kiramaru7 | Cross-posted from Koinuchaos

Title: Tanabata
Author: kira
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Hiten/Byakuya
Genre: romance
Warnings: hint of yaoi
Word Count: 1657
Summary: Byakuya & Hiten have a quiet Tanabata celebration at home…
Author’s note: The Tanabata song they are singing was found in a Wikipedia article on Tanabata. They translate it as follows:

“The bamboo leaves rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars twinkle
on the gold and silver grains of sand.
The five-color paper strips
I have already written.
The stars twinkle,
they watch us from heaven.”

“Let’s go,” Byakuya said as he tugged on his boyfriend’s arm. “Please…?” He looked down at the man he loved more than life itself and sighed.

“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” Hiten grumped. “I just want to sit here and watch TV.”

“You can do that later. Come on; it’s Tanabata. Let’s go watch the stars come out. Please?”

“Get out of the way,” Hiten leaned to the side in an attempt to look around his boyfriend, “I like this show and I can’t watch it with you here.”

“That’s what the VCR is for, Hi-chan. It’s Tanabata; a day for lovers to watch the stars come out!” Byakuya smiled.

Hiten looked at him like he had three heads. “You sound like some crazy American otaku, who thinks cuz he can say ‘arigato’ and watches ‘Sailor Moon’ he knows Japanese culture.”

Byakuya sighed. “I know we’re a lot like Orihime and Hikoboshi in that we can never be together unless the stars are aligned,” he said bitterly.

“I’m sorry; Kuya-chan, but you knew the deal from the start.”

Byakuya shrugged. “I’m going outside, see you later.” He turned to go and had taken a few steps towards their apartment’s balcony when Hiten spoke.

“Wait, I’ll come with you,” the former rock star said. Grabbing the remote, he switched off the TV and tiredly got to his feet.

“Okay.” Byakuya knew better than to help him as much as it pained him not to do so. Hiten had recently lost a lot of weight now that he had full blown AIDS and Byakuya desperately hoped the little paper cranes he had painstakingly folded along with some tiny paper kimono would help bring good health to boyfriend. Byakuya had hung them up in the potted bamboo that decorated their balcony. He would have hung them on the tiny bonsai he tended as well, but Hiten had put his foot down concerning that. The fewer reminders he had of his mortality, the happier Hiten was, so Byakuya gave in without a fight.

They slowly made their way onto the balcony. Night was beginning to fall, the sky growing steadily darker. They were lucky in that most of the apartments had turned their lights off, making it easier to see the night sky. Byakuya hurried back inside and did the same. He returned a few minutes later to stand by Hiten’s side. They gazed upwards, the light blues and whites, deepening to pinks, yellows and purples as the sun set. Byakuya reached for his boyfriend’s hand, taking it as he leaned against him. They stood there, watching the sky slowly darken, something they rarely took the time to do.

Hiten smiled. Byakuya could be so silly and romantic at times, but that was why he loved him. He was glad he had him in his life, even if he felt his boyfriend deserved better, as Byakuya gave him a reason to live. Hiten knew if he did not have someone like him, he would have ended it all back when he first got his diagnosis. So he gave his boyfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze, and taking a deep breath he started singing as the first stars came out.

“Sasa no ha sara-sara… Nokiba ni yureru… Ohoshi-sama kira-kira… Kingin sunago… Goshiki no tanzaku… watashi ga kaita… Ohoshi-sama kira-kira… sora kara miteiru…”

Byakuya laughed. It was a simple folk song, one that everyone sang during Tanabata, but it may as well have been an operatic aria for how sweet it was on his ears. Hiten had not sang anything since the band’s farewell tour and Byakuya missed that more than anything else. “Let’s sing it again, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Sasa no ha sara-sara… Nokiba ni yureru… Ohoshi-sama kira-kira…”they sang, Byakuya taking the lead, while Hiten harmonized with him. “Kingin sunago… Goshiki no tanzaku… watashi ga kaita… Ohoshi-sama kira-kira… sora kara miteiru…”

Looking up into the night sky, they could see more stars had come out, their soft twinkling easier to see in the relative blackout. Byakuya sighed softly when Hiten leaned against him, that and his holding of Byakuya’s hand meant a lot to him as Hiten shied away from any form of affection, public or otherwise.

“I’m glad you dragged my sorry ass out here,” Hiten said.

“Me too,” Byakuya replied. “You know you don’t have to hide from the public, Hi-chan.”

Hiten looked at him. “I look like death warmed over, Kuya-chan; I can’t go out like this. Bad enough the rumors are starting to fly.”

Byakuya sighed. “They wouldn’t if you were open about it.”

“And have every slut in the universe wanting to the balls off of me?” Hiten laughed bitterly. “Hell no. I’ll just do the whole princess locked away in a gilded tower gig. You, my dear, can go out like the pretty little butterfly that you are for the two of us.”

“And spark rumors that we’ve broken up?”

“I didn’t even know there were rumors we’re an item.”

“There’s not, but you know what I mean!”

“I know, I know… and there’s no need to get testy about it, Kuya-chan.”

Byakuya shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re so afraid of, but I do know if you want to retreat from the world, then I’ll just retreat with you.” He brushed his lips against his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” Hiten said, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “Even when I’m a bastard and got what I deserved, there’s still a little angel here telling me it’s going to be alright and that I still get to be happy.”

Byakuya let go of his hand, pulling him into his warm embrace. “Sssh… You’re not and never will be a bastard! So let’s not talk about that. Let’s pretend we’re Orihime and Hikoboshi and that we only have one night to be together, so let’s make it count.”

Hiten snorted in amusement. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”

“I know, and that’s why you love me.” Byakuya grinned. “I also know that if things were different you’d be bending me against the railing and banging my brains out, while you shouted out our love for the whole world to hear.”

Hiten laughed. “Yeah. Keep telling yourself that kid,” he said as he wrapped his arms around him, returning his boyfriend’s hug.

Byakuya kissed his cheek. “Yeah, but as far as romantic fantasies go, it’s not half bad if I may say so myself.”

“Nope. Too bad it’s just fantasy.”

“Yeah…” Byakuya sighed.
Before things got too emotional between them, Hiten said, “Let’s go inside now and watch TV.”

“Okay.”

Byakuya took one last look at the stars, his expression sad and wistful, and it pained Hiten to see him like that. It was not the first time Hiten regretted letting the younger man into his life, and he wondered if Byakuya had any regrets as well. Not that he would ever ask him about it. Some things were better left unsaid or unknown. Tugging on his boyfriend’s arm, he got his attention.

“Inside? TV? Remember?” Hiten said, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards in his trademark smirk. “Earth to, Kuya-chan…”

“Oh yeah,” Byakuya said as he shook his head. It was good to see his boyfriend smiling again, and he vowed to not let a day go by without seeing at least one.

“Space cadet!”

“Old man!”

“That’s grumpy old man to you,” Hiten said as slid the door to the balcony open. He wanted to stay outside longer, but he was feeling tired as his biggest regret in life came back to haunt him. As his boyfriend was fond of telling him, “you can’t change the past, so why bother regretting it,” and Hiten had to admit he had a point. Pushing his depressing thoughts aside, as they entered their apartment; he made a beeline for the sofa and sat down.

Byakuya sat next to him, and reaching for the remote, he switched on the television. “What do want to watch?”

“I don’t know. If there’s something you want, then put it on.”

“Okay.” Byakuya channel surfed for several minutes. He kept stealing glances at his boyfriend, trying to gage his interest in whatever happened to be on. He made sure to quickly go past the music channels, finally settling on a period drama. One of actress looked familiar. “Hey, Hi-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t that your friend’s ‘girlfriend’?”

Hiten stared at the television. “Yeah,” he laughed. “Jaki-san does what you do.”

“Hi-chan, I haven’t modeled in years and I have no desire to act.” Byakuya watched the show. “He’s pretty good.”

“Yeah, he’s not a bad woman,” Hiten said.

“But there’s nothing like the real thing.”

Hiten nodded. Feeling worn out, he leaned on his boyfriend, the small show of affection warming Byakuya’s heart. He lifted his arm and Hiten got more comfortable as they continued watching the show. When they broke for commercial, Byakuya stole a look at him. Hiten had fallen asleep, the cares of the day erased from his face and Byakuya was pleased with how peaceful he looked. So he let him sleep, while he watched the end of the drama, channel surfing again once it ended. It was the peaceful idyllic life they had both wanted and it saddened him that such moments were few and far between, but he treasured them anyway. Shifting ever so slightly so as not to wake him, he kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head. I love you so much, it hurts, Hi-chan… If only things were different, eh?

Sighing softly, he found something else to watch, and he wondered how much time they would have together, before chiding himself about being so pessimistic. They were making strides with AIDS research and Byakuya was confident they would soon find a cure. Until they did, he would take whatever he could get, like tonight, the way celestial lovers did…