This fic contains Yaoi (boy/boy love) albeit, of a mild variety. If this bugs you please do not read it. If you do read it and don’t like it because of yaoi content then don’t come complaining to me because I warned you already. On the other hand, if you have any other comments to make about it, e-mail me and tell me what you think.

BTW: This fic is not adhering to the FY timeline, so don’t be too upset about that. In this fic everyone (almost everyone) gets along fairly well. As for the time frame, it is about three years after Suzaku has been summoned. Therefore Hotohori and Nuriko are twenty-one, Tasuki and Tamahome are twenty, Chichiri is twenty-seven, Chiriko is sixteen, etc. You’ll understand why I did this when you read it (hopefully)

Amiboshi sighed and gazed down at his flute sadly. Every time he saw a couple passing by he felt a pang in his chest. He lowered his eyes as Miaka and Tamahome passed. It was so obvious that they were deeply in love. It hurt him, inside, whenever he saw something that reminded him just how alone he was. He had his brother of course, but even Shunkaku had someone he loved.

Smiling faintly, he thought of his brother’s descriptions of Seiryuu no Miko. It was obvious to him, and not just because Suboshi was his twin brother. Every time his otouto-san spoke about Yui, he could hear the affection in his voice.

He heard a laugh to his left and turned to watch Nuriko hanging over Hotohori. The young Konan emperor looked embarrassed, but Amiboshi didn’t think he looked entirely upset. It was nice to know that someone loved you, even if you didn’t feel that way about them. It was…comforting somehow.

A soft meow from behind him caused him to jump slightly. "Tama-chan?" He gazed down at the cat, surprised at first, but his startlement soon gave way to laughter as the brown and white kitty did one of his little charades. He smiled, feeling a little better.

Tama-chan, seemingly frustrated by the Seiryuu seishi’s lack of attention, chose that particular moment to sink his claws into the young man’s leg (purely to get his attention of course). Amiboshi yelped and closed his eyes, resisting the urge to do anything violent. However, when Tama-chan jumped up and grabbed the flute in his mouth, the young Seiryuu seishi yelped and followed the cat, determined to regain possession of his precious flute.

The brown and white cat dashed across the courtyard and disappeared into the palace gardens, with Amiboshi in close pursuit. He was forced to stop his mad chase when the animal disappeared into the bushes. He paused for a moment to catch his breath.

The soft notes of a wind instrument reached his ears and caused him to glance around in confusion. It wasn’t his flute, he could tell just from the sound of it. But he didn’t know of any other instruments other than his flute, and no one could play that but him. Not even his twin. Amiboshi smiled as he recalled the time his brother had attempted to play one of his tunes.

But that still didn’t solve the mystery of who was playing.

Amiboshi followed the sound using his keen ears. He walked for a while, and came upon a fountain. Next to the fountain was a bench, and sitting on the bench playing a little tune on his leaf whistle was…

*Chiriko! *

He didn’t say it out loud, not wanting to interrupt the smaller boy’s tune. He just stood there silently as the Suzaku seishi played a sweet little melody that seemed vaguely familiar to Amiboshi. A soft meow by his foot caused him to look down. Any anger he’d felt toward the cat was gone, replaced with a feeling of content as he listened to Chiriko’s melody. He bent down and picked up his flute, pausing for a moment to pat Tama-chan on the head.

"Meow?" Tama-chan glanced at the Seiryuu seishi, then at Chiriko who was still playing his tune. There was something not quite right here, but it didn’t seem like there was any need for him to do anything about it. Besides, in all likelihood the two seishi wouldn’t listen, anyway.

Humans were funny like that.

Amiboshi frowned, something about the Suzaku seishi’s song seemed lacking. He listened carefully, but couldn’t tell what was wrong. He put his flute to his lips and played the melody by ear. The soft, sonorous notes of the flute combined with the light, rippling notes of Chiriko’s leaf whistle created a unique melody.

The Seiryuu seishi closed his eyes, his fingers still playing over the length of the flute. *That sounds much better *

The Suzaku seishi must’ve agreed, because he kept playing despite the intrusion on his song. Amiboshi was glad of this, because the melody they played together sounded a lot less lonely then the one Chiriko had played alone.

Amiboshi was not really aware of it, but his feet were acting on their own and taking him in Chiriko’s direction. In a few short moments, Amiboshi found himself perched on the opposite end of the bench Chiriko was sitting on.

No sooner had he sat down, then Chiriko stopped playing. The young seishi lowered his leaf whistle and looked at the tiny instrument solemnly. He didn’t look at the Seiryuu seishi who had also stopped playing. They just sat there for a moment in silence.

Then Amiboshi noticed that the other boy was quivering slightly like a leaf in a breeze. Chiriko lowered his head slightly so his bangs covered his eyes. This didn’t keep Amiboshi from seeing the tears running slowly down the Suzaku seishi’s cheeks.

"What’s wrong?" Amiboshi asked gently, "Are you hurt?"

Chiriko shook his head, "Iie, Amiboshi-san, I’m not injured." He lifted his head to meet Amiboshi’s concerned gaze, "Gomen nasai…I just get like this sometimes , and then I realize how much I miss my family."

Realization hit Amiboshi when he heard that. *Of course, none of the other seishi have family members here. I suppose I got lucky that Suboshi is also a seishi…we don’t have to worry about being separated. *

He felt sudden sympathy for the Suzaku seishi.

Reaching out, Amiboshi put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "It’s OK to miss your family," he murmured soothingly, "I’m sure everyone understands such feelings. We’ve all had them at one time or another."

He had a sudden wish that he could stroke Chiriko’s hair, as he had his brother’s when Suboshi had been younger and still having nightmares after their parents’ deaths. Unfortunately Chiriko still wore his hair up and Amiboshi didn’t want o mess up his ponytail. Instead he rubbed Chiriko’s back and continued his reassuring words.

After a few moments of being comforted, Chiriko raised his head and smiled gratefully up at the Seiryuu seishi. "Arigato, Amiboshi-san."

"For what?" Amiboshi was confused, and not just because of the question. When Chiriko looked up at him with those wide innocent eyes it left him speechless.

"For caring." Chiriko sniffled a little, but returned Amiboshi’s hug. "My problems are nothing compared to what the others have been through." He smiled up at the Seiryuu seishi, wiping the tears off his cheeks with one hand.

The older boy was stunned by the brilliance of that smile. He gulped and couldn’t think of anything to say in reply. Instead he felt a strange need to reach out his hand and wipe away Chiriko’s tears himself, and then to…

He started violently, alarming Chiriko. "Amiboshi-san?" The Suzaku seishi asked, concern in his voice, "Is something wrong?" He put one of his small hands on Amiboshi’s arm.

*Yes * Amiboshi thought *Something is definitely wrong. I shouldn’t be having thoughts like that. * He looked at the smaller boy and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "I’m fine Chiriko-kun," He said, standing up and removing Chiriko’s hand, "I guess I’m just tired. I think I’ll go take a nap."

Without giving Chiriko a chance to reply, he walked off. The Suzaku seishi stared after him in stunned confusion.

Tama-chan hopped lightly onto the bench next to Chiriko. "Meow?" The young seishi absent-mindedly patted him on the head.

The cat pulled his kitty features into a frown. It was obvious that these two weren’t getting anywhere on their own. Oh well, it was to be expected.

One should never give a seishi (or even two seishi) a cat’s job. If one wants something done right, one has to do it one’s self.

* * *

Amiboshi sat on his bed thinking. He felt a bit guilty about leaving Chiriko alone like that, but he was relieved to be away from the Suzaku seishi. The feelings he’d been having frightened him. They also disturbed him. He hadn’t been sure what to do, and he’d needed time alone to think, so he’d retreated to his room. He still wasn’t able to sort out all the thoughts that were running through his mind.

*What happened back there? I almost… * Amiboshi raised one hand to his lips thinking about what he’d almost done. *What’s wrong with me?*

"Meow!"

Amiboshi nearly jumped out of his skin. He glared down at Tama-chan, "Don’t sneak up on me like that!"

The cat didn’t seem upset by Amiboshi’s anger. He went into a pose and Amiboshi knew immediately who he was imitating.

"Chiriko!" For some reason his chest constricted as he said that name.

"Meow!"

Tama-chan gave him a thumbs-up sign, then went into a second pose. Amiboshi was able to figure that one out too, "Me, right?"

"Meow!!"

Tama-chan did the ‘Amiboshi’ pose again, then pulled a big red heart out of nowhere. Then he did the ‘Chiriko’ pose again.

It took only a few moments for the Seiryuu seishi to figure out what the cat was trying to say. "That’s nonsense!" He protested. "I am not in love with Chiriko!"

Then he froze, thinking about the words he’d just said. *In love with Chiriko?* Was that the feeling he’d been experiencing? *It can’t be!*

*Why not?* A nagging voice in the back of his mind asked.

*Because!*

*That’s not an answer.*

*We’re both boys!*

*So what?*

*I…I…*

"Meow!" Tama-chan’s voice cut in on his thoughts. Amiboshi looked up, and heard a knock at his door.

"Come in…" he said weakly.

The door opened a tiny bit and Chiriko peered in, "I’m sorry to disturb you, Amiboshi-san. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re feeling OK."

A wan smiled crossed Amiboshi’s face as he heard the concern in the other boy’s voice. "I’m fine, Chiriko-kun, you needn’t have bothered coming here."

"You don’t sound ‘fine’ to me." Chiriko came in the rest of the way and walked over to Amiboshi. He put one hand on Amiboshi’s forehead, "You don’t have a fever…"

"Stop." Amiboshi’s voice was ragged and he pulled away from Chiriko’s touch roughly, turning his back to the Suzaku seishi.

Chiriko was no dummy, however. Far from it, in fact, and he noticed that Amiboshi was shaking now, like he had been down on the bench. Chiriko knew there was a similar reason for it too. "Are you ashamed to be seen crying, Amiboshi-san?"

Amiboshi turned his now tear-streaked face toward the Suzaku seishi, "…"

"I guess you weren’t listening to your own speech too well," Chiriko scolded gently, "Everyone feels like crying at sometime or another. It’s nothing to be ashamed of." He paused, "Do you miss your parents too?"

The older boy shook his head, "No. That’s not it. That’s not it at all."

"Then what’s wrong?" Chiriko sat down on the bed, next to the upset Seiryuu seishi, and put an arm around his shoulder. "What’s the problem?"

"You are…" The words were whispers, too faint to make out. Chiriko leaned his face closer.

"Nani?"

Amiboshi looked at Chiriko. Their faces were so close now. He wrestled with himself. *What do I do?*

*Just tell him.*

Reaching out, Amiboshi hugged Chiriko once again. The Suzaku seishi didn’t pull away, but hugged back instead. Amiboshi knew that Chiriko didn’t know what significance this hug had to him. There had to be some way to let him know.

Gently Amiboshi brushed his lips against Chiriko’s cheek.

The Suzaku seishi froze for a moment, then pulled away to look at Amiboshi intently. "Why…?"

He didn’t finish his question, the look in the older boy’s eyes was answer enough.

Amiboshi dropped his gaze to his hand. After a few moments of silence he dared to hope that Chiriko was not going to leave. The Suzaku seishi had made no motions toward the door. Amiboshi looked up.

What he saw in Chiriko’s eyes was enough to make him shed tears of joy. There was understanding and compassion in that gaze, and , Amiboshi dared to hope, there might even be some feelings of love toward him as well.

Amiboshi reached out one hand and pulled gently at the ribbon tying Chiriko's ponytail up. It came out easily and Chiriko's hair came down. It was longer than Amiboshi had originally thought, but the Seiryuu seishi thought it was even nicer that way. He ran one hand through it.

Chiriko sighed and leaned against the older boy's shoulder. Amiboshi looked down at him curiously, "What's wrong?"

The Suzaku seishi opened his beautiful bright eyes and gazed up at Amiboshi, "I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night, I had dreams."

Smiling, Amiboshi ruffled the younger boy's hair, "Don't worry. Dreams can't hurt you." The other seishi simply smiled in response.

Pulling out his flute, Amiboshi played a soothing melody. There was an almost immediate effect, as Chiriko sighed and closed his eyes. The Seiryuu seishi kept playing until he was sure Chiriko was sound asleep. Then he tucked the younger boy under the covers and kissed him on the forehead.

He sat down in a chair near the bed and stared out the window at the sunny day outside. The warmth and good feeling that seemed to eminate from everything around him lulled him to sleep, himself.

"Meow!" Tama-chan looked at the Suzaku seishi who was sleeping peacefully on the bed, and the Seiryuu seishi who was dozing in the chair and smiled in his own way.

Jumping on the windowsill, Tama-chan prepared to head out. These two didn't need his help anymore, and there were other people out there who were in desperate need of a cat.