Title: The Way Things Change

Author: crimsonrosepetals

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Sora/Nao

Warning: Spoilers and slight OOC-ness

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Author's Notes: Hello there! First ever Sukisho: Sora/Nao fic so I'm asking all you readers to please be nice and review after reading and keep your flames to yourselves onegaishumasu. Have pity on the newbie who knows absolutely nothing outside the anime. Thank you. Enjoy the fic!

++++++++++

'Not again…'

Thump. Thump. Thump. We ran for our lives, Hashiba and I, as we did once before in an effort to get away from the same man, in the same way; Hashiba running right beside me, gripping my hand tightly in his. Our breaths came out in harsh, ragged pants, mingling with the sound of the crackling flames as they erupted from all around us, and the hollow echoing of our footsteps as we hurried towards the door.

"Quickly, get somewhere safe!" I barely heard Nagase telling his father, but Aizawa's reply was lost to me as Hashiba pulled me sharply, urging me without words to run faster.

We were almost to the exit when metal panels came crashing down from the ceiling, encircling the room. We stopped racing for the door and frantically looked around, trying to find another way out. Behind us, we saw Aizawa smiling that same, twisted smile that haunted me in my dreams; the same sick leer that I had to see every day I spent living here as one of his test subjects.

"Over there" Hashiba said, gesturing to the right side of the room. He pulled me alongside him and we stumbled through the rosebushes, rushing as fast as we could to the opening. Smoke was clouding our vision, making it even harder for us to breathe but we didn't care. We were nearly there, just a few steps farther. Then…

I gasped as my foot slipped, heard myself cry out as my body collided with the cold, marble floor. Just like that time so many years ago. And I wasn't able to deal with it happening once again. I blanked out completely, plummeting down to my sordid memories.

"Fujimori!" It barely registered in my mind, Hashiba running back towards me, dropping to one knee. "Fujimori!"

"Oitekanaide, Kuu-chan" My voice sounded gratingly weak to my own ears, pleading, repeating the same words I'd spoken long before.

"Fujimori, get a hold of yourself!" Hashiba gripped my shoulders bracingly; I crawled up towards him, clutching on to his shirt with utmost tenacity.

"Oitekanaide! Oitekanaide, Kuu-chan!" I couldn't hear anything anymore, not the flames, not his voice, not our mangled breathing. I could only see him, his panic-stricken face, his wide, worried eyes, and his mouth calling out my name, imploring me: please, not like this. "Kuu-chan!"

"Fujimori! Fuji-"A sound, reverberating throughout the room. Then Hashiba looked up from my face and right towards Aizawa who stood behind me, ready for another test of his accomplishment.

"Hanase."

Hashiba's eyes widened and he directed his gaze down towards me and gasped. He brought his free hand up and touched the one holding my own. And we stared at each other, suspended in that point in time for what seemed like an eternity, just watching, holding and waiting. Then Hashiba's blue eyes turned back to normal, and he held my hand tighter than ever before, snapping me out of my trance.

"I've got a good hold on you this time." He smiled reassuringly, and it made me feel as if everything will turn out right in the end. "Don't worry, Fujimori. I will absolutely not abandon you."

"Hashiba…" His name was all I could say as so many emotions flooded inside me, threatening to burst from my chest and down my already teary eyes.

"See here Aizawa." Hashiba addressed the man behind me. "It's no longer going the way you wanted it to." He pulled me back to my feet, but before we could move another inch, an explosion went off right beside us, blowing us away from each other, once again forcing us apart.

"No!"

++++++++++

Fujimori Sunao bolted upright in bed, a scream frozen, left still on his lips. He quickly buried his face into his hands as unbidden tears came flowing from his rose-colored eyes. He closed them and concentrated on his breathing – inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale – trying to regain its normal pattern as restrained sobs raked through his slim frame. After he had calmed himself considerably and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, he looked around him, trying to remember where he was.

The group had gone to the hot springs that day (or was it yesterday; there was no way of telling what time it was) for a chance to relax and get away from all of the stress of the last week. The others most certainly got their chance early on; the School Do-It Alls however had to work hard first, tiring themselves out before they were able to rest properly in the baths (damn that Matsuri). They had all split up – Soushi and Ayano-chan with the kids, Nii-chan and Nanami-chan, Sora and Nao (Matsuri had decided to sleep alone) – and chosen their own rooms for that night. Tomorrow, they were going back home.

Nao got up from the futon that served as his bed and made his way towards the window of the room he and Sora shared. The pink-haired teen sat down on one of the reclining chairs and looked out into the night.

It wasn't dark outside; there were few clouds, and the light of the billions of crystalline stars and the full moon illuminated the surrounding area. The water in the hot springs sparkled, reflecting the jewelled sky. The tress swayed gently in the whispering autumn wind while leaves of golds and reds danced gracefully to the ground. Sunao sighed. It was so beautiful.

The boy shifted slightly into a more relaxed position, basking in the light of the heavenly bodies. In the silver-grey moonlight, his skin shone opalescent white and his hair turned the palest shade of pink. He looked ethereal; an angel fallen from grace, lovely in his evanescence, his frailty.

Nao sighed once again. The only thing bad about this certain sense of serenity and peacefulness was that it always made him think too much. 'Now what?'

So he and Hashiba were finally free from Aizawa and his warped experimentations. He was back with his adoptive family and his friends. Shinichirou-niichan and Nanami-chan had forgiven him, as had Hashiba, and the misunderstandings amongst all of them were cleared up. Yet he wasn't as happy, as contented as he should be. Deep inside of him he felt the strangest ache for something more. It wasn't enough; something was missing, but what? He finally had his freedom; wasn't that all he'd ever longed for? What else was there to want?

His childhood, for one. His innocence. His Kuu-chan.

Kuu-chan…

He wanted Sora back. Or more precisely, he wanted their friendship back. He pined for the bond he and Hashiba had when they were children – the kind of love, affection and companionship that he knew couldn't exist between him and anyone else – not this faulty, complicatedly uneasy one. He craved to feel and act the same way he did before he and Sora had been separated; wished to hold Sora's hand without having a reason to other than sheer wanting. Nao ached to be held by gentle, protective arms at night and not have to wake up to the sound of freaked-out screaming. He yearned to hear the same warm, comforting voice that used to calm him back to sleep when the nightmares became too much for him to handle.

Wanted to be valued and treasured more than that stupid pink elephant, damn it!

But deep down he also knew it was impossible to go back to what they were before. They had lost so much more than just time, preventing them from becoming what they once were. All Nao could hope to have now was an imitation of closeness; an impression of kindness. An empty love. He'd just have to learn how to cope with it.

Nao sighed and was just about to stand up and return to bed when two strong arms wrapped around him from behind. He froze.

"Nao…" It wasn't a quite a statement, or a question and Hashiba's voice was the barest whisper against his ear, deep, soft and lulling but strangely compelling; his hot breath brushed gently against his cheek. Nao blushed.

"Hashiba?" The taller male's arms tightened around him, their owner burying his face against Nao's long, velveteen mane.

"Nao." It was a calm, not-so-demand.

The smaller male sighed and leaned back against the embrace. "Hai, Sora?"

The blue-haired male took Nao's hands and pulled him up from the chair. "Come to bed."

Nao allowed himself to be led back to the futons, shaking his hand free from Sora's when the tanned boy sat down on the mattress that served as his bed. The pink-haired teen turned to his futon and was about to lower himself down on it when the other boy grabbed his hand again and pulled him down to his lap. Nao squeaked as he landed gently in between Sora's legs, Sora's powerful arms going around his waist possessively, holding him in place.

"S-Sora?" The quiet, confused voice sent a shiver down Sora's spine and he held the thinner boy much closer. Without speaking, he lowered Nao to the futon and hovered above him, their bodies pressing against each other lightly, not unpleasantly. Sora reached out a hand to tenderly brush away the stray pink locks that obscured Nao's face, bringing a blush to the pale boy's cheeks. "Sora…" It wasn't quite a statement or a question either; it was the closest Sunao could get to begging. 'Please…'

Then their lips met shyly, cautiously in a not-so-kiss; just a gentle touching of their mouths. Then Nao sighed and gave up to the warmth that had begun to surround him from Sora's hands parting his yukata, smoothing down his sides, his front, playing with his hair; Sora's kisses becoming more and more intense, insistent, trailing down from Nao's mouth to his neck, his collarbone, leaving little marks over his pale skin; Sora's body rubbing inexorably against his, not letting him get away.

It was nearly like the first night only this time instead of pity or fear, it was an insatiable need that drove them to cling to each other, an overwhelming desire to claim and be claimed for an eternity. They made love madly, passionately, Sora clutching on to Nao a little more forcefully than was necessary but neither of them cared. It was all right, just like this. And when they came together, they grabbed at each other and pulled themselves much closer than ever before, lips meeting frantically, Sora drinking greedily from Nao's mouth. 'Never again. I'll never let go of you again.'

Much later they lay resting, cooling their bodies from the heated ardour; Nao curled up in Sora's arms, not quite asleep or awake. The blue-eyed male stroked the smaller boy's cheek and whispered the three words he had wanted to say to him ever since before he could remember. And the pink-haired one smiled, revelling in the same words he had longed to hear from the other ones lips for longer than he could say. And as they drifted off to sleep, Nao couldn't help but think that even though he and Sora could never go back to what they were before, this change wouldn't be so bad after all.

The end. Review please?