Chapter Two
“Aya!” Shigure pounded on the closet door. “Aya! When I get hold of you I’m going to dunk you in ice water!!”
Hatori just sighed and slumped against the wall. Of all the places he had expected to wind up when he offered to stay behind and help Shigure with his math, locked into a janitor’s closet was not one of them.
“You should be thanking me, ‘Gure-san!” Ayame yelled back, his voice muffled through the closet door. Shigure would never figure out how both he and Hatori had been stupid enough to believe that there was anything in a janitor’s closet that Ayame wanted to show them. He was kicking himself now.
And just in case it wasn’t bad enough that he’d locked them in, Ayame had then issued his deal: he’d let them out as soon as they were done having sex.
Thus Hatori being slumped against the wall.
“And holding your head under!” Shigure shouted, still banging on the door.
“I’m doing you a tremendous favor in your quest!!” Ayame replied.
Shigure cursed under his breath. Somehow, he had known that telling Ayame he was trying to get Hatori to loosen up was a bad idea. Ayame had made the obvious connection between “loose” and “sex”, just as Shigure had in the first place. Now he seemed to have decided to give his friends an unnecessary and unwanted hand.
“And then when you change I’m going to put you in a shoebox!” Shigure came close to shrieking.
“I’m wounded!” Ayame replied. “Look what happens when I try to help you!”
“You are not!” Shigure yelled. Then he softened his voice slightly, hoping that being reasonable would help. “Let us out . . . come on Aya . . .”
“I will, in the morning . . . if . . .” Ayame apparently didn’t feel like reasoning.
Shigure glanced over at Hatori, to confirm that his friend was not going to be in the mood for sex any time soon. Hatori was still slumped against the wall. “Ayaaaaaa!”
“Don’t worry!” Ayame said, going into full cackle. “I’ll be sure to be here in the morning!!”
“AAAYYYAAAA!” Shigure shouted, banging on the door.
“Jaa ne!” Ayame replied, his cackling fading as he walked down the hall.
Shigure put his back to the door and slumped down, sitting on the floor. He glanced at his watch. It was half past five. Everyone would be gone by now, probably even the janitorial staff. If no one had heard him pounding on the door or Ayame’s laughter, no one would hear him if he continued to pound. He would just have to wait.
“He never quits, does he,” Hatori mentioned with a slight sigh.
“No,” Shigure grumbled. “The little fink.”
Hatori sighed. He had a strong itching for a cigarette. He had been smoking ever since he and Shigure had gotten drunk about a week and a half ago, but hadn’t told anyone about it. He was considering lighting up -- it wasn’t as if Shigure would care -- but he didn’t want to contaminate their breathing air.
“So now what?” Shigure asked, after a few minutes.
Hatori shrugged. “We wait. And probably get hungry. Then we get out and kill Ayame.”
“Frankly, I don’t think he’ll come back and check on us anyway,” Shigure said. “Even if we did have sex, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Well, there has to be a way out.” Hatori glanced around. “Or not. Do you think there are any janitors here?”
“Most likely not.” Shigure sighed. “Aya wouldn’t have done it if he thought anyone was around to let us out. I think he’s hoping that we won’t kill him because the sex will mellow us out.”
“True.” Hatori lapsed into glum silence.
“So what do you want to talk about?” Shigure asked, then laughed. “Unless of course you do want to . . .”
“Why do you assume I want to talk about anything?” Hatori ignored the second part of the statement. He had no idea whether or not he wanted to, but he certainly didn’t want to now. His first time was not going to be in a janitor’s closet at Ayame’s behest.
“Well, because we’re going to be in here for a good long time,” Shigure pointed out.
“I suppose we are.” Hatori glanced around again. “I don’t suppose we could crawl through the ventilation . . .”
Shigure looked at the vent. “I think we’d get stuck.”
Hatori wilted.
Shigure grinned, a wicked grin. “Wanna play truth or dare?”
“We’re in a closet,” Hatori said, as if to point out that there weren’t many dares that could be proposed. After a pause, he said reluctantly, “we could play just plain truth, I suppose.”
Shigure considered this. It might do just as well. All right, it knocked out his immediate first dare for Hatori to kiss him (and hopefully like it), but it had definitely possibilities. “We could do that,” he agreed.
“Though I suppose we probably know everything about each other anyway,” Hatori said, sounding unenthused.
“Let’s give it a go anyway,” Shigure said. “It’s not like we have anything else to do.”
“Other than bruising our fists by pounding on the door, not much.” There was a pause, then Hatori said irritably, “what the hell is Ayame’s problem, anyway? I’m going to change him into a snake and then tie him in a knot when we finally get out of here.”
Shigure laughed. “I think he thinks you need to get laid.”
Hatori let out a snort. “As if it’s any of his business.”
“He cares about you,” Shigure said with a shrug. “This was childish, certainly, but it was done out of some strange sense of concern for you.”
Hatori gave this due thought. “All right. I won’t kill him. But I’m still going to tie him in a knot.”
Shigure laughed again. “See, you are loosening up.”
“Being locked in a closet is good for me, apparently,” Hatori said dryly. “Don’t tell Ayame.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Shigure said cheerfully.
“Do you still want to play truth?” Hatori asked. “We got sidetracked.”
“Sure,” Shigure said agreeably.
“You can go first,” Hatori said, though he looked like he thought he was signing his life away.
Shigure decided he’d better start with an easy one. “So why are you so straight-laced and tense all the time?”
“I think it’s just the way I am,” Hatori admitted. “I mean, I’ve always been like that. I’ve never really made an effort to change.”
“Oh,” Shigure said.
“Does it bother you that I’m straight-laced and tense?” Hatori asked, sounding amused.
“The straight-laced part, no. The tense, yes. Because you always worry about everything too much.”
“You’re the one who said it was in my nature,” Hatori pointed out. “Besides, someone has to balance Ayame.”
“I suppose,” Shigure admitted grudgingly. “Does Aya’s behavior bother you?”
“Depends on what he’s doing,” Hatori said. “His normal bouncy behavior doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s only when he’s doing something stupid like this that I want to hit him.”
“Like this?” Shigure asked, waving at their surroundings.
“Yeah, like this.” Hatori sighed. “Does it bother you?”
“Only towards Yuki-kun,” Shigure said. “Or the few times he pushes too far. Most of the time I think he’s pretty funny.”
“Usually he is,” Hatori said dryly, putting the emphasis on usually.
“If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?” Shigure asked curiously.
“Anything I wanted . . .” Hatori’s voice trailed off thoughtfully. “I assume we’re leaving out the obvious things like ‘end the curse’ and all that?” At Shigure’s nod, he continued. “I don’t know. Maybe leave. Just get up and go. But I could never get away from the curse, and I’d miss you and Ayame. So I don’t know.”
“I was thinking, when I’m older and have money of my own, that I’m going to move out of the family compound,” Shigure said, and was surprised at himself for saying it. It was a plan he hadn’t mentioned to anybody yet, not even Ayame.
Hatori looked surprised at this news. “Are you really? You’d be the first, you know. I don’t think anyone has ever moved out before, at least, not any of the members of the Juunishi.”
“I don’t think I can go far,” Shigure said with a shrug. “Can’t escape the family, but yeah. I want my own home, with my own rules. Akito scares the hell out of me.” Something else he had never really admitted to anyone.
Hatori snorted. “You and everyone else. I’d say you should start a revolt and take the rest of us with you, but . . . I’m not sure any of us would go. You . . . you’re stronger than the rest of us, somehow.”
Shigure shook his head slightly. “I’m not really stronger. Just less duty bound than the rest of you. But maybe you’re right. Maybe I could at least take some of the kids with me.”
“Well, why are you less duty bound then?” Hatori asked.
“I think maybe because I don’t see how Akito has the right to lord over the rest of us like he does.”
Hatori sighed, looking slightly uncomfortable with the covnersation. “I don’t blame him for being crazy. And I don’t blame him for hating us, either.”
“I don’t blame him either,” Shigure countered, “but that doesn’t give him the right to treat us badly.”
“He didn’t have more of a choice than any of us.”
“Which means that we shouldn’t have to pay for what isn’t our fault.”
Hatori laughed slightly, without humor. “See, it’s thinking like that. That’s why you’ll leave. And why I won’t.” He leaned forward, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on his arms.
“Don’t let him guilt you into it,” Shigure lectured gently. “And I won’t go far. I would miss you too much if you weren’t around.”
“Guilt trip me into what? Staying?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not guilt that gets me to stay,” Hatori said. “Just . . .”
“Responsibility,” they said in unison.
Hatori laughed. He didn’t think it was funny.
“Well, if you’re happy with it, don’t let me stop you,” Shigure finally said.
“I’m not, but if I leave . . .” Hatori sighed. “I’m like every Juunishi. There doesn’t seem to be anything for me outside those walls.”
“Not yet,” Shigure said, with a small smile.
“Still . . . you’ll have to let me know what it’s like out there.” Hatori’s tone was half-joking, half-not.
“Yeah, right,” Shigure laughed. “You think I’m not going to kidnap you every chance I get?”
“That’s different,” Hatori said.
“I suppose it is.” Shigure sighed. “Mou, I’m hungry. I’ve usually had a snack by now.”
Hatori dug into his backpack and pulled out a chocolate bar. “Here, I’ll split it with you,” he said, breaking it in half and handing a chunk over.
“You,” Shigure said, gesturing with the chocolate, “are a lifesaver.”
“I don’t know how long half a chocolate bar will hold us,” Hatori said. “You think our parents will figure it out and come looking for us, or do you think Ayame fed them some creative excuse?”
“I think he’ll try, but by midnight I’ll bet they’ll be talking to each other.”
“Hm, maybe we’ll get out of here in time for a very late dinner, then,” Hatori mused, thinking of new and creative ways to murder Ayame. “Whose turn is it?”
“Don’t remember,” Shigure replied, munching contently on the chocolate.
“Well, I have one,” Hatori said. “Between you and Ayame, whose idea was it to sleep together?” He’d been curious about this ever since it had first come up; he merely hadn’t wanted to ask.
“Sort of both,” Shigure said. “He suggested it and I ran with the idea.” Actually, Ayame had kissed him. Very abruptly. Shigure had been extremely confused for about five seconds, before he had come to the conclusions that a) kisses were nice, b) everything else was probably nice too, and c) it wasn’t like anyone else was offering, so d and final) he may as well take Ayame up on it.
“Figures it was his idea,” Hatori said.
Shigure laughed. “Every now and then he has a good one.”
“Are you still?” Hatori asked, ignoring the fact that it wasn’t his turn.
“It’s not a regular thing, but it still happens, yeah.” Usually when one or both of them had had a particularly bad day. Shigure had found it was a great way to let off steam.
“Hm.” Hatori sighed. “It’s your turn.”
“Does it bother you that Aya and I sleep together?” Shigure asked immediately.
There was a long silence before Hatori answered. “To be honest, it does, a little.”
“Why?”
“Because . . .” Hatori sighed. “It’s something the two of you have, that I’m not included in.” He laughed slightly. “I suppose I’m jealous. Must sound terribly petty, especially given that either of you would sleep with me if I asked. Hell, you’ve already offered.”
“It doesn’t sound petty, but it is confusing,” Shigure admitted.
Hatori laughed again. “I know.”
“Care to unconfuse me?” Shigure asked hopefully.
“I’m not sure I can. I don’t really understand it myself.”
“Well, if you figure it out, let me know,” Shigure said.
“I will,” Hatori said. “All right, my turn. Why do you want to sleep with me?”
Shigure gave it serious consideration. “A few reasons. Personally, I think it helps. Less frustration and all. Partly, I guess I don’t like the idea of leaving you out. I mean, it’s made Aya and I closer, and I don’t want to be closer to him than I am to you.” He shrugged slightly.
Hatori laughed. “And you think sex is the answer to this. Ayame obviously does . . . though I’m somewhat surprised he hasn’t tried to crawl into bed with me.”
“I think he’s afraid to scare you off,” Shigure said, not mentioning the fact that Ayame respected Hatori enough to not pressure him. “But really, it’s the only thing we have that we don’t share.”
Hatori shook his head slightly. “I . . . I don’t know why . . . I can’t accept it.”
Shigure shrugged. “Well, it’s not like I’m going to harass you. I mean, that would just drive you away and that’s not what I want.”
“I know,” Hatori said. “It’s just that part of me wishes that I could accept it.”
“Why, if it makes you so uncomfortable?” Shigure asked curiously. Maybe there was hope for Hatori yet.
“I suppose because it so obviously makes you and Ayame feel better. So I assume it would make me feel better as well.”
Shigure reached over to give him a hug. “Well, it’s not as if you can’t be close to us anyway.”
“You’re very fond of hugging me lately,” Hatori observed, returning the hug briefly before pulling away. “Why is that?”
“Well, I think that half the sex thing isn’t about sex,” Shigure said. “It’s about physical comfort and we’re cursed to have to be very careful about that. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have it.” He grinned suddenly. “Besides, you said you wanted to hug people while you were drunk. I figure if you want to hug people you most likely want to get hugged, too.”
“I said that?” Hatori asked, looking appalled. “I don’t remember saying that.”
Shigure laughed. “You totally did.”
Hatori considered this. “I’m never getting drunk again,” he finally said.
Shigured just continued to laugh. “Ha-san is such a stick in the mud.”
“Well, now Ha-san is stuck in a closet,” Hatori replied. “I really am going to hurt Ayame.”
Shigure recognized that the serious conversation was over. “I’ll help.”
****
Ayame was buttering his toast the next morning when he was uncerimoniously grabbed by the arms and hauled away. “Hug your mother goodbye!” Shigure said cheerfully, shoving Ayame into her.
“But -- !” Ayame had time for, before he poofed into the snake.
Hatori picked him up by the tail. “You deserve this, you know,” he said.
“I was only trying to help!” Ayame protested. “How’d you get out, anyway?!”
“Around midnight, our parents got suspicious,” Hatori said, walked outside, and dumped Ayame into the bucket of cold water that was waiting. Ayame sputtered and let out a shriek as he was just as quickly yanked out and shoved into a shoebox.
“Where are you taking me?” he whined.
“A wonderful little place called the refrigerator at my house,” Shigure said cheerfully, and put the lid on. “Don’t complain! Ha-san wanted to tie you in a knot.”
“He’s just sexually frustrated!” Ayame called from inside the box.
Shigure handed Hatori the box. “Happy birthday, Ha-san.”
“Sure I can’t dropkick it?” Hatori asked.
“You can’t really damage him permanently. You’d miss him. Even if he is a big weenie!” he called louder, putting his mouth to the lid.
Hatori sighed. “Fine. Fridge it is.”
****
Ayame, once let out of the fridge, had enough sense to subside in his attacks. For a blissful two weeks, Hatori heard nothing about how he ought to be having sex and about how it would really make him feel better. Of course, the weeks weren’t really blissful, but he certainly wasn’t letting anyone else realize that. Except Shigure, who realized it despite Hatori’s best efforts.
Shigure was lounging on his bed with a book when Hatori came in and flopped into a chair without waiting to be invited. “Hi.”
“Your polite veneer has slipped,” Shigure said, managing to sound concerned while still joking. “What’s wrong?”
“Bad day.” Hatori ran his hand through his hair. “My parents decided that it would be polite to have lunch with Akito, given that he’s the head of the family and all.”
“What sort of crazy things did he say?” Shigure asked, ready to go out and kick ass if need be.
“Oh, all sorts of things,” Hatori said lightly. “It’s been decided that after I get out of medical school, I get to be Akito’s personal physician. Doesn’t that make me lucky?”
Shigure blinked at him. Even without the sarcasm dripping from Hatori’s voice, he could tell that something was wrong. “Wait . . . whose brilliant idea was that?”
“I’m not quite sure exactly how it happened,” Hatori admitted. “I think my father jokingly suggested that it would be easier on Akito with a doctor in the family, and of course Akito jumped on it.”
Shigure rolled his eyes. “And of course the little lord and master always gets what he wants.” He sat up and plunked on the arm of Hatori’s chair. “Want a hug?”
As much as Hatori wanted to deny that hugs always made him feel better, he was getting very bad at denying things around Shigure. He remembered, rather uneasily, Shigure saying that it was harder for him and Ayame to hide things from each other. But there was no point in worrying about it. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh.
Shigure wasn’t worried about it at all. He simply pulled Hatori into a hug. He didn’t know what to say, so figured that no words were the best words.
“As much as I’m duty bound and don’t mind staying, I really didn’t want to be Akito’s personal whipping boy,” Hatori muttered, trying not to sound bitter and failing.
“Then don’t be,” Shigure said with a shrug. “Just because you have to treat his illnesses doesn’t mean you have to take everything he feels like dishing out.”
“I suppose not.” There was a pause before Hatori pulled away and said in a half-joking tone, “Maybe I’ll just poison him and have done with it.”
“Now there’s a plan,” Shigure said, his tone matching Hatori’s. He let Hatori pull away, but kept his arm around Hatori’s shoulders in the pretense of keeping his balance on the chair’s arm.
Hatori rubbed both his hands over his face. “Maybe I just shouldn’t be a doctor at all.”
“Why would you say a crazy thing like that?” Shigure asked, sounding almost indignant on Hatori’s behalf. “You’ve wanted to be a doctor ever since I can remember.” Actually, he remembered all too well being a child and playing doctor with Hatori. He always took it very seriously.
“To help people,” Hatori said, making a face. “Not to help Akito.”
“You can still help people,” Shigure said, looking at Hatori as if he were on crack. “Don’t let him ruin your dream.”
“Why not?” Hatori asked, drooping. “He ruins everything else.”
“All the more reason to hang onto this,” Shigure pointed out.
“I suppose,” Hatori said, then laughed suddenly. “He doesn’t like you, you know.”
“I’m not surprised,” Shigure said, laughing as well. “What did he say about me?”
“Nothing really,” Hatori said. “My parents were just saying I was lucky to have such two close friends. And he made that face. You know, the one where he looks like he’s about to commit bloody murder if it wasn’t against the law. And okay, he makes that face a lot, but this one was directed at you. And maybe Ayame as well.”
“He can make all the faces he wants as long as he doesn’t actually hurt anyone,” Shigure said.
“I think he’s just jealous,” Hatori said, and laughed again.
“Well, if he’d stop making faces like murder is a fun pastime, maybe more people would like him,” Shigure pointed out dryly.
“I don’t think so,” Hatori said, shaking his head. “I don’t think anyone will ever like him.”
“I’ll feel bad for him when he makes an effort to be liked,” Shigure said.
There was a moment of companionable silence.
“Ano . . .” Hatori finally said.
“Yeah?” Shigure asked, a bit too quickly.
Hatori glanced at him, then glanced away. His face was tinged just slightly pink. “What’s it like?” he finally asked, trying to keep from sounding nervous. “Having sex, I mean.”
Shigure blinked at him, a bit shocked at the question but not wanting to show it. He hid it quickly, so Hatori wouldn’t withdraw the question. “It’s sort of hard to explain,” he finally said. “It feels really great though. The only way I can think of to explain it is that your body gets exactly what it wants.”
Hatori laughed softly, looking at his hands.
Shigure blinked again, trying to decide if Hatori had finally snapped underneath all the strain. “You okay?”
“No,” Hatori said, still laughing. “No, I really don’t think I am.”
Shigure put a hand underneath Hatori’s chin and turned it so his friend was looking at him. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Hatori said. “I’m just so stressed, I feel like I’m going to fly everywhere at once.”
Shigure hugged him, pulling him over a little so he wasn’t really supporting his own weight anymore. “Then just let go for a while.”
“I’m sick of being responsible,” Hatori said into Shigure’s shirt.
“So don’t be,” Shigure said, wrapping his arms around him tightly. “If only for a few hours, let go, relax. You’re going to tear yourself apart.”
“I don’t think I know how,” Hatori replied, at length.
Shigure stood up and pulled Hatori with him, tugging him over to the bed, then gently pushed him onto it, wondering if Hatori was going to run away. But he didn’t; he just let Shigure lead him around like a rag doll. “This for starters,” Shigure said, giving him a shoulder rub. It really had nothing to do with being forward or having sex; Hatori was strung so tightly that sex would have been impossible at the moment anyway.
“Mmph,” Hatori said, not protesting. “Shigure . . . you’re up to something.”
“Maybe a little,” Shigure admitted. “But if your muscles pull any tighter you’re going to snap something.”
“Mmmmph,” Hatori repeated, wilting underneath Shigure’s touch and even beginning to relax a little. It was hard not to.
“So why the sex question?” Shigure asked, his tone light and innocent.
“I was curious. Idiot.”
“Don’t make me stop the backrub,” Shigure threatened.
“Fine. I was curious.” Hatori turned his head to one side so he could talk without being muffled by the pillow.
“Ah,” Shigure said. “You really do need to find some form of stress release.”
“I know,” Hatori said with a sigh. “Cigarettes don’t do as much good as I thought they would.”
Shigure’s hands paused momentarily before resuming their activity. He had suspected that Hatori was smoking, but Hatori hadn’t admitted it. Still, he wasn’t going to say anything. “I’m told that sometimes breaking things is good, when you get really angry.”
“I guess. But I’m not angry. Just stressed.”
“Maybe you need a few more stiff drinks,” Shigure suggested in a joking tone.
“God no. Never again.”
“I thought you had fun.”
“I did, but the hangover . . .”
Shigure laughed, working his hands down to the small of Hatori’s back. He was trying to keep it innocent, so Hatori wouldn’t feel the need to run away. Still, it was harder than he’d expected. Hatori was so tense that at first it was difficult to feel any individual muscles. It was all as hard as a rock from the strain.
“Mmph,” Hatori said, sounding a bit sleepy and giving a contented sigh. “That feels really nice.”
Shigure finished the small of his back and lifted his hands, sitting next to Hatori’s now relaxed form. “I wish I could make things better for you,” he finally said.
Hatori sat up, marvelling at the way his back hurt a lot less. “Well, I do feel a lot better now,” he said, then without thinking, added, “but . . .”
“But?” Shigure prompted, when Hatori didn’t continue.
“Well, can you just . . .” Hatori paused, then spoke suddenly, his words coming out in a rush. “Can you just do one thing for me?”
Shigure nodded, puzzled.
Hatori swallowed hard, trying not to be nervous. “Can you just kiss me? Just once. I want . . . I need to know if it’ll help . . . and if I don’t like it we never have to talk about it again.” He didn’t say what would happen if he did like it. Shigure suspected that he didn’t really know.
Shigure wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass by. “Sure,” he said, and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. It wasn’t exactly chaste, but it wasn’t forceful either. There was plenty of room for Hatori decide what to do with it.
Hatori wasn’t quite sure how to go about kissing back, but made a valiant effort. It was enough for Shigure to get the idea and deepen the kiss himself, taking it slowly until Hatori got the hang of it, putting an arm around Hatori and drawing him closer. He was still trying not to be demanding, but at this point Hatori was clinging to him, and Shigure wasn’t worried about scaring him off.
He wound his fingers through Hatori’s hair and pulled him closer, and really kissed him. Hatori got a fistful of Shigure’s kimono and kissed back, gasping a little when Shigure pulled him tighter against him.
Hatori ran out of air first, pulling away and looking slightly glassy eyed. “Shigure . . .” he managed, his brain nowhere near full operating capability.
Shigure let him pull back. “Did you like it?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“I’m not sure ‘like’ is the word I’d use,” Hatori said, still trying to catch his breath.
“What word would you use?” Shigure asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” Hatori said. “That would entail using my brain, and I think you broke it.”
Shigure leaned closer, speaking softly right into Hatori’s ear. “In a good way?”
Hatori shivered but didn’t reply.
Shigure kissed him again, but started gently, giving Hatori a chance to escape if he was so inclined.
Hatori did pull away, but only slightly. He was trembling slightly. “Shouldn’t we lock the door?”
Shigure blinked at him, having not expected that Hatori would suggest they actually go that far. “Yeah. That is, if you’re okay with doing this.”
Hatori hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Nervous, but okay.”
Shigure got up and locked the door, then settled behind Hatori, leaning forward and brushing his lips over his neck. “If you change your mind, tell me, okay?”
“Mm. Okay.” Hatori melted into Shigure’s touch as his arms settled around his waist. He was perfectly relaxed for a fraction of a second, until Shigure started nibbling on his ear and he let out a soft gasp. He squirmed a little closer to Shigure as his friend’s hands started to wander underneath his shirt.
Shigure tugged it off, tossing it off onto the floor, and Hatori shivered in the sudden cold. He turned around and pressed his lips against Shigure’s again. Shigure was more than happy to kiss back, keeping his arm around Hatori, but waited to see what Hatori was going to do next. Which seemed, for the most part, to be nothing.
Shigure let him adjust, more than happy to sit back and kiss for a while. Ayame was always so impatient that it was actually nice to sit back and enjoy kissing for once. Still, he kept his hands wandering over Hatori’s chest and back, enough to keep things interesting.
Hatori (being too straight-laced to read porn) was wondering vaguely about what happened now, and if they should be lying down or not. Shigure let his hands carefully wander down to Hatori’s waist, waiting to see what sort of response he got. Hatori tensed, but that was all.
Taking this as permission to move onwards, Shigure slowly pushed Hatori down onto the bed, still kissing him firmly and one hand moving to undo his pants. Hatori squirmed slightly, not exactly trying to get away, but not seeming very comfortable with the situation.
Shigure took this as a cue and moved his hands above the waist, sliding over bare skin. He was rewarded with a small gasp from Hatori.
At this point, Hatori was beginning to realize that Shigure might get annoyed if he had to do all the work. He wasn’t exactly clueless, just very repressed, so he took his cues from what Shigure was doing, running his hand along the line of Shigure’s jaw, then down his neck to where the kimono made a V on his chest. The kimono was loose, so with what he considered great daring, he slid his hand inside.
It was all very new, but he liked it; liked the way Shigure’s skin felt underneath his fingers, liked the way his breath sped up when Hatori found sensitive places, liked the way Shigure’s hands mirrored his own. Liked the way Shigure leaned into his touch. Liked the way time seemed to stop and none of his problems seemed to matter. Liked everything about it.
He pushed the top half of the kimono back off Shigure’s shoulders. Shigure leaned in encouragingly, his own hands dipping a little lower. Hatori bit down to avoid making a noise and accidentally bit Shigure’s lip.
Shigure paused, startled, before resuming the kiss.
“Sorry,” Hatori mumbled, pulling away slightly.
“Don’t be,” Shigure said, his hands dipping even lower. “Just remember that I might bite back,” he added with a wink, nibbling on Hatori’s lower lip. He shook one arm free of the kimono, letting it pool around his waist, and started kissing down Hatori’s jaw and nipping gently at his neck.
Hatori twisted his hand in Shigure’s hair, trying to catch his breath. As Shigure continued to kiss his way down his chest, Hatori lifted his other hand and bit down on it to keep from crying out.
Shigure figured that now that Hatori was a bit more used to the idea, he would try to get on with things. He kept his mouth busy along Hatori’s collarbone, sliding one hand into his fortunately loose pants. Hatori bit down hard on his knuckles, pressing himself up into Shigure’s hand.
Shigure slid his pants off, then glanced up and noticed that Hatori was about to leave permanent scars on his finger. He crawled up him, and took Hatori’s hand in his own, then waited until Hatori’s full attention was on him before drawing the finger into his mouth. Hatori blinked and stared at him, in an odd sort of fascination, as Shigure sucked on it gently.
“Having fun?” Shigure asked lazily.
Hatori stared at him, wondering if his brain was actually still supposed to be working. “Yeah,” he finally managed.
Shigure let go of his hand and scrambled out of the rest of the kimono, tossing it to the floor to join the rest of their clothes. It only took a few moments for their boxers to join them. Hatori blushed slightly, but other than that, didn’t seem embarrassed to be naked. Shigure noted, a bit annoyed, that Hatori was now biting his lip instead of his hand.
“Hey, make a little nose here,” he said, winking. “Let me know how I’m doing.”
“You’re doing fine,” Hatori said, somehow maintaining his deadpan. “Trust me.”
Shigure gave Hatori some time to adjust to this before decided to get on to the best part. He had to smile a little as it crossed his mind that with Ayame, they would have been done and had their clothes back on by now. Not that sex with Ayame wasn’t fun -- it was just different.
He fumbled around and used one hand to open his nighstand drawer. Though it was true that he and Ayame usually wound up in Ayame’s room (due to the less inquiring nature of his parents), he was sure to keep certain necessities in his room just in case. He kept kissing Hatori, not wanting to distract from the mood with the actual technicalities of sex.
Hatori flinched away as one of Shigure’s fingers pressed into him, and hissed in pain. “Ow,” he said.
“It gets better, I promise,” Shigure said, and kissed him deeply to distract him. Hatori bit down on his lip, hard, as if in retaliation. “Ow,” he said, to oblige him.
“Serves you right,” Hatori muttered, trying to relax as Shigure stretched him out.
“Next time you can be on top,” Shigure offered, leaning down to lick at Hatori’s chest.
Hatori closed his eyes, arching up into Shigure’s touch. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Shigure hadn’t actually meant it seriously, and hadn’t expected Hatori to take it seriously. However, it didn’t seem to be the time to question whether or not Hatori had meant what he said. Not that he minded, certainly.
“You ready?” he asked.
Hatori managed a gasping nod.
Given this permission, Shigure kissed him briefly before pushing into him. Hatori let out a choked gasp before biting down on his lip, his hands clenching down in the bedsheets. Shigure moved slowly, making sure not to hurt him, but was beginning to worry that Hatori might strain something trying to keep silent.
Conversation was getting difficult, but he gave it a whirl. “Try . . . letting yourself moan or something. You’ll feel better.”
Hatori tried to answer, and couldn’t, so took some advice. With the portion of his brain that was still capable of rational thought, Shigure thought it would be quite ironic if now his parents heard them. At least Hatori seemed to be enjoying himself. Quite a bit, in fact.