- Maxwell "Ascension"

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A Bit of Sage Advice - part two
by Ebonhawk

It's been a long day...and it's not even half over yet. I don't ever want to see another hose in my life. Next time, Ryo takes the overgrown housecat with him. What to chronicle now?

Kento and Cye have been hiding out most of the day doing gods only know what... I'm sure I could hazard a guess, though.

(Smirk.)

Mia's been out of town since last night. She said it was family business, so I decided not to pry. Hope it's not anything serious, though. I would hate for her to get bad news when everything's been going so well recently. She took Ryo, so I'm not too worried about her.

What else? Oh, yes. Yuli. He's gone for the weekend.

("Thank God! Hmm. I really shouldn't say that.")

He's off on a camping trip with a few of his friends. I can hardly believe he's old enough to be out on his own like this. It seems like only yesterday that he was on all of our heels constantly, begging for us to do something with him. Where has all the time gone? Did it really pass by so quickly?

(Thoughtful pause.)

And then there's Rowen. We went out to lunch with my mother yesterday. He seemed nervous for some reason. (He's been jumpy for the past couple of weeks, actually.) I haven't gotten him to tell me what's been bothering him yet. I'll just have to keep working on him, I guess.

I mentioned the 'gifts' Kimi had given him to Mom. She *forced* him to show her. Gods, I don't think I've laughed so much in long time. His face was as red as Ryo's armor while Mom poked and prodded first at his piercing, then the tattoo, and then the piercing again! I think he found her curiosity more embarrassing than lifting his shirt in the middle of the restaurant.

(Chuckle. Sigh.)

He's so lovely. I don't think he knows that. I *would* tell him just how beautiful he is but I doubt he'd listen.

I've talked to Mom about how I feel about him before. She says that I should tell him what I've told her. I can't. There's so much - almost too much - that I want to say that I know would scare him away. Probably even destroy the friendship we have now.

(Quiet, sad smile.)

Even if I did tell him, he would most likely just throw it back in my face and laugh - or even try to physically hurt me. I couldn't handle a reaction like that when all I want to do is take him in my arms and lavish on him what so many girls - and they *are* girls - have begged me for.

Sometimes, though, I'm not so certain that he would push me away. But then, when I think that maybe he might possibly return some of the feelings, he turns away and ignores me. Am I just looking for something that's not really there?

I don't know exactly when I started to think of him like this. Sure, he's not the first person, male or female, I've had an interest in but it feels different from any other time. So much more implicitly *right*. It seems like it all really happened within a few short heartbeats one day - I couldn't say when. I looked at him...I mean, REALLY looked at him...and found myself gazing at the other half of my soul.

(Blink back the swirling disaster of impending heartache.)

My sweet Touma, what would you do if I *could* find the nerve to tell you that I want nothing more than to hold you close to me for the rest of our lives? I'd so very much like to know.

Hn. No more of *this* today. I'm starting to sound like a sorry character in a bad romance novel.

Sage set the sleek, black pen down on his desk and, with a deep sigh of resignation, closed his journal. The smooth, emerald cover was dark under his pale hands. Slowly, he opened the lowest drawer of his desk and proceeded to bury the book which contained his most secret of thoughts.

He smiled a little, thinking about how shocked his friends would be if they knew how shy he truly was about expressing himself to others. Oh, they knew he was incredibly flirtatious but flirting and *real* love, want, desire, were entirely different things. And how badly he'd found himself wanting Rowen, his closest friend, was indescribable.

He stood and walked over to one of the large windows that graced two of the walls. Lovely things, corner rooms. Grinning, Sage watched the scene in the back yard unfold below him.

Rowen uselessly attempted to keep himself dry as the still soaked White Blaze decided it was time to shake off yet another ten or so gallons of water. Blinking against the spray, Rowen glanced up at Sage's window and saw the blond smiling down on him. Was he *laughing* at this?

Yep. He was.

Sage had left right after they'd finished sudsing and then hosing the formerly mud-covered cat down. (It never failed. In the middle of summer, White Blaze *still* managed to find a mudhole to roll in.) Rowen had never even gotten close to the large cat with the towels to dry him off. He'd spent the last half-hour chasing White Blaze around the yard. It never took Ryo this much effort but, then again, White Blaze *was* his cat.

Scowling, Rowen waved to Sage with one finger and was then crushed to the ground under several hundred pounds of wet tiger.

Sage sat at the kitchen table, watching Cye, who'd recently reappeared with Kento, wander from one cupboard to another as he unloaded the dishwasher. He tapped out a staccato rhythm on the table with a sharpened pencil, the yellow shaft showing a great many bite marks left by a thoughtful man with blue hair.

He'd left his room right after he'd recovered from his giggle fit caused by White Blaze's trouncing of Rowen. His quiet, renewed snickering at the memory made Cye pause for a moment as he shoved a stack of plates onto a shelf. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

Sage grinned. "Rowen."

An auburn brow rose sharply on Cye's forehead. "Really? What did he do to leave you so amused?"

"Nothing special. He was just being himself."

"You find that funny?" The Brit appeared bewildered.

"He had White Blaze's help, too," Sage clarified. "And, when he's not confusing the hell out of me, yes, I find Rowen very funny."

Cye narrowed his eyes and regarded Sage curiously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sage pursed his lips as he considered how to reply. "Never mind," he said as a damp Rowen trudged in through the sliding glass door. "So...did you have fun, Rowen?"

The deep indigo eyes flashed over him with a glare. Sage smiled at the archer sweetly. Rowen hesitated then sat irritably on the opposite side of the table.

Quiet descended over the kitchen as Cye returned to his work with a shrug. The tapping of the pencil began again. Leaning back into the chair, Sage propped his feet up on another and let himself observe Rowen, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. Rowen blatantly ignored him, at least for a while.

A few minutes passed. When the blue-haired man finally let his eyes slip over to check on Sage, he appeared more than slightly startled to find the pale eyes gazing right back at him. Sage watched the little twitch as Rowen quickly turned away, lightly clearing his throat. Was he just imagining that those pale cheeks now held a hint of pink?

Rowen suddenly stood and announced, "I'm going to my room. That's where I'll be if you need me." Then he was out of the room in a rush. A rather hasty retreat, Sage's mind drawled, making him wince at the implications.

Sage let his chin fall low and idly began picking at the cloth of his shirt, feeling empty. He knew quite well why he felt like that. It happened every time Rowen left his presence. He felt Cye's eyes blazing deep into him from the other side of the kitchen and sensed clearly when the other moved toward him.

It was no surprise when strong, slender fingers lifted his face and he found intense, sea-colored eyes peering into his own. Cye, finding nowhere else to sit, slipped onto his lap and scrutinized him for an endless minute. "How long?" he finally asked, his voice quiet and gentle like the sea at low tide.

Sage closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Cye again. There wasn't any reason to ask what the question was about, just as there was no reason not to answer. "I couldn't say."

"Sage, tell him."

"I can't. I'm not even sure how he would take it."

"Haven't you *seen* him looking at you?" Cye's hands cupped Sage's jaw, not letting the blond move away from the verbal assault. "It's tearing *me* apart watching you two pine over one another and do nothing about it."

Throwing his initial astonishment aside, Sage decided it wasn't really all that surprising that Cye had him figured out. Wait, had he said "you two?" He couldn't possibly mean... Could he? Yes, he could. Cye was *not* one to lie or make things up. Sage's heart leapt in his chest. If Cye saw something in Rowen, it was far more than likely there.

"He's so damn confusing," Sage admitted. "One minute it's like he wants me to rip his clothes off and devour him, then in the next he doesn't want anything to do with me, ever."

Cye's hands dropped gently to his shoulders, his face serious. "A little advice, Sage. Do it. Tell him. Drag him into your arms, don't let him go, and tell him. If you don't, I'll be forced to take the situation into my own hands."

Sage blinked in wonder at the bearer of Torrent. Had he always been this strong? This observant? He nodded his surrender and accepted the chaste kiss Cye brushed against his lips.

"It's an old, bad, overused plot, Halo," Cye said softly. "Don't drag it on like in the movies."

With an impish grin, Cye stood, ruffled Sage's perfect, blond hair and walked back to finish his cleaning.

Kento rested against his lover's warm, cotton-clad back, arms firmly snugged around Cye's middle. They were sitting on the floor in front of the couch. He watched the flickering of an old horror movie on the TV as Cye flipped a deck of cards onto the coffee table in a game of solitaire.

"I talked to Sage today, love," Cye commented obscurely, turning over an ace. If Kento was interested, he would ask.

"And?" The word was smothered in a warm breath against his neck. A tender hand slipped beneath his shirt, resting against his stomach.

Cye smirked. Kento was interested - and not just in what had passed between Sage and his better half. "We discussed Rowen."

"Really? Anything going on there I should know about?"

"Not yet. Soon, I should think, though."

"That's good," Kento murmured, nuzzling close, "You're just my little matchmaker."

Cye dropped his cards onto the table and leaned back into Kento's thick arms, reaching one liesurely hand up to tangle in the ashy blue hair. He turned to gaze into Kento's dark blue eyes. "I did a good job with *us*, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

Their lips met.

Sage stood outside the door of Rowen's room. Uncertain, he raised a hand to knock, growled at himself when he grew nervous, then rapped a swift three-beat against the white-painted wood.

"Who is it?" came the muffled reply.

He took a deep, steadying breath and said, "It's Sage. May I come in?"

END PART TWO