Rowen lay curled in his sheets, nose pressed into Sage's abandoned pillow, inhaling his intoxicating scent. Sage was off visiting his family this weekend, and they had opted for Rowen to stay home. Neither of them was quite ready to explain the situation to their families yet. He reminded himself over and over that Sage would be home the next afternoon, not even twenty-four hours from then, but it wasn't enough. A selfish, selfish part of him wanted to haul Sage back home right then and never let him leave again. This was unbearable, and he'd only been gone one night!

Sage had left a number by the bed in case of emergency. Rowen watched the little slip of paper flutter in the breeze created by the fan for a few moments, resisting the urge to call. Finally, though, he gave in to temptation, and reached across the bed for the phone and paper. He punched in the numbers, waiting anxiously as it rang.

The sudden voice startled him. "Hello?" Rowen thought he was going to faint; it was him!

"Sage!"

"Rowen, is something wrong?" came the worried inquiry.

"No... I just wanted to see how you were doing," he mumbled, feeling a little foolish for his actions.

From his voice, Rowen could tell Sage was smiling as he said, "I'm alright. You doing okay?"

"Yeah. Just miss you."

"Miss you, too. Look, though, this really isn't a good time."

"Oh, I'll let you go, then..."

"I'm sorry to cut it short."

"Don't worry about it." He paused, unsure if he should continue. He'd said this plenty of times, but always when he was sure Sage was asleep, when he was sure he couldn't get a negative response. Never had he been brave enough to do so when he knew Sage could hear him. Screwing his courage up, he plunged ahead. "I love you." There was a pause. Rowen felt frantic, needing to fill that void he'd suddenly created. "I mean, you don't have to say it back. I just wanted to tell you, you know? Heh, well, I guess you've got to go, now. Bye?"

Sage was quiet for a while, then he softly uttered a parting. Rowen squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the light click of Sage hanging up. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He put the phone back on the hook, and settled back into bed. He didn't feel like getting up again. He could see it, now. He'd made it awkward, destroyed something beautiful. Amazing how three simple words can change everything. That cynical little part of him always felt the need to say its piece. He buried his face in Sage's pillow, inhaling deeply. There was a scent of shampoo, soap, and then something that was purely Sage Date.

His shoulders shook as he sobbed. "God damn it, Sage. I love you so much." His voice was muffled against the pillow, arms wrapping around it as though it were the man himself. Eventually, Rowen cried himself to sleep.

* * * * *

Rowen lifted a towel to cerulean locks, frowning at himself in the mirror. A rim of red surrounded azure eyes, but aside from that, he didn't look any worse for the wear. He sneered at his reflection, at the sniveling thing he saw himself to be. Fed up with that image, he stalked from the bathroom and to the kitchen, clad in a pair of snug jeans.

He was trying to immerse himself in one of his psychology studies when he became aware of eyes on him. The archer looked up to find Sage watching him with an unusual expression. It took Sage a moment to realize he'd been caught; when he did, he gave a tentative smile. Rowen didn't return it. With a small sigh, that smile dropped. "Rowen..."

He rode right over the other Ronin's words. "I was wrong, you know." Sage paused for an apprehensive moment.

"Wrong about what?" he then asked.

Rowen was gripping the table top now, knuckles white with controlled rage. "About your not having to say it. Love is a reciprocal thing, Sage." Rounding the table, he settled a glare on the offending party. All he got in return was an unreadable stare.

"So you'd rather force me to say it now than wait until I'm sure I'm telling the truth?" The words were calm, distant, but Sage's eyes were like augers.

"So, what? You're saying you feel nothing for me?" He advanced, angered by the fact that Sage was still leaning so casually against the door frame, as if they were discussing the weather. It took him a while to realize he was yelling, but he didn't care.

"You're twisting my words around."

"You're not answering the question!" Regardless of his previous statement, Rowen continued. "You don't love me, else you'd just say it and save us both all this trouble! So what am I to you, Sage? Just a convenient fuck?!" He was crying again. As much as he'd promised himself he wouldn't let Sage see that, he was crying. The tears felt cold on his heated cheeks.

His tirade was rewarded with something he'd never seen before. Outrage slathered Sage's expression, his face a thunderhead. His teeth were clenched, and Rowen felt himself backing away from that scorching lavender gaze, only to be followed step for step. "'Convenient'?! I transferred to Tokyo to be with you! I paid for this apartment so we could live together! Is that convenient for me?! If I wanted 'convenient,' I could have found a girl to date! I wouldn't have left Yamaguchi! I'd probably be stuck with Rina right now, if I wanted a 'convenient fuck'!" The backs of his thighs hit the table's edge, and he could go no further. He unconsciously leaned back, hands scrabbling for some sort of grip. Not even against the Dynasty had he seen Sage so angry, and it frightened him. "You want to know what you are to me?!" Surprisingly calloused hands grabbed his face, wrenching his eyes up to meet Sage's. Droplets fell from enraged violet pools to mingle with Rowen's own tears. "Do you?!" He couldn't do anything but nod, his throat completely parched. Sage's voice dropped drastically, Rowen's ears straining to hear what he said. "Everything."

Rowen stared a long while into fathomless purple depths, the only sound in the room the shallow breathing of both, then heard himself gasp the swordsman's name in a broken voice. It was all he said, yet Sage seemed to understand. Tongues tangled even before lips met. The kiss lasted until Rowen decided it would be prudent to breathe, and he pulled away, panting softly. He wasn't given long to recuperate before he was hauled into another breathtaking kiss.

His head fell back as Sage's mouth abandoned his to attack his neck instead, incorporating lips, tongue, teeth. Shaking hands fumbled blindly at the blonde's shirt tail, tugging it from the waistband of his pants. Then his fingers moved less-than-nimbly along the front of the garment. Since when had Sage's shirts gotten so many buttons? After a few moments of toiling uselessly away at the damned fasteners, struggling under a barrage of kisses and roaming hands, he gave a quick yank. The clothing fell open, little buttons flying every which way. Sage pulled back, examining Rowen's handiwork with a laugh.

The blue-haired Ronin took advantage of Sage's mirth, tangling long fingers in golden locks to draw that open mouth to his own. The two of them together wrestled Sage's shirt off, never breaking their hungry kiss. Rowen was being guided back onto the table top, gentle but insistent hands at the back of his neck and the joining between his legs. Skilled fingers kneaded his cloth-bound arousal, and he pushed his hips willingly toward Sage's hand. Then those fingers drew away to fiddle with the zipper of his jeans, before the pants were tugged roughly over his hips. Soon the faded denim crumpled to the floor, joining Sage's discarded shirt on the plush carpet.

Slim hips maneuvered between his thighs, grinding against him in a slow mockery of what was to come. Rowen pulled back just enough to murmur against Sage's mouth. "Bed," he breathed, and received a nod before they were both off the table, Sage pulling him back towards the bedroom they shared. They miraculously found their way without a bump, and soon enough Rowen was on his back again, this time sunken into a soft mattress. His legs dangled off the bed from the knees, the blond conveniently trapped between two strong appendages, still standing at the foot of the bed. He squirmed free of the archer's grasp. Rowen raised up on his elbows to glare at Sage. All he got in return was a tiny smirk, a fall of pale gold obscuring his view of one eye.

His gaze couldn't help but drop to where Sage's hand was slowly sliding the zipper of his khakis down. A few unbearable moments later, and both the Dockers and undergarments slid freely to the floor, for Sage to step free of them. Rowen caught his lower lip between small teeth, drinking in the sight of a nude Sage of Halo. Elegant face, decorated with those piercing violets, lashes long enough for any woman to envy, and wickedly full lips. He supposed it didn't hurt that he knew what those lips could do. Cobalt eyes took in those broad shoulders, carved chest leading to a narrow waist. His gaze lingered a moment on the perfect little oval of Sage's navel, then fell lower, flittering across muscular thighs to what lay at the juncture where they met. All in all, he looked to be sculpted by a master from some pale marble. Rowen made an appreciative sound; he was stunning. And he was stalking toward the bed with a look of purpose.

Rowen inched backward on the mattress, and Sage smirked again, crawling across the expanse of white sheets toward him. Sage stopped with his knees nudged against Rowen's inner thighs, an amused smile on his face as he regarded the one barrier left between them.

"Marvin the Martian," Sage chuckled. Even saying that, his voice seemed perfectly constructed for sin. Rowen gave him a cheeky grin, then quickly divested himself of his boxers, wadding them up and sending the cartoon alien to disappear in the clothes hamper.

He turned back, and had his lips captured for a moment, then a trail of scorching kisses was sent down his chest. Hissing through clenched teeth, he threw his head back as a set of teeth clamped over one nipple, in syncopation with the hand that slid between his legs. Said hand bypassed his throbbing erection to delve further instead, a slickened finger slowly penetrating his entrance. He hadn't even noticed Sage grab their bottle of massage oil.

Breath quickening as those lips burned lower, he didn't fight when the swordsman lifted one of Rowen's legs over his shoulder. Straight teeth nipped at the sensitive skin of his inner thigh at the same time as another finger pushed its way inside him. His hands clutched the sheets as if they could save him from drowning in that sea of sensation. Stray strands of hair tickled at his member, but it was otherwise ignored, Sage's mouth too busy teasing his inner thighs with grazes of his teeth and little flicks of his tongue. Rowen was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and he lay there panting while a third digit probed. Finally, his jaw set, he growled at Sage, though he had trouble finding enough breath to do so. "God damn it, you tease. I'm ready."

"Say 'please'," his tormentor murmured, fingers, for one blissful second, brushing against something that made Rowen writhe. God, Sage was despicable. He seemed thoroughly amused by all of this.

"Please," Rowen grated, back arching as Sage's tongue touched the tip of his arousal. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone again, the fingers removed along with it. There was a most profound sense of loss, then the end of Sage's turgid member was pressing inside of him, far too slowly for his liking. A little snarl, and Rowen hooked his free leg behind Sage's backside, forcing the issue.

The blond wasted no time after that, hips rolling in a manner that drove Rowen to near insanity. Delicious, throaty little purrs oozed from Sage's lips, further increasing the effect. Hearts beating in tandem, they both shuddered violently. Stars burst behind Rowen's vision, and for what seemed both an infinite and miniscule amount of time, there was nothing for him but ecstasy. When he finally blinked the spots from his eyes, he was aware of Sage pulling out of him, then the swordsman dropped down on the bed beside him. They lay there grinning lazily at each other for a time, and eventually they both drifted off to sleep, Sage nuzzling at his collar, one hand splayed possessively over his chest. His last coherent thought was that this was the only true peace he'd ever known.

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