Ghibli's Writing Competition: Entry 1

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Theme: Explosion

It was there; perhaps, it had always been there, just bubbling under the surface of Kaoru???s being. Just waiting, from the moment that he had laid eyes on him; building pressure until the moment that it could erupt of its own volition.

It wasn???t love???not that deeply emotional, romantic kind. It wasn???t just a lustful drag of the insides either, however. But it was, more acutely, a slow roiling of curiosity, ever contemplative: what would it be like, to really know Kyo? To have him, in a sense? It was a matter of time until the explosion, Kaoru knew, in the back of his mind, and the realization was as white-hot as that moment would be, engulfing and enlightening.

The hours melded themselves into slow weeks; the weeks, into months, and then they had been friends for over a year. Oh, it was fulfilling on that platonic level and the conversation was scintillating; they laughed and joked; spent days, bad and good, together. Yet, still, it mounted and Kaoru???s mind was always reeling with thoughts, burning like a tamped-down bed of embers.

Thoughts of how their personalities would click and mesh so well. Of how Kyo???s honey-gold mass of blonde hair made such an exquisite contrast with the onyx sheen of his own; of how those long-fingered hands could engulf his in an affectionate hold; of how the full, drooping petals of the other???s lips would feel against the small, delicate curve of his. It was a maddening thought, out-right, and Kaoru kept it pressed it back, as long as he could.

There it nagged, however, front and center, in the middle of a mutual friend???s party. Music thudded faintly and the living area was filled with other friends, acquaintances, and strangers???but there went Kaoru???s mind, right back to Kyo.

From across the room, he could see that blonde shock of hair, hanging sweetly down around the other???s chin. Dark, sharp eyes tracked the way that the black fabric of a sweater clung to that little frame, yet still too long in the arms; caught the slender stalks of those legs, encased in denim???saw the other man talking to him. The enjoyment on Kyo???s face was obvious and he was laughing. Enjoying this taller man???s company, basking in the warmth of a white, charming smile, not shying from the playful touch of a large hand just above his elbow.

It was too much for Kaoru to take and he found himself turning on his heel, doubling back through the dining room and kitchen. He tugged open the glass pane of a sliding door and braved the chill of evening autumn air, out on an empty platform of a porch. His elbows connected with the glossy wood of the railing and tattoo-covered hands clasped themselves together, so that his chin could rest atop them.

For a long moment, he tried not to think???but there was that jealous surge of anger, creating ripples in his nothingness. And hurt contrition???he should have said something. God, he wanted Kyo so badly???but he wasn???t supposed to feel that, was he? Why did it matter, if he did? But it was fear of the unknown, which held him stagnant, and that hopeful swell of patient longing that kept him on edge.

There was a click of a door and footsteps on the wooden planks that Kaoru responded to with a brief glance over his shoulder and then back ahead of himself. His arms unfolded and his decorated hands grasped the railing, squeezing intermittently. At his side, Kyo insinuated himself and his breath materialized in the coolness, as a faint, languid stream of smoky whiteness on the backdrop of the dark. All was quiet for a small eternity???broken only by the intermittent, overlapping sound of their breathing, of the silent scream of the pressure mounting in Kaoru???s chest.

Almost too faint to register, the touch of skin breezed against his hand. The reaction was fluid???the recognition of Kyo???s own ink-bearing hand as it slide atop his; the swift turn to take in that nervous, uncertain expression, which gazed back at him. The world was a supernova in the matter of seconds, wherein Kaoru???s foundation was blown to smithereens by the shocking insistence of his want as it asserted itself in the forefront of his mind. Hesitance was obliterated, detonated itself in the wake of a desperate latching of lips and grasping of bodies.

Kaoru trembled as his mouth broke damply from Kyo???s???the explosion left him shaken and the prospect of the fall-out was horrific, but worse was knowing that he had tasted a fire much hotter than anything else, a molten sweetness, and knew that he needed it, depended on it, now.

The curve of Kyo???s lips slid up into an arc and his arms cinched tighter about the taller man???s middle???his infrastructure suddenly so sturdy and reassuring in the wake of something so potentially destructive. ???I thought you might explode with jealousy, in there,??? he intoned, voice a husky, playful thing, and he stared up at the dark-haired male with eyes so incredibly knowing. How had he known?

???You weren???t far off,??? Kaoru admitted, his small hands idly rubbing the soft fabric that stretched along the smaller male???s thin back. Oh, how dead-on Kyo really had gotten, shot with great precision. He realized so much more than Kaoru could even understand. ???I was jealous.???

Kyo idly rubbed his lips together and shook his blonde head in a good natured way. ???Don???t be,??? he replied, a smile in his brown eyes and tapering fingers clenching reassuringly against the other???s back, ???We???ve already got a good thing, here. I enjoy you.???

???Thank God,??? the brunette chuckled, a noise of nervous relief. The tension in Kaoru???s being was gone, replaced by a pleasantly warm burst of an aftershock that traveled through his gut in response to Kyo???s declaration. He was full of excitement and eagerness, his former worries and aspirations blasted to pieces???it was heady and he was hooked.

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