A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies: Interlude (A Behind the Scenes Look with Nowaki)

Nowaki watched Ísarr cross the floor to the Emrys and smiled when his young friend jumped as Lindsay’s brother’s hand fell to his shoulder. Ísarr deftly caught the phone that Emrys had dropped before stepping in to cover Emrys’ lips in a deep kiss as he wrapped the Welshman in a worshipful embrace. Nowaki’s expression softened and he folded his arms over his chest as he remembered the morning’s explosive conversation and its surprising end.

Tetsuo jogged into the room, divebombing Nowaki’s side of the bed as he giggled. “Chichi, Emrys is here and he and Lindsay are not happy right now.”

“No, Linds is hurt, remember?” Nowaki murmured, snuggling his son. “Her brother and Emrys like each other.” He buried his nose in Tetsuo’s wavy jet hair. “She loves Emrys, though, which is why it hurts.”

“Emrys likes boys.” Tetsuo’s simple statement made him smile. “He likes boys like you like Papa. He likes boys like you liked PX. He likes boys like I like boys.”

“Oh, so you’re admitting you like boys?” Nowaki laughed. “Not a certain boy?”

“Chiiichiiiii…!”

“Emrys, that is not fair!”

Both Shimazu-Blairs sat up at Lindsay’s shout.

“Lindsay, it’s not about fair! I didn’t make it happen, it just did!”

Both Shimazu-Blairs bolted for the bedroom door and down the hall to the kitchen, where they found Emrys leaning against the table, arms folded over his chest, facing Lindsay’s back, hands on the counter, breathing. Nowaki touched Emrys’ shoulder, furrowing his brow. His friend shook his head as Lindsay turned around, snarling, “Well, then you can make it stop, Em! Ís is my brother! My brother! And you are not gay!”

Nowaki stepped between them, one hand out to each of his quarreling friends. “Wait. Just wait a minute. Wait a minute before something gets said that cannot be unsaid. All right?” He arched an eyebrow as he looked first at Lindsay, then at Emrys. When he received a nod from each of them, he continued. “Now… I am going to take a chance and assume we are dealing with the events of yesterday evening, Emrys?”

Emrys nodded. “Aye. Ísarr and I met and… and our meeting was reminiscent of yours and Xav’s, if I were to compare. The spark was there and it’s all I can think about. We kissed and it was… the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me, Nowaki.”

Nowaki turned his face to Lindsay. “In regards to your remark about Emrys’ sexuality, it’s not that simple, nor is it an easy topic to discuss. You know of his research on the afterlife?”

Lindsay nodded. “He seeks a place that he only refers to as World’s End.”

Nowaki looked at Emrys. “May I?” At his friend’s nod, he went on. “Emrys fell in love with a man named Kiyoshi Gwynne in 2007. Kiyoshi was a gentle soul, a beautiful man, and already spoken for by a pirate named Shelly Gwynne. To say the odds were against Emrys would be an understatement, but he had no way of knowing that as Kiyoshi was in one place while Shelly was in another. Long story short, Kiyoshi was meant for Shelly, and nothing could keep them apart, not worlds, not time, not anything.”

He moved over to Lindsay, whispering, “The hardest place in the world to be is one in which you isolate yourself from everyone you love. You are not the only one that will hurt if you proceed along this path. Your hurt feelings will be the bomb that takes out everything, Em and Ís included, if you’re not careful.” He tipped up her chin. “Can you live without either of them?”

Nowaki’s lips curled up towards his ears as he watched Emrys climb Ísarr’s hips, his face cracking in a smile as he wound his arms around Ísarr’s shoulders. When their mouths met again in a hungry kiss, Nowaki turned away to give the two men privacy, and he glanced down to grab his phone when it buzzed in his pocket. Withdrawing it, Nowaki’s smile softened as he read a text from his own love. Thinking of you, Arashi… and longing for the home we will make! Aishiteiru!

“Well… we made it, and Oto-san thought we never would.” Lifting his gaze to Lindsay’s profile, he watched as she slid the spatula under the thick slices of the French toast to flip them. “They’ll make it.”

Author: M. LeAnne Phoenix

M. LeAnne Phoenix would tell you that the worst time of her life was the two years that she attempted to take off from writing. If you asked her to explain exactly why she did such a thing, you would most likely get the mad attempt to arch an eyebrow like her dad and then a shake of the head as she told you it was unlucky to speak of such things. Suffice it to say, it will never happen again! Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas in the mid-1970's, Ms. Phoenix was young and wild (and even free!) during the crazy wondrous decade known as the 1980's and the even crazier but now grungy decade of the 1990's. Music is second only to the muses that live and breathe to fill her mind with beautiful men, and music always helps them to tell their stories. She is never without her iPod or her computer no matter where she goes, although, she does like to hike and take pictures of the sky and the moon, and even the occasional shot of the sun through the branches of a tree. An avid cat lover, Ms. Phoenix has been owned by many throughout her life, though her current owner is one Gypsy Jo, who really would like for her to step away from the keyboard and pay her some attention! After all, hasn't she earned it? M. LeAnne Phoenix can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mleannephoenix. As this is her first real foray into the professional world of writing, there will be more social media to come. View all posts by M. LeAnne Phoenix