*EPILOGUE*
Saitou sighed, allowing the post-coital fugue to drag his eyelashes down to his cheeks. Beside him, Sanosuke stretched luxuriously, yawning, letting his arms settle around him; and Saitou smiled a satisfied smile as sleep claimed him.
"Hajime," Saitou barely heard Sano's rumbling whisper. "Oi, Saitou, you awake?" Sano asked, shaking him insistently.
"What is it, Ahou?" Saitou asked, annoyed.
"I've been thinking," Sano said. Saitou raised and eyebrow, and despite the fact that it was dark in the room, Sano knew exactly what his expression was. "Oi, stop looking at me like that. Do you remember that story you told me when I was sick?"
"That was months ago, Ahou. Why are you thinking about it now?"
"I just thought that they should have a happier ending, is all."
"Well they are not getting one from me, Ahou. I told you, it wasn't a Western fairytale."
"I knew you'd say that, that's why I made one up. Do you want to hear it?" Sano asked with a hopeful lilt to his gravelly voice.
"Do I have a choice?" Saitou asked, unable to keep from teasing his young lover. Sano elbowed him in the ribs with a growl.
"Just shut up and listen, old man. You can catch up on your beauty sleep in a few minutes." Saitou sighed in exasperation as Sano snuggled up against his side.
"Now..."
***
Sanosuke turned and smiled his most brilliant smile at Hajime. It was over: he had faced his worst fear and brought him low before the eyes of the whole court. They had won; he loved Saitou, and Saitou loved him, and now they would be together, able to explore what that love meant. Sano breathed a happy sigh. A look of surprised fury crossed Saitou's face, and he heard both Yahiko and Kenshin yelling: "Sano, look out!" and "Behind you, Sano!" He turned swiftly, throwing Saitou's katana without thinking, as he'd seen Saitou himself do several times during their exile together.
The Daimyo's eyes widened in surprise as the sword caught him in throat and pinned him to one of the poles holding up the roof of the veranda. The Shogun's unbloodied wakizashi fell to the floor with a clatter. "Why?" Shibumi whispered into the absolute stillness on the veranda as his life's blood ran from his neck and mouth. "I would...have...given you...anything, Sanosuke." The oni, three-eyed, blue-skinned and hideous, roared and gnashed his tusk-like teeth, causing everyone on the veranda and in the courtyard to jump. Sano was pulled into the protective circle of Saitou's arms as the demon raised his club and smashed it into Shibumi's dying body. A high pitched wailing shriek could be heard as the oni dragged Shibumi's spirit to hell. Sano, shaking, felt himself sag into the warmth of Saitou's arms.
"Idiot! Ahou! Featherhead!" the older man yelled at him in a tight voice. "What is the first rule of defense!?" Sano couldn't help it, he started to laugh: how like Saitou to think of defense at a time like this.
"'Never turn your back on an enemy,' " Sano quoted in his best Saitou Hajime imitation.
"Ahou," Saitou growled as he turned the boy to face him, without letting him go. "Who told you that you could do something as stupid as throwing the sword? What would have happened if you had missed?"
"You do it all the time!" Sano protested.
"That's because, unlike you, I know what I'm doing, birdbrain!" Saitou yelled, shaking the boy a bit, still not letting him go. Sano was about to spit out an angry, blistering retort, when he looked down at Saitou's hands on his arms, and chuckled. They were human, together, and no silly argument would change that fact. He looked up into Saitou's amber eyes and saw the worry, anger and frustration there, and not caring that the entire court was watching them, stepped forward into Saitou's arms, and kissed him.
"I love you, Hajime," he murmured against the older man's lips. "I've always loved you." Saitou's arms tightened around him, and the kissed deepened. A cheer arose from the courtiers on the veranda, and the two lovers separated.
"I love you too, Ahou; but if you ever do anything that foolish again, I'll kill you myself," Saitou said with a wolfish grin.
***
The Shogun, appointed the Wanderer to be the next Daimyo of Aizu; and the newly-made Daimyo immediately adopted the Thief, thus assuring that Aizu would have wise and compassionate leadership for the foreseeable future. The Wanderer's first official act as Daimyo was to free all of the prisoners - starting the ancient tradition of freeing prisoners during an eclipse. The lovers moved away from the city of Aizu proper, to a small farm on Mt. Bandai, and lived a life full of arguments, happiness, sex and love. In the fullness of time, after they had both died of old age, the people of Aizu turned their modest home into a shrine, so that they would never forget the sacrifice that was made to free the prefecture from Shibumi's evil rule. The end...
"What do you think?" A small, familiar snore greeted his question, and Sano frowned petulantly at his lover's sleeping form. "Cricket-faced old man, you're really lucky that I love you," Sano whispered as he settled back down into the curve of Hajime's body. He was just about asleep when the Wolf of Mibu rolled on top of him.
"I'll show you who's old," Saitou gold eyes practically gleamed in the dark as he flashed a feral, sexy grin. "...and who's lucky." Sano could only squeak, as his old lover proceeded to do just that.
The End. Really.
Saitou sighed, allowing the post-coital fugue to drag his eyelashes down to his cheeks. Beside him, Sanosuke stretched luxuriously, yawning, letting his arms settle around him; and Saitou smiled a satisfied smile as sleep claimed him.
"Hajime," Saitou barely heard Sano's rumbling whisper. "Oi, Saitou, you awake?" Sano asked, shaking him insistently.
"What is it, Ahou?" Saitou asked, annoyed.
"I've been thinking," Sano said. Saitou raised and eyebrow, and despite the fact that it was dark in the room, Sano knew exactly what his expression was. "Oi, stop looking at me like that. Do you remember that story you told me when I was sick?"
"That was months ago, Ahou. Why are you thinking about it now?"
"I just thought that they should have a happier ending, is all."
"Well they are not getting one from me, Ahou. I told you, it wasn't a Western fairytale."
"I knew you'd say that, that's why I made one up. Do you want to hear it?" Sano asked with a hopeful lilt to his gravelly voice.
"Do I have a choice?" Saitou asked, unable to keep from teasing his young lover. Sano elbowed him in the ribs with a growl.
"Just shut up and listen, old man. You can catch up on your beauty sleep in a few minutes." Saitou sighed in exasperation as Sano snuggled up against his side.
"Now..."
***
Sanosuke turned and smiled his most brilliant smile at Hajime. It was over: he had faced his worst fear and brought him low before the eyes of the whole court. They had won; he loved Saitou, and Saitou loved him, and now they would be together, able to explore what that love meant. Sano breathed a happy sigh. A look of surprised fury crossed Saitou's face, and he heard both Yahiko and Kenshin yelling: "Sano, look out!" and "Behind you, Sano!" He turned swiftly, throwing Saitou's katana without thinking, as he'd seen Saitou himself do several times during their exile together.
The Daimyo's eyes widened in surprise as the sword caught him in throat and pinned him to one of the poles holding up the roof of the veranda. The Shogun's unbloodied wakizashi fell to the floor with a clatter. "Why?" Shibumi whispered into the absolute stillness on the veranda as his life's blood ran from his neck and mouth. "I would...have...given you...anything, Sanosuke." The oni, three-eyed, blue-skinned and hideous, roared and gnashed his tusk-like teeth, causing everyone on the veranda and in the courtyard to jump. Sano was pulled into the protective circle of Saitou's arms as the demon raised his club and smashed it into Shibumi's dying body. A high pitched wailing shriek could be heard as the oni dragged Shibumi's spirit to hell. Sano, shaking, felt himself sag into the warmth of Saitou's arms.
"Idiot! Ahou! Featherhead!" the older man yelled at him in a tight voice. "What is the first rule of defense!?" Sano couldn't help it, he started to laugh: how like Saitou to think of defense at a time like this.
"'Never turn your back on an enemy,' " Sano quoted in his best Saitou Hajime imitation.
"Ahou," Saitou growled as he turned the boy to face him, without letting him go. "Who told you that you could do something as stupid as throwing the sword? What would have happened if you had missed?"
"You do it all the time!" Sano protested.
"That's because, unlike you, I know what I'm doing, birdbrain!" Saitou yelled, shaking the boy a bit, still not letting him go. Sano was about to spit out an angry, blistering retort, when he looked down at Saitou's hands on his arms, and chuckled. They were human, together, and no silly argument would change that fact. He looked up into Saitou's amber eyes and saw the worry, anger and frustration there, and not caring that the entire court was watching them, stepped forward into Saitou's arms, and kissed him.
"I love you, Hajime," he murmured against the older man's lips. "I've always loved you." Saitou's arms tightened around him, and the kissed deepened. A cheer arose from the courtiers on the veranda, and the two lovers separated.
"I love you too, Ahou; but if you ever do anything that foolish again, I'll kill you myself," Saitou said with a wolfish grin.
***
The Shogun, appointed the Wanderer to be the next Daimyo of Aizu; and the newly-made Daimyo immediately adopted the Thief, thus assuring that Aizu would have wise and compassionate leadership for the foreseeable future. The Wanderer's first official act as Daimyo was to free all of the prisoners - starting the ancient tradition of freeing prisoners during an eclipse. The lovers moved away from the city of Aizu proper, to a small farm on Mt. Bandai, and lived a life full of arguments, happiness, sex and love. In the fullness of time, after they had both died of old age, the people of Aizu turned their modest home into a shrine, so that they would never forget the sacrifice that was made to free the prefecture from Shibumi's evil rule. The end...
"What do you think?" A small, familiar snore greeted his question, and Sano frowned petulantly at his lover's sleeping form. "Cricket-faced old man, you're really lucky that I love you," Sano whispered as he settled back down into the curve of Hajime's body. He was just about asleep when the Wolf of Mibu rolled on top of him.
"I'll show you who's old," Saitou gold eyes practically gleamed in the dark as he flashed a feral, sexy grin. "...and who's lucky." Sano could only squeak, as his old lover proceeded to do just that.
The End. Really.