Title: Best Birthday Ever

Author: Flacutono (M.K.)

Rating: M (yaoi, alcohol)

Pairing: Jakotsu/Bankotsu

Genre: Romance/Humor

Beta: Kirayasha aka kira

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inuyasha; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But Larry, Cheetah-girl and Penguin-girl (they appear in the second part) are my own characters and aren't allowed to be used without my permission.

Summary: It's Jakotsu's birthday. He's having a party. And Bankotsu doesn't want to know anything about his black thong... Or does he?

A/N: I had lots of fun writing this story, it made me giggle the whole time. Hope you like it too, and please leave a comment if you do! It means a lot to me. Extra special shiny thanks to Kira for beta-ing this for me, you helped developing the fruit of my chaotic mind into a real story. :)

There was beeping. A cell phone was beeping under a large pillow. Slowly, a pale hand reached towards the annoying noise and pulled the mobile into sight. Under messy dark hair, two black eyes were fighting to open and face the bright sunlight. After some painful blinking the owner of the cell phone, hand and eyes was able to read his received message. "Happy birthday Jakotsu! Can't wait for the party tonite! Cheers, Suikotsu. PS. Hope I didn't wake you up..." Jakotsu grunted angrily. "You know sure as hell you did." He looked at the alarm clock. 'It's goddamn nine in Saturday morning! No person in their right mind is awake at this hour!' Since he had spent last night watching movies until five AM he would have needed a few more hours sleep.

Jakotsu streched and yawned when it suddenly hit him. 'Oh yeah, it really is my birthday! Hel-looo, twenty years!' There was going to be a party this evening, with all his best friends and even some women invited. For some reason, Suikotsu and few of the others had insisted on bringing their girlfriends too, threatening not to come if it was an all-male party. Jakotsu didn't care for women much, but for his friends he would tolerate the ones who were coming. Smiling as he thought about the fun that was going to happen later tonight, Jakotsu crawled out of the bed and stepped into the bathroom.

After a long shower, however, he realized his apartment might need some tidying up before he would dare to let any guests in. Since he was on holiday from work, he had spent last weeks leisurely eating junk food, watching movies from crappy to classic, playing video games and living in a comfortable mess. At this point, the floor was hardly visible under piles of clothes and DVD-covers, and if left alone for couple more of days, he was pretty sure his carbage can would walk outside itself.

He didn't mind the mess. When he reached the point where there wasn't any more room to walk, he would get an adrenaline rush and clean it all up at once, but he had a feeling his friends' girlfriends would get a bit upset if they ran into his half-empty pizza box collection. But after two weeks of being a total slob, even the thought of teasing his cuter male friends later that night didn't give him the strength needed for cleaning. "Mou... I need somebody to boss around in here, I don't wanna clean this all alone. But I guess no one has a strong enough stomach to step into my lair when it looks like this... Except maybe -"

His monologue was cut short by the phone ringing. He picked up his cell, looked at the caller's name, and smiled impishly. 'Speak of the devil...' He pushed the button and placed the phone on his ear. "Hello, Ban-chan. I was just thinking about you!" He heard Bankotsu laughing somewhat nervously in the other end.

"Well, I hope your thoughts didn't include anything dirty this time. Happy birthday, Jakotsu." The older man giggled.

"Thanks. You'll be at the party tonight, won't you? I sure hope you're not gonna bring some chick like Suikotsu and others... I can only tolerate so much women, you know."

Bankotsu laughed louder at that; he certainly knew what Jakotsu thought of the fairer sex. "Fear not, my friend. I wouldn't make you upset by showing up with a woman more beautiful than you," he teased.

Jakotsu couldn't help smiling. "Very funny. Does that mean you're gonna bring an ugly girl?"

"Well who's being funny now? No, I don't have anyone to bring right now, so I'm just gonna come with a present," younger man answered.

Jakotsu decided it was time to make his plan work. "That's my boy. But you know, I'm gonna have to go now, the party starts at five, and that gives me about... Seven hours to fight my way through this mess. It's gonna be hard work, but..." He let out a loud, self-pitying sigh, "...I guess I'll have to manage. So, see you tonight and have a -"

"Wait, Jakotsu", Bankotsu said, sounding very concerned over his best friend. "I have nothing important to do here, shall I come help you?"

Jakotsu's smile widened. 'Score!'

"You know, I actually thought you were joking when you whined about the mess." Bankotsu stood by the door and eyed the Kingdom of Trash, also known as Jakotsu's apartment.

The taller man giggled again. "Shut up and help me like you promised. I'm gonna pick up all the clothes, so would you put the DVD's away, over there to the shelf? After we clear the floor, we're gonna have to vacuum it..." Jakotsu looked under his bed to see if there was any clothes.

Bankotsu sighed and started to pick up the DVD covers.

Three and half hours later, the apartment was spotlessly clean and the two boys were lying on Jakotsu's extra large couch, exhausted.

"You made me do all the dirty work," Bankotsu complained somewhat seriously.

Jakotsu threw him an innocent smile. "That's because I'm already wearing my party clothes, Ban-chan! I wouldn't want to get all dirty and sweaty because I was cleaning up..."

Bankotsu stared at Jakotsu's outfit - a pink top and very tight black leather pants - for a while and then rolled his eyes. "Whatever... I'm gonna go to shower now, if you don't mind..." He said and stood up, pulling his shirt off at the same time.

Jakotsu was about to make a seductive comment, when his eyes fell on Bankotsu's bare back. 'Wow... Somehow... He looks unbelievably hot... Being all sweaty and with those nice muscles and all...' Unfortunately, Bankotsu's voice brought him back to Earth by calling his name and he tried hard not to look like he was drooling.

"Are you okay?" Bankotsu asked, looking worried.

Jakotsu blinked. "Of... Of course I am! Now go shower quickly, so you can help me with the snacks."

Bankotsu looked at him suspiciously. Mentally shrugging, he turned and headed for the shower.

Jakotsu stretched his neck so that he could watch that tanned body as long as possible. 'Oh man, am I in trouble...'

Bankotsu was still wondering about his friend's strange behaviour when he stepped into the shower. 'Normally he would've said something dirty about me going to his shower...' he thought, beforedeciding it was just another one of Jakotsu's weird moods. His mercurial personality was almost legendary among their friends. Chuckling to himself, Bankotsu wondered what the girls, who were going to meet Jakotsu for the first time at the party, would think about the cross-dresser. Most people thought he was a woman at first, and after realizing the truth, they would just stare in amazement for a while. Bankotsu had done the same; when they had first met, he had also mistaken Jakotsu for a beautiful girl. He still thought Jakotsu was more beautiful than most girls he'd dated, although he would never admit it to anyone, let alone the cross-dresser.

This brought their earlier phone conversation into Bankotsu's mind. He hadn't exactly told Jakotsu that lately he had had very little interest in girls around him. Since Bankotsu was good-looking, gentle and fun, and so he was usually surrounded by women wherever he went, but he just didn't find their company all that exiting at the moment. 'I wonder what Jakotsu would say if I told him that'. Bankotsu smiled at the thought. Suddenly someone knocked at the bathroom door.

"Bankotsu?"

Bankotsu sighed. 'I shoulda known...' "No, Jakotsu, you can't come in here with me!" he shouted over the roar of the water.

For a moment, Jakotsu was confused. Bursting into laughter, he choked out, "Expecting something dirty again, Ban-chan?"

At that, Bankotsu felt a bit ashamed. "Sorry... What do you want?" he asked and tilted his head up, letting the water flow in his mouth.

"Have you seen my black thong anywhere?" Jakotsu asked with a surprisingly casual voice.

Bankotsu almost choked. "WHAT?" 'Did he just ask what I thought he did?!'

"My thong! I can't find it anywhere! I thought you might have stolen it, it's pretty sexy..."

Bankotsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't know anything about your thong and I damn well don't want to! That's even worse than begging to take a shower with me!" He heard Jakotsu giggling again.

"Fine. I must've left it under the couch or something... If someone finds it at the party, I'll tell I had to hide it to stop you from stealing it."

The giggling faded away when Jakotsu headed back to kitchen. Bankotsu rolled his eyes. 'That was a bit too much information for me. I didn't even know he owns a thong... Although,' he blinked, 'it might actually suit him...' For a moment his mind was lost in a mental image of Jakotsu wearing nothing but his black thong. Then he came to his senses and blushed furiously. 'I refuse to believe I just thought about that... Get yourself together now, the party starts soon!' He shouted inside his head. When he couldn't push the image to the back of his mind, he turned the water to icy cold. That did it; when he stepped out of the shower, his head felt clearer and his only thought was to wrap himself in the towel before he froze to death.

Jakotsu was waiting in the kitchen when Bankotsu came in, his hair still dripping wet. "Good. Now, would you open the tomato sauce cans while I slice the ham? We're gonna make pizzas!" Jakotsu said with a wide smile.

"Sure..." Bankotsu grabbed a can and an opener. He tried opening it, but the tin can wouldn't budge. He tried with all his might and suddenly there was a loud metallic crack. Bankotsu swore. "SHIT! That thing exploded on me!"

Jakotsu turned around and almost laughed at what he saw; his friend's hands were covered in pizza sauce and so was the small table. Bankotsu was glaring at the opener, which was innocently lying in the middle of the mess. "Did you hurt yourself?" the taller man asked with a smile.

"Don't think so... No, wait..." Studying his hand intensely, Bankotsu walked over to the sink and washed the red sauce off. "Damn..."

Jakotsu went to see what was wrong and noticed there was still red on Bankotsu's hand; the can had cut his finger. "Oh... Let's go get a... bandage or something..." he muttered, but found himself strangely hypnotized by the sight of blood on the tanned skin...

"Jakotsu?" Bankotsu sounded perplexed when his friend grabbed his hand and pulled it close to his face. Then Jakotsu's tongue touched Bankotsu's hand and everything seemed to go still for a moment. Ever so slowly, the cross-dresser delicately licked off the blood as he closed his eyes and Bankotsu felt shivers running down his spine. Tall man opened his black eyes, looking deep into his friend's blue ones. The whole world was silent. All Bankotsu heard was loud thumping noise; if he had been able to think clearly, he might have recognized his own heartbeats and blushed. But right now, the two men only saw each other's eyes and the air was thick with confusion, restlessness, slight fear and maybe something else they couldn't quite reach. Without even noticing it, they slowly leaned towards each other.

Just then, Jakotsu's phone rang loudly in his pocket. The spell was broken and so was their contact when tall man jumped with shock, his eyes wide. Bankotsu had stepped away at the same time. He turned around and blinked. There was the blush. His brain was still trying to understand what had happened.

When Jakotsu answered his phone, his voice was a bit shaky. "He-hello? Miroku? Hi... You lost the invitation? It starts at five o'clock. Five. Try to remember that." There was a moment of silence while Miroku said something at the other end, and Bankotsu returned to the tomato sauce can, not daring to look at his friend. "Hmm? No, I'm allright, I've just got a bit of a cold. No, that won't stop me from drinking... Bring a bottle of what? We do have booze here, believe it or not... Whaddya mean yours is better?" Jakotsu sighed. "Fine, bring it... What? No, you won't be seeing female strippers! You pervert!"

While his friend on the phone continued to point out the positive sides of having some strippers at the party, Jakotsu warily glanced over his shoulder. Bankotsu appeared to be working with the pizzas, but he seemed tense and also determined not to look at Jakotsu. 'Damn', older man thought, 'I scared him big time. Stupid hormones! It's not my fault blood turns me on. And his blood tastes so delicious...' He shook the thought out of his head and informed Miroku that if he wouldn't stop babbling about female strippers, he might hire a male one at the party.

Bankotsu was too deep in his thoughts to hear this; the main words ringing in his head were, 'WHY WAS I TURNED ON BY HIM LICKING MY HAND?!' He took a deep breath. 'Snap out of it!'

Jakotsu hung up, after reminding Miroku about the time the party started once more. The taller man cleared his throat, before saying softly, "Umm, Bankotsu... What just happened... It's, I mean, I just..." he struggled to find something, anything to say, but Bankotsu interrupted him.

"Jakotsu, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to get... carried away." He still had his back to Jakotsu, who was suspicious.

"Are you sure?"

There was a moment of silence. When Bankotsu turned to face his friend, he was smiling warmly. "Yeah. I've seen you get freakish with blood before. It's not your fault... But now I would like to have the bandage so I won't be bleeding all over the snacks..."

Jakotsu sighed with relief, then laughed. "Sure. I'll go get it." He left the kitchen. When he was gone, Bankotsu took a few deep breaths more. 'Okay. Now I'm calmed down and he didn't suspect anything. I just need to keep my cool for the rest of the day, including the party which will contain alcohol, people having wild ideas and Jakotsu walking around in those tight leather pants... It can't be that hard, can it?'

"So, are you two a couple?" asked Sango, the girl who had arrived with Miroku. They were sitting on the sofa, across from Jakotsu and Bankotsu, who sat on kitchen chairs. Jakotsu's eyes widened and Bankotsu almost choked on his coke while Miroku howled with laughter.

"Good one, Sango! But Jakotsu's the only gay one here. That is, unless Renkotsu wants to tell us why he didn't come with a girlfriend?" Said bald man gave Miroku a deathly glare while Jakotsu patted Bankotsu on the back to help him get over his coughing fit. Once the shorter man was breathing easily again, Jakotsu turned back to Sango. "Miroku's right, unfortunately. But thanks for asking; you're only just the third girl today to ask that." He looked over his shoulder at Kagura, who was quietly talking with Sesshoumaru, and Kagome, who had come with Inuyasha and who was currently trying to find a way to stop his boyfriend and Kouga from ripping each other's heads off.

"You know, I thought Kouga and Inuyasha got along just fine, but now they look like two dogs fighting over a bone. What are they arguing over?" asked Jakotsu when Inuyasha hit Kouga in head and Kouga answered with a kick to his knee.

Miroku laughed again. "You're right, they usually get along, but you've never seen them with Kagome before. Kouga likes her and Inuyasha's insanely jealous. When she goes away, they both relax again."

Jakotsu snorted. "They're fighting over a girl? Now that's just insane, considering how many cute guys are present... Don't you agree Ban-chan?" he said impishly.

'Why do they all think we're a couple? Do we look like it? Do I look like a gay? Why is it only women who ask? Dear gods, do I look like a gay to women?!' Bankotsu, who hadn't been paying attention since Sango had asked if he was going out with the cross-dresser, started and stammered "W-what? Umm, yes?"

Now it was Jakotsu's turn to choke on his drink, while everyone else who had heard the conversation laughed their heads off at Bankotsu's confused expression.

"Sheesh, you two should decide already if you're together or not", said Renkotsu, glad to see a chance to embarass his friends; gods knew they had done the same to him countless times before. Besides, their special connection was pretty much obvious to everyone but themselves.

Everyone was looking at them now, and even Sesshoumaru had a little smirk on his usually emotionless face. "Oh yes, it's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, we are all friends so there's nothing to hide", he said and Kagura giggled like mad.

By this point Bankotsu had realized exactly what was going on and turned white as a ghost. Jakotsu, on the other hand, stood up and tried very hard to decide which one of the guys to punch first; smirking Renkotsu, Sesshoumaru with his know-it-all-look, Inuyasha and Kouga who had forgotten their fight to laugh or Miroku who was basically crying with laughter. Just when he had decided Miroku would be the easiest one to hit, the doorbell rang and everyone grew quiet.

"It must be Suikotsu and Kikyou," Bankotsu uttered and hurried to the door so he could hide his face from the other guests.

Thinking about a possible present, Jakotsu forgot all about kicking his friends' asses. "I WANNA OPEN IT! My party, my place, my guests!" Jakotsu's exited face made Bankotsu feel a bit less uneasy and he even managed to laugh.

"Yeah, and your never ending hyperactivity. Open the door, then."

Jakotsu did so and they found themselves face-to-face with a beaming Suikotsu and a pale girl, whose face gave the impression she had mistaken the birthday party for a funeral. Jakotsu was having hard time fighting his instinct to step back. 'What the hell's wrong with her, she looks like some killing robot ready to slaughter us all!'

Bankotsu forced himself to look at Suikotsu instead of the 'Dead Girl' he had already named Kikyou the second he saw her.

"Hiya guys, sorry we're late!" Suikotsu's cheerfulness made it clear he was fully used to Kikyou's zombie-like appearance. "I brought you some beers! Oh yes, Kikyou, these are Jakotsu and Bankotsu. Guys, this is Kikyou. Try not to shock her too much with your amusing stories, Jakotsu..."

The cross-dresser, recovering his senses after hearing Suikotsu's comment, sighed theatrically. "Oh really, Suikotsu, how many times are you gonna remind me that the last female to whom I told about the time I almost got you into my bed, offered to videotape us having -"

"NO NO, I didn't mean that! Shut up! Have a beer!" Suikotsu hastily gave a bottle to Jakotsu, who accepted it with an evil smirk. All four of them headed for the living room, Suikotsu quietly telling Kikyou not to believe anything Jakotsu said, while the other guests greeted newcomers. Kikyou seemed to wake up a bit, she smiled nicely to everyone and looked around. "This is certainly a beautiful apartment, Jakotsu. It has very emotional aura."

Noticing Jakotsu was having trouble holding back his laughter, Bankotsu spoke up. "Would you like something to drink? There's more than enough liquor, but we also got some cokes."

Kikyou studied him carefully. "No thanks," she said, "But please forgive me for asking, is there possibly some sort of romantic relationship between you tw- "

"LET'S PLAY TRUTH OR DARE, EVERYONE!!" Jakotsu shouted, cutting off Kikyou's question so as not to upset Bankotsu again. With the blood-licking episode earlier, he assumed the younger man was feeling a little on edge already. When everybody agreed happily to play the game and Kagome found an empty bottle, Jakotsu and Bankotsu seated themselves on the floor, very careful to stay away from Kikyou.

To be continued, if you like it