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, and very deadly affair.
Sorry for the loooooong wait. Life got in the way. I've had a turbulent time; lots of moving around and changes going on, particularly in the last year. I'm now currently back at University, training to become a Physiotherapist! It's a tough course, but I'm enjoying it. Single too, ugh! I'm more than ready to join a nunnery now, haha. Oh and just to add to things, Covid got me again recently. That's why I've had the time to write (self-isolation is no fun) and really focus on drafting and finishing this chapter. It's a chunky monkey (over 5,000 words!).
Replies to my lovely reviewers (I hope you are all doing well!):
Guest / Ichi Yagami: Your review reached me just as I was almost near completing Chapter 30! I definitely intend to keep hammering away at this story. It's end is approaching and I am determined to finish it. I know what you mean about the fandom though, it has certainly thinned out over the last several years :( I'm happy we are still being blessed with Digimon 01 and 02 spin-offs though!
Brin-brin: Approx 2.5 years. But, who's counting? xD Hopefully it's been worth the wait ;)
Cloe Lockless: Aww, that's encouraging to hear! I had to re-read the whole story myself recently to remind myself of everything that had happened, haha. There's a few random plot holes here and there, but I guess it's to be expected in a story I've been writing since 2005! Lol. Fingers crossed I can maintain the same (ish) quality for the last few chapters.
NoctIsFishing: Honestly, I had no idea where I wanted to take the story after Chapter 29, hence the cliffhanger! I've tried writing several versions of Chapter 30 and beyond, and I finally found a path that I believe will work the best, especially whilst trying to maintain and develop the relationship Taichi and Yamato have (the story is ultimately meant to be about them). Takumi's definitely on the verge of a complete meltdown either way, as this chapter will show...
Badger-Chan: I hope you still have your nails! Honestly, adulting is so difficult. Can't we all go back to being care-free teenagers again? Lol.
Right... I think that's everyone accounted for. I really hope you all enjoy this long awaited chappy :)
(Warnings: Elements and implications of sexual and physical abuse, including drugs and alcohol)
Chapter 30 -Withdrawal
'You're like a drug that's killing me, I cut you out entirely, But I get so high when I'm inside you.'
Isamu grabbed me by the wrist and led me into his living room before I had even had the opportunity to remove my trainers. His laptop was sitting on the dining table, the lid flipped open. To my surprise, Yamato was perched on one of the chairs. He instantly sprung up to his feet and made a beeline for me. His arms cascaded around me in a comforting embrace, holding me tightly for several seconds as I squeezed him back, savouring his sweet scent.
"There's something you have to see," Isamu explained as he sat down by his laptop.
I approached the table cautiously, Yamato tailing behind me. Isamu's eyes were focused on the thumbnails dotted across the laptop screen. I leaned over his shoulders so I could get a better look. My eyes analysed the black and white pictures, before cupping my hand across my mouth as a wave of horror washed over me.
They were all photos of an array of young males, naked, or barely clothed, all of which were sprawled out in provocative positions. The subjects were mostly Asian, but one or two appeared to be European. They had the same sedated expressions fixed on their faces. A harrowing wave shuddered across my skin; they were all too similar to the photographs Nobu had taken of Yamato.
"What the hell is this?"
"Nobu's dark secret," Isamu answered, his tone low. Tilting my head to the side, this was not the worst of it, I realised. There were more photos, but Isamu seemed reluctant to click onto them. He peered over at Yamato, who nodded his head in a silent agreement.
"Tai… Try not to freak out," Isamu stated, his voice remaining calm as it could, although his hand was trembling as he hovered the cursor over and clicked on a particular photo, blowing it up on the screen for all of us to view.
W-what the fuck? Part of me was certain I was dreaming. How was this even possible? My entire body was shaking. I willed myself to calm down, but my head felt like it was spinning out of control. My throat had tightened; I could barely breathe. The subject in the photo; it was me. I was spread across a double bed, naked. My knees were bent, and my legs spread wide in a very compromising pose. Staring at my face, it was clear I was completely out of it: A vacant expression in my eyes.
"Where did you find this?" I asked, my voice strained. The longer I stared, the more I wanted to be sick. I couldn't look away, until Yamato's fingers laced around mine. "Not just this, but all these photos?"
"Mimi's friend, Koushiro. He helped us do a bit of digging," Isamu explained. He reached down to the laptop's keyboard and closed off the picture. "These photos were all uploaded to a password protected server. Koushiro did some reverse image searching based on the photographs Yamato sent to us, followed by a bit of hacking."
As Isamu started to cycle through the other photographs, I observed the similarities in the lighting and composition of each one. It was apparent they were taken by the same photographer, at least from what I could tell.
"All the subjects- or victims - they're either inebriated, or clearly out of it. A result of being drugged, one could even say."
My eyes instantly widened.
"Regardless," Isamu continued as he started to cycle through some of the pictures, "none of the men in these pictures look like they're in a position to give consent."
My heart continued to pound furiously against my ribs. I knew what he was implying. Nobu was obviously the photographer, but there was also the involvement of another individual; someone who was able to easily gain the trust of others. Someone who had ways to control and manipulate them.
"Tai, I know this may be a big ask," Isamu said, "but can you remember when or where this picture of you was taken?"
Closing my eyes, the mental image of the photograph I was in had already burnt into my mind. I wished I was still oblivious to this whole situation, still, I tried to rack my brains as to when and how it had occurred. There had to be a clue somewhere in that image.
"Let me see it again."
Isamu swiftly brought the photo back up. I shifted closer to the screen, analysing the snap carefully, now studying the surrounding deco, panic clawed at my stomach. The dome shaped lamp on the bedside table; I recognised it.
"This was taken in the Park Hyatt."
Pressing questions started racing through my mind. Why had this photo been taken? Had I somehow agreed to it in my inebriated state? I wasn't exactly a stranger to doing wild and spontaneous things. When the photograph had been taken was a completely different story. There were no obvious clues in the picture, and there had been several nights where I had drank too much and woken up with no memory of how I had even got back to Takumi's hotel suite.
"Are these posted online anywhere?" Yamato asked, keeping his fingers laced tightly with mine. Isamu minimised my picture once more, then tapped his index finger against his lower lip.
"Koushiro only said they could just be backups Nobu has uploaded to the cloud; online storage, essentially."
I frowned. Why had Nobu kept copies of these images? What was he doing with them?
"I'll ask him to run another search," Isamu said. He opened up his emails and tapped out a message at lightning speed before hitting the send button.
It was worth probing further into. I always had to receive consent from my clients before I could upload any photographs I had taken of them onto my website. I deleted any photos I didn't need as part of my portfolio after a year of storing them. I imagined with intimate photos, such as the ones Nobu had taken, it was even more crucial to ensure he had permission to hold onto the images, and to delete the ones he no longer needed.
"Yamato, do you remember anything from the photoshoot you had with Takumi?" Isamu asked.
Yamato sighed softly.
"To be honest, I tried to erase the whole experience from my head. I only had a couple of drinks beforehand, but I didn't feel in control of myself. I blacked out halfway through it all."
Alarm bells rang. Nobu had stated something similar had happened to him too when he had spoken about his accident. My chest tightened. All three of us had fallen unconscious after drinking with Takumi. I knew it couldn't be a coincidence.
"Koushiro's replied." There was a hopeful note to Isamu's voice. "He says he's busy at work, but he will do some further digging later to see if Nobu has uploaded any of the photographs online anywhere."
I was glad Koushiro was willing to continue investigating the matter, but I couldn't keep waiting, not when I knew I would still only have to return to the suite at a later date to collect my camera equipment and clothes. Both Isamu and Yamato eyeballed me in concern as I hurried over to the front door.
"Tai, where are you going?" Isamu asked, using the same concerned tone he reserved whenever I'd been drunk on a night out with him.
"To grab my stuff from Takumi's hotel suite. He's at rehearsals," I said. I knew now was the only time I could collect my belongings without worrying about having a showdown with the black haired musician.
"I'll go with you," Yamato firmly stated as I was reaching for the door handle. I bit down on my lip, although I knew I couldn't say anything to discourage him. If the roles were reversed, I would have done the same.
"Be careful," Isamu warned. I reassured him that we would be, although I could sense he didn't want me going there at all. Quite obviously we still didn't know the scale of what we were dealing with, so he had every right to be anxious.
As we headed down the stairwell of Isamu's apartment block, Yamato tailed behind me, quiet and distant, lost in his own thoughts.
"Have you seen Takumi today?" I asked. It was a question that had been resounding through my head the moment we had stepped out of the apartment.
"He came by to see me this morning," Yamato revealed, his voice echoing up the empty staircase. "He didn't stay long."
Silence drifted between us again, until we reached the lobby on the ground floor. As my hand hovered over the door release button, a bright flash of light dazzled me, obscuring my vision. Trying to blink it away, all I could see was the image of me with my legs crudely parted and my vacant expression peering ahead. A heavy sensation washed over me.
The next thing I knew, Yamato's arms were supporting me, his concerned voice echoing my name over and over. I focused on his calming scent and the warmth of his body. My eyes fluttered open, Yamato breathed a sigh of relief. My head remained resting on his shoulder, his fingers trailed through my unruly locks.
"Being with him-" Yamato's body shivered against me. "-I thought I was protecting you. But, I was only hurting you."
He pulled me in tighter. "My fear is… if we keep digging into this mess, I'll end up losing you completely."
I'd never felt my heart ache so much. I sensed the same thing. The truth would not be pretty, and we had no certainty where it would finally lead.
"The notebooks I can overlook; that was careless of me. Takumi would have found fame with or without them too." His voice then darkened. "But what he did to Sora, and to you…I can't let that go."
The drugs were definitely a key factor in all of this. It was why Takumi was desperately trying hard to keep the truth buried. Finding the strength, I held Yamato back. I didn't want to leave his side. I could tell he didn't want to leave mine too, that was why I couldn't bear to let go.
There were a few stares from the reception staff as Yamato and I walked through the lobby of the Park Hyatt. Ignoring them, we hopped into the lift and I pressed the button to take us up to Takumi's hotel suite. Once we had stepped into the room, Yamato released a low whistle as he soaked in the luxurious setting.
"How the other half live," there was a sardonic edge to his voice. He placed a hand against my back. "Come on, let's grab your stuff."
As I peered around, the reality of the situation hit me hard, like a wave crashing down on the shore. I bit down on the inside of my cheek.
"You don't need Takumi's support," Yamato affirmed. "You've never needed it."
"It's not about that." The words escaped me before I had a chance to think them over. "Surely if I run away now, it'll only add to his suspicion?"
A frown spread across Yamato's brow.
"I don't care."
As he walked across the room, towards the window, I placed a hand against my forehead, nursing a headache I'd been unaware of.
"Yama…"
"When I asked him to leave you alone, he told me there was no point; you'd soon come back begging for him." My body jolted as Yamato slammed the palm of his hand against the partition wall. "He lacks respect for you, just like he lacks respect for me. He only cares about himself!"
Feeling the frustration bubbling underneath my skin, I knew he was right. Still, a strange sense of unease gripped me. The truth was I knew I was too entwined in the situation to simply just walk away without any repercussions. Takumi would never allow that. Yamato had already warned me of that.
He is dangerous. He will break you.
Maybe I'd secretly hoped Takumi would be here? That could have explained why I had wanted to collect my belongings without anyone accompanying me.
Was I drawn to the danger?
Distancing myself from Takumi should have been the logical solution. The photos were more than enough proof of Takumi's volatile nature. Yet, by getting away from him, I was just relying on others to get me out of yet another mess. Not only that, I was endangering them too.
"What's still stopping you?" Yamato asked, trying hard to hold back his frustration.
"Where can I go?" I asked, more of reflective thought out loud than the answer to Yamato's question. "I can't keep burdening Isamu, or my parents."
I couldn't risk them getting hurt. I knew what Takumi was capable of.
"That's simple," Yamato answered. "You can move into Mimi's apartment."
My brow furrowing, I shook my head. "That's not an option."
Isamu and Mimi were finalising moving into their new place on the outskirts of Tokyo. They would be moving in there together in a matter of weeks. Both their current flats had already been secured by new tenants.
"With me, it is."
My forehead creased in pure bemusement. Yamato rolled his eyes, amused by my lack of insight.
"Who do you think is taking over the lease to her apartment?"
My lips parted in surprise. Neither Mimi or Isamu had mentioned this to me. Maybe they wanted Yamato to be the one to tell me? Perhaps they thought it would deter me from staying any longer with Takumi…
"I thought you were moving back to Osaka?"
"I was planning to," he confessed as he took small tentative steps towards me. "But, after everything that's happened, and is still happening, I decided I'd rather be here, with you."
Mimi was already practically living with Isamu (most of her belongings were now in his apartment) so she had told Yamato she was happy for him to start moving stuff into the flat.
"It's a short term lease; just 6 months. After that, we can move to wherever we want."
Yamato sounded so bright and hopeful. After all of this, his spirit still hadn't been broken. Mine had felt like it had left me long ago.
"Say yes," he persuaded, tracing his fingers across my cheek whilst his intense eyes drove straight into the fibers of my very being. From the very beginning, way before we had even talked, he had this ability to ignite every little cell in my body and make me feel invincible. He was perfect because he wasn't perfect. He never pretended to be.
"Just think," Yamato's mouth brushed against my earlobe. "You'll get to experience my cooking all the time."
Jesus. How could I say no to that?
"OK. Fine. Yes," I half-laughed into the crook of his neck, melting further into his warm embrace. Smirking, he pushed me down onto the nearby sofa, kissing me with genuine passion and heat. I had truly missed it.
I moaned as his hands unzipped my jacket and slid underneath my t-shirt. The defiance Yamato possessed, it was incredibly sexy. Maybe that was part of his intrigue? No matter how dark or hopeless the situation seemed, he always seemed to hold onto something and push through.
"Yama…"
Upon hearing his name, Yamato seemed to suddenly snap out from his lustful daze. His eyes darted around the room before he removed his hands from my exposed stomach.
"Hmm. We probably shouldn't do this here."
"What about on the bed?" I asked. Yamato snorted and lightly jabbed his fist into my ribs before he climbed off my body, a small smile still lurking on his face. As he helped me back up onto my feet I noticed the prominent pink glow on his cheek; it was so appealing against his pale complexion.
"Now, let's grab your stuff. Our new flat awaits." Yamato's blue eyes twinkled suggestively. It was all the motivation I needed.
As I was gathering up my clothing on the other side of the partition, I gazed at the bed. There had been several drunken blurs with Takumi. I knew it would be near enough impossible to gauge when the photo of me had been taken. Still, I found myself trying to figure out the angle of the photograph Nobu had taken of me.
As I maneuvered around the frame of the bed, I figured he had taken it from the foot of the bed, angled away from the bathroom door. My chest still felt heavy. I wished I had a copy with me to truly determine it.
"Chi, are you sure Takumi is at rehearsals?" Yamato's voice snapped me back to reality.
"That's where he's meant to be," I called back.
There was a small stretch of quiet before Yamato spoke his concern.
"His guitar is still here."
A chill ran down the back of my spine. I immediately hurried back around the partition. Yamato was perched on one of the sofas. He had already unclipped Takumi's bass guitar from its confides.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Just checking something," Yamato responded, his eyes focused on the bass guitar cradled in his hands. "Hurry up and grab your stuff."
Deciding to put my questioning on hold, I quickly gathered up the rest of my belongings.
Yamato was kneeling on the carpet by the sofa when I returned to the seating area, his eyes staring down into the guitar case.
"Shit, look at this."
As I placed my belongings by the sofa, I followed the direction of his eyes. Scattered across the base of the guitar case were a handful of small bags of white pills and white powder. I dropped to my knees and joined him on the floor, dumbfounded by his discovery.
"I realised, I've never searched the bottom of his guitar case before. Turns out, there's a hidden layer."
Yamato picked up the lid and demonstrated how the makeshift lid slotted back on top to form a little secret compartment. A simple, but effective, design. As he placed the lid onto the floor, I wondered what had inspired Yamato to check for it?
Automatically, I reached out to grab one of the pill bags. Yamato immediately grasped my wrist.
"Fingerprints," he warned, before he released my arm. I retracted my hand, despite my fingers still being eager to carry out their investigation.
"At the first gig, I saw some pills in Takumi's dressing room," I told Yamato, half-closing my eyes as I recalled the event." He told me it was aspirin, but they may have been the ones in here."
Yamato arched an eyebrow, before his facial expression suddenly laxened.
"Takumi takes medication for anxiety," Yamato revealed. "But, the pills in here look different to those."
Takumi had never mentioned anything about having anxiety to me, or in his autobiography. I guess it was something he wanted to keep private, but it certainly explained a lot about his apprehensive behaviour.
"I guess he's not stupid enough to label what these ones are," I sighed, eyeballing each bag carefully.
"Well, if we go by logic, the pills could be rohypnol," Yamato squinted as he analysed one of the small packets. "The powder may be GHB. Although, Takumi isn't exactly a stranger to cocaine either."
It didn't surprise me. I knew rohypnol and GHB were commonly used to spike drinks. They were difficult to detect, and entered the body quickly. I had also heard rumours about Takumi's cocaine habit, but, although I hadn't witnessed him take any before, I wouldn't have put it past him.
Before we could decide what to do with our discovery, the distant door to Takumi's suite clicked open. Our eyes met in pure terror.
"Distract him," Yamato whispered as he quickly started to reassemble the guitar case back to its original state.
As I rushed to the lobby door, I was confused as to why we weren't standing our ground. We outnumbered Takumi. To confront him now seemed like a perfect opportunity.
Takumi was already stepping out of his Converse as I stumbled not elegantly into the marbled floor corridor, my heart thumping furiously against my chest. Despite knowing he was involved with the photographs, and the drugs hidden away in his guitar case, a strange combination of hate and lust hit me all at once.
Grabbing hold of his coat collar, I shoved him backwards as hard as I could. His back hit the wall, the wind escaping from his lungs. My angry eyes gazed into the bemused emerald pools of his irises as I held him in place. His breathing quickened, matching the sudden sparkle in his eyes. Takumi loved this; Aggression, passion… Anything where someone showed him intense emotion, positive or negative. I couldn't help but wonder why he was programmed this way?
Slowly, my shaking hand slackened its grip on his jacket, although I kept him pinned against the wall, a twisted part of my mind toying with the notion of kissing his venomous lips, just so I could buy Yamato a few extra seconds.
"Good afternoon to you too," Takumi joked, although, as I continued to hold him in the same position, I saw a flicker of unease dance in the reflection of his eyes.
When I released him, a confused frown momentarily darkened his brow. He removed his jacket and hung it up before he wordlessly followed me back into the seating area of the suite.
His eyes roamed around immediately.
"I thought you had dress rehearsals?"
"I wasn't really feeling it," Takumi replied, his eyes fixating on his guitar case, which was now fully closed and back in its original position. I felt my shoulders sag in relief, but only until Takumi spied my bags splayed across the lounge area.
"Are you… leaving?" he asked.
Trying to maintain my composure, although I could feel my hands shaking, I nodded my head.
"Do you really hate me that much?" There was a half-amused edge to his voice as he peered down at his phone screen. I watched silently as he tapped out a response to whatever message he had received. A heavy sigh then fell from his lips, before he slid the object into the pocket of his black skinny jeans. I froze as he walked over to me, then held my breath when he stopped just inches away from my body.
"I was gentle with you this morning." Takumi reached up and slowly traced his fingers against my cheek. "Do you prefer it rough?"
As his hand cupped my dick through my jeans I flinched. Takumi chuckled as he moved his hands away. He then turned away from me sharply.
"I want to be with Yamato." I blurted out what he already knew. All this time, it was a desire he had been purposely torturing me over. Something he wouldn't let me have without some kind of sacrifice.
"I figured," Takumi sighed as he sauntered over to the minibar. "When I saw him earlier he asked me to leave you alone."
He raked his fingers through his hair as he gazed into the circular mirror situated above the mini bar.
"He must really love you." His green eyes then locked with my solemn depths in the reflection of the glass. "Much more than I ever could."
Although I already knew the truth, those words, and the ones which followed, still stung.
"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that," Takumi sighed as his eyes continued to drill straight into me, soaking up every ounce of frustration and anguish I was experiencing. "I thought you understood our arrangement?"
Swallowing back the heavy lump in my throat. Of course. What else would a hot shot celebrity want with a plain and regular photographer? Yamato had warned me that Takumi was only using me, and deep down inside I had always been aware of it, but to hear Takumi admit it, it hurt.
"You said you wouldn't mess me around," I spoke in a low tone, recalling the empty promise he had made to me on New Year's eve.
"I haven't. You got what you wanted," Takumi replied simply as he poured himself out a generous measure of whisky. I found myself frowning. The truth had started to hit me hard and fast. What had I even gained from being with him? A bit of publicity perhaps, but at what cost? Endless weeks of humiliation, not to mention the exploitation that had come in the form of those explicit photographs.
"If you truly want out of this now, then I'll grant your wish," Takumi said, raising the glass up to his lips and deeply inhaling the fumes emitting from the potent liquid. Finally, he was willing to let me go.
"Shame I'm not in the mood for a farewell fuck." He rested back against the edge of the bar, his eyes glinting with malice. "Sex with you was almost as good as it is with Yamato."
Takumi swirled around the amber contents of his glass whilst he turned his gaze back to the sofa, eyes focused on his guitar case. My fingernails dug deeply into the clenched palms of my hands as a frustrating heat prickled against my skin. I was completely losing my sanity.
Or maybe, I had already lost it?
"What would it take for you to leave me and Yamato alone?" I asked.
An amused chuckle sang out from his throat.
"That's quite a big ask considering how the outcome wouldn't even benefit me." Takumi continued to chug back the contents in his glass. My chest tightened. He was right. He had no incentive to leave us both alone.
"I can't be expected to stop seeing you both." There was a strange quiver masking his usual confident tone, which he quickly swallowed back. "That isn't fair now, is it?"
"Actually, it's more than fair," Yamato announced, emerging from the opposite side of the partition. Takumi's eyes widened, he almost lost his grip around his whisky tumbler as his body jolted in surprise. Being so focused on Takumi, I had almost forgotten Yamato was still here, and I had never been so relieved in my life to hear his sexy voice.
"You've hurt us both enough already."
"Hurt?" Takumi echoed, tilting his head partially to the side. He spoke the word as if it was his first time hearing it. Yamato rolled his eyes.
"Don't play dumb, Takumi. It doesn't suit you."
A hearty laugh escaped from Takumi's mouth.
"Oh, come on, enlighten me," he beckoned, an unsettling smile etching across his chiseled jaw, his perfect white dazzling against the setting sun rays emitting through the bay window.
I was prepared for Yamato to announce that we knew about the photographs, and the drugs. I envisioned the look of sheer panic spreading across Takumi's face. There was no way he could talk himself out of such an accusation, particularly when half the evidence was sitting in his guitar case.
"We don't need to," Yamato coolly stated, placing a hand on his hip. "I'm done with you. You've never been loyal to me, or anyone, or anything for that matter."
Takumi's smile instantly faded and was replaced with a sinister snarl.
"We're leaving," Yamato announced. He confidently strolled past the singer, until Takumi grabbed hold of his arm, halting him in his tracks. His fingers squeezed down hard, and Yamato winced in discomfort. Frowning, I stepped in and pushed my hand firmly against Takumi's chest, forcing him to let go of Yamato.
"Fuck off, Takumi," I hissed.
Twisting his body away from us, Takumi roughly grabbed the whisky bottle. My stomach dropped, until he abruptly paused, his fingers still wrapped around the neck of the bottle. He took a deep, controlled breath before pouring himself another drink.
We used that time to make a sharp exit.
My heart was beating wildly as we grabbed my bags and left the suite. The door clicked shut behind us. Seconds later, the sharp shattering of glass crashed against the other side of the door. As I peered back over my shoulder, Yamato kept his head forward and told me to keep walking.
Stepping into the lift, Yamato appeared paler than usual. Beads of sweat were gathering on his brow and his entire body was shaking. We both knew Takumi was on the brink of eruption. I realised it was something Yamato had clearly experienced before.
Placing my bags down, I wrapped my arms around him. We were both trembling but his arms remained hanging stiff at his sides. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't reciprocate, that was until he exhaled deeply, his chest lowering, like a balloon deflating.
"I wanted to guarantee your safety first," he confessed, placing his hand on the nape of my neck. I half-closed my eyes at his feathery touch. "He may leave you alone after this, but I know he'll never let me go."
His words felt like a punch to the stomach. They resounded deep. He was right. Takumi was fixated on Yamato. Nothing would stop that. And, if the drugs were what Yamato speculated then they indicated that Takumi had plans to keep manipulating people; including us.
Reaching the reception floor, the doors pinged open. As Yamato picked up my bags for me, a spontaneous urge possessed me. I realised I could seize this opportunity to make things right.
"It doesn't have to be that way," I said with a serious glint in my eyes, before I pushed him out of the lift, and into the lobby. He instantly spun around, confusion clouding his expression when he realised I was still standing inside the lift shaft.
"I won't let him hurt anyone else."
His eyes widened in terror.
"Taichi, no!"
The lift doors started to close, but not as quickly as I'd anticipated. Yamato skillfully slid back into the lift, like an action hero, the steel doors almost engulfing his trailing arm in the process.
"Are you crazy?" A frustrated expression plagued his face as he lowered my bags back down to the floor. The lift started to ascend and I folded my arms across my torso. "We already have the upper hand. We know where he hides his drugs."
I clenched my teeth before I slammed my finger against the button of the floor that Takumi's suite was on.
"It doesn't matter," I growled. "He could still drug someone tonight, or even tomorrow night. I can't let that happen."
As I spun back around, Yamato grabbed hold of my shoulders, his fingers squeezing my traps. I winced in discomfort, until I saw the terror dancing in his ocean blue orbs.
"If you go back there now, he will hurt you." Yamato's tone was deadly serious. "Trust me. We need to let him cool down."
He released my shoulders, then raked his fingers through his golden tresses. "I know he could take advantage of someone else, but right now we have to tread carefully."
Heaving a heavy sigh, despite wanting to stand my moral ground, I knew he was right. Not only that, but, if we confronted him, we still had no solid plan, or direction. Takumi had a knack of worming his way out of situations, and then extracting his own payback for the inconvenience.
It was fucked up, but despite the harm he could still inflict, it was far too dangerous for us to react now.
I hadn't actually visited Mimi's apartment for a good month or so. It felt strange to think that, for the next few months, I would be sharing this space with Yamato.
"Grab a shower," Yamato said the moment I placed my bags down. "I'll see what I can make for dinner."
"Do I smell that bad?" I asked, pretending to sniff the air around me. Yamato released a small 'ha'. He tapped me lightly on my rear before he disappeared into the kitchen.
Once I was washed and refreshed, Yamato took a quick shower. I slumped down onto Mimi's cosy old sofa, sprawling my body completely across it. Closing my eyes, I drifted off for a bit, only to awake when Yamato planted a single kiss onto my forehead. Standing over me, the glow of lust bubbling in his eyes, his lips pressed against mine as he discarded his towel and climbed onto my body. His hands immediately removed my towel whilst his hungry lips attacked my skin. I purred as his hand stroked my length, the other, teasing my entrance until I was ready for him.
As he glided inside me, my thoughts shifted entirely to him. It'd been a while since we had actually had sex. The last few liaisons had only been kissing and touching; it was all we usually had the energy for.
"I love you, so much," he sighed as I brushed my fingers through his beautiful blond locks.
"I love you too," I replied. The words were so easy to say. Without having to look, I sensed his smile.
As we dressed, a curious thought swarmed my mind. I knew Sora had uttered the same words, but had Takumi ever spoken them to him, or to anyone for that matter?
Yamato rustled up a simple vegetable stir fry for dinner. As we ate, we discussed our next steps. Yamato had only moved a few bits into Mimi's flat. He planned to pick up the rest of his belongings from his father in Osaka within the next few days.
"Come with me. You can meet my family."
That was all I wanted back at Christmas time; an opportunity to get to know and understand him that little bit more by meeting his family.
"Your parents?"
"My dad and stepmum," Yamato responded, his voice firm. "My parents divorced when I was six."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I replied, mentally kicking myself for putting my foot in my mouth.
"It's fine." Yamato tapped his chopsticks against the side of his bowl. "My mum ran off to Canada when I was eight. Started a whole new family."
I had always assumed Yamato was an only child since he'd never spoken so openly about his family before. Learning that he had some Canadian half-siblings was a pretty interesting prospect, although, judging by the bitter note to his voice, he wasn't particularly close to them.
"I told my dad about you the other day. He really wants to meet you."
As I lowered my chopsticks, I tried to remain calm, but inside I was screaming with excitement.
"Well, since you've met my family, I guess it's only fair."
Yamato smiled. Rising to his feet, his soft lips pressed against mine, before he ruffled his fingers through my hair as he grabbed my empty bowl.
"Let's arrange to collect your stuff from your old flat first," he decided. "We can hire a van."
It was a good plan. The bulk of my belongings were still there, including my art and photography supplies. I also made a mental note to take my leather sofa with me if I could; I couldn't bear the thought of Takumi having that. The rest of my furniture didn't really matter.
I couldn't stomach a second helping of Yamato's cooking, despite how great it was. I was still feeling fairly nauseous about the photographs, but more frustrated that, at this stage, there was nothing we could do.
Yamato didn't want to tell Isamu about the drugs we'd found in Takumi's guitar case, not until we'd received an update from him. I suggested that we should inform him since it would likely help speed the investigation up. Yamato had bit down on his lip. I could tell he still wasn't happy with the idea, but he told me to go ahead if I thought it would help escalate things. Ultimately, I held fire, but planned to message Isamu in the morning about it.
For the next couple of hours, Yamato and I drank wine, cuddled up and soothed each other with gentle kisses and caresses in bed, just like in the early days of our relationship.
As we finally started to relax, I decided to press him on what had actually happened between him and Makoto in the end when they had met up.
"He told me to steal you back," Yamato spoke with a smile as he rested his head on my chest.
Honestly, I was surprised that he hadn't killed him. Then again, I knew Yamato would rather Sora be happy with Makoto; someone he had been quite close to.
"Despite everything, I can't hate him." Yamato seemed to have a knack for reading my thoughts. There was a genuine edge to his voice. "I suppose him and Sora were destined to be together."
He scrunched up his nose. "Until I met you I never really believed in the red thread of fate bullshit."
I used to think the red thread of fate was a ridiculous concept as well. I never understood how you could literally be tethered to someone, destined to be with them and only them. Of course, my sister had always been a firm believer in the ideology and had tried to convince me otherwise after I had met Seiji.
"It definitely applies to us," I concluded, rubbing my fingers against the back of his head. Our thread was now well and truly tangled. Even Takumi had failed to sever it.
"Out of all the places, you chose to visit my parents's coffee shop."
A thoughtful 'hmm' vibrated against Yamato's throat. "That wasn't entirely a coincidence."
He glided his hand along my arm, his eyes seemingly clouded with past memories. Wiggling my toes underneath the covers, I listened to his story.
"In truth, I'd walked past the shop countless times, but one morning I saw you rushing up to the door, before you dropped your phone."
I chuckled softly. I remembered that morning; it was one of those where everything seemed to go wrong. I had woken up late for a shift at the cafe, twisted my ankle rushing down my apartment stairs, and then as I tried to answer my phone to a client, just before I'd stepped into the coffee shop, it had slipped out of my hand. I had been so relieved that it hadn't tumbled down the nearby drain.
"You seemed so grateful when you saw it was still working. It was cute. The next day, I peered through the shop window hoping you'd be there."
I imagined Yamato gazing through the window, his nose pressed up against the glass, eyes searching for me. It sent the warmest of flutters across the pit of my stomach.
"I checked again the following day." Yamato's delicious lips curled into a reminiscent grin. "This time you were there, talking to your parents. They were laughing, smiling."
There was a small pause of reflection before Yamato spoke again.
"Things with Sora had been stale for a while. Seeing you ignited some kind of fire in me; made me feel…. Alive." His cheeks were glowing bright red as he continued with his confession. "I didn't even know your name, but you were on my mind all weekend. I wanted to get to know you. That's why I summoned up the courage to walk into the shop the following Monday, hoping you'd be there."
I felt myself smirk. Who knew that Yamato had actually made the first move? Our first encounter wasn't as random as I first thought. Despite that, our first official meeting still felt like something out of a romance novel, where both characters were too shy to say anything to each other despite feeling a deep connection from the get go.
"Why did it take us so long to even talk?" I queried. Yamato peered down at his naked ring finger. Of course. That was more than a valid excuse; way better than my excuse of being fearful that I would scare him off with my eccentric persona.
As a comfortable silence draped over us, I placed my hand on his and interlaced our fingers.
"Nothing will get in our way now," I declared.
Speaking those words out loud, I truly believed it.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Song Lyrics:
Maroon 5 - "Animal"
Quite a fluffy ending for once, but also a tad ominous with everything else that's going on with Takumi and Nobu…
There was a lot of deliberate development between Taichi and Yamato in this chapter, since I noted previous chapters had lacked it. And some spicy stuff too, obviously.
The breakdown of Takumi's character is also becoming more apparent, hopefully! The scene in the hotel suite was an interesting one to write, and I quite liked the outcome.
I have a plan on where things will go from here, so fingers crossed it'll work out the way I want xD I will do my utmost best to get the next chapter out this year! Lol. I estimate there's only another 3 or so chapters to go. Then I can retire, haha.
Any questions or queries, please feel free to send them my way.
For now, have a great Easter, and I'll see you all next chapter!
D-Angel
08/04/23