"I'm sorry, Hotohori-sama." "Hmm?" Hotohori pulled himself from his thoughts and turned around to look at his companion. "Nuriko...you're not still stuck on that, are you? I told you, it wasn't your fault." "But I should've checked to see if we had the right map before we left!" Nuriko protested. "Well, that was my fault. I was too eager to leave the inn and move on," Hotohori said. "And I should've paid attention when the woman at the desk said it would rain." They had been traveling since the sun rose, and until an hour ago the weather had been just fine. Then it started to rain. Not just showers. Literal SHEETS just started pouring down, soaking them in no time. Now Hotohori and Nuriko were seeking shelter under a blanket, and Nuriko was angry at himself. "It's still my fault. I should have just gone off with Tasuki or by myself...if I hadn't been there to distract you, you'd be in a nice, warm bed right now," he said, closing his eyes. He felt so stupid. The last thing Nuriko ever wanted was to cause Hotohori any trouble, and in his mind, merely being involved was enough to warrant blame. Times like this made him feel like all he ever did was screw up and annoy the emperor. "I'm sorry," he said once again, eyes filling with tears. Hotohori sighed. Truth was, he never found any reason to be angry at Nuriko, but right now he couldn't help being annoyed. He was cold, wet, tired, and sick of the constant sad sighs from Nuriko. "Look, let's just drop it, okay? The damage is done, so let's just try and find somewhere to stay until the storm lets up, then we'll go find the others," he snapped. He immediately felt guilty when Nuriko flinched, but shrugged it off. "A-All right, Hotohori-sama, I-I'm sorry-" Nuriko began, but Hotohori silenced him with a glare. "Just don't say anything else for the rest of the walk," the emperor said. The violet-haired seishi silently nodded, then turned away, fighting back tears. They resumed walking then, and walked for about 20 minutes before Nuriko's eye caught a small inn ahead. "H...Hotohori-sama?" he said quietly. "What?" "I just saw an inn...they don't look very crowded tonight," he said, trying in vain not to tremble more than he already was. Hotohori looked ahead. Sure enough, the place seemed nearly empty. He thought for a moment, then figured that they had enough money to stay one night. "Okay then. Anything to get out of this storm, I guess," he said. They walked to the inn, feeling slightly better now that they at least had a place to sleep for the night. "What do you mean, there's only one room left?!" The empty look of the inn had been deceiving. As soon as they'd gotten inside, the man at the desk had told them the bad news. "I'm sorry, folks. But this storm's got everyone running for cover. You're fortunate you got here when you did, if you'd been a second late there would've been nothing," he said. Hotohori closed his eyes in frustration for a moment. "I see..." "And there isn't another inn for over 30 miles," Nuriko said. "I checked the map..." "So you have a choice. Either walk 30 more miles in this storm and drop dead from exhaustion, or share the room," the man at the desk said. He certainly was blunt, Hotohori thought. Silence fell over the room for a few minutes before Nuriko spoke up. "Well, at least it's only half of what 2 rooms would've cost. So we'd have more than enough money in case we needed to stay another night," he said. Hotohori smiled slightly. At least there was a bright side to this. "I guess we'll take it, then," he said. They paid the man, then walked down the hall to their room. However, the man had neglected to tell them something about this room. And they were NOT happy when they saw what it was. "ONLY ONE BED?!" They facefaulted. Just when things couldn't get any worse! Hotohori sighed, preparing himself for an argument. "You can have the bed, Hotohori-sama. I don't mind sleeping on the floor, as long as I have a blanket," Nuriko said. Hotohori slapped his forehead. Of course. This was Nuriko he was sharing the room with! "I can't let you do that," he said. "What do you mean?" "You can't sleep on the cold, hard floor in this weather, Nuriko. Think of your health!" "But Hotohori-sama, I'd feel terrible if you were risking your health because of me. And the floor isn't that bad...really, it isn't. I'll be all right as long as I have a blanket," Nuriko said. Hotohori frowned. Why did Nuriko always have to act this way around him? "Do you really mean that?" he asked. "Huh?" "You've been walking for ten hours, and it's been raining for six of those tenhours! Don't tell me you'd rather sleep on the floor than a nice, comfortable bed!" "Well, I would love a bed, but there's only one. You need your rest, Hotohori-sama, and I want you to be as comfortable as possible. Besides, it's my fault we got lost, so I should get the floor anyway." That did it. "Would you quit being so damn subservient?!" Hotohori snapped. "I've had it up to here with you blaming yourself, your sad sighing, and your 'Your wish is my command, Hotohori-sama' rubbish! I'm sick of you treating me like a God just because I'm the emperor! I may be royalty, but I am a Seishi just like you are! Stop acting like I'm so much better than everyone else and treat me like a human being!" "..." Nuriko trembled, backing away from Hotohori. He didn't know Hotohori felt so strongly about that. Squeezing his eyes shut to hold back tears, he grabbed his bag and fled for the baths without a word. "...Nuriko!" Hotohori yelled after him as he realized his error too late. "Great. I didn't even know I HAD a temper, and now I've lost it! Why did I get so angry at him anyway? Yes, I'm not in the best of moods, and it does bother me when Nuriko bows down to me like I was Suzaku himself. But is it REALLY so bad that I had to yell at him like that?" Sighing, Hotohori took off his wet clothes and threw a dry robe on. He grabbed a towel and headed for the baths. Maybe after a nice, long soak he'd feel better. 'At least now I know how he really feels about me.' Nuriko sank deeper into the tub, tears dripping down his cheeks and mixing with the hot water surrounding him. He'd been soaking for half an hour now, but he had no plans to get out of the bath. He didn't want to go back to the room and be with someone who was so angry at him. Besides, it was much warmer in the bath than it had been in the room. "He hates me. He's annoyed by the very presence of me, always has been. He just never said anything all this time because he's so kind, of course he wouldn't want to hurt my feelings. He's too noble for that, to just be honest and tell me he hates me," he said bitterly. "No wonder he never acknowledges me in front of others. It'd look just terrible if the emperor was seen speaking unkindly to anyone, right?" It didn't matter anymore, he thought. "After all, it's not like Hotohori-sama can be blamed for being angry," he said, closing his eyes as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. Hotohori let his robe fall to the floor as he stepped into the tub. It felt wonderful, he hadn't had a decent bath since they'd started traveling. But even the warm, soothing water couldn't ease his guilt. "Being in a bad mood was no excuse. I had no right to blow up at Nuriko the way I did when he was just being nice," he muttered. "Why didn't I just slap him across the face while I was at it?" Yes, Nuriko's subservience WAS annoying, but it wasn't like he was trying to be! "And you certainly aren't helping when you're so cold to him," a voice in his head snapped. Damn it! Hotohori closed his eyes and shook his head. "When we get back from the baths, I'll just apologize," he said. He let himself soak for another 10 minutes before getting out and drying off. He slipped his robe on and was about to leave when he heard a faint voice. "Hmm?" He stopped in his tracks and listened again. He heard it again... singing? It was a beautiful voice...very familiar. "Nuriko?" Hotohori slipped over to the partition and glanced through the small window. Sure enough, there he was, eyes closed as a sad song escaped his lips. His hair was down, shiny as ever despite being damp, cascading over his slender shoulders like a waterfall. "Gods..." Hotohori couldn't believe he'd never noticed how beautiful Nuriko really was! Truthfully he'd refused to admit it, that another man could be as beautiful as he himself was. But here he was. 'So beautiful...' he thought as he stood, unmoving, gaze transfixed on the violet-haired Seishi. Nuriko had stopped singing and was now lazily rubbing a cloth over his arm...how slender they were, but Hotohori had seen those arms bend steel like it was nothing, turn brick walls into ruins. Such strength one would never expect from a flower...his hair was still wet, drops of water clinging to it...sparkling...like moonstones...' Moonstones on violet silk...' He snapped out of his trance. 'What am I doing?!' He'd been so entranced...admiring Nuriko was one thing, but spying on him was just wrong! Not if he doesn't see you, a voice in his head argued. And it wasn't like he was trying to be perverted, he hadn't intended to look in on him...'It's still wrong!' By now, Nuriko was wringing the ends of his hair out and getting up to step out of the bath. Hotohori decided it would be best to go back to the room and get dressed before Nuriko DID see him there. "What the HELL happened to me in there?!" he wondered out loud once he was back in the safety of the room. Sighing, he got dressed, sank into a chair, and began to read. Nuriko came back a few moments later. Hotohori glanced up as the door opened, then resumed reading. Nuriko silently walked over to the other side of the room and began to get dressed. When he finished, he settled down on the floor, wrapping a thin blanket around himself. They continued to practically ignore one another until Hotohori's guilt finally got the best of him. Sighing, he folded down the page of his book and approached Nuriko. "Listen...Nuriko...I'm sorry I lost my temper with you before. I was just frustrated, but it gave me no right to yell at you the way I did. I know...you weren't trying to...'annoy' me...I appreciate your trying to please me...you were just trying too hard," he said. Nuriko slowly looked up at him, his face unusually emotionless. "It's all right," he said, his voice barely audible. "I mean it...Nuriko, you're such a sweet, selfless person...I appreciate you a lot," Hotohori said. "Thank you." Nuriko didn't look up. It wasn't that he thought Hotohori was dishonest, but he was tired of getting his hopes up every time he said something kind to him. "I'm going to bed," he announced. He dug out another blanket and began to set up his 'bed'. At least the room wasn't freezing. "Nuriko...are you sure? You can have the bed, I really wouldn't mind staying on the floor," Hotohori said. "Really. I'll be fine, Hotohori-sama," Nuriko said, pulling the blanket over himself. "Nuriko..." "Please...enjoy your nice warm bed and get some sleep...don't worry about me." Nuriko smiled sadly. Hotohori sighed. "If...you're sure," he said, then picked up one of the pillows and set it down on the floor. "Here..." "Thank you..." Nuriko smiled and rested his head on the pillow, closing his eyes. "Good night, Hotohori-sama. Sleep well," he said quietly, his eyes beginning to close. 'I will not cry,' he told himself, fighting back the tears that were stinging his eyes. "Good night." Hotohori settled into the bed and pulled the covers tightly over himself. An hour later, Nuriko woke up, shivering. "I almost forgot...it gets worse at night," he mumbled into his pillow. He pulled the blanket more tightly around himself, trying not to think about it. He'd chosen to stay on the floor and he was going to stick with it. "After all, it's not like I can ASK Hotohori-sama to share that nice warm bed with me..." In the bed, Hotohori awoke to the sound of voices. "Huh? No one'd be awake at this hour..." He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the floor next to him. Nuriko was still asleep... And shivering terribly. Hotohori felt the stings of guilt from earlier return. "Poor Nuriko...even after I yelled at him, he still does this...he looks miserable, on that cold floor, all alone!" He sighed, unable to take his eyes off of the smaller Seishi. A thought crossed his mind, but he shrugged it off. After the incident at the baths earlier...'I don't want to sound like-no, he probably wouldn't think THAT of all things. Even after I apologized he still seemed so upset...' He sighed. 'But if I let him stay on the floor and freeze, then he'd have his proof that I didn't care about him, and...' Hotohori looked sadly at Nuriko. "I don't want him to think that. Not in the slightest. The truth is, Nuriko...I...I care for you. More than you think...more than you know," he mumbled. Just then, Nuriko sneezed. That did it. 'I don't care how loudly you insist you're fine. Nuriko, you're getting into bed with me. Now.' That settled, Hotohori got out of the bed and gently lifted Nuriko into his arms. He was freezing! 'If he gets sick, it'll be all my fault! Well, maybe not, but I'll certainly FEEL responsible!' Holding Nuriko's shivering form tightly against him, Hotohori got into bed and pulled the blankets tightly around them. Fortunately, Nuriko was still fast asleep. Unfortunately, Hotohori was now beset with worry about Nuriko getting sick. And he was still freezing! 'How can I warm him up faster?' Hotohori thought for a moment. 'There IS one way. But it might seem...' His thoughts were cut off by a sneeze from Nuriko. 'Never mind that!' Without a second thought, Hotohori took off his nightshirt, then slowly removed Nuriko's. "I'll explain later, Nuriko. Right now you just need to get warm," he whispered as he tightened his embrace around Nuriko. He was just doing this to keep the other Seishi warm, he reminded himself. Until he felt Nuriko nestle against him. Suddenly, Hotohori realized how much he enjoyed the feeling of Nuriko's slender body pressed tightly against his. He wasn't cold to begin with, but he felt so much warmer like this. As Nuriko's shivering died down and he began to relax, Hotohori smiled. 'Nuriko...' he thought, looking down at the sleeping Seishi in his arms. "You really are beautiful," he murmured, gently smoothing a few loose strands of Nuriko's hair back. "So beautiful..." In his sleep, Nuriko smiled a little. Not knowing why, he suddenly felt much warmer.