A Cup of Lust, Beauty and Affairs

Summary:Taichi, a photographer and artist fascinated by the beauty of the world, becomes captivated by the beauty of a customer at his parent's coffee shop. Innocent desires soon blaze into an unforgettable, insatiable affair. (Taito)

D-Angel: Gawd this chapter is long, but surely that's a good thing? It does make up for the almost half a year wait, and there's some tasty plot/character development. I don't want to give too much away, plus I am absolutely knackered thanks to a mixture of exercise, work and late night writing. Therefore I will allow you lot to read on and enjoy yourselves ;)

Rating: T / Borderline M

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Chapter 6- Divine Intimacy

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'Inside, what a wonderful, caricature of, intimacy '

"You're sleeping with him?" Mimi gawped, abruptly sitting up from her sprawled out position on top of the red and white chequered blanket we were sharing at Odaiba Seaside Park. She knitted her eyebrows inwards and squinted, trying to add some form of menace to her half-attempt of a frown. "Unbelievable."

Savouring the cool salty summer air brushing past us, I reached down and grabbed another jam sandwich from the pink plastic picnic basket resting in between us, trying to hold back my smile as I started reminiscing.

It was during a memorable night of movies and cocktails at my apartment when I slept with Yamato for the first time. I can't describe how amazing it was; he was wild, yet unsurprisingly compassionate. The way his hands slid across my body instantly made me melt, like a neglected tray of ice cubes in the summer heat. His velvet voice wrapped its way around me, enveloping me in a state of euphoria as the night slowly burnt on.

In simple words; it was wonderful. I had never experienced anyone like Yamato before; how could I feel bad about having sex with a guy who was engaged when it all felt so amazing?

We'd been sleeping together for almost a month when I decided to summon the courage and propose something which I considered to be somewhat daring.

"Can I draw you?"

I only chose to draw portraits of people I considered an important aspect in my life, or if I was paid to do so. Drawing a person is a lot more intimate than just taking a few photographs; it requires studying the person's every feature, focusing on every little curve and crevice of their faces, in order to obtain an accurate life-like effect when putting pencil to paper.

Truth be told, I was so familiar with Yamato by that point, I could have drawn him with my eyes closed.

"Sure, go ahead," Yamato gracefully accepted. It took a couple of hours to do his portrait, but he was so relaxed and patient about the entire thing that I wished that all living subjects could be like him.

"Wow, that's incredible, Tai," Yamato's sensual voice fluttered towards my ear drums like a moth to a flame after I handed him the finished sketch. I appreciated the praise, but truthfully I wasn't fully impressed by that picture. It was a sin really that not even my own drawings could live up to Yamato's true beauty.

"It still needs some colour," I said as Yamato placed my sketchbook onto the coffee table and gazed down at me with his gorgeous eyes. The drawing soon became a distant memory as Yamato clambered onto my lap and his soft lips merged with mine. He tasted divine, like sweet summer strawberries.

We often fooled around in my flat but as things grew more desperate, and urges became harder to control, we had no choice but to start being creative. In the back of his car or mine, in the coffee shop toilets (classy), it didn't really matter so long as we could be together, intimately. His home was always out of the question. The risk factor was appealing, but not worth sabotaging everything we had if Sora ever happened to walk in on something.

It was apparent Yamato was not happy with her, but I didn't have the guts to find out why, or ask him why he didn't just leave her. I still felt the same sinking sensation plague my stomach every time he had to crawl out from my arms and return home to his fiancée, but it was sadly becoming part of normality for us.

"I specifically told you not to get involved with him," Mimi huffed, her eyes drilling straight into the core my conscience. I bowed my head as the empty sensation of guilt started to expand in my chest.

"It just kinda happened," I defended, rolling a piece the spongy crust of the sandwich I'd just eaten between my fingers until into transformed into a small warm ball of doughy goodness. I contemplated eating it, until Mimi tutted loudly.

"Honestly, I'm more annoyed at the fact you kept it secret from me for so long." My head jolted upwards as Mimi made her confession. "And I was wondering why you were grinning more than usual."

Mimi was usually the first to uncover a piece of juicy gossip, primarily when it involved me. I was actually becoming worried that she hadn't caught on to how serious Yamato and I had gotten until now.

"I want to meet him," Mimi announced and firmly slapped her hand against my thigh.

"Ouch!" I whined. The skin she had struck momentarily felt like it was on fire, implying that she had branded me with a lovely handprint. For someone so small she could be so psychically brutal at times.

"Why do you want to meet him?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as the pain from Mimi's abuse started to subside. Her eyes started to shine with passion; my expression eased as she reached towards me with her slim hand and rested it against my cheek for a few seconds.

"You're screwing him, and he's hot beyond all reasons. Do I need any other reasons?"

"Well," I began, tapping my index finger against the bridge of my nose, "you've never really been that interested in meeting any of the other guys I've slept with before. Why the sudden interest?"

"I can see you're smitten with this one," Mimi curled a strand of her wavy hair around one of her fingers, "you would have listened to my advice otherwise."

Reflectively it was morally wrong to sleep with someone who was off limits, thanks to their engagement. I often found myself going against people's advice, unless I agreed with it myself. How do you learn anything in life without making a few risqué mistakes?

"Smitten?" I echoed, the word sounded foreign on the tip of my tongue. It was an emotion I hadn't felt in a while.

"Like a kitten." The certainty stricken across Mimi's face was unnerving. For one bizarre moment I pictured myself with a pair of cat ears poking out from my styled hair and a long busy tail peeping out from a hole in the back of my jeans. In this deluded fantasy I was nuzzling up to Yamato on the sofa, purring gladly as he stroked me under my chin.

"Come on, Meems," I tried to shine a bit of realism onto the situation I had tumbled head first into. It was always about love and rainbows with her. I was convinced she he had chosen to forget that Yama was engaged. "You know it's not like that."

"Wanna prove me wrong then?" Mimi teased in a playful tone whilst she used a hand to smooth out a crease in one of the picnic blanket's corners. Her eyes looked back up me, beckoning me to cough out my response.

"Ok, ok, I'll arrange something," I sighed in defeat, scratching the crown of my head. Mimi would have eventually for her own way regardless; she always had a way with men, whether straight, gay or otherwise. I didn't really mind her meeting Yamato. I figured I could show her that my fling with him was not going to develop into a full blown relationship anytime soon.

"We could organise a night out or something," was my suggestion. It had been a while since I had been out on the town, especially with Mimi. We used to go out a lot when we were teenagers, although we sometimes fought over the same guy (even if he did happen to be gay as well).

"A night out." A pleased grin spread across her face as she clapped her hands and rubbed her palms together. "Brilliant idea, leave it to me!"

Knowing how wild that girl could be, I dreaded to think what she had planned.

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The time was 20:45pm and already Mimi and I were halfway through our second pitcher of cherry blossom margarita. Our first Tokyo night out in what seemed like forever was already off to a cracking start.

Zaru was an incredible bar, famed for its beautiful crystal chandeliers, which dangled proudly from the ceiling (surrounding various shiny disco balls), and mood changing lighting; gradually flickering from colour to colour without people realising if they weren't paying any mind.

Circular air vents were lined up along the walls at the back of the bars. Within them, behind the protective grating, giant metallic fan blades spun round and round, easily hypnotising anyone that gazed at them for too long.

Once we had our fill here, we planned on heading to Womb, a popular nightclub a few streets away which Mimi had managed to get us on the VIP guest list for. We had decided to meet Yamato at around 20:30pm in Zaru first, since he had to help Sora with a few household chores beforehand.

Every time I glanced anxiously at my watch, Mimi topped up my glass and reassured me he would turn up. I was unsure though, recalling the odd occasion when Yamato hadn't shown up at the coffee shop, or my apartment, and only to muster up an excuse several hours later.

I almost leapt up from our table when I spotted Yamato glide through the main door moments after doubting he would show up. His eyes scanned the room, searching for me and Mimi. And once he saw us his hazy orbs locked with mine and the corners of his lips curled upwards as he flashed me his pearly white teeth. Not to sound gay, but I could have quite literally melted on the spot.

Well, that was until I saw Sora following closely behind him- with her bright red (newly dyed) hair scraped back into a messy bun, supported by two purple chopsticks. My elation then faded into despair.

Yamato greeted me with a fleeting hug, the sort that still somehow only doubled my lusting for him. I desperately fought back the urge to cup his chin in my hand to force our lips together. As always, he looked delicious. On top of a simple black t-shirt he wore a blue, black and white lumberjack shirt. It was a combo of clothing which I loved.

Whilst Yamato turned his attention to Mimi and warmly shook her hand as he introduced himself, Sora scrutinised my petite companion through curious eyes.

"And this is my fiancée, Takenouchi Sora."

At the mention of her name, Sora immediately drew her light brown eyes away from Mimi and looked over adoringly at Yamato. I instantly felt my stomach flip, especially when she grasped his hand with her own, suggesting that they should go grab a drink.

As the couple headed off, Mimi appeared to be in a state of complete awe.

"He's even more gorgeous in real life," she gushed, her eyes darted down to Yamato's toned buttocks, emphasised perfectly by his snug fitting light blue denim jeans (the exact same pair he wore at the photo shoot), as he ventured towards the bar with his arm around Sora. I scrunched up my nose and flicked my finger against my half-empty glass.

"He didn't mention he was inviting her," I grumbled bitterly, the alcohol I had consumed was already affecting my ability to hold my tongue. Mimi rolled her eyes, more than aware with how I could get whenever I drank.

"She's rather pretty," Mimi spoke the words I didn't care to hear. As she continued to babble on about Sora's appearance, I focused on the funky dance music flittering out from the speakers spaced out around the bar and bopped my head along to the beat. I tuned back in when Yamato and Sora sat down on the remaining chairs at our circular table. Yamato subtly slid his chair towards my own by a fraction whilst he pretended to get comfortable.

"So, tell me." Mimi laced her fingers together once Yamato and Sora were happily seated, drawing attention to her multicoloured acrylic nails. "How did you two meet?"

Mimi, never one to beat around the bush.

Yamato quickly glanced over at Sora, who was gazing at him like a child eager to hear the same old bedtime story. It was all the permission he needed to continue. He scratched the underside of his chin and made a small 'erm' noise, despite it was a question he clearly didn't have to put a lot of thought into. Who could actually forget the day, or at least time period, that they first met any of their partners?

"We met when we were eighteen," Yamato revealed as he lifted his mojito glass up to his mouth deliberating whether to take another sip or not. Sora was glancing over at him, her eyes were watchful.

"I had just finished a gig with my band at the time." Yamato lowered his glass back onto the table. "We always went to the bar after our set to mingle with our small fan base."

I felt my cheeks flush with unwanted jealously as Yamato explained how he was knocking shots back with his band mates and a couple of fan girls when he noticed Sora leaning against the bar all by herself, trying to attract the attention one of the bartenders.

"My date had abandoned me in favour of some tall, busty brunette," Sora joined in with the storytelling, her voice laced with bitterness, "so I pushed my way to the front of the bar, figuring I might as well grab a drink before I left. That's when I first noticed him."

A blush fell across her cheeks. "I felt nervous when I realised he was the lead singer of The Teenage Wolves."

"My old band," Yamato quickly reinforced, staring momentarily over in Mimi's direction, who desperately tried to hold back a giggle.

Sora took a thoughtful sip from her orangey red cocktail before she resumed talking. Apparently, her eyes met with Yamato's for one glorious moment before she firmly turned her head away. Detecting her frustration, he gained the attention of the female bartender in the blink of an eye and ordered Sora her drink, as well several more shots. After that they were hooked on each other, or at least that's the impression I got.

"Sora intrigued me. Not to sound big headed, but I was used to women clawing at me, so meeting a pretty girl who wasn't desperate for my attention was somewhat refreshing; and although we just talked about music and our plans for the future, she left me wanting more."

They exchanged numbers before parting ways at the end of the night.

"I didn't think for one moment he would call me," Sora confessed as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass, "but the next day he invited me out for a coffee."

"A month later, we started dating," Yamato concluded, his voice seemed to drift off as he looked down at his left hand, "and four years on, here we are; still together."

I noticed that Yamato was twirling the engagement ring around his finger with his other hand with his eyes focused heavily on the piece of jewellery, which I knew he secretly detested. His body was shaking slightly I noted. There was something he was holding back.

"Just curious, Ishida-kun, but why do you wear an engagement ring?" Mimi stretched her hand out across the table, pointing at the offending object on Yamato's finger which he was still fiddling with.

I was impressed; not only was Mimi being observant, but she had also brought up an interesting question. I'd never really thought to question Yamato about the ring, but I had realised that a lot of men didn't wear engagement rings. It was traditional for just the woman to wear an engagement ring, and then wedding rings were often usually worn by both men and women as well to symbolise their lifetime commitment.

"Oh, well, I thought..." Yamato stumbled over his words as he attempted to answer Mimi's query. His cheeks were flushing bright red as he tried desperately to string a coherent sentence together. I empathised with him; no one liked being put on the spot.

"...We decided there was no harm in us both wearing one," Sora sharply spoke above Yamato, who winced in obvious discomfort as he wrapped his fingers around his mojito glass, "that way we only belong to each other, and others will always be aware of that."

The silence that followed was heavy. During that time my throat felt as if it was gradually closing, like a giant snake had coiled its way around my neck. Those words Sora had spoken had sounded far from affectionate; her tone had been defensive and venomous. It confirmed to me that there was definitely something amiss with their relationship.

"That's so sweet," Mimi beamed, her enthusiasm thankfully seemed to disintegrate the awkward atmosphere in an instance. I smirked. She always had a knack of defusing the most uncomfortable of situations without sounding the least bit insincere.

"What about you two?" Sora asked suddenly as her eyes scoped between me and Mimi. Bewildered expressions fell across our faces. "You're together, right?"

It was almost as if she was hoping we were a couple. Her discomfort around Mimi was easy to sense; the way she kept leaning towards Yamato every time Mimi looked over at him was a dead giveaway. Then again, it was no surprise Sora was possessive; most the girls in the bar were practically drooling over her fiance.

In response to Sora's question, Mimi snorted, almost spraying her drink absolutely everywhere (I saw a drop dribble down her chin). Such a lady she was.

"Oh God no," she chuckled, digging her bony elbow into my arm. I flinched, but not from her physical gesture. I knew all too well the information Mimi was about to reveal. As much as I hated keeping my sexuality a secret, I realised in this situation it was beneficial if Sora didn't know the truth.

"We've been friends for too long, it'd be like incest," I quickly hi-jacked the conversation before Mimi could career it down the wrong route. Sora and Yamato laughed warmly, quite obviously out of politeness. After that, there wasn't much more either of them could contribute to the topic; Sora didn't know me or Mimi well enough to state that it was a shame we weren't an item, and Yamato clearly knew I wasn't interested in girls.

The next half an hour seemed to stretch for eternity as we managed to make small talk, sharing work related stories and chatting about a few diabolical TV shows. Sora glanced over at the display of her phone - resting besides her drink on the table- for the third time in the space of ten minutes before she slid it back into her handbag.

"Unfortunately," Sora gracefully gulped down the remainder of her cocktail before she continued to speak, "I have to go."

"Oh?" Mimi tilted her head to the side as she watched Sora push her own chair back. I checked my watch. It was almost 22:00, still early in terms of a Friday night.

"Work tomorrow, 8am start," Sora sighed. Mimi and I both winced. Working early on a Saturday morning was never fun.
"Want me to come home with you?" Yamato asked as he stood up alongside Sora, a doting expression stricken across his face. My stomach started to churn, and I started to worry that my cherry blossom margarita was about to make an unwanted reappearance. I quickly cupped my hand over my mouth and breathed in sharply.

"Nah, I'll be fine. You stay out and have fun," Sora rubbed her hand against Yamato's arm, whilst he briefly looked over at me, his eyes clouded with bemusement.

Moments later stepped outside and waved down a taxi for Sora. Before she clambered into the vehicle she glanced over at me and Mimi once more with a small smile playing on her lips.

"I trust Yamato with you two," she spoke in a broken tone. Of course, I was aware that she didn't; or at least it was maybe just Mimi she didn't trust. What irony it was that Mimi was the most trustworthy and sincere one amongst us all.

Sora peered up at Yamato as he rested his hand against her cheek, his unfaithful lips only briefly skimmed against hers before he squeezed her shoulder and told her to text him when she'd got home safely.

As she climbed into the taxi, she caught my gaze for a couple of seconds. Her eyes seemed tired, and there was an emotion dancing within them which I could just about comprehend. One of raw anguish, frustration and confusion all rolled into one.

Before the guilt could pin me down, the three of us grabbed our own taxi and headed to Womb; a club so huge - with its four stories and several dance floors- I had managed to lose a few friends and dates in there for an entire night in the past.

Moments after we had entered the club, Mimi rushed over to a small well dressed group of girls and guys- who were stood by the dance floor- wobbling slightly on her high heels as she stretched out her arms and started to hug each person in turn. I glanced over at Yamato and raised an eyebrow before we stalked after Mimi, stopping just a few paces away from where she had run off to.

Quickly spinning back round to face us when I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder, Mimi flashed a smile at the both of us whilst the group of twenty-something year olds she was talking to gazed at us judgementally.

"Meems? Who are these…" I spoke loud above the music as I tried to find out who her friends actually were.

"…I'm gonna go catch up with these guys," Mimi interrupted me as she pulled me into a drunken hug, making it quite apparent she didn't want me and Yamato hanging around with her whilst she mingled with her entourage. (Turned out she was really into one of the guys in the group, but was worried me and Yamato would steal him away).

"You two better behave!" Mimi winked slyly in my direction before she and her friends dispersed into the huge mass of wiggling bodies on the main dance floor.

I suddenly felt like a young teen that had been left home alone; only being left alone with Yamato was far more thrilling.

"Mimi knows about us," I revealed as I felt Yamato's warm forearm brush against my own, realising seconds later that he was already aware of this bit of information. It was no wonder why my ex had often called me 'Captain Obvious'.

My head instantly felt light as Yamato dipped his head towards me, his mouth skimming precariously against my ear.

"I assumed so," his tone was intentionally sensual and as always, it made my stomach swirl with excitement.

"Let's dance," Yamato affirmed, his talented hand held tightly onto mine. I instantly glanced down at his fingers. He was no longer wearing his engagement ring.

We tore it up on that dance floor; like it was ours and ours only. Our bodies grinded together as we grooved to our own personal rhythm. We didn't care who was looking as we kissed wildly, his hands sliding underneath my white shirt, tracing across my flaming hot skin. Over the powerful thumping of the bass, I was certain I heard the shattering sound of several hearts breaking.

Unable to hold back our desires any longer, we stumbled back through the sweaty crowd and out into the warm summer's night air and hailed a taxi. Mimi's apartment was only a five minute ride away, and since I had planned on spending the night there she had given me a spare key.

By the time we had reached Mimi's place, and I had nudged the front door shut, my shirt was unbuttoned and hanging off one arm. Yamato's lips suckled hungrily on my neck whilst his hand professionally undid my jeans. Just moments later our clothes were pooled around by our feet. Yamato was stood with his back facing me, the palm of his hands resting flat out against the door as I stroked his length with my hand.

As Yamato made insatiable panting sounds, much like a breathless animal, I couldn't stop myself from driving into him, the heat instantly driving me beyond the brink of insanity. Our bodies swayed in a reckless unity, my legs shook wildly when I reached my point of no return and my fingers dug firmly into his soft moist skin. Our sighs and grunts synchronised as we yet again crossed over into the realm of adultery, shattering the words Sora had spoken earlier into small unimportant jagged fragments.

We kissed gently as we stumbled into the small living room and crashed down onto the sofa, our skin damp and bodies trembling in the aftermath of our passion. He buried his head against my chest, his hair tickled my chin as I closed my eyes and sighed out in content, savouring the moment as best I could.

Yamato left and headed back home to Sora half an hour later, but as I clambered into Mimi's spare bed I refused to wallow in the sadness that often tried to drape over me. Things were already starting to heat up dramatically, and I knew I was powerless and way too greedy to stop them from burning out of control.

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Song lyrics (At the beginning of the chapter)

Panic! At The Disco - 'Build God, Then We'll Talk'

D-Angel: So, the whole bar/nightclub was not going to be until the next chapter, but I figured I'd bring it forward since there will be a major ass plot development from the next chapter onwards. I guess that's why this chapter turned out to be over 4,000 words, ha. I am very likely to change bits of this chapter over the next few days/weeks; as mentioned before I am feeling uber tired at the moment, and lack any patience to proofread this chapter properly (apologies for any awful grammar mistakes etc). Guess I was just eager to get this chapter posted up; in case people think I've abandoned it!

Views, constructive criticism... hell, even any suggestions are more than welcome, I love to hear from you wonderful lot. I'll work on getting the next chapter up sometime in May or June, it's gonna be a fun one to write (first scene is already written, yey!).

Well, that's about it, I'll be seeing you guys next chapter!

D-Angel

18/04/11