Hare was sitting up, his arms crossed, and his legs to his chest. His other friends were all asleep; Tiger was lying down, his head wrested on hi paws, Genki was sleeping with Moochi in his arms, as he snoreds softly. Suezo was on his back, his long tounge dangling to the side of his mouth. Holly was sleeping next to Golem, while Golem was leaning against a tree, sleeping quietly. Sighing, he stood up, and walked into the forest.

He walked for a few minutes, passing many trees, occasionally hearing birds and crickets. After a while, he then walked up to a lake. He walked up to it, and sat down near the edge. It looked so peaceful...their was hardly a ripple in the surface, and the moonlight reflecting off the water made it look gorgeous. He passed his hand through the water, cupping some in his hands. He spashed across his face, thinking abot his problems...

Their were so many in his life. Their was the obvious ones, where he was on a quest in search of the Phoenix. He had to face Baddies, pirates, rampaging robots, etc. He was worried with those, yes. But he had even worse problems then that. Mainly ones that have to do with himself, and it's not about him being a thief.

He was...gay. That's all their is. Only one word, but it could make a large and terrible difference. He had never told anyone, becuase they would only make fun of him, or worse, beat him for liking guys. It would also ruin his reputation, and the reputation of the others. If anyone found out that these brave rebels had a member that was gay, they would be laughed at from both sides. He didn't know how his friends would react, but he had a pretty good view of how they would...

Genki probably wouldn't mind at all. He was a good friend for everyone, and that wouldn't change from what Hare was. Holly might not mind either, although she would be a little different from now on, when she was around him. Mochi was too young to understand, so wouldn't find anything wrong with liking the same sex. Golem was a kind monster, and most likely wouldn't care. Suezo, on the other hand, may avoid him for the rest of his life, and make fun of him. And Tiger...

A tear slid down Hare's cheek at the thought of Tiger. Tiger would probably treat him like a freak, and maybe even let the baddies kill him for all he cared. Tiger was one of his other problems. But it wasn't because Tiger kept insulting him, kept calling him a thief, or because he fights with him, no...

It was because he loved Tiger.

It's a strange thought, actually. If anyone saw how it was in the group between Hare or Tiger, they would think, "Those two absolutely hate each other!" That was only the half truth. Tiger hates him, but he loves Tiger. There are a lot of reasons wht he loves him...how great a fighter he is, those golden eyes, his strength and intelligence, and even has a beautiful fur coat to boot.

But...it was only a fantasy. The chances of Tiger feeling the same way for him was very low. One out of a million chance. He knows that Tiger will hate him for the rest of his life. "Why...," he whispered to himself, a tear coming out of his eye. "Why do I love him...?" Hare shook a little, then started to sob softly. His tears fell from his eyes, and hit the surface of the lake. He continued to cry for a few minutes, trying to keep himself from waking the others. "What's wrong with you?"

Hare gave a shout, and jumped into the air. He fell back to the ground, upside down. Looking where the voice came from, he gasped when he saw Tiger, looking down at him. Hare turned red in the face, and goit back up. "T-Tiger! Um..." Tiger shook his head, and said, "Were you trying to leave camp without waking us up? I could've heard from a kilometer away." Hare blushed, and said, "Well, the other's don't exactly have developed ears like yours, you know." Tiger shook his head, looking at the ground. Looking back up, he asked, "So, what were you crying about?"

Hare looked at him in silence, then said, "Um, it's, uh...none of your buisness!" Tiger chuckled, and said, "It was a little funny, actually." "Funny?!" Hare was angry and sad at the same time. How could Tiger think him crying was funny?! "Every time I see you cry, it was over something pathetic like money. But this time...it looked like you were crying from something emotional." Hare blinked, surprised that Tiger actually knew why he was crying. "So tell me...what were you crying about?"

Hare looked down at his feet, digging him foot into the ground. "Um, well...Tiger..." He turn away from him, and sat back down on the rock. "I...love someone." Tiger raised his eyebrow, and said, "Oh really?" "Y-yeah," said Hare, "but..." Tiger walked a little closer, and asked, "But what?" Tears begun to well up in his eyes. "I...I love...you."

Tiger blinked, a shocked expression on his face. ".......Excuse me?" Hare begun to shake aain, a stream of tears coming down his eyes. "I love you Tiger." He then broke down, and started to cry heavily. Hare now felt ashamed of admiting it to Tiger. He had the feeling that he would throw up. All their was missing was Tiger cursing at him, and then beating him. He heard Tiger walk over, and prepared for the worst...

"Stop crying." Hare shot up, and looked at Tiger. "W-what?" "Stop crying, Hare..." Hare then had the biggest shock of his life, when Tiger went next to him, and licked his cheek. It was a Tiger way of kissing. Hare fell backward, looking up at Tiger. "You...you, love me?" Tiger nodded slowly. Hare blinked, not believing what he just felt and saw. Tiger walk next to him, and said, "When I was a bandit, I was given the reputation of being one of the strongest monsters. My name was heard on the side of Bad and Good monsters." Looking over the lake, he said, "But...a while after you joined our group, I've begun to have feelings for you. I knew that if anyone found out about it, then I would have been a joke. So I always fought woth you, to cover it up..." Looking down at Hare, he said, "I will admit, some of the things I've said to you hurt me as well, but...I think you would understand."

Hare looked at Tiger for a second, and tears of joy begun to form. "Oh...Tiger." He hugged Tiger tightly, crying into his fur. "Their, their now," said Tiger, rubbing his paw on his back, Hare let go, rubbing his eyes. "Tiger...t-thank you, so much..." Tiger smiled, and turned around, and said, "Let's head back to camp, before the others wake up." "Yeah, sure." As they walked back, Hare asked, "So, how do you think the others will react when we tell them?" Tiger chuckled, and said, "Who ever said we would?" "Well, they will get suspicous when we won't fight..." They stopped for a second, and turned to each other. "Money grubbing furball!" "Little whelp!" Tiger rubbed his chin, and said, "Well, that's a little weak...but I think it'll fool them." Hare giggled, and they walked back in silence.