Chapter 6

The room on the other side of the door was dark, the only light spilling in through the open door. Umeda quickly stepped through and closed it behind him. The last thing he needed was for Akiha to notice and come to investigate before he was ready for him. After the quiet click of the door latching, nothing but silence met his ears as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark room.

As soon as Umeda was starting to make out shapes in the room despite the darkness, a light flipped on overhead, causing him to jump back against the door in surprise. After barely suppressing a rather girly shriek and quickly covering his eyes, he glanced around the room cautiously. Akiha was against the far wall clutching his chest and looking rather pale. "What are you doing in the dark? You just scared 3 lives out of me!" The photographer yelled, glowering at his unexpected guest.

"What are you, a cat? And you invited me here, remember?" The doctor replied irritably, seriously reassessing his own decision-making abilities.

Akiha ignored the cat comment, still too surprised to come up with an innuendo to counter it. "I never expected you to actually show up!"

"Well, I'll just go back to my own apartment if you don't want me." Umeda said quickly, turning back to the door and reaching for the doorknob while thinking, 'Thank the Gods! Freedom!'

As Umeda tried fruitlessly to open the door, Akiha came up behind him. "No, no...That's not what I meant. You just surprised me is all." He replied, placing his own hand over the doctor's to keep him from leaving. "Would you like a drink?" Akiha asked quietly beside his ear, his warm breath skating across the other man's skin and ruffling his hair slightly.

Umeda jumped, glancing over his shoulder and coming eye-to-eye with Akiha. "Why won't it open?" He asked, ignoring the question about refreshments in light of the door not opening.

The photographer's eyes flicked down to the lock briefly, pausing at the "V" of skin visible in Umeda's shirt from his current angle. "It automatically locks..." He replied calmly, moving slightly closer and snaking other his arm around the doctor's waist to flip the lock open and then closed again.

Umeda stiffened slightly as the man's other arm curved around his waist towards the lock, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he just watched those hands nervously, knowing to keep them well within his line of sight.

"But do you really want to go?" The other man asked softly, pressing his body a little closer to whisper directly against his ear. He was so close that his lips brushed softly against the skin, causing both of them to shiver.

"Don't ask questions you don't already know the answer to, it backfires on you sometimes." Umeda replied, more than a little unsettled by his current predicament, but unwilling to leave just yet.

"But how will I find out if I don't ask?" Akiha countered, lightly running his fingers along the strong tendons of the hand beneath his. Umeda gasped slightly, his hand twitching against the handle.

Umeda turned around slowly, his torso brushing against the other man's arms and his hip against more delicate places in the process. Feeling Akiha's attraction to him made his pulse race even more, and the feeling of those strong arms framing him against the door did things to his brain. "That's a rather good question..." He said, leaning forward and quickly kissing Akiha before he could lose his nerve.

The other man was caught so off guard that he let out a little sound of surprise, giving Umeda just the right opening to run his tongue slowly between his lips, brushing lightly against teeth. "Does that answer it?" He asked quietly, pulling back to lean nonchalantly against the door. He looked a lot more relaxed than he felt, thoughts flashing through his head so chaotically he was afraid Akiha would pick up on them. 'What am I doing here? I love Ryoichi, I shouldn't be here. Do I love him? Am I still chasing after a high school roman-'

Akiha chose that moment to kiss him back, his lips dipping down to brush petal soft against Umeda's. The kiss continued for several minutes, Akiha's hands settling on Umeda's waist as the other man's hands clutched his arms for support. The kiss went from soft to demanding as their tongues dueled for dominance in each other's mouths.

When it was over, both were breathing heavily and Umeda was pressed against the door. "Yeah, I think that answers one of them." Akiha said, imagining Umeda hot and panting beneath him on his black silk sheets. After getting a slightly puzzled expression from Umeda he reiterated with a smirk, savoring the rare sight of him confused. "A drink: you never said if you wanted one or not."

"Oh, sure..." Umeda nodded, grinning a little despite himself. "I suppose I shall need one before the night is out." He said, a little resignation creeping into his tone.

Akiha smiled, drifting off to the kitchen and tugging Umeda after him by the hand. "Yeah, dehydration is the enemy."

He received a half-hearted glare for that, but just laughed it off as he flipped on the kitchen lights to reveal a sky blue and white room equipped with all kinds of culinary delights. Umeda looked around the room for a bit, then watched his host with interest. A lot of interest. 'Damn, it's been far too long. Not only did I actually come over, but I'm getting harder just watching him reach up for a glass. Does he really need the ones on the top shelf?' For the sake of self-preservation, he went back to studying the kitchen to distract himself a bit. "Do you cook often? You're kitchen is very well equipped."

"Every now and then," Came the muffled reply, causing Umeda to glance over to see what on Earth he was doing. "I make a wonderful Tiramisu if I do say so myself."

Umeda's gaze ran right into Akiha's delectable ass sticking out of the open refrigerator. Thoughts of all kinds of midnight delights flitted through his mind, causing him to swell uncomfortably against the zipper in his slacks. After a few seconds, he had his fantasies under control and what Akiha had said filtered through. "Tiramisu? Why does it not surprise me that your specialty is a desert?"

"I'm not sure how I should take that." Akiha said as he pulled a few bottles out of the refrigerator and then closed it, returning the counter across the kitchen from Umeda. He then proceeded to pour a bit from each bottle into glasses.

"Good, think on it. It' good for you, promise." Umeda replied tartly, thoughts once again running through his head. 'Is this really the best thing to be doing? What if I wake up tomorrow and regret this, regret him?'

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he jumped slightly as a drink was waved under his nose, some concoction smelling strongly of cranberries and alcohol. "Thank you..." It didn't smell laced, but you never knew with Akiha. He eyed it suspiciously before taking a small sip.

"Oh calm down, I only used a mild sedative..." Akiha said calmly, taking a sip of his own before laughing as Umeda choked on his. "Oh calm down will you, what use would you be drugged? I want you awake and conscious while I-"

"Alright, alright, I get the point!" The doctor said hurriedly, cutting him off before he could launch into a detailed description of what he was in for. 'What did I get myself into?' He asked himself silently as he took a larger, fortifying drink of his cranberry something-or-other.

"Careful, drink that too fast and you'll get drunk..." Akiha warned, sipping his own while leaning against the center island a few feet away.

"Isn't that what you want?" He asked, taking another long pull of his drink.

"No," Akiha said in a surprisingly serious tone. "I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and be able to blame this on the alcohol. I want for you to make the decision yourself and not say you were coerced or drunk." He set his drink down and closed the distance between them, bracing his hands against the counter, one hand on either side of Umeda. His eyes were intense and serious, yet uncertain as they stared into Umeda's. "I want you to remember everything and regret nothing."

Umeda stared back into his eyes, not sure of anything anymore. "What if we both regret this in the morning?" He whispered, setting his drink down beside him on the counter as an excuse to look away. "What if this is a mistake?"

"I've been fantasizing about this night for months, years...I won't regret this. And you came over here of your own free will, kissed me the same way...I don't think you will either. I quit fighting my attraction for you a long time ago. When will you stop fighting yours for me?" Akiha asked as he gently tipped Umeda's face back towards his own, imploring him with his eyes to understand. "When will you give in to what you want?"

"What makes you think you know what I want?" Umeda asked, the bite of his words taken away by the slight tremble in his voice.

"Because when I kissed you, you clung to me like you were drowning."

Umeda couldn't come up with a good comeback to that one, so he just glanced to the side again. 'Am I really going to do this?' He thought, wondering for the thousandth time what on Earth he was thinking. Just then, Akiha bent down and nibbled on his neck, sealing the deal. "Yeeesss..." Umeda hissed as one of his hands cupped Akiha's head and drew him closer, the other wound around his waist, doing the same. "I guess you are my own personal life vest..." He whispered softly, his hips rocking forward of their own accord as Akiha started to trace his jaw line in kisses before finding his mouth again and devouring it in a hungry kiss they both desperately wanted and needed.