"So, tell me about this new roommate of yours. Where the hell is he? Is he a cute one?"
Bankotsu's face reddened as he twisted to look his companion in the eyes. They were sitting on his bed together, he practically in Jakotsu's lap, back rested against the other man's chest. Jakotsu's chin rested on the top of his head and his arms were snaked around Bankotsu's waist. He tugged absently on the waistband of Bankotsu's shorts, fingers running along the elastic, as he spoke.
"What does it matter if he's cute?" One of Bankotsu's eyebrows twitched, "I thought we were supposed to be a couple?"
"Don't get all bent out of shape. I was just wondering…I can still look, can't I?" A sly smile crossed Jakotsu's face, "Or will you get too jealous?" Slender fingers teased across Bankotsu's cheek and a kiss was planted on his forehead.
"I don't give a shit if you look. But don't you be getting any ideas. I put a lot on the line to be with you, don't forget, and I won't put up with you running around on me, got it?" Blue eyes peered intently into steely gray ones, as if he could get his point across better by being intimidating.
"Yes master."
"Dammit; I'm being serious!"
"Sorry." Another kiss, this time closer to his ear, "I'll be a good boy. I promise."
"You'd better." Came the mumbled reply.
Jakotsu sighed. "Why are you in such a bad mood, Kiddo? We just had sex for the first time in a month. Shouldn't you be happy?" He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the longer parts of his bangs from his eyes as he gazed down upon Bankotsu's tanned face.
"Everything is different now." Came the quiet reply. Bankotsu looked away, picking at the hem of his tousled bedspread, "It's all so different. And I don't want to lose you ever…" Fingers were softly stroking his abdomen; Jakotsu had a hand up under his shirt, trying to soothe him. He wanted to melt at the feathery touch, to stay there, safe and warm, and never leave. I feel like I'm gonna cry…But I don't cry, dammit! "All summer, I had to keep reminding myself that it wouldn't be the same when I came back…"
Another sigh escaped Jakotsu's lips. "I know it's all different now. There's no point in pretending it isn't." He tightened his grip around the younger man, dark eyes falling shut, "But I want you to tell me exactly what you think has changed."
"We don't live together any more…"
"Well I know that. What else?"
"I'm gonna be really busy this year. We'll hardly get to see one another. And when we do, it won't be the same any way. We used to have so much time to just be together. I miss you at night; I miss you in the day; I fucking miss you all the time! I can't sleep any more because I'm not used to sleeping alone and I always have things I want to tell you but you aren't there!" Bankotsu scowled, "I can't get used to being alone again."
There was silence for a moment, then the younger man continued. "And everybody can tell I've changed. All the guys I know back home spent the summer asking me who the 'lucky girl' was because they could tell I was involved with some one. My parents could tell too. It's only a matter of time before every one finds out and then I'm going to be in trouble."
"Don't panic. I don't want you throwing up all over me." Jakotsu half-smiled, burying his face in his friend's hair, "I won't let anything bad happen to you." His hands moved upwards a little, caressing softly, running over flawless skin, "I won't let any one give you any shit." He kissed Bankotsu's neck, "And you're not alone here. Tsuchi and Kebakeba still live across the hall. If any one tries to give you crap and I can't be there for you, OMU* has your back."
"I suppose it could be worse…But I wish things could always stay the same as they were." Bankotsu reached up, pulling Jakotsu's face down and kissing him softly. "I love you." He smiled, "And I hate to spoil the mood, but I think it's about time you put the rest of your clothes back on."
"Oh? You don't find me appealing this way?" The older man's eyes sparkled teasingly.
"Well I do…" Bankotsu blushed lightly as he slid out of his companion's grasp, "But I'm not sure that Inu Yasha will."
"That your new roommate's name?" Jakotsu alighted from the bed, searching for his discarded jeans.
"Yup."
"So, is he cute?"
"Keba thinks so." Bankotsu's nose wrinkled as he began tucking loose strands of his hair back into his braid, "I wouldn't know."
"Well, what does he look like?" The older man began buttoning up his pink shirt.
"Taller than me-"
"Every one is taller than you."
Bankotsu made a face, "-With long, blond hair. He's got gold eyes, kinda like Sesshomaru, but he's not as refined and snobby looking. They look enough alike that they could be related, come to think of it. He had a baseball cap on and an orientation tee-shirt. He's only a little freshman."
"Hmm…I suppose it makes sense that you get a freshman. Since you're a junior and the other two are seniors this year and I'm gone…No one would just move in here with all of you dysfunctional people."
"Dysfunctional?" The shorter man snorted indelicately, "You fit right in then. No wonder they decided to room with us last year. You're the least sane person I know." He teased.
"Hey now…You might hurt my feelings if you're not careful." Jakotsu stuck out his tongue, "And then I'll get upset and cry and you'll have to make nice with me."
"Oh, shut up. You've already had your fun for the day. I need to finish unpacking and grab some dinner and say hi to Tsuchi so Keba doesn't accuse me of hating him again." Bankotsu rolled his eyes, "I was accosted by Keba as soon as he got here and he wanted to know right away where you were."
"Is he in his room?" Jakotsu grinned, picturing Kebakeba, a fellow Open Minded Unity member and notoriously flamboyant boy of twenty-one. "Kebakeba" was the nickname he had been given by one of his pals back home and it had stuck…No one was even sure what his real name was. He and Jakotsu were good buddies and often consulted with one another on who was hot and who was not.
"Probably. You know how he is about moving in…Runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. I dunno where he gets his energy…"
"Or how Tsuchi puts up with him." Jakotsu rolled his eyes, "But they really do get along famously, the two of them. He -Tsuchi, I mean- probably woulda gone after you if he wasn't already involved with Keba, you know. He thinks you're somethin' else."
Bankotsu turned pink and busied himself with tying his sneakers.
"Aww, does that embarrass you?" Jakotsu laughed, tugging on his friend's braid.
"Yes! And it never woulda happened anyway. I'm not gay."
"I beg to differ, mon ami."
"I'm not! You're just…special. I'd never go for another guy. Other than you, I'm all about chicks." Bankotsu's head jerked up when he heard his friend harrumph disgustedly and a slight frown crossed his face. "But I don't mean now…I've got you, Jakotsu, and I would never cheat…"
"I know." Jakotsu smiled, amused at Bankotsu's blundering, "I know what you meant, silly. Chill out." He patted his friend on the head, "I'm gonna pop in to say hi to Keba. I'll be back in a little bit, 'kay?"
"All right." Bankotsu nodded, stretching and cracking his back in the process. He smiled to himself as he watched Jakotsu depart, shaking his head slightly. I do love that man…
The young man resumed sorting through his boxes, looking for all the things that went on his desk. He heard a squeal, followed by loud, exuberant chattering which he assumed was Kebakeba recounting his summer to Jakotsu and his smile spread. Keba might have been really obnoxious, but he was an okay guy and he genuinely liked Jakotsu…And not many people did.
"Hello, Bankotsu."
A quiet voice snapped the boy out of his thoughts and he looked up, this time finding Tsuchi standing in the doorway. He studied the other boy, noting that he hadn't changed at all in the three months since school had let out. Shoulder-length, dark hair, deep eyes; Tsuchi was dressed in his usual jeans and black tee-shirt, complete with a knit hat, even though it was the end of august. He was leaned against the doorframe, peering intently at Bankotsu, inky gaze burning through the other boy.
"Hiya Tsuchi. Have a nice summer?"
"Mm-hmm. Keba is happy to see Jakotsu." He paused, "And I'm sure you are too."
"Well," Bankotsu scratched the back of his head, "I saw him a couple a times over the summer. And we talked on the phone a lot and stuff." An awkward silence followed, "What about you and Keba? You guys see each other a lot?"
"We went camping. Hung out. Usual summer stuff. Sometimes I think he's getting bored with me." Tsuchi's head tipped to the side, silky hair sliding across his forehead, "I'm not very exciting, am I?"
Bankotsu blinked, studying the other boy. Tsuchi was a year younger than he was, came from an overbearing family and was an art major. He came from a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere and other than his art skills, really wasn't very exciting. "Who says you have to be exciting for him to like you? Isn't he exciting enough for the both of you?"
Right on cue, Keba burst into the room, tackling Tsuchi in a hug; his shaggy brown hair flying wildly around his face and a grin spread from ear to ear. Tsuchi squawked and stumbled a little as the weight of his friend hit him, flailing to regain his balance before the two crashed to the floor. "Heh…Sorry, Tsu." Keba smiled sheepishly, "Didn't think I would catch you so off guard." He planted a playful kiss on Tsuchi's cheek and then beamed up at the occupant of the room, "Ahoy, Bankotsu!"
"Hi again, Keba." Bankotsu rolled his eyes, "I think you just destroyed Tsuchi. Now you need a new roommate."
"I'll take yours." Kebakeba's eyebrows wiggled suggestively, "He's just to die for." He glanced at Jakotsu who stood behind them in the hall, "You've got to see him. He is a hot little thing." He giggled uncontrollably, easily ignoring Tsuchi's death glare, "I had to restrain myself from touching his hair. It was gorgeous."
Tsuchi pushed himself off the floor, grumbling under his breath. He straightened his hat, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, and marched out of the room. Keba blinked, staring after him for a moment, then seemed to realize that it was his fault his friend was upset. "Oh, oops…Tsuchi, wait!" He ran out of the room in a swirl of tie-dye and fuchsia fabric.
Bankotsu shook his head and Jakotsu snickered. "Hopeless." He laughed, "Those two…" Jakotsu flashed a grin at his friend, "They're utterly hopeless."
"And you aren't?" Bankotsu began pulling packs of ramen out of a box and stuffing them into a drawer on the desk.
"So where is this stud of a roommate? I'm really curious now…"
"He went to that lame picnic thing in the courtyard. Freshmen seem to get lured to that thing like nobody's business. He mumbled something about looking for people he met at orientation, then disappeared. Haven't got a clue when he'll get back." Bankotsu shrugged, "So you probably won't get to see him. Now here," He shoved a box full of books towards his companion, "Make yourself useful and put these on the shelf."
"Yes sir." Jakotsu flashed another grin and began digging through the small assortment of manga, books of guitar tabs, old textbooks and sci-fi novels. He sorted them by subject, then alphabetized them, arranging them meticulously on the shelf above the desk. Bankotsu had realized early on that his former roommate was surprisingly neat and orderly, everything had its place and everything was to remain in that place.
A comfortable atmosphere settled in around the two. Jakotsu began humming Ophidia's latest hit, mumbling to words to himself, and Bankotsu arranged his CD collection and guitar equipment. The familiar sounds of Kebakeba and Tsuchi "making up" drifted across the hall, to which Bankotsu blushed slightly, but it was all familiar, exactly as it had been the last semester.
About an hour or so passed. Once Jakotsu was satisfied that there was some method to the madness, he nodded his approval to the setup of the room. Bankotsu smiled; glad he had pleased the older man, and started hauling the boxes out of the room for recycling. "You want to go get something to eat?" He asked when he came back, "The stupid picnic shindig is still goin' on."
Jakotsu looked at his watch. "Nah; I gotta get going. I have to get ready for work." He brushed back Bankotsu's bangs, lips brushing across his forehead, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you." The taller man leaned over to kiss him softly, wrapping thin arms around him, holding him close. Bankotsu snuggled into the embrace, blushing lightly, reaching up to return the kiss.
"Love you too." He mumbled.
"You're cute when you blush." Jakotsu grinned, ruffling the shorter man's hair and placing a second kiss on his forehead as he turned to exit the room, leaving behind a very flustered Bankotsu.
Dammit, why do I still get embarrassed?? Bankotsu could feel the heat leaving his cheeks as the sounds of Jakotsu pounding on the door across the hall drifted into the room. "Hey you nymphos! I'm leaving! You gonna come say good-bye or are you too busy?" He heard Jakotsu yell through the door, which resulted in an angry "HEY!!" from Tsuchi and a cheerful "S'long!" from Kebakeba.
Smiling, he shook his head and turned back to make sure everything was unpacked. This would be his home for the next nine months, so it might as well be up to his standards…Although…It just wasn't the same without Jakotsu there. Inu Yasha appeared to be a slob…His stuff was thrown everywhere, clothes shoved in the dresser, junk tossed all over the desk and in the closet. Bankotsu wrinkled his nose. No neat freak was he, but he did like some sort of order to a room.
It would be an interesting year.
Checking his pocket to make sure he had his key and his ID card, the young man decided he would go scope out the picnic anyway. He was hungry and this was probably his only chance to get a decent hamburger all semester. He paused to lock the door, hoping Inu Yasha wasn't so much of a slob that he left his key behind somewhere and wouldn't be able to get back in, then stopped outside of room 122, wondering if he should invite Keba and Tsuchi along or if they were still going at it in there.
Silence reigned in the hallway and his face flushed red at the thoughts of what could possibly be taking place in there. He quickly decided against knocking, trying to chase away all the nasty mental images filling his mind. If they get hungry, they know where they can get food…
Twenty minutes later, having ingested a hamburger and a coke, Bankotsu wandered around the stalls and tables set up in the courtyard. Most of them belonged to clubs who were trying to recruit new members, such as the fanatical religious club with their goodie-goodie attitudes, who stared at him like hawks about to swoop in on their prey until several members of OMU began waving at him.
"Bankotsu!"
The religious fanatics recoiled instantly. Pretty much every one on campus assumed you had to be "one of them" to be friends with OMU members and the Bible thumpers weren't about to try and recruit some one who was "intentionally sinning." Bankotsu sighed with relief…Saved by the queers…Aw, crap; I'm not supposed to call them that now! Mentally he slapped himself as he made his way over to their table.
"There's my charming little quadmate."
Bankotsu rolled his eyes, taking in the diabolical grin plastered on the face of one of the other occupants of his quad. "Hey Naraku." He said warily, leveling his own gaze with that of the vindictive senior. The other boy looked just as malevolent as usual; his dark, wavy hair pulled half off his face, brown eyes glinting mischievously. He and Bankotsu had a sort of uneasy friendship…Neither one really trusted the other, but for the sake of living together they had agreed to be civil towards one another.
Bankotsu had realized early on that it was better to stay on Naraku's good side anyway.
"So, my little fruit fly, how do you like the newbie?" Naraku leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his long, kinky hair, "Something about him rubs me the wrong way…"
Bankotsu shrugged. "He seems okay…Messy and all, but okay."
"He's not bad looking." The other boy said nonchalantly as he studied his nails, "I suppose Jakotsu will have a little crush on him. Then there'll be little lovers' quarrels followed by plenty of hot make up sex."
"Oh shut the hell up." Bankotsu grumbled, glaring at his quadmate. He could feel his face heating and wondered how long it would be before he could successfully lie about his love life without turning as red as a tomato.
"Hey; it's cool." Naraku doodled on one of the fliers about OMU, drawing some random cartoonish monkey, "I mean, it's not like we don't know when you guys are doing it. You're not exactly quiet, ya know." Bankotsu, if possible, turned ever redder, which caused Naraku to laugh. "I'm only kidding, you idiot. God, it's easy to get you embarrassed, isn't it? Chill out. It's not like I'm gonna bust on you for committing sins or anything…What you do with him is your business. I just like to get ya riled up."
"I hate you."
"The feeling is mutual then." Came the jovial reply.
Bankotsu shot Naraku one last glare, then marched off in the direction of a snow cone stand, grumbling to himself. After getting himself a blue snow cone, he wandered around some more, picking up some free red dragon pride stuff here and there at different tables.
He was checking out the poster sale when he heard a somewhat familiar voice behind him. "That's my roommate."
The braided boy half-turned, finding himself staring up at the golden gaze of his new roommate, Inu Yasha. Taller than Bankotsu by a few inches, Inu Yasha was a lean, lanky teenager with ash-blond hair. He had a sort of childish appearance and a red dragons baseball cap was pulled over his forehead. He was wearing baggy khakis and a red tee-shirt, scuffed up sneakers on his feet. There was a girl behind him, sort of pretty, with black hair and brown eyes. She was chatting with another girl with a high ponytail and a punkish guy with several earrings and a short little ponytail.
"Oh, hey, Inu Yasha." He greeted the younger boy pleasantly, "Friends of yours, I assume?" He nodded in the direction of the other three, his braid bouncing against his back.
"Ah, yeah." Inu Yasha muttered, "We met at orientation." He pointed at them each in turn, "That's Kagome," -the black-haired girl- "That's Sango," -the girl with the ponytail- "And that's Miroku." -the guy.
"I'm Bankotsu." Bankotsu studied them each. Both of the girls were attractive and he was sure that Jakotsu would say the guy was too. But then, Jakotsu thought a lot of guys were attractive…"So you're all freshmen?"
Nods all around. "What about you?" The black-haired girl, Kagome, spoke up.
"I'm a junior. I needed a new roomie because my old one graduated." Bankotsu explained, "But Jakotsu lives in town now and we're real good friends, so he'll be around campus a lot. I don't really have many friends, so there was no one I could ask to room with me and they put Inu Yasha in the room."
"I get it." Kagome nodded, "It was nice meeting you. Sango and I better get to our room now." She smiled, "C'mon, Sango." She grabbed the other girl by the wrist and dragged her off in the other direction, leaving the three boys standing there.
"So," Miroku looked at Bankotsu, eyebrows rising, "You know any hot chicks?"
"Uh…" The older boy's face reddened, "Actually…"
"Oh, EW!"
He jerked to attention, startled by Inu Yasha's disgusted shriek. Blue eyes followed the blonde's gaze and stopped on...Tsuchi and Kebakeba? Tsuchi looked just as dark and brooding as always, but there was a small smile played across his face. Keba was clinging to his arm, grinning excitedly. He was still wearing his rainbow tie-dye, but the button-down fuchsia shirt he'd been wearing over it was now knotted around his waist. He was chattering loudly about something and beaming up at Tsuchi who in turn offered a rare grin back down at him.
Bankotsu's gaze swiveled back over to Inu Yasha. The freshman looked as if he were going to be ill. His nose was wrinkled, his brow furrowed and his golden eyes wide. "That is SO gross. Look at those two fags." He stated a little too loudly.
Bankotsu frowned, his heart sinking deep into the pit of his stomach. This did not bode well. Not well at all. "They happen to be friends of mine." He informed to other boy tersely, "And fairly good ones at that."
Right on cue, Keba caught sight of them standing there and waved wildly, "Ahoy, Bankotsu!!" He yelled his characteristic greeting before latching back onto his boyfriend's arm. Tsuchi nodded his head politely, pausing to push Keba's hair out of his eyes, and the older man responded by yanking him down into a kiss.
Inu Yasha looked as if he was about to vomit.
Bankotsu sighed. It was going to be one hell of a semester.
________________
*OMU (Open Minded Unity) is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender association on my campus. Since I'm basing a lot of this un-named college on my college, I figured it wouldn't hurt to chuck that in.
Kebakeba is the Japanese word for "garish." Since Keba-kun is a male-embodiment of me (yeah, a side-character self-insert. Shame on me.) and I'm rather loud, flashy and flamboyant; I decided it would be a good name for him. Tsuchi is his roommate/significant other.
I do not approve of the labels "queer" and "fag" for homosexual people. However, since Inu-kun is a homophobe, those words will probably pop up here and there.