CHAPTER SEVEN

Author's Notes:

Magic: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorited this fic. We are still going strong with it! This chapter is hopefully a bit more manageable...the last one was very long, we realize. Also, BratChild3 would like to tell A Single Fragile Rose that we can't tell you yet what pairings this story will ultimately entail but we're happy that you're rooting for some. :)

After Seimei's car was out of sight, Kio helped Ritsuka into the house, struggling with Ritsuka's uncooperative form. Youji and Natsuo followed them, chattering away about the condition Ritsuka was in and making what sounded like very lewd comments. Ritsuka's head was too buzzed and his body too unsteady for him to really make out what they were saying.

Once they made it past the doors, Ritsuka felt more than saw a tall, blond form standing just inside. It was as if Soubi were WAITING for their return.

This too was hilariously funny for some reason. Soubi. Waiting to hear about Ritsuka's night of prostitution. Hahaha, Ritsuka thought, doubling over with laughter.

"Ritsuka, come on," Kio huffed, hefting him a bit higher in his grasp. "You're seriously scaring me here. Pull yourself together."

Ritsuka only laughed harder. Kio was such a mother hen.

"Is he drunk?" Asked Soubi.

"Yeah," said Youji. "Off Seimei's essence 'o love."

Now Natsuo was laughing, and it made Ritsuka laugh even more. Soubi leaned closer, peering with those strange violet eyes at Ritsuka's pupils.

"I'm not DRUNK," said Ritsuka, a little too loudly. It made him sound like a liar, and that was also funny. He was just HAPPY, that's all. Happy and drowsy and completely, wonderfully, blissfully SPENT. He had forgotten what it felt like to laugh.

"Hmmm." Soubi said, sounding doubtful. "Seimei Aoyagi?"

Youji rolled his eyes. "How many clients named Seimei do we HAVE, Soubi?"

Soubi ignored him, choosing instead to address Kio. "And Ritsuka has been out with him the entire night?"

"Yeah…" said Kio, finally managing to stand Ritsuka upright. Ritsuka still felt a little gooey but it felt nice to be up on his own two feet. At least until he made it into bed. Lovely, soft, bed with blankets…and pillows…and warmth….

"He paid double for him, actually." Kio went on. "So look out for that when his payment comes in."

Soubi pulled a cigarette carton out of his pants pocket, shaking it open briskly. Was it Ritsuka's imagination, or had his hands shaken?

"Lock your KNEES, Ritsuka!" Kio shouted in his ear, startling him into complying. "For a scrawny little runt, you sure are a chore to hold up."

Natsuo smacked him upside the head, knocking his glasses askew. "You whine too much."

Youji nodded. "Yeah, and it's really REALLY annoying me."

"Me annoying?" Kio yanked off his glasses and began brandishing them, his mouth open in hostility.

Calmly, Soubi slipped a cigarette between his lips and held it there. He took the glasses and set them gently back onto Kio's face. This had the desired effect of halting him pre-yell, but Youji snorted his very obvious disgust.

"You boys are tired," said Soubi. He adjusted the frames on Kio's nose and then pulled back. "Get some sleep, and don't kill each other on the way. Ritsuka, I need to see you for a moment in my office."

Youji and Natsuo grumbled about Soubi being a party-pooper…muttering to each other as they walked off toward the bedrooms, hand in hand. Ritsuka took a moment to smile at them, feeling generally very pleased with the way of the world right now. He saw Kio stand on his tiptoes and kiss Soubi's cheek before he turned away and left as well.

Then it was just Soubi and Ritsuka in the foyer of the house. Soubi gestured for Ritsuka to follow him, waving a hand in the direction of his office, cigarette burning dully between his fingers. Ritsuka trailed after him, wondering vaguely what this was all about. More than that, though, he wondered when he could go to sleep. The sun was rising outside and Ritsuka hadn't slept in such a long time….

"Ritsuka…" Soubi began, waiting for Ritsuka to come inside before closing the office door behind them both. "It's routine for me to check up on my new boys after they're out with a client for the first time. Tell me…how did your first sale go?"

The word salebounced around oddly in Ritsuka's head. It seemed wrong; he hadn't felt bought by Seimei at all. It helped that Seimei hadn't handed him any money afterward. Apparently he and Soubi had an electronic payment system setup.

And what was he supposed to say to that anyway? Instinctively, Ritsuka felt it would be in poor choice to divulge to his boss-his pimp, really-that he now realizes why some people become addicted to sex. Soubi was already looking suspicious and perhaps even a bit apprehensive beneath the frozen mask he usually wore.

"It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be," he said, finally. Each word was chosen carefully, and he watched Soubi's face for any change that indicated he'd said the wrong thing. "I didn't realize people as clean and sophisticated as Seimei Aoyagi paid for this sort of thing."

"Hmmm." Soubi murmured. He took a long drag from his cigarette. "Well…they do, yes. But….Aoyagi is a bit of a special case. It wouldn't do to expect all our clients to fit his particular…mold."

For the first time in hours, a bit of unhappiness crept into Ritsuka. He hadn't really been considering other clients. And certainly not….unsavory ones.

The only thing he could think of in reply was, "oh."

"He was appropriate with you, I assume?"

Ritsuka had no idea what that meant. If by "appropriate," Soubi meant "fantastically sexy" then….hell yes.

"He was nice to me, if that's what you mean…" Ritsuka ventured. Why did Soubi care, anyway?

"Mmm," Soubi said, thoughtfully. "Yes. Mr. Aoyagi is rather... polite. A bit charming as well." He nodded, as if agreeing with himself, and blow out a long, slow stream of smoke.

Seimei was much more than a "bit" charming, but he didnt feel THAT would be appropriate to say. Was Soubi feeling THREATENED? Was it possible he DID have feelings for Ritsuka that outweighed that of the other boys?

Ritsuka inwardly shook out those thoughts. No, of course not. Maybe this all really was routine. He nodded and decided to agree. "Yeah. A bit."

Soubi didn't meet Ritsuka's eyes as he replied. He only stubbed out the remainder of his cigarette on a nearby ashtray, grinding it into the ashes. "It's important for all my boys to keep track of the clients they see….I'll be expecting to hear if Mr. Aoyagi comes calling for you again."

"Sure," said Ritsuka, although something inside him was just ITCHING to tell Soubi it was none of his damn business. Wasn't it enough that Ritsuka was bringing in money for him? What did it matter who it was? And what about random, anonymous clients, like that sketchy guy Natsuo and Youji enticed over from across the street? What were they supposed to do, ask for ID and write everyone's name down?

But he didn't voice any of this. Youji was a smartmouth and it was blatantly obvious that Soubi disliked him, if not downright hated him.

"Very good," Soubi said, briskly. "Now…there's something else I wanted to discuss with you."

He leaned to his right and slid open one of the desk drawers, fishing around in it until he muttered a faint, "ah ha."

When he righted himself, Ritsuka saw one of the most shocking undergarments he'd ever seen dangling from Soubi's fingers.

It was a thong – that much was obvious from first glance. The strings were nearly as narrow as floss, joined together with tiny jewels. Ritsuka didn't know whether the crystals were real diamonds or not but if they WERE real….this was also the most EXPENSIVE undergarment he'd ever seen.

The crotch was nothing more than many jewels sewn together….white and blue and green and yellow…assembled in the shape of a peacock's feathers. Taken together, they left very, very little to the imagination.

"I wanted to give this to you," Soubi drawled. He sounded as if this kind of gift were entirely normal. Like he was handing over a pair of cufflinks or something. He held the thong out toward Ritsuka. "I hope you'll wear it for me one day."

Ritsuka stared at it, the light from the dim desk lamp glinting off its majestic jewels. He then looked up at Soubi, at the satisfied smirk he was wearing, and he realized that Soubi must be mistaking his horror for shocked flattery.

Coming back to himself, he reached out and slowly retrieved it from the long, steady fingers, and realized for the first time that Soubi wasn't as charming as he'd originally imagined. Soubi was really, seriously freaking creepy.

Soubi seemed to pause for a bit, as if expecting Ritsuka to respond. When Ritsuka gave no answer, he filled the silence with, "Well then….it's very late and I think you ought to go and get some rest with the others. I'm sure you're exhausted." Then he stood and opened the office door – a very clear dismissal.

Ritsuka nodded and said the perfunctory goodbyes. Slipping out the door, he had barely closed the door and turned around when he came face to face with Kio. They both started at the sight of each other, then Kio laughed.

"Ritsuka! I was just… I was… I needed to…"

Ritsuka pressed the peacock thong into his hand and patted it. "Don't worry. He's all yours."

Without waiting for a reply he slipped down the hall and into his room. As he slipped into bed, he realized that much of his earlier dopey, blissful satisfaction with the night had vanished.

In its place was the stark realization that….yeah. Soubi Agatsuma really was….a creep.

It felt as if he'd only just closed his eyes and Ritsuka was already being awoken by the bright glare of sun against his eyelids and the sensation of his blankets being dragged away. He made a half-hearted attempt at grabbing them back up to himself, but missed. Then there was cool air on his stomach as the hem of his shirt was pulled upwards, and slender fingers sliding up his chest.

He swatted it like a spider and opened his eyes. Natsuo was throwing his covers to the ground, and Youji was leaning into his face, smiling predatorily. It was his hand crushed beneath Ritsuka's, his index finger a mere whisper from his nipple.

"Morning, sexy." Said Youji.

"And just what the HELL do you think you're doing?" Ritsuka asked nastily. He had never been a morning person, and he had never been the sort of person who was okay with private bits of his body being stimulated without invitation.

"They're just having a little fun."

Ritsuka looked around for the voice and spotted Kio snapping his usual silver hoop earrings into his lobes.

"Kio, you're just going to let them have their way with me?"

Kio shrugged and reached for a bottle of gel. "I'm feeling a teensy weensy bit spiteful after you emerged from Soubi's office with a fancy thong in your hand."

"But I didn't ASK for that!" Ritsuka protested, pushing away Youji's roving hands and snatching his covers back from the floor. "And I gave it to you anyway!"

Natsuo made a sound halfway between a giggle and a disapproving tut. "You know, Ritsuka…" he began. "Kio really has been hot for Soubi for like….ever. So….it doesn't matter how innocent you are. If you walk out of Soubi's office with underwear in your hands….he's going to be a bit of a bitch about it."

Kio paused in earring-snapping and threw a hairbrush at Natsuo – who ducked just in the nick of the time.

Youji smiled proudly. "That's my boy. Now...Ritsuka, we have a proposition for you. And no, this one doesn't involve molestation."

Ritsuka could feel his eyes narrowing. "And what is this 'proposition'?"

"We want to take you out to breakfast. You know….celebrate your first night whoring." Youji said all this with a bright, pleased smile. "We'll even pay."

The thought of getting out of bed wasn't all that appealing to him, but he WAS hungry. Plus, if Kio was going then maybe he'd eventually stop feeling titchy. He was the only one Ritsuka truly felt was a friend at this point and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Okay," he said. "Let me get dressed." When neither of them budged and both of them smirked, he shouted, "IN PRIVATE."

Youji and Natsuo chuckled in unison.

"Fine, fine," said Youji. "We'll let you have your privacy. For now."

Grinning devilishly, he and Natsuo left. Kio snapped in the last of his earrings and followed them out. Ritsuka hoped his silence wasn't indicative of more bad feelings.

An hour later, the four of them were seated inside a large, plush booth. Four cups of hot coffee were already on the table, steaming pleasantly. Ritsuka gulped his down as soon as it was cool enough.

"I'm getting the waffles." Youji pronounced, setting down his menu firmly. "Maybe two orders. God, I'm starving."

"You had a busy night," said Natsuo. "They must have put aphrodisiacs in the tap or something. The whole city was horny last night. Hmm... I want waffles too, and orange juice."

"How many clients did you have?" asked Ritsuka, perplexed. He had assumed that they all only had one client a night. MAYBE two if the first one was a quick BJ or something.

"Four." Youji answered, stretching his arms and yawning hugely. "And the last one had me over a table for an hour. The guy must not have gotten laid in months. My back is killing me."

Ritsuka's eyes widened. "Natsuo? How many did you have?"

"Same. Four. But mine weren't too bad. One even bought me dinner. Heh."

Ritsuka wasn't really sure if he was more surprised or relieved to see Youji's eyes narrow and slice over to Natsuo.

"Hey, who gave you permission to date your clients?" He asked, bitingly.

"My stomach," said Natsuo. He didn't seem put out by Youji's evident jealousy at all. "I wanted a milkshake."

"And I want you to do your job without bonding with the clients over frozen treats." Youji countered.

Natsuo gave Youji a decidedly bedroom-ish smile. "How about I give you a treat of your own later?"

Youji made a "hmph" sound. "You'd better. And next time, you're eating dinner BEFORE work."

"Yes, dear." said Natsuo with another smile. Youji's anger seemed to ebb after that – he laughed ruefully.

To Ritsuka's left, Kio rolled his eyes. "If all is again well in paradise, how about we give Ritsuka a chance to tell us about his night?"

"How about we order first before I EAT Ritsuka," said Youji. "Where is that lazy waitress?"

Kio stood and snapped his fingers at the woman, who was hanging out in the corner chatting to a fellow employee. She tottered over cheerfully and pulled a pen and notepad from her blue-lace apron.

Ritsuka ordered waffles too, at the insistence of Youji and Natsuo, but his was a plate balanced with sunny side up eggs and a cup of milk.

Kio got some sort of heart-healthy whole-wheat toast, egg-whites-only, fresh fruit combo.

"It's not like I can afford to be a diabetic at 30." he said defensively, after Natsuo snickered at his order.

"You and your diets, Kio." Said Youji. "Alright…now we can talk about Ritsuka's night." He grinned at Ritsuka and pinned him under his gaze. "Tell us all about your evening with Sexy Seimei Aoyagi."

Ritsuka felt his stomach dip, and he looked down at his breakfast. Tell them about Seimei? Where in the world was he supposed to start?

"Ritsuka, are you blushing?" said Natsuo. "He is! He's blushing!"

"That's all very cute and everything," said Youji, unconvincingly. "but we're hookers, okay? We're dirty whores. There's NOTHING you did last night that we haven't already, okay?"

Ritsuka felt himself blush deeper, and then Kio's hand was on his back.

"Okay, ease up on him a little."

"Looks like big brother's back," said Youji. "How annoying."

"Hush, Youji." said Kio firmly. "It was his first night. We all know that you weren't always so comfortable with this profession, especially on your first night."

That shut him up.

It gave Ritsuka the courage to at least formulate a reply. "It went okay…" he ventured. "Seimei was nice to me."

Natsuo and Youji glanced at each other.

"Nice to you," Youji repeated.

"Well... yeah. I mean... he's really...he held open the door for me and everything."

Natsuo and Kio sighed together.

"I love that," said Kio, Natsuo nodding enthusiastically.

"I hate that," said Youji. "I karate chopped his hand when he tried that on me. He stopped after that."

"I bet Seimei laughed when you did that," Kio said wryly.

"Yep," laughed Youji. "And then told me he got the message loud and clear."

Kio laughed with him. "Yeah…that's Seimei."

Ritsuka felt himself shrink back into the booth. Did ALL of them know Seimei better than Ritsuka himself did?

"You guys….have all been with him?" Ritsuka asked. He was afraid of the answer but he had to know.

There was a collective chorus of "yep" around the table, and Ritsuka put his hands between his knees to keep them steady.

"How often do you go with him?" He asked.

"As often as he wants us," said Youji.

"There isn't really any rhyme or reason to who he takes on any given night." Kio ripped a creamer open with his teeth and poured it into his coffee.

"I've been with him eighteen times," said Natsuo.

Kio nodded. "I'm up to sixteen. I think most of us are around that range. Well, he does only circulate about half of Soubi's boys. He doesn't like the buff, manly types."

"I think I'm the roughest, boyish one he takes," said Youji.

Ritsuka swallowed back bile. "And...how many times have you-?"

"Let him fuck me?" Youji supplied. "Thirty-two."

Ritsuka's heart pounded. Thirty-two times. Thirty-TWO. It was worse than he thought. And clearly Seimei had some kind of special thing with Youji if he took him so often despite him being "rough" and "boyish."

Ritsuka stared at the table, not knowing what to say.

"Here we are, guys!" the waitress chirped, coming up to their table with four plates laden in her arms. She passed around the orders, refilled their mugs with coffee, and strolled merrily away again.

"Hey…." Said Kio, obviously noticing Ritsuka's mood. "It's not like he won't be taking you again, Ritsuka. He doesn't play favorites. He never goes for the same boy twice in a row, but….I'm sure he'll be asking for you again sometime. Pretty soon, you'll have been with him as many times as we have."

This was only a small comfort….but Ritsuka knew Kio was trying to help him, so he nodded and started in on his waffles and eggs.

Across the table, Youji was stuffing a whole waffle into his mouth at once.

Kio reached over and poked his stomach with the tines of his fork. "I don't know where you put it." He muttered. "Everything on you is thin as a bean pole."

Natsuo smiled, propping his elbows up on the table and resting his chin in his palms. "Not EVERYTHING…."

"Hm. That's true," said Kio, and Ritsuka was temporarily freaked out that he knew that with such utter certainty. "But Youji's anatomy is hardly appropriate breakfast conversation. Ritsuka, did he take you in the hot tub?"

Ritsuka looked up. He didn't know Seimei had a hot tub, but he'd be damned if he was going to let them know that. "No, he had a fire going in the sitting room."

There were ooo's and ohhh's of approval, and Ritsuka felt his confidence rise a little.

"He had some kind of classical music going. It was soft. I couldn't hear it that well over, well... the noises."

Laughter, and Ritsuka was smiling again. He took a big gulp of his milk as Kio asked him for details.

"We talked about paintings for a while. He said he wanted me to draw him sometime. I guess he DOES want to see me again." He allowed himself a moment to treasure that revelation, then went on. "He gave me wine and a massage. He's... he's really good with his hands."

Natsuo sighed again. "He is, isn't he? I think he's taken a class or something and just won't tell any of us. There's SOMETHING behind that skill."

Youji snorted. "Seimei's just sexy, that's all. You don't need a class for that."

Ritsuka nodded. "Yeah…he is. And he's really polite. I spilled some wine on his carpet and he didn't even get mad about it. Just cleaned it up for me like it was nothing."

"I have to admit he's way better about that sort of thing than Soubi," said Kio. He paused to slip a piece of toast into his mouth. "I once came on a pair of Soubi's Italian slacks and he threw me buck naked out of the office."

Ritsuka choked on his waffle and laughed with the other two. Kio swallowed and went on.

"But then there was this once at Seimei's when I broke this really expensive, one of a kind statue.. oh my god, I FREAKED out. But Seimei cleaned it up and laughed. Go figure. I guess he's just an extremely forgiving guy."

"Or he doesn't give a shit about any of his expensive material possessions," said Natsuo.

Privately, Ritsuka had a feeling Natsuo was the one closer to the truth. He didn't know HOW he knew that but….it definitely felt like Seimei really wasn't very invested in the luxuries he had.

"Either way…" said Youji. "The guy sure can fuck, can't he?"

Ritsuka tried not to let his negative emotions about that statement get the better of him, and he mostly succeeded. In an effort to distract himself from them, he made himself respond.

"Yeah….I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do or what he wanted but…somehow he made it good. Really good, actually."

Youji grinned. "Where did he fuck you? In the sitting room?"

"Yeah…" Ritsuka said, blushing. "In front of the fire."

Kio let out a low whistle. "Yeah, you really got lucky having him as your first, Ritsuka."

"Did he do that thing where – " Youji began eagerly, but Kio cut him off.

"Come on, come on….I'm sure Ritsuka doesn't want to tell you every detail of it, Youji, you pervert."

He didn't really, but part of him wanted to brag. Part of him wanted to show them up and pretend he was way more special than any of them. "I will say one thing."

They all leaned in closer, eyes bright and eager. Ritsuka glanced at each one of them and grinned. "He came twice."

"Boo ya!" Youji and Natsuo high-fived each other.

"My sweet little brother is a dirty, dirty whore," said Kio, and he sounded proud.

"But Ritsuka, did you come too?" asked Youji. "Because that's important."

Natsuo rolled his eyes. "Of course he did. This is SEIMEI we're talking about here."

"I know that!" Snapped Youji. "But maybe he was nervous. Sometimes you can't even get hard when you're nervous."

Ritsuka wondered vaguely how he knew that because he was sure Youji had never been nervous a day in his life. Perhaps Natsuo was their first time together, or even some of the clients might have been. Either way… "Yeah, I did." He said, bravely. "I… I didn't know if I was supposed to or not. But in the end I couldn't stop it from happening. He seemed okay with it."

Natsuo smiled hard. "Ritsuka….I'm sure he was more than okay with it. Seimei really gets off on his partners feeling good. I've never heard any of the boys say that he didn't show them a good time."

Once Ritsuka had shared his little detail, he seemed unable to stop. "And he didn't just take me straight back after we were done. We shared some chocolates and drank some more and talked….he's really interesting. He told me about some of the paintings he has and he knows a lot about wine…he even taught me the difference between champagne and regular white sparkling. And he also –"

"Uh oh…." murmured Kio, interrupting.

"What?" Ritsuka asked, a little put out that Kio wouldn't let him finish.

"Have you been bitten by the love bug?"

"...What?"

"Has Dr. Snugglebum infected you with googoo eyes?"

"Stupid, Ritsuka doesn't speak flamer," said Youji.

"He wants to know if you're crushing on Seimei," said Natsuo.

"What?" Ritsuka exclaimed. "I….why would you even…."

"Ritsuka…." Kio said, with forced patience. "I know that Seimei is really charming and hot and all that stuff but….it's a seriously bad idea to get attached to him. Going down that path is setting yourself up for nothing but pain."

"He's right," said Natsuo. "The only people on your safe list for dating are Soubi's other boys."

Ritsuka sunk into his chair. "I don't like any of them. And I don't have a crush on Seimei."

"Good," said Kio. "See that it stays that way."

"Aww, come on, Kio." Youji protested, stuffing more bits of waffle into his mouth. "Seimei's the hottest bachelor on Soubi's client list. Let the kid dream."

"But…."

"It's not like anything's going to happen." Youji went on. "Ritsuka will have his fantasy, then get over it, and then move on."

Kio sighed. "Well….I suppose it's not like the rest of us haven't fantasized once or twice about him…."

Natsuo nodded. "Youji and I have been trying to talk him into a threesome with us for….ages. But he always says no. Maybe we need to wear skimpier clothes next time we ask…."

Ritsuka began spooning the rest of his breakfast quickly into his mouth. He wasn't hungry anymore; his stomach hurt so badly. But he needed a distraction from their chatter, and he needed an excuse not to speak again.

Breakfast lasted so long that it ended up being more of a quasi-lunch. Ritsuka and the others returned to the house afterwards – and Ritsuka learned that it was an unspoken rule that each boy tidy up his space. So he passed the afternoon by making up his bed and straightening up what few possessions he'd taken with him after running away. The sketchbook and his drawing supplies were always in the most orderly, pristine condition, though. They didn't require much effort at all.

After that, it was time once more to dress for the night. Kio helped out again, styling Ritsuka's hair and making sure his clothes were revealing enough to attract clients. This time, Kio had chosen barely-there shorts and a tight leather jacket.

"You've got great legs, Ritsuka," he explained. "You need to show them off."

"But I'll freeze out there!"

"Just dance and keep your jacket on. You'll be fine."

So that was how Ritsuka found himself as we stood on the street with the others – shivering and dancing close to Kio, trying desperately to maintain body heat.

"Work it, Ritsuka, work it! Shake that ass!" Youji had come up behind him and slid a finger into each side of his beltloops.

Ritsuka's immediate reaction was to STOP dancing and attempt to turn around.

"No, no, no," said Natsuo. "Keep moving. Rub your ass against his crotch. If he gets hard, you're doing it right."

"Natsuo!" Ritsuka exclaimed, his face heating up.

"I'm SERIOUS," he said, shoving Ritsuka back against Youji. "He has amazing mind power over his erections. If you can get him to spring on against his fighting it off, you've got a nice money maker going on."

Ritsuka glanced over at the street. There were quite a few cars tonight. Not quite as dead as it was yesterday, which meant he'd definitely be going with someone again. He couldn't see a Rolls Royce anywhere. He wanted to be visible when Seimei came around-IF he came around, but he didn't want to attract anyone else's attention too soon.

"Ritsuka, if you don't do something I'm going to get an INVERTED erection," said Youji, sounding as if his patience were wearing paper-thin.

Startled, Ritsuka tried again. He couldn't quite bring himself to do all that Natsuo had told him to, but he managed to swivel his hips a bit while he peered out into the night. It was difficult because Seimei's car was black…he wouldn't really be able to see it until it was already close up to the curb….

"Ritsuka….come on. You're barely doing anything at all. Why are you so distracted?" Natsuo huffed.

Ritsuka looked back at the other boys. Kio was staring at him calculatingly, a hint of suspicion on his face. He had been texting for the past 10 minutes. Ritsuka assumed it must be Soubi. They were on some pretty heated terms that evening, and he couldn't help but wonder if it still had anything to do with that stupid bejeweled peacock thong.

"We should get Kano to take up the front," said Natsuo. "THAT'LL keep his attention."

"What, that ex-model boy?" said Ritsuka. "But I don't know him."

"You shy?" Ask Youji, a whisper right in his ear. He shivered involuntarily.

"I'm not shy," Ritsuka bit out between clenched teeth. It annoyed him that Youji had managed to make him shiver. Which immediately led him to wonder if Youji had ever made SEIMEI shiver…and then his stomach felt sick again.

"Hey!" Natsuo shouted. "Kano! Come over here!"

Resisting the urge to hide behind Kio, Ritsuka watched as a very young, tall boy walked over. He looked every bit a model: flawless skin, cute face, body full of lean lines and clean-cut edges. When he got near enough, Ritsuka even discovered that he smelled as good as he looked, and that his nails were perfectly manicured.

Ritsuka's heart beat into overdrive. What if Seimei came by tonight and saw Kano there? He would definitely take him over Ritsuka…there was no way Ritsuka could compete. And Seimei had already said that he found Kano attractive…and then there was that thing about how Seimei never took the same boy twice in a row…Ritsuka was doomed for sure.

"Yes?" Kano asked, his voice tranquil and smooth. It was odd, though, how it also sounded….hollow. Like a jug that had been filled and emptied out one too many times.

"This hot piece of ass is Ritsuka," said Youji, his hands all over Ritsuka's hips. "I'm teaching him how to dance but he's shy. Want to help me?"

Kano shrugged. "Sure. Hi, Ritsuka."

"Um." A tiny, victimized noise escaped him as Kano reached passed Ritsuka and grabbed hold of Youji's belt loops, then yanked him close, smashing Ritsuka between them. "..H-hi."

"You're cute," said Kano, which was definitely not what Ritsuka expected to hear from someone like him. "But you're a mess. You'll get more clients if you exhibit confidence. Follow the movement of my hips, but counter it. Okay?"

"Okay…." Ritsuka murmured hesitantly.

Kano started up a slow grind, one that Youji apparently knew well. Ritsuka soon found himself without any choice for which direction his hips ought to go. Sandwiched between the two of them, it was very natural for his body to move against theirs. Kano would rock forward and Ritsuka would rock back and against him, helped along by Youji behind him. Eventually, Ritsuka stopped relying on their leads to know what movements to make. He didn't need them to guide him anymore. He was following their own shared beat all on his own.

He heard Natsuo wolf whistle at the three of them. "Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!"

It had worked out as planned, in any event. Ritsuka was definitely distracted. Or perhaps disheartened was a better word. Kano was tantalizingly attractive. If he were a normal person who felt sexually wanton on a regular basis, Kano would definitely be able to make those stirrings come alive. Instead, it only made him want smash mud in his face before Seimei came around and looked at him.

And now that he saw Kano up close, he recognized him from posters in shop windows. Just last Spring he was on a billboard Ritsuka passed every morning on the way to school. Scathingly, he wondered what kind of Seimei tally Kano was up to.

"You've got it," he said, stepping back.

"Don't stop now," Youji whined. "It feels so good."

Ritsuka stepped away quickly, only just now realizing there was a very prominent bulge in Youji's pants. Like an idiot, Ritsuka was blushing again, and he hated himself for that. Kano was right; he WAS a mess. He didn't want Seimei seeing him like this.

"Hey, Ritsuka!"

He looked over to Kio, who was watching him again. "Stop looking for Seimei Aoyagi. There are many other clients who will serve their purpose just as well."

"I'm not looking for Seimei!" He lied, and turned completely away from the street.

"It's okay," said Kano, also watching Ritsuka's face carefully. What WAS this anyway? "Seimei is a good client. He has a way of making us feel comfortable."

Ritsuka folded his arms closer into his chest, hoping the movement looked like he were warding off the chill and not acting defensive. "I wasn't looking for him."

"Can I kiss you?" asked Kano, and Ritsuka blinked.

"What?"

"I want to know what it's like to kiss you." Kano's face was completely, 100% dead serious.

"Kiss him!" hissed Youji excitedly. "Go on, go on!"

"I... guess that's okay."

Ritsuka wasn't sure what to expect. Kano stepped forward without any further prelude, setting his hands on Ritsuka's shoulders. He bent down and touched his lips to Ritsuka's, once, softly, and without even the hint of tongue. Then he pulled back, looking just as serious as ever.

Ritsuka had no idea what to say. Thanks? Okay then, see you around? There was no feeling inside him except discomfort.

Natsuo cut in before things became awkward. "You guys look so cute together!"

"You really do," said Kio. He was smiling now, his cell phone pocketed. Maybe he and Soubi made up. "You've got that cute and innocent first time romance look going on."

Ritsuka wanted nothing more than to bury his head in a mountain of sand and never have anyone look at him ever again. But Kano was smiling now; not meanly, not even sheepishly. People were SHIPPING them, and he looked pleased, and maybe even delighted by Ritsuka's obvious embarrassment.

"Soubi might even want to film you two," Youji said, smiling. "I KNOW he could make some serious money on this…"

Ritsuka couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Soubi….sells videos of the boys?"

"Hell yeah," Youji answered. "Well….not videos of us just sitting around kissing each other of course. Those really wouldn't sell. You'd have to fuck Kano for Soubi to make any money off it."

After that, Ritsuka wished even more for that mountain of sand. Soubi was very, very much unlike Ritsuka thought. It was starting to seem all the guy cared about was sex and how to profit from it.

Kano didn't speak one of protest at this idea.

"But I'm sure that Soubi wouldn't ask you to do that for a few weeks, at least, Ritsuka." Kio explained. "He knows you're still new to all of this. Speaking of which, you can still come and observe with me tonight since you didn't really get a chance to yesterday. See how a master does it."

Before Ritsuka had a chance to answer, a pair of gleaming headlights shined out of the darkness, glowing brighter and brighter. A car was pulling up to the curb, rolling to a stop right in front of Ritsuka. It was the black Rolls Royce….Seimei was here.

Ritsuka felt like running. He couldn't stand here and listen to Seimei ask for another boy. He just couldn't.

The driver's side window rolled down smoothly, revealing Seimei at the wheel. He was wearing the same warm smile that Ritsuka had gotten so accustomed to last night.

"Hello, Ritsuka….care to join me tonight?" he asked. Then his smile turned a bit wicked. "There's chocolate we haven't finished…."

There was only one answer in the whole world that Ritsuka wanted to give. "Sure!"

He spared one moment to glance at Kio, Youji, and Natsuo and give them all a victorious smirk. He felt so VINDICATED now…almost without knowing why. They were WRONG about Seimei…Seimei WOULD choose the same boy twice. If it was the RIGHT boy. If it was Ritsuka. Then, without another word, Ritsuka sprinted to the passenger side of the Rolls and hopped in.

As the car sped out of sight, Kio watched, blinking stupidly. "Did that…..just happen?"

Youji smiled, clearly impressed. "Hey….Ritsuka must know more than we thought. That little minx!"

Kano smiled too, staring at the ground thoughtfully. "Yes….a minx indeed."

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