Haruka hadn’t noticed how dark the corridor was until Kantarou had gone.  Not that it really bothered him.  He could see perfectly well in the dark.  It just felt... colder.  He touched his chin where Kantarou had kissed him.  Strange how his skin had tingled slightly at that touch, how it still did.  He stared at the closed door, imagining what Kantarou was doing now.  Youko would have put the futons down so he was probably... getting changed.  Taking off his slightly alcohol stained, tobacco scented clothes.  It would be cold when he took them off.  He would shiver against it and hurry to put on his yukata.  Or maybe he wouldn’t feel it so much.  Perhaps he was more drunk than he had looked just a moment ago.  Maybe that was why he has kissed him.  Maybe Kantarou had gone into the room and passed out on the cool tatami.  He might be laying there now, gently snoring away, blissfully unaware of the certainly sub zero temperature.  The more Haruka thought about it, the more convinced he became that Kantarou lay freezing on the other side of the door.  Kantarou would wake up sick and would shout at Haruka for not helping him.  And the man could really be very annoying when he got like that. 

  Haruka stepped lightly up to the door.  Putting his ear against it, he could hear no sound coming from inside.  Certain now that Kantarou had passed out, Haruka gently slid the door open and stepped onto the tatami just as his wayward master had moments before.  It was much lighter inside.  The first hints of dawn filtered through the paper screens, illuminating most of the room in a mixture of night blues and morning oranges.  Haruka paused at the door for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. 

  “Haruka?”  The name was quietly spoken, curious.  Haruka could now see the outline of Kantarou, shadowed against the backdrop of the dawn light, kneeling beside his futon frozen in the action of pulling back the covers.  His face was turned to Haruka.  His eyes looked only at Haruka. 

  “I...” the Tengu began, feeling incredibly foolish and embarrassed.  Kantarou sat sedately, merely waiting for Haruka to speak.

  “I thought you might have passed out...” he blurted out, “On the floor...”  Haruka didn’t need to see Kantarou’s face to know he was smiling. 

  “But you weren’t worried about me, right?” he said, looking away.  Haruka was sure he could hear a poorly concealed giggle.  “Like I said earlier, Haruka, either come in and shut the door or go out and shut the door...”  Kantarou got into bed and sat there shivering slightly, arms wrapped around himself, once again looking up at the Tengu. 

  “I suppose it can’t be helped...” Haruka sighed and closed the door behind him.  Shrugging off his jacket, he let it fall to the floor as he walked over to the futon. 

  “You’re shivering, Kantarou.  You’ll get sick,” he stated as dispassionately as possible.  He was so close now to the blond man he could see his face, eyes lit up in poorly concealed joy yet tired and cautious.  Kantarou shifted over and pulled back the covers.  Haruka, still convincing himself he was only doing this to avoid facing a sick and therefore annoying master, accepted the invitation and climbed onto the futon.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever get you into bed with me,” Kantarou giggled as he lay down, pulling the covers over them both.  Haruka frowned but still lay down beside the man and did not protest when Kantarou snuggled up against his chest.  He was there to keep the human warm after all.

  “It’s not like that,” he said, wrapping his arms around Kantarou’s small figure.  He got the distinct impression his actions were contradicting his words.

  “I know... but still...”  Kantarou was looking up at him again with those irritatingly cute eyes.  He resolved to not allow such things to sway him.  Even though with his face turned down to look at the man, the two of them were so close Haruka could feel every breath Kantarou took, the warm air welcome on his cold-pinched cheeks. 

  “It’s dawn,” Haruka whispered, “You should sleep.”  He found he could not take his eyes off the human in his arms.

  “Are you tired, Haruka?” Kantarou asked in reply.  Having an inkling as to where this was going, Haruka moved one hand up to Kantarou’s face.  His skin was soft to the touch, yet cold as marble.  Kantarou closed his eyes and pressed his check a little more into the warmth of Haruka’s hand.

  “You’ll get sick if you don’t sleep.  And I think you’re still a bit drunk...” he said.  Kantarou’s eyes opened slowly.

  “I’m not drunk and you know it.”  He didn’t need to stretch far this time to reach Haruka’s face, and again Haruka offered no resistance or indicated any surprise when Kantarou placed his lips lightly on the other man’s. 

  Drawing away, Kantarou examined Haruka’s face for a reaction.  The Tengu’s eyes were half closed, perhaps tired or sad.  He looked as though his mind was in conflict, uncertain, debating.

  “Haruka?”  Kantarou wondered how many times he had said that tonight.  He knew he shouldn’t use that name.  Not now.  Not when he knew the power it held over the Tengu.  Yet still, what else could he call him?  “Demon-eating Tengu” seemed quite inappropriate in this situation.  It was only a question anyway.  Because all he wanted was to know what Haruka was thinking.  To know what he thought and how he felt.  It was so difficult to know.  Haruka was so private and quiet.  Sometimes Kantarou felt lonely even with the Tengu beside him.

  Haruka sighed again, but this time made no excuses.  He slid his hand from Kantarou’s cheek to the back of his head.  He didn’t need to stretch at all to cover Kantarou’s mouth with his own.  It seemed, Haruka mused as he kissed Kantarou passionately, the man had more enticements than just his eyes.  Indeed, his lips were just as inviting, his skin just as tender and the feel of his body just as indulgent.  It did not surprise Haruka that Kantarou’s mouth held the same taste as the warm, sweet sake they had been drinking earlier.  Although, Haruka supposed, that was probably how he tasted right now too.  As his eyes closed in contentment his mind began to betray his introverted nature, challenging him to take Kantarou as his own, urging his body to respond to Kantarou’s very presence with wonton passion.   

Being here now, with Kantarou beside him like this, he wondered why he had ever resisted so hard anyway.  Surely even if he would have to watch Kantarou grow old and die, they could enjoy the time they had.  It was not like the human was going to die tomorrow.  Or even this decade.  Kantarou was strong.  He was resilient.  And he loved life.  He seemed to embrace it more than he had ever seen anyone do before, youkai or human.  In all his long life, no one had so impressed themselves upon him so much.  And here he was, his master, murmuring the name he had chosen for him as he kissed his neck and his shoulders, hands pressed tightly against the human’s back. 

  Kantarou gripped Haruka tightly, afraid the Tengu would regain his self control and stop... Stop... How could he stop now that his hands were drawing gasps of pleasured excitement from him?  That seemed too cruel.  He would do anything to stay wrapped in this warmth.  Do anything for Haruka to continue holding him like this, to see his face flushed as lust and heat arose within him.  That desire ignited by Kantarou’s gentle, hesitant hands.  Only by his hands.  And now Haruka was eliciting that same desire from his master with fervent kisses and inquisitive caresses.  As Haruka’s actions became bolder and more impatient, Kantarou let himself be completely taken over by the Tengu.  Even now, with his mind close to abandon, Kantarou reveled in the knowledge that Haruka had done this of his own will. 

He grasped Haruka’s shoulders in pain and pleasure, his whole being closed off to everything but the feel of Haruka’s body, of Haruka’s hands on him, forgetting everything but the way he trembled beneath the Tengu.  His breath short, his eyes wide and nothing but bare flesh between them.  Even now as the world awaked to another frozen day, Haruka’s whispered invocations of his name told him he would not have to shiver alone in the night again.