I *still* can't remember who created Here Is Greenwood, and 
I'm too lazy to check the tapes, but rest assured, it still isn't me. 
No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made.

This story is the property of the author.

Notes: I haven't read the manga, so all this is based on what 
I've learned from the anime. The details of Mitsuru's abduction 
at the hands of Nagisa are given during the beginning of the 
second volume of the anime.

Warning! Warning! Yaoi off the starboard bow, Cap'n!
________

Taking Care



Shinobu ignored Shun's bright ramblings as he herded Mitsuru 
into their room and calmly shut the door in Shun and Ska's 
face. They took the hint; he heard their steps, and the sound of 
the door to their room opening, then shutting behind them. 
With them out of the way, he turned his attention to Mitsuru.

The subject of his attention was leaning against the wall, 
yawning widely behind one hand. His hair was tousled and his 
eyes were heavy. Shinobu couldn't blame him for being tired; 
he'd dealt with Nagisa on a daily basis growing up and knew 
what it could take out of a person. Being kidnapped and 
interrogated by her must be exceptionally tiring - especially as 
Mitsuru had never expected to become involved in the on-
going war between the two siblings.

And Shinobu had never intended for him to be.

He spared himself a few moments to curse his sister's name 
before getting down to the matter at hand. Mitsuru needed to 
get cleaned up and taken care of, and it was a fair bet he 
wouldn't do it himself. Sometimes Shinobu wondered how 
Mitsuru had made it this far if he refused to  take care of 
himself.

He shook his head in fond resignation and crossed the room to 
his friend's side. "Come on," he said, taking one of Mitsuru's 
arms and leading him toward the dresser. "Grab a towel and 
some clean clothes. You're getting cleaned up."

Mitsuru grumbled half-heartedly, but did as Shinobu said, 
gathering a towel and some clothes to change into. Mitsuru 
gathered his own things and followed Mitsuru down the hall.

In the bathroom, Mitsuru undressed and settled himself into the 
water by rote. Shinobu watched him carefully, making sure his 
friend didn't slip and kill himself in his half asleep state. He 
eased himself into the water beside Mitsuru and lay back, 
enjoying the warmth and allowing himself to relax. Worry and 
aggravation faded away as the warm water worked their magic 
on his tense muscles. Dealing with Nagisa's occasional bursts 
of violence had never taken so much out of him before.

But then, the stakes had never been so high.

A quick glance showed that the room was empty except for 
them, and he pushed against the side of the bath, moving 
through the water without so much as a ripple to rest on his 
knees before Mitsuru's still form. He allowed a slight smile to 
touch his lips as he gazed down at his lover.

Mitsuru was the picture of physical perfection, in Shinobu's 
admittedly biased opinion. Soft golden hair and eyes the color 
of the dawn complimented smooth, flawless skin. His form was 
lithe and supple, well-muscled and graceful. Just watching him 
move was a source of pleasure - to actually feel the firm 
muscles flexing beneath the satin and silk of his skin was one of 
the most erotically beautiful sensations Shinobu could conceive 
of. If he had his way he'd spend each day touching and feeling 
and pleasuring his lover.

With a devilish grin he leaned forward and brushed his lips 
against Mitsuru's forehead. That caught the other boy's 
attention and one brilliant rose-colored eye opened to gaze at 
him sleepily. Shinobu smiled again, more languidly this time, 
mischeivousness being replaced by tenderness. He bent down 
and brushed his lips against Mitsuru's in a gentle butterfly kiss. 
He sat back against his heels and watched Mitsuru's face.

His lover looked *much* more awake then he had a moment 
ago, Shinobu noticed smugly, as the second dawn-tinted eye 
opened fully and gazed back at him. "Hey, Shi."

"Don't call me Shi," Shinobu protested lightly. Beneath the 
water, one hand settled itself on Mitsuru's thigh and gripped 
lightly. "How do you feel?"

Mitsuru smiled rakishly. "Fully functional."

Shinobu snorted and rubbed his hand against the strong thigh. 
"That's not what I meant."

"Oh?" Mitsuru practically purred, shifting his leg to rub against 
Shinobu's hand. "You're doing a wonderful job of not meaning 
it, then."

"Be serious," Shinobu scolded lightly. He moved forward again 
and settled himself across Mitsuru's lap, his hands resting on 
Mitsuru's shoulders. He dipped his head and claimed Mitsuru's 
lips again, in a kiss that was infinitely gentle. For long moments 
there was no sound and little movement in the room as 
Shinobu poured all his worry and fear and anger into that kiss. 
Breaking away finally, he swatted his lover gently on the back 
of the head. "I was worried about you," he said seriously. 
"Nagisa is insane. On her own, she is capable of cruelty and 
senseless violence." His gaze dropped, away from those 
beautiful eyes and he slid his arms down Mitsuru's shoulders 
and around his back, pulling his lover to him. He pressed his 
cheek against the gossamer threads of Mitsuru's hair and 
breathed deeply. "But when she is provoked, her cruelty takes 
on new levels, and her perversions become even more twisted 
and degrading. I have been the unfortunate witness of what she 
is capable of when angered, Mitsuru. There is no one and 
nothing alive as capable of provoking my sister to violence as I 
am. And I know she would do anything to hurt me." He 
tightened his grip only slightly. "Having my best friend in her 
grasp must have been like a gift from God to her."

Mitsuru sighed. "I was afraid of this. You're really very good at 
this guilt thing, you know that?" He squirmed inside Shinobu's 
embrace until he could free his arms and wind them around his 
lover's body. "Nagisa's anger and perversions are provoked 
only by her own deranged mind. Nothing she does is your 
fault."

"She never would have taken you if you hadn't known me." 
Shinobu felt absolutely ridiculous as he posed the complaint, 
knowing what Mitsuru had said was true, but he voiced it 
nonetheless. 

Mitsuru sighed and tipped his head until it rested atop 
Shinobu's. "And what would you have me do? Leave? Don't be 
ridiculous. I'd sooner remain in Nagisa's hands than give you 
up."

"Don't say that."

"It's true," Mitsuru said calmly. "And you can stop beating 
yourself up. She didn't hurt me - or anything else. She... tried. 
Started to. But she was interrupted."

Shinobu felt a flash of rage. "I'll kill her," he growled, pulling 
away from Mitsuru's comforting embrace. "I'll-"

"No you won't," Mitsuru said firmly. "You're a better person 
than that."

"Like hell I am!"

That provoked a laugh from Mitsuru and Shinobu reluctantly 
relaxed. "Forget her, Shi. You'd have to leave to kill her 
anyway, and right now I'd rather have your undivided 
attention." His eyes gleamed in an expression Shinobu had long 
since learned to be wary of. "Really, Shi. You need to learn 
how to relax." He grinned and flexed his fingers. "Let's see 
what we can do about that, ne?"

Realization set in and Shinobu jerked away from Mitsuru's 
hold. His foot slipped on the bottom of the tub and he 
stumbled, landing on his rear end and dropping beneath the 
water. He didn't have time to move before Mitsuru was there, 
fingers working at Shinobu's sides and throat, tickling him 
mercilessly. He choked on a laugh, his breath escaping him in a 
rush of bubbles. He tried to worm his way loose, needing to 
breathe, but Mitsuru's grip was relentless. Shinobu squirmed 
again, as much to get away from the tickling as to get a breath 
of air. The hands stopped, and the arms around him tightened. 
Soft lips touched his own, and a tongue ran over his lips, 
prodding gently. His mouth parted, welcoming Mitsuru inside 
willingly. Their tongues met and their breath mingled as 
Mitsuru's hands roamed across Shinobu's back, and down, 
lower to grip and kneed the flesh of his ass. Shinobu made a 
soft sound of approval and pressed back against the caress.

Finally, breath gone, they broke apart and surfaced. They faced 
each other, chests heaving. Mitsuru's eyes were bright with 
desire and Shinobu smirked, loving that look. "We really ought 
to move this somewhere else," Mitsuru said breathlessly. 

"Why?" Shinobu murmured, reaching out to trace a finger over 
Mitsuru's cheek. "I like this just fine."

"Mmmmm," was Mitsuru's reply. He reached for Shinobu as 
well, threading his fingers through dark violet hair. "Shi..."

"Don't call me Shi," Shinobu ordered huskily, surging forward 
to claim his lover's mouth.

Mitsuru groaned, but held back. "Shinobu," he managed when 
they finally broke apart. "I want you *now* but there is no way 
I'm gonna give the entire dorm a free show."
 
Shinobu forced his mouth into a pout. "And here I was hoping 
we could invite Kazuya to join us this time."

Mitsuru burst into laughter and ducked beneath the water for a 
long moment. Shinobu knelt in the water, waiting for him to 
get himself under control. Finally Mitsuru emerged and grinned 
at him. "Baka," he scolded lightly. "I'm *not* sharing you."

"Good," Shinobu said, suddenly serious. "Because I'd have to 
kill anyone who tried to come between us."

Mitsuru gazed at him, rose eyes meeting jade in surprise. A 
soft gasp escaped Mitsuru as he realized the weight of emotion 
he saw there. "Shi," he managed, his voice caught with 
emotion. "Back to our room. Now."

Shinobu leaned forward to kiss a drop of water from the tip of 
Mitsuru's nose before standing and offering the other boy his 
hand. 

****

Shinobu barely had the chance to lock the door behind him 
before Mitsuru all but jumped him, strong arms pulling him 
tight against Mitsuru's firm chest, gentle fingers gripping at his 
back and shoulders, demanding lips working against his own. 
He considered reversing their positions for all of a second 
before surrendering to the inevitable and letting Mitsuru take 
the lead. He reached up and tangled his fingers through the 
soft, golden hair, still damp from the bath, and held his lover 
even closer.

For a long minute neither moved until Mitsuru pulled away 
long enough to tug at the belt of Shinobu's robe. The dark-
haired boy frowned at the separation and shrugged, letting the 
robe fall to the fall, before darting out with one hand to undo 
Mitsuru's as well. For once uncaring about appearances, 
Shinobu only kicked the clothing to the far side of the room 
with a mental reminder to himself to hang them to dry later. 
Then Mitsuru's arms closed around him, and an eager mouth 
claimed his in a passionate kiss, and he promptly forgot all 
about it.

With an impatient tug, Mitsuru guided them both to the bed, 
nearly killing himself as he barely avoided tripping over the 
table in the center of the room. Shinobu laughed against his 
throat, then yelped when Mitsuru tugged at his hair. He aimed 
his best glower up at Mitsuru, only to be rewarded with a 
teasing grin. "Quiet," Mitsuru scolded in a soft breath. "You 
don't want the neighbors to complain, do you?"

"It might be entertaining," Shinobu protested lightly. "For a 
few moments anyway."

"Nah," Mitsuru disagreed breathlessly as they reached the bed. 
He gave a little push against Shinobu's chest, allowing the 
other boy to drop to the bed with a slight bounce. "Shun would 
start pumping us for details." He lowered himself down as well, 
arms braced on either side of Shinobu's shoulders. "And 
Kazuya would get a nosebleed all over the carpet. Can you 
imagine the mess?" he lowered his head for a deep kiss. 

That wasn't enough. Not after everything that had happened. 
Shinobu snaked an arm across Mitsuru's shoulders and the 
other around his lower back and pulled him down, until 
Mitsuru's full weight rested atop him. He sighed at the contact, 
a soft murmur of pleasure lost into the warmth of Mitsuru's 
mouth. His entire body sang with excitement at the touch of 
flesh to flesh and he involuntarily thrust up against his lover, 
heat to heat, desire to desire. Above him, Mitsuru shivered and 
thrust back, his kiss ending just long enough for them both to 
gulp a breath of air, then returned twice as forceful and heated 
as before.

Here, now, held in Mitsuru's arms, breathing his breath and 
tasting his kiss, the worry was finally gone. Whatever could 
have happened hadn't, no price had been paid, and he could 
safely set aside his plans to murder his sister for a later date. 
Right now... A moan broke free as one of Mitsuru's hands slid 
down the curve of his throat to skim across his chest. Right 
now he had better things to be thinking about.


End