Omedetoo Tanjoobi(Happy Birthday) ^_^

By: Toma-chan

Touma wandered around the house, not sure of where everyone was. For once, the mansion where they stayed was quiet, an unusual occurance since every so often one could hear laughter, arguing (good-naturedly, of course), or Nastie clacking away on the computer deciphering the many files on legends her grandfather had stored away (Right now it was something on ancient Japan, about an assassin that had been famous during the Meiji period, though no one had really heard of this person in the history books.), or the television blaring, or a combination of all four sounds. But on this particular day, it seemed like everyone had up and vanished back to their own homes, this also not an uncommon occurance. But it seemed odd that no one would tell him their plans.

He returned to the library, where he picked up the book that he'd been reading before the silence of the house intruded in on the interesting events of the book. After some moments of reading several paragraphs over and over again, he decided that he just wasn't in the mood for reading, it was starting to feel like he was forcing himself to read, and that was no fun at all.

So here he was, wandering again, steering clear of the other Troopers' rooms. He knew he was welcome in them anytime, but he was still like-minded to think that they still valued their privacy, and wouldn't appreciate him barging in and breaking some priceless artifact, or something like that(at least in Seiji's case). *1* Presently he found himself in the kitchen, and decided he was hungry, this after hearing his stomach growling to remind himself he hadn't eaten anything all day. He'd been so involved with cleaning and reading some of the books that he'd just forgotten. *2* He peered inside the fridge, and noticed to his dismay that it was very sparse, only a few things here and there. He blinked several times, Shin would be pulling out his hair if he saw something like this. A sudden thought hit him that Shu must have emptied it out, and maybe they had gone shopping without telling him. It wasn't the first time that this had happened, nor the second. He pulled out an apple, one of the few things left in the fridge, and shut the door.

Touma was biting into the apple when he noticed a calander hanging on the wall next to the fridge. It was October, he knew that, but his eyes widened as he saw that all the days had been crossed off until the tenth. He froze in mid-bite, he couldn't believe it was his birthday again, or the fact that he had seemed to forget it had been approaching.

Then again, it wasn't like his birthday was anything special. He remembered small birthday parties with his parents before they had separated amicably, but after just the occaisional gift sent by his mother and the money left to him by his father who spent most of his time working in his lab, his birthday had lost most of its luster. Also saving the world didn't leave much time for birthday parties either, and Shin had pushed for an all-around party after the invasion of the Evil Empire, if nothing else just to celebrate the fact that they had survived. He could still remember the fear that they had lost Ryo, that he would never be able to speak to him or --- Touma pushed the thought away and sighed. Maybe he ought to call home, but he knew no one would be there except his usual presents.

He finished the apple, and wandered once more, this time outside, towards the small cabin that Ryo had stayed in to nurse the injured Byakkuen. The sun was shining brightly, but there was a chill to the light breeze, so he pulled the sweater he was wearing tighter around himself. He opened the door and looked inside, remembering the time when he had stood in this very spot by the door and tried to talk to Ryo, only getting everything mixed up and saying something instead of the planned speech that he wanted to. No wonder Ryo had run out, he thought as he sat on the bed, the anguish and the pain in the sapphire eyes was more then enough to unsettle him. He wanted to reach out to him and embrace him, to tell him nothing bad would happen, but he would only have been lying and it wouldn't have helped.

He didn't know how long he'd been staring out at the lake, watching the waves roll up and down the beach, until a voice startled him and he jumped. "Touma, are you all right?" The low voice made him blink and see a figure bathed in the sunlight standing in the doorway. His eyes, used to the dark room, blinked several times until he could see the person walking towards him. "Ryo?" he asked, somewhat surprised that he hadn't heard the door open. "Umm... I'm fine, lost in my own thoughts..." Touma answered in a disinterested tone, swinging around to face his friend.

"I looked for you, but you weren't in the house," Ryo shrugged, pushing his black hair back away from his face. "Is something wrong?"

Rowen shrugged, his eyes going back to the lake. "Not really, kinda just bored and no one was around." He wondered if he should tell Ryo about that day being his birthday, he'd never told any of the other Troopers. Though he was slowly becoming a good friend, he never really much expressed things about his personal life, and no one pressed him for details. He was silent for several moments, then "Today is my birthday."

Ryo didn't say anything, just sat on the bed next to him. After several minutes of looking at Touma, Ryo said quietly after several attempts, "Was... did anything bad happen to you?"

Touma shook his head, smiling slightly, "No, nothing like that, just... well, you know what my family is like, and my parents are too entrenched in their careers to do anything. I really didn't have any friends as well, until I met you guys." He shrugged, "I guess birthdays never really meant much to me, since no one ever made a big deal of it, so I never really made a point of telling anyone."

"I see..." Ryo nodded, and watched the waves breaking on the beach outside. "Do you know where the others went to?" he asked, and Touma shook his head. "No, I was in Nastie's library when I noticed that it was quiet."

"Oh...," Ryo sat cross-legged on the bed and watched Touma again, something which was making Touma feel a little uncomfortable. He shifted his position, and decided to ask what was going on. "Ryo, is something wrong?" Touma asked bluntly. Maybe it was better just to get out whatever was bothering him instead of feeling like he was being examined underneath a magnifying glass.

Ryo smiled slightly and took Touma's hand, something that made the storm-blue eyes widen. "Well, I knew you were out here, and thought something had to be bothering you, otherwise you'd be hunkered down with all the books." His smile broadened, "Then you told me it was your birthday, and I just figured that maybe I should give you a present..." He pulled Touma into an embrace and hugged him tightly.

Touma was speechless, Ryo what? "What... how?" He stuttered, but he couldn't say anything else as Ryo lifted up his head to kiss him full on the lips. Touma froze with shock, how often had he dreamed of this moment, not sure of how Ryo would take it that he had become infatuated with him, then here was Ryo kissing him! He pushed Touma down on the bed, and rose off of him, still smiling.

"What? You kissed..." Touma stared up at him, spellbound by the expression, the sapphire eyes sparkling in Ryo's face. Ryo laughed, the music of it stirring Touma's emotions. It was rare to hear Ryo truly laugh, with the invasion it was only heard a few times and those were forced, in order to not let the others know he was feeling the strain of leading them when he didn't know what was going on most of the time. Only later, after, had he confided in them just how low he had felt.

A finger touched his nose, and he stared up at Ryo, going slightly cross-eyed. Ryo laughed again, "I could see you were thinking about things again, you get a little crease right here." He touched the bridge of Touma's nose right between his eyes, and pushed the long blue forelock out of the way. He leaned down to kiss Touma again, and this time Touma welcomed it, not believing that this was real.

After some time kissing, Ryo drew away and pulled off his shirt, his tan chest revealing that he'd managed to get some time out in the sun. He rolled up Touma's, and pulled him closer to catch his lips again. Touma shivered as cool hands started to caress him, running up and down his own chest, just pausing near the waist of his jeans. Ryo's hands started to massage his nipples, causing Touma to squirm more and start to breathe harder. He explored Ryo's mouth, even as his own hands began to touch his friend's chest. He felt Ryo jump slightly as he touched him near the navel, then continued upwards again til he was rolling one of the nipples.

Ryo laughed yet again, this time his voice seeming to break a little every time Touma touched him. His hands stopped before the jeans once more, and Touma urged him on, making a little sound of encouragement. Ryo's hands dipped under the waistline, and Touma closed his eyes, an unusual sensation overwhelming him. He panted for breath, and didn't feel his pants being undone until a small draft wafted over him, realising that he was almost naked to Ryo. Somehow, he didn't feel like he was too embaressed, he'd wanted to do this, just hadn't discovered how much until now.

Now Ryo was almost on top of him, letting his hands explore Rowen's hips, and touching everything but the part that Touma was secretly begging him to touch. He ground his hips into the hand, whimpering in frustration and hoping for Ryo to help him release. Ryo only shook his head mischivously, and leaned down to kiss him again, the hands still sending thrills of excitement up his spine.

Touma was thoroughly enjoying this, when Ryo broke the kiss to look at him with a serious expression. "Do... do you want me to.." Ryo looked uncertain for the first time, and reached over into his shed pants to reveal a small bottle of lubricating cream. Touma thought for a moment, and nodded, his emotions crumbling at the cute expression on Ryo's face. He tried to brace himself as Ryo poured a little amount on his hands, having a feeling of what was to happen. He could feel Ryo's hands reaching under and --

Touma nearly cried out as Ryo penetrated him, he shut his eyes to keep them from tearing. A touch on his face made him open them to see Ryo staring at him with that same anguish in his eyes, as when he was worried about Byakkuen. "I'm sorry--" He started to say, but Touma smiled slightly, reassuringly, as Ryo pushed farther in, then added another finger in. Touma jerked reflexively, but kept his eyes on Ryo, trying to reassure him with his emotions that it was all right, he wanted this.

Ryo pulled away again, just to rub some of the cream onto himself, his blue eyes becoming unfocused as he placed more on. He looked at Touma once more with that uncertain look, and Rowen nodded again. "Please?" he whispered, wanting Ryo to finish, '...You don't know how much I've dreamed... of this...' he couldn't help thinking, gazing into those lovely sapphire eyes. Ryo smiled, 'Me too...', and before Touma could grasp the implications of that mental reply, he leaned down to kiss his friend at about the same time he pushed himself into Touma. Touma screamed, but all that came out was a half-strangled sound that pushed its way out of his throat into the kiss. Ryo pushed in more, then pulled out, then back in, and it seemed like the pain died down, or the pleasure and desire was rising, but Touma impulsively decided he needed it more. One of Ryo's hands that wasn't holding him to the bed was still exploring, and as Ryo began to move faster, the hand touched that part that still hadn't been satisfied.

Touma arched off the bed as a wave of intense lust washed over him, forcing Ryo farther into him. His eyes closed, then opened, glazed that he wasn't seeing anything but Ryo's face above his, the sapphire eyes still watching him as he began to breathe faster. The hand was massaging him in the front as Ryo began to push himself harder and more quickly into him, Ryo's every touch sent a feeling like he was on fire, like Ryo was borrowing power from his element. Ryo pulled out one final time, then as far as he could back into Touma.

Touma's senses exploded in a mixture of pleasure, pain and at the same time, wonder, like he was flying above the clouds. He dimly heard the small gasp from Ryo as he emptied himself and collapsed on top of Touma. After he'd gotten his breathing under control, Touma looked over at Ryo and pushed some of the sweat-drenched black hair out of his face. Ryo opened his eyes, and smiled tiredly back at him. "Happy Birthday, Touma..." he said, and tousled Touma's hair even more.

Touma grinned as he looked outside, and saw that the sun was starting to lower in the sky. Turning to Ryo, he told him that he was going to take a quick shower in the small bathroom that was at the other end of the cabin. "Might as well join you, since I got you into this mess, and the others might miss us soon," Ryo said as he stretched. They showered quickly, though they still took the time to touch each other again. "I've always... well, I was scared that I'd never get the chance when we were fighting, to tell you how much I care, oh why not, love you," Rowen said quickly, a small blush staining his cheeks as he toweled his hair dry. Ryo looked up from where he was dressing, and raised an eyebrow, a spot of redness coloring his own, "We traveled all that way into the Youja-kai, and I've been meaning to say the same thing to you since that first time we ended up there, just never had the courage..."

"Ryo..." Touma said softly, reaching towards his friend again, but he was interrupted by Jun's voice calling his name from the house. "Touma! Come quick! There's something you have to see!" Touma finished dressing, and together they left the cabin, interested in seeing what Jun wanted to show Touma.

"SURPRISE!! Happy Birthday Touma!!" The cheer left them both dumbfounded as they entered the house, obviously Ryo had had no idea of what had been planned, Touma thought. 'Leave it to the others to throw me a birthday party...' His eyes widened at the sight of his mother, for here she was rushing to hug him. As he prepared to blow out the candles on his cake, he glanced over at Ryo smiling at him, and thought to himself that this was the best birthday he'd ever had.

~owari~ ^_^

notes:

*1* I have a cute Touma-only dj where Touma walks into Seiji's greenhouse and breaks one of his bonsai trees. He's trying to clean it up to hide the fact when Seiji walks in. After some arguing, Touma gets to the point of 'ok, if me and this tree were hanging off a cliff and you could only save one, which would it be?', complete with little diagram of Touma and the tree about to fall off the cliff. Seiji gives him this 'just what are you talking about?' look as he says "the tree, of course' and Touma goes off... *giggles*

*2* I've done this before, where I'll get so wrapped up in something I don't realize I havn't eaten a thing until late afternoon... ^_^