Phantom: Hello readers! Apologies for the length of time this one has taken. I have recently bought a house (yatta!), so all that that entails as well as moving has been nothing short of stressful and time-consuming. This chapter also turned out to be more of a short story than a chapter, per se, but I'm really happy with how it came out! So hopefully you don't mind it being a little longer than usual. Ataahua, this one is for you! ^-~
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh! All of its characters and creations are owned by Kazuki Takahashi. The setting and plot, however, are my own creation.
WARNING: the following story contains coarse language and explicit sexual content, more particularly: MMF threesome, het, lemon, yaoi/slash, anal, cheating. You have been warned!
The Lemon Bibliotheque: An Anthology of Impassioned Writings
"Low Hanging Fruit"
Ryou Bakura x Shizuka Kawai x Malik Ishtar
(Softshipping / Sedateshipping)
xXx
Shizuka Bakura pushed her sweaty red hair back, sweeping it up into a haphazard bun on the top of her head. The fierce Tuscan summer never ceased to surprise her, when it came around; the months of July and August were particularly ferocious, and it was little wonder that the whole of Italy shut down for a whole month, around that time. It didn't help that the dilapidated villa that she and her husband—Ryou—had bought almost two years ago, still didn't have air conditioning. It was on the to-do list, of which seemed to grow increasingly longer by the day, but they had both known that they had had their work cut out for them, when they purchased the property on a whim.
Shizuka had always adored Italian food. Her brother, Jounouchi, would often make her his famous diavola pizza, when she lived with him in Domino before she went travelling. It was only when, by complete coincidence, she bumped into Ryou Bakura—of all people—when her travels took her to London at the age of twenty-one. Ryou had decided to apply for universities in his homeland of the United Kingdom, and was nearly finished with his degree at medical school, when fate brought them back together, once again.
English summers were just as romantic and fleeting as Shizuka had read about in classic literature, such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice, with green parks full of picnicking couples, the countryside coming alive with wildflowers, and the farmers markets full to bursting with fresh, seasonal produce. Ryou had been on his university break during the height of the warm season, when they had run into one another at a festival in Hyde Park. Barely a week later, they were making love in his tiny, one-bedroom flat in Clapham, after one such picnic lunch consisting of club sandwiches, scones and a bottle or two of cheap white wine.
Before long, they were married, and Shizuka took up a job as an accounts clerk, putting down roots in her adopted city. Her English soon became as proficient as Ryou's, and two years later, they were able to afford to move into a house of their own, with Ryou working as a junior doctor at King's College Hospital.
The novelty of their happiness and new-found love began to wane, however, as the humdrum grind of daily life in the big city began to take its' toll. Ryou was barely home, often sleeping at the hospital and working back-to-back shifts, and whenever he was home, he was so exhausted and ill-tempered that Shizuka felt like she could barely say or do anything around him, without an argument ensuing.
The final straw came when Shizuka threatened to leave him if things didn't change, four years into their marriage. She was now twenty-five, he twenty-seven. She loved him until the end of time, and he her, but she knew that this was no way to live. Their marriage was suffering terribly; all she wanted was to go back to that idyllic summer day in Hyde Park, and hope that they could fall in love, all over again.
In a desperate bid to save what was left of their marriage and their sanity, Shizuka impulsively booked two plane tickets to Italy. After all, they were earning good money—they just never had the time or energy to enjoy it. So, drawing on cherished memories of her time travelling through the place she deemed the most breathtaking in the world—Tuscany—Shizuka emailed Ryou's supervising consultant at the hospital and informed them that they would be away for two weeks in August, to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and to keep it secret from Ryou.
As it turned out, absconding from the big smoke of London was just the tonic they needed. Beginning their vacation in Florence, they intended to hire a car and explore the many picturesque hill towns, from there. Shizuka had been particularly fond of San Gimignano, when she had travelled the country as a doe-eyed teenager, and often dreamed of returning, one day. She was thrilled to be back, and even more elated to find that Ryou seemed to be enchanted by the sheer beauty of the countryside as well, not to mention that the whole holiday itself had been planned right under his nose. He had gotten up to go to "work" on the morning of their departure, and Shizuka was already downstairs with their suitcases packed and ready to go.
"I wish we didn't have to go back." Shizuka sighed, leaning against the balustrade of their hotel room balcony. She gazed wistfully at the green and gold countryside dotted with terracotta farmsteads and cypress trees. "It's like living in a dream, here."
Ryou joined her, sliding a hand across the back of her hips. "Then…maybe we shouldn't go back."
She snorted a laugh, poking him in between the ribs. "Dreams are free; our mortgage isn't."
"I'm serious. We could live here if we wanted to. We could sell the house, the car, everything we own, and start our lives over. It would be a lot cheaper to live here than London, anyway."
Sensing her husband was actually being serious, she stood up straight. "But, what would we do once we got here? Neither of us even speak Italian!"
"Buy a farm?" Ryou suggested with a blithe shrug. "There are more vineyards and olive groves around here than you can shake a stick at."
Early the next morning, Ryou and Shizuka went for a stroll into the town centre, and wrote down the addresses of properties that were currently for sale. As dubious as she was regarding Ryou's little pipedream, it wouldn't hurt to humour him, and see what was around. She was quite sure that once they got home to London and back into their regular routine, he'll have forgotten all about it.
But oh, how wrong she was.
They must have driven past at least a dozen old Tuscan villas that day, each one more dilapidated than the last, but there was one in particular that made an impression on them. It looked as though it hadn't been touched in a century, with overgrown vines snaking between the bars of the wrought-iron gates. The property had been for sale for so long that the sign on the gate was half hanging off, and was faded from the sun. Figuring it was probably about as deserted as it looked, Shizuka and Ryou climbed up and over the stone wall and leapt down the other side, dashing furtively up the tree-lined driveway, toward the manor.
The villa itself looked as though it had seen better days, with its pale pink plaster cladding and masonry falling off in places, and most of the windows had been boarded up. Shizuka had no doubt that it had been a beauty in its heyday, however, and images conjuring up how it might have once looked began to form in her mind.
"Shall we go inside?" Ryou queried, coaxing his wife by the hand.
"What if people are squatting in there?"
"Then we'll run like mad."
To their relief, they discovered that the villa was indeed deserted; the stately front doors had even been left unlocked. Inside, the house had a slightly eerie feel to it, given the way that the furniture left behind had had sheets draped over it, and dust an inch thick caked every surface. It was also very dark, since the windows had been boarded over. Guessing the electricity and water had been shut off long ago, it was no surprise to learn that the light switches didn't work, nor did the taps. Despite that, the manor had been constructed with high-quality materials and fittings—including a grand, polished-oak staircase—and Shizuka quietly wondered how it might look, given a little TLC. It seemed such a shame to let it go to wreck and ruin, when it had so much potential.
"Oh Ry, look!"
The maze of hallways had finally lead them to the outdoor terrace, which afforded a stunning view of the valleys and hillsides of Tuscany. For as far as the eye could see in every direction were sprawling green meadows, rolling hillsides punctuated with cypress trees and other small hill towns far off in the distance, their terracotta bell-towers shining like proud statues in the late evening sun.
More immediately, almost starting right at the doorstep of the villa, were fields of overgrown grapevines, as well as olive, apricot and fig trees—almost bending under their own weight with ripening fruit.
"Well, bugger me," Ryou uttered in wonderment. "Would you look at that?"
Shizuka squealed in excitement and ran down into the garden, her long auburn tresses sailing behind her like ribbons on the breeze. She reached up to pick a juicy apricot, sinking her teeth into the delicious sweet flesh. The juice exploded in her mouth in such a way as to make her to weak at the knees. Never before had she tasted anything so exquisite in her life.
Some twenty minutes later, Ryou and Shizuka were sat leaning against the apricot tree, groaning from gorging themselves to bursting on the delectable fruit.
"Ryou," Shizuka moaned, rubbing her belly tenderly. "I think we need to buy this place."
And so began their eighteen-month-long journey to becoming proprietors of a tumble-down Italian villa, much to the sheer stupefaction of their friends and peers, back in both London and Domino. The estate agent was, of course, delighted at the prospect of finally having a serious buyer, as the property had been on the market for over five years. Funnily enough, Shizuka realised it had gone up for sale around about the same time that she had last visited. They later came to learn that the previous landowner had been a widower, and his adult children had long since moved away, with no inclination to carry on the family business, or restore the villa to its former glory.
It was a painstaking process. Not only in acquiring the property, but selling their own home and most of their possessions, spending every spare waking moment learning Italian and studying viticulture and, eventually—finally—mustering up the courage to quit their jobs. It had been no easy feat, and at times they both wondered if they'd gone mad.
Little did they know, the hard work had only just begun.
"Ryou, one of us is going to have to get a job. There's still a lot to do before we can start trading as a business, and even then, we will be operating at a loss." Shizuka worried, once again running over their spreadsheet as they lay in bed one evening. "In a couple of months we'll be ready to harvest; we're going to need some workers. We can't do all this on our own…"
The move to Italy had been fairly seamless, as far as intercontinental migrations went. They had sold their London property with enough left over to purchase the villa outright, but now they were living on savings only. It was the first time since they were students that either of them had been unemployed, and Shizuka often wrestled with herself mentally as to whether they had done the right thing, or had lost their minds entirely.
The estate agent had informed them that the manor and its past inhabitants had been one of the region's finest producers of wine, olive oil and apricot and fig preserves, going back many generations. He also mentioned that, once they were in possession of the keys, anything they found on the estate belonged to them. To their unexpected delight, this had included a cellar full of vintage wines, which were guaranteed to fetch a fine price.
Along with the cellar and all the equipment needed to produce wine, there was an olive press and bottling machine. The preserves had all been made by hand by the estate's last mama. Shizuka figured she could just as easily sell the fruit picked fresh off the tree as she would preserving them, so that could serve as a side-business. Their main source of income was to be wine and olive oil, but the first order of the day was overhauling the villa itself, so it was at least restored to a livable condition.
"I'll find a job then, darling, if it makes you feel better." Ryou assured, kissing her on her temple. "And we can advertise for seasonal workers as soon as we're ready. Don't you worry about a thing."
"Kami, I don't think I can take another day of this," Shizuka griped to herself, climbing down off the step-ladder and arching her back. She wiped the sweat from her brow, squinting into the distance to see the other workers packing up for the evening.
It had been another relentlessly scorching day, although it was now September, and autumn was upon them. The apricots and figs had waxed and waned, and, as Shizuka predicted, had sold especially well at the town market in their natural state. She had even made a few apricot pies to feed to the workers, to show her appreciation for their help.
The Tuscan hills had taken on the golden hue of late summer, the sunsets so breathtaking it started her to tears on more than one occasion. With so many long days out working in the orchards, groves and vineyards, Shizuka too had turned as brown as a nut, blonde highlights from the sun streaking her otherwise ginger curls. Ryou, on the contrary, wasn't so fortunate when it came to sun-tanning, but luckily for him, he had landed a job at the local hospital.
Shizuka was both relieved and dismayed that he had found work so quickly. The town was clearly in need of more doctors—whether they were fluent in Italian, or not—and they now had a steady stream of income to rely on, which was more than she could say for herself. However, Ryou's regular absence from the manor meant that Shizuka was now the head project manager of the farmstead, as well as the refurbishment of the villa itself. It was somewhat unsettling to be surrounded by—for the most part—strapping young men of various different ethnicities and backgrounds, all day every day, although a few of them had wives or girlfriends who worked alongside them, travelling to wherever the work would take them.
"Ciao, Signora! See you tomorrow!"
"Ciao, Paolo! Grazie!" Shizuka waved the last of the workers off the property for the evening, leaving the gates open for Ryou to come in, later.
Shizuka's bones ached; from sun-up to sun-down, she had been out working the fields for the past three months, often without taking any days off. Being an office worker for the most part of her life certainly had its challenges, but not of the physical kind. All she wanted to do was pour herself a glass of iced limoncello and put her feet up, so she did exactly that.
Moving through to the main living area from the kitchen—drink in hand—she happily sunk down into what had become her favourite armchair, of late. She closed her eyes, held the cold glass to her forehead, and then nursed it in contentment.
The lower storey of the property was the coolest, and she and Ryou had often taken to sleeping downstairs, sometimes separately. She promised herself that, once the proceeds from their first wine and oil sales had come through, the first thing she would do with the money was have air conditioning installed. There was simply no way that she could entertain guests or tourists in such stifling heat.
It wasn't the heat that bothered her so much, however. Being married to a doctor, she had become used to sleeping by herself, over the years. She barely woke anymore, if at all, when Ryou came in at all hours of the night. It was due in part to this that their sex life had begun to suffer. The same had occurred when they'd lived in London, although perhaps to a worse degree. They'd gone nearly six months without making love when Shizuka had impulsively booked their holiday to Italy, in a desperate bid to resuscitate their intimacy.
It had worked—thank the heavens—as they had made raw and uninhibited love to each other every single night—some nights more than once, while they were away. To have found each other again when their marriage was at crisis point had been a relief to both of them.
But now, it was back.
A niggle she couldn't ignore, a paranoid itch that she could not scratch.
It wasn't because he didn't love her. She knew that he did.
Exhaustion, coupled with the general frustrations and pressures of daily life—commuting, paying bills, buying groceries, housework—were about the biggest mood-killers out there. Ryou and Shizuka had embarked upon this journey to try and get away from all that, though, to conquer the tedium of it all. The prospect of moving to the Italian countryside had sounded like such an inviting change from their circumstances at the time, it was hard to imagine that those problems would follow them. But, of course, that was idealistic thinking, and perhaps a touch naïve.
Shizuka was startled by a bang coming from outside, drawing her out of her inner lamentations. She frowned, set down her drink, and went to check the front door. A blustery wind had blown up, causing the window shutters on the top floor to clap loudly against the side of the house. Sighing in relief that it was nothing more sinister, she went upstairs, pulled the shutters closed and went to bed. It would be some hours yet, before Ryou got home.
Shizuka was on the hazy precipice of sleep, when she was once again disturbed by an unnatural sound. Thinking it was just Ryou coming in and rattling around downstairs, she ignored it, until it became more insistent and annoying, and Ryou still hadn't come up. Huffing in annoyance—and a little consternation—she went downstairs to find out what the racket was, ready to give Ryou a piece of her mind.
Nobody was downstairs, however. The racket was coming from outside, again.
"Those damn shutters…" Shizuka grumbled, opening the front door to check that it was, indeed, just the window shutters having come loose, again.
Instead, she got the surprise of her life, when she came face-to-face with a man on her doorstep. She yelped in fright, staggering backward and clutching at her nightgown.
"I'm sorry to trouble you at such a time; I know it's late." the man, whose face was cast in shadow, said in perfect English.
Something about that voice triggered a reaction of recognition within Shizuka, and her suspicions were confirmed—in a queer mixture of dread, perplexity and curiosity—as he stepped fully into the light.
"Malik Ishtar?"
Shizuka had found herself involved in some very odd and bewildering situations, over the years, particularly in her adolescence.
Becoming acquainted with the a devious Egyptian teenager who went by the name of Malik Ishtar, together with his clan of "Rare Hunters", had been one of those times.
Though he had supposedly reformed since those days, Shizuka wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive him for brainwashing her brother and turning him against his friends, not to mention the others he had incapacitated along the way—Ryou being one of them—and the fact that he was essentially prepared to take Yuugi's life, if it meant obtaining the three Duel Monster God cards.
However.
After Malik had seen the light and he and his family returned to Egypt, he and Ryou had remained in close contact, and Shizuka was under no illusions as to why.
After the end of Battle City, Ryou and Malik had had a fling.
It wasn't something that Shizuka broached with Ryou often—if at all—but she had known from the outset that Ryou was sexually fluid, and so, apparently, was Malik. Although their dalliance of the intimate kind had occurred some ten years ago, now, Ryou and Malik had remained in touch on social media, but Shizuka thought it highly unlikely that they would ever see him in the flesh, again, given the vast geographical distance between them. So, to be greeting him on the doorstep of their new Italian residence in the middle of the night, was the absolute last thing she could have expected.
"Hello, Shizuka."
She eyeballed him, aghast. "What in Kami's name brings you here?!"
"It's a bit of a long story," Malik chuckled. Shizuka noticed he had a duffle bag slung over his back. "Is Ryou here?"
"He's at work." She replied crisply.
"Do you mind if I wait for him?"
Shizuka opened the door wider, allowing him to come inside.
"Thanks. I'm sorry for calling so late." Malik apologised again, before ascending the steps and coming inside. "There weren't any hotels in the village open at this hour."
Shizuka lead him through to the kitchen and busied herself by pouring each of them a drink. Truthfully, Shizuka felt more than just a little put-out by Malik's unexpected arrival. He was probably the last person on Earth she had anything in common with, and the fact that he happened to share an intimate history with her husband made her feel even more ill-at-ease. However, she was not the type to turn someone away in the middle of the night—especially someone she knew—even if she had her reservations about them. Clearly, Malik had gone to a great deal of trouble trying to track them down, and the fact that he couldn't wait 'til morning may have suggested some kind of crisis.
"It's a beautiful old place you've got here," Malik admired, glancing up at the ancient wooden beams on the ceiling. "Ryou sent me some photos, but it's even more impressive in real life."
"He never mentioned you were coming to visit." Shizuka replied, a little acridly.
"Oh, he doesn't know." Malik grinned, taking a gulp of his iced tea. "I thought I would surprise him. We haven't seen each other in over five years."
A surprise indeed, Shizuka thought bitterly. Their marriage was already skating on thin ice; the last thing she really needed right now was one of her husband's past lovers prancing into the fray. His unannounced presence might be the final nail in the coffin. Shizuka had a fleeting vision of becoming a lonely old divorcee in this manor, wearing only black until the day she died, and shuddered with foreboding.
"Don't tell me you came all the way to Italy, just to see him?" she hedged.
"Not exactly. Isis had to go to Rome on business, to meet with the curator at the National Etruscan Museum, so I decided to go with her." Malik explained. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to see you guys, and…I've always wanted to see Italy." He added wistfully.
How convenient, Shizuka almost spat, but held her tongue. She knew Malik was no fool; indeed, he was charisma personified, and not just down to his surreal looks. He could pull the wool over anyone's eyes, and make them believe they were a sheep. Shizuka may have only been a googly-eyed thirteen year old when she had first been acquainted with him, but she had wised up a great deal, since then.
"Well, he was meant to be home an hour ago," Shizuka spluttered, glancing at the time on the grandfather clock. It was almost 1am. "He's probably had to stay on to do an extra shift. You can have one of the guest bedrooms."
Shizuka woke the following morning, to the sound of laughter. When she got to the kitchen, she noticed Ryou and Malik laughing and catching up over coffee. She vaguely wondered what time her husband had come home; she couldn't even remember hearing him come to bed.
"Kiki, darling, look who the wind blew in!" Ryou said delightedly, calling Shizuka by her pet name.
"I know." She smiled grimly. "He arrived last night."
"I'm afraid I've got to go back to work again, soon." Ryou mentioned, glancing at his watch. "I'll see if I can get a few days off, while you're here, Malik. How long are you planning on staying for?"
"Well, that's what I was hoping to talk to you both about." Malik hedged, a little sheepishly. "You see, I'm kind of…out of work, at the moment."
Shizuka blanched, fearing the innuendo in that statement. To the best of her knowledge, Malik had always been something of an 'entrepreneur'. His employment history had consisted mainly of working at casinos as a dealer, but he had also dabbled in wheeling and dealing motorcycles, bartending, modeling, and, at one point, strip-teasing. The latter hardly surprised Shizuka; if anyone could flaunt their body for money, Malik Ishtar certainly could.
As quickly as the blood drained from Shizuka's face, Ryou's smile, too, faded. "Oh, dear. What happened to the job that you had lined up, on the cruise ship?"
"It fell through," Malik shrugged nonchalantly. "It's okay, though. I understand if you don't have any work for me, here. Although…" he glanced up at the ceilings. "This place could probably do with a lick of paint, don't you think?"
"We have tradesmen renovating the house, at the moment." Shizuka informed him.
"You could do with an extra pair of hands in the olive grove though, couldn't you, darling?" Ryou enquired, lending her a hopeful look.
Shizuka mentally chastised her husband for dropping her in it. "I suppose so."
Malik's eyes lit up. "Really?"
She nodded stiffly. "If you want to help with the harvesting and bottling, then that should give you at least six weeks' work." She replied, thinking that it might not be such a bad thing. "More, if you want to help in the vineyards, too."
"Well, then, it's settled." Ryou smiled at his longtime friend and ex-lover. "We could certainly do with the help."
"The work will dry up when the harvest is over, though." Shizuka reminded them both. "All of the workers will be gone by December, and then we close until spring."
Malik nodded, taking the hint. "That's more than I could ask for. Thank you so much, both of you."
"A friend in need is a friend indeed!" Ryou chuckled ebulliently . "But now, I really must get back to the hospital. I'll be home for dinner; see you both tonight." Pecking Shizuka briskly on the cheek, the snowy-haired man grabbed his car keys and departed.
Momentary silence filled the kitchen, as the sound of Ryou's car reversing out the driveway became fainter and fainter, before fading altogether. Shizuka stared at Malik, wondering how best to handle this latest development. Malik didn't exactly have the most squeaky-clean track record—that she knew all too well—but as long as he was residing on her property and was working under her authority, it was unlikely that that he would attempt any shady business.
"Let me make a few things clear, before we get started." Shizuka noted, a little sharply. "As an employee, you will help to pick the olives and grapes, as well as do odd jobs around the property as I see fit. In return, I will pay you a wage in line with market value for seasonal orchard work, and you will get to live and eat here free of charge, until the twenty-fourth of December, or by mutual agreement, by which time your employment will be terminated. Do you understand?"
Malik smiled wryly at her. "Do I have to sign my name in blood, too?"
Shizuka flushed. "Would that be a problem?" she smarted.
He gave her one of his devious grins. "Your wish is my command, signora."
"Call me Shizuka." She insisted with a roll of her eyes, steeling herself against his slightly off-the-wall eccentricities. "When you're ready, we'll make a start."
Shizuka had donned a yellow sundress and tied a patterned handkerchief in her hair, ready for another grueling day of work. She gave Malik a quick tour of the house and grounds in the daylight, showing him where everything was, before they each grabbed a rake and made their way down into the olive grove. The Tuscan sun was already bearing down on them, barely a couple of hours after dawn.
"It gets too hot by lunchtime to keep working, until later in the day." Shizuka informed him. "We usually stop at one o'clock and pick up again at three or four, until six."
"You seem to forget where I come from." Malik replied with a more genuine smile, this time.
She blushed. Indeed, there weren't many places in the world hotter than Egypt. "Well then, I may just make you work all day."
Malik and Shizuka, together with the other farmhands, worked ten days straight, managing to harvest almost all the olive trees on the property. On the eleventh day, Ryou was able to take a few days off work, and the three of them took some time out to explore nearby villages and sample the local delicacies. One such delicacy happened to be truffles, which were known to be found in the area.
It didn't take much convincing for Shizuka and Ryou to agree that they could do with buying a truffle hog. Black truffles in particular fetched a high price and were a sought-after ingredient in most blue-chip restaurants around the world. Owning a truffle hog or two could be the answer to their current financial woes.
"What shall we call them?" Ryou queried, unloading the large hog and sow from the trailer.
"Romeo and Juliet?" Shizuka suggested.
They stared thoughtfully at the pigs as they acquainted themselves with their new sty, that had been haphazardly set up next to the old barn.
"What about Charles and Camilla?" said Ryou.
"Kim and Kanye?" was Malik's input.
Shizuka smiled wryly at the two pigs, who were now happily rolling in the mud. "They shall be named 'Harry' and 'Meghan'."
The following weeks passed by in a warm, summery haze, as Shizuka busied herself milling olives, bottling oil, and pressing grapes into wine. Every spare day Ryou got off from the hospital, she allowed Malik the day off also, so they could spend time together, catching up and seeing more of the sights of northern Italy. More often than not, Malik asked if she would like to go with them, but she declined, knowing how much work was still to be done.
Truthfully, Shizuka was aching for a moment alone with Ryou; she would be glad when Malik was gone, but at the same time, he had been providing her with some welcome company during the long working days. Being that he was one of the few workers who spoke fluent English—and near-perfect Japanese—she could at least converse with him without any problems, but he also proved himself to be a hard worker with a sense of humour, to boot. He reminded her of her brother in that way—slightly goofy and unapologetic, definitely charismatic, and unafraid to speak his mind.
Additionally, Shizuka never thought she would use the term 'tenderhearted' to describe Malik Ishtar, but he had shown that he was so—offering to carry anything he deemed too heavy for her, helping her down from ladders and footstools, holding doors open for her, and ensuring she took necessary breaks and stayed sufficiently hydrated.
Still, her intimate life with Ryou was at an all-time-low, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand it. They desperately needed to take another break away together, but that would mean leaving the farm unattended and the workers unsupervised, which was, simply put, out of the question. Try as she might not to think about how long it would be before she and Ryou got some quality time alone together, it often preyed on her mind, and was causing her to become all-the-more prickly.
It was Sunday evening. Ryou was at the hospital again, and Malik and Shizuka had been doing some odd jobs around the villa. Sunday, being a day of rest, meant that no workers had been at the farmstead the entire day. Shizuka was feeling decidedly refreshed after having a lie-in, cooking herself and Malik a lavish breakfast, and having most of the day off from hard labour.
"Let's take Harry and Meghan out truffling." She decided, setting her hands on her hips and surveying the greying sky. "It's time they started earning their keep, around here."
A short time later, Malik and Shizuka found themselves strolling through a forested area at the boundary of the property, with two grunting pigs on leashes leading the way in front of them.
"Of all the jobs I've had in my life, I didn't think I'd ever be taking a pig for a walk." Malik dryly observed, causing Shizuka to give a rich belly laugh.
"That's another string you can add to your voluminous bow, then." she replied, taking the Harry's leash off and giving him free range to root around in the undergrowth.
Malik did the same with Meghan. "I know you probably think I'm a bit of a loser, Shizuka." He said, somewhat out of nowhere. "Given what I did back in Japan, all those years ago."
"Oh, do you mean brainwashing my brother and trying to drown Yuugi, but then ending up drowning my brother instead?" she retorted.
He winced. "Yeah…that."
"Or perhaps you are referring to the affair you had with my husband?" she tilted her head slightly.
He sighed and smiled at her in defeat. "What can I say? I'm an asshole."
"At least you can admit it." she snorted derisively.
"You know, you've been on the defense with me since the moment I arrived, here. Haven't I proven myself, over the past few weeks? Aren't you ever going to ease up on me?"
"How could I? You're nothing but a deceitful alley cat, Malik! Your past is more checkered than a chess board!" Shizuka exploded, all of her honest thoughts and feelings surging to the top. "Nobody deserved the hell that you put us through, when we were younger. God, it's a miracle we all came out of it alive! You should've been arrested for what you did!"
"You're right." He admitted. "And nothing I say or do now can compensate, for that. I've learnt my lesson, Shizuka; I'll always atone for it. I've lost all my friends; my brother and sister have even lost respect for me. I really haven't got anyone, anymore."
"Well what did you expect was going to happen?!"
"I was a kid! I was fifteen years old; I had no idea what I was even doing, let alone the kind of power I was messing with." Malik railed. "Not that I'm making excuses. What I did was wrong, and I'm sorry."
Shizuka felt as though her face must be purple with anger. "What about Ryou, then? Clearly you used him in more ways than one, too."
"Ryou knew exactly what he was doing; I never coerced him into anything." Malik replied, levelling her gaze. "Anyway…what happened in the past, is in the past…it was a long time ago."
"It doesn't change what happened."
He stared at her, scrutinizing her for what felt like an eternity. "Aren't you happy with him?" he finally asked. "Because it sure doesn't seem like it."
"I might be happier when you're gone!" she retorted.
"Look, Shizuka, I didn't come here to try and drive a wedge between you two!" Malik shouted back. "God knows, he loves you. That's why he married you!"
At that, her lower lip trembled, and all at once, tears unexpectedly prickled under her eyelids. "I love Ryou, Malik, more than anything… We came here to try and fix the problems that we had, but…I feel as though they're just getting worse."
Malik's shoulders slumped. "I suppose me being here isn't helping."
"No, it's not you." she waved her hand dismissively. "To be honest…most of the time, you actually make me…" she paused. "happy."
Malik took a tentative step toward her, his eyebrows knit together in a mixture of surprise and relief. "You make me happy, too."
Shizuka put her face in her hands and let the tears roll forth, weeping out her anguish in furious sobs. Malik wound his arms around her, allowing her to cry against his chest. He soothed her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair. The torrent finally ran its course, alleviating some of the pent-up frustration Shizuka had felt in the past few months. She wiped her eyes, startled to feel something splat onto her shoulder, as a cool, gusty wind began to pick up.
"We should head back." Malik advised, turning his head to the sky. "I think the weather is turning."
The first day of rain in over two months came with swift and startling violence. Malik, Shizuka and the pigs hustled blindly back through the forest to the house, dodging puddles as rumbles of thunder chased them from above. By the time they made it back to the barn, they were saturated from the deluge.
Quickly ensuring that Harry and Meghan were safely ensconced back in their pig pen, Shizuka ran back to the barn and wrung out her hair and the skirt of her dress. Malik had taken off his singlet, wringing it out, too. Still panting from their impromptu sprint, Shizuka collapsed onto a pile of dry hay, watching as sheets of water drove down outside the barn doors.
"That was wild!" Malik joined her, also huffing from the exertion. "It never rains like this in Egypt."
Shizuka lay down and closed her eyes; eventually her heartbeat calmed and her breathing settled. When she opened them, Malik was hovering over her. She froze, startled, as he reached up to wipe away a lock of wet hair glued to her forehead. He touched her face, ran his thumb down her lips, as if he knew exactly the kind of attention she had so desperately been yearning for. He trailed her jawbone, her neck, and then her collarbone.
"Don't you realise how beautiful you are?"
She flushed, turning away. "Malik…don't."
He clasped her chin, pulling her back. "It's the truth."
She stared at him.
He kissed her.
Shizuka momentarily flailed, but her reptilian brain won the battle and she gave in to her desires, her biological urges overriding any sense that might have once been present in her cloudy mind. She pushed back weakly against his chest in objection, but he only drove down harder, pressing her into the hay as he levered his weight on top of her. He had her pinned, but rather than resisting, she found herself yielding to him, the way a sunflower opens toward the sun.
It was a cluster of thoughtless moments, wrought with urgency, lust, and needs that had gone untended to, for too long.
She moaned as Malik slid his hand up her damp thighs, prying open her legs and raking off her underwear with one hand. Before she knew it she was peeling off her saturated sundress—Malik hurriedly unbuckling his pants—and they were making love, furiously thrusting and bucking, clawing, kissing and sucking, their ecstatic moans drowned out by the driving rain and thunder beyond.
"Ngh, Gods," Malik panted hoarsely, reaching back to look down at her. "that's a beautiful sight." He commented, watching his hard penis drawing in and out of her eagerly wet vagina.
Shizuka squirmed impatiently beneath him, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he teased her. "Just fuck me, already! I'm so close…!"
Malik grinned deviously at her. "Oh you are, are you?" He carefully withdrew from her, causing her expression to change from one of pure bliss to disappointed confusion. "Turn around."
She complied, letting out a low, almost guttural groan as Malik eased himself into her from behind. Moments later she was shrieking unabatedly in raw, passionate ecstasy as he slapped against her, thrust after delectable thrust, filling her depths time and time again. Taking her pleasure to even further heights, Malik reached around with one hand and began massaging her clitoris.
"Oh, God!" she howled, and seconds later, she buckled, a hollow gasp stretching her vocal cords as her body shook with orgasm. "Ngh! Malik…ugh! Fuck…oh…"
At the pinnacle of her pleasure, Malik too let go, gathering momentum before the grand finale. "Oh Gods, I'm coming…I'm coming!" He groaned gaspingly, caving in over top of her, his loins quivering as he purged his seed into her body.
Sated, they wilted against the hay, breathless and quivering as they drifted down from their impromptu moment of reckless abandon. Steam rose from their damp bodies as they fought to get their breaths back, willing their heartbeats to slow.
Shizuka watched her breath clouding up above her, the scratchy hay beneath prickling her backside. In her absent state of mind she vaguely thought she should do something about the barn roof; it was leaking in several places, which wasn't ideal if she planned to house more animals inside it, at some point.
"Kiki?"
"Hn?" Shizuka jolted back to awareness.
Malik smiled at her. "Are you alright?"
She sat up, then, the gravity of what they had just done hitting her like a sack of wheat. "That shouldn't have happened." She whispered in a panic, reaching for her dress and shoving it on over her head. "And don't call me that."
"We just made love," Malik admonished. "and I can't call you by your nickname?"
"Only Ryou calls me that." She said curtly, but just as quickly, her face crumpled. "Oh my God…what have I done…"
"He's taking you for granted, Shizuka." Malik observed, reaching for his sodden singlet and pants, and standing up. "I would know; he did the same to me."
Shizuka shot him a sharp glare. "The difference being that I married him, Malik! Don't you think I know what he's like?"
"And are you happy?"
The question hit Shizuka right where it hurt the most. "Not right now, no." she admitted sadly. "But things were a lot worse, in London. I know it will get better; that's the whole point of coming here…to save our marriage. And now look what I've done."
Malik reached out to her as she swayed in shock, gently pressing her against him. He planted a long, tender kiss on the crown of her head as she sobbed, muttering how she couldn't believe what she'd done. "Let's go inside," he said. "before we catch cold."
Aside from the initial feeling of absolute crushing guilt that had plagued Shizuka's conscience since that rainy day in the barn, life on the manor carried on as normal. The olives continued to be milled, the wine siphoned into barrels, the pigs were walked every other day, and improvements around the house were slowly coming to fruition. Everything was as it had been before—except for one major, glaring difference.
Malik and Shizuka fought against themselves every day, barely able to think straight, let alone be in each other's company, without keeping their hands off each other.
Despite the guilt—which, almost two months later, was now more of a gnawing ache than a splitting agony—Shizuka had more or less come to terms with the fact that she had transformed into a depraved harlot, a sullied woman who had defiled her marriage and set fire to her vows.
The devil was ever-near, whispering white lies to her in the form of what her husband didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. And every moment that Ryou was absent from the villa, Shizuka's mind was filled with erotic thoughts of Malik's hard, bronzed body riding against her own, taking her with reckless wantonness, and she couldn't get enough of it.
Every spare moment they got alone they would quench their rampant and relentless desires, and every day past they became more brazen. Fleeting moments of passion were stolen behind wine barrels, on the grass between the grape vines, up in the attic—even inside the kitchen pantry. But Shizuka's favourite place to take part in her clandestine trysts with the handsome Egyptian man was in the sunflower field on the neighbouring property. Several times, while walking Harry and Meghan, Shizuka and Malik had jumped the ramshackle fence and made love on the ground among the swaying sunflowers, where no prying eyes could see them for miles around.
Shizuka found that the possibility of being caught out by one of the other farmhands—or her neighbours—made her even more horny, however. One particularly bold occasion had seen Malik and Shizuka fucking in broad daylight against an apricot tree, the other workers barely some fifty yards away.
It was a Saturday evening in early December, over two months into their affair.
The farmstead was winding down for the winter; all the hard labour was done. The only workers left at the manor now were the tradesmen, and Malik. The other migrant workers had gone on to wherever the next place was that could offer them work. Shizuka was a little despondent about them leaving, as it meant she very likely had a long, lonely winter ahead of her.
If Shizuka thought that the heat of summer had been bad, the cold was perhaps worse. It was too early for snow yet, but the temperature had already dropped to near freezing. Attempting to heat such an enormous, draughty house was futile, so she spent most of her time in the kitchen and dining room, with the fireplace going day and night. Malik, by association, spent most of his time there, too. Many a night they had whiled away the hours talking, drinking wine and having sex by the fire, and tonight was no different. Still, in the back of their minds, they knew their affair was coming to an end.
"Kiki…do you think he knows?" Malik whispered, stroking Shizuka's hair back as they lay nude by the crackling fire.
"I don't know," she replied, feeling a pang of pity for her husband, who was on his third night shift in a row. "I don't think so. How could he? He's never here."
"What are you going to do when I'm gone?"
"I have to tell him, sooner or later. He'll probably want a divorce." She draped one arm over her eyes, feeling as though she had completely failed at life.
"I can't just let you take the fall. We both did this." Malik countered.
She propped herself up on one elbow. "Why would you bother? You have nothing to lose. I'm the one having the affair, not you."
"Perhaps, but I'm just as much to blame. I feel just as bad as you, doing this to one of my best friends… I can't just skip the country and leave you to pick up all the pieces. He'd probably never speak to me again."
"He probably won't, anyway." Shizuka sighed, laying back down on his chest. "I know I wouldn't, if it was me. I'd file for divorce, and that would be that."
"Do you want to stay married to him?"
"…yes." she answered, after some thought. "I just wish there was a way we could reach some kind of equilibrium where we were able to satisfy each other's needs. I know he loves me, but sometimes I think he finds me rather dull. I know I'm not on the same wavelength as him, intellectually."
"But he's not on the same as yours, physically."
She recoiled at hearing the truth spoken out loud. "It would seem not."
"Whatever happens, I promise I'll be here for you." Malik reassured, planting a kiss on her head. "I've come to care a great deal about you, Shizuka."
The woman tensed. She had had a great number of men attempting to woo her, in he4r younger years, and while a select few had gotten past the initial stages, only one had made her fall madly in love—Ryou. The rest had merely been lust-fuelled flings, as she had used her cherubic looks to her advantage to get whatsoever her heart had desired.
The days of innocent little Shizuka Kawai from Nagasaki had died around the time she turned sixteen. After she moved to Domino City to live with her brother, finishing her last years of school at Domino High, she had wised up to the ways of the world. Young men threw themselves at her, which became a delightful novelty, and she'd had a great deal of fun bending them to her will.
To her, this fling with Malik was no different—except that she was now a married woman—and if there was one thing that stood firm in her mind, it was that it was to be a purely physical thing. The raw delight as they engaged in the act was a physical release for her, and nothing more than that. She was afraid that Malik might end up falling for her, as men often had in the past, only for her to give them the cold shoulder. The first few times they had found themselves in one another's arms, she had made it abundantly clear that she did not intend for it to be anything other than sex.
"You don't need to worry about me," she mumbled. "Whatever happens, I can look after myself."
Shizuka woke with a start; what only felt like minutes had indeed been hours, the fire having died down to mere embers. Before she could rouse Malik or even reach for her clothing, the lights in the living room suddenly flicked on. Malik awoke with a start as they both squinted at the sudden brightness.
"I knew it."
Shizuka was stunned to see Ryou standing in the doorway, his face as somber as a London grey day. "Ryou…!"
Malik too sat up, but no words would come. They had been caught red-handed.
Ryou's face looked pinched in resigned shock. "How long?" he uttered tightly.
"Ryou…let us explain." Malik offered weakly.
"How fucking long?!" he roared.
"Two fucking months!" Shizuka shot back, losing her resolve and giving in to the anger. "Are you really so surprised? You're never here, Ryou!"
"I know things haven't been perfect lately, Kiki, but I would never have expected you to be unfaithful!" Ryou retaliated, his voice cracking in a sob. "God, I haven't got the fucking energy for this, right now."
A sob rose up in Shizuka's chest at seeing her husband so emotional. She knew she had wounded him badly, perhaps irrevocably. "I'm so sorry." She choked out, knowing an apology was futile.
"I need sleep." Ryou uttered, putting up his hands as if to say 'no more'. "We'll talk about this in the morning."
Shizuka could see that Ryou was on the precipice of delirium from sleep deprivation; she had seen him in this state many times over the years. After such long shifts at the hospital, he would sometimes sleep as long as twenty hours straight. She often wondered how he even functioned, let alone offered his medical skills, in such a state.
Ryou had locked their bedroom door from the inside, so Shizuka ruefully went to sleep in the guest room. Malik stayed by the fire and slept on the sofa, and by morning, he was gone. Shizuka woke to see a note left by him on the kitchen table, reading: "I've gone to Florence for the night, so you two can talk. Be back tomorrow…if you'll have me. M."
It was early afternoon by the time Ryou finally stirred. Shizuka had been anxiously awaiting his awakening, channeling her anxiety into baking bread, cookies and other Christmasy-type goods. The house was also spotless from top to toe; Shizuka often found herself tidying or cleaning, whenever she was stressed or angry about something. Ironically, stress seemed to make her more productive, whereas Ryou simply became fatigued and withdrawn.
Ryou entered the kitchen, wearing blue striped pyjama pants and a white Rolling Stones t-shirt. His hair emulated a bird's nest, and his eyes looked puffy, as though he had been crying. Without a word, Shizuka made some coffee and set it down on the kitchen table for him, together with a freshly baked bun. Ryou, taking the path of least resistance, sat down and took the offering. His wife took a seat opposite the table from him, trembling in fear of the impending onslaught.
"Where is he?" Ryou asked in monotone.
"Florence." she croaked. "Left this morning."
Ryou took a long draw on his coffee, followed by a long breath in and then out again. He levelled her gaze. "Do you love him?"
She shook her head vehemently. "No."
"And him?"
She shook her head again. "No."
"Where does this leave us, then?"
Feeling tears on the horizon, Shizuka looked down at her interlaced hands. "I assume you'll want a divorce."
"Is that what you want?"
She gasped, as if such a suggestion were unthinkable. "No! Of course I don't."
"Then what do you want?" his tone was tight, impatient.
"I…" her voice wobbled pitifully. "Malik was a mistake. It was one stupid, thoughtless moment that I let go on for too long."
Ryou ground his jaw. "That doesn't answer my question."
"I just want you to be here, Ryou. With me. On our farm, together. I miss you, for God's sake."
"I can't be in two places at once, Kiki. Either I work to keep us afloat, until the farm starts to pay for itself, or we go to financial ruin, and all your hard work will be for nothing." Ryou tactfully explained. "I know our marriage isn't perfect—far from it—but for all the love of God, I never thought you would do something like this—and with him! Why didn't you tell me you were so unhappy?"
"Your career has always been more important than me." She whispered, speaking as though the words themselves were shards of broken glass.
"That simply isn't true," Ryou proclaimed, standing up from the table to join her on the other side. "Kiki…my koi. You know how much I love you, don't you?"
She nodded tearfully. She did know.
"You know, I was about to become a Registrar, before we decided to chuck it all in." he revealed, causing her eyes to go round. "I turned down the opportunity because I love you, Shizuka. Your happiness, and our marriage, is more important to me than my career as a doctor. My profession will always be important to me…but you are more so."
This only made her cry harder. "Oh God, Ryou, I'm so fucking sorry. I've been a complete bitch. You deserve so much better than me."
"There now, that's not true." He replied, wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder. "You're not a bad person, Kiki."
"I don't understand how you can be so forgiving." She hiccupped.
There was a long silence before Ryou replied, so long that Shizuka wondered whether it meant he would never actually find it in him, to forgive her.
"I've been where you are now, before." He finally said, his eyes looking far-off. "I know what it feels like, to be the one in the wrong."
Shizuka sat up and dried her eyes. "What are you saying?"
"As you know…Malik and I were seeing each other for a while, a long time ago." Ryou answered evenly. "It was a foolish lapse in judgement, on my part, fuelled by rage, after we'd had an argument one night. I went to the pub," he went on. "I got rather drunk, and I ended up meeting someone. I was so far gone, so lost in misery, that I didn't even think twice when she asked me to go home with her."
Shizuka was quiet for a while, digesting this new information. She would never have taken Ryou for a cheater. "Does he know?"
"I had to tell him." Ryou replied, running a hand through his hair. "I couldn't live with the shame."
"How did he take it?"
"As well as you could expect…which is to say, not well at all." Ryou replied with a contrite shrug, opening his palms. "I broke his heart."
Shizuka reached over and squeezed his hand, but said nothing.
"Perhaps this is atonement, for what I did to him." Ryou mused with a weak smile.
"It doesn't make what I did right, though." she rebuked. "How are you even still friends?"
"He went back to Egypt, not long after that. After I got accepted into med school in the UK, he contacted me. We did miss each other, admittedly, so we stayed in touch. We met up once, in Monte Carlo. He was working a casual job at a casino there. Then, not long after that…I met you."
Shizuka smiled at him through her tears. "Do you have unresolved feelings for each other?"
Ryou sighed thoughtfully. "I don't know if he ever really got over me, or what happened. He loved me more than I loved him, I think."
Shizuka's stomach dropped like a stone, and she instantly felt pity for Malik. He had been the innocent one, in all of this, and she realised that she had judged him unfairly for practically his whole life. For some reason, she had always made him out in her mind to be the one who had played Ryou, given his narcissistic and manipulative ways, back then, but it had been quite the opposite.
"He deserves someone who loves him just as much." Ryou added, sagely. "That person wasn't me."
Ryou called in sick to the hospital that day, feigning a migraine, so he could spend the day with his wife, in an attempt to heal the cracks in the foundation of their marriage. They spent the day exploring another hill town nearby, where nobody would know them, looking in quaint shops and having coffee in boutique cafes. Both feeling tender, a stroll in a new environment where they had no association with anyone or anything, was just the salve for their bruised hearts.
They returned to the manor by dinnertime, bringing home some local cheese, bread and wine, and lit the fire. It was dark and chilly outside, and Malik had not yet returned, but Shizuka dared not speak of him. Quite frankly, she was lucky to still have a man to call her husband, given her actions over the past few months. Although still tender, she had greatly enjoyed her day out with Ryou, and the time they had so desperately needed together was not spent in vain.
With their bellies full of cheese and olives, Ryou and Shizuka drained the first bottle of wine like it was water, and were very quickly onto their second. More than just a little tiddly, they later found themselves reminiscing about the early days, both in Japan and in London, and sharing things they had never known about each other, before. There was laughter, more tears, and more importantly, love—the kind of love that Shizuka thought had gone beyond the point of rekindling.
"Oh, Kiki," Ryou breathed, laying between his wife's legs and kissing her hungrily. "I want you…I want you so much, right now."
"I've waited so long to hear you say that," she whispered tearfully, returning the kiss just as fervently.
"I know, my darling," he said, pressing her down harder into the sofa. "I promise I'll do better. I promise."
Shizuka moaned softly as a pleasant warmth filled her body, from her beating heart to the soles of her feet. Ryou carefully undressed her, in an unhurried and meticulous way that was so typical of him, laying gentle kisses upon every bare inch of skin as it was exposed. She shivered, though the crackling heat of the fire was fierce, as her husband slid her underwear off her hips and down past her ankles, sliding his hands back up her slim yet curvaceous legs.
Their lips came together once again, and Shizuka shuffled down onto her knees to remove Ryou's trousers. The sight of his engorged manhood as it sprung up over his underwear excited her even further. A hollow gasp elicited from Ryou as she lunged forward to take it into her mouth, devotedly lavishing in the warm silky-smoothness of his most intimate place.
"Ngh…d-darling…" Ryou quivered, gasping hoarsely some five minutes later. "Please…I don't want to finish just yet…"
She acquiesced and sat up, straddling him. They kissed one another like unbridled teenagers in the throes of their first erotic encounter, hardly able to break away for breath for the urgency. Ryou, asserting dominance against his eager partner, pushed Shizuka back down onto the sofa. He kissed her breasts, sucked her nipples, and then sunk to the floor, parting her legs, softly kissing her inner thighs.
"My goodness," he breathed, noticing how wet she already was. "you certainly are ready, aren't you?"
She squirmed, thrusting her pelvis almost involuntarily. "Stop teasing me,"
Ryou wasted not a moment longer, honing in on his target with enthusiasm. Mere seconds later Shizuka had dissolved into jelly beneath him, howls of ecstasy tearing from her throat as he licked and sucked, massaging her vagina with his tongue and fingers. So lost were they in the haze of their rapture, neither one heard the front door open and close, nor the footsteps coming into the living room.
"Woah, fuck! S-sorry—!"
The amorous couple snapped up like a spring-loaded trap, just in time to see Malik whirling out of the room. Clearly he had not expected to walk in on them, let alone in exactly the same situation as he himself had been with Shizuka, the previous evening.
"W-wait, Malik…come back." Ryou called, causing Shizuka to raise an alarmed eyebrow.
"What are you doing?!" she mouthed.
"That's…probably not a good idea." Came Malik's cautious reply.
"Malik, listen. I know that what you did was probably, in part, pay-back for what I did to you, all those years ago." Ryou replied ruefully. "I guess you could say we're even, now."
"Yeah, well…so what?"
"So…why don't you join us?" Ryou gauged Shizuka's reaction. Her expression foretold a mixture of bewilderment and curious contemplation, as she pondered the idea. "Then we can put all of this…'to bed', if you will."
The room was silent for some tense moments, while Malik mulled over this latest development. Hesitantly, he half-turned his head around the corner. "Only if Kiki wants to."
"Darling? What do you say?" Ryou gave her a flirty grin, the kind she only ever saw after he'd had a few too many. "It could be fun."
'Fun' was hardly a fitting adjective revolving in her mind, right at the present moment. The idea of engaging in a threesome with her husband and lover was an erotic fantasy she had indulged in, on more than one occasion. The thought of it becoming reality made her feel faint with desire.
"Okay." She uttered with a tight nod.
Ryou smiled as she consented. "Good girl," he kissed her lingeringly. "now, where was I…?"
Shizuka sighed blissfully as Ryou resumed his ministrations on her. She lazily opened her eyes at the sound of Malik entering the room once again, surprised and delighted to see him undressed and already hard. Her body radiated with warmth under Ryou's touch, and at the thought of having them both ravaging her at the same time. The way Malik's eyes glowed in the firelight made her catch her breath as he leaned down to kiss her, touching her breasts and tweaking her nipples softly.
She groaned lowly, recognizing the taste of grappa on his tongue, and reached down to stroke his cock. He responded in kind, before moving downward to join Ryou. He pushed her legs open wider, and began licking and suckling on her aroused flesh, settling into a rhythm together with her husband.
Shizuka's whole body was tingling and trembling at the sensation of two tongues pleasuring her at once. Among her greatest fantasies involved two men going down on her, but never did she think it would actually happen in real life. She was so wet, her clitoris so full and hard, she didn't think she could possibly take another moment of it, until Malik swirled his tongue around her rectum and slid a finger inside.
"Oh my God!"
"You like that, Kiki?" Ryou whispered with a smirk. He continued fingering her vagina, while Malik worked her ass. "Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Oh God—oh Kami! I'm going to come!" she shrieked, bucking against their fingers and tongues. "Oh! I'm coming!"
All at once Malik and Ryou intensified their motions, until she couldn't hold back the threat of orgasm any longer. "Oh, oh, oh! Ohhhh….!"
Shizuka's whole body shook in uncontrolled ecstasy as she erupted into spasms of sheer bliss, waves upon waves of pleasure surging through her body. Like the aftershocks of an earthquake, the ripples gradually subsided, and she regained some semblance of composure.
Breathing heavily, she looked down and saw that the two men were only just getting warmed up. They were kissing—sharing the taste of her on each other's tongues—and firmly pumping each other's penises, moaning and mumbling sweet nothings to each other. Her face flashed with fire—arousal, and perhaps a little jealousy, toiling through her veins. Boldly, she slipped down from the sofa to join them on the floor, and reached to touch each one of them intimately.
Malik turned his attention on her, kissing her and squeezing her breasts as she lowered her head to suck on his hard, straining manhood. While not quite as well-endowed as Ryou, Malik had a sizeable member at full engorgement, which—between the two of them— Shizuka secretly preferred. Ryou—sometimes unknowingly—caused her pain with his size. Tonight, however, she didn't envision that being such an issue.
Ryou spanked her pale buttocks and maneuvered her rear end up against himself, sliding his long, hard penis into her with ease. She groaned and grunted deeply as she stretched to accommodate him, all the while lavishing attention on Malik. The two men began to pulse into her mouth and vagina respectively, tilting their heads back every now and then, drowning in euphoria. Ryou found his stride, planting one leg forward to stabilize himself as he drilled into his wife, slapping mercilessly against her bottom with his balls. Malik, on the other hand, took care not to choke her, holding her mane of auburn hair back as he gently guided himself between her lips.
"Ngh…Ryou…not so hard!" she cried out when she'd had enough, as he banged her roughly from behind.
"Sorry, darling," he panted, withdrawing from her. "Are you alright?"
She nodded meekly, moving on her hands and knees to lay down on her back. "Want to swap?"
Ryou and Malik exchanged glances, and when Ryou gave him a subtle nod of permission, he shuffled over to her. Laying down between her legs, Malik and Shizuka kissed lingeringly before he eased his cock into her, thrusting slowly at first, and then with more vigour. She let out a long drawl of satisfaction, as Ryou crawled to sit by her head, masturbating as he watched them.
"It's so hot watching you fuck," the snowy-haired man choked lustily, watching as Malik's abs flexed and contracted as he made exquisite love to Shizuka's writhing body.
"You're not jealous?" Malik husked. "I was…"
Ryou gazed at him with large dark eyes, touched of what looked like remorse. "Maybe you should fuck me next, then."
"Is that supposed to be some kind of olive branch?"
"You can't say I never do anything for you." Ryou smiled, his eyes half-closed from the warmth of the fire and the wine.
Malik smirked back at him. "You know what? I think I'd rather just fuck your wife,"
At that caustic remark, Ryou whipped Malik's backside with a sharp spank.
"Careful," Malik sniggered. "You know I like that."
"Oh Malik…yes…" Shizuka moaned from beneath him, hooking her legs around his waist and pulling him further into her. "Deeper…"
"Ngh…is that good, anata?"
Shizuka gazed up at him, flushing at the term of endearment in her native language. She glanced at Ryou, who looked as though he was about to combust at any moment. "I want you both to fuck me," she panted yearnfully. "at the same time."
Words need not be exchanged as they assumed a position that would be comfortable for all three of them. Ryou lay down on the sofa, and Shizuka mounted him cowgirl style. She lowered herself down onto his cock, until he was fully sheathed inside her. Then, slowly and with great care, Malik knelt behind her, stretching her ass with his fingers as she began to ride her husband. When he felt she was acclimated enough, he slid his cock into her ass.
"Oh, fuck…" Shizuka rasped, rolling her eyes back into her head.
"Jesus, that's a nice view," Ryou watched in a lustful haze, pumping his cock in and out of his wife's vagina, while his ex-lover took her anally from behind.
Malik shuddered involuntarily as he began to thrust gently in and out of her, clasping her body close to allow himself more leverage. Despite the initial pain, Shizuka willed herself to relax and adapt to his girth, and the pain soon melted into pleasure. Ryou, on the other hand, could barely hold himself back from orgasm, and began thrusting with more urgency.
Shizuka arched her back, a symphony of pleasured exultations escaping her throat at the sensation of being doubly penetrated. Both Malik and Ryou were now grunting and moaning in equal measure as they found their rhythm, pulsing in and with due care at first, and then with more enthusiasm when she made it known she had passed the threshold of pain and had now arrived in the realm of pleasure.
"Jesus, I can't hold on," Ryou cried, throwing his head back as he drew ever-near to the edge.
"Don't hold back, darling," Shizuka whispered tenderly, leaning down to kiss him. "Give it all to me."
He gazed back up at her, his fevered face glazed with a thin sheen of sweat. "I love you, Kiki," he panted. "Ngh…fuck, I'm coming…!"
Shizuka slid her feet underneath of herself for more purchase and rode him like a rodeo horse, bracing herself for the monumental eruption as Ryou came with a mighty holler. His throat went dry and his voice cracked as he gripped onto her, crushing her in his arms as he purged his seed. The married couple kissed tenderly, and Shizuka was surprised to feel tears running down her cheeks. It had not only been a physical release, but an emotional one, too.
But, the show was not over, yet.
Shizuka dismounted her husband, turning to face her lover as he disengaged from her. He got to his knees and pushed her back against the sofa cushions, spreading her legs and diving headfirst into her vagina. He licked and swallowed the creamy essence that Ryou had deposited inside her with relish, causing her to shriek in delight and expel her husband's load. Ryou too got to the floor, took Malik's cock in his hand and began to jerk him off.
"I want you to finish inside me," Ryou requested in a low, yet pleading tone. "just one last time."
Malik glanced up at the woman he was pleasuring. "I think your wife should decide."
Shizuka hesitated, and then decided it couldn't do any harm. They had all gone far beyond the bounds of fidelity, at this point. "I don't mind." She breathed. "If that's what you both want."
Ryou smiled and kissed the back of his wife's hand, then kissed Malik and lay down on the floor, grabbing some cushions and placing them under his rear end. Malik's eyes were on fire with lust as he hovered over top of his past lover, lubricating and fingering his asshole to prepare him. Ryou moaned breathily, feeling himself growing hard again as Malik feathered kisses down his neck.
"How long's it been?" Malik whispered, pressing the tip of his cock against Ryou's tight entrance.
"It's only ever been you." Ryou sighed, winding his arms around Malik's body.
"Really?" Malik replied with intrigue, pushing the tip inside. "Then let's ensure it stays that way."
Moments later he was fully ensconced in the British man's body, alabaster and amber melded together like a cinnamon swirl bun. Shizuka was entranced watching the two men fuck, and felt suddenly wanton all over again. She had never heard Ryou moan the way he was now, and she mildly wondered if it was due to pain or pleasure, or a desirous combination of both. Sweat was glistening on Malik's hard body, veins in his neck and arms popping out with effort as he thrusted vigorously in and out of Ryou's ass.
"Oh Gods," Malik drawled, craning his head back and muttering something unintelligible in Arabic.
"Sit on my face, Kiki," Ryou rasped out, beckoning her to sit astride him.
She did so, facing toward Malik, and moaned as Ryou began to pleasure her with his tongue. She reached forward to pump his cock, which had become erect once again. Malik slowed his pace, pumping in an achingly languid rhythm; he knew Ryou loved slow, unhurried lovemaking as much as he enjoyed being roughed up. To Malik's detriment, however, the former often meant the happy ending arrived all too soon. It gave him pause for thought about what he was actually doing—the intense eroticism of the moment—and more times than not sent him over the edge. No sooner had he dialed it back to try and prolong the raunchy session, he felt his orgasm could wait no longer.
"Oh, yeah," Malik mewled, picking up pace again as the floodgates started to open. "Oh—! Oh, Gods, I'm going to come!"
Shizuka lunged forward to kiss Malik as his face contorted in ecstasy, his eyebrows knit together in an expression of utmost euphoria as he finally came, expelling his essence with one final surge of momentum. A strangulated cry escaped his lips as he reached his pinnacle, before collapsing against Ryou's chest. Shizuka nimbly dismounted and sat beside the two panting men, letting them have their moment. Ryou and Malik kissed tenderly, and Shizuka noticed a rogue tear slip from the corner of Malik's eye. She knew it was because he wasn't over Ryou, and quite possibly never would be.
Later on, all three of them were in a state of pleasant satedness, dozing languidly by the warmth of the fire, and reveling in the afterglow of their impromptu lovemaking. It was as if all the troubles of the past—Malik and Ryou's doomed relationship, Ryou and Shizuka's marriage woes, and Shizuka and Malik's affair—had all come full circle. By engaging in the ultimate act of intimacy, exposing their secrets and vulnerabilities, the slate had been wiped clean. The score had been settled, and all broken-heartedness, jealousies and betrayals would be remembered, in time, as echoes of the past.
SPRING
Shizuka cheerfully snapped shut her laptop after a long day of doing the books. The farm's wine sales had gone tremendously over the Christmas period, together with their olive oil and truffles, giving them the financial bolster they had so desperately needed in order to stay afloat through the cold season. Now, they would be able to install proper air conditioning in the manor, and start taking bookings to have groups of tourists, touring the farm and sampling their products. They had even made enough money for Ryou to resign from the hospital and take another job as a locum doctor, only working as and where needed on a part-time basis.
Shizuka hadn't been so happy in a long time. Of course, every day still had its challenges, but she felt as though her problems were halved, now that Ryou was around more often to shoulder some of the burden.
And, there were days where she still missed Malik.
Instead of treating him as a taboo, however, Ryou and Shizuka now spoke openly about him, and the impact he had had on both of their lives. Subsequently, and perhaps a little ironically, Malik's presence had forged their marriage together more strongly than it had been before. Now that he was gone—this time to work on a multi-million dollar launch, somewhere in the Mediterranean—they both felt his absence poignantly, but it was obviously in each of their best interests that he move on, so they could all continue to grow, heal and learn about one another and themselves, in their pursuits of fulfilment.
"How are we tracking?" Ryou smiled up at Shizuka as she joined him on the verandah. He was sitting on one of the bench seats with a blanket over his legs, holding a mug of tea in one hand, and a book in the other.
Shizuka sat down on his knee, linking her arms around his neck. "I never thought I'd get to say this," she said. "but, we're in profit."
Ryou chuckled and squeezed her waist. "I told you it would all work out, didn't I?"
"I wish I had believed you."
The hillsides were still the hazy grey-brown of winter, but before long, the budding trees would burst forth into blossom, and with it the promise of ripe fruit to come, again.