Showers of Fire

-note- this story was inspired by the Leonid meteor showers last weekend(in June). It's my first shounen ai YST, and I didn't even imagine to write a Ryo-Touma(well, maybe I did... *shrugs*) Anyway, sorry if this looks like any other stories, if it does, gomen, it's a coincidence, and all characters involved are owned by their respective(and certainly respected! ^_^) owners... I may be writing a sequel soon, I think I could maybe go a little bit farther with this, if people want to see it...^_^

Alone, he gazed at the night sky, watching as first one streak, then another made its glowing trail across the moonless heavens. He shivered and pulled the blanket closer to his slight body, thinking that maybe he should have pulled on more clothes, instead of just grabbing the quilt that had been draped over the couch and sneaking out the back door when everyone else was watching the movie. But he didn't want anyone to know he had left, didn't want them to be around him for just a few minutes.

He didn't know how long he'd been out in the cold night, only keeping his eyes sky-ward as the small bits of fire became more numerous among the flickering stars.

"Making a wish?" The voice caused him to jump slightly, and he glanced over his shoulder at the person who had walked up from the house. He then shrugged, clutching at the blanket more. The skinny, youthful face framed by the short bushy blue hair studied his own, then looked up into the sky as well.

"You know they aren't really stars, just small pieces of rock burning up as they enter the atmosphere." The textbook explanation was said just as jokeingly as the earlier statement.

"I know that," he said shortly, and huddled in the quilt, only gazing into the sky at the meteors as they made their last journey above and not at the person who intruded on his solitude.

"Something's bothering you." It was not a question, as Touma sat beside him. Neither spoke for a short time, as more trails of fire lit their paths above them. "When-- When I was up there," Touma said roughly as he gestured with his hand, "Once in a while I had glimpses in the darkness, like I was dreaming. Maybe I was..." He paused, then continued. "Maybe Tenku was letting me see what was outside of its embrace, I don't know. It was like I was seeing out of the armor, and saw what Tenku saw. I'd see the stars as they normally are, not as we see them down here, or once see lightning flickering inside a storm raging on below us. Occaisionally even something like this, as well as the comet causing it." The hand pointed up again, this time clutching something. "Sometimes that's how I think I got this, like I or Tenku reached out and saved it..." He said softly as he peered at the little rock attached to his silver necklace.

A soft "Yeah..." was his only reply, and Touma turned to look at him. "What is it?"

He didn't look at his friend, but his thoughts betrayed the silence. 'Am I cut out for this? What if I make the wrong mistake and send all of us to our deaths? Or even what if I do the wrong thing and it results in the human world being destroyed?' He tried to keep them soft, knowing that if he broadcast too much, the others could pick up on him. But all he said aloud was, "All of this... All that's going on...", praying that Touma hadn't heard the wild fears.

"Ryo..." Touma hesitently placed a hand on his shoulder, and glanced toward the house below, but there seemed to be no movement from the house, other then the laughter still emenating from an open window. Both Touma and Ryo knew it was forced, however. Just a momentary respite in the war they were fighting in. No one else besides Nasutie and Jun, not even their families, could know that they were battling for the fate of the world.

Touma was silent, his hand still resting on Ryo's shoulder, "You know what is at stake," he said softly, trying to offer some encouragement, his eyes downcast and not looking at the stars this time, knowing that he couldn't think of really anything to say that could ease Ryo. "You also know we have no choice..." His stormy-blue eyes looked up as he felt Ryo move.

"I know," Ryo had an anguished but grim expression on his face, and Touma knew that he had gone through this sort of conflict so many times. "It dosn't make it any easier. It seems like we have more chances to fail then to succeed in surviving, let alone even to think of winning."

The hand on his shoulder moved, not to be taken away, but to gently trace along the curve at the bottom of his neck to his other shoulder. Surprised by the touch(and stirred by a small shiver up his spine afterwards), Ryo blinked at Touma as the taller boy leaned in close.

"Share the blanket, mind?" Touma tugged on one of the ends of the blanket and smiled even as the cold hand on Ryo's shoulder now shook more noticeably, Ryo realized. "You can always go inside and get your own, you know..." Ryo admonished, but he lifted one end of the blanket towards his friend.

Touma started to wrap the blanket around to keep the cold out, "Yeah, but I love watching this, especially more so if someone watches it with me." He grinned at Ryo and managed to secure the blanket around them finally. There wasn't much room to share the blanket, though, so Touma had to lean against him, with his hand still on the shoulder. Ryo didn't mind, he already thought of Touma and the others as more then friends or even brothers, it was more like puzzle pieces of his soul he had never known were lost and just now found to become a complete picture. With the Kikoutei came the combined consciousness they had been forced to share. As Ryo had faced Arago and formed the White Armor for the first time, he had not felt anything from the others because of the containment spells on them. But when he had involuntarily summoned the armor and fought against Saranbou, it was more like several storms clashing together, the mixed chaos of thoughts, memories, even fears swirling in the tornadic hold of the yoroi. Each time since then, it had gotten a little better to control the chaos, but they had 'joined' so much it was sometimes hard to tell that one person was actually five separate entities. Even Nasutie, though she knew them each so well, couldn't tell which one was in control most of the time.

Ryo shook his head as something Touma muttered something softly interrupted the thought flowing through his mind. "Sorry, Touma, what did you say? I was just ... thinking..."

Touma had glanced up at the meteors again, and didn't look at him, but he repeated it anyway. "Thanks..." The grin was already gone from his face.

"Huh?" Ryo blinked again, and gazed at his companion in confusion. Touma was changing topics too rapidly, a sign that he was somewhat nervous. When Touma didn't respond, Ryo elaborated. "For the blanket?"

The dark blue eyes never leaving the sky, Touma shrugged slightly, though Ryo felt it in their closeness, both physical and mental. For some reason, the link between them seemed heightened more then it usually was. "Well, yeah, that and--" Touma trailed off, his eyes becoming more distant. "And for coming to get me from up there..." He closed his eyes, his face still upturned as if he was receiving support from his element. "I mean, you jumped into that ball of Youja energy instead of finding some other way, you risked everything to rescue me, even almost suffering a horrible fate by drifting away from Earth. If it hadn't been for Tenku taking over my body to save you..." His head turned, and the stormy blue eyes opened to meet sapphire blue, only inches away from each other. As each boy exhaled breath that steamed in the chilly air, their lips met, each leaning forward to make contact. The blanket was drawn closer, and Ryo's hand that was holding it encircled Touma. The sky above them rained fire as they clung together.

After a short time, the kiss was broken, and as Ryo traced Touma's jawline with his finger, the blue-haired Trooper closed his eyes, his panting breath causing his long forelock to sway. "Ryo...," he whispered, the mental link radiating their strong feelings - it was a wonder the other Troopers didn't come to investigate. "I hope... I havn't babbled too.. much... Caused you to..." Ryo shook his head, and smiled, "No... You've given me another good thing to help me fight on..." His hand slipped up on Touma's cheek, and he moved forward to kiss his friend again.

More to come... ^_^