Love Eternal

I do not own Earthian. This story was written for entertainment only. No copy
right infringement was intended. There is a little bit of angst in this story
so please be forewarned. Its not that bad as far as angst tends to go, but I
did want to give you fair warning. I hope you enjoy the story. Thank you for
reading it! /_/

Love Eternal

Dark lumbering clouds in hues ranging from jet to indigo hung over the bright
lights of the city cloaking it in darkness. The air thick with humidity was
still as if the night was holding its breath. A tall figure dressed in tan
trench coat paced down the sidewalk with his hands tucked into his coat
pockets. Short blond hair that surrounded the stately lines of the man\'s face
was painted a gray blue by the surrounding shadows. Overhead the clouds
turned the angry yellow purple of a new bruise as lightening jumped across
the sky. Luminous sapphire eyes followed the trail of light his emotions
reflecting the gloom of the approaching storm.

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead as Kagetsuya came to a stop in front of a
small fat two story brick building that was dwarfed by the shiny n sky skyscrapers that surrounded it. Though the building had obviously been around
a while it was well maintained. A brightly painted sign that Kagetsuya
couldn\'t make out in the darkness hung over the double glass doors that
served as an entrance to the building.

This was where his lover had stopped. He could feel Chihaya\'s presence like a
beacon of light shining brightly through the bleak night. Part of him wanted
to barge into that building and demand to know why Chihaya had come to this
place. It was dark and soon it would rain. Chihaya should be safe at home.
But the last few nights he had been staying out much longer than normal and
Kagetsuya was becoming worried. Part of him was terrified at what he might
find if he did follow this journey to it\'s end.

\"I want to trust you Chihaya.\" Kagetsuya whispered into the night addressing
his absent lover. \"But you\'ve been so secretive of late. That isn\'t like you
at all. You\'re usually so open with me it makes me wonder what has changed.
I know it has something to do with this building, but whenever I bring up the
subject you change the topic. I really wish I wasn\'t thinking what I am
thinking. And I know I probably shouldn\'t have followed you. But I have to
know.\"

Squaring his shoulders, Kagetsuya took his hands from his pockets and pushed
the doors open. He winced as his eyes adjusted to the brightly lit hallway.
The soft murmur of voices at the other end drew him forward reluctantly. He
stopped in his tracks when a soft oh so familiar voice sounded from inside
the room at the end of the hall. Leaning against the cheerfully yellow wall,
Kagetsuya held his breath. His heart was beating so hard he almost couldn\'t
hear what Chihaya was saying.

He could almost see the light dancing in his lover\'s unfathomable amethyst
eyes from the sound of his voice. He could imagine Chihaya\'s soft
rose-colored lips turn up into as he spoke.

\"Hai, I will tell him tonight. I can\'t wait to see his face when he finally
knows the truth.\"

A warm peal of laughter flowed over the room. \"That sounds like fun. Oh,
Chihaya I am so glad you\'ve been coming here. You are absolutely wonderful. I
love...\"

Kagetsuya could stand to hear no more of this conversation. His heart
shriveled in his chest as his worst fears were realized. Upset and confused
the tall blond stumbled into the door that stuck part way into the hall with
a loud thud. He froze catching a glimpse of easels, canvases, and paintings
cluttering the small room his lover and the stranger were standing in.

The stranger was of moderate height with sandy blond hair that hung down his
back in a long ponytail. His face was angular. The sharp lines and edges gave
him a hard appearance. Though the light in his eyes was gentle. He wore a
paint covered blue painting smock over a brown sweater, the neck of witch
could just be seen peeking out of the collar of the smock.

Kagetsuya\'s pain fogged mind didn\'t really register what he was seeing as he
looked past the unknown man at the lovely and guilt ridden face of his
beloved. Hair so black that it glimmered with violet highlights framed
Chihaya\'s face making the young man\'s pale skin seem almost deathlike as he
blanched under his lover\'s gaze. The rich red shirt and dark black pants he
was wearing only heightened the effect.

The man in the smock looked from Kagetsuya to Chihaya his eye wide in
surprise and back again as if unable to do anything else.

The betrayal branded across Kagetsuya\'s handsome face confused and frightened
his dark haired lover. Turning his almost feminine face towards the blond,
Chihaya reached out a delicate fine boned hand. \"Kagetsuya, what\'s wrong.\"

Groaning in pain the Kagetsuya turned away from those snglyngly innocent
eyes. His face fell. It felt as if his whole body was suddenly made of lead
as a dreadful heaviness fell over Kagetsuya\'s heart \"How can you stand there
after what you just said and act as if you didn\'t know. Well, I am not going
to let you play with my heart like this any more. I\'m leaving, you can play
your little games with your new friend. He seems to like you well enough.\"


Taking a step forward, Kagetsuya paused at the sharp painful sounding intake
of breath from his lover. What if he was wrong? What if this was just some
big misunderstanding? Could it be? This was the second time Chihaya seemed to
want someone other than him. Shoving his trembling hands back into the
pockets of his trench coat so Chihaya wouldn\'t see how much he was hurting,
Kagetsuya straightened his back and walked purposefully forward.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind him and Kagetsuya sped up ignoring the
pleading calls. Inside his heart he was torn. He wanted so much to believe in
Chihaya\'s innocence, but the overhead conversation was not so easy to forget.
Even so, Chihaya sounded so mournful.

\"Kagetsuya?,\" Chihaya chased his lover out of the door without a look back at
the man in the smock.

Shaking his head the man in the smock sighed,\" Oh Chihaya, I am so sorry. I
wish there were some way I could help you.\" As he glanced around the room his
eyes fell upon one particular painting that had been wrapped in manila paper.
With a look of great determination on his face the artist picked up the
bundle following the couple out of the building.

Chihaya\'s tears melted into the rain as he ran headlong through the storm. He
shivered as the air pressure changed and a chill breeze found its way down
the back of his shirt. He ignored the thunder, the lightening and the fat
drops of water that fell down from the roiling clouds. The gurgle of water
rushing on its way to the sewer was the only response to his frantic calls.
His shirt hung down on his light frame heavy with the water it was
collecting. But it didn\'t mater. None of it mattered if he couldn\'t catch the
one person who meant more than anything else in his life. Stumbling over the
uneven pavement for the tenth time, Chihaya wished he were more physically
skilled. Kagetsuya had easily outdistanced him within the first block. Hishroahroat felt raw from screaming his lover\'s name, but he kept calling. He
would keep calling until he had no more voice. He didn\'t care who heard him.
After all they had gone through to be together he couldn\'t lose Kagetsuya.
\"Why didn\'t I just tell him my secret? I knew he was upset about something. I
should have realized it was because I was acting so secretive. If he
overheard my conversation with Ray sensei, I can understand how he might
think I was being unfaithful, but I could never love another. Oh dearest God
this is such a horrid mess. I know I am not your best or brightest angel, but
please let me find him. I can\'t live without him.\"

Bright eyes filled with intense emotions watched as the dark haired boy ran
blindly past the ally his lover had hidden in. Kagetsuya\'s heart screamed at
him to do something more than just stand there and watch Chihaya go by. He
knew his lover was not the kind of person who could easily lie, how could the
raw emotions on that far to beautiful face be faked? No matter what his mind
said, Kagetsuya\'s heart wanted nothing more than to go after his dark angel.
But his mind was in control of his body and he stayed frozen in place staring
as the man Chihaya had been talking to happen to glance down into the ally.

Kagetsuya glared at the man with an icy gaze. \"What do you want. Don\'t you
think you have done enough?\" He grated out in a voice lacking all emotion.

The man bowed very low before meeting Kagetsuya\'s eyes. \"I am sorry to bother
you, but before you make any hasty decisions could you please look at this?\"
Standing up he held out a bulky object that looked to be some kind of panting
wrapped up in paper.

For an instant he felt like turning an leaving. But that part of him that
wanted this all to be a mistake forced him to stay. Narrowing his eyes
Kagetsuya plucked the object out of the man\'s hand\'s. The overhanging roofs
would protect the picture from being rained on. Carefully pulling the
protective wrapping off of the painting, Kagetsuya held it up into the light
of a near by streetlight.

As soon as he could see it clearly he nearly dropped it from shock. On a
field of stars that hung over a beautiful blue green planet the ghostly
figures to two angels one with gleaming white wings that cloaked the stars in
a thin vale and one with iridescent black wings that blended into the
darkness of space reached out towards each other. Their linked fingers coming
to reser ter the earth. The details were incredible. Even though the figures
hand been painted to be see-through their features were clear and easily
recognizable. Kagetsuya gasped as he read the inscription at the bottom of
the painting. \"Love Eternal\" He whispered out loud as his eyes began to sting
with unshed tears. Like a light turning on suddenly he understood something
he had never really considered before. Chihaya saw life in a completely
different way than he did. He knew that. They were opposites in many ways. He
was negative while Chihaya was positive in his beliefs and attitudes. That
was why they were partnered together in the first place. When his lover began
acting oddly he immediately feared that something was wrong. It was
understandable considering his personality. But he never tried to look at the
situation from Chihaya\'s point of view.

\"That\'s it!\" He thought to himself,\" It has to be that I just miss
interpreted his actions. He is so naive and I know that part of his
personality is not a show. It\'s genuinely a part of him. He probably felt the
relationship was secure. He\'ld mld me straight out that all he wanted from
Messiah was the friendship of someone else who was different. Looking back on
it, I don\'t think he even realized why I was so upset then. It never occurred
to him to think that I might think he didn\'t love me anymore.\"

The painting wasn\'t the most technically correct painting Kagetsuya had seen.
But each and every stroke of the brush was filled with love. The artist had
put his heart into this work. As a result the painting held a vibrancy that
reached out to the viewer. \"Chihaya painted this.\" Kagetsuya stated quietly
as he brushed his fingers over the frame. \"Why did he hide it? It\'s lovely.\"
Carefully he wrapped the painting back into it\'s protective paper.

\"I think he wanted to surprise you. I run the art class that Chihaya has been
taking. He\'s been a very fine student, but that is all. I assure you...\"

\"I know,\" Kagetsuya waved him off as he fled down the alleyway back to the
street,\" I realized that the moment I saw this picture. Thank you for showing
this to me. But now I need to find Chihaya.\"

\"Your welcome!\" The artist called out as the tall blond dashed away from him
with the painting tucked safely under one arm.

Kagetsuya\'s heart ached as he felt the ball of pain and grief that was his
lover. Pain he had created. He wished fervently he come to an understanding
about Chihaya\'s views earlier. They could have avoided this grief. Entering
the apartment building Kagetsuya dashed down the hall to the apartment he
shared with Chihaya. A soft weeping could be heard from inside. Grateful for
Chihaya\'s carelessness for once he pushed open the door his lover had left
ajar.

Setting the painting down in the entranceway, Kagetsuya kicked off his shoes
onto the mat and closed the door. Lying on the couch in the small living room
area curled up into a fetal ball soaking wet and shivering was his little
lover. \"Chihaya, Chihaya I am so sorry,\" Kagetsuya was across the room in
less than a second and kneeling by Chihaya\'s side. Weaving his fingers into
the dark hair he whispered against Chihaya\'s ear, \"Please forgive me I didn\'t
understand.\"

It took a moment for Chihaya to recognize Kagetsuya in his frantic state.
When he finally realized that Kagetsuya had come back he threw himself into
his lovers arms. Tears freely flowed down his pixy face. \"You\'re here! You
came back to me. You really are here.\" Chihaya pressed his face into his
lover\'s shirt curling his hands possessively around the blonde\'s waist.

\"Shhhh,\" Kagetsuya stopped the rambling by placing a kiss on the top of
shimmering black silk that surrounded Chihaya\'s face. \"Yes, I\'m here. And I
promise I won\'t ever leave you again.\"

\"Never?\" Chihaya asked in a tiny voice without looking up as if he were
afraid of what the answer might be.

\"Never,\" Kagetsuya repeated adamantly wrapping his arms around his soggy
beloved. \"Can you forgive me for doubting you?

The dark-haired boy sniffled and shook his head,\" It wasn\'t your fault. If I
had been open with you, you wouldn\'t have misunderstood what I was doing.\"

\"No, you have the right to surprise me if you want to. I jumped to the worst
conclusion without even asking you how you felt. I am not good with emotions.
Not like you are. However, from now on if anything bad happens that makes me
afraid or jealous I will tell you about it. Then we can deal with it
together.\"

Nodding inagetagetsuya\'s chest a powerful shudder racked Chihaya\'s small form
as his shivering increased. \"D...deal.\"

Kagetsuya gently lifted Chihaya away from his chest,\" Come on now stand up.
We should get you into some warm dry cloths and then I think you could use a
nap. This has been a vary trying evening.\"

Chihaya stood up with Kagetsuya\'s aid without protest, but he leaned into
his lover\'s embrace as if he were afraid that Kagetsuya might disappear
should he let go. \"Will you lay down with me? I don\'t want to be alone right
now. I feel very cold.\"

\"Don\'t worry, I\'ll keep you warm,\" Kagetsuya rubbed his lover\'s back
reassuringly as he answered.

Slipping into the bedroom Kagetsuya walked over to the large brown dresser in
the far corner to search for clothing while Chihaya began striping his wet
clothes of piece by piece. By the time Kagetsuya found some flannel pajamas
Chihaya was drying his lean and beautiful body off with a fluffy blue towel
he had taken from the bathroom. The dark haired boy was still shivering
despite being dry, so Kagetsuya rushed the warm cloths over to his frail
looking lover. Though he would have enjoyed having more time to appreciate
his lover\'s beautiful body. Right now, however, it was more important to get
Chihaya warmed up so he wouldn\'t catch a fever.

It only took a moment for Chihaya to pull the little rubber ducky pajamas on.
As soon as their warmth surrounded him, Chihaya\'s shivering lessened. But it
didn\'t stop.

Wrapping himself around his small lover, Kagetsuya lifted Chihaya up and
carried him over to the futon. Setting Chihaya dow spo spooned up behind his
lover pulling a blanket over both of them. Kagetsuya sighed in relief as
Chihaya finally stopped shivering and relaxed into his lover\'s embrace.
Kagetsuya\'s finger brushed across Chihaya\'s cheek lingering on the full rose
colored lips. Silently he prayed a prayer of thanks for the greatest blessing
in his life as the gentle rise and fall of Chihaya\'s chest settled into the
deep slow rhythm of sleep.

The End