betweenrealities | [Fic][Saint Seiya] The Time of Our Life

Title: The Time of Our Life

Fandom: Animanga – Saint Seiya

Summary: After a long while, they talked about their robbed childhood for the first and last time. [Set before 'His Duty as A Human']

Warning: AU. Can be seen as shonen-ai, but I would prefer to use the term 'childhood friends' here.

A/N: I still haven't written on Seiya and admitttedly, I have problems with his characteristics and how he stole the limelights from everyone. So here's my third try.

Disclaimer: Not. Mine. Happy now?

Seiya gruffly rubbed his eyes. Looking around and judging from the light outside, he had fallen asleep right after visiting Seika that afternoon.

Realising the time, he quickly stood up and went to the door. 'Ah, damn. It's my turn to cook dinner.'

Lucky for him, Aiolos was a much calmer man than his younger brother and seldom got angry at him for various mistakes he usually prone to make. But exactly because of that he did not want to dissapoint the older Saint.

He was about to turn the knob when he heard another voice talking to the Sagittarius Saint. 'We have a visitor?' Seiya quickly straigtened his hair and clothes, and went out to greet the owner of the familiar voice.

"Ah, Seiya. You're awake. I hope you don't mind me visiting."

"Eh? There's nothing with you visiting. You are welcomed just like everyone else. Would you stay for dinner?"

"Well… Since Aiolos has been asking too, I guess so."

The older Saint only smiled. "There's no way Seiya would mind having you here, since that means he won't be cooking dinner. I don't want him to poison you."

"Hey, that's rude!"

Shun's laughter that follows managed to take Seiya's anger in less than a second. He smiled at his childhood friend, only to receive another smile.

Between them, Aiolos silently looked at them with approval.

'Nothing will change between these two, I supposed.'

He was worried for nothing.

After dinner, Seiya insisted for Shun to stay over for the night. Shun tried to reason that he was not staying that far away (the Virgo Temple) and Seiya, you know I can protect myself and this is Sanctuary, dammit!, but to no avail.

He should have known he would never win any argument with Seiya.

Then they argued about where he should sleep that night. He insisted on the couch, but Seiya won't let him. He insisted that Shun sleep in his bed, and he would sleep outside, but Shun vehemently won't let him. He then suggested for both of them to sleep in the room, but then Aiolos pointed out that they do not have extra comforters for any of them to sleep on the floor (they rarely get overnight visitors, unlike the Aquarius Temple).

In the end, a perplexed Shun and a nonchalant Seiya slipped into Seiya's bed together after taking an extra blanket and pillow from a laughing Aiolos.

All in all, it was an amusing night for the older Saint. Not that he would tell any of them.

There was silence for a few minutes. Now that it was only the two of them, Seiya's mind went back to the event that happened a few days ago. He still could not get it out of his head.

And he was still having problems accepting the notion that Shun was leaving them in few days' time.

That thought did not even occur to him when they were having dinner together, laughing and teasing each other like usual. It did not feel like Shun would be gone soon. One of his friends; one of his most important people in this world.

Seiya quickly turned his back to Shun, feeling tears starting to prick his eyes. He would not cry! Crying would not change anything; Shun already made his decision. Crying would only make Shun feel guiltier, like what happened with Ikki.

"Seiya, are you angry with me?"

The quiet voice made him turned to other occupant of the bed. Shun was not looking at him, only staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were intently strained to the small crack they found there, but the Pegasus knew Shun was about to cry as well.

Not knowing what to do, he slid closer to the older boy and threw an arm around him, startling him out of his depressing thought.

"Seiya, what--"

"Remember we used to do this at the orphanage? Whenever there was a thunderstorm, we would to go to each other's bed and sleep like this."

There was no reply at first, making Seiya think that changing the subject was a bad idea. Then Shun turned to lay on his side, an arm going around him as well, a nostalgic smile on his face.

"At first I used to go into Brother's bed. Then I found out you were also scared of the thunderstorms, so I went into yours instead. Remember his face when he first found out we were doing that?"

They laughed quietly at that memory. Ikki first found out when he was about to wake his brother and found Seiya was with him. In Shun's bed. His horrified expression made them laugh loudly instead of worrying that he might scold them, waking everyone else around them.

It was one of the best memories they had in the orphanage, among the painful ones.

Soon, the awkwardness they experienced was gone, replaced by whispered words and stiffled laughters, recalling their time at the orphanage, at that time yet to be aware of the outside world.

Yet to know of the life they would be forced to go through.

They then stopped talking to take a breath after a fit of laughter of how Seiya somehow manged to get into the water tank in order to hide from Tatsumi and Saori.

Shun's acting telling the rest that Seiya had decided to commit suicide made them laugh even harder.

Gasping for breath with an arm hugging the other boy, Seiya whipped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Those times were the best. We really thought nothing can ever separate us, not even those hellish trainings."

He realised a second too late it was the wrong thing to say when he felt Shun stiffened in his arms.

Quickly, the awkwardness came back. Still hugging each other, Seiya did not know what else to say. Shun was silent in his arms, face hidden in his neck.

Seiya was about to apologise when Shun suddenly spoke up, his head turning to lean on his shoulder. "I wish we could still be like old times. I always have that thought. Do you know that, Seiya?"

Seiya did not reply to that, but his arms were unconsciously tighter around the other. And Shun did not wait for one either.

"But as I grew up on the Andromeda Island, I was starting to lose that sight. The only thing in my head was to bring back the Cloth and see my brother again. Seeing you guys again after seven years did not even trigger those memories. Isn't it irony that all those battles after that made me remember again?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. I think everyone was the same at that time. We thought we have different priorities to be taken care of." 'Like me searching for my sister.'

Shun leaned closer, until their forehead touched and their eyes were looking into each other. "Guess only when our lives were in danger that we remember about others."

"I'll take that as a compliment for us, then."

"Why?"

"Because usually people care about themselves rather than others."

Shun let a small giggle. He was again quiet for some time, before continuing, "Please don't hate me for my decision, Seiya. If you, of all people, were to hate me, I… I think I'll regret this decision for the rest of my life."

Seiya let out a sigh, before pulling the other closer, so close that there was almost no space between their bodies. "I can never hate you, Shun. I can't even find you annoying. So please don't think like that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Really, really, really?"

"Really… Shun, stop. Or I will be mad at you." (1)

At that, Shun laughed hard, the laughter so bright that Seiya had to follow. Few minutes of laughing and grasping for breath, the Pegasus Saint said, "I know why you're doing this. I know you know this, but remember I will always be behind you to support you. … Even if I am not physically there," he continued after a while, remembering that they were not with Shun when he made the big decision.

Shun let out a small smile at the pause, before whispering, "Of course I know that. Thank you, Seiya."

"There's no need to thank me. That's what friends, family, are for, right?"

The only answer Seiya received were a nod into his neck, a dry sob and Shun snuggling deeper into his body.

And he understood.

Aiolos opened the door into Seiya's room quietly. He knew both of them were still asleep, judging from the laughter he heard way into midnight. Still, it was already morning and both of them, especially Shun, had others things to do.

"Seiya, Shun, it's time to wake up--"

He stopped there and decided that it was alright if they were a couple of hours late. Because for now, nothing was more important than this.

He closed the door, after taking another glance at the sleeping pair on the bed, arms around each other and peaceful smiles on their faces.

'Nothing will ever change the feeling these two have for each other.'

(1) Reference to 3x3 Eyes, where Pye does exactly this to Yakumo and he cries for her to stop. XD

A/N: I'll be prefectly honest here. I have no feelings towards SeiyaxShun, unless you count in friendship and family. And since we often see 'manly tears' in the series, I hope no one minds I'm writing these two like these. If they can cry so easily for others, surely hugging close friends is nothing, right? And I really think Shun and Seiya as childhood+best friends FOREVER is the cutest thing ever.

Oh, and the memories they mentioned here have nothing to do with the series, 'kay?

Thank you for reading and C&C are well appreciated.