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It was rare for Shigure to be on the the main Sohma compound anymore, so when Kureno noticed him he found a reason to excuse himself from Akito’s grip and slipped outside. He hated doing this to her; the rooster had already abandoned the God. Kureno was determined not to repeat the offence. But still, the heart yearned, and Kureno knew with certainty what he truly wanted.
“Shigure.”
Kureno dropped the formality from Shigure’s name when he realised how much the other man despised him. There was no sense in pretence. They both knew where they stood.
Despite that Kureno was still trying to catch the wind with a butterfly net; every time he came close to Shigure the other man fell through his fingers. He craned his neck, the smile he offered Kureno not meeting his narrowed gaze. This was normal for them now. Even when Kureno had gotten drunk and confessed his feelings, even when Shigure had kissed him, cruelly, to prove that there was nothing between them. Kureno could feel that there was, but still Shigure denied it.
“Kureno.” Shigure flicked out his fan and wafted it across his face until his scent filled Kureno’s senses, a warming sensation passing through the younger man. “What an utterly pleasant surprise.”
Kureno tried to flinch. Instead he grabbed Shigure’s wrist, forcing the shorter man to turn fully and face him.
“Please speak to me, Shigure.” He took a long, shaky breath, steeling his resolve. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Not ever.”
A moment passed, a beat of Kureno’s heart where he looked into the face of the man he loved and hoped with every fibre of his being that he could be loved back. That dream was short-lived, shattering into a million pieces when Shigure yanked his wrist away and snapped his fan shut.
“That’s funny.” Shigure smoothed out his kimono, met Kureno’s watery gaze and spoke with cold purpose. “You’ve not even crossed my mind once.”
When Shigure walked away from him then, Kureno didn’t try and stop him, or go after him and demand to be given a chance. If Shigure was the wind then he blew in one direction at a time, and Kureno could only hope that one day he would be caught up in the breeze at the right moment and have Shigure in his arms once and for all.