Disclaimer: I don't own them or the song which is Love Song by Tesla.

I Know

By: Winter Skye

This is an answer to a challenge and shounen ai (gomen no lemon scene) involving Touma/Shuu.

The challenge was:

1. Shuu must be a character.

2. Use the following quotes.

'Oh my, it's huge.'

'It was an accident'

'Ooo that's gonna leave a mark.'

'Do you smell something?'

Thank you Krystal for the great lines, and thanks to Lena who helped proofread this thing.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh my, it's huge!!" Nasty exclaimed as she walked into the den and saw Shuu setting up his newly acquired large screen t.v. "It takes up the entire room!"

Shuu smiled and said, "You told me it was alright, and you also said it could go in here. Besides, there's nowhere else to put it."

Nasty, who was late for a meeting she had forgotten about said, "Shuu we'll talk about it tomorrow. I'm late for my meeting. Shin and Ryo won't be back from their trip till tomorrow and I'm meeting Seiji later." As an afterthought she added, "Touma is still upstairs. I doubt you'll see him though." She sighed as the only response she got from him was an absent nod. Touma and Shuu had an argument a few months ago, and they weren't talking.

So you think that it's over

Say your love has fin'lly reached the end

To make matters worse, Touma was just coming off a very long relationship and was becoming more and more depressed. It had been nearly a month since his girlfriend left. He had wanted to marry her, but she broke it off and he wasn't talking to anyone about it. Everyone in the house knew that the relationship was doomed, but Touma seemed happy and hopelessly in love.

"I'll see ya later," she finished and walked out the front door.

Shuu glanced back at the door and sighed. Although he didn't think anyone knew it, he often thought of his blue-haired friend. It wasn't all that hard to remember what they had argued about. When he found out that Touma wanted to marry Laur, he flipped. The argument they had was brutal and cut deep, so bad in fact that Shuu hadn't seen Touma in two months. He wasn't sure who was avoiding who, but it seemed to get worse with the archer's depression. When Laur broke it off with Touma, Shuu thought things would go back to normal. He was wrong.

Touma locked himself in his room and wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Seiji his former roommate. The blond moved into Nasty's room with her a few months back so it was easy for Touma to bury himself in pity. Every now and then he would come down to eat, but always when he knew Shuu wouldn't be around.

Any time you call, night or day

I'll be right there for you if you need a friend

Looking up at the ceiling, he thought, Touma, when are you gonna forget about her? When are you gonna come back? Although he never admitted his feelings to the archer, Shuu loved him deeply. If he was sure Laur would've made him happy, then they never would have argued. Shuu would have let him go.

Turning on the t.v., Shuu hoped to lose himself in the baseball game that was being broadcast. He stared at the screen for nearly a half hour, but didn't care that his favorite rookie pitcher was about to pitch a no hitter.

He decided that a snack might be in order. Running a hand through his hair, Shuu stood up, turned and froze. Touma was standing just behind the couch, staring. He was dressed in jeans and a smoky grey t-shirt. His hair was damp from the shower, and Shuu thought he looked sexy as hell. Touma didn't say anything and Shuu wondered if he was forgiven.

Love is all around you

Love is knockin' outside you door

"Touma," Shuu began breaking the awkward silence, "Daijouba desu ka?"

"Hai," Touma answered quietly. "I mean I've been better, but I'm basically alright."

Shuu nodded and for lack of something to do he tossed the remote onto the chair. "I was just about to get a drink. You want something?"

Touma shrugged and Shuu went into the kitchen to find something, anything to drink. When he returned he was relieved to find Touma sitting on the couch watching the game. Smiling to himself, Shuu walked over and handed the archer his drink.

"Arigatou," Touma said looking into Shuu's eyes.

Shuu merely smiled and tried not to lose himself in the bottomless depths of those blue eyes. Sitting beside the archer, he tried vainly to calm his nerves. The two friends sat in silence for a long time, each pretending they were paying attention to the ball game.

Waitin' for you is this love made just for two

Keep an open heart and you?ll find love again, I know

"What did Nasty say about this thing?" Touma asked suddenly.

Shuu shrugged. "She thinks it's huge. I think she wants me to move it."

"Well don't look at me for help. My toe still hurts from the time I helped you move that dresser."

"It was an accident," Shuu said in defense.

"Yeah right. Ya nearly broke my toe." They both laughed at the memory of Touma hopping around on one foot while clutching the other and cursing at Shuu.

It's gonna take a little time

Time is sure to mend your broken heart

Touma shook his head and turned his attention back to the game. Shuu sat back and looked at him. He decided that he would never tire of looking at the blue-haired man. And now that Touma was free, he was determined to fight to keep the other in his life, even if it meant that they would only be friends.

Touma felt Shuu's eyes on him but tried to ignore it. He was just beginning to sort out his feelings and briefly wondered why the staring didn't bother him. On the contrary, it made him feel comfortable, which disturbed him only slightly.

Giving his head a mental shake, Touma put all his attention into the game. He watched as the opposing pitcher's fast ball hit the batter in the thigh at 95 mph. "Ooo, that's gonna leave a mark," he said and turned back to look at Shuu.

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you see that?" Touma asked as he raised his brows at Shuu.

Shuu turned his attention to the replay and said, "Guess I missed it."

"Guess so."

Don't you even worry pretty darlin'

I know you'll find love again. Yeah

Shuu sat up slightly. He knew Touma probably wasn't ready to hear this, but who knows when they'll get another chance to talk, or if Touma would want too. Right now they had a ball game to bring them together. But the game was almost over, and Shuu was afraid Touma would lock himself up again.

"Touma," he began nervously, "can I talk to you for a minute?"

The archer looked at him curiously. He had gotten the feeling that his friend was nervous since Shuu noticed him standing by the couch. He had just put it off as his imagination, but now he wasn't so sure. "Shuu, what is it?" Touma asked cautiously, mentally preparing himself for bad news. After all it had been two months since they last talked, argued Touma corrected himself. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Shuu answered. "Not really. Maybe it's just me. I'm probably going crazy or something."

Touma put a gentle hand on Shuu's knee and said softly, "You're scaring me, Shuu. Just tell me what's bothering you."

"Gomen. I sometimes don't know what I'm saying, ya know? It's just that. . ."

"Do you smell something?" Touma interrupted.

Shuu thought for a moment. "Nasty's stew." He got up and ran to the kitchen. "She must've forgotten to turn the stove off when she remembered about her meeting."

Love is all around you

Love is knockin' outside you door

Waitin' for you is this love made just for two

Keep an open heart and you'll find love again, I know

Shuu turned off the burner with one hand and picked up the boiling stew with the other. He put the pot on the counter and grabbed some paper towels to clean up the mess, mumbling the whole time.

"Real smooth Shuu," he said to himself. "Stare at the guy for a little while and afterwards you can't complete a thought. You're a real baka. He finally comes down here and you get up the courage to talk, only to get tongue tied. He's never gonna love you back. He's probably not even over her yet. Shuu just get over him."

"Do you really want to do that?" Touma's voice interrupted Shuu's rant.

The larger man froze at the sound. He had turned his back to the door while he was cleaning the stove and hadn't heard Touma enter the kitchen. Shuu slowly turned to face him and saw Touma leaning against the door jam.

"How long were you standing there?" Shuu asked when he finally found his voice.

"I heard all of it, Shuu," Touma answered quietly.

Love will find a way, darlin'

Love is gonna find a way,

Find it's way back to you

Love will find a way

Shuu tried to read the other's face but couldn't. Sighing he tossed the paper towels into the sink.

"Why didn't you say something before?" the archer asked.

"Because of Laur," Shuu said simply. "You were with her for a long time before I realized. . ." He couldn't continue, so he ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked helplessly at the ceiling.

"Realized what?" Touma prompted.

Shuu's gaze returned to look into midnight blue eyes. What he saw hurt him deeply - pure anguish.

"Just forget it, Touma," he said. I'm not going to hurt you anymore than you've already been, he added to himself. Unfortunately he wasn't able to stop looking at Touma and the look he was getting from the other said, I want answers.

"Touma, I don't want to get into this right now. Not when you have other things to deal with." Shuu sighed and started out past Touma, who was still leaning in the doorway.

So look around open your eyes

Love is gonna find a way

Love is gonna, love is gonna find a way

As Shuu tried to get past him, Touma shot out a hand and grabbed the darker man's arm. "I never loved Laur," Touma confessed quietly, not daring to look at Shuu.

Shuu's head snapped up and over to Touma. He didn't hear that right. Did he? "What did you say?" he asked softly.

Touma turned his head slowly and looked into Shuu's eyes. "I never loved her, Shuu."

"Then why. . ."

"I thought I did. But then you flipped out when I told you I wanted to marry her. I realized what you guys had been trying to tell me for months."

Shuu looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand. You were so angry with me."

Touma turned so that his body was facing Shuu's profile. "No, Shuu. I was never angry with you. I was angry at myself; then I was determined to prove that you guys were all wrong. See I thought Laur was everything I wanted."

Shuu didn't want to hear anymore. He tried to shake off Touma's grip but the archer held on. "No, Shuu. If I want you to be honest with me, I need to be honest with you. I've just recently come to that conclusion. You were my friend enough to tell me that I was making a mistake and I was cruel. I have no excuse for that.

"I was trying to figure out why, even though none of you wanted me and Laur together in the first place, why the argument I had with you hurt so much. It hurt much more than the others telling me to end it. I mean why didn't Laur feel what I felt for her? And why did one little argument between you and me hurt so bad?"

Touma's eyes never left Shuu's as he continued, "I played it out time and time again in my head and I realized that you were right. Laur and I were meant to be friends. That's what you told me when we argued. You also said that we'd make each other miserable. You were right there too. She and I were meant to be friends, not lovers."

Shuu looked up and asked, "Then why did you lock yourself in your room for a month? How come you haven't spoken to me in two?"

Knowing the question would be coming, Touma smiled when he answered. "Because realizing you were right and admitting it to you are two different things. I also thought that Laur loved me. I mean if what I thought was the perfect woman for me didn't love me then who would?"

"Touma, don't..."

Touma silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Then I realized that I could love someone else - did love someone else. But I didn't think he would love me back. Not after how I treated him. I hurt him much more that he ever hurt me."

Love will find a way

Love's gonna find a way back to you, yeah.

Taking Shuu's hands gently he said, "Please forgive me Shuu. I've been such a jerk lately, all because I didn't want to admit my feelings for you."

Shuu didn't say anything; he just stood there staring, trying to absorb everything Touma had just said.

After a moment or two of silence, Touma had enough. "Say something, Shuu," he said, "even if it's to tell me to go to hell."

Shuu smiled and pulled Touma to him. Holding the back of the smaller man's neck he ducked his head and kissed him softly. Touma sighed into the kiss and stepped closer so the length of his body was pressed against Shuu's. Pulling away, Touma ran a hand through his hair. "Now are you sure you want to get over me?"

Shuu smiled and said, "Are you sure you're ready for me?"

"Shuu-chan, my heart's been ready for a long time. My mind just needed to catch up."

"Ai shiteru, Touma," Shuu whispered before he could stop the words. He still wasn't sure if Touma would be ready to hear them. He took a mental step back and looked away.

I know

Touma took Shuu's chin gently in his hand and said, "I understand why you're still unsure of me. But Shuu, I love you. Always have. I was just too scared to admit it."

"You love me?"

"Hai."

"I never thought. . ."

"Don't think, Shuu," Touma told him. "Trust me on this. It only gets in the way."

"I'll remember that the next time you're obsessing about a problem," Shuu said with a laugh, leading Touma over to the couch to sit down.

"I don't obsess," Touma protested.

I know

Shuu just shook his head and pulled his love down on top of him. He kissed him softly then said, "No arguments, Touma-chan. Just stay here with me tonight."

"Here on the couch?" Touma asked astonished.

"Just here in my arms," Shuu answered. "This way you can't get away from me and I can hold you all night."

Touma smiled and pushed until they were lying down in each other's arms. Shuu reached up and grabbed a blanket and tucked it around them. "I love you, Touma," he said placing a kiss on top of a blue head.

Touma smiled and gently hugged him back. "I love you, too." He curled himself into Shuu's warmth and sighed. His last coherent thought was that he had finally found his love and that he would be happy at last.

I know