Nagare

A/N - The longest and probably most dramatic chapter. Yay!!!!! Many thanks to all my reviewers. I adore thee!!! Enjoy, and remember to leave another review! **Grin**
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“Come on, Ja…then I can get your back tended to properly. I want to make sure you’re going to be okay to continue tomorrow, you know? I promise,” he covered his eyes with his hands, “I won’t look.”


Bankotsu hadn’t lied…the water felt absolutely wonderful. It had been way too hot and way too long since Jakotsu had last felt clean, and now he was luxuriating in the cool, deep stream. It was probably flooded from the summer rainstorms they had had a few days ago, and now both boys reaped the rewards of the weather they had cursed. Bankotsu was currently ducked underwater, messing with his hair. He was determined to get the sweat, dirt, and other grime out of the long raven strands before they left this campsite. Every once in awhile he came up sputtering and flailing, and he’d look at Jakotsu and grin, before diving back under.

The older boy was taking the opportunity to float on the surface, anchored to a sturdy overhanging branch courtesy of his scarf. It felt wonderful to feel the current rushing by his body, buoying him up, his hair flowing with the water. Bankotsu had been right again; in thinking that floating like this would take the pressure off his back. Letting out a happy sigh, Jakotsu began humming to himself and watching the birds fly above where they swam.

With a noisy splash, Bankotsu surfaced again, and Jakotsu put his feet down, wincing as the pain came back.

“Why do you keep standing up? Baka…if you stayed afloat, it’d do your back more good..” Bankotsu blew water off his nose and pushed soaking bangs off his face. Standing up, the water covered him up to his armpits. It covered Jakotsu up to his waist, and that wasn’t something the taller boy was happy about. He shrunk down in the water, wincing as that put more pressure on his back muscles. Bankotsu rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Jakotsu, stop that!” He pushed off of the sandy bottom of the stream and in three powerful strokes was facing his startled friend. “If you keep hunkering down like that, it’s just going to hurt your back even more than it already is. Stay floating, ok?” He grabbed at the dangling scarf, then reached under for one of Jakotsu’s hands. His own brushed warm, soft skin underwater, and Jakotsu flinched. Finding Jakotsu’s hand after determining that he had brushed against his friend’s hip, Bankotsu wrapped it around the end of the scarf, looking up into a flushed face and averted eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ja. I was going for your hand.” He smiled as Jakotsu looked back at him, delighting in the soft smile Jakotsu gifted him back with. “Can I float with you a bit?? It’d save me the strength of trying to fight this damn current, ne?” He smiled again, watching as Jakotsu obviously fought himself. His bottom lip was sucked back in, albeit briefly, and color leapt to his cheeks again before he smiled happily and nodded his head.

“Hai, aniki. Here…” he wound the end of the scarf around Bankotsu’s hand, then grabbed a hold of the space just above. Bankotsu sighed happily and let his feet leave the ground, the water pulling pleasantly at him. He looked down the line of his body, the water rushing over one shoulder and covering him unevenly up to his stomach, and then lay his head back and sighed again.


“This feels great, ne?” He looked over to the side, and saw that Jakotsu wasn’t floating. He was standing there, looking determinedly up, a slight flush still on his cheeks. Bankotsu rolled his eyes. “Come on, baka!” He stood just long enough to knock Jakotsu’s legs out from under him, watching in amusement as the pale boy flailed and undulated before he went under, the branch dipping dangerously low with the sudden and violently added weight, before Jakotsu bobbed back up, spluttering and glaring daggers at Bankotsu, who let his weight go again and laughed uncontrollably.

“Aniki, if you were to be swept off downstream at this very moment I hope you don’t think I’d go after you.” Jakotsu pouted. Bankotsu grinned and opened his eyes to watch the cloudless sky.

“No, I don’t think you would. I know you would, so that’s ok.” He grinned over at Jakotsu, whose eyes were closed, a contented look on his face. He couldn’t help it as his eyes swept the length of Jakotsu’s bared body. He’d been very strict on himself about looking, since he’d promised Jakotsu he wouldn’t…but Jakotsu wouldn’t notice now.


The water was flowing over Jakotsu’s body as well, but was only covering the taller boy up to his waist. Bankotsu got an eyeful. Smooth, pale skin stretched taut over the muscles in Jakotsu’s arm and chest, softening and tensing with his abdominal muscles as he breathed. Bankotsu’s attention was snapped from the dangerous dip in the water level down towards Jakotsu’s hips as he suddenly started noticing silvery scars criss-crossing his friend’s body. He craned his neck a little more, eyes widening as he realized how many there were. The majority of them started around the dip right below Jakotsu’s ribcage, and continued down to where the water covered Jakotsu’s hips and thighs. Bankotsu, for a moment, tried to crane his neck enough to see down into the water, but was suddenly hit with the knowledge of what he would see if he succeeded. Cheeks blazing, he relaxed and shut his eyes tightly. If he ever did see…that…he didn’t want to have to sneak about it.


Jakotsu was very, very aware of the boy next to him. Bankotsu’s body radiated heat, and every once in awhile he’d splash about a bit, or strands of his hair would bump into Jakotsu’s skin. He always shivered, because it felt like a caress, in a good way. It was something he would never feel from Bankotsu’s hands, so he accepted it now, from anything that belonged to his friend. He kept his eyes firmly shut, because the temptation to peek, to look at that gloriously wet and naked body, would be too strong for him to fight off if his eyes were open. He felt another ghosting touch, and shivered again.

“You cold?” Bankotsu’s voice startled him and his eyes shot open, head turning to look at his friend before remembering not to, and then his eyes quickly darted up to the sky.

“Not really….my back feels better.” Jakotsu smiled sheepishly. Bankotsu laughed next to him.

“I told you it would! Do you want to stay in here longer, or do you want to get out? Then I can try to really make it better.” The remembered feel of Banktosu’s hands on him made Jakotsu shiver again.

Bankotsu frowned. “Are you sure you’re not cold?” He was answered with a dismissive giggle.

“Aniki, how could I be cold when the sun is so hot?” Jakotsu sighed and smiled. “I want to stay a little longer, then we can get out.”


His face and his upper body were practically dry, he’d kept them out of the water for so long. Bankotsu looked like he’d had such fun splashing around, that Jakotsu wanted to swim around a bit. He abruptly put his feet on the ground, noticing that the pain in his back wasn’t as sharp or intense as it had been. He grinned and let go of the scarf, and the branch reacted to the loss of weight, pulling more of a startled Bankotsu out of the water. He caught himself on his feet and let go of the scarf as well.

“Oi, Jakotsu! How about a warning next…” his eyes widened as Jakotsu turned and dove underwater. For just the barest second…ghostly afterimages flitted through his mind of sleek, lean thighs joined to soft, round…Bankotsu swallowed. This was getting out of hand, and fast. This fixation he had on Jakotsu needed to be dealt with, or else it was going to end up straining their friendship, and that was something Bankotsu didn’t want.


Jakotsu surfaced again quite a few feet away, coming up out of the water, in Bankotsu’s opinion, like some ethereal water spirit. His hair was slick and shiny with water and hung down to the middle of his back, and the sun glinted off the beads of water dripping from his skin. He turned and smiled at Bankotsu, and the younger boy waved, forcing a smile as he felt his chest tighten.

Beautiful.

Jakotsu turned to the sounds of splashing, watching Bankotsu swim for the bank. Laughing at his shorter friend’s trouble with the current, he followed. Bankotsu finally reached the slope of the bank, and the water now only came up to his waist. Jakotsu stopped where he was, the water swirling around his hips. He hadn’t thought about how to do this…he supposed he’d wait until Bankotsu…….was hefting himself out of the water and onto the grassy bank. As he pulled himself free of the stream, water running off his skin and from his hair, Jakotsu gasped and spun around, his cheeks flaming.

‘Wonderful,’ he cursed mentally, ‘now…I have another reason not to get out.’ He had to calm himself down before Bankotsu suspected…. He crossed his arms, suddenly shivering as the difference between the water temperature and that of the air washed over his skin, which was, he noticed with a mental groan, flushed now. ‘Why does he have to be so sexy?’ Jakotsu heard the sounds of Bankotsu rustling around their few belongings, and prayed that the younger boy was in the process of making himself decent.


Bankotsu used his cover from earlier to dry off, leaving their one still semi-clean real towel for Jakotsu. He brushed the water off his body, then did a quick squeeze to his soaking hair before pulling on a pair of dark blue hakama. Still squeezing at his hair, he turned to offer the towel to Jakotsu, but paused when he saw his friend still in the stream, facing away from him. It looked as though he had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was shivering slightly. Why or how he could be cold, Bankotsu had no idea.

His eyes followed the trail of Jakotsu’s hair, obsidian dark and shiny, down to the middle of his snowy back, and lost the fight to stop there. Bankotsu hungrily drank in the sight of his slender, strong friend, his eyes widening the further down he went. Even from this far, he could see scars, these a healing, blushing pink, lining Jakotsu’s hips, right above the water line. He followed their tracks around to the gentle swell of Jakotsu’s backside, two dimples right below the small of his back making Bankotsu’s breath catch. He didn’t know what or who could have scarred the perfection he saw before him on a daily basis, but he made a vow right then; if he ever found out, and found the person or youkai or…whatever…he would be the last person it ever saw.

“Jakotsu,” he called softly, not trusting his voice at the moment. Jakotsu turned and looked over his shoulder, and Bankotsu felt his knees go weak. He held out the towel wordlessly, shutting his eyes. A few small splashes later, he felt the towel leave his outstretched hand, and opened his eyes when he felt Jakotsu brush by him, heading towards their bag. A tear dripped down his cheek as he did, and he frowned, brushing it away. More rustling came from behind him, and he turned to see Jakotsu messing with another yukata.

“Ja…if you just wrap a blanket around your waist, I can work on your back better.”


Jakotsu looked back at Bankotsu, instinctively clutching the yukata closed around himself and frowned.

“If I do that, I’ll get all dirty again, aniki. I like being clean.” He watched, pouting, as Bankotsu laughed and went to the roll of bedding they carried with them. He unrolled it and looked through, selecting a covering that wasn’t too heavy or thick, and held it out to Jakotsu.

“Then after I’m done, you can go back in the water. If you really feel that dirty, that is.” Bankotsu flashed a grin up at him, and Jakotsu’s heart melted as he grudgingly took the blanket. Bankotsu always told him he was too much of a pushover, and wondered out loud at times why he always got his way. That was why. That grin. Jakotsu waited until Bankotsu was busy with his comb, braiding his wet hair, and shrugged the yukata off his shoulders with only a slight stab of pain. He wrapped the blanket around his stomach, knotting it firmly, and took up the towel again, attacking his hair with it. He retrieved his hairpin, silver with a battered porcelain ball at the top, glazed in cracked lavender. Sitting on the grass, he held it between his teeth, twisting his hair to put it up.


Muffled cursing caught his attention as he easily slid the pin home, and he looked over at his companion. Bankotsu was having problems tying off his hair. Jakotsu stood to go over and help him, but as he reached him, Bankotsu succeeded with an exasperated sigh, and flicked the braid back over his shoulder. Jakotsu looked down at his shorter friend, and offered him a hand. Bankotsu grinned up at him and took it. He dusted off his backside, then looked at Jakotsu and frowned.

Crossing his arms over his chest self-consciously, Jakotsu frowned back.

“What?”

“I can’t get to all of your back muscles like that Jakotsu. Here…just…” Bankotsu fisted his hands in the sides of the makeshift covering Jakotsu wore, and with one firm pull, had tugged it down to rest around his hips. Jakotsu didn’t even have time to flinch before it was done. Instead, he looked down at the top of Bankotsu’s head, at a complete loss as his hands flew down to grasp his companion’s wrists. He had meant to pull the hands away…he really had. But Bankotsu didn’t budge, and for some reason, Jakotsu couldn’t bring himself to make him. Bankotsu’s head was bowed now, and Jakotsu felt the hands underneath his flex, letting go of cloth and simply resting on his hips. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart sped up painfully as Bankotsu looked up at him, his eyes wide. Jakotsu’s hands relaxed over Bankotsu’s wrists, holding them loosely as his eyes met and locked with soft, shimmering blue.


It was one of those moments…where everything seemed to stop. Birds had been singing, and bugs had been buzzing…but suddenly everything was silent. The breeze that had been blowing seemed to still, and not even the fish in the stream dared to jump. Bankotsu stared up into Jakotsu’s soft grey eyes, mesmerized. Their bodies were so close, and had Bankotsu’s mind been capable of thought, it might have taken the time to once again curse his height. He took a deep breath, feeling his heart pound, then slowly, every so slowly, slid his hands up, off of cloth, until they touched soft, warm, bare skin.

Jakotsu didn’t flinch.

In fact, he let out a kind of shaky breath, and his hands left Bankotsu’s wrists to slide up and rest on his forearms. The shorter boy watched his friend’s eyes carefully, desperate not to scare Jakotsu away. His thumbs moved, caressing the skin stretched taut across the other boy’s hipbones, and Jakotsu’s eyes ignited, his guarded expression melting away as Bankotsu slid his arms around his waist, stepping even closer.

This close, he could feel, as well as hear, how fast his friend was breathing. It took him a minute to realize, over the pounding of his heart, that his breaths were coming just as fast. Jakotsu’s hands had slid up his arms again, and now hung loosely over his shoulders. He could feel fingers distractedly playing with his braid as he continued to stare into eyes he had never seen filled with such hope.

He wanted to kiss him. But would Jakotsu let him? Or would he balk from it, and end this…whatever it was? At the thought of losing this closeness…Bankotsu could feel the heat from Jakotsu’s body. He could feel puffs of breath move his bangs. He could smell Jakotsu’s scent, clean and crisp. One step closer, and they’d be skin to skin. It was really now or never, and Jakotsu’s reaction be damned.


Bankotsu stood on his toes, arching up, and Jakotsu was there to meet him. Their lips found each other, touched, brushed against each other, and held. It was light, sweet. Bankotsu had no idea what he was doing, but when Jakotsu’s hands cupped the sides of his face he took that one step closer, splaying his hands across Jakotsu’s back and giving the older boy some of his weight as the kiss turned deeper. When Jakotsu’s lips moved against his, he gave up whatever control he had had to begin with, tilting his head back and arching up again.


This was bliss, Jakotsu decided. Kissing Bankotsu was bliss. He could die happy from doing nothing but this. Bankotsu’s arms tightened around him as Jakotsu stroked his cheeks with his thumbs. Bankotsu opened his mouth and took in a breath, and Jakotsu lightly licked along the top of his companion’s lower lip. His heart sped up again when Bankotsu made a soft curious noise and flicked his own tongue out to touch Jakotsu’s, which chased it back into it’s owner’s mouth as their embrace tightened again.

They held each other as if afraid of dreaming. Afraid that one or both of them would wake up, and things would be as they had been, and not as they were now. Jakotsu could feel the tears pricking at his eyes behind his closed lids. After so long…and after such pain…he had finally found someone to care for, and who seemed, no, did care for him in return. Strange that this should happen today, when the day had started out with a fight, and had half gone by in silence.


Bankotsu stumbled against him and made a frustrated noise into Jakotsu’s mouth, and the kiss broke to giggles. He opened his eyes and smiled down at his…what was Bankotsu to him now? Bankotsu grinned back, and dropped to his knees, bringing Jakotsu with him. The older boy barely had time to react before his friend had drawn him close again, and the kiss was renewed.


Bankotsu decided he could get addicted to kissing Jakotsu. There was nothing bad about this feeling, and he liked things that felt good. Jakotsu’s skin against his, now that they were on more equal standing, felt glorious. Jakotsu’s hands were cradling the back of his head now, and the kiss became more aggressive. Bankotsu’s heart sang, and a warmth spread through him that had every inch of his skin tingling. His arms tightened, pulling the other boy tight against him, as he leaned in and up, spearing his tongue into Jakotsu’s mouth. His…what was Jakotsu to him now, anyway? His companion gasped as Bankotsu began to take back some control, before melting against him with a soft noise that went straight to a place Bankotsu had been steadfastly trying to ignore.

Surprisingly enough, it was followed by Jakotsu’s hand. Bankotsu let out a moan as he felt the strong, slender appendage trail down his chest. It lingered on the knot of the blanket around his waist.


“I love you….” It was out of his mouth, a breathy whisper, before he had time to think to stop it. The hand paused, then left it’s teasing location. Jakotsu pulled him close, hugging him tightly, and Bankotsu was amazed to feel hot tears on his shoulder. “Jakotsu?”

“I know,” came the tight reply. “I…I know. Thank you, Bankotsu.” Jakotsu sniffled, laying his head to rest on his lover’s shoulder. “I…” He trailed off as Bankotsu turned his head and nuzzled at his hair. “I love you too, aniki…” he quietly breathed. Then he was being kissed again. Bankotsu made it impossible not to love him. It was one of the reasons Jakotsu had first decided to follow him, to be his friend when he had asked for one. He had never expected that decision to change his life like this, but it had. As Bankotsu slipped his tongue into Jakotsu’s mouth again, taking one pale hand in his and holding it tightly, Jakotsu realized that although it was summer all around them, inside his heart, it was spring.


TBC.................
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...**sparkleheartsflowersstars** Awwww....
This may be the most...**sniffle** purely happy thing...I've ever written.
Leave a review and tell me whatcha think!

~Tareacel