Title: Need
Rating: PG-13
Universe: Air Gear
Theme/Topic: Full Circle
Character/Pairing/s: hints if AkiraxAkito, mentions of AkiraxKaito, and a little bit of IkkixAkito in the background.
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for the Behemoth battle and small details afterwards.
Word Count: 1,133
Time: 1.24 hours
Summary: Akira and Akito are driven by instinct—simple as that.
Dedication: requested by pyrefly on my rare pairings/characters request meme. Sorry for throwing in the AkixKai and the IkkixAki, but you know, I kind of had to throw in my OTPs too. LOL XD
A/N: Sappy and longwinded? Yes! But you know, there's something sweetly tragic about Akira and Akito, as friends or as something more that never got explored. So that's what I'm going with.
Disclaimer: Not mine, though I wish constantly.
Distribution: Just lemme know.

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Udou Akira was a creature driven by need.

It was probably why he related so well to the beasts of the earth, their actions perpetuated solely by instinct, by the simple necessities of food and water and shelter.

He was just like that, he thought-- someone whose impulses all moved towards one ultimate goal, towards something ingrained so deeply within him it was sewn into the very fabric of his DNA, a driving, unnamed force he couldn't ignore even if he wanted to.

Need.

Except… it never seemed like that need was his own.

Instead it was someone else's need that drove him to act, someone else's helpless eyes or pleading face, someone else who needed him so much they shook with it, that it called out to him like a living breathing thing and drew him irreparably in.

She'd needed him back then—he remembered the look on her face as she'd clutched the box with the chirping hatching to her chest and cried out to him in silent desperation, all alone in the world because of him.

Stuck and helpless, and that part of Akira that couldn't turn away had stepped forward instead, driven by her need for protection and determined to fulfill it at any cost.

He could never ignore a cry for help.

It was just a part of who he was. Simple as that.

And he'd hoped Akito could understand that back then, that at that particular freeze-frame moment, it had been beyond his power to stop himself because she'd looked at him like that, frightened and scared and so alone that everything in his heart had stopped for a beat when he'd seen it.

His best friend on the other hand--while someone he loved very much-- had never needed him in that same raw sort of way. Akito was strong, could always make it on his own—a survivor.

No matter what, he lived. He'd be okay. Simple as that.

And so even though Akira knew Akito would be hurt by his actions, he did what he did knowing that the most important person in the world to him would survive even without Akira at his side. He'd find his own ways of getting over it and moving on.

She… she looked at him like she was going to die.

And that small difference between the two of them was why he made the choice he did. Because Udou Akira was a creature driven by need.

He stood against someone he loved because he knew that Akira wouldn't die in the end, even if it hurt, even if he bled.

He was strong enough a creature that he'd lick his wounds and heal, maybe even forgive Akira one day, for his painful betrayal.

That was all Akira could hope for in the end—forgiveness, understanding, the knowledge that he was just a beast who couldn't go against his own deeply ingrained instincts.

He'd apologized a thousand times to Akito in his own head as they'd stood across from each other during the challenge for the Fang Regalia, and even if Akito meant the world to him, he did it because she'd needed him.

She'd needed him then, at that very moment, and to Akira, it had been as simple as all that.

Now…now he knew that she was okay, that over the years she'd gotten stronger under his protection and that after watching that last fight with Ikki and Akito, she was reminded of what it was like to fly, to go outside that protective cage they'd built around themselves and stand on her own.

She didn't need him anymore, and that was why he let them take him away in good conscience, in good spirits even, because he'd seen the look in Akito's eyes for a brief moment as he'd walked passed, and all they'd held for a dumb beast like him was forgiveness.

They were both too strong to ever need each other very much, but Akira thought that at the very least, he'd needed that from his friend, that look that told him everything was okay again.

That they understood each other again.

Because even if need wasn't there between the two of them, importance was, and the part of Akira that knew he was human despite everything reminded him every once in a while, that humans wanted friendship, wanted acknowledgement, wanted the knowledge that there was someone out there that transcended the basics of need and might just have something to offer like love.

Akito reminded Akira that he was human every now and again, and every once in a while was all he wanted.

Because every once in a while, it was nice to know there was someone he loved.

And maybe he would have gone to tell Akito that-- would have gone to just see him after he was reinstated into Kaito's team-- but when he looked at Akito now, flying on the enormous wings of the Sky King who he loved, he realized that like always, his friend didn't need him at all.

And he also knew that for now, there was someone else who did need him, someone who was maybe lonely and angry and confused and bitter and loved his little brother but didn't know how to.

So Akira busied himself with that for the time being, hoping Akito was enjoying his newfound wings and the friends he'd made, the love he'd found without Akira there.

Akira always knew Akito would get along fine on his own—he was that kind of creature.

The thought wasn't a bitter one, or even a very lonely one. Rather it was a simple one, and it eased Akira's heart.

Because he knew it was just how they were, down the very grains of their being.

Akito survived.

Akira protected.

And maybe that meant they'd never cross paths for more than a moment at a time, but a moment at a time was enough when all Akira really needed was a reminder every now and again that he was still human, that he was still loved, that he was understood.

Then it was time to move on again, go back to being who they were at the fundamental level, the unchangeable level.

Right at this very moment, Akira had someone who needed him.

And so he thought about Akito and wished him the best, all the while knowing that it would be okay if they didn't see each other for a long time again—weeks, months years.

Because while they would always care about one another very much, this was just who they were. It was in their blood.

Kaito needed Akira right now.

And Akito always survived just fine without him.

For them, it was always as simple as that.

END