Nezumi's thumb lingered on Shion's lips a while, recording their subtle curvature; testing their give and softness. He stroked them apart, and dipped that digit inside just briefly. As Nezumi withdrew, Shion, heart pounding, was surprised how strongly he yearned to feel Nezumi's lips upon him. But he thought he understood this game… and wouldn't surrender that easily. As if reading his mind, Nezumi said: "Let's see how much more persuasion you need, then." His eyes sparkled with mischievous intent.

Taking care not to make any contact with his lips (but still making it as noticeable as he could how close they were), Nezumi brought his face toward Shion's ear again, blowing cool breath into it. He continued with some pleasant puffs over Shion's closed eyelids, traced over the bridge of his nose and finished with a final slow, teasing strip of air across Shion's closed lips. Shion wanted very badly to touch his lips to those of his gentle torturer, but still resisted that temptation. Nezumi drew back just slightly now, his face hovering above Shion's, expression soft but unreadable. He murmured: "How are you doing now?"

Shion smiled dreamily back at Nezumi: "Keep going." He knew that just as wordlessly as this began, he could forfeit and all would be forgotten. If he just got up and walked away, not a word would be spoken again about the peculiar developments currently underway. But a pleasurable prickling feeling was beginning to swarm his body, and Shion didn't want to 'forget' any of this at all. It also seemed distinctly plausible that rather than this just being a sadistic form of amusement for him, Nezumi's intentions could lay along the same lines as his own. Shion felt compelled to see this experiment through to completion.

So Nezumi took it to the next step. Abandoning his straddle across Shion's legs to sit seiza between them instead, Nezumi's right palm grasped Shion's left ankle from the outside, slid behind it, and began to smooth its way slowly upward from just above the heel to the top of his calf. Shion unconsciously lifted his leg at the knee to welcome more of this soothing sensation. A bemused Nezumi raised his eyebrows at Shion's boldness as he let his flat palm cross under the bend of Shion's knee.

Now, Nezumi started to get pretty bold too, slowly sliding his hand deep into Shion's inner thigh. Careful to touch the thigh only, he rubbed his palm and flattened-out fingers back and forth along its length in a loop; inward along the inner thigh, outward from underneath, and inward, and outward all over again. Shion, panting softly now, found his pants were becoming somewhat restrictive. Taking notice of the faint stirring near his hand, Nezumi smirked in silent triumph.

As this act's finale, Nezumi switched legs and reversed direction, thrusting his palm ever upward along the bottom of Shion's other thigh, even to the seat of his increasingly bothersome pants and then back along the inner thigh, three times. On the last return trip, Nezumi strayed enough for his fingers to brush lightly against Shion's crotch before withdrawing his hand. Due to this small course change, Shion cursed in frustration, arching his back and bracing himself on his elbows, before dropping back down again. He closed his eyes and fought a mad urge to pull Nezumi down on top of him— this time not just to fall asleep. "Had enough?" Nezumi teased at Shion's obvious desperation.

"Th- that wasn't fair!" It was obvious that the red-faced Shion was now only running on sheer force of will. He had a competitive streak that was not to be underestimated. But Nezumi's calculated attacks were rapidly weakening his defenses.

Nezumi, still seated between Shion's legs, gently coaxed Shion up on his knees as well, so they were face to face. "You're doing really well," he said, brushing the back of his hand for a moment against Shion's right cheek. That hand passed through Shion's hair, fingers combing it back along the way to his shoulder, which Nezumi squeezed in encouragement.

Shion looked to anywhere but Nezumi's eyes. Now wracked with an intense desire that deepened even at the sound of Nezumi's voice, he knew he would be defeated the second they made eye contact. Those beautiful silver eyes would surely break him.

The owner of those eyes now gripped both of Shion's shoulders lightly, and kept that grip locked as he slid his hands down tense arms, lightly wringing the stiffness out of them all the way to the wrists. Shion kept his head tilted upward, his breaths somewhat ragged. Exploring hands slipped beneath his arms and back around his waist, so they could massage small circles in Shion's lower back, under his shirt. The fact he was reaching around Shion's front meant Nezumi's was up very close. He felt a powerful craving again for those lips to touch his own.

Shion was able to relax a bit as Nezumi's skilled fingertips pressed deep into his tense back muscles. But soon, those fingers found Shion's waistband, and dipped inside. Reaching only just under his belt, they pressed straight outward from his back to his sides, as they migrated along the waistline to Shion's front. Once there, Nezumi's thumbs took over, tracing more circles along Shion's pelvic bone and drawing maddeningly close to, but not quite touching the swelling in his pants.

"Mm! Mmm!" Shion just about screamed through stoically sealed lips that did nothing to muffle his sounds of frustration. They both knew Shion was on his last legs as he looked up at the ceiling, his upper body teetering. As if to allow a small reprieve, Nezumi glided his hands loosely up around Shion's sides to his upper back again, lightly massaging him from the outside of his shirt. "You're not… making this easy… for me…" He shut his eyes tight now, immersed in the pleasant touches despite himself, head still tipped back to face the ceiling.

"I don't recall seeing that condition laid out in the job description." Shion thought he detected a note of impatience in Nezumi's voice, which he found vaguely gratifying.

"Wha… job… description?" he panted.

"Exactly," he sniffed in derision, but then added: "Such strength of will is admirable, your majesty." Shion was positive he heard more than a hint of desire in those words. Regardless, he was ready to give in.

It was time for Shion to face his final challenge. Nezumi's polished silver eyes lit up at the sight of Shion's reopening, shining fondly back at his smoldering red irises. Just this was indeed enough to completely erase any remaining pretense Shion had of aloofness or restraint. He shuddered with unbridled lust. "— s-su-su—"

"Surrender?" Nezumi grinned at the raging fire burning in his counterpart's eyes. A now totally uninhibited Shion grabbed Nezumi's shirtfront and yanked hard, pulling his obliging companion down on top of himself as he fell back on the bed, their legs slipping into a comfortable tangle. Nezumi laughed, "Finally!"

Mad with desire, Shion met Nezumi's kiss, returning it rough and messy as he bucked wildly, grinding against Nezumi's hips and moaning in ecstasy. Nezumi loved this animalistic side of Shion, that he wasn't sure existed before. Until now Nezumi was always holding himself back to fleeting soft caresses and ambiguously subtle compliments on Shion's bewitching hair and the alluring coiled snake that charmed him so. I'm already toeing a dangerous line, just letting him stay here, he had reminded himself, each time his ardour began to rise.

But now, Nezumi too could no longer resist his longing. He effortlessly unbuttoned Shion's shirt, but removed only one sleeve before abandoning it to drape provocatively from one shoulder, so he could attack the side of the other boy's tempting, now fully-exposed neck. An adoring Shion reciprocated with passionate wet kisses on Nezumi's own. Nezumi ran a firm thumb along Shion's crotch just then, taking tactile satisfaction from the hard bulge in the boy's pants. "Oh god, Nezumi…" Shion pleaded.

"Here, let me help you with that." Shion lay back down obediently as Nezumi unbuckled, unfastened, and unzipped with ease, lifting his hips so the more experienced one could slide off his cumbersome pants.

It's just sex, Nezumi told himself even as he traced the scar from Shion's chest to his side, licking along that red line he found so endearing, pausing to suck at the nearest nipple along the way. He kissed a straight line across Shion's delicate abdomen, and rendezvoused with the scar line again to lay further teasing kisses across Shion's most sensitive regions. Sex hasn't attached me to anyone before…

"Aah… Ohhhh..." Shion moaned as he felt a tongue glide swiftly up his thigh, and start lapping at the taut skin of his sac and erection. He cried out in surprise as all of his senses were thrust all at once inside a hot, wet mouth. Tears came to his eyes in response to that sudden intensity. One dripped down his cheek as he squirmed against the bed.

Lips and tongue began to suck and stroke in a lovely tempo along the hardened mass protruding from between Shion's legs, expert fingers caressing the regions beneath.

Feverish waves of pleasure crashed across Shion's body, followed by pleasant chills as the sweat evaporated from his skin. Shion had never imagined anything could ever feel so good as what Nezumi was doing to him right now. He tried to speak— to share how incredible all of this felt— but the best he could manage was; "Ahhh… Ne-zumiiii…" and a helpless whimper.

Even without words, the transported expressions Nezumi witnessed on Shion's face when he stole the occasional glimpse; the way hands swept lovingly over Nezumi's temples and jaw, and tugged desperately at his dark hair as he worked below; and the sublime rhythm of Shion's breathing told the adept lover that his efforts were well appreciated.

Shion's intense reactions were arousing more in Nezumi than just rampant sexual desire. What were these emotions? Beyond his most ardent physical urges, he felt a great fondness for the boy currently at his mercy— that just his existence alone was a miracle. He literally wouldn't exist now if this boy never did. And here was someone whose pleasure was clearly Nezumi's joy. He couldn't deny this; he was in the middle of experiencing it. He had no wish to manipulate him or take advantage of his naïveté, though he easily could. The thought of harm coming to this boy had always brought him great distress as well. No such emotions had ever surfaced within him before for another person.

Itoshii,* is it… ?

These unexpected revelations of Nezumi's were pushed neatly to the back of his mind as he sensed the euphoric Shion was about to climax. The enraptured boy's cries had been getting more frantic, and as Nezumi picked up the pace, the snake-wrapped boy writhed shamelessly on the bed and bit his lip in concentration, struggling for his release.

"Ohhh Nezumi! Ohhhhh! Oh god…" Shion cried as he perceived warm melodic vibrations gathering to form an exquisite harmony at the fork of his legs, reverberating outward to his extremities. And to Nezumi, Shion's heartfelt moans and sighs were an enchanting song.

As Shion was delivered into bliss, Nezumi felt a perplexing happiness wash over him. Of course he took pride in a job well done, but something more was at work. After receiving Shion's plentiful emissions, and fighting back the urge to laugh at the absurdly-timed remembrance of Safu's recent request, Nezumi rose to take in Shion's glowing face.

Eyes closed as he laid limp in rest, contented smile, the rise and fall of his glistening chest as he caught his breath, and the way some of his stunning white hair clung to his head in drenched swirls and the rest was sculpted into shapes that looked something like tufts of downy feathers. Heart pounding, Nezumi drifted in to examine these things a little closer. Could this boy be any more beautiful?

Regaining himself somewhat, Shion was pleased to open his eyes and find Nezumi's lips so close. He claimed them quickly, wrapping his arms around the the shoulders of the one who had brought him so much pleasure. As he realised the origin of the unusual taste on the other boy's lips, he blushed slightly, but as Nezumi seemed content with it, he didn't let it bother him. "Nezumi… can I… ? I-I want to… do the same for you."

Determined though he was, his face reddened further. Something about Shion's innocent uncertainty stirred Nezumi's ardour even further. And Shion was entranced by the amorous glint in the grey eyes opposite him.


Seiza (正座) - Japanese style of sitting on bent legs; knees straight out front.

Itoshii (愛しい) - Nice Japanese adjective for what is "lovely," "dear," or "beloved."