A/N: You'd think that I'd breeze through this chapter in no time, given its content, but surprisingly, I had writer's block when it came to this one. There's no lyrics in this chapter, though I heavily considered putting the ones for Jizz In My Pants here, changing something around to make it work, but then I thought better of it. But that doesn't mean that I've ruled that possibility out. If you haven't heard it before, you should look it up, it's so stupid that you'll have a right laugh. XD
Warning: Kids, don't try blow-drying your hair with a butane torch at home! Or at all for that matter! Or others hair either! You know what, just don't handle one at all and we'll all be good.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
So the infamous Kanamé Kuran was still working for Knight Modeling? Ichiru was honestly surprised by this little revelation, he had thought that, with the surmounting rumors surrounding the pureblood from every side, he would have gone off to London by now for a fresh start. He must have had to pay the press a pretty penny to keep them quiet as of late, because Ichiru could never believe that he would turn over a new leaf.
The clingy youth sighed as he turned on the mixer, receiving a lop of flour to the face as the machine made its first circuit. Ichiru cut the power, growling in irritation at himself for not remembering to incorporate the flour into the wet carrot cake mixture before setting the bowl on the machine. it wasn't as if he was stupid, or that he had severe memory problems, since he had been working at the café for several years, rather that once he got to thinking about something other than work, his performance started to slip, if the task wasn't demanding enough.
Ichiru coughed and snorted, trying to clear his nasal passages of the white substance as he searched blindly for a moist towel on the tiled counter top. His fingers found the twisted, textured rag, snatching it up to dab at his eyes before the flour could irritate them. The flour turned gummy once the moisture hit, clinging to his skin. Dammit! He should have brushed the powder off before trying to wash his face.
"You're a hopeless klutz, Ichiru..."
It was something he knew Zero would have said if he were there, and although it sounded insulting to the untrained ear, Ichiru knew that his brother would have said it with a light smile, trying to stifle his laughter and amusement as he helped him out.
"Did you forget to incorporate again?" Hikari asked as she took the towel away from her son, gently brushing off bits of flour from his face and hair with her hand. "This is what you get, you know? You thought it would be funny to catch Zero in the face with the flour when you both were younger, and now it's coming back to you."
"Mooooom," Ichiru whined, feeling the mess begin to tangle and bind in his hair. "You're making it worse."
"No, you made it worse." she insisted. "I'm trying to help, you know to not use water when cleaning flour because it'll cake." Hikari sighed lightly. "I guess I'll have to hire a part timer now that both your father and Zero aren't around."
"Zero's still going to help out." he muttered stubbornly. "He'll just be around less often because of work. He wouldn't leave us hanging."
"Sweetheart I know, but in case you haven't noticed, we're getting a little shorthanded." she chided. "It'll only be until your father comes back, and if Zero is here, then we won't need them to come in at all, but your brother needs room to grow and expand his horizons, just like you do."
"He doesn't have to, he has a perfectly inheritable business here." Ichiru pouted, feeling a fist crack down on his forehead.
"It's that kind of shortsightedness that will be the end of you." Hikari scolded, moving him over so she could take over the task of making carrot cakes while business was still slow. "You have that stubborn Kiryuu blood coursing through your veins alright. Go upstairs and take a quick shower, when you come back down I have a task for you."
"Yes mom." he said flatly, exiting the kitchen to climb the single flight of stairs leading to the loft.
Ichiru shed his clothes and climbed into the shower, not bothering to preheat the water before stepping in, which he thoroughly regretted once he stood directly beneath the icy spray. It was a perfectly fine thing to do in the middle of summer, but in the beginning of the year? That was like asking to become a twin-sicle. He could feel his nipples harden painfully and his nether regions trying to creep back into himself from the drastic temperature. Ichiru cupped himself as he reached for the knob and cranked it to the hottest setting, waiting as the icy needles of water began to burn against his pallid skin, reddening it as if a vampire were summoning blood through his skin.
Back to vampires, back to Kuran, back to his brother, who was probably with Kuran at the moment. It was a vicious, never ending cycle. His privates relaxed as the water warmed, and Ichiru was finally able to let go of himself without fearing for his manhood. He leaned forward and placed his palm flat against the burgundy tiled wall, tired from the plethora of thoughts and worries that welled within the back of his mind. The warmth of the water relaxed him, to an extent. Ichiru didn't really want to lather up again, since he had done so already just that morning, but the sticky flour would probably leave residue if something wasn't done.
With a sigh, Ichiru reached for a bottle of shampoo, flipping it open to diffuse a sweetly spicy scent that immediately focused his thoughts on his brother, again. He caught himself before he could mash down the cap in anger, choosing instead to place it on the thick rim of the tub so that it's scent would waft throughout the steamy room.
What the hell, it's not like Zero would be pissed at him for using some shampoo of all things. He squeezed out a small amount, generous enough to thoroughly clean his hair two times over. Ichiru tried to keep the thoughts at bay, he really did, and it was working too, until he rinsed off and looked up into the small mirror hanging directly beneath the shower head, the one he used to look into whenever he cut his hair in the shower, finding it easier to do so when his hair was drenched.
His silver bangs fell into his eyes with streams of water, continuing down past his cheekbones, ending in choppy points, lilac orbs dilated and distracted. Unconsciously, the teen took his lower lip between his teeth, biting, watching himself in the mirror as he did so, watching how the skin pinked and swelled. He licked his lips, tasting the tap water on his tongue.
Leaning his head back out of the water, Ichiru gripped the complimentary body wash, and a washcloth, lathering and gently massaging the foam into his skin along his frame, careful to pay extra attention to crevices and dips between muscles. He spent longest on cleaning himself down under, running the cloth and his fingers along the smooth contours of himself, feeling it grow in his hand as he closed his eyes and inhaled the masculine scent deeply. Ichiru willed himself to keep those thoughts at bay, moaning softly when a single train slipped out from his imagination, blurred by years of suppression.
"Mmmnn,"
Light touches were the best, they made him ache and yearn for more contact, more friction along the smooth, pink insides he longed to bury himself into.
"Ahh!"
The spray was beginning to go through a cool patch, making the younger twin lose his concentration until he opened his eyes and was greeted by a lusty stare from his own countenance in the mirror. His eyes were alight with desire, jaw slack, lips parted as heaving breaths poured from between them with a thin strand of saliva that dripped down his chin, mouth watering at his own delicious thoughts. Ichiru tossed his head back and let out a loud, throaty moan.
"Ohhh!"
The utterance resounded against the tiles, attacking him from all sides, making his stomach quiver in pleasure as his balls tightened shortly before he came, ecstasy burning a path through his core with every spurt of hot semen along the tiles, dripping down over his fingers in a thick coat. It was certainly a long time since he had last masturbated.
Ichiru brought his hand up to his mouth, still heaving deep breaths to try and calm his thundering heart. He gave a long lick at his own fluids, staring intently at his own reflection as he sampled the bittersweet sperm.
He had actually sweat while showering, unbelievably, and now the entire wash would have to be repeated. He placed his hand beneath the now warm stream, watching as the sticky heat was slowly rinsed off of his skin.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Somehow, Zero knew that Ichiru was connected with the oddity of his first photo shoot.
He had done as Kaname had requested of him, stripping down to nothing, much to his embarrassment, before he was taken to the make up chair.
"It's easy, all you have to do is act on instinct." Kaien explained. "Kaname will be a writhing, squirming uke begging for you to pleasure him, and you, the ever merciful seme, will have no qualms about granting his wish. It's the seme's responsibility to play with and entice his uke, and this is what the product is about. It lets the dominant be able to relax enough to allow his other half to pleasure and take advantage of him for a change."
"Hah! He's probably never dominated anyone in his entire life." Kaname scoffed from atop azure sheets, admiring his own reflection in a full length mirror that one of his assistants held. "You! Keep the looking glass still! Takuma..." he smirked at the blond in question. "More blush on the back end, I want all four of my cheeks rosy for the millions I'm about to make."
"Whatever you say." the emerald eyed stylist chuckled, blending more pinks onto his backside, brightening his cheeks, making them look naturally flushed, as if from a fresh spanking.
"You may be onto something." Kaien muttered, leaning heavily on the armrests of the barber chair Zero was occupying. "Perhaps I should teach you by example?" he suggested, hovering closer to the silver haired youth.
"Leave that up to me."
Zero winced as a hand fisted his hair in the back none too gently, wrenching his head back so that he could gaze into the cold, piercing eyes of the raven-haired model.
"Get serious, love, how can an uke teach one of its own to be dominant?" Kaname said icily, swatting the Yagari's hand away.
"Watch it Kuran, unlike your little boy toy, I've actually hunted vampires before."
Kaname narrowed his eyes into mere slits.
"Yeah, back in the day, which makes you how old? Bring it on ojiisan, I'm quaking in my thousand dollar pumps."
"Gentlemen, please, why don't we let Zero decide who he wants to train him?" Kaien suggested, eying Zero with interest. "After all, I only signed him just yesterday, and we can't send him into anything too advanced without prior instruction. For now, he should be free to choose who he wants to learn from."
Looking back and forth between the three men, Zero decided then and there that he would rather not take part.
"I can manage on my own, thanks." he said, rising from the barber's chair.
"Suit yourself," Kaien pouted, moving closer. "But let me offer you a bit of advice from an experienced seme." he wandered closer to Zero and whispered something unintelligible in his ear that neither Touga or Kaname could make out.
"HEY!"
The next thing Zero knew, he and Kaien were being pulled in opposite directions, Kaname and Touga exchanging glares. Was this the modeling industry, or high school? Maybe he really would have been better off at Latreia Posé.
But with Kaname, that gorgeous model that he used to base many a fantasy off of, was standing protectively in front of him. And was that jealousy he sensed? For a second he was surprised...
"So where's the outfit I'm going to be modeling?" he asked, surprised when Kaname began to laugh.
Though neither impressed nor convinced of his self-proclaimed greatness.
"Amateurs..." Touga barked with a laugh as he turned to see to Kaien.
Kaname padded to the azure bed and sat on the mattress, very much in a way that a king would claim his throne. He leaned back to rest against his arms, legs sprawling open to show off his partial erection that lay casually against his stomach. Zero, in turn, could feel his own member begin to awaken.
"Zero... come hither." Kaname purred as he looked at Zero from beneath his lashes, patting the bedsheets at his side. "I'll let you in on a little secret about sex adverts."
The pureblood unearthed a tube of clear, blue tinted lubricant from between the sheets. He unscrewed the cap as Zero came closer, squeezing out a small amount onto the tip of his long, somewhat spidery finger that was perfect for probing... The silver haired youth sat at his side, nearly yelping in surprise when Kaname draped an arm around his shoulders. He brought the liquid to Zero's lips, smearing it over them.
It smelled of raspberries as the substance warmed his skin upon contact, dribbling down his chin. Zero brought his hand up and wiped it along his palm, accidentally tasting the flavored lubricant. He stopped to ponder what it was that he was consuming, but Kaname pulled him out of his thoughts.
"When it comes to sexual advertisements, you wear nothing but a smile."
Zero's eyes widened as his center of gravity shifted. Without warning, Kaname caged the silver haired youth in his arms and pulled him on top of himself onto the bed, causing their members to brush together. Zero's breath caught, heart hammering as blood rushed to his nether regions, giving him a painful erection for the second time that morning. Kaname's smirk was mischievous, condescending as he pressed himself to Zero, making him blush.
Was Kaname able to make him submit? So soon? So easily?
How drab.
The silver haired youth shifted and squirmed, trying to get up, but the pureblood wouldn't let him go. Why did he want to get up again? Sure he was a royal jerk, but Zero should have been savoring this moment! It was the first time he had intimately, on purpose or otherwise, felt another man's member since affirming his long debated bisexuality. In fact, it was the first time he had touched another one, period. So why was he trying to escape?
Oh, that's right, because he was a royal jerk!
"Hmm," Kaname snickered, slapping Zero's ass teasingly. "For a seme, you sure make such a pretty uke."
Even if it might have been cute at first, which, it wasn't Zero was quickly becoming irritated with the pureblood and his haughty, unprofessional antics. He was desperate to gain control of the situation, just to at least shut him the hell up!
"Just catch him by surprise."
Zero swallowed, hand traveling south to test out Kaien's advice. He wrapped his warm, slipery fingers around Kaname's member, feeling him jerk as it became swollen beneath his fingers.
"Fuck!"
Kaname cried out, thrusting once into Zero's hand, making him smirk in triumph.
Shutters clicked.
"Excellent! You have the makings of a seme Zero, such... underhanded methods, but I'll wager that you're an even better uke." Kaien smiled as he moved to a different angle, readjusting the focus on the camera all the while.
"Really?" Zero asked, rather please with the compliment, no matter how weird it may have been.
He looked down to the writhing pureblood, whose member he was still squeezing. The expression on his face was peculiar, like embarrassment mixed with chagrin and intrigue. He had never seen him wear any of those emotions in any magazine appearances or ads.
Grinning in delight at the payback he had in store, Zero flicked his thumb over the head, loving how Kaname writhed unwillingly, cameras capturing his seemingly vulnerable expressions.
"You know, I bet you've been pissed because I don't kiss your ass like everyone else does," he muttered, pumping him once with every emphasized word.
It was one common factor that Zero noticed both yesterday and today--that everyone kowtowed to him and fed his snobbery, as if they were scared of losing their jobs if they didn't please him. That was one thing that Zero would not comply to.
"but I'm not afraid of you."
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
"What took you so long? I'd thought you drowned and was about to go check on you." Hikari said, looking up from her order slips. "Judging from the volume of traffic we've been getting lately, I'd say that, even with you here in the mornings, I'll still need someone extra for then and the late noon shifts."
"Okay, what does that have to do with me?" Ichiru asked, pumping some hand sanitizer onto his palms as he entered the kitchen area.
He looked over his plain outfit, loose jeans, medium wash, tucked into black high-top converses and a small gray tee, to check if all the wet spots from his dripping hair had dried yet.
"Honestly, Ichiru, honey, you'll catch a cold if you don't dry your hair properly." she scolded, rooting through a metal cabinet to locate a butane torch.
Ichiru eyed the torch with disdain as his mother held it just far away enough for him to feel a warmth as the sapphire flame flickered to life. Hikari ran her fingers through her son's hair, careful to keep him away from the direct flame at all times.
"Mom, I don't know whether to call this ghetto or what, but just because you call me honey doesn't mean that you have to caramelize me!"
"Oh, sweetheart," she chided. "Ghetto is using the heat from a toaster, or oven, or a hand dryer. Not everyone has a butane torch lying around in their pantry."
After a few minutes of silent, nervous, on Ichiru's part, hair drying, Hikari ran her fingers through the silky soft strands, laughing softly when her younger son let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't complain, at least you don't have to flat iron your hair now."
"Only you're able to do hair with a torch and spatula." he admitted, slightly scared.
"Well, in exchange for my hairdressing services, you're going to do me a favor." she grinned.
He didn't like where this was going.
"Okay?"
Hikari clanged the torch and clean metal spatula on the counter, walking over to a large white pastry box, heels clicking ominously after her.
"I want you to take this, and some lunch to your brother down at the agency."
"But mooooom, that's like six blocks!" he whined, not up to trekking half a mile in cool, nippy weather with a box of fancy cakes and food.
"Zero would do it for you." she reminded him, eying the younger twin sternly. "Don't you want to check on how he's doing at his new job?"
"I couldn't care less." Ichiru pouted, running a hand through his silky hair as he looked away to sulk. "Besides, they probably have a break table full of food over there, he doesn't need us anymore."
"That's even more incentive for you to go and haphazardly drop our box of café goodies at said table." Hikari smirked suspiciously as she affixed the box with the biggest 'PePuri Café' sticker they had in the establishment.
"You sneaky woman, you're planning on trying to expand business to Knight Modeling, aren't you?" Ichiru laughed, going over to bend down and kiss his mother on the cheek. "I love how your mind works!"
"Where do you think you got that devious mind of yours from?" she asked, raising a brow as if challenging him to prove her wrong. "Obviously not from your father."
"Good morning Hikari-san!" a muffled voice floated through the swinging door to the café.
"Tash-san! Ohayo! I'll be right out!" Hikari called.
"Take your time dear, I know how busy you all get."
"Oh, thank goodness for patient, nice customers, especially in a downtown area." she sighed, turning to Ichiru. "What are you waiting for, a formal invitation? Get going!" she instructed, thrusting the lunch and box of cakes at him before shooing him from the kitchen. "And tell Zero that you made the carrot cakes, and I expect him to not get rusty while working at the agency!"
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Ichiru took the large box and paper bag, humming tunelessly as he exited the café and started down the street. It wasn't as cold as he had anticipated it would be, mostly because of the bright morning sunshine. His mind wandered as he continued to hum, doing his best to pass time during the boring, ten minute walk he would have to endure.
About halfway to the Knight Modeling building, the younger twin was obsessing over his parched throat, but he knew the drink he wanted most wasn't for sale. As he passed a gas station, he decided to drop in for a Monster energy drink instead of stealing the one that was meant for Zero.
Upon entering the small convenience store, Ichiru couldn't help but overhear an argument going on in the back.
"Please, I need this job, my grants barely pay for tuition, and I have to pay for class fees, living arrangements, and books. Do you know how much books for law school costs?" a male was saying in a distressed voice. "My cousin just lost his job too, and he's been paying half the rent, for food and utilities. He's been looking, and might get one soon, but we can't depend on a maybe."
"Look, I'm sorry, but business hasn't been going all that great for us. The newer stations are outselling us because they lower the price of their products by one cent." a second man explained. "One cent, Kain-kun, to keep up with them that means we have to lower everything by two cents, it makes a difference, it really does, and since Kinaru-san has a wife and kids, they're more in need. I'm sorry, you're an excellent worker, but we can't afford to keep you."
"... I understand, I don't want to put anyone out of a job who's more in need than I am."
The two men emerged from the back, one of them middle aged, the other young, older than Ichiru, but still just as useful. His strawberry blond hair was wild in the back and somewhat slicked and stylized in the front. Ichiru's eyes were trained on him, Kain? Judging from his lack of uniform and discouraged golden eyes, today wasn't his first day of unemployment.
The younger twin could feel a tug at the corner of his mouth, an unusual sensation of pity welling up inside of him.
Why not?
"Hey you, Kain-san."
The strawberry blond turned to him, nostrils flaring slightly.
"Yes?" he asked in a stiff lipped manner.
A vampire.
Ichiru wouldn't be surprised if it was more discrimination than situation that drove the man's decision.
"I don't know you, obviously, but there's an opening at my family's café, and you sound like you could use the money." he started, placing the tall can on the counter so it could be rung up. "We're an old hunter family, and my mom is a little weary of vampires, but she's a good person, and if you explain the situation to her, I'm sure that she'd be willing to employ you. in fact," Ichiru shifted the packages to one arm so he could fish out a five from his pocket. "you should come with me. I'll talk to her too. We don't discriminate, and she can sense a good person when she sees one. I can too."
They didn't discriminate, not really. He'd have to keep an eye on his mom for the first few weeks until she began to trust him more, but once she did, she would treat him like family, if she liked him. It's happened before, and Ichiru wouldn't have been surprised if it were a possibility to this day.
Kain smiled warmly, life sparking behind his gold irises.
"Honestly? You'd do that for someone you just met?"
"Everyone needs help sometimes." he shrugged. "Your first task, and I'll even pay you personally for doing this, is to carry this box of cakes and follow me down to the Knight Modeling building. I'm making an official delivery, so be careful with them." he bullshitted, about the last part.
Of course he intended to pay Kain though. It's the 'official' part of the delivery that he enjoyed inflating in importance. The strawberry blond, however, looked speechless.
"I don't know how to thank you." he said, gratitude saturating his tone, making Ichiru feel good about himself for helping someone out.
"Well you could carry the box for free."
"I may be desperate but I know a verbal contract when I hear one, and it's against the law to make me do work without compensation." he smirked, wording the sentence lightly to show that he had a sense of humor.
"You'll make a great lawyer one day." Ichiru laughed as he handed over the box, leading them out the door.
He liked this one, Kain would make a good addition to their bakery. Even if he probably couldn't cook, he did have a friendly air that would attract customers, probably even better than his mother's sometimes icy personality.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
It only took a few minutes for them to make it to Knight Modeling, but the walk was more enjoyable now that Ichiru had someone to talk to. He still carried Zero's lunch though, vehemently refusing Kain's offer to carry that as well.
Not only was the building tall, but it was incredibly spacious, with intriguing architecture to boot. It look as if the structure was leaning at an angle, about to fall over if the wind blew just right.
Maybe that was the type of place vampires liked to hang out in.
Ichiru pursed his lips as he looked to Kain, who was admiring the spacious and well decorated first floor. He had to stop thinking like that.
"Ruka, I don't want to talk about it. Between here, and that café, it's like his personality changes. I wonder if it's MPD or if he just enjoys fucking with me since I can't figure the damn kid out. One minute he has balls, the next his head is empty, and the next he's trying to spurn me."
"Don't let it get to you, people outside of the industry, especially humans, go through severe mood swings sometimes. it keeps them from getting or becoming uninteresting." Ruka patted his shoulder, in accord with his sentiments on the anomaly of humans. "Oh! Hello again Zero-kun." she smirked as Kaname led them to Ichiru and Kain.
The younger hunter twin thought she was a bitch, but as he spared a side glance at his new coworker, it became apparent that he disagreed, judging by the way he didn't notice how he was gaping.
"I thought you went back to your café for lunch." Kaname addressed Ichiru, raising an arched brow in question.
"Yeah, and it was delicious, can I talk to you for a second, in private?" he asked the pureblood, who looked taken aback at his abrupt directness.
"Can't get enough of me." Kaname shook his head with a smirk. "Of course." there was something off about the silver haired youth, again, like that icy front from last night had suddenly appeared again.
"You're going to leave me here? Alone with this gorgeous woman? I can't afford to talk to her!" Kain whispered in a rush as he pulled Ichiru closer.
"Just think of it this way, she can afford to talk to you." he replied in a hurry.
"Don't worry, I don't bite, unless you want me to." Ruka smiled at him, brushing her fingers through her hair.
"On second thought, go." he insisted. "I'll deliver the food."
Ichiru nodded, intent on getting some answers out of Kanamé.
Like if he was planning on including his brother in his growing scandal.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
MPD - Multiple Personality Disorder
A/N: I have had to try and dry my bangs underneath a hand dryer at Walmart, because I was late for work and came right over after showering, (still had a tad of shampoo left in my bangs, and I wet and got it out in the bathroom) so, that's where the inspiration for the weird torch scene came from. XDD
I hope I'm not putting you guys to sleep with all the groundwork I'm laying. =X
Zero's photo shoot isn't over by the way. ;)
Reviews: Please, thank you, and I love you all. :)