When You Least Expect It

*chapter 6

By Sakata Ri Houjun

AN: Just so you know, pretty much the rest of the story, with the exception of the ending, is going to center on these three guys spending the night together. This needs to progress slowly, even though it is basically a PWP, or else I will not be satisfied with what I'm writing here. I abhor casual sex with no feelings or true connections behind it. And even though this is a threesome, and these guys won't stay together in the end, I do want it to mean something for all of them.

But this is just a warning for those of you reading this that now we're getting into the real meat of the story, descending down to the reason why I wrote this in the first place. But do keep in mind that this isn't something that's meant to be taken seriously.

Gods, that should just become a basic disclaimer for this fic now, shouldn't it?

~***~

~Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think~

~***~

Chichiri sat there for a moment, straddling Mousse's slender legs, his hands firmly clamped on the young Amazon's ankles, which had been thrashing about just seconds before. Now, as he continued to hold onto Mousse, the monk could feel the body below him relax as a sudden silence filled the air. Curious, he turned around only to widen his eye in shock at the sight that greeted him.

Unable to think of anything to say, Chichiri merely opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Strangely enough, he couldn't help but feel hurt by this display. But if the two younger men felt an attraction towards one another, who was he to get jealous? What right did he have to become resentful towards two virtual strangers?

Finally, Mousse withdrew from the impromptu kiss, his head lowering back down to the rumpled covers of the futon. He then blinked his blue eyes twice, as the reality of what he had just done dawned on him, and Chichiri could feel the raven-haired man stiffen in shock, tension running through the younger man's legs.

Apparently, Alex must have experienced the same reaction because he suddenly gasped and hastily pushed himself off of the younger man, scuttling backwards to slouch against the bed, knees drawn up against his chest. Chichiri removed himself as well from Mousse's body, taking a seat apart from the pair to try and observe the situation as the young Amazon shakily sat up.

After a moment of Mousse and Alex exchanging wide-eyed expressions, the dark-haired youth adjusted his glasses and spoke. "Uh, what the hell was that?"

"You two were kissing, no da," Chichiri replied simply, deciding not to try to sugarcoat the situation as that might not be the best thing to do.

Alex blinked his amethyst eyes slowly, wrapping his arms around his bare legs. "That didn't mean anything... Did it?"

Mousse tentively touched his lips. "I-I don't know. That was the first time I ever..." He turned his gaze upon Chichiri, hoping that the eldest of them all could possibly have the answers or an explanation as to what had indeed happened.

The monk shrugged. "Don't look at me. Now I have even less experience than either of you, no da."

Alex tilted his head. "Less experience, deshi?"

The cerulean-haired seishi made a vague and helpless gesture with both his hands towards the pair. "You two just kissed each other, no da."

Mousse bit his lip, his face coloring a bit. "I don't think that little accident counted as anything."

"Still," the monk continued. "Even if it was an accident, it's more than I've experienced na no da." Without wanting to, Chichiri looked away in sudden embarrassment and grief, feeling slightly jealous about being left out.

Quietly, Alex moved closer to Chichiri, placing his hand on the monk's shoulder. "Hey now, I don't' think we meant to hurt your feelings, deshi."

The cerulean-haired man smiled ruefully. "I know. Like Mousse said, an accident, no da."

"Yeah, an accident," The Amazon echoed.

However, Alex wasn't listening. He only saw his new friend, Chichiri, obviously hurting. Wanting nothing more than to make things better, even if it meant evening the score, the gaijin reached over and cupped the older man's chin, bringing his head up to face him. Chichiri looked at him in confusion, but before he could say a word, Alex pressed his lips against the monk's in a quick, chaste kiss.

The Suzaku seishi pulled away slightly, certainly not expecting Alex to have done something like that. And yet, he felt touched that his friend would care that much about him.

The blonde smiled softly. "Are we even now, deshi?"

"Oi, you got one extra kiss." Mousse widened his eyes when he realized what he had just blurted out. Chichiri's single mahogany orb shifted over to regard the Amazon in confusion. Mousse averted his gaze and began to stammer, his expression frozen in disbelief. "I, uh... I, uh..."

Alex felt his lips pulling into a smirk. "Oh? Then I guess that doesn't really sound even, now does it, deshi?"

Mousse lifted his eyes up to glance at the monk, whose face was colored a deep shade of pink while he chewed on his bottom lip. The cerulean-haired man's hands were moving about nervously playing idly with the hem of his shirt, tugging at the creamy fabric. The Amazon tried twice before he found his voice. "Are you suggesting that I should kiss Chichiri now?"

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, if it would end this complaining business, deshi..."

"He-he shouldn't r-really have to, n-no, da," Chichiri stammered out, twisting the fabric in his hands now. "I-I mean, I w-wasn't complaining, no d-da."

The gaijin squeezed the monk's shoulder in reassurance. "Yeah, but Mousse sure was, deshi."

"B-but he d-doesn't have to..." he protested feebly.

Mousse rose to his knees, crawling over slowly to where a very nervous Chichiri sat. "Let's just get this over with."

The monk refused to look up, even once Mousse stopped before him. Chichiri instead stared at the Amazon's knees, swathed in soft blue fabric, the same color as he kesa but without the pattern. He knew that both Mousse and Alex were waiting for him to look up, waiting for him so they could finish what they started. What they initiated; he didn't start it. But they were expecting him to finish it. Could he finish it?

Alex had already kissed him, and it felt strange yet wonderful. Some secret part of the monk's mind wondered if Mousse's kiss would be similar. Alex's kiss sure seemed different than from the one the gaijin and the Amazon had shared. Would it hurt to let Mousse kiss him too?

Afraid of what this would mean, of what it might lead to, he looked up, meeting the soft blue gaze of the young Amazon. Chichiri opened his mouth to protest, to say once again that he didn't have to do this. However, Mousse bent down and placed his lips against the older man's, kissing rather boldly in startling contrast to Alex's quick little peck.

After what felt like an eternity of their lips nuzzling gently against each other, Mousse finally pulled away, eyes blinking behind his thick lenses. He lifted one hand to touch his lips again before clearing his throat. "Well... It's even now."

No one said a word.

The silence was unbearable, each man lost to his own thoughts, trying to work out what this meant.

Finally Chichiri spoke up. "That was..." He trailed off, not knowing how to describe the feeling that was rolling around inside his stomach.

"Nice," Alex murmured softly, finishing the statement for him.

Mousse nodded to himself, agreeing. "Surprisingly so."

Chichiri bit his lip as he looked down again at his hands, though they were no longer pulling and twisting on the hem of his shirt. "I had no idea that kissing could be like that, no da."

"Makes me wonder what I've been missing out on," Mousse conceded, his voice holding a note of awe.

"Same here, deshi," Alex added quietly before the trio slipped into silence once again.

If there had been a clock in the room, someone could have tracked the passage of time during that oppressive silence. Even the annoying drip of a leaky faucet would have been a welcome distraction. Unfortunately there was nothing to be heard except the irregular breathing patterns of the three occupants of the small enclosed area.

Unable to stand it any longer, Mousse quickly pushed himself up off the floor, snatching one of the discarded pillows from their earlier fight, and headed towards his bed without looking at either Chichiri or Alex. "It's getting late, and I think we could all do with some rest," he said rather quietly.

Both the monk and the scientist nodded mutely, each going about to gather up their pillows and quietly straightening out their futons. Once all three were situated nicely, Chichiri reached out with his ki to nudge the light switch to off, just to avoid having to get up and face the other two again.

But even in the comfort and privacy of the darkness, the confusing thoughts of each man wouldn't abandon them, and they knew that they weren't going to get any sleep tonight.

~***~

Now, here's a challenge. I don't know how I'm going to end this fic. Hikari and I have discussed this earlier, but unfortunately neither os us has come to a conclusion as what to do with our bishonen the morning after.

If you have some ideas, let me know. I'll go with whatever sounds plausible. Considering that this is probably an AU, just about anything would go, so be creative as long as you don't tell me to kill or break the hearts of our guys.