Fleeting Inspiration
by Anna Sartin

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Chapter 44: The Cheetah and the Antlion

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By the end of the day Shuichi was an expert on playing "The Neko Game".

The game was Eiri's creation, and had only one rule: Shuichi could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't take his cat ears off. He silently thanked his lucky stars for the Loveless booth he'd purchased them from. It was the first time ever in their relationship the dominate blond had let him take the reins in their lovemaking, so the singer took his time to explore his lover's body slowly, lovingly, worshipfully. He loved the sounds that his partner made as he explored each new area of his body with his hands and mouth; knowing that he was the cause of those sounds was the ultimate aphrodisiac. But despite the fact that Yuki was being uncharacteristically generous with his body, Shuichi wasn't sure if the older man was willing or comfortable with letting himself be penetrated and he didn't want to ruin the moment by pushing his luck. So he tried (unsuccessfully) to ride his lover. Doing so proved to be far too painful and difficult with his lack of experience. He couldn't prepare himself properly, and his lover's considerable size only added to the problem. Yuki had laughed at him (he might have been proud of himself for getting the blond to laugh had it not been due to his own ineptitude) and told him that if he was going to be on top he might as well do it the proper way.

What transpired next had been nothing short of incredible.

Shuichi didn't have his partner's stamina, so he gave it everything he had in a race to see who would finish first. To his amazement Yuki reached his peak before him, another first in their relationship. Afterwards he lay curled up on his side, still in awe of how different being on top was. Being surrounded by the warmth and tightness of Eiri's passage, the struggle to find and correctly hit that secret spot hidden within him that actually made the usually stoic man cry out with passion and urge him on, and the look on his face as he came... That look was going to give him a hard-on for weeks. I want to do that again... I want to see that look again.

Eiri, meanwhile, lay in a haze of contentment on the other side of the bed, planning on stashing the cat ears his little lover was still wearing in the drawer with the flavored lube, furry handcuffs and other things that they used to liven up their sex life. He was also planning on buying the brat a collar with a PROPERTY OF EIRI YUKI name tag. He'd definitely developed a fetish for cat boys.

. . .

The next day Tatsuha was back with Kurosaki in tow. When he questioned his brother as to why he hadn't done any packing the previous day, Eiri told him to mind his own business and put him to work cleaning up the mess he'd left in the living room. Originally Eiri had wanted him to take his shit home, but Shuichi pointed out that since they were giving him the apartment anyway they might as well just set everything aside since it would just end up back here anyway.

"You sure have a lot of dirty magazines," Shuichi commented as he helped sort through the piles of books and magazines scattered all over the floor. "Especially for a monk! Look at these! Playboy... Playgirl... Plaything?"

Tatsuha snatched the pile from him and shoved everything in a box.

"Hey what's this?" the singer asked, holding up a large, hardbound book titled The Gay Man's Kama Sutra.

"Will you hurry up and get that shit picked up?" Eiri scolded from the other end of the room, but Shuichi was already flipping through the pages, enthralled. It was filled with graphic pictures of men in various sexual positions, along with detailed descriptions of how to perform them. Pretty soon Tatsuha had joined him and the two were comparing them and sharing their experiences.

Eiri rolled his eyes as he boxed up Shuichi's CDs and Playstation games and stacked the box on top of a box of books. They were never going to get finished. "Hey what's this?" he heard Shuichi ask.

"According to this book gay men come in five types," Tatsuha explained. "The bear, the antelope, the lion, the snake and the cheetah. Aniki and I are the antelope."

Shuichi skimmed over the entry for the Antelope.

...Their sleekness belies a hidden strength and they possess great stamina. As lovers they will be persistent and lovemaking sessions with these men will be extended and demanding...

Shuichi blushed as he remembered yesterday. Yuki definitely possessed great stamina.

Antelopes are very difficult to hold down, and they will range far and wide in search for sexual adventure and new pastures. The maintenance of long-term relationships is not the antelope's strong point, so if you share pleasure with one, then you will have to accept that he will also probably be seeking different excitements elsewhere.

Shuichi felt chill run down his spine. That sounded exactly like Yuki when they'd first met. But he had changed since then, right? He was committed to their relationship; they were buying a house together! Still... the thought made him glance over at his lover doubtfully. Yuki wasn't exactly thrilled when I first asked him if we were buying the house together...The look on his boyfriend's face had been that of a deer caught in the headlights: frightened and confused. Shuichi shifted his gaze back to the book in his hands and stared blankly at the open page. What if in the long run what they had together wasn't enough to satisfy Yuki? He had never been in a long-term relationship before Shuichi had come along (not that he knew of, anyway). The popular author had had his pick of lovers every night, and Shuichi wondered if Yuki would one day regret giving that up to be with him. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of such thoughts. Yuki loved him, and that was that!

He swallowed his insecurities and read the next entry. The lion was noted for being strong and physically intimidating...

His face is often fixed in an expression of suspicion and challenge, which some can find intimidating. Life is serious business for the lion and he will not be noted for his humor. As with the lion on the plains of Africa, you need to treat this man with caution, for his monstrous strength and occasional ferocity may one day be used to dominate you in ways that you may not enjoy. A tamed lion, though, can be loyal and protective. He will defend his territory and his mate against all threats, with fearsome determination.

"That sounds more like Yuki," he said, pointing to the entry.

"Lions are more muscular," Tatsuha replied. "Aniki's build is too slender."

"But he's still really strong," Shuichi responded. "Especially when he gets mad. And the lion's personality matches him exactly."

"You think so?"

"Yep. I think he's got the body of the antelope and the personality of the lion."

"Will you two get to work?" Eiri asked, annoyed. It was bad enough that they were slacking off in front of him, but did they have to talk about him like he wasn't there?

"I wonder what type I am?" Shuichi mused.

"Oh, you're definitely the cheetah," Tatsuha said. "My honey is too."

Shuichi read the entry for the cheetah:

This man will retain a youthful build throughout his life, willowy, slight and with more than a touch of androgyny...

"What's "androgyny"?" he asked.

"I means you look like a girl," Tatsuha teased.

"I do not!"

The cheetah's body and face will be free from hair, or the hair he does have will be soft and downy. His face will be smooth and pretty rather than handsome, with large, questioning eyes. For all their innocence, those eyes will speak of the promise of a thousand pleasures to come. The Cheetah seems too lightweight to be threatening, but this is misleading. As a lover, the Cheetah will give you all the pleasure of innocent youth with the depth of eroticism of an experienced lover.

"You're definitely the cheetah," Eiri said, reading over his boyfriend's shoulder.

Shuichi blushed and closed the book. "Well, you're an antlion!" he informed Eiri, turning around to poke him in the chest.

"A what?" Tatsuha asked, scratching his head.

"An antlion. Yuki's a combination of the antelope and the lion, so he's an antlion!"

"Antlion? Isn't that another animal?" Tatsuha asked.

"Is it?"

"I think so..."

"It's an insect," Eiri informed them. "It digs sand traps to catch other bugs to eat."

"Oh, you mean doodlebugs!" said Tatsuha. "I've seen those things before."

"Can I borrow this?" Shuichi asked Tatsuha, holding up The Gay Man's Kama Sutra.

Tatsuha nodded. "Sure."

. . .

"What's left?" Tatsuha asked when they'd finished the living room. Shuichi had disappeared into the kitchen to make tea.

"I could use some help packing the study," Eiri admitted, as he sat with his feet propped up on the coffee table. "And there's still Riku's room to do, too." The bedroom he and Shuichi shared also needed done, but he preferred to do that alone. There were certain things he didn't want his brother or his lover to see, like the poster of Shuichi he'd strategically hidden in his closet.

Shuichi came in carrying three cups of tea on a tray, and nearly dropped it as he stubbed his toe on a box. "OW!"

"Don't drop that!" Eiri warned. "You make a mess in here and I'll mop it up with your head!"

"I vote doing the kid's room!" Tatsuha said. "You guys can pack the study!"

"Wouldn't it be faster if we all worked together?" Shuichi asked, setting the tray down on the coffee table.

"Last time I helped Aniki pack his books he yelled at me for a week for getting fingerprints on them. I finally had to buy him new ones just to get him off my back."

"Fingerprints?" Shuichi asked, giving Eiri an odd look.

"He had rice flour all over his hands," Eiri replied. "He got the shit all over the place."

"I promised I'd never touch your stupid books again and I meant it!" With that Tatsuha grabbed his stuffed rabbit and headed for Riku's room.

"Tatsuha, wait!" Shuichi called after him. "What about your tea?"

Eiri got up and stretched, deciding what he really needed was a cigarette. He still had half a pack stashed in the glove compartment of his car, and if he hurried he could go down there and have a smoke before Shuichi came down to check up on him.

"I'll be back," he told the singer as he headed for the front door.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some air," he lied, hoping Shuichi didn't try to follow him. He'd made it about halfway to the front door when he heard the door to Riku's room slam, causing The Book taped to the ceiling to come loose and fall on his head.

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End chapter forty-four

Author's note:Special thanks to Spinsterhood Is Powerful for their assistance in researching "The Gay Man's Kama Sutra".