Special thanks to yuzukikuran476 and caca 27 for their support! I love you guys!
Bringing up another chapter!
Zen: Oooryah! Thanks a bunch to all our readers out there!
He had come to somewhat of an arrangement with the Nura family's young heir. They would always meet after he worked at the ports everyday at a quaint teahouse which was owned by the Nura family, naturally. The man in charge of the teahouse, Bakeneko, was a very accommodating host. Itaku could see that he really admired and cared for the young heir and his extension, which was now Itaku himself. After their exchange of small talk, they would both head home. Supposedly.
Rikuo was as much as a worry-wart as his aides. He would pretend to head home in one of the more sketchy directions then wait outside Itaku's home to see him become Takui, the prostitute in Yoshiwara alleys. He had warned Itaku to stop his night time profession before. "If it's money that you need at the moment, then take mine first. Your safety is much more important." To which Itaku always shook his head negative. He had his pride.
Rikuo sighed deeply as he sat on the dreary footsteps waiting for Takui's appearance. He drummed his fingers lazily on his knee, idling what yukata would Takui wear today. It had become a habit of his since the incident a few months ago to walk his beloved to and fro from Yoshiwara. Takui, or Itaku, as Rikuo kept calling him that (for he so hated the profession which came with the other name) would always protest at what he called 'unnecessary acts'. Rikuo waves his words off every time, lingers around his home like a zombie until it was almost time to pick Itaku up from the gates of Yoshiwara.
To be frank, Rikuo really didn't want Itaku to continue with his persona as Takui. He wouldn't have had a say in the matter if Itaku told him he actually enjoyed doing these things, but he knew he hated it instead. Itaku constantly complained that it was disgusting. Yet he does it just to earn enough money for himself and his friends. Rikuo could admire that spirit of his to protect his friends, but his blood tended to boil whenever he imagined Itaku, his Itaku, entertaining some other man. Several times, he had felt the impulse of killing in his veins.
The good news was Zen had tended to Yukari, a sweet little girl and now her coughing had stopped. Rikuo himself had met up with Itaku's oddball friends on several occasions, he had gotten used to their 'oohs' and 'aahs' whenever they met up. "Young heir of a yakuza?" they would exclaim in disbelief and Itaku would inevitably look a bit sheepish and smug at the same time.
He wanted to say that their blossoming relationship was going well and there were no longer any bumps, but he would be fooling himself. Society may be able to accept the secret casual fling sometimes between those of the same gender, but to go out into public like that... They would be pariahs. So far, only Itaku's friends, Rikuo's family members and closest aides knew about their relationship. As his father had so rightly put it: "Take it slow. You don't want to ruin a good thing."
And he was taking it slow, very slow. He understands that due to the trauma he shouldn't touch Itaku that way for the time being, for he may still harbour some insecurities. He's going out every night to do just that. supplied his overworked mind in a snarky voice. He swatted the nasty thought away before it could take root in the recesses of his brain.
"What are you daydreaming for, Rikuo?" The young heir lifted his head backwards to meet with mussed up hair, amber orbs and a soft smile. "You'll be caught off guard one of these days." Itaku leant down to press a quick kiss to Rikuo's lips. Rikuo, the man whom he could say that he truly harboured deep feelings for.
"Whoa!" Rikuo had managed to pull him down right into his lap, master of surprises. He gave the youth another kiss on the lips, this time deeper and more passionate. He sucked on Itaku's bottom lip and nibbled on it lightly before pulling away. "You're the only one whom I shall allow to catch me off guard, Itaku." he whispered in his deep baritone. He could feel the other's body tense and heard a soft gasp of pleasure. Another fun fact: One of Itaku's erogenous zones was his earlobe. It was a fact which he kept stored away to be exploited whenever he saw the chance to do so.
Itaku tried his best to pinch his features into menacing, but he found that he could never do that when he was with Rikuo. And of course he knew that Rikuo didn't like his night profession. It's not like he did it for the kicks either. But he refused to accept money form Rikuo whom he has no blood relations with, moreover since he wasn't quite sure where there stood. As a couple? Hopefully. "Let's go. I'm going to be late."
~.~.~.~
If there was one thing Itaku had never liked, it was people who could never do their jobs right. They were the ones always dilly-dallying at the sidelines, taking life like it wasn't worth living and preferring to drown in a jug of sake. He had plenty of coworkers like those.
He was a different breed from them, so he continued to work hard from morning till late afternoon, with only his meagre pay to show for it. He would meet up with Rikuo (highlight of his day) and they would spend their time until late evening together, whereby he would be Takui again. It was a routine he didn't have the heart to hate.
Today however, Rikuo didn't meet him after work as they always did. Strange. Maybe he has some work to do? The odd thought is that Rikuo always made time for him, no matter how busy he was with his other business affairs. In his mind, an awful little voice had begun to mock him. Do you think he really loved you? That he would spend all this free time with you? Itaku growled. Shut up. The voice in his head gave a cackle of laughter. Poor you. You're going to be thrown away, like a used doll you know? Like what everyone does to you.
Choosing not to think about the matter, he convinced himself that Rikuo was just busy and headed back. The voice in his head he beat to a pulp, locked it in a chest. He shoved his hands into the folds of his Jibei top and kept his head down walking home.
When he arrived at his doorstep, he was surprised to find a bouquet of what were, to his limited knowledge, white violets. He picked it up tentatively, afraid that it may be another trap set up by some banished subordinates. He twisted the bouquet around in his hands, unwittingly admiring the elegant picture they made. White violets, I've never seen them in this area before. He picked a dainty petal, felt the soft texture on his fingers.
Still holding the bouquet, Itaku pushed open the door to his living space. A small gust of wind was felt on his face as he felt himself being pulled into a tight embrace and familiar lips landed on his own. His eyes widened in shock for a second, ready to castrate the intruder until he heard the low chuckle. "You know Itaku, you're just too cute." Ruby eyes bore into his, a smug smirk settled on his lips, the very image of a playful jerk. "You! You didn't have to fucking well scare me Rikuo!" he landed a hard hit on the other's shoulder.
It didn't even faze him. Rikuo continued laughing as if it were the most amusing thing in the world to see Itaku blushing hard and hitting him on the shoulder. The dark haired youth however, was fuming under his collar. How dare Rikuo scare him like that? After all he had been through too!
Seeing his beloved pouting (cutely, may he add) he couldn't resist pressing a chaste kiss onto the apple of his cheek. "Like the flowers I got you?"
"Hmm... I would've liked them without the surprise scare." replied Itaku curtly.
The young heir plucked a lone white violet from the bouquet. "Well, I am sorry for that, But you can't blame me for wanting to see your cute pout." He earned himself another punch, this time to the gut. "Gah, you're so mean~" he whined.
"Oh save it, Rikuo. We both know that you're not that easily deterred when you set your mind on something." spat Itaku with mock fury.
"Right, right, whatever you say." He held up the lone stalk in his hand, a specimen of nature. "Did you know, that white violets in the language of flowers holds a special meaning?"
His interest had been piqued considerably. Rikuo always had these weird tidbits of information which look useful to other parties. "No I didn't."
A smile, half lustful and half nervous, formed on his mouth. "It basically means 'Let's take a chance on happiness'."
Itaku was stunned for a moment. It sounded extremely promising, but what exactly did Rikuo mean by that? Was he reading too much into the simple sentence? He tended to do that around the white haired male a lot.
Rikuo on the other hand, was nervous as hell. His palms were starting to sweat and his legs were going to fail him anytime soon. "Itaku," he steadies his shaky voice. "let's take a chance on happiness. Together." He held out his hand.
Tsurara: Ah! I can't wait to find out what happens next!
Rikuo: Eh? Tsurara?! Why are you here?
Tsurara: I'm here to support you guys! Both of you are so insecure after all.
Itaku: We are not insecure!
Rikuo: If anything, it's Hydra's fault for making us look like that.
Rikun: Nii-san, blaming it on the author doesn't help matters.
Thank you for reading! Please rate/review, it'd make me over the moon.
(PS: I'm sorry but I will suspend this fic for at least 2 weeks due to examinations. I will post updates as soon as I can. Until the next chapter!)
