I'm still working on the shiznat ones but here's a bit of something to tide you over until then.

Snog XVII: Reito and Shizuru

The cries of "Reito-sama!" and "Kanzaki-sempai!" reached Shizuru's ears long before she saw a harassed Reito walking in her direction.

She paused and turned, watching Reito attempting to fend of the overenthusiastic girls who surrounded him. It was almost comical, Reito with his polite smile dancing out of the way of the chattering girls who kept inching closer to him.

"Shizuru!" Reito exclaimed upon seeing her, the relief evident in his voice. He detached himself from the girls surrounding him and strode quickly to Shizuru. Seizing her arm, he pressed a kiss to her lips, much to the dismay of his fan club.

Seeing the desperation in Reito's eyes, Shizuru took pity on him and played along. "Please excuse us." she told the other girls. "We have Student Council matters to attend to, I'm sure you understand." She said with a pleasant smile. It was true. They did have a meeting that afternoon.

"Yes, yes. That's exactly what I was trying to say. " Reito agreed hastily.

They walked away, Reito keeping his arm around Shizuru's waist until he was certain that they were out of sight. As they entered the mostly empty school building, he dropped his arm with a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, but those girls were positively vicious!" He exclaimed.

Shizuru stifled a laugh. "Well, it's your fault. You usually lead them on."

Reito mimed an arrow through the heart. "Shizuru, how could you think that of me? You know my heart belongs to only one person."

Shizuru couldn't help it, she really laughed this time. Reito didn't seem too offended as they resumed walking through the mostly deserted corridors. Classes were finished for the day and it was only the all-important Student Council whose members were still indoors.

"They'll all be talking about this you know." Shizuru commented as they climbed the first flight of stairs.

"Let them." Reito said darkly.

"Ara, won't that make Tokiha-san jealous?"

Reito raised an eyebrow. "Mai jealous isn't what I'm after. Not Mai."

"So how are things with her?" Shizuru asked curiously.

"Actually, I think I'm getting to like her." Reito shrugged. "Just a bit."

Shizuru's eyes widened in shock. Reito had never confessed to liking a girl before. Not to her anyway.

"Does that surprise you, Shizuru?" Reito asked, his face an emotionless mask.

Shizuru thought about it for a moment then decided to answer honestly. "Yes. Yes it does."

Reito sighed and the mask dropped, leaving a melancholy expression behind. "Shizuru, why do we love the people we do?"

"Because we're both fools." Shizuru answered swiftly, answered without thinking. Their eyes met briefly then, in a moment of shared understanding and camaraderie.

They continued walking in silence, but it was a comfortable one. One between two people who were used to each other's presence and had nothing to hide from each other.

Shizuru interrupted the silence eventually when she realized their path was actually leading them away from their destination. "Why are we taking such a roundabout route?"

"Because we're trying to avoid my rabid fan club?"

"Mhmm." Shizuru said skeptically. "Could it be that you're trying to avoid someone?"

"Possibly."

"You'll have to go in eventually, you know."

"Can you blame me for not wanting to?"

"No, of course not." Shizuru's eyes softened. "But you'll end up going anyway. You won't be able to help yourself. Like a moth to the flame."

"Speaking from experience, I see."

Shizuru laughed. "Between the two of us, you're the one with more experience."

"Yours has been longer."

"But yours burned brighter."

"And died down faster." Reito said, his voice deceptively normal. "Snuffed out with no mercy."

"So now you're using jealousy..." Shizuru trailed off, carefully keeping her voice neutral.

Reito frowned. "Haven't you felt it Shizuru? Haven't you ever been jealous before? Takeda..."

"Isn't a real threat." Shizuru said dismissively. "Feeling jealous is different from using it to get revenge."

"Is it, really?" Reito said in a whisper. "What if Natsuki... rejected you? What would you do then?"

A cold feeling settled into the pit of Shizuru's stomach. "I..." She shivered. "I don't know... Pretend it never happened I guess."

"Don't be too sure of that, Shizuru. We're too much alike."

"Maybe. But I wouldn't have gotten other people involved. What you're doing to Mai... it isn't fair."

"It's not fair, Shizuru. It's not fair that everything came out when I never meant it to. "

"Reito." Shizuru said forcefully. "I understand. I... don't like it. But I understand what you feel." Reito gave her a small smile, and Shizuru sensed he was grateful for her words.

"So. Think she'll be there?" Reito asked in a casual tone.

Shizuru knew at once which 'she' Reito was talking about and it definitely wasn't Reito's. "She'll probably be there. This morning she mentioned that she had to look something up."

"Excited about seeing your own lady love?" Reito drawled teasingly as they climbed another set of stairs.

This drew a burst of laughter from Shizuru. "Don't let Natsuki hear you saying that. My Natsuki's many things but she's hardly a lady."

"Your Natsuki..." Reito murmured, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice.

Shizuru looked at her friend impassively.

"I'm sorry." Reito apologized. "It's just..." He sighed.

Sympathy entered Shizuru's eyes and she laid a hand on Reito's arm. "It's okay..."

"Will it ever stop hurting Shizuru?" Reito asked, a quiet despair in his voice. They had reached the correct corridor now despite Reito's attempts at stalling.

"No." Shizuru answered seriously, also battling the despair that lived in her own heart. "It never will."

"Then we keep living like this?" Reito asked, as the Student Council room drew nearer and nearer.

"What choice do we have?" Shizuru asked sadly.

"True." Reito acknowledged. They were standing in front of the door now. "Ready?" Reito asked.

Shizuru reached out and squeezed Reito's hand. Then she let go and whispered, "Ready."

When Reito opened the door they were instantly met by Haruka's scathing remarks on their lateness and Yukino's attempts at calming her overenthusiastic friend down.

But neither of them heard a word of what Haruka and Yukino were saying. Shizuru's eyes flew unerringly to the girl sitting at the president's table, making free with the president's laptop.

And, just as Shizuru's to Natsuki, so Reito's gaze was drawn to the Student Council's blond tag-along sitting at the back of the room.

Reito and Shizuru. They understood each other. They understood each other very well indeed.