Meant To Be

After the ninth grade school year ended, Kaoru and Omi began preparations for their transfer to Bell Liberty. Kaoru was helping Omi pack up his room when a photograph fluttered out of a book he was moving. Kaoru bent down, picking it up, and then examined it. It was of a lovely young woman with wavy blond hair and violet eyes, with a little silver haired baby in her lap. She was holding the baby by the hand, making him wave to the camera. The baby had a conspicuous birthmark by its eye, and Kaoru turned on Omi, smiling.

“This is you and your mother, isn’t it?” Omi took the photo from him, looked at it, and slowly nodded. He sat down on his bed, staring at the picture.

Kaoru bit his lip. “I’m sorry, did I upset you?”

Omi shook his head. “It’s just it’s been a long time since I’ve looked a picture of her. My father doesn’t have any pictures of her displayed anywhere, because it upsets him too much.” He looked down at the photo. “I had forgotten how pretty she was.”

Kaoru sat down next to him. “What was her name?”

Omi looked up, squinting his eyes. “Her name? It was Olivia.”

Kaoru rolled the extremely foreign sounding name over his tongue. “Olivia…what happened to her?” He had never asked Omi, because it never seemed like the right thing to do, but he genuinely wanted to know.

Omi sighed. “She died in a car accident two months before we moved here. That was five years ago now…” He was quiet for a moment. “Mom…” he whispered in English. He spoke again, reverting to Japanese. “Dad worked so much, so it was just me and Mom most of the time. She was a really fun mother, one of those moms who would get right down on the floor with you and play. She was really good at video games.” He smiled a little at the memory.

He looked up at the ceiling. “One day, she had to run to the grocery store to get some ingredients for dinner. My father had called, and he would actually be home at dinner time for once, so she wanted to make his favorite meal. I really wanted to go to the store with her, and I begged to go. But she told me to stay and finish my homework, so that the three of us could all spend time as a family when Dad got home.”

“I waited and waited…it got dark outside. I wondered what was taking her so long. Then Dad came home, and he looked strange. He walked in, right past me, and sat down on the couch. He buried his face in his hands and just cried. I had never seen my father cry before, and it frightened me terribly. I knew right then that I would never see my mother again.” Omi’s voice shook as he recounted that day. Kaoru rubbed his back softly with his hand.

Omi was quiet for a while, then spoke. “A semi truck crossed the centerline and hit her head on. It was instant, they said. If I had been in the car, I would have died as well. So it was a good thing that she made me stay home and do my homework…but I still wish I could have stopped her from going, or made her wait a minute or something, and everything would have turned out differently.” He hung his head, and Kaoru clucked his tongue sympathetically, pulling him in close.

Omi looked down at the picture again. “Heh,” he chuckled. “Look at that hair…it looks like yours.” Kaoru looked again, and indeed, her hair did resemble his. Omi reached up and tousled Kaoru’s tresses. “They always say a man tries to find a mate that’s just like his mother.”

Kaoru blushed. “Stop it, that’s creepy.” Omi started laughing, and finally Kaoru did too. Omi tucked the picture away, and they returned to packing.

They arrived at Bell Liberty a week later. They both marveled at the beauty of the campus. They also marveled at the fact that the school seemed to be filled with guys just like them…guys that liked other guys, that was. Not that it mattered to them, since they were only into each other, but in some ways, it made things a lot easier. They could be more open with the fact that they were a couple, something that they hid from their junior high classmates.

Their arrangement with the chairman turned out to be a good thing. They were given adjoining dorms, and they chose to furnish Kaoru’s dorm as a bedroom, with a queen sized bed that they could both sleep in, while Omi’s dorm was more of a private office and study for them both to use. They also had full use of the Treasury office, where Kaoru handled financial matters for the chairman, and Omi worked on the security system. They also did minor investigations at the Chairman’s request, and sometimes were his “public face” so to speak – they would attend school meetings in his stead, taking notes for him, as he didn’t want anyone to know who he was for whatever reason.

They soon found that the downside to attending a school full of other guys who liked guys was that sometimes they found themselves in uncomfortable predicaments. They were walking to class one day, passing by the tennis courts, when a tennis ball flew out of the open gate. It skittered to a stop by Omi’s feet, and he bent to pick it up, then tossed it casually to the tall blonde boy who came to retrieve it. Omi started to walk on, continuing what he had been saying to Kaoru, but he was stopped by two strong arms embracing him from behind suddenly.

“My honey!” The owner of the tennis ball exclaimed, hugging Omi tightly. Omi stammered and squirmed to get away, while Kaoru glowered suspiciously. What a way to thank someone for returning your ball. Omi finally broke free, and turned around to face the strange guy.

He bore a passing resemblance to Kaoru, with his green eyes and wavy blonde hair. But this tennis player’s hair was golden blonde, while Kaoru’s had an unusual pinkish tint to it. Also, this guy was overly energetic and cheerful, unlike the calm, collected Kaoru.

Omi squinted, scratching the back of his closely cropped silver hair. “Ah…I think you have me confused for someone else. We’ve never met before.”

The tennis player was undeterred. “This is our first meeting, that may be true; but can’t you feel the destiny between us?” His green eyes sparkled as he grabbed at Omi’s hand, lifting it up to press against the side of his face. Kaoru scowled, and Omi struggled once more to get away.

“My honey…” the tennis player purred, turning his lips to kiss at Omi’s hand, making both Omi and Kaoru squeak in surprise. “Honey, you are ever so lovely. That hair, those eyes, that birthmark! Oh! How divine! My body is burning with desire for you!” Omi’s face flushed in embarrassment, and Kaoru’s flushed with anger.

“Listen, you,” Kaoru began, his normal cool demeanor cracking. “I’ll have you know that…”

He was interrupted by the tennis player’s doubles partner yelling out as he approached. “Oy, Naruse-kun! Cut out the romantics and get back on the court.”

Naruse sighed with disappointment, and pressed his lips quickly to Omi’s hand one last time. “Farewell for now, honey…I’ll be thinking of you.” He trotted back onto the court, getting into service position, and Omi stood stunned for a moment. Kaoru took his hand, jerking him angrily away from the tennis courts.

“We’re going to have to find a different way to walk to third period,” Kaoru growled as he stalked across the sidewalks, dragging a stumbling Omi behind him. “We are never, ever going near that god-forsaken tennis court again.”

Omi panted, trying to keep up, and he spoke. “I don’t know that guy, Kaoru, I swear. He’s just some kind of horny nutcase. Honest!”

Kaoru stopped in his tracks, turning on Omi. “Seriously?” Omi nodded vigorously, and Kaoru let out a relieved sigh, leaning forward and pressing his forehead on Omi’s chest. “What a relief…I thought you had already found someone else.”

Omi grabbed Kaoru by the shoulder, pulling him away so that he could stare in his eyes. “Kaoru, do you really think that little of my love for you? I’m never going to ‘find someone else.’ You’re the only one for me.” Kaoru sighed happily, and quickly stepped up on his toes to press a kiss to Omi’s lips.

Omi smiled down on him benevolently. “You’re such a silly thing…I never knew that you could act so jealous.”

Kaoru flushed deeply. “I wasn’t jealous…I was just angry that he thought he could talk to MY boyfriend like that.”

Omi’s nose twitched, and he took Kaoru’s hand, walking on to class. “I know my Japanese isn’t perfect, and I’ll have to check my dictionary, but I do believe that that’s the definition of ‘jealous’, Kaoru.” Kaoru just sniffed haughtily, and they continued on.

The next day in the cafeteria, Omi cringed as he heard the unwelcome voice of Naruse crying out “Honey!” at him. Kaoru muttered under his breath, picking at his salad. “Does he know that you’re American? Is that why he calls you that English pet name?” Omi just shrugged helplessly, and braced himself for what was coming.

Naruse grabbed him from behind, nuzzling his face into Omi’s hair. “Oh, honey, I’ve missed you so…”

Omi cleared his throat loudly as he pried Naruse’s squeezing fingers from his upper arm. “Listen…Naruse, was it? I don’t know you, and I have a boyfriend already.” He motioned across at Kaoru, who was giving Naruse a gaze as cold as ice.

Naruse stood up, gasping as he pressed his hand to his chest. By this time, everyone in the cafeteria was watching the show. “But, honey,” he whined, “can’t you feel the destiny between us? We’re meant to be together, I’m sure of it. This…Queen can’t possibly compare to me.” Kaoru seethed, and Naruse lowered his face in closer to Omi’s. “I assure you…I’m a God.”

Omi sweated nervously, but was saved from having to think of an answer by the arrival of the cafeteria monitor, Shinomiya. He was a first year, like them, but he was hard as nails when it came to the rules. “Naruse-kun!” he warned sharply. “Your antics may be allowed on the courts, but I cannot allow them to disrupt this lunchroom. You will desist from acting this way immediately!”

Naruse sniffed, but turned to leave. “Bye bye, honey...” he purred at Omi, waggling his fingers as he left.

Omi sat in shock, as the rest of the students murmured to each other and Kaoru glared holes in the table. “Who does he think he is?” Kaoru hissed down at his plate.

Omi just laughed awkwardly. “Maybe it will pass…”

And indeed, it did pass. Not more than a week later, Naruse had already forgotten who Omi was. He had moved his attention to a member of the art club named Iwai Takuto, a depressed, slumpy looking mess of a student. Kaoru had cackled at that. “Wait until he finds out who he’s up against this time…” Kaoru always had the scoop on all the school gossip before everyone else, and he knew for a fact that the dorm leader Shinomiya and this new “honey”, Iwai, were an item. Naruse would have all the rage of the disciplinary committee and then some raining down on him full force when Shinomiya got wind of it.

But not long after, it was Omi’s turn to feel jealousy. They were walking to class one morning when a broad shouldered brunette stepped into their path. It was Niwa Tetsuya, the president of the Student Council. He had only recently been appointed. He was a first year, just like them, but he had protested how the system was being run, and the students had taken a liking to him, and demanded that he be the next president. It had been practically unanimous. The students had also taken to calling him “The King” because of his position and the fact that he strode around, looking very much like he was the royalty of Bell Liberty.

“Oi, Saionji Kaoru, right?” he asked, addressing Kaoru. Kaoru nodded gracefully, whipping his hair over his shoulder with the back of his hand. Niwa continued. “So, I hear they call you the Queen.” Kaoru rolled his eyes, but lowered his head in assent. It had started as a joke after the scene that Naruse had made in the cafeteria, but it came to be a term of affection everyone used for him, as he was just as graceful and beautiful as a queen.

Niwa gave a lazy smile. “I was just thinking, maybe you’d like to go on a date with me. You know, royalty should stick together.” He moved beside Kaoru, then wrapped one arm around his shoulders, draping one big hand onto his delicate chest. “So, what do you say…Kaoru-chan?”

Omi’s face flushed with jealousy and anger, but he stayed silent. Kaoru looked up at Niwa, flashing his emerald eyes in a way that Omi recognized immediately as dangerous, but Niwa thought was supposed to be sexy, so he smiled more broadly. Kaoru cleared his throat, speaking softly as he reached both hands up to Niwa’s fingers that rested on his chest.

“This is what I think about that…” he purred gently, and without warning, he yanked Niwa’s fingers in opposite directions. The bear of a man howled with pain, stepping away quickly.

“What the hell?” he cried, nursing his injured fingers.

Kaoru gave him a cold stare. “Number one, don’t ever touch me. Number two, don’t ever call me Kaoru-chan. And number three,” he took Omi’s hand, intertwining their fingers together, “Don’t ever ask me out again.” He marched off haughtily, dragging Omi behind him.