BIG NOTE: This is a sliiiiightly revised version from the one I posted last night in the throes of fatigue. ^__^ Just so ya know, it gets a little different toward the end. ^_~

Disclaimer: No own FY. No own Harry Potter. No own Moulin Rouge. No own…um…the word And. **nod**

Warnings: Okayyyy. Some of you might have realized that this fic is now rated PG-13 instead of R. ^^;; Yes. Thanks, everyone, for your great input! Since more people have thought I should lower the rating, I decided to do so, but to make up for it, include an extra warning about language. **Ahem** THIS FIC HAS LOTS OF BAD LANGUAGE, despite the fact that it is only rated PG-13!!!! ^_^

Other Warnings: Saaaaaaaaaaaaap. --;; Seishi squabbles. Singing.

Notes: Aahhhhhh, I’m tired. Anyhoo, thanks for everyone who’s reading! Hope you like it.

Shout-outs: To my wasabi-goblin-sculpting pal, Vansre: you rock!!!! Help to spread the wealth of pop culture that I have begun with the humble Wasabi Goblin. ^_~ **giggle** Otaku Pitcher: Yeah, we need to file a complaint about the laziness of Fazoli’s breadstick guys. ^_^

My eyes flew open violently, and I found myself in darkness. My entire body was shaking, and my forehead felt damp; I clutched the thin bedspread with both hands, lying on my back and panting.

I couldn’t remember what I had dreamed about, just that it had scared me. A lot. As I tried to calm myself down, I brought my hands up to my mouth to silence my heavy breathing so I wouldn’t wake up the others. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t incredibly loud, but to my own ears, it sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

Something wet trickled down into my ear, and I realized I was crying. By the time my eyes had adjusted a bit to the darkness of the hotel room, my heart had stopped pounding as hard, and I let out a trembling breath. Beside me in the queen-sized bed, Saihitei hadn’t moved, and I could hear Taka’s and Miaka’s sleep-breathing from across the way.

Shhh…just be quiet, now… It’s over, whatever it was. Don’t wake them up. Just a nightmare. Just a stupid nightmare.

I tried to go back to sleep. I really did. But I couldn’t, for some reason; maybe it was the adrenaline rush that came with being scared. Selfishly, I wished that Saihitei would wake up, just so it wouldn’t be so quiet, and because I knew he would try to make me feel better. I couldn’t disturb him, though; what if I woke him up and he couldn’t sleep, either, all because of me?

So I did the next best thing. As slowly as I could, still feeling a slight wetness slide down my face, I rolled over and pressed myself as close to Saihitei as was possible without giving him a wakening jolt. With his chest less than an inch from my nose, I felt a little better, and pulled my fists up to my chin, trying to ease myself into sleep.

I dunno if he sensed it, or what, but not two minutes after my roll, he let out a sleepy sigh. I froze, thinking with horror that I’d woken him after all, but he didn’t say anything, just brought his arms up to wrap around my back. In his sleep, he hugged me close, drawing me into him and fitting my head underneath his own chin. And I lay there, cradled in warmth, my shaking growing even stiller, my breathing more even…

…And the next thing I knew, it was morning, and someone was whispering and giggling.

Prying one eye open, I squinted at the brightness of the room, and twisted slightly, bringing one hand up to my forehead; Saihitei stirred at my movement. To my great surprise, I found that Miaka, Taka, Doukun, and Myojuan were all gathered around our bed, watching us. Miaka had been the giggler, there was no doubt in my mind about that. She was wearing an idiotic grin, and the others, too, were smiling.

"What the…" I croaked in my "Just-Woke-Up-Sound-Like-Congested-Frog" Voice.

Miaka jumped up and down. "Nuriko, Hotohori! You two are the cutest!!"

"I’m glad you two have found such happiness," Myojuan declared.

"After both of you were so lonely before…" Doukun sighed.

"You’re, like, the cutest!" Taka squealed, mimicking Miaka with startling accuracy.

I blinked up at them. "Do you guys have anything better to do than sit around and watch us sleep?" A sudden thought struck me, and I narrowed my eyes at Miaka. "Where’s your camera?"

She giggled. "Don’t worry, Nuri-chan, I don’t have it with me. But don’t think I wouldn’t have used it if I did."

"Honestly, you guys…we don’t stare at you when you sleep," I frowned.

With another laugh, Miaka jumped up onto the bed with us, making the now-loose Boyfriend Arms into a three-way hug. "I know, I know…but I keep forgetting how great it is to see you guys together!"

"Okay, okay," I exclaimed, trying to fend her off.

Saihitei, who had just now opened his eyes, appeared rather stunned to find two people in bed with him instead of just one. "Ahh…good morning?" he managed.

"Dibs on the shower," Myojuan announced, and walked calmly back to the adjoining room.

"Dibs on the other shower!" I heard Gen-chan shout from across the room, where I figured he’d been leafing through my bookbag in search of the second Harry Potter book. Spazz.

"Naaaaahhhh, that’s not fair!" Taka cried, turning sharply and taking off after Gen-chan. "This is our room, and there are four of us!"

The bathroom door slammed. "I’ll play a fuckin violin for ya, Obake-chan!" came the muffled voice of my best friend from inside.

"Dammit!!" Taka pounded on the white paint. "Jerk!"

Miaka and Doukun headed over to commiserate with him, and I turned to Saihitei and rolled my eyes. "I think you’re the only sane one here."

He chuckled, and touched my hair with his hand. "How did you sleep?"

"Oh…fine," I lied. "It wasn’t unbearably dry in here, like it is in some hotels."

"Miaka certainly seems better this morning."

I nodded. "Yeah. Well, she doesn’t have to deal with it alone anymore."

He returned my nod…but suddenly, his eyebrows drew together, and he frowned, fingering my pajama top, which was still a little damp from the bad dream I’d had. My cheeks colored slightly as his eyes met mine. "Are you sick?" he asked worriedly. "Do you feel warm?"

I shook my head quickly as his palm went to my forehead, and forced a smile. "I just had a dream, that’s all. Sorry."

His lips pursed, and he raised an eyebrow comically.

"Okay," I giggled. "I’m not sorry, are ya happy? I’m glad. Glad, glad, glad that you have to sleep with someone with a pore problem." Wrinkling my nose, I stuck out my tongue at him.

He leaned forward and touched his nose to mine. "If I don’t mind your morning breath, why should I care about something like that?" he said, and before I had time to process any of that, he kissed me.

Miaka let out a whoop from the other bed, and I was vaguely aware of Taka and Doukun…applauding. My face grew even redder, and I rolled my eyes again, groaning in exasperation but smiling all the same.

~*~

"Got the cool!"

"Doo-DOO-doo-DOO-doo!"

"Got the cool shoeshine!"

"Doo-DOO-doo-DOO-doo!"

"You got the cool!"

"Doo-DOO-doo-DOO-doo!"

"Got the cool shoeshine!!"

"Doo-DOO-doo…"

"ENOUGH!!!" wailed Doukun, thunking his head back against the headrest of the car seat. Or, van seat, as circumstance would have it. "PLEASE, this is the fifth time we’ve listened to that song! And while I normally enjoy it immensely, I’m about five nanoseconds away from hurling myself onto the raging highway!"

We were back on the road once more, having showered without further conflict and stopped briefly at Miaka’s dorm to pick up her things. Our former Priestess had taken the empty seat between me and Genrou in the way-back, and we were about twenty miles into our day-long trip to New York City.

"Yeah, shut the fuckin radio off," Genrou agreed, despite the fact that he’d been singing along with me and Miaka. "Harry and Ron are in this kick-ass fuckin flyin car that…"

"We have all read it before," I reminded him.

"Okay, dude, ya know what I don’t fuckin get?" he demanded. "If all the fuckin bad wizards come from fuckin Slytherin, why do they even have the fuckin house? Isn’t it kinda askin for trouble?!"

I stared at him blankly.

"And another thing," he ranted. "The end of the first fuckin book, right? Fuckin Slytherin wins the goddamn House Cup fair and square. But fuckin Dumbledore has to go all fuckin Favoritism Guy and award a shitload of points to Gryffindor at the last minute! Bringing the fuckin Slytherin kids’ hopes up, then smashin them to the fuckin floor! And they wonder why all these snake kids have such fuckin issues??!"

"Oooookayyyy, I think someone’s getting a leeeeeettle too into the story…" I sang.

"It’s like they’re fuckin breeding antagonism between the two fuckin houses!"

"You might wanna take your time on that second one," I told him. "I didn’t bring the third one with me."

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do for the rest of the goddamn trip??!!"

"Hey! Don’t make it out to be my fault!" I said. "You didn’t even want to read Harry Potter at first."

"I have Jane Eyre," Miaka offered cheerfully, pulling said book out of her bag. "I have to read it for English, but you can borrow it if you need something to read, Tasuki-chan."

Sulking, Genrou dog-eared his place in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and set it in his own backpack. "Not fuckin likely," he grumbled. "I’ll just fuckin watch the goddamn cows pass by."

~*~

"Okay, countries down the alphabet."

"Argentina."

"Botswana."

"China."

….

"Sai! Your turn!"

"Oh, ahhh…sorry. Uhhh…Denmark?"

"England."

"Fffffff….France!"

"Georgia."

…..

"Doukun, what the fuck?! Ya can’t say fuckin Georgia, it’s not a country! It’s a goddamn state."

"That’s where you’re wrong," said Doukun brightly, without looking up from whatever work he was doing. "It’s a state, obviously; but it’s also a country. In the former Soviet Union, right by the Black Sea."

I nodded. "Yeah, he’s right."

"Well, that’s fuckin dumb as hell!!! Why the hell wouldja name a Russian country after a fuckin state? That’s pretty damn cheap!"

"I don’t think the state was what they had in mind," Miaka piped up, trying to be helpful.

"Erm…Ryuuen," said Saihitei quickly, "it’s your turn."

"Holland!" I chirped happily.

Everyone groaned.

~*~

"I’m tellin ya," said Taka, "we want to take Highway 294!"

Myojuan sighed. "I’m afraid you’re wrong. Highway 70 is much more…"

"No, no…look," Taka continued stubbornly, taking the road map and pointing at it. "See? It’s so much easier just to…"

"Don’t argue with the driver," Myojuan growled.

Miaka and I just sat there, listening to the exchange, not particularly keen on getting involved. Gen-chan had gone back to his—or, my—book, and Saihitei and Doukun were both reading, too…

"They’re getting a little tense," Miaka whispered to me, frowning.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

"I wish there was something we could do to get them to stop without having to take a side."

"Yeah."

She looked at me.

I looked at her.

And she smiled almost evilly, raising her eyebrows. I winked, took off my seat belt, knelt on the seat, and sang, relatively softly…"Cuz here I go agaaaaAAAAIN!!"

I flung my arms out dramatically. "LOVE LIFTS US UP WHERE WE BELONG!!!"

Genrou, Saihitei, and Doukun jumped, nearly dropping their respective books, and Taka’s surprised face jerked to stare at us from the front.

"WHERE EEEEAGLES FLY O’ER THE MOUNTAIN HIGH!!!" I continued.

"LOVE MAKES US ACT LIKE WE ARE FOOLS!" Miaka joined in, removing her own seat belt. "THROW OUR LIVES AWAY FOR ONE HAPPY DAY!!!!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" Genrou shouted furiously.

I turned my outstretched arms to him. "WE COULD BE HEROES!!!!! Just for one day…"

"Put your seat belts back on!" Myojuan roared, and Gen-chan chucked Harry Potter at my head. I managed to catch it as Miaka and I collapsed in giggles, happy to see that Doukun and Saihitei were laughing, too, and even Taka was shaking his head and smiling.

"Thanks, Gen-chan," I said after the mirth had subsided a bit, nodding at him and moving to return my book to its rightful place in my satchel.

He gaped. "EYYYY!!! C’mon, gimme back the fuckin book!"

"What? Oh, this?" I said, blinking innocently. "Well, you gave it to me. That must mean you don’t want it anymore, huh?"

Cursing, he reached over, straining to snatch it from me, but I held it out of his grasp. "Ahhh, ahhh, Gen-chaaaan… What’s the magic woooooord?"

"Fuckin go to hell, Ryuuen!!!"

"Hm." I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting attempt…However, that’s not exactly what I’m looking for…"

"GODDAMMIT!!"

"Nope, nope…still not quite right," I said pensively, holding my chin with my thumb and forefinger. "Wanna try best out of five? Or…"

"Give me the fuckin book, ya fuckin fag!" he roared, and my fingers turned to ice, and the world froze around me.

There was only silence.

But it hurt. It really, really hurt, hearing him call me that. I lowered the arm with the book slowly, stunned and staring and wanting to cry; I wasn’t even angry, just…sad.

I knew it was mostly my fault that he’d gotten so angry in the first place, since I was being so obnoxious about the whole book thing, and knowing that I’d made him that mad tore at me even more.

Gradually, I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was frozen. Everyone else seemed to be, too (except for Myojuan, which was a good thing, since he was driving). They’d all heard what Genrou had said—he hadn’t exactly been whispering—and were looking on with varying degrees of horror. Genrou himself had adopted a shocked expression, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly agape.

I twisted my mouth into a pathetic attempt at a smile, and gave an equally pathetic little laugh that came out more like a choke, looking quickly down at my hands. Way to be convincing, Mr. Olivier. Pressing my lips together, I tried to make my tears dry up without falling and embarrassing me again, but it didn’t really work. So that’s great. He calls you a fag, and what do you do to try to dissuade the label? Ya CRY. Ya baby.

Immediately after I moved, it was as if I’d pressed some sort of hidden button that reanimated all my friends; Miaka was the first one to react, voicing her opinions on the matter by giving Genrou a hefty slap across the face.

"You have no right to say that!" she yelled. "Even if you’re teasing, you have no right!!"

"I…Ryuuen…" My best friend’s voice was small and strangled.

Fixing a smile on my face, I made myself look up at him. He’d gone a little white, his hand covering his cheek where Miaka had struck; his eyes were damp and shining. "It…it’s okay, Gen-chan," I told him unconvincingly. "I know…I know you didn’t mean it…" Yeah, sure, that’ll work. Niagara Falls shooting from my eyes, but hell, I’m peachy. Damn me and my crying gene. Damn damn damn damn damn. "I’m just…ummmm…" Voice quivers. Great, THAT’LL make him feel better. "I’m just…I’m tired…"

"Ryuu-chan…" Miaka.

I wiped my eyes with my hands and sniffed, grinning back at her. "See? All better, no worries."

Genrou undid his seat belt. "Miaka…" he whispered, and she got the point and undid her own, switching places with him. Once he had taken her seat in the middle, he had a hard time raising his eyes to meet mine, and when he finally did, they were tortured and anxious. "Ryuuen," he said gently. "Ryuu-chan…I…I’m sorry…"

"I know," I quavered brightly. "I’m sorry, I know I’m being stupid about…"

"Shit, man, wouldja stop it?" he exclaimed, and I blinked at the sudden vehemence in his voice. "It was a fuckin awful thing ta say, and don’t you fuckin just sit there and take it!!"

"Tasuki, stop!!" said Miaka from the other side. "Don’t yell at him!"

He pretty much ignored her. "Ya let people fuckin walk all over ya!" he continued. "And if some asshole like me attacks ya and plays with yer fuckin mind, you say it’s your goddamn fault??! That’s bullshit!!" He poked me roughly in the chest.

"Tasuki," said Saihitei dangerously from his seat, probably ready to jump to my rescue like some kind of Crusader for the Cause of Ryuuen. But I didn’t let him. I couldn’t let him save me all the time.

My chest puffed up, and I stuck my jaw out, trying to look menacing despite the tears in my eyes. "What, so you want me to hit you, or something? Well, I won’t!! I don’t let people walk all over me!! I know you didn’t mean it, that’s all! I know you didn’t…" I had to swallow; my voice had gotten irritatingly rough and dry.

"So I didn’t fuckin mean it," he shot back. "So I fucked up! That doesn’t change the fact that I fuckin said it!"

"It’s not a big deal," I whispered. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if you hadn’t started crying, moron.

"Goddammit!!" he growled, and grabbed me by the shoulders of my sweatshirt. "I’m yer fuckin friend!! I’m the last fuckin person who should be giving you that crap!!" He stared at me hard for a moment, watching me fight against my stupid instincts to just cry and have it done with, before saying "Fuck…" and giving me a full hug.

I returned it—gently, so that I wouldn’t crush him into pulp, which is a lovely image to have in one’s mind—and sighed. And I stopped my tears, finally. It’s no use to cry. It still hurts a bit, yes; but he feels terrible, just look at him. (This last instruction was unable to be followed, however, due to the fact that my head was pressed rather firmly to Genrou’s shoulder, and any prospect of mobility was therefore unlikely.)

"If anyone ever fuckin says that to you again," Gen-chan vowed softly, "including me, I’ll kick their ass."

Putting a damper on the now lessened ache in my heart, I smiled slightly. "You’ll kick your own ass?"

"Shut up," he said fondly.

"Um…Gen-chan, I’m sorry I hit you," said Miaka sheepishly when we’d both pulled back.

"Hell, someone had to do it, and it sure as hell wasn’t gonna be Mister Grudgeless, here. I fuckin deserved it," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Shit."

Eventually, things grew less and less tense, and I relaxed back in my seat with my arm twined around Gen-chan’s. As the conversation gradually shifted to a new, less uncomfortable topic, I chanced a glance up and saw that Saihitei was staring at me, his eyes full of concern.

With a genuine smile, I gave him a mini thumbs-up, and he seemed to relax. For crying out loud, I didn’t want anyone to worry about me! Least of all Saihitei, who had done enough worrying so as to be exempt from it for the rest of his life.

Well, I thought, at least one good thing came of this: Taka and Myojuan aren’t arguing over the map anymore.

And, as the latest conversation died down to a lull, I began humming almost unconsciously; one thing led to another, and fairly soon afterward…

~*~

"You got the cool!"

"Doo DOO doo DOO doo!"

"Got the cool shoeshine!"

"Doo DOO doo DOO doo!"

"GYAAAAAHHHH!!!!" groaned Doukun. "How long before we get to New York???!!!!"

Note: Um, okay, it’s about time I said this: in this fic, I’m sure people have noticed that everyone tends to flit almost subconsciously from Real Name to Seishi Name, so much so that Ryuuen can refer to Hotohori as Saihitei in one sentence, then as Hotohori in the very next one. Just wanted to point out that these aren’t typos. ^^;; I was actually trying to go for the whole subconscious memory thing, but I dunno if that came across, or if people were going, "Damn, that girl must be tired…she’s messing up all the names!" ^_~

Notes: If the ending of this chapter is really dumb, feel free to email me with comments and criticism. **falling asleep at computer** Anyhoooo….Jaaa, everyone… ^_^

PS. Oh, and if you think the whole name-calling thing was overly dramatic, my sincerest apologies ~.~()

PPS. And the song 19-2000 is by the Gorillaz, and it is cool. **nod** Later! Have fun!

ANOTHER STORY AKUGI!!!!

Genrou: If anyone ever says that to you again, including me, I’ll kick their ass.

Ryuuen: You’ll kick your own ass?

Genrou: Shut up.

Ryuuen: No, seriously; I wanna see you kick your own ass!

Ryuen: Dude! Me, too!

Miaka: Yeah! C’mon, Tasuki, let’s see!!

Genrou: What, are ya fuckin nuts???!!

Ryuuen: Ahahahaha!! You can’t really do it, can you??!!

Genrou: **bristles** I can, SO!!!

Ryuuen: Let’s see it, then! :P

Genrou: FINE!!! ** attempts to kick his own ass, winds out knocking himself out with a spoon.**

…Don’t ask about the spoon. --;; Stupid possessed fingers.

Random Quote of the Day: Look! It’s a Crazy 8!!! -----> 8 "WWAAAAAHAAAAAOOOOAAAHHH!!! I AM A FLOUNDER!!!!!!"

**goes to get psychiatric help**