The days blurred, one into the other, and Rikugo found himself relaxing more and more. He spent little time with Tsuzuki, sometimes just coming by to say hello, then he was off again to the Palace. Ryu was a very entertaining host. They talked a lot. A whole lot. Not just about little things, they also discussed a few more fundamental things, and while the master of the Palace of Candles knew all about shikigami and GensouKai, he had never had more information than was in his books. Rikugo was his chance to learn more and he asked whatever came to mind.
The astrologer had no trouble answering those questions. He was very willing to do so, too. He had no idea why he was so absolutely relaxed in a demonic presence. True, Ryu wasn't registering as a pure-blood on his senses, more like Tsuzuki did when he let his powers flare, but he was a true demon and there was no denying it. Nevertheless, in all his time here, Rikugo had never felt unwell.
That this demon also had an effect on him was something else. It was something worrisome, but also very, very nice. Worrisome because Rikugo hadn't felt like it in ages, and nice because... because it was nice. He liked to feel this sizzle, this little prickle of attraction, and from the way Ryu sometimes looked at him, it wasn't one-sided.
Rikugo had to smile to himself when he remembered how Ryu had watched him, open lust in his eyes, and then blushed for a moment when he had registered that the shikigami could see him. For everyone else he had been invisible all his life; for Rikugo, he was always visible, whether he wore the mask or not.
He enjoyed it all.
Every single minute.
And with every minute, the prickles grew stronger, the attraction grew, and his starved body reacted in a way he could no longer suppress.
Rikugo smiled when he heard the Count laugh wholeheartedly. It was a sound he hadn't really heard from him before, and he had to admit he liked it. A lot.
When he looked up he met a pair of smoldering red eyes, holding a fire within them that was more than just the demonic heritage. There was something like-- longing, and yet... Rikugo had to swallow the lump that had appeared in his throat all of a sudden.
Time seemed to freeze, the air between them crackling with a life on its own when he minutely bent over to the man at his side, cupping his face with a hand. Leaning in a little more he was met halfway, lips brushing over his. Rikugo pulled back when he felt his lips tingle where they had touched the other man's, and he looked at the Count, a question in his eyes.
Ryu's face held an unreadable expression, and there was a sadness in his eyes, deeply engraved by two millennia of loneliness, it almost broke the astrologer's heart. But there was more, an answer to the question Rikugo hadn't even voiced, and when their lips met again it was with more fervor, igniting a fire within him that Rikugo had believed extinguished a long time ago. Yet, here it was, starting to burn through his veins and glowing inside him, making him gasp into the kiss. The other man broke the kiss immediately, but Rikugo didn't want him to pull back entirely, holding him but still giving him enough room should he want to escape. Instead he felt the hesitant weight of a hand resting on his hip, and Rikugo caressed the jaw line reassuringly.
"Rikugo?" the Count whispered, red eyes wide, and he bent down again, pulling the other man against his body.
There was no resistance, his lips met eagerly, and the arm wrapping itself around his waist brought their bodies even closer together. Rikugo sighed when he felt the fire being stoked inside him, the hardness brushing against his own a dead giveaway of the other man's state.
"Ryu?" he murmured into a slightly pointed ear, feeling the body in his arms shiver and he breathed over the tip again deliberately.
Dark red eyes searched for him, and the Count nodded before he pulled out of his embrace, taking his hand.
"Upstairs," he said, voice hoarse.
And Rikugo followed.
The bedroom was... huge. There were big soft carpets on the stone floor, as thick as they came, and Rikugo had no doubt that he would sink into them ankle-deep and be able to walk soundlessly. Ancient looking tapestries on the walls, antique looking Chinese war scenes painted on silk, large dark oak furniture that looked massive and heavy, a fire was crackling in a wonderfully shaped fire place, somehow giving the massive room a homey and comfortable atmosphere. The center of it all was a large four poster bed, big enough for four people his size, Rikugo mused. Silken sheets seemed to invite him in, and-- Rikugo chuckled inwardly with amusement-- there was even the large soft coat of a bear on the floor in front of the fireplace.
"So this is your place, hm?" Rikugo said, smirking.
He didn't really know what he had expected, but really not something like this.
"Like it?" Ryu teased, pulling him close, nipping at his jaw in a playful manner.
"Fitting," Rikugo answered, capturing the teasing mouth with a kiss. "Fitting for you."
Ryu's eyes sparkled and his face was alight with emotions that Rikugo had never seen with such intensity. He stopped thinking about the meaning of what he saw when nimble fingers slid under his clothes, caressed warm skin, and he was maneuvered toward the huge bed.
Clothes were shed as the two men followed an ancient need, and skin met skin, two pairs of eyes roaming appreciatively over the other's body. Rikugo's gaze found only flawless skin, a perfect body, long-limbed, lithe, powerful in a seductively secret way. Muscles stretched underneath smooth skin and there was so much Rikugo wanted to touch.
His hands wandered over that smooth skin of the other man's abdomen, noticing every hitch in breathing, every shiver or tremble as he caressed Ryu's flanks, trailing soft kisses on his neck and collarbone. Deprived of human touch for about two thousand years there were contradicting emotions running over Ryu's face, tugging at Rikugo's heart, but finally red eyes closed in ecstasy when the body came up to meet his every touch, lean into every caress like a huge cat would.
Hesitant fingers brushed over his own skin, leaving fiery trails behind and making him shiver as well. Rikugo searched for his lover's lips again, while his fingers ghosted over the stomach and deeper. He was rewarded with a long breathy moan when he found what he had been looking for.
°
Rikugo looked at the man in his arms, studying the relaxed features, the closed eyes that normally showed such an intense, blood red color with intricate fiery trails in their depths. He had seen these eyes laugh and light up with mischief in his company. He had seen them darken with memories, with pain that was yet to be shared, and he had seen them filled with passion.
Passion.
Like they had just shared.
Ryu had cried his name, had spent himself emotionally as well as physically, and he had fallen asleep in his new lover's arms.
So trusting...
Rikugo stroked over the pitch black hair, such a contrast to the pale skin that had never tanned. He followed the line of the cheeks, the jaw, and he caressed the slightly pointed ears.
So very trusting.
He hadn't known the man for more than a few days, just over a week, and he had slept with him.
Rikugo sat up, careful not wake the sleeping Count.
What have I done? he thought, shocked. He had come to this place to forget, to clear his head... not to sleep with the first man that attracted him!
Raking a hand through his now so short hair, he shook his head.
You stupid moron!
The shikigami slipped out of the bed, silent as a cat, and collected his clothes. Looking back at the single figure in the so very large bed, yearning rose. So innocent, so handsome... so desirable... Rikugo wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers, feel the warm, living body next to him, hear each breath, listening to him sleeping. And he wanted to look into those eyes when they opened...
The astrologer shook himself.
No. Stop it before you make another mistake, Rikugo. You made one once before.
And he left.
Quietly, without a word, he left the palace.
° ° °
He woke to an empty bed. Cold sheets, the only warmth from his own body, and the light of a new morning coming through the half closed blinds. Red eyes gazed at the place where his lover had been when he had slipped off into sleep, where blond hair had fanned out over the pillows.
Ryu sat up, eyes still fixed to that spot, and he felt a weight settle on his fragmented soul that was heavier than he had ever expected it to be.
Rikugo was gone.
He had left.
He briefly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
It had been the shikigami's right. There had been no expectations, no promises. Just a good time. A slow, sardonic smile distorted his features.
Yes, no promises.
I slept with a shikigami, one of the Divine Commanders, he thought with a sigh. What did I expect anyway? Flowers? Breakfast in bed? For crying out loud, he is one of the twelve most powerful shikigami!
The thought alone that he would ever get to touch this man more intimately, kiss him, sleep with him, was farfetched. But it had happened, and the time had been good. He hadn't felt like this in centuries. He hadn't even thought he was still able to feel like this at all. There were still emotions; and there was still the ability to hurt.
Pushing back the covers, Ryu rose from the bed and padded over to the window. He opened the blinds and looked at the approaching dawn. Well, the memories would keep him happy for a few nights, but he knew the realization that this had been just an interlude would come back with a vengeance.
But he had lived this life so far, had overcome so much pain and soul-breaking emotions; he would survive this, too, somehow.
tbc...