The Deal
"I said no!" Shirogane exclaimed exasperatedly, turning away from Aya and Kengo. "Come on, Shirogane. It's just a small favor…" whined Kengo, kneeling before where the Shin leaned against the bar. "No! It's not small! It's ridiculous and I'm not doing it!" The Shin's face was red with frustration and in an uncharacteristic display of anger he thumped his fist on the bar. Akira, Kou, and Master, from where they sat in the corner, stifled their laughter. This had been going on for the best part of half an hour. The problem was this: Mayu had a boyfriend that Kengo didn't approve of, so Aya had come up with a plan to break them up. Normally Shirogane didn't mind participating indirectly in Aya and Kengo's hare-brained schemes, but this time the part they had for him was a bit more…involved. "Please, Shirogane! It's for Mayu's sake, not ours!" pleaded Aya, from her place next to the Shin. He turned away imperiously. Akira rolled his eyes and stood up, irritated. "Just agree, already. I'd like some peace and quiet!" "But, Akira-kun. Did you hear what they're asking of me?" the white-haired man whined piteously, turning a hurt expression on the teen, "They want me to dress as a woman!" Akira folded his arms and strode out the door, casting one last scathing look at all three of them. "Idiots." Master piped up, "That's another thing, Aya-chan, Kengo-kun. Why does Shirogane have to be the one to seduce Mayu's boyfriend? Wouldn't it make more sense if Aya-chan did it?" Aya opened her mouth to respond, but Kengo cut her off, "Well, we considered that, but Shirogane is much more feminine than Aya-chan, so I figured it would be more believable—" "Feminine?" Interrupted Shirogane, blazing with rage as he glared at the two. Kengo didn't seem phased by the Shin's anger, and explained calmly, "Well, you have really long hair, and you talk in that ladylike voice, and you wear lip gloss, and we all know you like Akira-kun…" he trailed off as he began notice the lightning bolts of wrath coming from Shirogane. "I AM A MAN!" the Shin shouted, stamping his foot (in a very delicate manner) on the floor. In the corner, Kou snorted, nearly dropping his glass. Shirogane turned on him, blue eyes blazing, "This does not concern you." His voice was cold enough to freeze a candle flame. Suddenly, Aya had an idea. She stopped cowering and crawled out from under the table she had been hiding under. "I'm prepared to make you a deal, Shirogane." The man was still angry, "Why would I be—" be began, but Aya bravely cut him off, "You do this favor for us and Akira will do a favor for you." The blazing hatred immediately left Shirogane's eyes, to be replaced with sparkling mischief. "What kind of a favor?" he asked, daintily placing his finger on his chin. Aya's eyes were also sparkling, "Anything." "I think I've heard quite enough from you, Aya-chan." Akira exclaimed angrily from where he was now standing in the doorway. "You have no right to bring me into this!" Both Shirogane and Aya ignored him. "Anything…you drive a hard bargain, Aya-chan. I accept." The man held out his hand, Aya shook it. "What?" shouted Akira, "I'm not even a part of this! I refuse! I refuse to participate!" Shirogane turned to him, the wide grin on his face giving Akira a chill. "Now, don't be like that, Akira-kun." He crooned menacingly, "The deal is done. And, didn't you want me to accept just a minute ago?"
Late that night, Akira lay wide-awake on his bed. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a position that would allow him to drift off, but something was nagging at him. The favor. He had left the bar so angrily that he had forgotten to actually ask what the favor was. It's probably not that bad. He thought, squinting up at the ceiling. Then again, this was Shirogane he was talking about. Who knew what kind of twisted notions the Shin had? I suppose there is only one way to know for sure. "Shirogane?" he whispered, knowing the Shin would be somewhere in his room. "Yes, Akira-kun?" The voice came from right next to his ear and he flinched involuntarily. "What is this favor?" he asked, squeezing his eyes shut and turning slightly away from the soft voice. "Ah, you want to know what you'll be doing for me?" Akira frowned at the smugness in Shirogane's voice, "I won't be doing anything!" The Shin ignored the last comment and leaned in even closer to the young man's ear. Then he whispered his favor. When the young man had processed the request, his face turned bright red, "There is no way—" he began through clenched teeth, but the Shin cut him off. "The deal is already done, Akira-kun. You have no choice!"
The Plan was scheduled to take place that next evening. In the morning, they all met at the Still Bar. Aya was shining with triumph as she handed Shirogane a bright pink shopping bag with his costume inside. Master also handed him a bag, this one contained a doppelganger doll, identical to Akira's, so that Shirogane could appear in the physical world. The man peeked into the pink bag and wrinkled his nose in distaste at the contents. "Honestly, Aya-chan, this thing isn't even my color." Kou snickered behind a hand, only to receive a silencing glare from Shirogane. Unlike Kou, Akira wasn't finding this even vaguely amusing. He was still sulking over the unfairness of it all. Shirogane glanced at him teasingly and smirked at the young man's expression, "But I'll do anything for Akira-kun!"
That evening at six, forty five minutes after Shirogane had entered the bar's bathroom, a tall, leggy, supermodel-gorgeous woman in a tight red dress and five inch stilettos walked into the bar. The conversation stopped. Akira's eyes went wide, Kengo froze, and Kou stared. After a minute, Kou stuttered "Sh-sh-shirogane?" The woman fluttered her eyelashes and strode to the bar; swinging her hips just enough to call attention to her shape, but not enough to be over the top. She leaned towards the stunned bespectacled man and tilted his chin up towards her, "I'm Saki tonight." She whispered. Akira couldn't keep his eyes off Shirogane. He looked…strangely beautiful. The makeup highlighted his long eyelashes and delicate mouth perfectly. He was transfixing, but in the back of his head Akira thought; I like him better as a man. Shirogane turned to Akira and walked towards him. The sultry act he had used for Kou was gone. There was genuine vulnerability in his eyes when he asked Akira, "How do I look?" Akira tried his best to act normal. He closed his gaping mouth and put on his most disdainful tone, "Like a different person." Something unreadable flickered across Shirogane's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Shirogane—Saki tossed her hair and turned away. "That's the look I was going for."
Kengo and Mayu had already entered the theater when Mayu's soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend walked in through the tinted Plexiglas doors. From where Aya, Akira, Shirogane, and Kou were standing they could see that he was tall with red hair and a slouch. As he approached, Akira noted that his clothes were well made and expensive. In the middle of the room an old woman bumped into him, dropping her purse and spilling coins all over the carpet. Instead of bending down to help her, or even apologizing, the man just rolled his eyes and walked on. "Mayu sure knows how to pick them." Akira muttered irritably. The very thought of Shirogane flirting with this rich jerk made him angry. Shirogane noticed his discomfort and decided to take advantage, leaning over and crooning "Is Akira-kun jealous that I'll be getting attention from another man? Don't worry, my heart will always belong to you." Akira's face changed to bright red faster than a traffic light. "Shut up and do your job." He grumbled, pushing Shirogane out of their hiding place and towards Mayu's boyfriend.
The Plan worked without a hitch. The boyfriend, Hikaru, saw Saki and his jaw hit the floor. Within seconds he had clearly forgotten about Mayu, since his hands were all over the crimson dress. Akira tensed. Every time Hikaru stroked or pinched Akira felt like strangling him. He had absolutely no right to be touching Shirogane that way. "Akira-kun?" Kou put a hand on his shoulder, noting the corded muscles in Akira's neck were standing out. "What?" the young man snapped, not taking his eyes off Hikaru and Saki. Kou spoke cautiously, "Perhaps you should stay out here while Aya and I follow them in?" Akira shook off his hand angrily, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm going in." The three waited until the film had started before slipping silently into the theater. Akira was on edge. His movements were jerky and predatory. Kou and Aya nervously watched the way he stared down the back of Hikaru's head. Luckily for them, Mayu was not as slow as they had anticipated. Before the movie had even ended Mayu was storming away from Hikaru and the woman she had found him groping in the row in front of her and Kengo. Hikaru, like the jerk he was, didn't even bat an eye as she left, only pausing his exploration of Saki's curves long enough to shout, "Good riddance! Now I don't have to waste all my money on shots!" He turned back to Saki, who looked appalled, "Where was I, baby?" He cooed, hand drifting lower down her back. Akira growled. Even it it was (arguably) for his friend's sister, the fact that some idiot was fondling Shirogane enraged him. He was about to skip The Plan and hit Hikaru, when Saki pushed him away with all her considerable strength and spat, "Nowhere with me, that's for sure." She stomped away from his bewildered expression furiously. "You know what? Fine! I don't need you cheap—" No one saw Akira move. No one knew how he moved across the room so quickly. All they knew was that suddenly Akira was punching Hikaru hard across the jaw. The man fell like a sawed down tree trunk and didn't get up. Akira was breathing hard.
Kengo joined them back at the Still Bar by ten. Everyone besides Akira was gathered around a table, laughing hard as they relived the past few hours. "And then, POW! Hikaru goes down!" Kengo shouted, making Master guffaw loudly. Outside, Akira was brooding. He leaned against the doorframe, thinking over Shirogane's favor. Akira wrinkled in his nose in disgust in an attempt to counterbalance the warmth that was rapidly spreading through his stomach at the thought of his promise. There had been only one thing Shirogane wanted, of course. Akira hadn't been all that surprised when he had asked. A favor in exchange for…a kiss. The thought made him feel acutely uncomfortable. It's just a little thing. He had reassured himself again and again. And it isn't as if I haven't kissed him before. Akira remembered both instances as clearly as if they had happened a moment earlier, and they filled him with confused emotions just as vivid as the ones that had swamped him then. The sound of someone exiting the bar made him start. It was Shirogane. He was still dressed as Saki. "Evening, Akira-kun." He said quietly, using his normal voice. Akira grunted, turning his face away in an attempt to hide his flush. "Will you do my favor?" Akira turned redder. "I suppose." He muttered. Shirogane moved closer to him and Akira turned to face the man. The moonlight made the Shin's eyes sparkle as he leaned in, but Akira stopped him with a hand. With his other, he reached up and wiped the makeup from Shirogane's face with a sleeve. The man jerked back, "What are you doing?" Akira looked at his friend and replied, "I made a promise to Shirogane, not Saki." Shirogane looked away, toying with his braid nervously. "But wouldn't you rather kiss Saki? She's –" Akira interrupted, reaching up to make the Shin look him in the eyes. "No." he said honestly, "I have no idea who she is. I can't trust her the way I can trust Shirogane." Shirogane blushed, making Akira abruptly look away. "Besides," he added gruffly, "Red isn't your color at all." Shirogane grinned, "Whatever you want, Akira-kun!" His form shimmered as he transitioned back to spirit form and back into his normal clothing. Now it was Akira's turn to blush and look away. Shirogane was staring at him. "Give me a moment." Akira muttered, embarrassed. "Take as much time as you need." Shirogane grinned. "Stop smiling like that!" Akira burst out, "It's creepy!" The man responded only by smiling wider, "Make me, Akira-kun." He said coquettishly. Akira had had enough. Roughly, he grabbed Shirogane's chin and pulled him into a kiss, closing his eyes as he did so. Shirogane's lips were surprisingly warm and Akira was startled to find out exactly how much he was…enjoying this. Shirogane wrapped his arms around Akira's waist, pulling him closer. They fit together like puzzle pieces—easily and perfectly. A warm tingling filled Akira as Shirogane deepened the kiss, running his tongue across the young man's bottom lip until he opened his mouth. This was completely different from the other kisses. They might as well have been pecks on the cheek for all the resemblance they had to this. Akira didn't mean to, but he found himself wrapping his arms around the man, pulling him closer, kissing him harder… "Akira-kun?" Kengo's confused voice came from the doorway; startling Akira and making him push Shirogane away and step back. Kengo, Aya, Kou, and Master all stood in the doorway, eyes wide and mouths agape. Kou was the first to regain his cool, "Don't stop for us, we wouldn't want to spoil your moment." He grinned. Akira's face was burning. He couldn't even look in Shirogane's direction. "Whatever. I was just leaving, anyway." He muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets and starting down the road. "Akira-kun!" Shirogane called after him, voice cracking, but the young man did not turn. He was already marching angrily towards home.