“Wait! Yuki, please!” the blonde called out, rushing through the grass, night dew clinging to his robes.  The other young man took no notice of him and Li-han quickened his pace until he was right behind him.  “I said wait!” he yelled, reaching out and grabbing a firm hold on the Yuki’s arm, halting his progress.

Again, Yuki was astonished at Li-han’s strength as he attempted to yank his arm free.

“Let go of me!” he shouted, but the blonde would not relent.

“Let me explain!”

“What can you say?  You always follow me around!  You’re always watching me!  Why?  Why won’t you let me alone?”

A change suddenly came over Li-han.  He still kept Yuki firmly in his grasp, but his eyes softened, and the sad look Yuki had seen in his deep brown eyes earlier that day returned.  “I can’t help it when it comes to you,” Li-han said softly.  “I admit I followed you today.  I wanted to see if you would go to Onmoyo again.  But that night two years ago, I… I didn’t mean to see it.  You were gone for so long.  I was worried, so I came to look for you and crossed over the fields.  That’s where I found you.”

He didn’t tell him how he’d stayed and watched the Rites from the shadow of the grasses, didn’t say how he had felt the pulsing energy in the air and reached down to pleasure himself as he gazed at Yuki’s naked body being taken on the soft earth.

So much had changed for Li-han that night.  He had always admired Yuki and trailed after him, enjoying the company of someone else who didn’t quite fit in.  But the tentative feelings of love and desire that had taken root in his heart had bloomed that summer into a full-fledged passion that disturbed him at night, waking him from sleep as his body grew into manhood.  Yet, he’d never known how to express it or explain it and used his teasing and taunting as a shield against the emotions in his heart.

“I thought…” Li-han said softly, “I thought when I became a man, maybe you would look at me the same way…that maybe I could touch you the way he touched you.”  He reached out to stroke Yuki’s long hair, caressing the silver tips.

Yuki had always meant home to him and he adored the boy’s unusual locks, which distinguished him from everyone else, just the way Li-han’s hair separated him from the rest of the villagers. Though it was not uncommon for a boy’s hair to change shades as he approached puberty, it was typically a gradual process.  However, Yuki’s hair had undergone a dramatic and highly unusual change, shifting from almost platinum white to midnight-black.  Li-han thought the effect was quite alluring, but Yuki had threatened to cut his hair short, much to the agitation of the Elders.  In the end he had acquiesced and kept his locks unshorn, but he did not like the look of them.  Li-han had often told him how lovely his unusual hair looked, but Yuki had never really believed him.

However, Yuki’s attitude had changed after his night with Onmoyo.  He carried himself with a new confidence and even seemed to take pride in his unique appearance.  He had worn his hair tied in a high, trailing ponytail ever since, proudly displaying the remarkable coloring.

“Do you wear your hair up now because he likes it that way?” Li-han asked, unable to help himself.

Yuki’s eyes were wide; Li-han’s guesses were far too close to the truth.

“I saw him running his hand through your hair that night,” the blonde explained. “I bet he was telling you all the things I wanted to say.  Did he tell you how he always wanted to touch it?  How beautiful it was, even though you always tried to hide it?”

Yuki’s breathing was rapid and uneven.  Who was this person before him?  Certainly it wasn’t Li-han—the capricious boy he’d grown up with?  The one who enjoyed taunting him, the one who was constantly causing him grief?  No, this was some quiet stranger whose powerful gaze was making his knees quiver.  He had underestimated Li-han.  He wasn’t just sharp and quick-witted.  The young man could see through him with frightening accuracy.  Li-han’s powers of perception were startling, and Yuki felt suddenly bare to him. It was as if there was nothing he could hide, nothing the blonde could not search for and find, no matter how deeply hidden in his soul.  

Overwhelmed, Yuki tried again to pull away, but Li-han held him steady and looked him in the eyes.

“You asked me why I do these things, and there is nothing I can say except…”

Li-han abruptly released him and fell to the young man’s feet.

“I love you,” the blonde said, kneeling in subjugation and confessing his feelings honestly and openly.  Yuki was taken aback by his admission and the manner of the confession.  Men did not humble themselves in such a fashion, only women confessed their love in this vulnerable manner. But Li-han was through with facades and pretenses.  He could not hold in his feelings any longer and if he could not seduce Yuki by force, he would yield to him, putting himself at the dark-haired boy’s mercy.  Li-han threw away all his shame and pride and bent low to the earth, whispering again, “I love you.”

Yuki was speechless.  The scene unfolding before him was so unlikely he had no idea how to respond.  As if watching from a distance, he saw Li-han’s fingers snake around his ankles in an erotic, plaintive gesture.  His body trembled, his knees felt weak.

Slowly, Li-han’s hands began to drift up the backs of his legs, past his calves, up his sensitive thighs.

“Take me as your lover,” Li-han begged.  The blonde was on his knees and his face was pressed into Yuki’s belly.  “I’ll give myself to you, I’ll do anything.”

“Li-han…” Yuki whispered.  Leaning down, he pulled the blonde to his feet.  “Why?”

“It’s always been you, Yuki.  I love you.  Even if you can’t love me, I don’t care.”

Looking into the golden-brown depths of Li-han’s eyes, Yuki finally saw the man that he was, finally saw the sincerity behind the teasing and pushiness.  Something stirred inside Yuki then, something new and tender.  Without thinking, Yuki reached a hand to touch Li-han’s face and kissed him.

When their lips met, a current ran between their bodies, unlike anything Yuki had felt before—even with Onmoyo.  Li-han’s hands came up to frame Yuki’s face and opened his mouth to him, coaxing the tongue from Yuki’s mouth and twining it about his own.  Both of them trembled. They were on the verge of something new and frightening, and nothing would ever be the same between them again.  But once their lips were touching, there was no breaking away and no going back.  This thing that had sparked between them was too strong and the need to explore it burst through them with almost violent intensity.

In a flash, their hands were tearing at each other’s clothing, mouths eating at one another.  Yuki felt Li-han yank his robe open at the neck, his mouth seeking the taste of the other boy’s skin.  In turn, Yuki pushed aside the blonde’s robes at the torso and ran his fingers up the sharply defined muscles along Li-han’s abdomen.  The boy’s stomach quivered at the touch, encouraging Yuki to explore further.  Wrapping his arms about the other’s waist, Yuki pressed their bare chests together and felt the heated racing of his own heart echoed in the rhythmic pounding of Li-han’s chest.

His attention was suddenly shattered as the blonde latched his teeth onto one pale, tender shoulder.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Li-han said with a wolfish grin of delight.

Yuki answered him with a smile and by grabbing hold of his loose robes and pulling him down into the grass.  Hidden in the tall blue-green stalks, they were free to disrobe each other fully and hastily tugged at one another’s sashes.  Li-han shrugged his robe off, but he stopped Yuki from slipping out of his clothes completely.  The robes hung open and free about his body and framed his naked form, the sleeves catching at his elbows attractively.

“Leave it on,” Li-han said in a husky voice, “I like the way you look.”

Yuki blushed and felt a warmth stirring in his belly at the compliment.  Draping his arms around the blonde’s neck, he pulled him down over his body and gasped at the new sensations it send running along his nerves.

“Yuki,” Li-han whispered, kissing everywhere he could reach.

They clung to one another, pouring themselves into every touch and caress, each man taking joy in the other—no one overpowering the other, no one dominant, just two equals sharing in mutual pleasure.

The passion steadily built between them and their bodies rolled uninhibitedly over the ground, covering their skin with the sweet, green smell of spring.  Their bodies quickly became impatient, arousals bulging and pressing insistently against their bellies.  They paused in their fervent explorations and looked up searchingly into one another’s eyes.  The question was left unsaid: who would yield to the other?  Li-han did not want to impose himself on Yuki.  He had been aggressive earlier that evening and it had backfired.  He didn’t want to take the chance now of ruining the moment by being presumptuous.

Sensing his hesitation, Yuki sat up and resettled himself across Li-han hips.  He was touched that the younger boy would defer to his wishes on this matter, but he did not really feel like being the aggressor.  Moreover, Yuki did not fear penetration, as he assumed Li-han would.  After all, he at least had some experience with this position, where the blonde did not.

He opened himself willingly to Li-han, reaching back to press the blonde’s weeping head between his cheeks.  In response, Li-han’s whole body trembled with need. Although the blonde had received many offers, he had never taken any lovers and the experience was totally new to him.  He was torn between a desire to ravish his partner with feral, unrestrained lust and a need to attend to Yuki’s pleasure slowly, to see him satisfied beyond all else.

“It’s ok, Li-han,” Yuki said softly, spreading himself invitingly.  “Take me.”

The blonde’s will snapped and his hands latched onto the other young man’s hips, holding him prisoner as he plunged deep into his body, forcing his way past the reluctant muscle in one quick thrust.

A sharp cry cut through the night air as Yuki threw his head back in unexpected pain.   His memory of being taken during the Rites had left a distant recollection of pain in his mind, but nothing like this.  The young man didn’t realize the power the Ahla flower had over him that night, the way it dulled his fear and tension.  Moreover, Li-han was considerably larger than Onmoyo, and with far less experience the blonde didn’t know the best way to angle himself for his lover’s comfort.  In retaliation, Yuki’s muscles clamped down, stretching the young man painfully.

For a moment, Li-han was too distracted by the delirious pleasure of Yuki’s tight channel squeezing around him to hear the boy’s torment.  When the cry finally pierced his consciousness, the blonde boy tried to hold himself still.

“Yuki,” Li-han said, reaching up to caress a tear-stained cheek, “I’m hurting you.”

The dark-haired young man shook his head, but his teeth were clenched in obvious discomfort.

“Just keep going.  Please,” Yuki pleaded.

With as much care and patience as his fevered body would allow him, Li-han started to sway gently within his lover’s body.  He tried to wait for Yuki’s muscles to relax, but slipping inside him and having the other boy’s warmth envelope his eager cock was too much.  It sent his mind reeling with pleasure and before he knew it, he had already stepped over the threshold of his release.

“Did you…?” Yuki began, a bit surprised.

The blonde gave him a helpless grin.  “You feel too wonderful,” he said, then gave a little thrust.  Yuki gasped.  Even though he had climaxed, Li-han’s young manhood was not spent and he remained taut and hard in Yuki’s body.

The edge now taken off his lust, Li-han was able to settle into a better rhythm and gradually he saw the strain ease from the dark-haired boy’s features.  It took several moments for the two of them to find a comfortable rhythm, but when they did, Yuki no longer thought about the pain.  Li-han had always been a quick learner and he delighted in finding just the right ways to make the other boy moan and rock against him.

Soon, Yuki was lost.  His body needed what Li had to offer and he took it greedily. He began to lift his pelvis only to slam back down and impale himself further onto Li’s engorged shaft.  He was completely overcome by the experience, a slave to the ravenous passion rushing through him.

There was nothing to mediate between him and the experience this time: no glow from the Ahla flower, no mysterious energy guiding him, no buffer at all, only him and Li-han and the raw intensity building between their bodies.

Beneath him, the blonde was bucking into him with deliberate, fierce thrusts and Yuki was sure that at any moment he would fall to pieces from the brutal rapture wracking his body.  It was too much, he couldn’t process the pleasure and his limbs began to tremble. Li-han was taking all of him, pressing deep inside to reach his most hidden and tender places and forcing a potent, heady ecstasy from his quaking body.

This was true possession, Yuki realized.

The thrill was so great that with nothing more than the friction of his cock against Li-han’s taut stomach, he felt his release swell inside.  The dark-haired boy grew breathless and the pressure within him built like an irresistible tide, pushing him toward a blinding, shattering orgasm.   It was raw and real, so different from the dreamlike climax that had surrounded and penetrated his body during the Rites.  This sensation was far more visceral, wild and uncontrolled.

Li-han felt Yuki’s body contract around him as the young man reached the pinnacle of his pleasure, and the blonde gave in again, bursting into the secret passages of Yuki’s body and coating them with his hot sex.

When Yuki was able to catch his breath, he looked down and saw to his chagrin that he had shot forth with such force that his liquid seed was spattered across the blonde’s torso, even over his neck and face.  Yuki was slightly ashamed by the mishap and tried to wipe the boy clean, but Li-han stayed his hand.  Instead, the blonde dipped his fingers into the pearly white substance and sucked them into his mouth, tasting Yuki’s essence.

“W-what are you doing?” Yuki asked, his face flushed red from their lovemaking and his own embarrassment.

“I wanted to taste you.”

Yuki let himself collapse atop the young man, burying his face in his shoulder.  “How can you say such things out loud?” he asked.

Li-han just smiled and stroked his hair.

Suddenly, Yuki laughed.

“What could be so amusing at a time like this?” Li-han asked, somewhat offended.

To placate him, Yuki kissed him lightly, then looked into his eyes.  “I’m sorry, I was just remembering what Onmoyo told me today.”

The blonde beneath him frowned.  “How could you bring him up now?”

“I thought you wanted to know what he said,” Yuki said with a lopsided grin.

Li-han gave a ‘hmph’ and refused to reply.

“Don’t be mad,” the dark-haired boy said softly, reaching out to caress the Li-han’s cheek.  “He was reminding me of something.  He had told me on the night of the Rites that we were not meant for each other, that someone else was meant for me.”

Li-han perked up at these words.

“I guess he was right after all.”

Now the blonde smiled and lifted his head to kiss him gently.  After a quiet moment, he couldn’t help but ask, “But why did he have to kiss you?”

Yuki shrugged.  “Perhaps it was a farewell kiss,” he paused, “because he knew after tonight I’d belong to you.”

They smiled and spent the rest of the night basking in the glow of their newly discovered love.

EPILOGUE

“You still enjoy making me late, don’t you?” Yuki asked, adjusting his robes.

“I can’t help it. You’re too tempting,” Li-han replied, his eyes glowing with satisfaction as he watched his long-time lover dress himself after their lovemaking.  It didn’t matter how many years went by, he adored him as much as ever.

“That’s sweet, but if you don’t get out of bed soon our guests are going to see more of you than they bargained for,” the dark-haired man said, cocking an eyebrow.

Li-han groaned, but he rose just the same.

It was an important day and he knew Yuki didn’t want anything going wrong.

Stepping out of the bedroom, the dark-haired man was promptly tackled around the knees by an unseen foe.  Tumbling to the ground, Yuki heard a giggle and looked down at his attacker.

“Shinmi!  What are you doing?”

A round face with large green eyes beamed up at him.  “Li-Papa told me to do it!” the young girl said, laughing brightly.

“I did not!” Li-han protested, but he was smiling.  Kneeling down, he whispered in her ear, “It was supposed to be our secret, remember?”

Shinmi covered her mouth with a chubby little hand.  “Oops!  I forgot.”  She turned to the other man and asked, “Is Yu-Papa mad?”

Yuki laughed.  “No, but you should get ready.  Our guests are coming soon.  You don’t want to be late like Li-Papa always is, do you?”

“Hey!”  Li-han said.

Yuki disentangled himself from the little cherub at his feet and stood up to give his long-time partner a kiss on the cheek.

“Shinmi wants a kiss too!”

Yuki and Li-han bend down to plant a kiss on each of the girl’s cheeks then nudged her towards her bedroom to change into her dress robes.

“She’s so like you,” Yuki said, a soft gleam in his eye.

“By which you mean she’s going to be a terror when she gets older, don’t you?” the blonde said with a chuckle.

Yuki laughed, and there was a knock at the door.

The next several hours were spent reminiscing with old friends and celebrating the formal adoption of Shinmi into the men’s household.  It was a bittersweet occasion, since many of the guests remembered the girl’s unfortunate young mother and her untimely death just a few years before.  Still, Li-han and Yuki had been able to bring the little girl out of her pain and melancholy.  They understood more than most, the plight of those left alone by circumstance.  Now, they could finally make her an official member of their family.

“It’s been a long time,” Onmoyo said as he entered their home.  He would perform the Blessing, of course, and Yuki could think of no one else better to do it.

Li-han welcomed the Seer warmly.  Once the blonde had become secure in his relationship with Yuki, his jealousy ebbed, though he was still a bit overly attentive toward the dark-haired man whenever the attractive Seer was around.

Shinmi ran throughout the crowd, enjoying all the attention the day brought her.  Somehow she managed to calm down and stay still as Onmoyo washed her temples with the blessed oils and tied a special knot about her small wrist to signify her new bond to the household.

It was an emotional day for everyone and as the sun dipped towards the West, Yuki stepped outside to take in a breath of the crisp, evening air and clear his head.

“You have everything you want now,” said a rich voice behind him.  Turning, Yuki saw Onmoyo step up beside him.  “Don’t you?”

The handsome man smiled, the silver ends of his long hair catching in the breeze.

“Yes.”

They stood for a moment in silence, listening to the merriment indoors.

“I never thanked you,” said Yuki.

“For what?”

Yuki’s sea-green eyes sparkled as he spoke.  “For guiding me towards Li-han, for putting your own feelings aside.   For everything.”

He watched as Onmoyo looked away, his expression thoughtful and maybe just a little discomfited byYuki’s gratitude.  “That’s what I do.  I’m a Seer.  It’s my duty to watch over the village,” he replied.  “But thank you.”

Yuki nodded and quietly stepped back inside. He sat down next to Li-han and nestled into his embrace. Shinmi promptly settled into his lap.  The day’s excitement had finally worn her down and she was asleep within minutes.

“I love you, you know,” Yuki said softly.

“Yes, I know,” Li-han replied, nuzzling his face into the Yuki’s black hair.