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Posted by Skuld at 07:48:42 27/01/2003.
Hora Somni
The Hour of Sleep: A Carry Your Reflection Aside
by Seishuku Skuld (skuldhotohori@yahoo.com)
Series: Tokyo Babylon/X
Pairing: Seishirou + Subaru
Warnings: shounen-ai
Author’s Notes: I randomly decided to write something (mostly) angst free. ^_^ This fic can be viewed as a very distant companion to Carry Your Reflection, but it also stands alone quite well.
Disclaimers: Seishirou and Subaru belong to CLAMP. At least they’re not anti-fanfiction like everyone else seems to be these days. -_-;; All hail the Queens of Manga, CLAMP.
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It is late at night. The full moon hangs above Tokyo - a disk of pale, ephemeral light castings its rays over the never-sleeping city. Clusters of tall buildings scatter about the land - giant gods of concrete and glass, windows either brightly lit or dark as murky smoke. Cars roam in ordered rows like sinuous dragons, a myriad of small red and yellow lights twisting and turning as they travel the winding roads of the city. Streetlights sputter in dark shimmers, bemoaning their maintenance woes that remain, for the moment, neglected. A great red and white tower stands tall amidst a cluster of smaller structures; its lights flashing with regular rhythm, pulsing with the life and death that teems in the city below its tall, brightly lit pinnacle.
A door opens and shuts quietly. A black shadow moves smoothly, shedding shoes and coat before gliding further into the apartment. It turns to the right at the beginning of a long hallway, passing a shaft of moonlight that has filtered in through half-closed blinds. The figure steps into the light for a moment, allowing the silvery rays to illuminate its two eyes - one a dark bronze, the other a reflective cloudy white. It continues down the corridor, stirring dust particles which twinkle like little stars - drifting to and fro in circles like miniature feathers blown by an invisible wind. There is a slight rustling from the bedroom at the end of the hall, as if a body has just shifted position, rolled over and buried itself amongst a mass of bedlinens.
The silhouette stops at the doorway, pausing for a moment until the silence seals itself up again. Without making a single sound, the door to the bedroom, although already ajar, is opened wider and the shadow slides inside, shutting the door. Carefully avoiding the windows and the glow of moonlight, the figure undresses - first by unknotting the tie. Then, with short, automatic motions, socks, shirt, and pants are shed and a nightshirt and nightpants put on.
A soft whisper comes from the form occupying the bed - a slight, exhaled breath and small shift of the body. The shadow considers for a moment that he might have awakened the figure in the bed, but in another moment decides that that is altogether not a bad thing. The bed creaks as the weight of another body is laid upon it, the subtle frame of the mattress molding itself to the added burden, rippling slowly to shift its other occupant.
“Seishirou-san?” a sleepy voice murmurs. Subaru stirs in a fluid movement of pale limbs, gently disturbing the bed sheets as if they were extensions of his body, perhaps a gown of silky feathers or a mantle of gossamer wings.
“Tadaima, Subaru-kun,” a deep voice answers, swathed in darkness, gazing deep into the moonbeams reflected from the mirror of his lover’s eyes.
“Okaeri nasai,” the Sumeragi whispers, arms opening like ivory curtains to a stage, to welcome his partner. “What time is it?”
“Two-thirty.”
“So late?”
Seishirou slips smoothly into the covers, one arm reflexively sliding beneath the Sumeragi’s slender form. Instinctively, as if the movement was built into his very frame, Subaru curls closer to the Sakurazuka, pressing their bodies together and twining their fingers, completing the assembling two perfect pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle.
“Go back to sleep, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou murmurs quietly, his voice a deep rumble, reverberating with particular pleasantness in Subaru’s ears. It is both soft and grainy, having many qualities possessed of aged wood, polished over many years with a loving hand, elegant and unique.
“I’m not sleepy,” Subaru protests, but even he can see through his own little lie. He sighs, his breath floating gently in the space between his lips and Seishirou’s chest, warming the older man’s skin. The Sakurazuka does not reply, but simply brings the Sumeragi tighter into his embrace, hands straying to grace the soft flesh of his counterpart with affectionate, tender caresses.
Subaru lays fingers on Seishirou’s chest, lazily tracing small circular patterns, simply enjoying of the feel of the older man whom he has come to know with such intimacy. “Was it difficult tonight?”
“I didn’t feed it last week, so I had to kill extra tonight.”
“Oh,” Subaru breathes, resolved not take too much care at his lover’s words. He exhales in a rush as he lifts his head up, eyes half-lidded and sparkling with their own internal mischievous light.
Seishirou smirks a bit, his lips twitching before he bends down ever so slightly to catch the Sumeragi’s mouth in a tender kiss. He traces the Subaru’s lower lip with his tongue, marveling at the softness of that alabaster skin, the contours of the Sumeragi’s mouth that he knows so well yet seems so novel and new.
Subaru opens, accepting Seishirou’s questing tongue as he brings his arms up to wrap around the Sakurazuka’s broad back, fingers digging fiercely into flesh as he kisses his lover back with ill-restrained passion. He moans, a small sound that grows at the back of his throat before growing and spreading, a spring flower coming into full bloom. Its power echoes into Seishirou, a humming that gains in intensity as the Sakurazuka grips him tighter in response. They clutch at each other, joined at the mouth and many other points on their bodies. Then the moment finally fades away and their energy ebbs, as the sea might suddenly wash away from the shore. Seishirou brings up a firm hand to caress his lover’s cheek.
“Sleep, Subaru-kun,” the Seishirou murmurs, sundering their union and placing an affectionate kiss on the Sumeragi’s forehead. “It’s late.”
“Not too late for—“
“Morning, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou cups his younger partner’s chin, his thumb stroking the rose-colored lower lip which has nearly sunk into a frown. “In the morning. I’m tired.”
“Morning then, Seishirou-san,” Subaru breaks into a smile, his verdant eyes shining despite the dim light of the bedroom. He blinks once, gazing at Seishirou with a look of patient adoration. “Oyasumi.”
“Oyasumi nasai, Subaru-kun.”
Seishirou watches as the lids of Subaru’s bright eyes grow heavy, drooping down to cover the emeraldine orbs in creamy skin laced with a thick row of dark eyelashes. He waits as Subaru’s breaths grow deep and regular, watching the gentle rise and fall of that pale, slender chest. He reaches a hand around the slim body to caress his lover’s back, drawing the sheets to cover exposed flesh lest the Sumeragi become cold and catch a chill.
Subaru almost seems to glow, his fair skin melting into the light of moon as if he were a child descended from that very gleaming globe hanging high in the sky. Seishirou takes wisps of that short dark hair into his fingers, feeling the satiny tresses, soft as down feathers and seemingly as delicate. He gazes at the tempered curves of the Sumeragi, the shapely long legs traveling upward into smooth hips and changing into a strong torso that is neither masculine nor feminine, but every bit distinctly Subaru.
“Goodnight, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou whispers, burying his face in the Sumeragi’s raven hair, and breathing Subaru’s scent. He smells like strawberries and ancient magical power - a fragrance both musty and spicy, evoking memories of walking in gardens lush with flowering jasmine and the rich scent of wisteria.
Seishirou’s own eyes close as the moon sets. The glow of the Sumeragi begins to fade, eclipsed by the overpowering light of the rising sun. The Sakurazuka drifts off to sleep as the first rays of dawn touch the clouds, painting them a delicate hue of blush wine. For this night’s slumber, at least, no demons assail them.
They awake together in the morning with content smiles, unmarred for the moment by the worries of the year to come. In their bed, away from the light of day and the bustle and business of the city below them, two figures celebrate the beginning of the New Year with desperate grasping and impassioned groans. They savor their time, their peace and certainty while it lasts, for this is the beginning of 1999 and who knows what Fate’s plans will be in the days to come?
End Hora Somni
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