Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

Part 5
By Ladyglen

****************

"Oh dear! That didn't go well at all." Sai started at the sound of his own voice, overly loud in the hushed stillness of the room, then winced as his friends shattered the silence further with incredulous, excited exclamations. He wished for the quiet to return, for he needed to think. Just how badly had he erred?

For some time, Sai had suspected that Rowen was interested in Sage, was most likely in love with their swordsman friend. Seeing that emerald earring earlier that evening had transformed suspicions into surety, had mutated speculation into belief.

When he'd remarked on the earring, Rowen had been immediately defensive, which had led Sai to believe that the blue-haired archer was resigned to never act on his attraction. Why? Probably out of fear of upsetting the status quo, or of losing the friendships that had been forged on the twin anvils of defeat and victory and tempered by blood. Didn't Rowen realize that what they shared could withstand anything? Sai didn't believe that even Sage's apparent lack of interest in Rowen was enough to pull the five of them apart. They'd survived things Sai considered to be far worse.

Sai believed that Rowen would never express what he felt, would continue to watch Sage date girl after girl, and would continue to hold his hurt inside. So, smarting from his friend's playful, if caustic, teasing, and frustrated by the archer's inaction even in the face of someone as unappetizing as Mika, he'd decided, on impulse, to take matters into his own hands and give his friend a push. Just a teensy little one.

Sai had hoped that Rowen would see that what he wanted was not impossible, would realize exactly what he continued to sacrifice. He'd hoped that Sage would see all that the archer was offering. But he must have pushed too much too soon, and it had all blown up in his face despite his good intentions.

"What the hell was *that* all about? Rowen ran out of here like he was tiger kibble and White Blaze decided he needed a snack."

Sai tore his eyes from the door and swung around. "I... think I know, Kento." He swung around again, already moving towards the door. "I'm gonna go talk to him." He had to fix this. He'd never meant to hurt his friend.

A hand on his upper arm brought Sai to an abrupt halt. Spinning again, and beginning to feel very much like a top, Sai found himself facing golden brows drawn together in a frown as deep as the one on Sage's lips.

"I'll go, Sai."

"But Saaage, I thought you were leaving with meeee!"

Sai had to stifle a nearly hysterical and entirely inappropriate giggle when Sage actually winced at his erstwhile girlfriend's shrill whine. Apparently the swordsman had forgotten that Rowen's departure had aborted Mika's. Too bad Mika was behind Sage and couldn't see *that* particular expression.

Ouch! Sage wondered why Mika was still in the room after being asked to leave. How could she ignore the animosity directed at her? Was her hearing so selective? Why did she so persistently want a relationship with him? Would he have to knock her over the head with a 2 X 4 for her to get a clue?

Sage honestly didn't know what he'd seen in Mika. Well, besides her admittedly good looks. Her personality left so much to be desired. The girl was so full of herself that there wasn't any room for anyone else in her life. She was loud, she whined far more than a four year old, she was *really* getting on his nerves. Sage wanted her gone, immediately.

"Mika. I thought you had left." Sage spoke without turning, having no desire to look at her.

"I'm *not* leaving without you, Sage baby."

Sage rolled his eyes in exasperation, then returned Sai's smirk before finally turning around. God, her voice. What he wouldn't give for Rowen's soft, smooth tenor right about now. "Look Mika, just go. I'm not leaving with you. Not now, not ever." Sage stopped, momentarily taken aback when Mika narrowed her eyes and a vindictive scowl twisted her pretty features.

"You keep telling me that this is only a game, Sage. Forget Rowen if he can't take it. He's *not* important!"

"Enough!" God, she was *such* a bitch! Sage took a deep, calming breath, resisting the urge to call for his armor. Using his no-dachi to carve the mean-spirited little bitch into itty-bitty pieces was *not* the purpose for which it had been created.

Looking over Sage's shoulder, Sai was glad he couldn't see the expression on his friend's face. It *must* be rather daunting since Mika actually took a step backwards. He had to stifle a chuckle when she whipped her head around, finding she'd backed straight into Kento and Ryo, neither of whom looked the slightest bit sympathetic.

"Sage is right. I think we've all had enough of you, Mika." Grabbing Mika's left elbow, Ryo looked over her head at Kento. With a jerk of his chin, he indicated Mika's other side. "Care to help me, Ken?"

When Mika twisted to look at him, Kento smiled the smile that had made many an enemy quail. "Oh yeah, Ryo. I'd *really* like that!"

"Saaaage! Are you going to let them treat me this way?"

God, she was appealing to *him*? Mika was seriously deluded if she thought that he, of all people, was going to save her. Stepping up so that he was face to face with her, well, actually chest to face, Sage looked down at the girl, smiled sweetly, and brandished his 2 X 4, "Yes, Mika. Yes, I am."

Sai felt like cheering when Mika's eyes grew impossibly wide and her mouth dropped open. Unlike Kento, he managed to control himself one final time.

Sage stepped aside and let his two friends 'escort' Mika to the door. Just as Kento reached for the doorknob, he said, "Rowen is my friend, and is far more important to me than you will ever be. Remember that." His voice was soft, but carried, and Sage knew that Mika heard him when she stiffened and turned back as far as she could towards him. Let her make of that comment what she will. Sage ignored her narrow-eyed glare, turning his back and dismissing her.

"Good night, Mika!"

"Saaaaaage!"

Sage cringed when the loud wail was followed by a series of knocks on the door. "My God, how much more plainly can I spell it out?"

Mia walked over to Sage, laughing quietly at the desperate note that had entered her friend's voice. Laying a hand on his arm, she gently reminded, "You're the one who asked her out to begin with, Sage."

"Don't remind me. I don't know what possessed me." At Mia's skeptical look, Sage smiled slightly. "Okay, so I do know. So shoot me for being a hormone driven moron."

"Why don't we just shoot her instead?" Sai came up to Sage's other side, snickering when his friend opened his eyes wide in exaggerated horror.

"No, don't do that, she'd probably return to haunt me." God, the very thought gave Sage the willies.

"Well, at least she's finally gone." Mia patted Sage's arm comfortingly.

"Yeah, and good riddance!" Kento gave the door one last emphatic glare. His amusement won over his annoyance, though, and he was chuckling as he re-joined his friends in the center of the room. "You guys should've seen her face when we slammed the door on her. Like she still couldn't believe that we were actually kicking her out."

"I don't doubt it." So much for the direct approach. That 'fingernails on a blackboard' echo of her final whine still echoed in Sage's ears. God, never! Never again! He stepped away from Mia and Sai, thoughts focusing on Rowen. He had to speak with his friend, had to know for sure what had made Rowen leave the way he did. "Now, I can at least go talk to Rowen."

Uh oh! Sai gulped, then caught Sage's arm before he could take another step, unconsciously mirroring Sage's previous gesture. It was suddenly very difficult to meet that unblinking, pale gaze. "Um, Sage? I don't think you should be the one to go talk to Rowen."

"Why? I'm the one who upset him."

"Maybe, but have you stopped to think *why* he's so upset? It was just a stupid game, after all." Sai watched his friend's blond head cock to one side, watched the pale eyes grow distant. He lowered his voice. "Did you happen to notice the earring he was wearing tonight?" Still not much of a reaction. Was he going to have to come right out and say it?

"Rowen's got the hots for Sage?"

Nope, not since he had Kento there to say it for him. Sai rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to shake some tact into his best friend.

Sage let his friends' commotion fade into the background. He *hadn't* really taken much note when his friend had pierced his ear. To do so was so common nowadays. But now that he thought of it, the archer's lobe had sported a spark of... crystalline green that night. Green, huh? Such a simple thing.

Lips twisting in self-directed disgust, Sage shook his head slightly though he felt more like smacking himself in the forehead. That stupid kiss; that stupid game. He wasn't mistaken, he couldn't be. He *had* seen longing and... love in Rowen's eyes before the archer had fled. Such an idiot! He'd been so wrapped up in keeping his own attraction from being discovered that he'd simply never noticed.

"Kento!"

"Well, whatta ya want me to say, Mia?"

"It's not what you said, it's the way you said it."

"What?"

Mia shook her head in disgust. "You're impossible, Kento." Giving up, she nodded at Sai. "I think you're right, Sai, but it wasn't just that kiss that made Rowen upset. He was acting kind of... sad all night."

"He didn't like Mika, and he hated Sage being with her." Kento started when all his friends turned to him, staring. "What? I'm not *completely* oblivious, you know. And he told me as much over dinner."

"But, if he's interested in Sage, why did he tear out of here like the Dynasty was nipping at his heels?" Ryo scratched his head in puzzlement. "They were kissing, fer cryin' out loud." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously when Sai flushed and looked down at the floor, seeming suddenly all too interested in the weave of the beige carpet. "Sai?"

"Um, I think I kinda nudged him before he was ready," Sai admitted quietly.

"Nudged?" Caught in his own thoughts, Sage had only half heard his friends' speculation, but that single word arrested his attention.

Sai jumped a little and looked up guiltily at his friend. Sage's voice was at its most quiet, and he feared he was about to bring Sage's ire down on him. "Well, I kinda suspected he liked you, Sage. You know, more than just as a friend. And then he wore that earring, and got all sorts of defensive when I asked about it. And everyone knew Mika wasn't for you. Well, everyone but you, that is. But I didn't think he'd ever *do* anything on his own. You know, about how he felt. And-," Sai broke off with an audible gulp, well aware that he was babbling. "This stupid game we were playing seemed a perfect opportunity to get him to act. So, I dared him, but it didn't work out very well at all, and that's why you shouldn't be the one to go talk to him," he finished in a rush.

Sage allowed himself a tiny smile, amused with Sai's discomfort. Far from being annoyed or angry with his friend's meddling, he was grateful. Without his interference, who knows how long he and Rowen would have continued to delude themselves.

Sage shook his head when Sai opened his mouth, apparently thinking he needed more convincing. "No, Sai. That's exactly why I *should* be the one to go talk to him." He turned his back as his friend's auburn brows began to draw together.

"Sage, do you...?"

Sage allowed himself a soft smile. Not the usual smirk that always served him so well, not a shadow, but a genuine smile that reflected his contentment. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned that smile loose on his companions. "Why ever would you believe that I *don't* return Rowen's feelings?"

The door of Ryo and Mia's room shut with a gentle click, leaving silence to once more reign supreme.

"Why ever would we..." Kento's voice was soft and incredulous, though it quickly grew in direct proportion to his indignation. "Why ever would we believe you don't return Rowen's feelings? Because you're so damn, bloody good at never *showing* what you feel, Sage! Stupid, idiotic question. What *else* are we supposed to believe?"

"Kento..." Sai's voice cut through his friend's tirade as easily as a hot blade through butter, momentarily quieting Kento. But not for long.

"Well, it's true!"

"Maybe so, but you know that's how Sage is." Sai leveled a stare at his friend, as if the force of his gaze could hold Kento in place. "The real question is, do you have a problem with the two of them being together?"

Another bloody, stupid question. Kento couldn't prevent his snort of exasperation. Sai just didn't get it. "Of course not, of all the silly... He can just be so-, so infuriating sometimes. And Rowen too! I hate being kept in the dark! I never even suspected that they liked each other like that!"

"Thought you claimed you weren't completely oblivious." The smirk was worthy of Sage in his best form. Sai held it for the heartbeat it took for Kento to register the insult, then nimbly ducked his friend's outraged swing.

Ryo watched his two friends squabble indulgently, then turned to Mia intending to ask her opinion on whether or not he should intervene. The hotel manager was already pissed enough at them, the last thing they needed was for Kento and Sai to trash the hotel room. Besides, *they* were the ones who were supposed to sleep there that night. The words died before being spoken as he took in Mia's far away gaze and slight smile. Moving closer to her, Ryo waved a hand in front of her face until she finally focused on him. "Where were you, and what was the dopey smile for?"

"Just thinking that had to be the most open and romantic declaration I've ever heard from Sage about *anyone*. I think he really loves Rowen." Mia moved into the arm Ryo held out, snuggling into the space that always seemed custom made for her. Arms around his waist, Mia tucked her head under her love's chin contentedly. "I think they'll be good together."

All in all, it had been one hell of a birthday. There was such a fine line between a friendship as close as what they all shared and love, and somehow Ryo found he wouldn't be surprised if Rowen and Sage crossed that line. He and Mia had begun in much the same way. Mia was right. Rowen and Sage *would* be good together, would complement each other. He tightened his arms around the warm body molded to his own, nodding his agreement. "You summed that up rather nicely, I think."

on to Part 6
back to the Gazebo