A little different than what i'm used to writing, but I couldn't resist...
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Voltage.
"Saeki, stop teasing me!"
It's a phrase she says often. And his response is always the same: a chuckle or a kiss on the cheek or a "But honey, you're so much fun to tease!"
At first, she hadn't minded.
She still doesn't mind much, in fact.
But once, just once, she wants to see Saeki lose his composure.
Just once, she wants to have the upper hand.
So one night at Long Island, when she finally escapes the guys' teasing and Saeki's intentionally smothering hug, she straightens her rumpled clothing indignantly, turns to her fiancé and says, "I'll win. Just you wait and see."
For a moment, Saeki looks surprised.
Then he grins.
"I'm looking forward to watching you try, honey." he says, and then he puts his arm around her shoulders and presses his lips against her temple.
He doesn't believe her for a second.
But she'll win.
She has to.
For what is probably the first time in his life, Takamasa Saeki is completely speechless.
"What's wrong, Saeki?" his wife asks.
But there's a mischievous glint in her eyes as she steps into his office carrying his usual cup of coffee in her hands and wearing nothing but Saeki's favorite white shirt.
Sure, he had brought up the idea multiple times, but he had always been teasing just to see her cheeks flush in the most adorable show of embarrassment he had ever seen. He had never expected the joke to lead to this.
Not that he minds, of course.
Saeki quickly attempts to cover his shock with a smile, but already, his writer's mind is beginning to spin…erm…very creative scenarios.
And judging by that expression on his fiancee's face, she knows exactly what he is thinking.
"You're supposed to call me sweetie, remember?" Takamasa says, getting up from his chair and slipping his arms around her waist.
She smiles up at him endearingly. Then, tiptoes to give him a light kiss…
On the cheek.
"Your coffee'll spill." she says, prompting Saeki to reluctantly release his hold on her. "How's your work coming along?"
His wife sets the coffee mug on the desk beside his laptop and turns to him curiously.
Saeki smiles.
"Do you want to read through the draft, honey?"
Immediately, her face lights up, all traces of mischief fading.
"Can I?" she asks eagerly.
Saeki chuckles. He can't always predict what his wife will say or do, but her love for his writing never changes. And for that, he will always be grateful.
"Of course." he replies.
Takamasa begins pushing his office chair towards her, but that is when she does something surprising.
Dressed in only his rather short button down, she bends over the desk leaving just enough to Saeki's imagination to make him blush; and he almost never blushes.
Startled, Saeki freezes in place, unable to do anything but watch her as she reads. His eyes travel up her leg, down the silhouette of her waist, but always ends at the hem of the shirt.
Suddenly, he catches her eye; it's just for a second, but that is long enough for him to understand.
She's...teasing…
The thought amuses him.
Grinning, he walks over to her, pulls her closer, and begins to whisper something in her ear when-
"I'm finished reading."
And suddenly, she isn't in his arms anymore, but all the way across the room.
"I liked it…sweetie. But I'm getting sleepy, so good luck with your script!" she says with a wave and a deceivingly innocent smile.
She's leaving?...
The door shuts, leaving Takamasa all alone to try and gather his scattered thoughts, but the only thing he can think over and over again is this:
I never knew my honey could be such an awful tease…
The second night is worse than the first.
Better, and worse.
Much, much worse.
Saeki had just come back from a press conference, exhausted and ready to relax at home with a cup of coffee and her. The day had been long, but he could be with his fiancée now and that made it all better.
Whistling cheerfully, he turns the lock and opens the apartment door, feeling the same sense of odd excitement he feels every time he knows he is about to see her.
Then he steps inside, takes off his shoes, follows the warm, familiar scent of her cooking to the kitchen…
And nearly drops his briefcase.
"Oh? You're back!"
"I…" Saeki stammers.
"What's wrong?"
A light ding! goes off behind her and she gasps.
"The oven…"
Quickly, she turns to save her baked dish, exposing her entire bare backside as she does so.
Saeki wants to start kissing her right then and there, but now that he knows that this is a game, he has to win.
But it is difficult. Oh, so difficult…Especially when she remains in nothing but the apron all throughout dinner. And when he is inches away from her, attempting to dry the dishes as she washes them, after.
Her arm will graze his, or a cluster of bubbles will land on her bare skin somewhere and he'll feel compelled to reach over and brush the bubbles away…
But he holds himself back. He has to. Or he'll lose it.
Finally, when the last bowl has been put away, Saeki lets out a deep gasp of air he hadn't even known he'd been holding, and runs for his room as quickly as he can.
Saeki doesn't know it, but his wife giggles as she watches him go.
It is almost too difficult for Saeki to stand it in any longer.
Especially when she starts to do things like that: when they walk home together and out of nowhere, she'll push him up against the wall and give him a rough, but still-sweet kiss and then suddenly…just…stop and casually continue walking, smiling over her shoulder at his breathless, blushing, and flustered form.
The first time it happened, Takamasa had been too shocked to respond or retaliate.
The next time, in the store room of Long Island, he manages to catch her by the waist just seconds before she does it.
"Are you having fun teasing me, honey?" he whispers into her hair.
And then he leans down to give her a kiss that will finally end this agonizing game for him, but then…
"Uncle! Where did you say you kept the napkins?"
Saeki barely releases her before the door to the store room bursts open.
He knows better than to incur Kuni's wrath.
But…
"Geez, you two are useless." Yamato grumbles as he pushes past the couple and reaches for the top shelf.
Days pass.
Nothing happens.
And that makes Saeki anxious.
Because it is getting harder and harder for him to resist. Especially when he is caught off guard.
And he is afraid that one of these days, she will surprise him with something big.
Every time she edges near him, his spine tingles in anticipation, excitement, and just a little bit of fear.
But she hasn't done anything yet.
They are at a stalemate and it is his turn to make a move.
But he doesn't know just what he can do.
That is when it happens.
She walks into his study that Saturday night.
He hears her footsteps, turns around to catch her before she can catch him first but…
She doesn't try to kiss him, she is completely clothed, and in her hands is a script.
That script.
The one he had torn up so long ago.
The one he thought she had given up trying to fix.
The pages are awfully wrinkled from being taped together and little bits and pieces of it are still missing here and there, but there it is. All 173 pages of it.
Checkmate.
That is when Saeki knows beyond all doubt that he has lost.
"S-Saeki. What are you doing?"
But Takamasa just pulls her in closer and continues to kiss her; neck, ear, lips, shoulder- moaning when she finally presses her body up against his and begins to kiss him back.
Win or lose; Saeki doesn't care anymore.
But suddenly-
"W-wait!"
His wife's hands cover his, stopping them from undoing the front buttons of her cardigan.
"Do you want me to stop, honey?" Saeki murmurs, but he already knows what her answer will be.
And sure enough, his fiancée blushes as she shakes her head.
"…Not here…The bed…"
Saeki's face immediately breaks out into a smile and he sweeps her up and heads for their bedroom with her in his arms.
"You always win. It's not fair." his wife grumbles as he goes, but Saeki knows she is trying not to smile.
So, he just chuckles and plants a soft kiss on her eyelid as he lays her gently down onto the bed.
She doesn't know it, but winning is new to him.
Because every battle he, Takamasa Saeki, had ever fought in the past- against his father, against the press, against himself- was a battle he'd fought alone.
And then he'd met her and everything had changed.
Because really, despite their silly little games, he knows that they were, and always will be, on the same team.
And so does she.
fin~
