Clamp School Fan Fiction ❯ More Fun than a Catered Luncheon and Twice as Yummy ❯ More Fun ( One-Shot )

DISCLAIMER: All characters are property of CLAMP, and I, unfortunately, have no claim over them. This story was written for entertainment only.

WARNINGS:
Rating: PG/PG-13
Contains shounen-ai and gratuitous blushing. And, oddly enough, a spoiler for the end of Duklyon. If any of these things are going to scar you for life, then don't read it! (Duh....)

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MORE FUN THAN A CATERED LUNCHEON AND TWICE AS YUMMY
a CCD fanfic by Emily-chan

The autumn sunshine streamed in through the large main window of the CLAMP Campus University Division Student Council room. For once, student council president Imonoyama Nokoru actually almost deserved the halo effect the sunlight created as it reflected off his golden hair. Nokoru had been working diligently all day, simply because Suoh had asked him to. After all, they had goofed off all yesterday....

Suoh leaned back in his chair and smiled. He listened to the comfortable sound of typing mixed with the click of the beads on Akira's abacus, occasionally punctuated by the soft thump of Nokoru's stamp. How many more of these peaceful, quiet days would the three of them have together? For Nokoru to do his paperwork without complaining was rare indeed. But in six months, he would graduate and take over as the school's rijichou. Of course, Suoh and Akira would join him in their respective duties as secretary and treasurer once they too graduated, but Suoh knew that it wouldn't be the same. The rijichou's job was much more hectic and demanding. Once graduation came, these quiet days would be over.

"Hai." Akira's quiet voice brought Suoh out of his reverie. The treasurer handed him a spreadsheet.

"Aa, arigatou, Ijyuin." Suoh turned to smile at his friend, but Akira was already headed back to his own desk.

A frown passed over Suoh's handsome face as he studied the treasurer's report. Ijyuin seemed distant today. He hadn't been as talkative as usual during lunch, and whenever Suoh or Nokoru said something to him, he appeared to not really be listening. There was definitely something on his mind. But no notices from 20 Mensou had been reported, so what else could it be?

Suoh shrugged. If it was important, Akira would let them know. Except for that one secret, he never kept things to himself for long. Once he had finished thinking over his problem, he would ask for help if he needed it. Suoh went back to his work, satisfied that everything would come out soon enough.

He was right.

"Kaichou," Akira finally spoke up.

"Hai," Nokoru answered absentmindedly, his eyes skimming a document awaiting his approval.

"Are you and Takamura-senpai having an affair?"

There was a loud THUD as two chairs fell over.

"A-Akira...." Nokoru said shakily as he pulled himself to his feet. He flipped open his fan, trying to hide the large sweatdrop working its way down the side of his head. "Why did you ask that?"

Akira looked from Nokoru to an extremely red-faced Suoh, who was coughing into his fist and seemed very interested in something on the floor off to his left. "Perhaps Takamura-senpai needs some water?" the treasurer asked.

"Iie, I'm fine," Suoh answered, still coughing. He turned his intense golden eyes on Akira. "But why did you ask that, Ijyuin?"

"Well," Akira began, "You know that yesterday I accompanied Utako-kaichou on a visit to the Higashikunimaru Corporation. Her uncle is an executive there, and because the company is co-sponsoring a project for students in the high school division, she had a meeting with him."

Nokoru and Suoh both nodded. They already knew that; Suoh had insisted that since Akira was not directly affiliated with the project, his time would be better spent working on his treasurer duties. However, Utako had made a request, and Nokoru refused to disappoint a lady. But what did all that have to do with anything?

"Well, for some reason, she seemed angry with her uncle," Akira continued. "And she seemed to not like his secretary at all. I don't know why; she was very friendly, especially to Utako-san's uncle. I mentioned this to Utako-san, and she said that it was because her uncle and his secretary were probably having an affair. She said that businessmen often have affairs with their secretaries." Akira paused. "I wonder what kind of affair her uncle and his secretary are having? Perhaps they're going to throw a party! Or a catered luncheon would be nice," he mused.

Suoh and Nokoru glanced at each other. Nokoru's mouth was hidden by his fan, but Suoh could tell that he was trying hard not to laugh.

"Anyway," Akira went on, "then Higashikunimaru-shachou came over and said that he had overheard and Utako-san was right, and that he was also having an affair with his secretary."

Nokoru began to shake. Even Suoh was having a hard time suppressing a smile now.

"And so," Akira concluded, "I thought, Higashikunimaru-shachou and Shuukaidou-san are very good friends, and Shuukaidou-san is Higashikunimaru-shachou's secretary, and they are having an affair. And Kaichou and Takamura-senpai are also very good friends, and Takamura-senpai is Kaichou's secretary. And I know you do a lot of things together, so I was wondering if you were also having an affair."

Nokoru could no longer contain himself. A snicker became a giggle, and soon his head was thrown back with loud, musical laughter. Suoh tried to mask his grin with a forced frown of disapproval at Nokoru's lack of restraint.

Akira blinked at his two closest friends, not understanding. "Doushite?" he asked, his eyes troubled.

"I -- I'm sorry, Akira," Nokoru gasped between peals of laughter. "It's just --" He gripped the edge of Akira's desk with both hands as he doubled over with another wave of laughter. After a few minutes, the shaking subsided, and Nokoru began to calm down. Finally, he was able to stand up and look at Akira with an almost straight face.

"Gomen, Akira," he apologized again, wiping a tear from his eye. "True, Suoh and I are very good friends, but I assure you, we are not," he snickered again, "planning any 'affairs'. Besides," he pointed out, "Suoh is not really my secretary. He works for the whole CLAMP University Division." Nokoru began to giggle again as he imagined Suoh having an affair with the entire university.

"Sou desu ne," Akira said thoughtfully. He sighed, sounding both relieved and disappointed. "I thought, these businessmen are probably under a lot of stress, like Kaichou often is, and if the affair were a party or something fun like that, it would help to get rid of some of it. That would be good, right?"

Nokoru nodded his head vigorously.

"But," Akira cast his eyes downward, "I was afraid that you and Takamura-senpai were doing something and didn't want me to be part of it."

Nokoru's smile vanished. "Akira...." He knew how much Akira hated being left out, but he hadn't realized just how insensitive he and Suoh had been lately. Or, rather, he hadn't wanted to realize it. The truth was, they had hoped that Akira, in his naïveté, wouldn't notice all the extra time they were spending together. Nokoru glanced at Suoh, who shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"It's okay." Akira tried to sound cheerful. "I know that you are closer to each other than you are to me, because you've known each other longer, and because of whatever happened 'that summer three years ago'...."

"Ijyuin," Suoh sweatdropped, "that was thirteen years ago...."

"But you have been spending a lot more time together lately," Akira continued. "Of course, I'm glad you're not avoiding each other anymore, but...." He sighed. "I know I have no right to complain, because I have been spending most of my free time with Utako-san." Tears welled up in the treasurer's silver eyes. "But, I was afraid that maybe you thought I didn't want to do things with you anymore."

Nokoru felt guiltier than ever. Akira, far too polite to come out and say his friends were ignoring him, had shifted the blame onto himself, when in reality, Utako had offered to do more things with him so that Nokoru and Suoh could have some time alone together. Not that Utako hadn't wanted to spend more time with Akira. After all, they were going through an important stage in their relationship, too, and Nokoru knew they both enjoyed the extra time together. But still....

Nokoru opened his mouth, but couldn't think of any words that would assuage either Akira's hurt feelings or the guilt in his own heart.

"Ijyuin."

Nokoru looked up and was surprised to see Suoh put his hand on Akira's shoulder.

"Kaichou and I know you far too well to ever think such a thing. Neither of us begrudge you the time you spend with Ohkawa-san. We both know how happy you are when you are with her. But we would never think that your feelings for her mean that you care for us any less. Just as, whatever happens, our feelings of friendship for you will only grow stronger over time."

"Takamura-senpai...." Akira's eyes shimmered with tears.

Nokoru stared in amazement at the two most important people in his life. One, a friend truly beyond compare; the other, a lover who surpassed all his hopes and dreams. Nokoru didn't think he had ever seen Suoh say so much to Akira at one time. In fact, he couldn't remember Suoh ever saying so much to anybody at one time. Anyone who knew Suoh knew how precious a word from him was, especially since he always meant what he said. For Suoh to do such a thing -- it was obvious that he truly cared about Akira. Nokoru blinked back tears of his own as he joined his friends.

"So," Suoh was saying, "from now on, we will make sure to do more things together, just the three of us, right?"

"Right!" Nokoru joined in, placing his hand on Akira's other shoulder. "And the first thing we'll do is throw a party! A huge party for all the university students!"

"Sugoi!" laughed Akira, clapping. "What a wonderful idea, Kaichou!"

"It was yours," Nokoru reminded him cheerfully.

"Chotto," Suoh interjected. "That wasn't really what I had in mind...."

The other two ignored him.

"What do you think the theme should be, Akira?"

"Ano... it's too early for Christmas.... But if we work quickly, we could do Halloween!"

"Perfect!"

Suoh sighed. There goes the rest of the day....

~*~

"Aa!" Akira cried, looking at his watch. "It's past tea-time! I'll go get it!" he offered happily as he jumped up from his desk and hurried out of the room.

"Finally, time for a break!" Nokoru spun around once in his chair, coming to a halt with his feet propped up on his desk.

"And just what makes you think that you deserve a break?" Suoh leaned sternly over Nokoru's desk.

"What?" Nokoru asked innocently. "I went back to work, didn't I?"

"Hai, you have been working, but NOT on your paperwork." From beneath Nokoru's feet, Suoh pulled out the paper that the president had been working on. It detailed several intricate plans for ending the affair between Utako's uncle and his secretary and mending his relationship with his wife. Sketches of Halloween costumes were drawn in the margins.

"S-Suoh...."

Nokoru quickly recovered, however, and fire sparked in his eyes as he stood up. "Suoh! How can I, a member of the CLAMP Campus Detectives, stand by while that philandering man breaks the hearts of his wife and niece? Surely you don't --"

"Kaichou," Suoh interrupted. "First of all, we don't even know if Ohkawa-kaichou's uncle and his secretary are actually having an affair. And secondly, Ohkawa-kaichou's uncle is not married."

"Ee?" asked Nokoru, caught off-balance.

"His wife died three years ago," Suoh explained. "Before his secretary even came to work at the company. If Ohkawa-kaichou has any resentment towards her uncle, it is probably because she feels he has betrayed the memory of her beloved aunt. In which case, it is her problem, not yours."

"Suoh," Nokoru asked slowly. "When did you research all of this?"

Suoh blushed slightly and looked away.

"You see," Nokoru teased. "You weren't doing council work, either!"

"I was just taking preventative measures to insure that you would do your work!" Suoh protested.

"At any rate," Nokoru sat down and turned away in his chair. "this case has been solved. However...." He glanced over his shoulder at Suoh, blue eyes sparkling. "From now on, I would appreciate it if you did not use student council time for detective work!"

"Kaichou...."

Nokoru laughed and spun the rest of the way around. "An affair...." he giggled, leaning his head on the desk.

Suoh smiled in spite of himself. "His logic was not that far off," he pointed out.

Both men were thoughtful for a moment.

Finally, Suoh voiced the question he knew they were both thinking. "Do you think we should tell him?"

"I don't know." Nokoru shook his head as he stood up, and golden hair sparkled in the sunlight. "I feel like it would be the right thing to do, but... if he got that upset when he thought we were planning a party without him, how is he going to feel when he finds out what we've really been doing? I mean, we've got a whole separate relationship that he'll never be part of! I --" His voice grew quiet. "I don't want to hurt him again."

Suoh nodded. "I know Ijyuin doesn't like to be left out," he said. "However, I think it will hurt him more that we are keeping this secret from him. The longer we wait, the worse it will be."

Nokoru sighed. "You're right, of course, Suoh. But...." He turned away and hung his head. He could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Suoh walked around the desk and put a strong, gentle arm around his friend's shoulders. "Why don't you just say what's really bothering you?" he suggested, drawing Nokoru close.

Nokoru rested his head on Suoh's shoulder. After so many years of trying to separate himself from everyone, Nokoru was always surprised at how well the ninja knew him.

"Akira's always felt that I care more about you than I do about him," Nokoru began. "I've tried to make him feel like you and he are equals, but --" His lip trembled. "Well, you ARE more important to me than he is!" he finally admitted bitterly.

Suoh held Nokoru tightly and stroked his almost-curly blond hair. "It's nothing to feel guilty about," he consoled. "Everybody has someone they love the most. I'm sure Ijyuin cares far more for Ohkawa-san than he does for either of us."

Nokoru pressed his face into Suoh's blazer. "I know, but how am I supposed to tell him that?" he moaned miserably.

"We'll just tell him the truth," Suoh said. "He deserves that much from us."

Nokoru nodded. But they both knew it was not going to be as simple as it sounded.

~*~

"I've been thinking about Utako-kaichou's uncle," Nokoru began after Akira had returned with the tea. "Probably, when Utako-kaichou said 'affair', she meant a love affair."

"Ohhhh," Akira said. There was a moment of silence. "What's a 'love affair'?"

Suoh nearly choked on his tea.

Not as simple as it sounds, Nokoru thought with a wry grin. "A love affair," he explained, choosing his words carefully, "is when two people have a... romantic relationship of a... ah, somewhat secretive nature." He paused. "I was telling you the truth when I said that Suoh and I weren't planning any affairs, but you asked if we were having an affair, and, well...." Nokoru glanced at the blue-haired ninja sitting next to him on the couch. Suoh was staring into his tea and blushing furiously, but he nodded for Nokoru to continue.

"We are."

Akira's face lit up. "That's wonderful!" he exclaimed.

Nokoru and Suoh stared at him.

"I knew that Takamura-senpai had found someone special, but I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Kaichou!"

Suoh did choke on his tea.

"A-Akira...." Nokoru tried to regain his composure. "You don't understand. It isn't 'Suoh and someone' and 'me and someone', it's 'Suoh and me'."

Akira became confused again. Wasn't it rather odd for two men to share a girlfriend? He thought of his okaasans and his otousan. Kaichou and Takamura-senpai didn't seem like the kind of people who would get involved in that kind of relationship. Maybe that's why they wanted to keep it secret, he thought.

"So... Kaichou..."

Nokoru nodded.

"...and Takamura-senpai..."

Suoh nodded.

"...and who is the lady?"

Suoh set his teacup back down on the table. It was dangerous to try to drink tea while explaining something to Akira.

Nokoru was becoming exasperated. "There is no lady! Look, you and Utako-san love each other, right?" Akira nodded, blushing. "Well, Suoh and I love each other."

"Oh!" Akira smiled brightly. "I love you and Takamura-senpai, too!"

Nokoru face-faulted onto the table.

"Not like that, Ijyuin," mumbled Suoh, who had turned about three more shades of red.

"Hm? Like how, then?"

"Like this!" Nokoru, having given up on words, suddenly pinned Suoh to the couch and enveloped him in a passionate kiss.

"WAAAAH!!" Akira leapt to his feet and flung his hands over his eyes.

Suoh quickly pushed Nokoru away and struggled to sit up. "What the hell did you do that for?!" he shouted.

"Well, you weren't helping any," Nokoru sulked. "You made that big speech earlier, just so you wouldn't have to say anything else for the rest of the day."

Akira cautiously peered at his friends through his fingers. "Y-y-y-y-y-you m-m-mean --" he stammered.

Nokoru nodded.

"B-b-b-b-but you're both MEN!"

"Obviously," Suoh muttered.

"B-but how can two men --"

"Quite well, actually," answered Nokoru with a devilish grin.

Akira turned bright red as he realized what his kaichou was implying. "S-s-s-s-s-so-so-sonna --!" he cried, covering his ears.

Nokoru couldn't help but laugh. Akira really was fun to watch.

Eventually, Akira managed to sit back down, and when he could look at his friends without blushing or stammering, he finally spoke up.

"I think I understand now," he said meekly. He gave a weak laugh. "I guess you two really were doing something without me, after all."

"Akira." Nokoru's voice was full of concern. "Are you okay with this? With me and Suoh feeling this way about each other?"

Akira thought about this for a moment. He had always known that Kaichou and Takamura-senpai were closer to each other than they were to him. But he wasn't quite sure how he felt about them being this much closer. The more he thought about it, however, the more Akira realized that there was only one thing that really mattered.

"Kaichou!" he exclaimed, his eyes determined. He stood up and leaned over the table so that his face was only a few inches from Nokoru's.

"What is it, Akira?" Nokoru asked nervously. One could never tell what Akira was going to do or say next when he got like this.

"Are you happy?"

"H-hai," Nokoru answered, surprised.

"And you, Takamura-senpai?" Akira asked, turning to Suoh.

"Hai." Suoh smiled and reached for Nokoru's hand. "Very much so."

Akira sighed and sat back down. "Then I am happy, too." He smiled at his two best friends and sipped his tea.

~*~

Suoh gritted his teeth. It would be much easier to concentrate on student council work if the sounds of typing and stamping weren't constantly being punctuated by little 'ano's from Akira and Nokoru's ensuing infectious giggling. Suoh looked at his watch. In about two seconds....

"Ano...."

Right on time.

"So, Kaichou and Takamura-senpai are...."

"Yes, Ijyuin."

"But, can a man and a man really...."

"YES, Ijyuin."

Mattaku. He was glad, of course, that Akira was back to his usual self, but Suoh really could have done without the embarrassing questions every five minutes. And why was he the one who had to answer them? He glared over at Nokoru's desk. Without even looking up, Nokoru flipped open his fan, on which he had somehow managed to squeeze 'I'd help you out, but I'm busy innocently doing my paperwork.' Suoh sighed. Mattaku.

"Aa! So, Higashikunimaru-shachou and Shuukaidou-san are also --"

A smile crept across Suoh's face. "Yes, Ijyuin."

"Ohhhh. That explains a lot." Akira giggled. "That really explains a lot!"

Nokoru burst into laughter. Even Suoh couldn't help himself as he joined his two friends. They laughed until their heads hurt, and then they continued to laugh, until they were all gasping for air. It was good to be young, and to spend a beautiful autumn day with your best friends, and to know that they would always be your friends, no matter what might happen.

Maybe it's not so bad, Suoh thought as the laughter died down. I really wouldn't change Ijyuin for anything. The trio returned to their work. Ten minutes passed quietly, then twenty. Suoh began to relax, thinking that Akira must have finally gotten it out of his system.

"Ano...."

Oh, for the love of Kami-sama....

"So, are the two of you ever going to tell me what happened 'that summer three years ago'?"

THUD!

~ owari ~

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9/1/01
Hee hee.... Akira wa kawaii desu ne? Please feel free to e-mail any comments or suggestions!
~ Emily-chan
emily_chan12@hotmail.com

GLOSSARY
(Making these gets old fast, so I'm just doing a few. If you don't know the rest, get a dictionary!)
rijichou - chairman or president
shachou - president of a company
doushite - why
sou desu ne - that's true
sonna - what to say when you don't know what to say (often translated as "such a thing")