Note from Author: Yep, I went and wrote a chapter 3. This one's a bit bolder than the other two, but I'm still trying to keep things on a tame, tasteful level. I had fun writing this one. When I plotted out the bit about, "Mr. Bear doesn't need to see this," I had trouble keeping myself from laughing at the mental image. Likewise, Tohru's replies to Natsuno's regulars in this chapter had me smiling as I planned them, and since I was work at the time, I had to be careful not to break out in laughter over the idea. So, yeah, I had to come home and write Chapter 3 after that.
Chapter 3: First and Only
The water ran down Natsuno's face and chest, his wet purple locks framing his face. He didn't have to look to know Tohru was shyly peeking in through the door. He could feel Tohru watching him. Not that he cared that Tohru was there, but the 'Peeping Tom' thing was beginning to give him flashbacks to Shimizu, and making him a little uncomfortable. "Tohru!" he called in a commanding tone.
"Wow, even with the water in your face you knew I was here?" Tohru asked pushing the door open just enough for himself to slip inside, before closing it.
"You want to watch fine," Natsuno said, ignoring Tohru's remark, "But don't just stalk about like that, alright?"
Tohru froze upon hearing this, and almost instantly realized what Natsuno was getting at. "Oh, right, sorry," Tohru said. "Maybe I should delete these pictures I just took, then, too?"
"Pictures?"
Tohru giggled and showed Natsuno a few pictures he'd snapped through the door. "I was considering showing them off to your little admirers when they come in tonight, rub it in their faces I got them, then sell off to the highest bidder."
Natsuno shot Tohru a silent look and Tohru smiled mischievously, understanding immediately what that look meant, "What the hell made you even consider such a thing? You dare to even try and I'll hang you up by your toes!"
Tohru giggled. "Don't worry, Natsuno. I'd only show them the ones from the waist up." He slipped up beside the tub and reached inside, gently playing with one of Natsuno's soaking wet purple curls. "… The rest are mine!"
Natsuno gave the blonde Shiki one of his 'whatever' smiles. "You're an idiot, Tohru-Chan," he said trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, I know," Tohru chirped, happily.
Natsuno reached out of the tub and grabbed the camera out of Tohru's hands, tossing it across the room onto his stack of towels, to keep it away from the water. Before Tohru had a chance to react, in one swift, fell motion, he found himself pulled into the tub, clothes and all. Natsuno smiled at him. "But you're my idiot," he said, leaning in and kissing Tohru's forehead.
"Natsuno, my clothes are getting soaked!" Tohru protested as his face flushed red. It was kind of funny, this seemed like a stunt Tohru would have pulled on Natsuno when they were still humans back in Sotoba. One thing was obvious; those Vampire stories about how they couldn't touch or cross running water didn't seem to hold true. Maybe that was just certain types of Vampires? Either way, showering wasn't exactly something the boys had to do anymore, but were capable of and continued to do out of habit.
Tohru's honey-blonde locks became soaked. He stopped complaining about his clothes getting wet as he shook them out of his face, when he opened his eyes, they had landed directly on Natsuno's chest. Tohru blushed. "Whoa… Oh, Mamma, give me some of that," he moaned.
Natsuno put a finger on Tohru's forehead, he didn't need to apply any pressure to keep arm's length between them. "No eating in the tub," Natsuno chuckled, teasingly.
"Aaaw…" Tohru pouted. "Ok, I'll wait. … But I want more than just your arm tonight."
Natsuno smiled. "You know where the best spots are, Tohru-Chan," he assured the Shiki, with a wink. Finally, Natsuno shut off the water and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist and fluffing his hair with another. Tohru peeled off his wet clothes as Natsuno tossed him a towel.
Tohru dried off as quickly as he could and snatched up his camera. Whether he showed those pictures off to the girls or not, he was determined he wasn't going to leave it lying around for Natsuno to delete them.
The two Okiagari finished drying off and went back to their rooms to get dressed. Before putting on a shirt, Natsuno went back to Tohru's room to let the Shiki feed, letting Tohru choose where to bite, just as promised.
Soon, it was time for them to open the restaurant. Tohru had decided to lock the camera in the drawer in his bedside table. Sure, Natsuno was strong enough he could force the drawer open if he wanted, but Tohru knew he wouldn't.
Natsuno worked in the kitchen, letting Tohru handle the customers. The teenaged Vampire had been fully fed and could be trusted amongst the humans without overtly close supervision. Though, it wasn't like it mattered, Natsuno's senses were strong enough, even without drinking human blood, that he could hear everything that happened outside in the dining hall, and could come in if anything went awry.
Natsuno found it all rather ironic. He'd always been a city boy, and yet, at the same time-as a human-he had been an introvert; creating his own energy by passing time quietly with no-one around, or at least in small groups of people he felt comfortable around. Now, he was a Jinrou, an Okiagari who could feed on human blood to make himself stronger, but didn't need to do so as he could still eat human food. Tohru on the other hand, while being the charming country boy he was, was the complete opposite. Tohru had always been the center of attention, an extrovert, through and through, the more people he could make smile, the more energy he seemed to have. Perfect, fitting, stupid, cruel irony that having become a Shiki, the once gentle boy still needed others to give him his energy, even if it were in a different way. Why was it that for everything Natsuno was, Tohru was his exact polar opposite? Introvert and Extrovert. Hot and Cold. Jinrou and Shiki. Strong and Fragile. Day walker and moonlight bound. Sensible and… Playfully childish. "Humph," he chuckled to himself, as he thought about it, "I guess it's true what that Western song says. The one with the girl and the cartoon cat." For a moment, Natsuno felt ashamed that he even knew what he was talking about and quickly decided to try and focus on something else.
Natsuno could hear the customers carrying on and sighed. Seemed like he'd forgotten that it didn't matter if you're in the backwoods or in the big city, everyone gossips and uses labels.
Tohru was busy taking orders. Ever since he had warned them to go home together, Natsuno's three regulars started coming in together as well, sitting at the same table. While Tohru was jotting down the order for the customers at the table directly across from the three, he could hear them talking about how they'd love to get their hands on Natsuno and what they'd do with him when they got him alone. "Please ladies," Tohru said, turning to look at them, as he started to walk to the next table waiting for him, "Natsuno would destroy all three of you in ten seconds flat." There was no menace in his voice as he said this. His voice was calm and relaxed. He walked past them, three tables over and began jotting down the next orders.
The three girls looked at each other, somewhat uncomfortably. 'Big Brother Worship,' they could understand, sure; given what they knew about the situation with Tohru and Natsuno, but that just seemed like it was taking things a bit far. Tohru smiled, he knew that had stung them. "Oh, what does he know about it?" one girl giggled, trying to laugh it off.
"True, he's like, what, only fifteen?" the second said, "He's probably still a virgin."
"No I'm not!" Tohru said in a sing-song kind of voice, almost skipping past them as he headed into the kitchen. He was in a great mood tonight, and he wasn't about to let those three ruin it.
Natsuno heard the whole exchange and buried his face in his hands. "Idiot," he sighed, pinching the point of his nose between his eyes, trying not to laugh.
"Natsuno!?" Tohru called happily, as he came into the kitchen.
"You enjoy annoying them like that, don't you?" Natsuno asked.
Tohru could tell Natsuno wasn't mad at him about it. After what they had said, what they had done, Natsuno was all for letting Tohru get away with whatever he wanted-within reason, of course. "Oh come on now, Natsuno," Tohru said, as he folded his hands together behind his back, still feeling he had to explain himself, "They're the ones who wanted to play hard ball in the first place. I've got what they can never have. If I can't flaunt that in their face, where's the fun in it?" Natsuno smiled. "It's not like I'm worried about competition, Master Natsu," Tohru winked.
Natsuno and Tohru both froze. Had Tohru really just said that? He was joking, of course, but he'd spoke without thinking. Both their faces turned beat red. God, what if a customer had passed by on the way to the restrooms and over heard that exchange? Talk about awkward. Natsuno gave Tohru a silent nod in the direction of the curtain hanging between the hall and the kitchen. As if understanding exactly what Natsuno was on about, Tohru turned and peeked out into the hall. He sighed, looked back at Natsuno, and shook his head, to signal nobody was there. Natsuno heaved a quiet sigh and nodded. "Right, new rule; no more talking like that when we have customers around," he said, flinging the stirring spoon into the pot.
"Right, duly noted and agreed," Tohru confirmed, still blushing bright red. He pulled the order tickets he'd taken for the last three tables and handed them to Natsuno. "They're… They're going to want you to take their order, ya' know," Tohru said, refusing to look at Natsuno, for a moment. "I told you they weren't going to deal with me anymore if they could help it. I'd rather not even give them the chance to demand it tonight."
"Right," Natsuno sighed, taking the order tickets. "I'll take care of them, as soon as I'm through with these orders." He nodded in the direction of the readied plates. "Go ahead and get those out there, and take a few more orders in the meantime." Tohru nodded. "And, hey!" This forced Tohru to finally look back at Natsuno. "Stop daydreaming," Natsuno said with a sigh. He smiled at Tohru and signaled for the little Shiki to come over to him. He gently kissed Tohru's forehead. "We'll talk later," he winked.
Tohru smiled and nodded, seeing the smile on Natsuno's face. That was also part of what Tohru had meant when he said he had something those girls couldn't have; Natsuno's smile. His real smile. For as long as Tohru had known Natsuno, it had been difficult for other people to get him to smile. Oh, sure he would politely smile if the situation called for it, or give a half-hearted smile. Back in Sotoba, he would even try to force a 'whatever' smile or a half-hearted one Tohru's way to hide the real one. But smiles like that, he didn't mean them, they were for the public, to pretend he cared about a conversation that was boring him. But Natsuno had a true smile, one that he really meant, and Tohru was the only one who had ever managed to get him to show it.
"Sure thing," Tohru said, happily, picking up the tray of plates that needed to go out. Like he said, he was in a good mood today, and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it. Tohru did as he was told, delivering the meals to the appropriate tables, taking three more orders, and heading back to the kitchen. Oh, he had stung those girls good tonight, he could feel them trying to stare a hole straight through the back of his head. He simply shrugged it off, knowing if he felt like it, he could throw a look in their direction that'd scare them all right out of their matching hot-pink miniskirts. "Heh," he thought quietly, "Thanks to his last little 'admirer', Natsuno hates the color pink, anyway. You girls'll never win him over wearing that." He turned and smiled at them as he quietly passed by their table. Never before had Tohru taken more pleasure in watching someone shudder like that. He had the monster within under control-as long as he was with Natsuno he always would, but that didn't mean he couldn't still feel it every now and then. Tohru finished taking his next few orders and went back to the kitchen.
"Ok, Natsuno, I'll take it from here, for now. Go take care of your little trollops," Tohru quipped with a giggle as he came back into the kitchen. Tohru really didn't hate these girls, but had fun playing with their heads, and Natsuno wasn't a very good influence on the situation.
Natsuno looked up at him, "Are they mad at you?" he asked, stifling a laugh.
"Steaming!" Tohru announced happily, "They're hoping looks can kill out there."
Natsuno smirked, they both knew that even if that were possible, it wouldn't be enough. "Right, take over," he said, passing the apron to Tohru in exchange for the ticket book. In truth, Natsuno couldn't turn them out of the place without just cause-they might try to cause trouble with false sexual harassment charges or something, but he was secretly hoping Tohru's playful way of constantly turning the tables on them would eventually run them off.
"Good evening, ladies," Natsuno greeted them, as he approached the table.
"Oh, Yuuki-Sama," the girls happily greeted him.
Natsuno closed his eyes and forced on a smile. At least it wasn't Shimizu's 'Yuuki-Kun' greeting, but they weren't really making this easy for him to swallow, as he could hear the swoon in their voices as they spoke. "I see you're back again, tonight," he continued, "That's every night this week, isn't it? I know our food's good, but I didn't realize it was that good." The girls giggled and it took all of Natsuno's will not to roll his eyes at them. He made some polite small talk with the girls while taking their orders, but he would have preferred to retreat back to the kitchen, out of the watchful eyes of everyone else.
Natsuno finished taking their orders, and took a couple of others, before heading back, so it wouldn't seem like he was ignoring the other customers. "Girls can be so stupid sometimes," Natsuno grumbled, to himself, commenting more on the 'small talk' and gossip that came from their mouths than on the girls themselves.
"Sooo… Why did we open a restaurant again?" Tohru asked, as Natsuno crawled back into the kitchen. He asked this because he knew Natsuno hated dealing with people.
"We have to make money, somehow," Natsuno grumbled, "And it was a way for both of us to do something together," he continued a little more positively, "And…" Natsuno's eyes fell on Tohru and he stopped talking, and shook his head in astonishment. "That's amazing, Tohru-Chan."
"Huh?" Tohru looked at him rather confusedly.
Natsuno walked over to Tohru, his eyes focused on one of Tohru's cheeks. He reached over and gently plucked a grain of rice off the blonde's face. "You don't even eat this stuff anymore, how'd you manage to get it all over your face?" He wasn't mad, he was just surprised, and Tohru acted like he clearly hadn't realized it happened.
"I dunno'," Tohru answered with a smile and a shrug, turning back to the food he was stirring on the stove. "I'm just talented that way, I guess."
Tohru slid aside, letting Natsuno join him at the stove, the two of them worked together to get the last nine orders taken between them cooked, plated, and ready to serve. They eventually had to prepare more food to start on the stove in the process. "Oh, hold on," Natsuno sighed, "I'll chop some more pork for the pork-fried rice." Natsuno went to the fridge and pulled out a few small pieces of pork and took it over to the chopping block. "Tohru-Chan, can you get some more peas from the cupboard and two eggs out of the fridge?" he asked. Tohru nodded and began to fetch the requested ingredients.
"Do you have enough rice over there?" Tohru asked.
"Yeah," Natsuno said, looking up at the ingredients he had on the counter. "I believe I should have eno… Ah, Jees!" Natsuno exclaimed quickly jerking his hand away from the meat. Tohru looked up and his eyes widened. Natsuno had gotten careless and nicked his finger with the knife. He had pulled away before contaminating the meat, but the scent of blood was already in the air. Before Natsuno knew anything, Tohru had approached him, caught Natsuno's wrist in his hand, and making sure his back was between Natsuno and the entrance to the kitchen, had gently stuck Natsuno's finger in his mouth. "T-Tohru-Chan…?" Natsuno whispered. "It'll heal right up," he sighed, his face flushing a little, as he felt Tohru's tongue flick over the tip of his finger.
"Sorry, Natsuno," Tohru said, blushing slightly, as he let go and the wound healed. "Just seemed like a shame to waste it."
"It's ok," Natsuno sighed, washing his hands, thinking he could understand Tohru's point of view on the subject. It was times like this they were both glad they didn't have to hire any help.
The two boys quietly went back to work fixing the food. Finally, when everything was ready, they plated the food and set it all on the trays. Tohru took six of the plates, and Natsuno the other three.
The two of them went back out together, each delivering their trays. Natsuno quietly listened as one of Tohru's regulars tried to start up a conversation. "So, Yuuki-Kun?" That was how the customers greeted them, now, Natsuno was Yuuki-Sama and Tohru Yuuki-Kun. They both felt it awkward, but they managed to deal with it. "The guys and I are going to the festival in town tomorrow night, and we figured we'd ask if you'd like to go." Natsuno smirked, it sounded like Tohru was still good at making new friends after all. He wasn't quite expecting the reply that came.
"I dunno'," Tohru said, shaking his head. "I mean, I'd like to, but I'm not sure if Natsuno'd like it."
Natsuno blinked and glanced quietly in Tohru's direction. Did Tohru really think he'd object, or was he afraid of loosing control of himself in a city full of strangers?
"What?" the customer complained, "Dude, you hardly ever go outside. Is your brother that much of a control freak? What a jerk."
"Not at all," Tohru replied calmly, tucking his hands inside his pockets. "He's my legal guardian, sure. He just gets worried easily." He smiled at the customer. "I mean, come on, do I really look like I can take care of myself on my own?"
"So, what about you, Yuuki-Sama?" one of the three girls asked as Natsuno finally made his way over to their table.
"Huh?" Natsuno replied, his purple eyes narrowing in response as he finally looked away from Tohru and up at them.
One of the girls crossed her legs, while another playfully flicked her hair off her shoulders, the third sat stirring her straw around in her cup. "Are you planning on going to the festival with anyone?" they asked.
Natsuno smiled, he already had an answer that would send Tohru's elation levels through the roof. "I'm sorry, ladies, but if you're asking me out, I'm afraid I can't." Tohru and the customers he'd just been talking to all looked up in Natsuno's direction. "I was planning on keeping it a surprise, but with everyone talking about it, I guess he'd find out anyway," Natsuno said, knowing good and well Tohru's eyes were fixated on him. Without even looking in Tohru's direction, he could almost sense the little Shiki quietly rolling his tongue along his teeth in anticipation, just one of his nervous ticks. Natsuno smiled, turned his back to the girls, and glanced back over his shoulder, "I'm taking Tohru-Chan tomorrow night, he's been cooped up inside too long." With that, Natsuno calmly walked back to the kitchen.
Tohru nearly bit his tongue and quietly watched Natsuno leave the room. "Excuse me," he said to the customers, once the other teen had left the room, quietly following the Jinrou out of the kitchen. He would have been skipping if it weren't for the fact that he realized that this would be their first 'date' if Natsuno was serious about going. Instead, he was too busy trying not to let his face turn beat red from the thought.
Natsuno smiled, he could hear Tohru following behind him. He turned to watch as Tohru entered the kitchen. "So?" Natsuno smiled, leaning against the counter. "You want to go to the festival tomorrow, Tohru-Chan?"
Tohru smiled and pounced at him. "Natsuno!" he exclaimed happily.
Natsuno smiled and wrapped his arms around Tohru, ruffling his lover's mess of blond hair. "I'll take that as a yes," he chuckled. "You know, if you had asked, I would have let you go with those guys if you wanted."
Tohru shook his head. "Nuh-uh, I wouldn't enjoy myself if you weren't there," Tohru said, forcing himself to let go of Natsuno. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather go with," he said with a smile, "But if we run into them, we might hang out with them for a little while, if it's ok with you. I know you're not good with big crowds, Natsuno."
"I thought you'd have figured it out by now, Tohru-Chan," Natsuno smiled, "I'll endure anything for you. …" Natsuno blinked, looked at Tohru and put a finger to his own lips, signaling Tohru to stop and listen. From all the way in the dining area, the two Vampires clearly heard the three girls, feeling quite dejected from Natsuno's announcement.
"Ugh…! That kid is such a brat! He takes up all of Yuuki-Kun's free time. He doesn't even act like he's sick."
The complaints sounded like each different girl had put in her own two cents, but from all the way in the kitchen, it was harder to tell which one made what complaint. Natsuno and Tohru both looked at each other and started laughing. "I think that's the final push to get rid of them," Natsuno said hopefully.
"Aw, too bad," Tohru giggled, "It'll be boring around here when they're gone."
The boys finished taking care of the last of their customers, Tohru put up the 'CLOSED' sign while Natsuno cleaned the remaining dishes off the tables. "Tohru, do you want dish duty tonight, or the mop and broom?" Natsuno asked.
"I did the dishes yesterday," Tohru replied.
Natsuno smiled. "Alright, I'm done in here, then, go grab the broom."
"Sure thing, Natsuno," Tohru said, running off to the janitor's closet.
Between the two of them, they managed to finish cleanup with plenty of time to spare for the night. Natsuno found he was forming a habit of going back to Tohru's room long before returning to his own; things between them really were just like they had been back in Sotoba. Well, almost. Except that they had agreed on separate rooms to allow each other some form of privacy-and that Natsuno enjoyed having the windows in his room, he was almost starting to think it would have been a good idea to just move his stuff into Tohru's room.
Tohru happily passed Natsuno in the hall and opened the door to his room. "You coming in, tonight?" he asked the Jinrou. Natsuno smiled and nodded. "Great, maybe we can find a cheesy late night Kaiju movie or something."
The two boys settled in on the bed and Tohru turned on the TV and began flicking through channels. Finding a movie to leave it on, he snuggled up to Natsuno. Maybe it was all that energy he'd been putting off tonight, but Tohru's body felt warmer than usual. "You've been awfully spry tonight," Natsuno remarked.
"Mmn…" Tohru nodded. "Tonight's the best I've felt in a long time. I almost feel like my old self."
Natsuno smiled. He was glad to hear it. He wrapped his arm around Tohru, catching the blond teen's hand in his. "Say, Tohru-Chan?" Natsuno asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, Natsuno?" Tohru replied.
Natsuno remembered the exchange between Tohru and the girls. He was suddenly curious about something. "I want to ask you something about Ritsuko-Chan. It's kind of a personal question, so you don't have to answer. I know how much she meant to you, so I've been trying not to tread on your memories of her."
Tohru looked up at Natsuno. All night, it seemed as if the Shiki were capable of reading the Jinrou's mind, at least when it counted. Tohru put a finger to Natsuno's lips and smiled. "Not another word, Natsuno," he said, rolling over and hopping in Natsuno's lap, locking his eyes with Natsuno's. "Yes, Ritsuko did mean a lot to me, and I'm glad you're trying to be respectful of my memories of her. But before you even ask, I'll remind you that I told you every dirty little secret I ever had, whether you were interested or listening or not." Tohru crossed his arms and looked at Natsuno rather seriously. "Don't you think that if I was kickin' it with an older woman, you'd be the first, if not the only person I would have told?"
"Wait, what!?" Natsuno couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Tohru smiled, as he noticed the realization of what he'd just admitted was setting in on Natsuno. He jumped off the bed, playfully sticking out his tongue. "Remember that drive I wanted you to join us on? I didn't ask you to simply go along as a chaperone. I'd been sort of dating her since before I'd met you, so if I went off and did anything with you and not her, it felt like I would have been cheating. But at the same time, I felt I would have been cheating you if I went off with her." Tohru's smile got a little wider, as the blush on Natsuno's face got even brighter. "I was hoping we could all go somewhere isolated and out of the way and make it a three-way," he said with a wink.
Natsuno's face was so red from embarrassment now, that it couldn't have possibly gotten much redder. "Then you mean to say I'm…"
Tohru giggled, "My first and only," he admitted, he smiled and pointed at Natsuno, sort of singing Natsuno's name as he said it, "Na-tsu-no."
Well, that explained Tohru's behavior tonight. Natsuno couldn't believe what he was hearing. Going to an early grave and a virgin, Natsuno could understand that for himself, considering he was fifteen and how anti-social he'd always been. But at eighteen, for it to be true for vibrant, beautiful Tohru as well? That just didn't seem fair. Tohru smiled and leaned in toward Natsuno. Tohru knew all to well the same was true for Natsuno. The red slowly left Natsuno's face. Tohru was leaning in too close when Natsuno looked back up, their faces almost touched. Before Tohru realized what was happening, Natsuno had reached up, and jerked Tohru back onto the bed, hugging him. No words needed to be said between them at that moment. The two of them simply smiled at each other.