Kaneda did not like being alone with Mizuki. From the moment he had met him, he had marked him as the kind of person that he would not want to be alone with. His actions from that point on (especially when they were alone together) only served to confirm his initial judgment. So when Akazawa got up and left for the bathroom, leaving him and Mizuki alone at the table, he almost got up and followed him.
"So, Ichirou-kun," Mizuki purred, smiling slyly across the table. "How have you been?"
"Call me Kaneda, please," he replied curtly, purposefully avoiding Mizuki's eyes. "And I'm fine."
Mizuki laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them, cocking his head slightly to the side. Slowly he reached out his foot and began to slide it against Kaneda's ankle. Kaneda kicked it away. "I'm only here for dinner," he asserted, as firmly as he could manage. "I– I don't care what you all have planned for a– after dinner, but I won't be participating." He had made the mistake of making direct eye contact with Mizuki, and now those eyes were boring into his soul. He swallowed hard and silently cursed Akazawa for leaving him alone; no, for bringing him here in the first place. He cursed Mizuki too, for being so creepy and slinky. And he cursed Yuuta, for good measure, for being in the kitchen and not out here, providing a distraction.
"That's too bad, Ichirou-kun. We were so looking forward to your company. Are you sure we can't persuade you?"
"Quite sure." Kaneda could guess at what sorts of things would constitute Mizuki's 'persuasion,' and he really didn't want to deal with that. He darted his eyes towards the hallway; what the hell was taking Akazawa so long?
Mizuki leaned across the table and took Kaneda's hands in his own. "Won't you indulge me, Ichirou-kun?" Mizuki lifted Kaneda's hand to his mouth and lightly kissed it before wrapping his tongue around one finger and gently sucking on it. Disgusted, Kaneda tried to pull his hand away, but Mizuki's delicate fingers belied his grip. Kaneda squirmed uncomfortably in his chair as Mizuki's tongue swirled around his fingertips, each movement clearly dripping with innuendo.
"Oi!" Kaneda nearly melted with relief as Mizuki let go of his hand and Akazawa took up his seat beside him. "Save it. He doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to." Turning to Kaneda, he added softly: "But on that same note, Ichirou, I wish you would."
"I hate you," Kaneda whispered flatly.
Mizuki, growing bored now that he could no longer play with Kaneda, leaned his chair back to peek into the kitchen. "Yuuta-kuuuun? Is dinner ready yet?" he drawled, sounding very much the spoiled brat (which, arguably, he was). Yuuta appeared in the doorway, brandishing a large kitchen knife.
"When it is ready, you will know, because I will bring it out, princess." He turned and smiled at Akazawa and Kaneda, mouthing the words 'a few more minutes.'
Yuuta did like cooking, Kaneda knew because he had told him. But he liked even more to play these little games with Mizuki. Well, if that was the nature of their relationship, Kaneda did not feel that it was his place to criticize it. (He would admit te knife had made him nervous though— if they were going to kill each other, he would much rather they do it when he wasn't around.)
♥
The food was excellent: some kind of western (Mizuki liked western food) noodles and sauce with meat that Kaneda could not for the life of him remember the name of. The meal itself was... less awkward than it could have been. Yuuta seemed to prove distracting enough that Mizuki could only stare at Kaneda for brief intervals throughout. Soon enough, everyone was finished, save Akazawa, who was taking his sweet time picking every last morsel off of his plate. Mizuki was glaring pointedly at him. Yuuta seemed to think it was amusing, shooting knowing grins at Kaneda behind Mizuki's back.
When Akazawa started to scrape the sauce off of his plate with his fork, that was enough. Mizuki jumped up and slammed his hands against the table. Kaneda jumped.
"Can I take everyone's plate?" he ground out, still glaring. Yuuta looked rather shocked at this offer to help. Akazawa grudgingly took a last bite and handed his plate, slowly, to Mizuki, who was tapping his foot in impatience. He took the plates out to the kitchen and returned in a second, a devious smirk on his face. His favorite part of the evening was coming.
"Shall we?" he purred, gesturing for them to quit the dining room in favor of the bedroom. Akazawa looked beseechingly at Kaneda.
"Ichirou..."
Kaneda shook his head, noting that it was much easier to be adamant if he kept his eyes shut.
"Yuuta-kun." Kaneda was surprised to hear that Mizuki was not calling his name. He opened his eyes to see Yuuta still seated across from him, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest.
"I've decided that I don't want to do this after all."
"Mizuki's face contorted in anger for a split second before reconfiguring itself into a smug smirk. "Fine," he muttered. "Yoshirou."
Akazawa shot one last apologetic glance at Kaneda— who was not looking at him— and followed Mizuki out of the room.
"Come on," Yuuta suggested, once they were out of earshot. "Who needs them?" He grinned as Kaneda followed him through the kitchen and out the back door. He took a lighter and a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, removing one and replacing the pack. Kaneda grimaced.
"Oh, I wish you wouldn't. Yuuta..."
"Hey." Yuuta held the cigarette in his mouth as he clicked the lighter into life, cupping his hand around the tiny flame to shield it from the wind. "I live with Mizuki, alright? Don't deny me my nicotine." He took the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaling smoke with a contented sigh. Kaneda coughed.
"But— but you love him, don't you? I thought..." he trailed off, looking concerned.
"Oh, I do!" Yuuta laughed. "Do you think I could stand him otherwise? I know you can't."
"That's— that's not true..." Kaneda was a horrible liar, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "He's... he's alright..."
Yuuta chuckled. "If you're going to lie, at least do it well. It's all right if you don't like him, I won't disown you."
"Oh..."
"So how're things with you'n Akazawa?"
"Good," Kaneda replied brightly. "Err, well, I thought they were good..." His face darkened quickly. "But I guess, well, he's in there having sex, and I'm not, so things... are less good than I thought." He laughed half-heartedly.
"What, you really think he'd do that?" Yuuta scoffed.
"What? Who?"
"Akazawa! You think he'd do that to you?" Yuuta smiled. "He's in love with you, kid."
"Don't call me kid, I'm older than you."
"My deepest apologies."
"What do you mean by that, though? I mean, he went with him... and they used to—"
"Well sure they used to, because they were stupid and it was convenient. Trust me though, Mizuki won't be getting any tonight." He laughed. "He'll be so pissed."
"Who'll be pissed?" Akazawa appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around Kaneda, giving him a light kiss on the ear.
"Ah— where'd you come from?"
"Door."
"See Kaneda? What'd I tell you, hm?" Yuuta grinned knowingly.
"What did you tell him?"
"Where's Mizuki?" Yuuta asked, conveniently changing the subject. Akazawa chuckled.
"Throwing a hissy fit in his room because he's not getting laid tonight. Where else?"
"Of course, of course." Yuuta took another drag on his cigarette and snickered. "Guess I'd better tend to him, then, eh?"
"Crazy-ass bastard," Akazawa mumbled, punching Yuuta playfully in the shoulder. He leaned down and nuzzled his face into the crook of Kaneda's neck, making him blush. "You don't talk about me when I'm not around, do you?"
"Er..."
"Not a word," Yuuta laughed. "He didn't say a word." Kaneda blushed harder.
Akazawa nipped softly at Kaneda's skin, which sent shivers down his spine, like it always did. "Ready to go?" he whispered.
"That's so rude!" Kaneda whispered back, though to be honest the way Akazawa was touching him was making him anxious to get back anyway.
"Nah, I'm sure Yuuta has to get his pussywhipped self into bed," Akazawa grinned, purposely raising his voice so that Yuuta could hear him. Yuuta pulled a wry smile.
"Now how do you suppose I'm pussywhipped, given that there's no pussy in our relationship?"
"You prefer cockwhipped, then?"
"I do, although I will attest that I am not," Yuuta grinned, lightly blowing smoke in Akazawa's face. "You two go ahead home, I have my spoiled toddler to take care of."
