Chapter Eleven: Impulse
To say Kurogane was sunk was an overstatement. Kurogane wasn't sunk. He wasn't in trouble at all. He was fine. He'd just found himself with a crush on Fai Fluorite was all—Fai Fluorite, who was not only an embodiment of all he hated in these elite universities, but Fai Fluorite who was also with Ashura Ou, and thought that Kurogane was just trying to ruin both their lives. Oh, and Fai Fluorite, who somehow had some sort of hobby getting caught by Kurogane in compromising positions with different men each time in public bathrooms.
But that didn't necessarily mean Kurogane was sunk.
Kurogane glared at the folder in his hand and snorted. Kurogane was so sunk. He was so fucking sunk that it wasn't even funny. Maybe if he hadn't gotten about three sneak previews of what lay beneath Fai's ridiculously overpriced clothing, then he wouldn't like the guy. Maybe it was as Fai had said, and it was purely physical.
Or maybe Kurogane was just in denial.
Denial was the first step to acceptance, though.
Kurogane slapped a hand over his eyes. Now he was just sounding like bWitch. He couldn't even believe that annoying little seamstress girl had stolen his cell phone and subscribed him to the stupid gay-ass blog. And as of this moment, he still hadn't found someone able to unsubscribe—or rather, anyone who could, just smirked at him and told him to figure it out himself.
Why did his father have to send him to this school? Although…his father had asked him why didn't Kurogane want to go, and Kurogane would've responded were it not for the fact that he thought the reason would've sounded extremely pathetic and…girly.
"I don't want to go to the fucking college because my ex goes to the one next door, Dad."
Oh yes. Kurogane was unbelievably glad he hadn't said that.
Then again…Mioru was Mioru, as always, and Kurogane really didn't have any feelings for him anymore. Not to say Mioru didn't look hot…it was just that his personality grated at Kurogane's nerves. A lot. It had been strangely satisfying to grab the cheat sheets out of the soccer captain's hands.
Now…what to do about the manila folder….obviously he couldn't just stroll into Sabakurein and hand it back to Dou—what's-his-name. Mailing it was absurd. Or he could hand it over to Akamizu's soccer team and let them do whatever they wanted to with it. But then that'd make him the same as Mioru…
Or. He could ask Fai.
Because Fai had a lot of knowledge about this sort of thing.
Not because Kurogane wanted to talk to him.
Because Kurogane didn't.
Seriously.
He didn't.
Kurogane gave a resigned grunt and swung himself up and off the bed. He snatched the folder from the table and walked out of the room, and instantly—out of now-common sense—prepared his hormones for a major battering ram at their self-control and resistance.
Why couldn't his roommate have been….ugly? Or at least normal looking? Why did it have to be Fai?
The man was always dressed in the most impeccable cashmeres and jeans. Not a thread of hair out of place. Although, Kurogane had seen him in the sweats and t-shirts the musician slept in, and he was pretty sure Fai would look unreal in rags.
Honestly. This guy made Mioru look like a fucked-up geezer. And Mioru was pretty damn hot as it is.
Fai looked up from where he sat at the dining table, music sheets spread around him messily, a pen that appeared suspiciously like solid silver in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. His fingers left the handle of the mug and shifted to the collar of the thick white turtleneck, pulling it down slightly. "I thought you were at the gym. You're back so soon?"
"Some things got screwed up," Kurogane muttered, flopping down onto the couch and leaning his head against the wall. "What're you doing? I thought you'd finished all your homework the day it was assigned."
Fai laughed, returning his eyes to the papers. "Maybe. I'm just making amends with Yuui by putting in all the changes he wanted on my solo piece."
"But it's your piece. So what if he's mad at you?"
"He's my brother, Kuro-kun," Fai said absent-mindedly, without glancing one at Kurogane. "I don't want him to be mad at me. He…took…excellent care of me when I needed it."
Kurogane fingered the folder, holding it up to the light. "What do you know about Akamizu's soccer captain, Fluorite?"
"Hm? You mean Fuuma?" Fai turned around in the chair. "He's a senior like Ashura and Amaterasu. Or do you mean Souma? She's the captain of the girl's soccer team."
"How are they in terms of Sabakurein?" Kurogane said breezily.
"They don't hate them, if that's what you're getting at. Akamizu's teams are mostly uncaring when it comes to rivalries—we play the game and win or we play the game and we lose…or tie. And then that's that. Grudges are just inconvenient," Fai shrugged. He frowned. "Why do you want to know?"
"None of your business," Kurogane muttered.
Fai smiled. "We're keeping secrets now, are we, Kuro-pyon? Finally getting the hang of Akamizu? What? Do you like Fuuma? He's Seishiro's brother you know. You should try asking Subaru about him."
Kurogane had tried. He'd spent about three nights without sleep, attempting to find the secret to ignoring the aching throb below his stomach and in his chest—since he'd spent four nights figuring out that he couldn't stop it—and to absolutely no avail. Fai was just making it worse with every word he said.
"Do you enjoy fucking me over?" It came out before he could stop it. Then again, Kurogane had never been the sort of person to clamp their hands over their mouths and gasp in dramatic regret.
Fai's eyes widened, and his knuckles whitened over the sides of the chair's back. His mouth opened slightly, and his tongue wetted his lips…and then he closed them, swallowing. "I don't—"
"—Understand what I'm talking about, right?" Kurogane's tone was bitingly sarcastic—even to he himself it sounded that way. "Because you never understand anything, don't you, Fluorite? You never face anything, and you never look at me. You don't even care what kind of crap you're spouting at me twenty-four-fucking-seven."
Before Kurogane could think another thought, the violinist was abruptly before him, standing in the space between his legs. Fai's expression brought him on as though he were a mercilessly beautiful angel of death—apathetically dangerous. He leant down and brushed his lips against Kurogane's mouth.
Kurogane immediately caught Fai's wrist, assuring that he couldn't pull back. "Fluorite." Fai's face swiftly changed from calm to shock—shocked at what he'd just done, or Kurogane's reaction? "Do that again."
Fai frowned in bemusement, as he leaned in and met lips with Kurogane once again—this time, Kurogane kissed him back. "That's all," Kurogane released the thin wrist. "Just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
Kurogane glanced at Fai. The junior smiled, although the sudden mixture of guilt and hurt behind the expression was clear. "Kuro-pii is a romantic after all, huh?"
"What romantic?" Kurogane scowled darkly, folding his arms. Fai laughed uneasily. "Really Fluorite…" Kurogane raised his eyes to the ceiling nonchalantly, "You've really gotta stop screwing with me like this. My dad will get pissed if he has to put back the pieces when he comes to pick me up for the summer."
Fai closed his eyes, collapsing into the seat beside Kurogane. "The broken becomes the breaker…? Hm. Suiting."
"You've been coming up with more of that crap than usual. Anything up?" Kurogane's jaw tightened at the level his restraint had reached to keep from touching Fai…his scent…his presence…just him…ugh.
"A lot's up," Fai laughed. "A lot's always up." He sighed, and opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling like Kurogane was doing. "Kurogane…?"
Kurogane stiffened habitually. What was with the full name? No bastardization of his proper given name this time around? That was a…first.
"Yeah?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Depends. What is it?"
Fai paused. Not for prolonged thought…nor for the impending answer or regret…he just paused. Kurogane forced his breathing not to escalate. "You can't tell anyone, all right?"
"What is it?" Kurogane said again.
"I like you."
They looked at each other.
Kurogane sighed. He stroked along Fai's cheekbone and said as normally as he could—considering the wave of thrill that went through him when he did, "I won't tell if you won't."
"Deal."
A/N: Nothing to say for this one, except I'm again disappointed in how short it is.....but I do actually have a song for this one! Crush by David Archuleta.
You might be squealing, or you might not--or you might think Kurogane or Fai (or both) is/are terribly OOC, but either way, press the review button.......
