Collateral Chapter 3
Yuki opened his car door with unsteady hands. The familiar smell of rich upholstery and stale cigarette smoke greeted him as he slid into the driver's seat. He thrust his car key at the ignition, but his hands shook so badly he only succeeding in stabbing at the steering column.
The novelist heaved an impatient sigh and ran a stiff-fingered hand through his hair. His head reeled as if he was drunk. Torn between his urgency to leave and the need to calm down, his heart throbbed against his ribs. He was alone now, but someone could show up to stop him at any time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the clutter scattered across the passenger seat. They were mostly Shuichi's things—a small denim jacket draped across the seat back, a few candy wrappers, even a wadded pair of dirty socks. A pile of CDs adorned the seat itself. The seductive faces of teen idols and rock stars peered up at Yuki from behind scratched jewel cases.
A small smile curled Yuki's lips. Messy kid. Always leaving his stuff around. Somehow the mundane mess soothed him. It was as though the ordeal with Tohma could be no more than a bad dream when he was faced with the humdrum reality of soda stains on the floor mats.
Yuki sifted through the CD pile, breezing past the Nittle Grasper albums from which he caught a glimpse of Tohma's piercing gaze. Just as he'd hoped, the latest Bad Luck album was also in the pile. Yuki slid the disc into his car stereo and a moment later, the warm sound of Shuichi's voice crooned in his ears. The ache in his chest eased and he settled back in his seat.
Yuki listened to his placebo lover until the fog in his head began to clear. He could almost hear the real Shuichi singing along to his album from the passenger seat. With steady hands, Yuki pushed the key into the ignition and his luxury car purred to life. He turned up the volume and Shuichi's voice guided him home.
"I'm hooooome, Yuki!" Shuichi announced as he bounded through the front door of their apartment.
The lights inside were on, and his lover's navy blue Mercedes was parked in the driveway. Shuichi knew Yuki got there first, but there was no reply. Shuichi couldn't smell dinner cooking, which was a disappointment, too, but he was getting home late. Maybe there were leftovers in the fridge…
The singer hummed to himself on the way to the kitchen when he heard the muffled sound of the shower running. He abandoned the promise of Yuki's cooking in favor of Yuki himself and hustled to the bathroom.
The door was slightly ajar and Shuichi poked his head inside. "Yuuu—" he began to call, but the sight of his boyfriend halted the name on his lips.
Yuki stood under the spray of the shower, but he wasn't scrubbing himself; he wasn't even moving. He just stared at the tiles on the wall in front of him, hands at his sides. He wore a blank look on his face that Shuichi had never seen before, like a ghost.
"I'm home, Yuki!" Shuichi announced cheerfully. He couldn't stand to watch Yuki in that eerie reverie a moment longer.
Yuki startled and turned his eyes toward Shuichi. Yuki looked at him stunned, as if he didn't recognize him and then his expression softened. "Ahh," he said, "Welcome home."
"Don't mind if I join you, right?" Shuichi said. He flashed his lover a brazen wink and began to strip off his clothes. The two men often took showers together and this looked like the perfect time to distract Yuki from dark thoughts.
"Sure," Yuki said. His eyes lingered on Shuichi with a look of unspoken longing as thought it had been a long time since they last saw each other.
Shuichi pushed his concern into the pit of his stomach. It worried him to see his lover like this, but he knew Yuki would only close himself off if he asked what was wrong. Shuichi knew from experience that being his normal cheerful self was the best way to see Yuki smile again.
Shuichi peeled off his socks and blue briefs and stepped gingerly into the shower behind Yuki. "Did you get a lot of writing done today?" he asked brightly. He wrapped his arms behind Yuki's neck and leaned up on tiptoe to nibble Yuki's ear, but the spray of water distracted him first.
"Aaah! Why's the water so cold?" he gasped. Maneuvering past Yuki's bare hips, Shuichi stretched to turn up the heat. The water was frigid when he first got in, but Yuki had been just standing in it that way. Weird. Shuichi turned the knob and the usual haze of steam began to fill the room.
"Just some revisions," Yuki said. "I was at the hospital most of the day. Just for routine check-up stuff."
Shuichi nodded, but fell suddenly silent. He'd spotted a faint red mark on the side of Yuki's neck that looked suspiciously like a love bite, but he wasn't the one who put it there. Yuki hated hickies or any sex mark that was visible when clothed, and this one was right at the angle of his shoulder and neck. Shuichi told himself it was just part of the hospital's tests that left a faint bruise, but insecurities about Yuki's faithfulness began to trickle back.
While Shuichi was lost in thought, Yuki squeezed a dollop of peach-scented bath gel onto a loofah and worked it into lather. "Let me wash you," he said. A familiar suggestive smile had returned to the author's face and it was enough to make Shuichi put his worries aside for the time.
"Mmm. Sounds good" Shuichi said, pressing his lips against Yuki's in a kiss. "It's been a long day."
Shuichi began to describe his day at work. Bad Luck had been dragged on an especially grueling photo shoot for their next album cover that afternoon. The photographer was demanding and kept the band members out late, leaving them exhausted. While the singer prattled on, Yuki listened with his usual silent attentiveness. He nodded and asked prompting questions at the right moments, all the while rubbing Shuichi down with the sudsy bath puff.
"…But the photographer told us to do it anyway," Shuichi rambled on, "And Hiro was, like—Aaaah! Yuki!" The singer's eyes went wide and he let out a squeal in shock when he felt the roaming bath puff slide between his buttocks.
Yuki just gave a wolfish smile and continued to rub his boyfriend. He put his finger against a thin edge of the loofah and pressed it against the wet cleft of Shuichi's backside, nudging against the opening there.
"H-hey," the singer protested weakly, "Are you even listening?" A rose-colored blush of arousal crept across his cheeks in spite of himself. Shuichi found that whether Yuki was listening or not, he'd completely lost his train of thought.
"Hmm?" Yuki said in a calm and wickedly innocent voice. "Did I do something wrong?"
"W-Well, it's rude to just--!" Shuichi panted, unable to finish his sentence. Yuki kissed his partner's cheek at the corner of his eye.
"Ahh!" Shuichi gasped. The bath puff fell to the floor, as now it was Yuki's fingertips that pressed into his slippery entrance. The singer abandoned all attempts at conversation and clutched at Yuki's shoulders.
Yuki took Shuichi's chin in his hand and tipped his face upward for a kiss. Water flowed over them like rain as their tongues caressed. Shuichi relaxed his body, inviting Yuki's probing fingers into deeper access. His hardness throbbed in response, brushing against Yuki's thigh. Water trickled down their wet hair and faces, flowing into their open mouths. It made their lips refreshing and they drank from each other's kisses.
It felt like touching souls, not mouths. Shuichi's worries about Yuki's fidelity dissolved like sugar in warm water. Yuki was taciturn with spoken words, but his kisses were like poems. They whispered of urgency and desire, but above all, unquenchable love.
Shuichi felt Yuki's arms around him. Before he knew what was happening, the water stopped and an arm hooked behind his knees and lifted him up. Yuki held Shuichi's slender frame in his arms like a groom carrying a new bride. Still sopping wet and dripping across the floor, Yuki stepped out of the shower, across the bathroom, and into the carpeted hallway.
"Y-Yuki! A towel…" Shuichi protested inarticulately. He clutched his arms tight around Yuki's neck and shoulders. He felt giddy with the rush of being carried for the first time, but also guilty for dripping across Yuki's expensive carpeting.
Yuki did not pause, but continued to carry Shuichi down the hall towards the bedroom. As he walked, Yuki nudged back a sodden lock of hair from Shuichi's brow with his nose. "No need," he said, brushing a light kiss on the damp skin of Shuichi's forehead. Shuichi's cheeks colored and he nuzzled his wet hair against Yuki's neck.
Crisp cotton sheets drew moisture from Shuichi's skin when Yuki laid him down on the bed. Shuichi gave a contented purr as Yuki prowled over him on all fours, landing hungry kisses on his throat. The hot mouth roved downward and Shuichi bit his lower lip when it found the stiffening peak of his nipple.
Yuki's bangs tickled cold and wet on Shuichi's chest, but the rest of his body was feverishly hot. Shuichi gripped his fingers tightly behind Yuki's back. His lover's skin was warm and slick; the dampness felt like sweat as though they'd already been making love for hours.
They explored each other's bodies with ravenous mouths and restless hands for what felt like a sweet eternity, but still Yuki had made no move to go further. Aching with impatience and arousal, Shuichi sat up in bed and slid onto his hands and knees with cat-like grace. He spread his knees wide, dropping his hips low towards the mattress and cast an alluring gaze over his shoulder at Yuki behind him.
This ought to tempt him, Shuichi thought slyly. He gave a winsome look from beneath the thick eyelashes and fixed his mouth in a coquettish pout. A year of experience in his lover's bed taught Shuichi more than just a few tricks, not the least of which was how aroused Yuki got when Shuichi was down on all fours. Something about Shuichi crouching prone brought out the hunter in Yuki.
Tonight was no exception and Yuki slid behind his partner, stroking his parted thighs approvingly. Shuichi tensed his body as he felt Yuki's fingertips brush past his straining erection to cup the hanging ache of his balls. He whimpered helplessly and clenched his eyes shut, knotting his fingers in the sheets. It always made Shuichi feel naughty and exposed when Yuki caressed his balls from behind like that.
Shuichi's whole body was tense and eagerly ready for that first delicious penetration, but he gasped when he felt the soft wetness of a tongue probe him from behind instead of a hard cock.
"W-wait…" Shuichi panted in insincere protest. The light pink blush of arousal across his cheeks blazed scarlet.
Yuki breathed in the sweet fruity after-scent of the shower gel on Shuichi's skin. "Your peach tastes like peaches," he commented with a lewd smile.
Shuichi squirmed with embarrassment and arousal. The position was perfect for enticing Yuki, but it left him feeling desperately exposed and vulnerable. Spread helplessly, Shuichi could feel Yuki's lustful gaze scrutinizing his most secret parts. Yuki's teasing comment made his cheeks burn even hotter.
"Yuki, you're so--!" he began, but that wicked tongue found his sensitive puckered flesh again and lapped at it tenderly. "So…" he tried to continue, "S-ohhhh! " Yuki pressed the tip of his tongue inside Shuichi's entrance and Shuichi abandoned attempts to protest, his words dissolving into helpless moans.
Shuichi clenched his eyes shut and gripped the sheets in tight fists as he struggled against another wave of arousal. His backside timidly clenched against the probing intruder, but Yuki continued to lick him salaciously, occasionally darting the tip of his tongue inside.
It took Shuichi a while to get used to being lapped at that way. The first time it had taken plenty of coaxing reassurance from Yuki that he wanted to lick him, that this place on Shuichi's skin was as clean as any other after a shower.
Now, self-consciousness melted into unabashed desire. Shuichi relaxed his body and gave a throaty moan as he felt Yuki give him a long broad lick. He jutted his hips backward invitingly, reveling in the hungry way Yuki licked and sucked at his sensitive flesh like a succulent delicacy.
By the time Yuki flipped him onto his back, Shuichi was half-delirious with arousal. He threw his head back and cried out Yuki's name when Yuki finally pushed into him with the satisfying hardness he craved. He clawed at Yuki's back with neatly-trimmed fingernails, arching his back and moaning in time with his partner's thrusts.
This was what Shuichi wanted most--the raw power of Yuki's body over his, stroking and slamming inside him. When Yuki craved him and fully conquered him, Shuichi knew he was the center of Yuki's world. The energy of lean flexing muscle, the throbbing hardness buried inside him, and burning intensity of Yuki's wolf-like eyes—they all belonged to him completely. Sensation overwhelmed Shuichi and he gave himself entirely to Yuki in return, holding nothing back.
"Come with me, Yuki," he panted, already near the breaking point, "Come…"
Yuki's damp hair hung over his eyes concealing his facial expression. Without pausing from his rhythmic thrusting, he said, "I can't."
"Sure you can, babe," Shuichi whimpered impatiently. He bucked his hips upward in time with Yuki's thrusts.
Yuki stopped rocking his hips, but stayed buried deep inside his lover. He swept his pale hair back with one hand, revealing a face flushed with arousal and exertion. He looked a little peeved, or maybe embarrassed. "No," he said, "I mean, I already… did before you got home."
Shuichi blinked at him. Yuki made a back and forth motion with his left hand in explanation.
"Jerk!" Shuichi pouted. "Why didn't you wait for me?" He squirmed on the mattress, his body aching.
"Well, you said you were going to be home late!" Yuki said in his own defense.
Shuichi slid his hands up Yuki's back, curving around his lover's shoulders and pulling him back over him. "You'd better make me come extra hard, then, 'Yuki-sama'," he whispered.
Shuichi had no intention of giving up. He hated the idea of one-sided sex, even if only one of them was in the mood. If the ecstasy of their love-making wasn't mutual, he'd rather have nothing at all. He leaned up and licked the edge of Yuki's ear. Yuki took the bait and resumed his smooth thrusts with a lupine smile.
The flame of Shuichi's desire had cooled just enough for him to begin afresh with Yuki. He traced his fingers down his lover's sweat-slick back, caressing the hard muscles there and caught Yuki's gaze with his own violet eyes. He felt the connection spark between them, lust smoldering in Yuki's eyes.
They clenched and moaned, thrust and gripped, rutting like beasts in the tangled sheets.
When Shuichi could tell his lover was at the point of no return, he clenched his body tight around the thickness thrusting inside him. He threw his head back and his cherry-red hair splashed across the pillow, framing his face like a halo as his pleasure unraveled.
Shuichi cried out his passion as he released hot white strands across his belly. He called Yuki's name--his name and words of love too deep to utter under any circumstance but the thick intoxication of climax.
A choking groan of response erupted from between Yuki's clenched teeth. The moan swelled into a ragged cry and Yuki's entire body went tense as he climaxed inside Shuichi's warmth.
Weak with exhaustion and utterly spent, the two men fell into each other's arms. Far beyond mere words, they listened to one another's panting breath in the darkness. Shuichi cradled Yuki's head on his shoulder with motherly tenderness, kissing the salty sheen of perspiration on Yuki's brow.
The moon was climbing higher in the sky outside the bedroom window when Shuichi heard Yuki's breath slide into the slow heaviness of sleep. Shuichi smiled to himself and swept his lover's hair back from his face so he could watch the Yuki's tranquil innocence as he slept.
Bliss.
Then the phone rang and pierced the silence.
