Disclaimers: I don't own the Ronin's. They belong to lucky people I wish I knew. I don't even know the name of the song, so you *know* I don't own it. It's off one of the BOCA collections. But it sounds cool, ne? I'm a poor student, and I'm not making any money off this. Please don't sue!

*...* <--- Emphasis

~...~ <--- Lyrics

?...? <--- Spoken

/.../ <--- Thoughts

~Galileo's head was on the block~
~His crime was lookin' up the truth~
~And as the bombshells of my daily fears explode~
~I try and trace them to my youth~

Sage ducked out the window, onto the balcony. It wasn't much of a place to hide; it was far too open and visible. He threw a quick glance around for an escape route, a small satisfied smirk crossing his face as his eyes lighted on the roof. He jumped, easily making the distance.

It was not a moment too soon. He could hear the glass door slide open, the soft footsteps of his pursuer.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" The sing-song voice made him shudder. He surpressed it, trying to remain still and silent. Maybe Rowen would get sick of looking for him and give up.

He couldn't place exactly what had gotten into his blue-haired lover recently. The archer had somehow gotten this... fixation. He sighed lightly. It was getting damn hard to avoid the younger man's whims.

He realized his mistake too late. Rowen rose effortlessly above the house, his power a blue bubble around him and his eyes sweeping the area for traces of the swordsman. His eyes lit as they rested on Sage's defeated form.

"Tag - you're it! Your turn now, Blondie." He held the paper-wrapped package out to Sage, grinning openly as the other opened it and winced. The paper fell away, revealing a green-sequined, high-necked dress.

Sage hated having to be the one in the dress. It brought back too many uncomfortable memories of his childhood... his sister... He glared ineffectively at Rowen, who had landed beside him on the roof.

The archer just laughed it off, happily nuzzling Sage's ear. He lightly nipped the lobe, delighting in Sage's surprised yelp and immediately soothing the pain away with his tongue. "I'll make it up to ya. We're going out to dinner tonight."

The whisper was soft and cool against the swordsman's skin. He closed his eyes as the gentle breath and warm mouth moved down his jawline, tasting and feeling. They finally rested on his lower lip, softly tugging and demanding entrance.

He ignored it, pushing his amorous lover away. He was *not* about to let Rowen romance his way out of the justifiable irritation he felt. Not as long as he was wearing that... that green *thing* tonight.

~But then you had to bring up reincarnation~
~Over a couple of beers the other night~
~And now I'm serving time for mistakes made by~
~Another in another lifetime~

"Reincarnation?" Sage's voice was colored with disbelief. "You can't seriously mean you believe that!"

Rowen shot him a mock-hurt look over the table. "'Course I'm serious! Think about it, Sage," He paused, taking a long draught from the bottle in front of him. "There's so much in life that there's no way we can explain!" He paused significantly, a mischievous twinkle settling in his eyes. "I mean, why do you hate spiders?"

"That has nothing to do with past lives and you know it!" The response was heated, the denial too quick. Rowen's eyes sparkled. He knew that Sage's arachnophobia was completely irrational - the bearer of Halo hadn't *seen* many spiders, much less even been *bitten* by one. Score one.

"Sure it doesn't. And I'm the Queen of freakin' Sheba. Though you're more dressed for the part tonight..." He batted his eyes innocently at the blonde, ignoring the death-like glare he received in return. "And how about mustard-smothered cucumbers? That's not exactly normal fare, you know."

Sage flushed uncomfortably. That was one of his favorite snacks. "But they taste-"

"-Disgusting."

"It's just an *acquired* taste..."

"Acquired my ass!" Rowen snorted. "It's *revolting*. And it's nothing they just regularly serve up here." He smirked, satisfied as Sage refused to reply. Score two. And in for the kill... He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "What about deja vu?"

~~Chorus~~

~~How long 'til my soul gets it right?~~
~~Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?~~
~~I call on the resting soul of Gaileo~~
~~King of night vision, king of insight~~

Sage lay awake in bed, curled comfortably in Rowen's arms, his hands tangled in their usual spot in his lover's midnight locks. As much as he hated to admit it, a lot of what Rowen had said tonight had made sense. There were simply too many unexplainable things in life... from an academic standpoint, reincarnation made a lot of sense.

He sighed quietly, still mulling over their earlier conversation. Suppose Rowen was right. A vague part of his mind wondered how many times he'd been reborn. And whether he would be again. A strange feeling floated over him. Had he and Rowen been together in their past lives? Would they be, in the next one?

He twisted carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping blue angel beside him. He was so beautiful when he slept. The harsh lines and sarcastic bravado were left behind, a mask for the waking hours. In its place an innocent smile ghosted across his lips, lending a charming, boyish cast to his features.

Sage feathered a light kiss to his lover's jawline, not so much hearing as feeling the whispering moan that was Rowen's response even from the depths of slumber. He blindly fingered the silver band on his left hand. It just felt so perfectly right.

/Wherever we end up in the next life... I swear I'll find him./ He lay another kiss on Rowen's cheek and snuggled down into sleep.

~And I think about my fear of motion~
~Which I never could explain~
~Some other fool across the ocean, years ago~
~Must have crashed his little airplane~

Sage paled slightly, backing away from his insane partner. There was just no way. Rowen pouted at him, his hand still extended as an offering.

"Come on... why not? It's an incredible feeling..."

His lover simply stared at the hand, horror-struck. "I think I'd rather have the ground under me."

"You don't trust me to hold you? Do you think I'll drop you?" The blue eyes were troubled now, anxious at the quick rejection. He just wanted Sage to feel the air like he did, the gentle caress of the wind as he circled and played with it, immersed in the swirling breezes.

"That's not it!"

"Then what is?"

Sage sighed. There was no way he was going to win this unless he came up with a damn good explanation. /May as well tell him the truth.../

"'M'fraida'flyin'"

Rowen quirked an eyebrow. Had Sage just said what he *thought* he did?

"Nani?"

Sage blushed a little and turned his gaze to the ground. "I'm afraid of flying." Rowen grinned. That he could do something about. He stepped in closer to Sage, hands raised in easy surrender. The golden-haired man looked at him apprehensively. Rowen never gave up that easily.

But he wasn't making any threatening moves... Sage accepted the embrace, tipping his head slightly up to meet the gentle kiss, running one hand behind the taller man's neck to play with the silky blue hair at his nape. Rowen smiled into the kiss, yielding it to Sage and pulling him closer.

The two parted reluctantly for air a moment later, still clasped together. Sage lay his head on the archer's shoulder, relaxing... and promptly freaking.

~~Chorus~~

~I'm not making a joke~
~You know me, I take everything so seriously~
~If we wait for the time until our souls get it right~
~Well, at least I know there'll be no nuclear annhilation~
~In my lifetime... I'm still not right~

There was no grass beneath his feet.

He grabbed Rowen closer, ignoring the soft chuckle above him. This was...This was... He gulped, trying to find his voice and failing abjectly. This was *awfully* high.

"You know I won't drop you, Love." Rowen's voice in his ear felt strangely displaced. "Just look around... isn't it beautiful?"

Sage shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. Not beautiful...Frightening.

"You're not even looking."

"So?" His voice came out as a croak. He winced. He was a Ronin Warrior...defender of the world's normalcy, destroyer of freaky bad guys. And here he was, a death grip around his lover frightened of a little bit of air. Air that kept moving around him. *All* around him.

"So look!"

He peeped his eyes open, steeling himself for the horrible dizziness to overcome him again. It didn't. He was hovering just slightly above the roof of Mia's house... apparently Rowen had been moving while his eyes had been shut.

The knowledge of something just below his feet helped him to relax. It was a beautiful view. He'd come up to the roof often enough to watch the sunsets.

"It's not so bad, is it?"

He shook his head wordlessly, tensing only slightly as he felt the air shift around him again, caressing his skin. It was almost an enjoyable sensation, as long as he didn't have to look down. He closed his eyes again, resting gently against Rowen's neck. "Not bad at all..."

A vague part of his mind berated him for doubting the archer.

Relationships were built on trust... but it wasn't exactly that he'd not trusted Rowen...

/Hell./ Yes it was. No matter how he tried to explain it away, it kept coming down to the same thing. Doubts riddled his mind... foundless doubts. His koi would never drop him. So why couldn't he just relax and enjoy it as much as Rowen obviously did?

~I offer thanks to those before me~
~That's all I have to say~
~'Cuz maybe you squandered big bucks in your lifetime~
~Now I have to pay~

He almost jumped as solid ground materialized again beneath his feet. Rowen stepped back slightly, giving the swordsman space to breathe. The breeze had blown his blue hair more hap-hazard than it usually was, and a faint rosy wind-kiss colored his cheekbones. His deep blue eyes were colored with the airiness of the clouds. He looked almost ethereal, ready to

disappear into the sky again.

Sage reached out, running his callused thumb gently along the pink line on his cheek. A vague desperate need to taste the wind on his love took him, brought his hand around Rowen's neck and pulled the pair together.

Lips still moist and cool with clouds met his own, parting slightly in a wordless invitation. Sage retreated, pressing a kiss to the side of his puzzled lover's lips, soon abandoning them entirely to taste the sensitized flesh of the archer's cheekbone. His mind wandered freely back to their conversation the other night. If Rowen was his punishment for the sins of his

past life... A smirk curved his lips. he'd never stop sinning.

Rowen gasped slightly as the warm tongue swept over his wind-raw skin, thoroughly enjoying the sensations it created. Sage rarely was in such an inquisitive mood. He was almost... playful. He grinned, taking the opportunity to rediscover the blonde's neck. /Maybe I should frighten him more often./

~But then again, it feels like some sort of inspiration~
~To let the next life off the hook~
~And she'll say look what I have to overcome from my last life~
~I think I'll write a book~

They were forced apart suddenly as a laughing fit seized Sage. Rowen looked at him dubiously, slightly disappointed and more-than-slightly wondering if the swordsman had taken leave of all his remaining senses. Sage caught the glance and raised a stalling hand as he tried to gasp enough breath to speak.

"You know..." The laughter welled up again, and he clung to the front of Rowen's shirt for stability. "You know... all the crazy... the crazy shit we've... we've seen..." Rowen nodded wordlessly, waiting for Sage to continue. After a moment, he did. "Think of all... the messed up... crazy phobias we've gotta... gotta be making... for our next lives!"

~How long 'til my soul gets it right?~
~Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?~
~I call Galileo, God rest his soul~
~King of night vision, king of insight~
~How long?~
~How long?~
~How long?~