used to it, I guess." He turned towards the door; confusion gave way to sadness as he caught himself clinging to a pathetic hope that Soubi would tell him to stay, even as he muttered something about homework and the hour growing late.
"Change is inevitable," he heard Soubi say as he opened the door, stiff fingers clutching the doorknob until his joints ached. His feet felt heavy, unwilling to take him away despite the need to think about it all in a more welcoming place.
Outside, Kio wrapped his arms around himself against the shivers that sent his body into a trembling rhythm. The wind had picked up at nightfall; it draped invisible, chilling ribbons around his sweaty skin. So much for celebration, ideas and plans he had carefully crafted to pass the time until Soubi's return.
He jumped when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket and dug his hand inside it, mentally crossing fingers that the news would be good this time. Maybe, he dared let himself think, it was just a bad day, and Soubi had come to his senses, at last.
Anxious, he grasped his phone with both hands to keep it from shaking and scanned the message on the tiny screen with ravenous eyes. He knew the sender's name – or so he had thought – but he had yet to taste this new, silent bitterness creeping from the words.
Before I left, Kio read, again and again, blinking to chase the blurry mist away from his eyes, you promised it would be just like always. It's not.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 04:06 am (UTC)I liked your story. I always thought that Soubi changed into his "obedient" self when he went for training with Seimei. Your story just emphasized that.
I feel for Kio. To have such high-hopes for Soubi's return only to be disillusioned by his stoic attitude.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:39 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked the story. =) Thank you for commenting!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 04:56 am (UTC)I love this, it just shoes how much people change...
brilliant job♥
(I've downloaded the song, btw. thanks for the upload ^^)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:40 pm (UTC)And, you're welcome. ♥
no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 05:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:41 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked it. ^^
no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 05:02 am (UTC)*sigh
I didn't want it to end ^_^ ... ah well, such is life
*leaps into your fic and gives everyone hugs
If only I could!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:42 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for the comment!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 01:32 pm (UTC)In a good way. Makes the Empath *purr*.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 10:12 pm (UTC)As usual, your writing brings me right to that place where I feel their pain so deeply, so immediately... The music adds something beautiful, thank you. I had been listening to Adiemus, looking for something suitably melancholy, and then I realized you had included music, too.
I love how you write Kio: Someplace where I'm not invisible, maybe? It's exactly the right amount of sarcasm laced with underlying pain and bitterness. *pets Kio*
Your poignant descriptions always leave me breathless: letting his eyes slide shut for a moment against the oppressive discomfort that saturated the atmosphere... Just... lovely. I wonder how long Kio will hold on... I wonder if Soubi will finally see his value, finally see how much he gives up for him, now that Kio's in danger? Couldn't you just see it, Soubi smacking Nisei with one hand and grabbing Kio and kissing him with the other? I know, keep dreaming, fangirl... *sighs again*
Thank you once again for the exquisitely beautiful journey into Soubi and Kio land.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:49 pm (UTC)I do try to include music when I can, indeed. =) If not for someone to read while listening, then at least to share some music I love.
Couldn't you just see it, Soubi smacking Nisei with one hand and grabbing Kio and kissing him with the other? I know, keep dreaming, fangirl... *sighs again*
Heh, I wish. I wish! Then again, there's always alternate universe...
Thank you for your wonderful comment. ♥
no subject
Date: 2006-08-13 02:15 am (UTC)talking withignoring Kio is perfect.Thank you for another beautifully tortured chapter in your Kio and Soubi stories.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:32 am (UTC)Poor Kio. But even more poor Soubi. *if I can get back into Sasuke fandom, then Soubi is just around the corner* I look forward to your recs. ;)
Have any song lyrics for Jun yet? Or a phrase from Kimi wa Petto you liked? Cause even if i limit myself to KwP period Jun hair -- there's still too much to choose from. I just need that little prompt to get a theme in my head. XDDD
no subject
Date: 2008-03-04 09:20 pm (UTC)