But, it's Duo, so I play along. "What's wrong?"

He responds according to the unwritten rules. "Nothing."

"Hn. I thought Shinigami never lied."

Oh, if looks could kill, I'd be flat-out dead right here on the sidewalk. Those violet eyes can shoot ice when Duo's mad enough.

"Better watch out, or OZ will try to steal that glare for use as a lethal weapon."

The humor has the desired effect. His shoulders soften a bit, and I see him trying to decide how to let me know his problem. Finally, as usual, he throws up his hands and blurts it out. "You never kiss me."

Nani! Groups of students split up to walk around us where we've come to a sudden stop. I certainly didn't expect this. "That's not true. I kiss you all the time. I kissed you not an hour ago."

He gives me that smug look he gets when he thinks he's right. "You never kiss me on the lips. Ever."

Well, he's got me there. I turn away and resume the trek toward the school building. It's true. I have covered him in kisses, behind his knees and in the crook of his neck, the tip of his nose and the tip of his cock. I have tasted and licked and kissed every inch of his body while he squirmed and panted under me. Every inch, that is, except his lips.

"I'm right, aren't I?" he accuses. "Admit it, you never kiss me on the lips. Do I have bad breath or something?"

"No, of course not, baka." We walk up the steps and into the broad front lobby this particular school happens to have. It occurs to me that I don't even know the name of this one. Duo moves to the side, against the wall where we won't block the stream of traffic flowing in through the glass doors. I follow, standing close so that we won't be overheard.

"I don't kiss you because...."

How do I tell him? It's not that I don't want to, not that I haven't imagined it in every possible detail. I can't kiss him on the lips, because I know if I do, I won't be able to stop. I will fall into him and become lost in the whirlwind that is Duo Maxwell. He will consume me with his passion and energy, and I will be changed when I reemerge. I fear that I will discover for the first time what love is, and I can't afford for that to happen. Not now. I must be the soldier, and soldiers don't fall in love. Do they?

Duo looks at me, intent, waiting for my reply. He expects some logical answer, but I have none to give. I can only stare at him. His face is flushed. Wisps of hair that have escaped his braid brush against his cheek. It is an effort not to reach up and tuck them behind his ear. He has a small scar at the corner of his left eye, remnant of some anonymous battle. I can feel it with my tongue when I....

Oh, what the fuck.

He is so startled when I grab his waist that he doesn't resist. His weight falls onto my arms, his knees buckle, and I kiss him.

His lips are ripe against my own, full of promise and heartache. He breathes into my mouth, the essence of Duo stealing throughout my body, streaking through my limbs and into my heart, marking me indelibly. I am pulled into him, electrified by the taste of his lips, the touch of his tongue against mine. I can only kiss him harder, deeper.

His face reveals both shock and joy when I pull away. For once, words seem to elude him.

"Duo," I whisper, "my love." He is the only one who hears.