Chapter 5- Shinon/Gatrie

"You WHAT?" Shinon asked loudly, straining to be heard over the ruckus of the party. It was someone's birthday, and he couldn't quite remember whose (the buzzing in his head was distracting him), but it hardly mattered. The soldiers would use almost anything as an excuse to get drunk and make noise. It was loud, so surely he had simply misheard. Gatrie had not just come out of the closet to him.

Beside him the knight giggled and repeated himself. "I like boys! Nah gurls." He shook his head to enforce his point and nearly fell over. Shinon caught his arm and steadied him. "People don' thin' it's manly to like boys. But I do an' I'm manly!" He flexed his biceps and winked. The drink he was holding splashed across the floor, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You've had enough of this," Shinon said, taking Gatrie's now mostly-empty glass. "Any more and you'll wake up naked in a pool of vomit. It's not fun."

"I 'member when ya did 'at!"

Shinon placed his and Gatrie's glasses on a nearby table and sighed. It looked like the party was over for him and he'd barely even gotten a buzz. Promising himself he'd get properly drunk later, the archer grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him back to his tent.

They passed no one, as it was late and all but the partygoers were asleep. Shinon was glad, because if anyone saw him caring for a smashed friend instead of drinking himself into a similar state it would ruin his reputation.

Once they were inside the tent, Gatrie spoke again. "Know wha' Shini? I like you lots," he said, and before Shinon knew what was happening Gatrie was kissing him.

The archer pushed him away with trembling hands, surprised at how much he'd enjoyed the kiss. He'd liked Gatrie since they first met, but had slowly and without noticing grown to love him. He realized it now and wanted to kiss the knight again, but instead dragged him to the bed. Gatrie was too drunk to think clearly, and Shinon didn't want to make a fool of himself if it turned out that the knight wasn't actually gay.

"Gatrie. You're drunk out of your mind and need rest, so shut the hell up and get some sleep." His voice shook slightly, but Gatrie was too drunk to notice.

"'kay!" The blond replied cheerfully, clumsily kicking off his boots and sitting on bed. Shinon turned to leave, the knight caught him around the waist and pulled him to the bed. He lay down and tucked the archer against his chest, leaning against the thinner man. Shinon was pinned. "Night, Shini," Gatrie sighed, and quickly fell asleep.

After trying, and failing, to free himself, Shinon decided that it wasn't that bad of a place to sleep and closed his eyes.

Shinon woke up feeling strangely happy and unable to remember why, until the bulky knight beside him groaned and sat up slowly, cradling his head. "Morning, Gatrie," Shinon said, smirking at his friend's surprise. Apparently he didn't remember much from last night. "Some party, huh?"

"Unng? What the hell…" Gatrie looked at Shinon in complete shock. "What on earth did we do last night?!"

Shinon rolled his eyes. "Went to a party where you got so drunk you came out of the closet and kissed me, then dragged me to your bed and fell asleep on top of me."

Gatrie blushed bright red. "Did we…um, you know," he asked, gesturing to the bed and their somewhat compromising position.

"Nope. Use your head, we're both still clothed, aren't we?" Shinon said. "So, were you just dead drunk, or are you really gay?"

Still blushing, Gatrie met Shinon's eyes. He didn't see any disgust, and past the sarcasm the archer's gaze was almost gentle, the first time Gatrie had ever seen it like that. "Yeah. I like boys," he admitted, looking down.

"Good," Shinon said, then kissed him. Gatrie squeaked in surprise, but pulled Shinon closer and kissed him back, eventually opening his mouth and letting their tongues slide together.

It was a long time before they broke apart, but when they did Gatrie giggled and asked, "Shinon? Why…" He wasn't sure how to ask, but Shinon knew what he meant.

The archer stood up and exited the tent in search of breakfast, but not before calling over his shoulder, "Because I love you, stupid."

Gatrie grinned and blushed. "I love you too!"

AN: Thanks for reading! And thanks for the suggestions and reviews. You people make me happy. =)