Title: Jewel Diaries – Garnet (One Shot – Part 3 of 3)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Asami/Akihito
Summary: Precious moments with the Asami Family (in no particular order). Takes place years post Pray in the Abyss.
Fifth Installment: Akihito was having problems dealing with the additional member of their family. Asami as usual took everything in stride. Choice #3
PART 3: There was no way out. Because even in death, never do they part. (Humor and Angst)
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights reserved to Yamane Ayano.
Author's Note:Whew, got this posted in time with my birthday. Don't worry if the first few scenes confuse you (see notes for explanation). Those happened months after Fumiko's birth when Akihito was not exactly mentally stable. Jewel Diaries is a One-shot series so expect more to follow.
NOTES and TEASER FOR JEWEL DIARIES – RUBY (How it all began) AT THE END.
The two century old estate of the Asami Clan exuded an otherworldly impression with its design and structure seeming like an anomaly resting within the busy and industrialized cityscape of Tokyo. A patch of green amidst conurbation of machines—the ambiance within its walls was cold and lifeless, perfectly resembling the tragic history that ended its reign.
It was after his second—or maybe third—disappearing act that Asami decided to move him and barely one year old Fumiko to his family's main house. Back then, Suoh had found him, yet again, amongst the company of mud, crimson roses and zinnias two days following a stressful episode.
'Grieving the memories of an absent friend.'
Because no matter where his mind took him, Akihito's body still found solace in the garden of mourning flowers.
Moving out of the penthouse, despite his protests, proved to be a wise decision since whenever he got lost within his own maze, the guards had better luck retrieving him. After all, in the parcel of land that silently witnessed a thousand deaths, Akihito needed not to travel that far to achieve a moment of peace from the voices echoing inside his head.
With his affinity for wandering to places of dirt and soil coming to a conclusion, part of Asami's worries that time had abated somehow.
"How are you today, Takaba-kun?"
Silence.
"Do you have any idea why you are here?"
The younger man merely shrugged, busy counting the holes and dirt he found marring the supposedly pristine white ceiling.
...twenty-one… twenty-two…twenty-three…
"How old are you now?"
A snort.
"You know that already." Akihito eyed the papers in his opponent's hands with disdain. "I can wait while you read it, old man." He was not mocking the doctor-dressed-in-white, but rather the tall figure calmly standing by the window.
Golden stare burning embers on his back.
According to the case notes, the client was discovered two months after his sudden disappearance, working as a florist under the name Watanabe Seiichi. A man with new habits, new personality and new life.
Nothing of the old remained, not even a recollection of his wounded past.
He was a shell existing in the world of fantasy.
But it only took Asami a nightmare to wake Akihito up from the dream and make him face reality.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Regardless of the response, pen still met paper in a jumble of letters.
"Tough shit, Sherlock. Because your question is stupid." He glared at the moving hand. "But isn't that what psychologists are paid to do? Asking pointless questions to make a sane person sound like some psycho?"
The scribbling of notes continued.
Then, a patient smile. "Of course not, Takaba-kun."
Not caring for the reply, Akihito resumed counting.
…thirty-three…thirty-four…thirty-five…
"Can you tell me what occurred that night, three months ago?"
"I don't remember."
"It was Saturday, the fourteenth of February."
"Hm." He shrugged. "I was out."
"Were you alone back then?"
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know. Take your pick." The curt answers tackled the air in quick succession.
"Was your companion a friend, a lover or a foe?"
Silence.
"Are you hiding anything particular that happened with this person?"
A cheeky grin. "The little lamb? That poor little lamb stained in red walking blindly into the slaughter?"
"Why the color red?"
"Passion and sin. Danger and celebration. Naomi, kind and beautiful Naomi—on her wedding day, she wears a red dress. It means happiness, great life, good fortune but the bride still died lonely and angry." A laugh. "It was all because of me."
The client's eyes were becoming cloudy and hazy.
They were losing him, fast.
"Listen to me, Takaba-kun." He leaned forward, his pen moving in even strokes."Was someone hurt? Bleeding?"
Akihito blinked.
"It doesn't matter. The nightmare was still the same."
From the background, neither man heard the sound of Asami's knuckles cracking in anger.
The blonde head turned to a different patch of dots, this time on the similarly white wall. Some were even connected by thick curvy lines, forming a couple of weird doodles.
"Let me ask you a question too, sensei." Akihito drawled. "Are you God?"
Dr. Sekijima paused from writing. "Is that what you think I am?"
"Are you God?" Blue-grey orbs glared at the older man, not liking that his question was answered with another question.
"I know I'm not."
"Are you greater than God?"
The other's face remained neutral. "The thought never crossed my mind."
"Then, do you believe when people ask forgiveness for their sins, God says they've been pardoned when in reality they were not?"
"God is merciful, Takaba-kun. Wrongdoings cease to exist the moment we repent for them."
"Well, if God, greatest being of all, doesn't even care about some shitty past, then why should you?" The tone used was condescending. "Stop asking these questions! You're just human—weak, pathetic and sinful like me."
Undaunted, the next question he fired back concentrated on that detail. "What sin were you guilty of that night?"
Akihito flinched, the hands clutching his pants becoming clammy. "It wasn't me. I did nothing wrong."
"What does that mean?"
He looked away and resumed counting again.
…forty-seven…forty-eight…forty-nine…
The conversation didn't interest him anymore.
"Who is Alexandrei Mordinov?" Dr. Sekijima's unruffled voice shattered the silence.
"Should I know him?"
"You've mentioned him before."
"Hm." The gaze thrown the psychologist's way was suspicious. "I don't like him."
"Why is that?"
"Because he plays the Russian roulette, yet stays alive even if the fool loses every single time."(1) The words were as poisonous as his smirk. "Do you know why?"
The man-in-white shook his head.
"The reason is simple, sensei. It's not the guns that kill people." In a swift maneuver, he vacated the couch formerly restricting his movements. "It's those bloodthirsty morons pulling the trigger who do."
And with quick measured steps, he made a beeline to the suddenly wide open door. (2)
But Asami was always faster than him.
"Don't touch me, you bastard!"
Akihito flailed and thrashed wildly, attempting to land a punch on the bigger man, but calloused hands managed to counter each one until strong arms wound themselves tightly around him, the sickening feeling akin to the touch of a cold-blooded snake constricting its meal.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He just wanted to be free! Was that too much to ask for?!
"Get a hold of yourself." The growl behind him was a loud warning to his ears.
"Let go! Damn you, Asami! I know why I'm here. You're trying to lock me up so you can get rid of me!" He yelled, desperately wanting to storm out of the disgustingly white room (prison).
However, unbeknownst to him, the walls and ceiling were painted blue all along.
"Calm down and listen to me." Asami hissed harshly, grip tightening more around his charge. He knew this outburst was coming sooner or later. It was only a matter of patience and time. "Lock you up? Yes. I very much have the right to do so after the stunt you just pulled. But leaving you here to rot is never my intention."
"Liar! You're all the same! Just like Takatou, you think I'm crazy too!"
The sound of skin smacking skin brought Akihito back to his senses.
Fuck.
He had slapped Asami.
The older man seized the culpable hand and pushed him roughly against the wall.
Aggressively planting his lips on the impudent mouth, Asami urged his lover's body open, tongue coaxing and thrusting in, attacking all the sensitive spots until every writhe of pain, anger and agony changed into pleasure and desire.
It was summer internship in the psych ward again. But unlike that time, normal means of soothing a patient's fear worked no wonders on his spirited boy.
Asami had to do it his way.
When they parted, he tilted the defiant chin up, golden eyes scorching with his glare. "From the day I touched you, your everything became mine. What I do with you is my own prerogative. So no matter where you go, I'm going to find you, Akihito. Don't even think you can escape from me."
Whether sane or insane, he would never let him go.
Thinking the worst was over; Asami leaned in to nibble on the pink earlobe, both hands going lower to squeeze the ample butt cheeks. "Now, behave yourself. Or else, I'll have you sprawled on that desk and fuck your rebellious ass until you can't walk anymore. Like it or not, Dr. Sekijima will be your audience."
And he was never the type to tell a joke.
Akihito, chest heaving, bottled his anger and hissed through gritted teeth. "Fuck. You."
A husky whisper.
"Don't tempt me, kitten. I know a lot of ways to enjoy you."
The struggling body stilled.
Though satisfied that no further explosion would occur, Asami didn't loosen the embrace, and turned instead to the quadragenarian who witnessed the spectacle but remained on his seat, clipboard in his hands.
The good doctor had become used to his unconventional methods, it seemed. He was not that docile before.
"Same time, next week."
Then he promptly led his lover to the door.
"Just one more question before you leave, Asami-sama."
There was a searching look before the other man tipped his head in acquiescence.
Getting his permission, Dr. Sekijima regarded the restrained young man. "How are you feeling now, Takaba-kun?" (3)
Akihito stared furiously at the arms preventing his escape.
Not for the first time since his return home, Asami got him in a firm and possessive hold.
"Like shit, motherfucker."
To curb the restlessness pouring out of his pores—a young father with no job and caged behind closed doors, Dr. Sekijima advised him take on a hobby, anything to relax his body and mind that had nothing to do with chasing criminals, cameras and photography.
The choice was easy.
Akihito might not remember his few months in Okayama, but his hands had committed the touch of flowers to memory. An imitation of the beautiful landscapes of Chugoku Mountains he could never do, but in the patch of green that was now his dwelling, he could create his own Garden of Eden.
And from that moment, the Asami Estate had become cold and lifeless no more.
Of all things to surprise him upon his arrival from the airport, this was the least of his expectations.
To tell the truth, it didn't even belong in his wildest dreams.
—and that was saying a lot since his parents had always told him he got one very hyperactive imagination as a child.
The uninvited guest was small and white, its golden brown eyes observing his movements—or lack thereof—with interest, short flaxen tail swishing vigorously as if in greeting.
Akihito, disbelieving the sight, was too stunned to wave back.
After five minutes—maybe finding his inattention a tad insulting—it yawned, displaying pink gums with the telltale signs of growing teeth, the teeth he knew for sure would be sharp and deadly upon reaching their fullest potential.
Which he hoped would still be a long, long time from now.
Preferably even never.
"Ah, it appears you've met Lavi, Takaba-san." (4)
His mind blanked. "Who?"
The guard, Hidaka Saito if he remembered correctly, nodded towards the thing lounging near the pond. The same pond and—on a closer look—a glass enclosure he knew had not existed when he left two weeks ago (5). Turning to the other man talking rather enthusiastically, Akihito concentrated on the words that would hopefully explain the presence of such creature in his garden and property.
"The little miss was quite enamored with scorpions—"
Shit.
"—the first time she went to the zoo together with Asami-sama. It seems that living here without any other children around has rendered her restless which resulted to some mishaps and minor incidents. But you don't have to worry," Hidaka hastily assured him, thinking the younger father would assume the worst had happened, "she was unharmed, apart maybe from a scratch or two on her elbow."
Akihito nodded, unable to come up with anything coherent. He was not worried. As a matter of fact, he was terrified, because he knew, even if he wasn't there to encourage her behavior, the carelessness and knack for trouble of his daughter would still come back and bite him in the ass.
Hidaka continued. "Asami-sama deemed it beneficial for everyone concerned that the little miss acquire herself an animal companion to play with—" a benevolent smile. "—the least harmful one, of course."
Akihito eyed the snow-coated cub, wondering which part of the white lion was relatively harmless. The golden orbs staring back at him gave him shivers.
"The decision was indeed effective since whenever the little miss was unoccupied by her studies, she spends most of the time near the pond bonding with Lavi. So far, nothing untoward has happened since then."
"I see," he muttered dryly, but clearly not seeing the point at all. He refused to visualize what this 'bonding with a carnivore, a wild carnivore´ actually entailed.
Casting a glance to the modified garden—product of his own sweat and blood spilled through the years—Akihito felt deep and ugly emotions surging inside.
Once again, changes were made without his knowledge and consent.
All because Asami had given in to the whims of a little girl.
Mumbling 'thanks' to the unsuspecting guard, he carried on walking towards the original lion's den, each step marking a vow to stay firm on his resolve.
It seemed the welcome home sex would be put on hold.
Until further notice.
Now… where was that bastard?
When his search for the elusive culprit turned up nil, Akihito retired to the bedroom, got rid of his camera and clothes, then took a long refreshing bath. The huge tub had its uses not only for the mind-blowing sex but also for calming his frazzled nerves in anticipation of the argument he knew he would have—and hopefully win—with Asami about the proper way of raising a child.
He was not ignorant of the whole owning-an-exotic-pet trend. Heck, Discovery Channel and National Geographic had taught him better than that. But the thought of even owning one never occurred to him. Had the thing been a banana-stripped ball python, he wouldn't object this much. Snakes, once domesticated, thrived in captivity. (6)
White lions, on the other hand, were a different story.
Screw nature or whatever-of-Biology because in his book, that creature was no cat! It was a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing, just waiting for the right time to devour his oblivious daughter. Those teeth surely weren't there for display in the coming years.
And damn. What was Asami thinking? That got to be the costliest animal in the world! Being a scenic photographer with his grade didn't make him poor, but shit, $ 138, 000 for a freaking pet?! That man had definitely gone mental or insane.
The challenge now was to convince the older man of his reasoning and the repercussions of keeping such animal in the household. Of course, the process itself was the biggest obstacle of all.
No matter what the other would do, he must not give in. The issue at bar was not the kind that sex alone could easily reduce to nothing.
Decision made up, he rinsed his body, donned himself in a Thai silk robe and exited the bathroom.
—only to see Asami lounging on the bed in his full naked glory.
Akihito felt his breath taken away.
Well, shit.
Someone up there must be laughing at him.
The Adonis smirked. "Done preparing for me?"
A scowl.
He hated this man.
"Don't flatter yourself." He snapped, forcing his mind to concentrate on the chiseled face and not on the sculpted body outlined by the dimmed lights, but his eyes betrayed him.
The fucking bastard was still amazingly fit and handsome in his forties.
Don't get lured in, Akihito. A single mistake and you'll go down the rabbit hole.
That sobering him a little, he squared his shoulders and braved the space at the end of the bed. "Get up, Ryuuichi. We need to talk."
Asami arched a brow not expecting the sour mood, but complied nonetheless. "Don't I get a return home kiss, Akihito?"
"Yeah. With my fist."
Undeterred, Asami approached the younger man, golden eyes leering, and motive completely different from the so-called talking. "Why so tense?"
With that, he pulled Akihito down to the bed and slid behind him, driving calloused fingers into the knotted muscles between the shoulder blades, each press and touch reminding the other that Asami knew every part of him.
He really, really hated this man.
Resting between the legs stretched out around him, Akihito could feel the crinkle of pubic hair and hardening length against the thin fabric atop the small of his back.
He shivered, both from pleasure and irritation. "I'm mad at you."
Not to mention, Akihito found it the most dangerous when Asami was this solicitous and kind.
Asami nibbled an earlobe. "Hm. Is that the thanks I get for losing sleep at the thought of blood-suckers devouring what's mine?" (7)
He grunted. "I don't think you need to worry about bats sucking me alive, since I haven't been a virgin for a long, long time." The blame in Akihito's eyes was apparent.
"Oh?" The surfacing grin was predatory. "Do tell. I'm highly interested in re-enacting this act of devirginizing you." A pause. "Tonight. And repeatedly, of course."
"I don't think so." Quickly shrugging the hands on his shoulders away, Akihito stood up, hands on his hips, and towered over the older man. "Do you know why?"
The accompanying glare meant business.
"No." Asami replied, honest and direct. However, the glare turned more vicious. Obviously, the other man didn't like that answer. Deciding to humor his agitated lover, he added, "Why?"
"Because I'm angry at you."
"I see." Asami contemplated this for a bit, then repeated. "Why?"
And suddenly, all hell broke loose.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because the first thing I saw when I got back to the only place I deem safe was a carnivore. A freaking lion, Ryuuichi!What the hell were you thinking, getting that creature for Fumiko?"
Asami stiffened, not liking the sound of the conversation.
"I don't remember doing anything wrong."
If possible, Akihito became more livid. "You got to be kidding me! Where the hell have you been all these years? Newsflash, Ryuuichi: my daughter is hemophilic. A simple bite wound can put her life in jeopardy. Do you want her to die that early?!" (8)
"Don't you dare accuse me of such thing." He retorted sharply, eyes blazing with cold anger. "I'm just being a good father."
"No! You're spoiling her! Children have to understand they can't get everything they want by doing cheap tricks and tantrums, which I think she did or else you won't even consider acquiring that thing in the garden!"
Asami rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming. "You don't have to raise your voice on me, Akihito. We're not fighting."
"Yes, we are!" Akihito raised both hands in exasperation. "And what's worse, you didn't even have the decency to inform me of this decision! What am I? Chopped liver? A mistress that can only be seen but never heard?"
"Don't demean yourself. You're nothing like that. And Fumiko is fine. You just don't know what you're saying because—"
"Stop! Just shut the fuck up, Ryuuichi. I don't need a lecture on the proper way to raise my child."
"Fumiko is my daughter as much as she is yours." The grave tone used was a warning to his thinning patience.
"I don't want to hear that from someone who can kill his own blood." (9)
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The resounding silence echoed no reply.
Run, his mind screamed.
"Come back here and say that to me again, Akihito." The coldness in Asami's voice chilled him to the bone.
He retraced his steps and turned to the older man, blue-grey eyes wide in panic and glistening with his tears. "Ryuuichi, I'm sor—"
"Don't say it. There's nothing to apologize for."
"But I do. Shit. Fuck. Why am I always such a mess?" (10)
Though knowing the answer to the question, given that he somehow played a part in making the fretting man this way— "You've taken a lot from me already, Asami. What more can I give you? My body? My heart? My life? They're all yours! And yet you're asking why I haven't left you? Fuck. Are you a moron or what? It's because I love you!"— Asami chose to remain silent and simply took Akihito into his arms; the bitterness he felt at the words spoken in anger quelled away by his lover's warmth.
He sniffed the blonde head.
It had been two weeks since he last held him like this.
"Shh…shh… I'm not mad. Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." He kissed a tear-stained cheek. Indeed, it was never Akihito's fault. The guilt was not for him to carry. It was Asami's and a countless of others—a burden they ought to bear even beyond their graves.
'You don't deserve my son.'
Asami believed the elder Takaba's words all those years ago and knew how they rang true.
However, it was too late for them.
The spider web they were caught in was that of silk tougher than steel.
There was no way out.
Because even in death, never do they part.
"It's alright to cry, Akihito."
The greeting from the other man might not be what he expected, but Asami would take him in whatever form he could get.
After all, the night was still young and to the pain of waiting, he had a lot of tolerance.
"There has to be parameters."
Sitting on the bed and having recovered from his recent outburst, Akihito deemed it proper to continue the previous discussion.
His adversary, in contrast, completely ignored propriety and remained as naked as the day he was born, sniffer held regally by his hand.
"You want to teach the squirt how to be a coward?"
"I didn't say that!" He retorted in annoyance. "Read my lips, Ryuuchi. This is what happened. You got duped." A blank stare. "By your own daughter."
It always unnerved him when Akihito put it that way.
Nevertheless, he shrugged in disagreement. "I crush those who stand in my way, retaliate against those who seek vengeance and do whatever it takes to get hold of what I desire (11). Telling the squirt to give up on achieving what she wanted will be hypocritical of me, don't you think?"
In fact, that would be going against his principles.
The huff that met him was unforgiving. "Fumiko is six in case you've gone senile and forgotten that detail. She's not you."
But sometimes, with the way the little girl acted, even Akihito found it difficult to convince himself of that too. (12)
"Not the point. I don't believe the opposite is the kind of values I want to be teaching my own child." Ignoring the other's indignation, he continued. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with Lavi. Having him won't cause any inconvenience."
"You're unbelievable." The younger father finally stood up, intent on getting his point across. "Can't you understand what's wrong in this situation? The thing that you call pet is a lion. A freaking lion, Ryuuchi."
Asami arched a brow. "Really, Akihito? For someone quite adamant that I give in and allow the squirt to have a playmate, your sudden opposition is the most surprising."
"Are you daft? When I said it would be interesting to have a pet, I meant something cute, furry and bouncy, not the kind that eats babies for dinner!"
"Bouncy?" Asami repeated with a leer.
"Get your mind off the gutter, pervert. I'm referring to the 'energetic' kind of bouncy. And don't you dare use that sex-me-up tone on me. You have a lot of explaining to do!"
Asami pulled the cranky man to his chest and wrapped his arms around Akihito's waist, pressing their groins, both already half hard, close to each other.
Shit.
Two weeks was too long without this.
"I mean explain the situation using your mouth."
"Oh?" He purred, tracing the shell of the other's ear with the tip of his nose before flicking out his tongue to give the pinking cartilage a wet teasing lick. "I could do more than that with my mouth, if you want."
In a split second, Akihito found himself pushed against the wall with a resounding thump, his robe forced open by the impact, showing his wet and freshly showered form. But before he regained his bearings, his mouth was attacked by a hot, demanding tongue, swallowing his words that turned into moans as two fingers found solace inside his already soft hole while another hand worshipped the straining length of his cock.
…Fuucckkk.
This was not the conversation he was asking for at all.
"W-wait Ryuic—ah!" he almost managed a complaint when said tongue vacated his mouth only to trace all the way down to lick a perky nipple then promptly cajoled it into a long, hard and gratifying suck.
Akihito, Akihito, his subconscious called. What were you saying before?
"No! Wait. Shit, Ryuuichi. Can't you be 'fucking serious' for just ten minutes?!" He glared at the traitorous dick bobbing between his thighs.
What happened to no sex 'til he got his point across?
From down below, face now nestled amongst blond curls, inhaling his boy's freshly showered scent, the older man smirked. "But I always 'seriously fuck' you for more than that, Akihito."
With a nip on the sensitive underside of his balls in preparation to being swallowed inside a hot wet mouth, Akihito knew he was past the point of no return.
Fuck it.
It was too late.
And without further protest, both logic and reasoning waving adieu, Asami consumed his cock whole and made him come screaming in pleasure.
Asami had always been creative with their trysts, present situation not an exception.
He got Akihito sprawled atop of him on all fours, ass tilted up within his viewing pleasure. The pucker formed an exquisite picture, looking very tempting with both lube and his seed, droplets of pearl trickling down the underside of Akihito's balls and rapidly filling cock.
"Your hole,"—a hoarse whisper—"such a beautiful color. It's pink and glistening with my cum." A velvety purr. "Do you have any idea of the blissful sight you've deprived me off for so long, Akihito?"
From above, mouth busy sucking on Asami's cock, Akihito shivered. Dirty words notwithstanding, even the other man's slightest breaths tickling the area near his curls were enough to make him come again.
"I hate you."
"Oh?" Asami traced the opening with the tip of his tongue. "Is that so?"
And promptly slapped a butt cheek.
"Ow! That hurts, you bastard."
Said bastard licked the reddening skin as if in apology. "I haven't seen you for a while and this is how you treat me, Akihito?"
The remorse in his voice was genuine.
Genuinely false.
"I really hate you."
"Hm." This time, the older man gripped his bobbing length. "What did you say? I want you to repeat that and enunciate."
The pucker twitched.
Amused at the reaction, Asami greeted it back. "Why, hello you too."
A laugh. "You're sick."
"Of course," he agreed, his grin deliciously wicked.
And without preamble, Asami braced his tongue and dove into the sweet entrance, both hands gripping the writhing hips, preventing his boy any means of escape.
"…oh god..!...fuck…s-stop!..no...ah-h..ah!...ugh…yesss.!..."
After all, despite the other's protests, he knew Akihito always loved it when he fucked that ass with his tongue.
It was Payback Number 3. (13)
Akihito panted heavily, body pressed against Asami in a tangle of limbs. The feeling of skin on skin had become so familiar that there was no longer a line to divide what was his and the other man's. This obsession-possession-love-devotion might not have started under the best circumstances, but the heat between them had always been the same, if not burning so much more.
He was spent and ready to sleep, yet the appendage formerly massaging his rump seemed to have a different agenda.
"Your hand is touching forbidden territory."
A snort. "You belong to me. I have the inherent right of entry."
"Asshole."
Asami purred, the fingers on his ass teasing. "Patience, Akihito. I'll get there later."
"…argh… just how many rounds of make-up sex do you need 'til you're satisfied?"
"Hm, but I'm already done with the make-up sex. Because this—" he punctuated by pulling the younger man up to straddle his thighs, positioning the blunt head of his thick, leaking erection against the blonde's soft and slick entrance, "—means 'Welcome back, Akihito."
And with a quick hard thrust, Asami finally found his way home.
In and out. In and out. In an—
Akihito could no longer keep up as he lost himself in the heat and pleasure, meeting Asami's thrusts with the push of his greedy hips, riding the cock prodding deliciously on his prostate all the way down to the hilt.
Why, oh, why did he even think of denying himself of this?
"…. fuck me..!..ah-h…harder!..ahh…don't stop!...faster…!..ugh..yesss.!..."
With the lips formerly swallowing his grunts tracing down to bite on a pebbled nipple, his walls clenched wantonly around the member plunging and stimulating his opening.
Finally, with each touch to his sensitive gland sending him to whiteness—or darkness, he could no longer tell, Akihito released with a guttural scream, drowning in the feeling of Asami also spilling his seed.
And in the aftermath were sweaty and sticky bodies, gasping-panting for needed air.
'I'm home.'
The breathy chuckle that echoed thereafter brought him back to his bearings.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing." A nip on the nose. "So how's your trip?"
Akihito stared at him in disbelief. "You're asking me that just now?"
But all the answer he got was a sensuous smirk.
Oh, right.
Why was he even surprised?
'Fuck now. Ask later."
That was Asami's way.
That fucker.
A few minutes later, Akihito rolled on his back, scooted closer to his lover and nuzzled the toned chest—Asami's strong arms wrapping around him and masculine scent overwhelming his senses.
"So," his voice, raspy from all the screaming, penetrated the air, "why a lion? There got to be countless of others that met the little minx's questionable standards."
The hand ruffling his hair paused.
Asami gazed down at him, kissed the pert nose and nibbled on the pouty lips. The issue was still subsisting, it seemed. "Lavi was the least of three evils." He grunted.
"What do you mean?"
"The quirt has been constantly visiting the cages of 'Sasori-chan,' the Red Clawed scorpion and 'Midori-kun,' the saltwater crocodile for the past weeks."
The blond paled.
Indeed, something of the feline persuasion, no matter how wild, was the best choice of all.
Then, blue-grey eyes lightened with realization.
He chuckled.
"You actually went to the zoo?" He didn't believe it when the guard told him so, finding the image ridiculous.
Golden orbs regarded him warily before giving an almost imperceptible nod. "Your daughter insisted."
Ah. Akihito knew what he meant.
What the older father left unsaid was that his schedule was rearranged in such way that fully accommodated going to the zoo during his free time—which suspiciously happened everyday of that week, shortly after lunch.
Asami could sense the conspiracy.
Akihito, on the other hand, was aware that the matter remained unresolved and hence impelled him to be serious, but the thought of Asami walking through that hot and crowded place in his stuffy three-piece Italian suit was terribly amusing that his lingering irritation evaporated in an instant.
He just couldn't resist teasing the other man. "So how was it?"
"It was—" there was a very, very long pause as if searching for an adequate description "—educational."
Not expecting anything more, Akihito didn't bother hiding his smirk. "Of course."
No words were required.
He just needed to get hold of the pictures.
"Daddy, you're here!"
Akihito found his arms full with one mischievous little blonde hell-bent on showering his face with kisses when he got up for breakfast that morning.
"Hey, kiddo." He hugged his daughter back, enjoying her warmth and sweet-smelling hair.
"Why were you gone for so long? Fumiko thought you don't want to see her no more." The telling pout on her lips demanded an explanation.
"Sorry about that. I took a lot of pictures, including those weird (ugly) orchids you've been talking about (14). Then ate, slept, ate some more. Oh and I met Nuriko back there." He kissed her again. "She misses you."
The little girl beamed. "Fumiko misses her too!"
Akihito frowned. He was only gone for two weeks, yet his daughter's intellect had seemed to degenerate somehow. "Squirt, what happened to your pronouns? You're six, not two."
A huff. "Elmo doesn't use it."
"Elmo?" He glared at the man calmly sipping his coffee while reading the Financial Times. "Ryuuchi, what is that red puppet that insisted on mutilating the language by not using the correct pronoun 'I' doing in our house?"
Asami merely arched a brow. "Elmo was the last resort. Go figure."
Hmph. That puppet played a huge part in his life as a child and to hear that Asami utilized it for his own benefit made him feel like his childhood was suddenly corrupted and defiled.
Knowing his lover was a lost cause, he turned instead to his daughter. "Fumiko. Don't copy everything that the TV says. Stick to your pronouns." It might seem cute now, but he refused to let his little girl grow up sounding like an airhead. "Am I clear?"
Blue-grey eyes gave him a searching look as if considering his words. "Hm. Alright. I understand, Daddy."
"Good."
Then Akihito released her, just to see the little minx bouncing excitedly to the garden.
Probably off to bond with Lavi.
Ugh.
"So Nuriko's in the same place as you?" Asami remembered the lawyer filing for leave without stating her reasons.
"Hm?" The blonde started with his stack of pancakes. "No. I just met her at some café she owns near the airport."
"Then what?" he grumbled. "Did she say anything to you?"
Akihito bit back a smile, knowing it always unsettled Asami when he was alone in the company of the other woman. When he was kidnapped and raped by Feilong in Hong Kong, the older man was livid but not worried about straying feelings. Back then, he craved only Asami's touch even if he denied it so much.
Fujisaki Nuriko, on the other hand, was a different matter, altogether.
Because Asami perfectly knew that his ex-wife was just another him through and through. (15)
"Nothing unusual." Well, there was that thing about Russia, but that's a conversation for another time. "We're at each other's throats. Same program."
Asami's answering snort clearly mocked him. "And you call each other friends?"
"She's great." A cheeky grin. "Well, when she wasn't being a bitch or a pervert."
Which was most of the time.
"Hm." Asami still couldn't understand this so-called friendship of theirs.
Minutes later, Fumiko returned to the room, this time armed with the Kiddie camera she got for her 6th birthday.
"Daddy, are you done eating?" The eyes looking at said father were beguiling.
"Maybe." Akihito played a bit.
Well, his plate was empty.
Undeterred, the petite girl continued. "Lavi wants to have a family picture."
"I see." He paused, not knowing how to react at the request. "How do you know that?"
"He told me."
"Lions don't talk, Fumiko."
"You're so silly, Daddy. Of course, I know that."
To her credit, she did try that last week, but Lavi seemed either deaf or mute. But she still loved him anyway.
"But you just said—"A sigh. He could never win. "Where do you want it?"
She tugged on his hands, urging him to stand and motioned for her Dada to do the same, then led both her fathers to the garden. "It's not me, Daddy. Lavi wants it near the pond."
Akihito nodded, but still halted upon reaching the enclosure, observing the small creature warily.
Indeed, the white lion looked cute and cuddly at the moment, but if there was one thing he knew about animals, they grew big whether the owner liked it or not.
It was just the wild carnivorous instinct he really worried about.
Click.
"One more time, please?" Hidaka, who got roped to being today's photographer, nodded.
"Daddy, why are you not smiling?" Her body language confirmed that the she was getting upset. It seemed her father hated spending time with her new friend. And she couldn't understand why. "Don't you like, Lavi?"
"Um." Akihito turned for help but Asami studiously avoided his eyes.
Traitor.
"Lavi really, really wants a family picture." Fumiko, holding the docile white cub in her puny arms, looked up for support. "Right, Dada?"
Asami wisely hid his smirk with a cough. "Right."
At last, it was him against the world.
"Fine," he sighed, defeated, and stood closer to the father-daughter-and-lion team, but still maintained a respectable distance from the now official member of his family.
This would definitely take a lot of time getting used to.
"Say cheese!"
Click.
In truth, Akihito couldn't figure out why he even bothered getting mad anymore. Lavi was just that—a puny little(at the moment) white lion inside a well-built cage.
It was him sleeping, eating and sharing his life with the most dangerous animal of all. And for Akihito, there was no means of escape.
Well, not that he wanted to.
Not anymore.
Because when he said his vows on the day they were wed, Akihito meant every word, down to last alphabet. (16)
For better or worse.
For richer or poorer.
In sickness and in health.
To own and to cherish.
Even after death, in this world or the other…
…never do they part.
Amen.
END OF GARNET
NOTES:
1) Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against his or her head, and pulls the trigger. (Wikipedia)
2) Leaving the door wide open during session is a huge no-no. That's definitely calling for more problems.
3) This was Dr. Sekijima's first question for the session. Since Akihito didn't answer that time, he repeated it at the end.
4) Lavi means male lion in Hebrew.
5) Remember the men that Asami left to their work after surrendering to his fate of having Lavi for the next 20 or 30 years? Yep, his cage was their group project.
6) In my draft, Fumiko's pet is a banana-striped ball python; however, in the middle of writing it, the whole thing gave me the creeps. I know it's one of the best snakes to keep as a pet but urgh… I'm not really at ease with reptiles. =(
7) Blood-sucking bats are native in America. I'm not sure if there are any in South East Asia. Anyway, Asami and Akihito are referring to the bad reputation attached to vampire bats by the Hollywood Industry.
8) Remember the almost-fire-incident involving a younger Fumiko at one photoshoot mentioned in Sapphire? Jewel Diaries – Opal is the back story for that.
9) Details are explained in Jewel Diaries – Peridot. Asami and his former wife / wives.
10) You might be wondering why Akihito's outburst was extreme and why Asami could easily forgive him. Sudden bursts of anger are usual in people who had experienced traumatic episodes, such as what was briefly narrated in Garnet – Part 2. They can't help it. Some cases even got individuals extremely angry one minute, then calm and docile the next, looking confused as to why they seem so angry in the first place.
11) Exact words of Asami from the Manga, Volume 5 Extra: Truth in Finder.
12) Jewel Diaries - Garnet is also known as: 'The end justifies the means.' In which Asami Fumiko unknowingly meets Machiavelli. In Sapphire, Fumiko gave up the idea of having a pet but in Garnet, she got her way in the end. Pretty much like Asami. No matter how many times Akihito says no, Asami still gets him on his bed. This kind of attitude will be a problem when Fumiko becomes a teenager.
13) Remember Asami's Pleasure-filled To-do List in Garnet Part 1.
14) Remember the after phone-sex conversation between Akihito and Asami in Jewel Diaries - Sworn Duty? Akihito asked permission to stay longer in the place. Then Asami joked that he was being deprived of a delectable ass just because of some flower. Anyway, Akihito was referring to the unique plants endemic to the Philippines. I think they're beautiful. Lol… let's just say, he had a different taste for beauty in plants. Pictures are in here: biology . knoji beautifully-unique-plants-endemic-to-the-philippines/
15) Jewel Diaries – Hero (Drabble) introduced Asami's ex-wife. It really amused me that no one recognized her in Garnet Part 2. I meant to have her as the female and mellower version of Asami. And yes, she's taller than Akhito-5'11 to be exact. So yeah, remember that Akihito was annoyed that Fujisaki was still wearing heels despite her height in Garnet Part 2? With 2 -3 inches heels, she towers over him like Asami.
16) Jewel Diaries – Turquoise contains the unification ceremony.
17) Amen means 'so be it.'
JEWEL DIARIES – RUBY (TEASER)
Summary: In which infidelity reaches a bitter end.
Akihito was shaking when he exited the morgue.
They found the body—or what was left of it —inside a garbage bin behind one of the seediest love hotels in Shinjuku. Its postmortem indicated fourteen lacerations and four stab wounds to the chest, abdomen and thighs, measuring two to three inches deep. The left ear, both arms and all toe fingers were missing.
Mutilation.
Blood loss.
Strangulation.
Just like that, a once living and breathing human had become Exhibit A.
When crying and gasping for air at the same time got difficult, he collapsed on a nearby alley, black duffel bag falling on the asphalt beside him with a dull thud.
Nothing made sense anymore.
How could he ever face Naomi and—
Oh God.
Naomi.
How could he inform the pregnant woman of her husband's unfortunate demise? Should he just keep it to himself? Maybe for a week? A month? Until the delivery of her child? Akihito couldn't think anymore. It was too much. He couldn't deal with this alone.
Asami.
He needed Asami.
The buzzing from his pocket interrupted his thoughts.
Akihito didn't recognize the number flashing on his phone screen. Nevertheless, he answered on the sixth ring.
"—an accident—"
"—undergoing surgery—"
"—hospital—"
"—as soon as possible."
Fuck, no.
A dream.
This was all a dream.
Are you lost?
The shield had finally shattered.
Yes, I am.
Takaba Akihito, the once innocent and cheerful soul, had become a broken man.
Everything was his fault! Why now? Akihito couldn't do this. No. Not alone. He needed help. He needed—
—and suddenly, everything around him was swallowed in white.
Author's Note: I welcome constructive criticisms. Don't hesitate to inform me of your thoughts—whether it is about characterization, grammar and spelling, syntax or word usage.
Please also point to me the parts/scenes you think are slow-paced or boring.
This is self-edited so I might be blind to those details.
Gah..! I can't believe another year had passed in my life. Hmm…. Looking back on it now, it's been 6 years since I started reading YAOI and BL Manga. *chuckles* So, yeah… celebrating my 22nd birthday and six years of yaoi addiction and still counting! Whohoo! XD *ahem*
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. =D
QUESTION: Is the NOTES section boring/bothering you? What do you think of the teaser?