Disclaimer: I by no means own any of the rights to the Clamp manga story of Legal Drug or its characters.

Second Sunday

By Crystal Delphina

Completed: October 21, 2008

Part III of IV

Saiga typically prided himself on two things: one, being able to fall asleep nearly anywhere (the one time in an elevator had been a classic) and two, the ability to read people fairly accurately. That was partially the reason why he enjoyed picking on Kudou so much; he always knew when it was the absolute worse time to needle the younger man – making the effect that much more enjoyable. He had the ability to distinguish when the two teenagers in the store were truly cross with each other or when they were just bickering as usual. But their behavior that day was a whole new realm of odd that he had yet to substantially observe and classify.

If he had been forced to provide an immediate analysis, he would have hesitantly ventured that they were fighting. From all indications they were following the classic patterns for a Himura-Kudou stand off: glares, a well executed silent treatment, and flicking each other off when Kakei's back was turned. However, there were other things too that threw the classic diagnosis out the window; Kudou wasn't the one glaring or even cursing Himura under his breath. In fact, in an unforeseen reversal, the darker haired boy was the one performing these typical behaviors. Further confusing Saiga, if it wouldn't be so downright abnormal and outright implausible, he'd even go as far as to say that Kudou was…well…flirting with Himura. Every time that Himura would look up from his task and look around the store, it almost looked as if Kudou were batting his eyelashes at him. Was that even possible? No, he had to have been imagining it. But after the 'imagined' incident, Himura would quickly resume his work, his face struggling to mimic an expression somewhere between murderous and distraught. Meanwhile, not a single hair looked out of place on Kudou as he continued along in his work - whistling mind you. He was the picture of saintly perfection: he wouldn't dare hold ill will towards his co-worker much less tease him in some fashion.

Saiga was utterly confused with the whole affair. It was simply impossible for his head to wrap around the idea that either boy would be acting in the fashion that they were unless there was some good reason. He was sure he was missing the crucial detail that would make everything fall into place, but no matter how much he wracked his head he just couldn't put his finger on or put a name to it. He thoughtfully took a drag of his lit cigarette as he put his feet up on the counter, leaning back in his chair. Kakei was in his office sorting through papers and had left him to look over the brats as they finished rearranging and cleaning up the store. However his 'looking over' of them had resulted in the observations of unusual conduct, which now lead to his deep pondering. "Gah," he grumbled quietly. The pain in his head just wasn't worth it. He decided that his time was much better spent sleeping - especially in light of all the strenuous work he had been forced to perform that day - and closed his eyes. The dark glasses made it impossible to tell if he were awake or asleep anyway.

Kakei would be out to let them go for the day soon and until then he was getting some shut eye. The brats could watch themselves and play their stupid mind games with each other without his supervision.

--

If only Saiga knew half of what was actually going on. No, he wasn't imagining things; he had indeed seen Kazahaya bat his eyelashes at Rikuo. But that was only in the midst of licking his lips and letting his mouth part in a fashion that was quite suggestive while his golden irises darkened a shade in a lustful fashion. Or maybe that was just Rikuo projecting. Really, the whole affair was maddening and he was very close to either beating his head against one of the metal shelves on his aisle or dragging Kazahaya upstairs, with little thought or concern as to whether he would be fired or not. But damnit, Rikuo prided himself on quite a few personal characteristics, and he wanted to keep self-restraint as one of them.

Stupid self-restraint.

He was not going to let some stupid twerp get the better of him, even if said stupid twerp had somehow managed to transform into a seductive drugstore-male-siren in the span of 15 minutes. Who would have ever known the 'saint' had it in him? What had he done to deserve such torture? Really, he had only teased Kazahaya a bit. Of course he had been just as torn about having to leave to go back to work as the empath, but he also knew that both of them weren't interested in getting their pay docked for the day after all the hard work they'd been forced to endure. A large part of him had insisted he ravish his roommate against the kitchen counter all night, especially at the prospect of things continuing on the course they seemed to have been taking. But thankfully rationality had kicked in saving them their jobs.

Fucking rationality.

He was cursing himself now for having caught a momentary glimpse of the clock above the kitchen sink during their grinding. If only he hadn't been so observant.

Fucking observational skills.

But he still didn't see why he was forced to suffer the wrath of Kazahaya, although this was quite an interesting form of retaliation he had chosen to pursue. In fact, while he preferred the implications of his gestures and demeanor, he'd almost prefer to have the brunette irate and attempting to ignore him. Then perhaps he wouldn't be so… flustered by the other boy's actions. It was just such a rare side to see of the shorter male and Rikuo remained unsure of exactly how to respond to the forthcoming nature that had been revealed.

Not that Kazahaya hadn't taken some initiatives in the progression of their physical relationship in the past few weeks, but the initiatives were minor in comparison to the act he was pulling off now. Before, he would tentatively reach out to touch Rikuo's hand or arm covertly while at work, or quickly kiss him in their apartment before briskly walking in the other direction. Rikuo had been downright astonished and consequently impressed when Kazahaya had actually started sneaking into his bed at night, despite the time when he had given up after the first initial attempt. Rikuo was kind enough to let him believe he had remained asleep though throughout the ruckus of him quickly getting up, the rustle of the curtain, his heavy footsteps on the floor, and the squeak of his bed when he jumped back onto it. But the easily embarrassed and timid blonde was the same young man who had forcibly rubbed against him in their shared kitchen, had pulled at his hair frantically to deepen their kiss, and had kissed him outside in one full swoop, his tongue invading long enough so Rikuo could taste the chocolate while fingers had grazed the nape of his neck, and had literally left Rikuo breathless from surprise.

He knew he shouldn't look. He knew it would only be asking for further trouble, but despite all reason, Rikuo's eyes rose ever so slightly from his chore of sweeping his half of the store to scan for any movement. The front of the store was still, considering Saiga was predictably asleep with an unlit cigarette dangling out of his mouth. For a brief moment, the dark haired boy pondered as to what his employer really saw in the other man considering he was seemingly asleep for half of their waking relationship…well – half of Kakei's waking hours. His gaze continued its panoramic sweep of the store moving to his left, pausing at each aisle and moving on when there was no sighting of golden-brown hair. His surveillance was slow and narrowed to ensure he scanned every surface – and perhaps vainly trying avoid the inevitable torture he was putting himself through – that he was completely unaware of the other boy's location until his eyes fell directly onto him. And there he was, on the opposite side of the store from Rikuo still in his technical 'half', but onto next section of the aisle. He had his broom - but he wasn't sweeping. Not that Rikuo's expression would have been a clear indicator of Kazahaya's actions, but the taller boy's jaw dropping from shock would have provided rather good evidence for speculation on the matter.

Rikuo's brain had to try and kickstart at least four times before it finally turned over and he was able to form a cohesive thought. His co-worker was…stroking the handle of his broomstick in a very suggestive manner while he intently looked at his victim. And all Rikuo could do was watch in horrified fascination as slow strokes on the wooden handle began to slightly increase in pace. Rikuo would have been willing to give up his supernatural powers to become an inanimate cleaning object at that moment.

That was it.

He was done.

Dark jade eyes locked with the golden gaze and Rikuo found himself unable to resist temptation any longer, a million thoughts racing through his head as to how to accomplish his task as soon as possible. He quickly propped his own broom up against the shelf beside him, and began walking the short distance to his tormentor. He raced through the options in his head: pushing him up against a shelf and starting where they had left off in the kitchen, dragging him down to the cold laminate floor in the midst of kissing and ignoring the dirt pile beside their heads, grabbing him by the apron and simply marching out of the store with the shorter man in tow choosing to ignore any protests from either him or the men that paid them. Really, anything at this point sounded fine and he wasn't in the position to be picky.

He noticed that when Kazahaya realized he was rapidly approaching him his golden eyes widened minutely. However, aside from that minor reaction he gave no indication of running either away or towards him. Rikuo was just lifting his fingers to grab the hand on the broomstick, intending to pull Kazahaya towards him to kiss him and stop that thoroughly maddening motion, when a horrible chain of events were set in motion spanning the total of 45 seconds, but ruining any chance for his plans. Just as his fingers were about to close over the pale wrist, a horrible crashing noise came from behind him.

His poor forgotten and abandoned broom and been precariously placed against the shelf due to his haste, and thus managed to maintain only momentary balance before swinging down towards the floor, deciding to knock into the shelf across from it and take down some carefully arranged bottles of nail polish. The resulting sound of some dozen or so small glass bottles along with the crack of the broom hitting the tiling caused the resting Saiga to awaken with a start and glance around the store, thinking perhaps his lover had decided to storm in. Although that hadn't been the immediate case, Kakei had in fact already been on his way to the store front and happened to step through the door just seconds after Saiga had stirred from his nap. Everyone froze in their spots looking towards the aisle that the racket originated from. This of course included Rikuo who was still about to grab for Kazahaya, but he had twisted his head to allow him to view his own mini disaster.

There was another small clink as the last nail polish hit the ground, rather loud in the otherwise silent store.

With a small sigh of gratitude, he was relieved to see that none of the nail polish bottles had broken though they were all scattered across the aisle. He would have to pick those up obviously, but that was a piece of cake compared to if any had broken. He swung his head back around to look at his prey with the intent to continue on his planned course of action when he realized there were three sets of eyes staring at him in confusion. Only one word managed to fight its way to the top of his conscious thoughts –

Fuck.

"Himura-kun, may I inquire as to what just happened?" He had opened his mouth to try and answer, though he wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, when Kakei continued with his inquisition without much pause. "And need I remind you that you just spent fifteen minutes earlier today arranging all of those bottles properly." Rikuo's mouth snapped shut, figuring an excuse right now would be a waste of air. Instead, he reluctantly turned back towards the mess, after providing Kazahaya with a seething glare, and began picking up the bottles of various hues of red. If there were gods, Rikuo only asked for two things at that moment: to find a way to punish Kazahaya as way of repayment for his last hour of torture and to finish the day as quickly as possible so as to possibly accomplish the aforementioned desire.

Damn idiots and their ability to frazzle nerves he didn't even know could be frazzled.

--

Kazahaya breathed a sigh of relief when Rikuo stepped away, even if he did direct a quite nasty glare at him first before his departure. To be quite honest with himself, he wasn't quite sure what he would have done if the broom hadn't fallen, Saiga hadn't risen from the dead, and Kakei hadn't decided to come out and check to see if his employees were actually doing their jobs. He admitted that perhaps with that last little stunt, he had gone partially over the edge of teasing the taller young man. He had been down right shameless. Up until then, the other small actions he had taken in the last hour could be written off as minor infractions with no true implications of anything more. But what he had done with the broomstick…

Truthfully, he had been looking to incite a strong reaction from Rikuo. He wanted to tempt the other boy and push him over an edge that would leave him with no choice but to throw down his towel in defeat. He had challenged Rikuo and it was a challenge he intended to win, even if his co-worker would never confess to such an unlikely defeat. But if managed to cause Rikuo to cave, to make him want Kazahaya so badly he was willing to attack him in the middle of the store, Kazahaya would take that as victory. And he had been so close, the victory literally within reach of his fingertips, if not for that damn broom of Rikuo's.

The thought of Rikuo's dark green eyes alight with determination as he approached him, of blatant desire, sent a chill racing through Kazahaya. Although normally he'd object to any type of public displays of affection anywhere outside the safe and confining walls of their apartment, the way Rikuo looked just then could have quickly convinced him to ignore any previous issues with locale; they could have been in the middle of Shibuya's main crosswalk for all he cared at that moment. If only…

"Kudou-kun, do you intend to stand there for the rest of the night?"

Kazahaya spun around to face his boss who was standing directly behind him and raised a hand to rub the back of his head in a sheepish gesture while he apologized, "Sorry Kakei. Just got distracted." He realized the error of his word choice when Kakei's eyes seemed to narrow into an impish expression of mirth. "I'm sure you did get distracted Kudou-kun." If he had really believed he would die from embarrassment, he might have tried to impale himself on his broom out of desperation but decided against the drastic measure. "Regardless," Kakei continued, unaware of his young charge's suicidal contemplations, "you have work to finish up yourself. Have you finished wiping your half of the shelves?"

Kazahaya gave a nod of his head.

"And finished sweeping your side?"

Another nod.

"And it looks like all of your displays are completed…"

Nod.

"And you turned in all of your paperwork regarding today's inventory correct? All of your counting of products was completed and recorded properly?"

A final nod.

"Then I guess you're done. Thanks for the good day of hard work." And with that, Kakei walked away towards the front to check in with Saiga.

The surprise of that decree immobilized Kazahaya. He never thought a single sentence could bring such a rush of euphoria. He'd been waiting all day long to hear those words – it felt as if he'd been waiting a few years actually – and here he was: free. He was finally free. He was half tempted to hug Kakei in his glee but refrained from the gesture that would undoubtedly cause Kakei to question his sanity. One of his hands began to fumble for the tie of his apron at his back. He turned his head slightly to see Rikuo still arranging the bottles, a frown marring his features most likely due to over hearing Kakei's decision. The sight of his roommate gave pause to his hurried movements.

There is a moment that every young man faces in life: It is that crucial instant where you can either gloat in victory in your rival's face, rubbing in the fact that you succeeded where they failed, and using their body as a human red carpet as you ascend to the gold-medal-winning tier. Or, you graciously take your prize but make sure your rival has equal opportunity to achieve the same essential end. Kazahaya was torn between dancing out of the front door of the store while making sure to stick his tongue out at his nemesis or…actually staying to help Rikuo finish.

Kazahaya was a better man than most.

He dropped his hand, leaving the apron tied, and walked the length of the aisle towards his co-worker who was crouched down in front of the display arranging nail polish bottles according to color. The grumble Rikuo made upon his arrival was quite audible. "What do you want?" For a second, Kazahaya bristled. If the moody boy was going to act like that, when he was about to be incredibly selfless and kind, he was considering rethinking his generous offer and just going back to the original plan of the dancing and blowing a raspberry for emphasis. Instead, he swallowed his anger and crouched down next to Rikuo in the aisle, out of sight of both of the other men in the store. "I wanted to see…" he began timidly, unsure how to continue. In all honesty, aside from concessions in offering to make dinner, neither of them had really been this kind to the other before in terms of work especially when they were in the middle of a competition with each other. "How much more do you have left to do?"

Rikuo eyed him suspiciously before checking the bottom label of a bottle to make sure of its color. "This, finish sweeping, and wiping that last shelf over there in the corner," he nodded his head to indicate the direction, as he finished gathering up the last few glass containers. Kazahaya thoughtfully mulled over the information before touching Rikuo's shoulder and giving a small smile. "I'll finish cleaning that shelf for you."

"Why?" he immediately asked gruffly, turning his head to look at him, the suspicion now on high alert. "What's in it for you?"

"It's called being nice, asshole."

"Yea…your 'niceness' is overwhelming. Calling me an asshole really helps support that argument."

The idea of waltzing out the door now was sorely tempting. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Look. Do you want my help or not?" Rikuo shrugged and turned back to making sure all the bottles were in place and all facing the right direction. "Whatever." He had been around Rikuo long enough to know that 'whatever' really meant 'yes', even if it was a fairly flippant one. He rose from his position, muttering about unappreciative jerks, but headed towards the dirty shelf anyway despite his complaints. After he rounded the corner, Rikuo lifted his head ever so slightly to look towards the direction his comrade had just disappeared to, and although he tried to stop it, he gave a small – miniscule – smile of appreciation. Perhaps Kazahaya's demonstration of charity could actually be enough for Rikuo to forgive his earlier trespasses that resulted in him being behind in his work in the first place. He certainly would have finished earlier, perhaps even before Kazahaya, if he hadn't found himself stopping every other minute to stare at him. Remembering that small fact helped him decide that he couldn't completely exonerate the shorter young man for his underhanded deeds quite yet.

Rikuo stood up in one fluid motion with his broom in hand, glad to have the damn nail polish display restored to its previous glory. His head now above the shelves, he had a clear view of the back of Kazahaya's head, the other teen removing boxes off the small remaining shelf and quickly wiping it down. Feeling eyes on him though, he turned around to see Rikuo smirking at him. He quickly calculated the appropriate response in his head when he realized Rikuo's smirk wasn't one of superiority but of barely contained mischief. He gave a small, coy, smile back, his amber eyes flickering in amusement and trying to properly convey a message to Rikuo. He was sure Rikuo had received it when the smirk widened and Kazahaya suddenly felt a surge of energy pulse between the two of them; it was the flirtation with desire the two of them had seemed to have been dancing around all day.

Rikuo's tongue flicked out to move across his bottom lip, an action that caught Kazahaya's immediate attention, while his hand tightened on his broom handle.

He smirked back at Rikuo, as he quickly ran the rag along the shelf one last time.

They both understood the message; the race to finish was on.

--

If Saiga had been confused before about Himura and Kudou's actions, he was fairly flabbergasted now. Although Kudou had been released from drugstore inventory prison earlier, he had seemingly stayed to help Himura finish as well, something that Saiga would never have imagined that he'd ever witness. For the past ten minutes, the two had made their best attempt to speed through their jobs while keeping in mind that if the work wasn't up to satisfactory completion, Kakei would make them do it again. Amongst Kudou's diligent speed wiping of the shelves and Himura managing to capture every dustball with his broom while darting back and forth across the aisles, they had done a fairly poor job in trying to mask the fleeting glances they sent each other every thirty seconds. He wasn't quite sure if it was to check the other's progress or… to check the other out. It looked as either scenario was plausible since occasionally after meeting gazes, they would both dutifully return to their task with more resolve and speed, while other times, the looks would linger and their respective automatic movements of wiping and sweeping halted completely until one of them would snap out of their shared daze.

As far as Saiga was concerned, the whole evening had turned into quite the ridiculous affair.

Now, Saiga made his best attempt to keep from chuckling at the two teenagers who stood in front of his lover, looking for all the world as if they'd just completed a 10K run instead of just the ten minute record setting cleaning. Both of their eyes seemed wider than normal and they were both extremely…fidgety. Kudou's eyes kept darting from trying to pay attention to Kakei and looking out of the corner of his eye to the other young man standing beside him. Meanwhile, Himura's hands kept unconsciously clenching. And despite their obvious excitement to be done for the day – or for Himura to be done since technically Kudou was now there of his own free will (literally and figuratively speaking, since Kakei wouldn't pay him for the additional time) – Kakei seemed to be enjoying prolonging their torture, a fact both teenagers were sorely aware of.

"So the aisles are done?"

"Yes," Himura replied shortly with a brisk nod of his head.

"All of your shelves wiped?"

"Yes."

"You sorted through the overstocked items and arranged them by date we need to sell them by?"

"Yes," he said tersely "you already signed off on that earlier in the day."

"Oh, did I?" Kakei replied innocently, going on with his mental checklist ignoring the hostile glares he received from both of his employees. "Must have forgotten. Did you place all the empty boxes in the recycling containers?"

"I did that earlier too. You know that," he retorted, quickly reaching the end of his rope. Kakei seemed unfazed though as he blankly stared at the younger man without any emotional response reaching his facial expressions. Saiga had to bite his tongue from outright cackling in twisted glee at their suffering and instead settled for a quiet snicker. Apparently not quiet enough when two pairs of fierce gold and green eyes shot daggers at him before returning to the current bane of their dual existence.

"And the nail polishes are cleaned up?"

"You asked that twice now! He said yes already!" Surprised by the sudden outburst, all eyes turned to the younger empath. His mouth quickly snapped shut into an evident frown, to avoid angering his superior, though he still heatedly glared at him annoyed and thoroughly agitated. If only looks could kill… Well, if that were actually the case, Saiga would have been forced to pound the poor shrimp into the ground. But the boy's attempt at 'menace' was fairly amusing.

Apparently deciding that he had had his fun and should let the poor young men go, Kakei gave a sigh. "Alright. Seems you're done. You're both free to go. Have a goodnight." By the time 'done' had left his lips, both boys had already stormed to the door. There was the loud rumbling of the metal security door being thrown upwards and both of them disappeared out of it no sooner after Kakei had just finished. "Don't forget work starts at eight tomorrow!" he shouted after them too late as the door crashed back down. Saiga erupted into deep laughter. "Well that was quite the exit. That boy can be quite the spitfire, can't he?"

Kakei walked over to the counter Saiga was sitting behind with his feet propped up on the surface. He leaned over, his elbow resting on the laminate top and delicately placed his chin in his upturned hand, smirking at his partner across from him. "You're cruel, you know that?" Saiga said, returning the smirk. Kakei shrugged his shoulders. "I like to keep them on their toes. Plus, I know why they were so eager to go." Saiga caught the glimpse of mischievousness creeping up in his lover's eyes behind his glasses and his interest was peeked. "Oh really now? And why would that be?"

"You owe me 5,000¥ handsome."

"How do you figure that?" If that was really true, Saiga was annoyed and demonstrated it by crossing his arms over his chest in defiance. Kakei ignored the gesture completely though and grinned. "Well, initially, I actually owed you money, but then made up for it when little Kudou-kun and I had a little chat earlier before dinner."

"And what did the brat say?"

"He disclosed to me that Himura-kun and himself have been involved for a few weeks now."

"I knew it!" Saiga declared, springing forward to smile triumphantly at the man across from him. He brought his hand up between them, palm open expectantly. "Pay up," he said, completely forgetting Kakei's previous statement. The drug store owner was quick to amend the situation. "Ah ah ah, not so fast. He then was so kind as to tell me that they have not been intimately involved." Saiga's face fell. "So pay up dear. 5,000¥," Kakei said, grinning with his eyes closed and his hand now upturned as well.

"You're cruel, you know that?"

"You already said that."

"But I mean it this time."

"Stop stalling and pay me."

Saiga quickly wracked his brain for a way to get himself out of this mess. He'd legitimately thought that those two brats had gone at it already. How could they not have!? They were two young males with hormones! Hormones! But if their expressions just now had been any indication… A proverbial light bulb went off in the man's head and he beamed in joy. "I'll make you a new bet. 5,000¥ says that they'll be 'intimate' tonight."

"I'm not an idiot dear. Please just pay me now," Kakei said impassively. Saiga looked crestfallen again; there had to be another way out of this. He was low on money that month and really hadn't intended to lose. In fact, he'd been sure he would win both bets providing him with a nice modest sum, some of which he had been planning to squander at the pachinko parlor. Never mind his partner was psychic…he wasn't always on top of it, as was obviously proven with him losing the first bet. Maybe he could offer Kakei something else instead. His body perhaps? No – that would never work and Kakei would still demand a cash payment. Maybe…maybe there was one more bet he could make. "I bet you 10,000 ¥ that they'll both be late to work tomorrow?" The proposition had come out more as question than an actual statement, as Saiga was skeptical himself of such a foolish wager. And why the hell did he up the bet when he was already behind? No, Kakei would be too smart to take him up on something so-

"Okay."

If it were possible to see the taller man's eyes, you would have seen them widen in shock. He hadn't honestly believed that that would work. "Really? You mean it?"

"Although Kudou-kun has a fondness for being tardy, Himura-kun is still a dedicated employee with a work ethic and always sees to it that both of them are on time. I find it extremely unlikely that he would let any nocturnal activities keep him at the very least from being late." Saiga found himself nodding along to Kakei's seemingly infallible reasoning; he even began rethinking his challenge. However, he was stuck now and it was the only way out, even if it was a complete shot in the dark. If anything, it would buy him some time – well a night – to try and come up with some money.

"Okay, you're on."

"Oh dear. Haven't you learned that gambling with a psychic proves fatal for you wallet?" Kakei raised a slim eyebrow in questioning as he continued to peer up at his lover through the pale brown hair that fell over his eyes, looking rather smug with his head still resting on his hand. Saiga reached forward and delicately removed the slimmer man's glasses, folding them and placing them down beside the cash register. "You're not all powerful," he retorted giving a sly grin. "and I have luck."

He kissed Kakei before he issued another witty protest in an attempt to counter. It was time to end this argument and get out of the store. Then again the counter was rather wide…

--

Kazahaya had managed to make it to the door of their shared apartment first by bounding up the stairs two at a time while his fingers had quickly undone the knot of his apron for the final time that day. When his hand fell upon the knob of the unlocked door he gave a firm twist, pushing it open hastily in his rush to get inside and continue to avoid the other man behind him who was right on his heels. Just as he had managed to get a few feet into the apartment, he spun around to smirk at the large mass that was suddenly hulking in the doorway with both elbows propped up on either side of the doorframe. His smirk was met with a sneer. "Why you little bastard." Rikuo, surprisingly, was breathing rather heavily considering the jog up the stairs wasn't that strenuous and shouldn't have winded him. With that little fact stored safely away in Kazahaya's mind and relishing in its implications, the smirk turned into a coy smile.

"What's wrong, Ri-ku-o?" he asked coolly, enjoying the way Rikuo's eyes narrowed when he purposefully drew out the syllables in his name. He knew he was egging him on and playing with fire, but it was just too much to resist. Especially considering he was the one getting rises out of his companion for once, drawing him along and managing to keep him on his toes. It sent a victorious thrill down his spine, and combined with the excitement already coursing through his veins because of his roommate, he was feeling rather daring at the moment. "Something bothering you?"

He took a step forward into the apartment, "You know full well what's bothering me." And then another. The smaller young man appropriately responded by taking two steps back, his smile growing as the time ticked by, unfazed by his roommate's menacing demeanor. "No – I don't. Why don't you explain it to me."

Rikuo rushed forward, the door slamming with a large thud behind him. Kazahaya managed to smirk up at the taller youth before hands snaked around his waist, pulling him forcefully towards Rikuo's solid form. He draped his slender arms over Rikuo's shoulders, letting his fingers mindlessly wander along the muscles of his shoulder blades, feeling them flex as the dark head dropped down to bring their faces closer together. "How about I show you what's bothering me." The gentle murmur he gave against Kazahaya's partially opened mouth sent a shiver down Rikuo's spine, enjoying the feel of their lips brushing together and electricity forming in the small space left in between.

He had been hoping to finally catch the empath off guard; call his bluff of confidence and shake his seemingly brazen resolve. His actions this evening had been so… arrogant and self-assured, so drastically different from his normal behavior. In fact, it bordered on how he typically acted around the other moody teenager. He carefully observed the dark amber eyes looking up at him; confident, roguish eyes laced with desire seemed to change color between a dull dark amber and fiery fierce gold. What had become of the Kazahaya who hid from him when he heard his footsteps coming down the aisles in the store? The one who barricaded himself in bathrooms and choked on his food when Rikuo would make a lewd remark? The one who would flush every time Rikuo would brush against him? There wasn't a single hint of pink on his pale cheeks now.

This bold Kazahaya was not afraid to push Rikuo's buttons just as fiercely as Rikuo tried to push his. And although he had been more than confident earlier that he would easily win Kazahaya's little challenge, he was rather irritated to realize that by all appearances, his roommate had emerged the victor. He wanted him – fiercely. And although Kazahaya obviously desired Rikuo as well, he wasn't clambering over the taller boy either. Instead, the shorter young man was starring expectantly up at Rikuo with a smirk still delicately placed upon his features, seemingly unfazed by the longing Rikuo was suffering from. At that moment he wanted more than anything to wipe that horrible smirk from Kazahaya's face and make him just as frazzled as he felt.

There was little warning before Rikuo spun them and pushed Kazahaya up against the nearest wall, crushing their lips together, desperate to break the other boy's cool composure. Rikuo invaded his companion's mouth to find an eager tongue waiting to meet and duel him, and he let forth an audible groan when fingers played with the short hairs at the nape of his neck before weaving upwards. The arousal he'd been trying to ignore for the past hour began to arise from its dormant state. The brunette writhing in his arms made its existence painfully obvious when Kazahaya bucked his hips upwards to rub against him, causing Rikuo to groan again into his mouth. Rikuo realized with some dismay his 'plan' wasn't working and going to plan at all.

He pulled away to glare down at the other young man. When Kazahya gave a lazy grin and peered back up at him past caramel colored bangs that fell over his hooded eyes, Rikuo gave a small growl of annoyance. "Tease," he accused with not as much venom behind the word as he would have hoped. Kazahaya allowed one of his hands to run down the side of Rikuo's neck, lightly grazing the shell of his ear along the way, and brush past the collarbone partially exposed beneath the black long sleeved shirt while looking him straight in the eye. "What do you want Rikuo?"

"Shut up," he snapped. "You know full well what I want."

Kazahaya had to admit he was rather impressed with himself and his new found confidence. But in some regards it was just so…easy. When he managed to get past what he thought might be embarrassing or compromising, he realized it was just…fun. He found himself wondering why exactly he had been so bashful for so long when there had been the prospect of all of this: the desire that seemed to be heating his entire body, the giddy thrill that coursed through him from kissing and touching Rikuo, and the immense pleasure of just being so physically close. Plus, the thought of having control over the usually impassive and stoic boy - because Rikuo wanted him - was exhilarating and emboldened his daring actions.

"Tell me what you want Rikuo," he murmured, shifting his weight forward again to press their hips together. Rikuo let out a small hiss, momentarily closing his eyes, and Kazahaya had to bite back the small moan that threatened to escape. He too was painfully aware of his own arousal but now was not the time to admit to that, instead concentrating on making Rikuo crack. "Tell me what you want," he repeated, shifting again and feeling Rikuo's hands clench his sides, "and you can have it."

The dark green fire he saw in Rikuo's eyes when they snapped open caused his breath to catch in his throat. Abruptly, Rikuo's mouth came back down to kiss under Kazahaya's jaw and the sides of his neck using his tongue to press against the tight pale skin, skillfully sucking it into his mouth before letting go and repeating the action with his next kiss. Kazahaya threw his head back, dimly aware of the thud it made against the wall but eager to have his roommate continue his ministrations. Rikuo breathed out a rush of hot air onto the sensitive flesh when hands began to urgently press into his back. "Kazahaya…"

"Say...it…," he choked out, trying to maintain some small amount of composure. He was quickly losing his precarious upper hand in the situation and didn't want Rikuo to regain control again. But the tricks he could do with his mouth were… mind-blowing. He shook his head trying to regain his senses and forget about the lips and tongue that were currently assaulting his neck. "Say it, or…I'll push you off right now," he threatened weakly.

He felt the vibrations against his throat as Rikuo gave a deep chuckle while continuing to kiss the side of his neck. "I doubt it," he said, flicking the skin with his tongue that hid Kazahaya's strong and rapidly beating pulse underneath. Kazahaya couldn't stop the shudder that ran through his body and mentally cursed his quickly crumbling resolve. He was so close – so close to finally driving Himura Rikuo crazy instead of it always being the other way around. He couldn't give up now that he'd come so far. "Bastard," he muttered darkly. He heard Rikuo snicker and then felt the quick and momentary sting of teeth nipping his ear lobe. "Careful who you call 'bastard' 'Kaza-kun'," the taller boy whispered with a smile, enjoying the fact Kazahaya hated the little petname that store fan-girls had recently begun calling him.

Kazahaya's resolve snapped back into place. "Rikuo…," he murmured breathily, making sure to draw out the other boy's name. He brought one hand down to tangle in the top of Rikuo's dark locks of hair while the other pressed against the side of his neck, fingers playing with the small dip right behind his ear. He knew it was a weak spot of his co-worker, one he'd discovered during one of their make out sessions when his tongue had accidentally roamed there. Of course the results were much better when he used his mouth but his finger would do the same trick. He was rewarded when Rikuo paused momentarily in using his mouth to press his face into the side of Kazahya's neck. He couldn't see the side of Kazahaya's mouth quirk up in triumph. "Remember the broom Rikuo?"

Oh how Rikuo remembered that damn broom; he remembered it all too well. With even greater clarity, he remembered the delicate pale hand wrapped around the broomstick doing incredibly indecent – suggestive - things in the middle of their workplace. He groaned again and Kazahaya took that as an affirmative reply to his question. "Just say it Rikuo, and like I said…" Kazahaya lightly pressed the spot behind his ear and dragged his finger down the side of Rikuo's neck, "you can have it." Rikuo replied by burying his face in the side of Kazahaya's neck and pressed against him, yearning to feel sweet friction. He let his tongue glide along the rim of Kazahaya's ear and felt the slight pull at his hair urging him on. He nipped at the lobe again, his strangled gruff whisper cutting straight to Kazahaya's core.

"You."

Kazahaya's heart froze for what felt like impossibly long seconds, his lips parted in pleasant surprise. He had actually said it. He never thought hearing that single word would ever bring him such…pleasure.

"You," Rikuo breathed out again, his voice slightly firmer in its conviction while licking the shell of Kazahaya's ear once more, causing the shorter boy to hit his head against the wall a second time with a solid thud. He clutched Rikuo's black hair, hauling him up from his kiss bruised neck, and forcefully brought his mouth down to meet his own. He moaned into the kiss unable to contain the sheer euphoric feeling that was seeping into his veins and very being. Rikuo slipped a hand between the wall and the small of Kazahaya's back and used his new leverage to pull the empath against him. "I want you," he repeated, the words becoming a spell that entranced both of them with each seductive incantation.

Kazahaya brought his leg up in an attempt to wrap it around Rikuo's waist. Quickly grasping the idea, Rikuo used his other hand to support Kazahaya's thigh and suddenly both felt the benefits of the brunette's brilliant move. The proof of their arousals were finally able to make some small contact despite the layers of cloth in between them and they both pushed into each other harder, moaning into their kiss. Despite the better position, Kazahaya was quickly becoming frustrated with the lack of real friction and the poor setting the wall provided for what course they seemed to be taking. If he was going to be shoved against a surface, he'd prefer something a tad more yielding.

"Bed," he managed to gasp between kisses, the word muffled by Rikuo's mouth. Although at first he wasn't sure if he'd been heard and if he'd have to make a second attempt, Rikuo pulled his head away finally to give a curt nod to him, his mouth set in a usual grim line but his eyes not nearly as sharp as usual. He looked sedated and only half as imposing as he typically wanted to come across. Kazahaya realized he too probably had that drugged look about him, as it took him a moment to snap out of his pleasure induced daze.

Rikuo shook his head to try and clear the fog from his mind. "Come on, let's go." He released his hold on his roommate, pulling back from him and the wall, preparing to turn to walk towards their shared bedrooms when a hand shot out and grabbed his arm. "What?" he asked, confused as to why Kazahaya was stopping him when he was the one who had wanted to go. Either they were going to continue this here in their living room or in their bedroom only a mere curtain away, but either way Rikuo wanted to be quick about it.

"Our aprons," Kazahaya stated, absentmindedly fingering the course green material that Rikuo was still wearing. Although he'd already untied it on the staircase like his eager co-worker had done, in his rush, Rikuo had actually forgotten about it. Glad to be rid of one more article of clothing, Rikuo hastily took it off and threw it to the ground. With a quick decisive move, he also flipped the light switch Kazahaya had neglected earlier to turn off. The moment Kazahaya's apron was over his head, Rikuo grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards their bedroom on the other side of the dark apartment, leaving two discarded green aprons in their wake.

--

Throwing the curtain aside that separated the living area and kitchen from their bedrooms, also normally separated by a curtain that was currently pushed to one side, Rikuo paused looking from one corner of the room to the other. Two different beds in their respective corners meant two choices in where to continue their activities. Rikuo's natural instinct was to head for his bed, but that was further away and there could be complaints from his companion over 'always having to have it his way' or something equally as petty and mundane. But he could see that Kazahaya's side was messy from the limited light coming in from the window above his bed; the covers and sheets in disarray and clothes spread on the floor creating a multi-colored moat around the bed that could be difficult to navigate. Plus the alarm on his side of the room –

"You going to stand there all day?" Kazahaya shoved his way past the preoccupied young man busy with his mental debate, and briskly proceeded towards Rikuo's bed. He quickly toed off his sneakers when he sat down on the dark blue sheets that covered the firm mattress and turned to look expectantly at his roommate. What was his problem anyway? He was the one that had been ready to go at it against the concrete walls of their apartment right near the front door. Maybe the great Himura Rikuo was losing his nerve… Now that was an interesting thought.

Now that he was thinking about it, maybe he was starting to lose his own…

Before any further contemplation could be given to that potentially problematic path though, Kazahaya saw his roommate stalking towards him, and couldn't help but give a small smile at his now unruly hair. Rikuo didn't seem to catch the amused expression however as he sat down at the end of the bed beside him roommate and took off his shoes as well. Finished with the minor task, he observed the empath out of the corner of his eye. Now that the overwhelming sense of urgency had subsided a bit, due to their change of locations, he suddenly found himself unsure how to proceed and get the ball rolling again. And Kazahaya didn't seem to be providing any immediate answers to the dilemma, as he merely reclined back on the bed in a relaxed fashion, his hands placed behind him for support. But then he caught sight of the lazy smile, and Rikuo was glad to see the game was still on. He turned his head to regard the fair haired brunette, giving a sly grin which he sure the other saw despite the dark. "I believe you owe me something."

Kazahaya cocked his head to the side, leaning back further on his hands. "Then come and get it."

--

A.N.: Sorry that that took longer than expected; starting school up again has the tendency to do that. I would like to thank all of you that have taken time to not only read this story thus far but review it as well. You have no idea how those few made me very pleased and encouraged me to get my butt in gear and finish editing this chapter to get it posted. I look forward to further commentary and having the next chapter come up hopefully soon.