Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to Konomi-sensei. I also have no beta reader, so read at your own risk.
Rebound Thing
Chapter One
It all started innocently enough, now that he thought about it.
He was in his second year of college (Law, of course) when Tachibana An started attending her first year of the same college. Yagyuu didn't usually pay much (or any) attention to girls, unless they were in some way related to him (or one of his friends), but something about An immediately caught his eye.
He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but for some reason she seemed quite familiar to him. At first he thought she was a fellow student from Rikkai (a year younger, perhaps), but he doubted it, because he remembered most of Kirihara's schoolmates (if not by names, definitely by faces), and she was most definitely not one of them.
Still, he would have batted the whole thing off as unimportant if she hadn't approached him herself.
One day after his classes were over and he and his fellow students filed out of the lecture hall, he felt a tug on his jacket and turned around, not able to hide his surprise. People rarely walked up to him, especially in such a casual matter. When he noticed who it was, his confusion only intensified—as did his interest.
"Yagyuu-san, isn't it?" she asked, smiling up at him.
"Yes," he said, politely, turning around to face her, though he couldn't hide his surprise.
"You probably don't remember me," she said, only looking half-apologetic for just randomly accosting him in the hallway. "My name is An Tachibana. I used to go to Fudomine Middle School."
That rang all the bells.
"Ah, Tachibana-san," he said, fixing his glasses in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't immediately recognise you."
"You remember," she said gleefully, her smile widening. "I didn't think you would. We never actually met, that is."
"Ah, true. You did seem familiar, but I'm afraid I couldn't quite place you. How is your brother, by the way?" he asked, turning to walk down the hallway to the exit, and she took her place by his side, walking with him.
"Oh, he's studying abroad. He got a German scholarship, so he went there for a year to play tennis. I think he's planning on staying there," she said casually, though Yagyuu could see she didn't feel quite as nonchalant about it as one would assume by her words.
"I see," he was about to say more, but when they got outside, a familiar face was waiting for them.
"Hiro-chan! " exclaimed Niou loudly, deliberately being more dramatic than usual, draping himself over Yagyuu and practically leering at An over his friend's shoulder: "Who's the babe?"
"Niou-kun," said Yagyuu evenly, though there was a note of annoyance in his voice that only Niou noticed. "This is Tachibana An-san. Tachibana-san, this is my roommate, Niou Masaharu-kun."
"Ah, of course, I remember," An said with a smile, giving a curt bow to Niou. "It was nice meeting you, Niou-san, and it was great seeing you again, Yagyuu-san. I have to get going now, though. I hope we can talk some more soon." That said, she sent them a smile and gave a curt wave, then turned around to walk off, earning herself a quiet, admiring wolf-whistle from Niou.
"Hiro-chan, you sure know how to pick them," he said with a devious grin that made Yagyuu quite uncomfortable. "She was totally flirting with you."
Yagyuu fixed his glasses, avoiding Niou's eyes, and said, this time not hiding his annoyance: "She wasn't. And don't even think about it, Niou-kun." He turned around to leave, leaving Niou, who was still staring after An, behind.
"I didn't say anything," Niou purred when he caught up with him again, his arm wrapping itself around Yagyuu's shoulders again.
"But you were thinking it," Yagyuu said, not hiding his irritation this time--it was a luxury he only afforded with Niou around. He didn't have to look at Niou to know that the other man was studying him carefully.
"You don't know what I was thinking," Niou said, teasingly.
"I do," Yagyuu said, catching his eyes briefly and a small smile appeared on his face despite everything. "I am you, remember?"
Niou's small smile matched his own as the other boy answered: "Yes." The casually draped arm around Yagyuu's shoulders tightened possessively and for the first time since knowing Niou, Yagyuu realised that the other boy may actually be jealous.
The whole encounter lingered at the back of his mind for a long time to come, even after Niou pulled him onto the couch the second the door to their apartment closed behind them.
He got to talk to An the very next day, despite not planning it, and rather wanting to avoid it. The very thought that Niou may be jealous was a scary (and maybe even dangerous) one indeed—not so much for Yagyuu, but for the object of his affection.
The fact that he was worried about An being at the receiving end of Niou's revenge didn't strike Yagyuu as odd, though it should have—he had never before worried about anyone but himself and Niou (and their former teammates, though not to the same extent).
So, that in itself should have been alarming enough, but somehow Yagyuu missed that important little detail.
He was just on his way to the next lecture when he noticed An talking to a rather familiar redheaded boy. He wasn't close enough to know what they were talking about, so that in itself wouldn't have attracted his attention if it weren't for the way they were 'talking'. The redheaded boy was nearly yelling at An, trying to grab her arm, and she was repeatedly shaking her head at everything he said, yanking her arm out of his grasp every time he managed to grab it, looking very annoyed. Her voice was rising each time she had to bat his arm away and finally even Yagyuu, though far away, heard her say "No!"
Yagyuu hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed and headed towards them.
"Is there a problem?" he asked politely, giving the boy a once-over. The second he laid his eyes on him from up close, he realised who he was looking at: it was Kamio, the former fukubuchou of Fudomine Middle School Tennis Club.
"There's no problem," Kamio snarled at him. "I'm just talking to my girlfriend. Mind your own business!"
An moved closer to Yagyuu, more in a subconscious gesture than actually seeking protection, her eyes fixed on Kamio. "I'm not your girlfriend," she said firmly, quite obviously losing her patience with him. "Kamio, we broke up."
"If we just talked about it-," said Kamio heatedly, taking a step forward, but she stepped away, reflexively seeking refuge behind Yagyuu.
"No, there's nothing to talk about," she said firmly. "I don't love you anymore, and nothing you say will make me change my mind and get back together with you."
Kamio seemed shell-shocked by hearing that from her, but the shock almost immediately turned to denial and anger. "It's someone else, isn't it? Who is it? Is it him?"
He turned on Yagyuu, who didn't move or flinch, standing unmoving between An and Kamio, not saying a word.
"Kamio, would you just listen to me?" An hissed, annoyed, taking a step forward, though one of her hands was still resting on Yagyuu's arm. "Yagyuu-san has nothing to do with this, and there's no one else either. It's just over. I just don't want to marry you, that's all."
Kamio stopped, going from red to ghastly pale in just a second. "An-chan..."
An sighed, looking quite sad now. "Kamio, I'm sorry," she said, coming closer and hugging him. "I like you and I want us to stay friends, but I don't love you. I... I'm sorry."
For a long time, they stood there, unmoving, Kamio completely lifeless and An just hugging him, when Kamio suddenly let out a hiss and shoved An, turning around and running away like a startled animal.
Yagyuu, alarmed, quickly came closer and knelt down to An. "Tachibana-san...?"
"It's okay," she said, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes so he wouldn't see them, though it was too late for that. She pushed to her feet and dusted off her skirt, forcing a smile at him. "I'm sorry for involving you in all this, Yagyuu-san."
"I'm sorry for getting involved into something that was none of my business," he said, handing her her bag that he had picked up. "But it looked like you were in trouble. . ."
"Ah, no, that's okay. Kamio would never hurt me. He just has little trouble accepting the fact that we broke up," she said, avoiding his eyes as she tried getting imaginary stains out of her bag.
Yagyuu didn't ask anything, because it was not his business to pry. She finally looked at him, and he could see that she was now hardly containing her tears. She shook her head and forced a smile, then gave a bow: "Thank you for your help."
Yagyuu watched her run off with mixed feelings.
"Yagyuu-san!"
Yagyuu turned around at the sound of familiar voice calling his name, and something akin to a smile appeared on his otherwise rather emotionless face as he noticed the small brunette running towards him, waving enthusiastically.
"Tachibana-san," he acknowledged by ways of greeting as An stopped next to him, practically glowing up at him. His voice was polite as always, but there was genuine warmth in it this time, something that usually didn't happen.
Since the whole Kamio incident a month ago, they ran into each other like this almost every day. Well, no one could call it a coincidence anymore, since An quite obviously deliberately sought out Yagyuu's presence.
"Yagyuu-san, I was wondering whether you have time tonight," she said, looking at him with her wide, innocent eyes. "I have some trouble understanding some of my material, and I thought that you could perhaps help me."
Whatever thoughts may have been triggered by An's first sentence came to a screeching halt when they arrived at the one unwavering (oh, the irony!) constant in Yagyuu's life: Niou.
"Yes, of course," he said, but before he could get the 'but' part in, An-chan cut him off: "Great. I'll drop by tonight at eight. Bye!"
The day went by in a haze as Yagyuu kept worrying about Niou's reaction when An would show up on their doorstep—to make matters worse, he had classes until eight, which meant he'd be half an hour late getting home, which meant An would spend half an hour with Niou. Alone.
That did not, by any means, bode well.
Yagyuu arrived at his and Niou's apartment in record time that day. Still, when he opened the door, the sound of music and laughter greeted him and his lips tightened into a thin line of irritation as he stopped to take off his shoes before heading off into the living room.
"Hiro-chan! " greeted him Niou, choosing to ignore his friend's bad mood.
The white-haired man was leisurely sprawled on the couch, his white shirt unbuttoned and his hair as messy as ever, drinking wine from a glass. He was slightly tipsy: Yagyuu could tell immediately by the way his eyes were glowing.
An-chan was sitting on the armchair left of Niou, holding a glass of wine as well, looking tipsy herself, though her behaviour didn't seem any different than normal. "Yagyuu-san," she said with a smile.
"Tachibana-san, Niou-kun," greeted Yagyuu, his irritation deepening when he noticed one empty bottle of wine on the kitchen table, and the one on the living room table had been half-empty. His voice didn't change, though, as headed towards the table in the living room. Before he could sit down on the armchair opposite of An, though, Niou pulled him down on the couch, half on top of himself, and grinned: "An-chan was so nice to bring us wine, so we opened it while we waited for you. Aw, Hiro-chan, you're so mean, leaving a pretty girl like An-chan waiting for you." The last part was whispered into his ear as Niou draped his arms around him, again.
Choosing to ignore Niou, Yagyuu sat down properly on the couch and looked at An, who was giggling at Niou's antics.
"I'm sorry for being late, Tachibana-san."
"That's okay, I should be the one to apologise," An said, smiling as she noticed Niou pushing his glass into Yagyuu's hands. Yagyuu took it, stiffly, hesitating for a few moments. Then, figuring all was lost anyway, he downed it, and Niou chuckled, then poured him another glass.
"I didn't give you a chance to tell me whether eight was okay or not. I'm sorry for imposing."
Niou grinned at her: "Not at all. Hiroshi doesn't mind, do you Hiro-chan?"
Yagyuu shook his head, trying to keep his growing irritation at Niou under check. He didn't exactly know where it was coming from, because this is how Niou was, and he was acting like he had expected him to, but somehow, it was all different today.
"No," he said stiffly, downing another glass of wine, much to Niou's surprise.
"Mhm, maybe this wasn't the best idea," An finally spoke up, probably finally realising that the way Niou was draped over Yagyuu and was whispering into his ear wasn't exactly 'normal', not to mention Yagyuu didn't seem in the best of moods. "I'm not exactly in the state for studying anyway."
"Ah, no, don't go," Niou said cheerfully, though Yagyuu noticed a malicious glint in his eyes as he glanced over at Yagyuu. "Here, have another drink. You can study next time, we can just party this time. Hiroshi wants you to stay, don't you Hiroshi?"
There was a challenge in Niou's voice. Yagyuu couldn't say he wanted An to leave, because that would be horribly rude, but saying that he wanted her to stay would only fuel Niou's jealousy further. That's why he only opted for a nod instead and asked, voice polite but neutral: "Another drink, Tachibana-san?"
"Ah, yes, please," she said, hesitantly, though it was obvious she was slightly startled by Niou's mood change. Yagyuu poured her a drink, which she started sipping slowly.
"Niou has been telling me about how long you two know each other," An finally spoke up as she took another sip of her wine. Yagyuu tried not to flinch at the lack of honorific usage, and glanced at Niou, who was getting himself a glass in the kitchen and was grinning at him from behind the counter.
"Yes, we go a long way back," Yagyuu said carefully, when Niou suddenly showed up again, half-sitting, half-climbing into his lap and grinning at An: "Oh yes, don't we just, Hiro-chan?" The next moment, he wound one arm around his neck and pulled him closer for a kiss.
Yagyuu couldn't say he was surprised, though admittedly this was the first time Niou had acted so possessively over him when either of them had a potential love interest over.
"Niou-kun," he said reproachfully as he pulled away and glanced at An, who was staring at them, wide-eyed. Then, she seemed to break out of her trance and smiled, though a tad forced as she looked around for her bag, confused and embarrassed. "I- Maybe I better leave."
"No, don't go," Niou said, his smirk returning, making him look dangerous as he stretched over the table like a predatory cat, more or less trapping An to the couch, his hands resting on the armchair on either side of her as he breathed into her face: "You like Hiroshi, don't you? Well, that's okay, but we come as a one-package deal. Meaning, you want him, you get me as well."
"Masaharu!" suddenly snapped Yagyuu, having enough of his antics. He stood up abruptly and pulled Niou away from An by the belt of his pants. "Stop that!"
Niou didn't reply, knowing Yagyuu was really pissed off if he called him by his first name with someone else present, but on the inside he was still seething. It was clear he thought An-chan was a bigger threat to their relationship than she actually was.
Yagyuu sent Niou a warning look and turned to An-chan: "I apologise for my friend's behaviour, Tachibana-san. What he said is true, though."
An-chan didn't move from her spot on the couch, her head almost hiding between her shoulders where she was trying to make herself as small as possible. "I… I'm sorry," she whispered without looking up. "It's true, I liked you, Yagyuu, but if I'd have known, I wouldn't…" She paused, looking up, her voice pleading as she spoke up urgently. "I'm really sorry. Please don't be mad at me, Niou-kun, I didn't know."
That said, she grabbed her bag and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
Niou snorted from his spot on the couch, finally stopped pretending he was sulking and looked at Yagyuu, not hiding his enmity this time: "It's not her fault you like her. But you're mine and I don't share."
Yagyuu sighed, feeling an incoming headache starting to build. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, then replaced his glasses again as he turned to face Niou again: "Niou-kun, you should know better. It's not like she would be the first one I was interested in."
"Yes, but she's the first one you aren't willing to share with me," Niou said sulkily, looking every bit like an apologetic cat as he stretched over to him, putting his arms around his shoulders and nuzzling Yagyuu's neck, looking happy his friend wasn't mad anymore.
Yagyuu considered the words carefully and realised Niou was right. Perhaps he did like the girl more than he did any one of their other 'toys' so far.
It would have hardly been the first time he or Niou would bring another person into their bed, after all.
"You would have slept with her anyway," he sighed, sounding resigned as he indicated the wine with his hand. "They all fall for your charm anyway."
"Girls like bad boys," Niou chuckled into his neck. "You're too stiff, Hiroshi. Too stiff."
Yagyuu smiled despite himself. "There are way too many obvious replies to that comment, Masaharu, and I'll spare you having to hear one."
Niou grinned, but stopped with his ministrations and looked into his eyes: "You aren't angry, are you? She's on a rebound, she's just looking for some fun, nothing serious. She told me. It wouldn't have worked out."
Yagyuu sighed, keeping eye contact as he clearly and deliberately stated: "I'm not looking for any other serious relationships, Masaharu. And I doubt we'll see any more of her after the stunt you pulled, anyway."
Niou seemed to have been convinced by Yagyuu's words because he chuckled and kissed him.
Yagyuu was wrong, though. The next morning, An was waiting for him before his first class, and she looked rather tired.
"Tachibana-san," greeted Yagyuu, studying her worriedly. "Are you okay, did you get enough sleep?"
"I couldn't sleep," she said honestly, smiling. "I was worried about what happened yesterday. I didn't cause too much trouble between you and Niou-kun, did I?"
Yagyuu shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm sorry you had to find out like that. Niou-kun can be rather possessive sometimes."
"I'm glad you worked it out," she said, looking relieved. "I didn't know, and-,"
"That's okay," assured her Yagyuu, rather softly for someone as stoic as him. "I should have told you."
"No, you didn't have to. I just assumed, and I assumed wrong, and I'm sorry if I caused any problems for you two that way. I didn't mean to," she said earnestly.
"That's okay. I'm glad I came home on time, or Niou-kun would have gotten you drunk and had his way with you," Yagyuu said, this time completely seriously. "He likes doing that when he's jealous."
An-chan seemed a tad surprised at his directness, but shook her head with a smile: "I don't think I would have minded, quite frankly. I think I may have been flirting with him before you showed up, and it was only partly because of the booze. Must be some sort of a stupid reflex that makes me want to go wild after years of being only with Aki- Kamio."
Now it was Yagyuu's time to be surprised at her frankness. He soon caught himself, however. "I don't think it was just that. Niou just has that kind of affect on women. He appears dangerous, and they like that."
An giggled and sent him an amused sideway glance: "Maybe so, but I think you're much more dangerous, Yagyuu-san. I've seen how you handle Niou, and it was pretty impressive."
Yagyuu smiled despite himself. "That's only because he lets me," he said, some of the warmth creeping up back in his voice when he was thinking about his lover. He was amused, quite frankly, by anyone thinking he could 'handle' Niou in any way. Their relationship just didn't work that way.
"Well, Yagyuu-san, if his offer had been meant seriously, I wouldn't have minded taking you two up on it," she said, winking at him, and then turned around to run down the hall, leaving him staring after her in stunned silence.
Exactly a week after the whole incident, Yagyuu suffered a bad case of deja-vu when he returned home, and was greeted by laughter and music as he unlocked the front door. Frowning, he locked the door behind him and took of his shoes, stopping as he noticed shoes that looked surprisingly like An's at the door. With a bad feeling in his stomach, he walked into the living room and was greeted with pretty much the same sight as a week ago.
An and Niou were drinking again, only that this time they were more than just slightly tipsy, because two empty bottles were sitting on the table, and the third one was close to empty as well.
"Hiro-chan! " yelled Niou, this time topless, as he waved at him and pointed at an empty glass on the table. "Finally. We were waiting what seems like forever."
An just giggled and started pouring him a glass of wine.
Yagyuu, though surprised, just sighed and dropped his bag and joined them by sitting on the seat opposite of An. Niou would have none of that, of course, and he came over and plopped himself in Yagyuu's lap.
"Hiro-chan is so cold," he whined as he hugged and kissed him until Yagyuu could hardly think straight anymore.
An started giggling when she noticed how dazed Yagyuu looked and she handed him his glass, grinning: "Here, Yagyuu-san."
"Okay, someone mind telling me what's going on?" asked Yagyuu after he downed his drink.
"Well, we were talking," Niou said sweetly. "And we thought that maybe giving An what she needs wouldn't be such a bad idea."
"And what does she need?" asked Yagyuu, knowing he'll probably regret asking. Also, the idea that Niou and An-chan seemed to be the best of friends all of a sudden gave him the chills.
"A good fuck for a change," said Niou crudely and An-chan had the decency to blush. "By two real men."
Yagyuu ignored the crudeness--he was used to it. "Really?" he asked, looking at the blushing An curiously. "You sure you won't regret it later, Tachibana-san?"
She didn't meet his eyes, opting to keep them on the glass in her hands, and just shook her head, blushing harder.
"Are you sure about this?" he then asked Niou softly.
Niou was looking at him with sincerity he only directed at him, and then glanced at An-chan and back at Yagyuu, his grin practically lecherous. "Pervert," murmured Yagyuu affectionately and kissed him, then downed his wine and poured himself another one.
"We don't want you to regret this later on, or think you were forced into anything," he said reasonably, looking at An-chan.
"I... I want this," she said with a blush, finally looking up at him. She was a tad tipsy, yes, but she was sobering up from nervousness.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded in reply, and there was determination in her eyes.
Yagyuu nodded, seeing she was convinced, and smiled at Niou, who was now sitting behind him, his arms locked around Yagyuu's shoulders, and his chin resting on Yagyuu's right shoulder.
Niou just grinned at him, and Yagyuu kissed him. Then, he turned to An, who was watching them with interest, though looking slightly lost and uncertain. He stretched a hand out to her and she took it, so he led her to their side of the table. He made her kneel between his legs, her arms resting on his knees, and he smiled at her reassuringly.
Niou winked at her from Yagyuu's shoulders and she giggled. Yagyuu grinned and cupped her face, kissing her slowly and gently, until he felt her fingers dig into his knees and she moaned into his mouth.
Then, he moved away and when her eyes fluttered open and she whimpered as he moved away, Yagyuu made her sit down on his knees and Niou kissed her next. Yagyuu in the meanwhile slowly started unbuttoning her shirt, which he then expertly removed, leaving her in her bra. She was in no position to feel embarrassed, though, because Niou was still kissing her, and Yagyuu slowly, teasingly started unhooking her bra, expertly kissing every bit of the newly exposed skin.
When Niou finally moved away, An looked quite dazed. She groaned with pleasure when a pair of mouths latched themselves on each of her nipples and she threw her head back, arching her back into their mouths, moaning softly.