Unseen Solitaire - Chapter 1 {Reita/Kai}
Feb. 7th, 2014 05:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bitetoall136Title: Unseen Solitaire
Chapter: 1/??
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bite_to_all136
Genre: AU, Romance, Fluff, Slice of Life, Comedy, Angst, Drama, Smut
Warnings: mxm relationships, inappropriate language, mental instability
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Pairings/Characters: Reita/Kai, Reita/Ruki, Uruha/OC, Aoi
Summary: Reita is an electrician who lives the life of a bachelor; not caring at all to settle down and put himself in a serious relationship. Will the enigmatic Kai be the one to change his bachelor ways?
Notes:‘Busted Heater in the Heart of Winter’ fill onkrasivayadusha's fluff/angst bingo card.
Oh, the mentioned temperature at the beginning IS in Celsius, btw. Certain parts of Japan can get cold as fuck.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the mediocre story line.
Chapter 1
Pulling his arm from under the petite man curled up beside him, Reita sluggishly sat up, the rounds of his palms rising to rub at his heavy eyes almost instantly. A tingling sting resonated from the tips of his fingers to the bend of his left arm, Ruki’s lightweight having rested on it for a better part of the night pinching and putting nerves in an uncomfortable alignment. The thick duvet covering his body descended gradually with his movement, naked chest and torso getting exposed to the bitter cold of the winter morning.
The heat was going full blast, but when it came to winter in Rikubetsu, no amount of electrically generated warmth could save you from its almost daily temperatures of −20 °. The second Reita had pealed himself away from the small auburn haired man’s smooth figure, his body decreased in temperature rapidly, and already he was having to fight the urge to crawl back into bed and curl up against Ruki’s body which was still bundled in the elaborately swirled comforter that Reita seemed to have had for forever.
Outside, it was still dark. Just hours ago the streets had been lined block to block with civilians, celebratory lights and cheers coming from all directions as fireworks shot off into the night sky. Drunken songs were sang and the delighted roars of children had echoed throughout the town’s streets as midnight hit and the New Year was counted in. Now, it was eerily quiet and the only reason Reita had been able to pull himself from his alcohol induced sleep was because his damn internal clock never allowed him to sleep past the too-early time of 5am.
Ignoring what felt like the constant jabbing of ice picks into his temples, he combed his fingers through his flaxen blond locks and wrapped a thin white sheet around his exposed body, before begrudgingly getting up out of bed. After a not so quick shower of hot and only hot water, he padded his way into the kitchen, the single cup coffee maker being the only object in his line of vision.
Placing his favorite porcelain mug under the small device, he flipped the switch from ‘off’ to ‘on’, and as the whirling’s of the coffee machine started and the bitter-sweet aroma began attacking his senses, he padded off into the smaller spare bedroom his flat contained, his mood brightening noticeably.
“How are Papa’s babies doing today?”
The only reply he received was some squawking, his straight lips tugging slightly at the sides as he squatted next to a cage and reached his hand inside, petting the soft feathers of his beloved cockatiels.
Keiji was the older of the two fleecy birds and Reita had had him since he first moved out of his parents’ house at the age of 18. Washed out yellow feathers and bright orange cheeks, Keiji has been Reita’s companion for the last 14 years. The younger, spotted gray cockatiel was Oscar and he had been bought a few years after Keiji when Reita started working full time at Takashima’s Electric Company.
His job as an electrician was only supposed to be part time until he decided what he actually wanted to do with his future, but somewhere along the line Reita realized there was truly nothing he had a mindset goal on. Being an electrician paid well and came easy to him, so he just stuck with it. That being said, he’d felt bad leaving Keiji alone and with no company while he was away at work all day, so in his mind the only logical solution was the buy his feathered friend a companion of his very own.
“Sorry I left you guys alone so long last night, but you know Ruki – makes me treat him like royalty even when he’s the one to phone up the booty call.”
A statement that wasn’t even anywhere close to an exaggeration. The one night stand he’d had with Ruki seven years ago has cascaded and spread out into a mutual agreement of fuck buddies. No matter how many times they’d slept together throughout the years, the one factor that never changed is Ruki always insisted that Reita take him out for drinks before they got to rolling around in the sheets. Every time Reita would question why, Ruki would insist that he needed to be drunk in order to get into bed with someone as thickheaded as Reita. That, and it was only logical, seeing as being drunk of their asses was how they met in the first place.
Even after years of knowing the auburn fashion journalist, Reita hadn’t a clue on how to dissect his thought pattern. From his perspective, it was easier to do as the small man demanded and get him drunk, then fuck. Nothing more, nothing less. He’d rather pour whatever extra money he had into drinks for the younger than have to deal with his incessant bitching while sober. A drunk Ruki was fun and adventurous; a sober Ruki was annoyingly haughty and condescending and made you want to smoother your face in into a pillow.
Exchanging a few more words with his cockatiel pair, Reita swiftly changed their food and water, giving them one last stroke on the head a piece before locking the cage up. By the time he was finished, the smell of his brewed coffee was filling the flat, and with a lot less sloth like steps, he re-entered the kitchen, only for his face to drop into a pinched frown.
“That’s my coffee.” Dropping down lazily onto the short stool by the counter, Reita leaned against the solid surface, tugging the dark red sleeves of his thick sweater over his hands as he did his best to restrain from raising his voice. It was too early in the morning to get into a pointless argument and those ice picks were still continuing to edge their way through his temples.
Full lips resting against the steaming porcelain, Ruki shrugged his shoulders before taking another sip, his mouth twitching in distaste as he pulled the mug away and shoved it back into Reita’s grip, “No wonder why it taste like shit then. Just an FYI, it doesn’t make you manlier to drink black coffee. Keeping some cream and sugar in the house won’t make it look like you have a fucking vagina.” Clapping Reita on the shoulder, Ruki walked past the electrician, beginning to scour and search cabinets for something less toxic to quench his thirst.
Sighing, Reita cupped the mug easily in his palms, sipping the tart liquid as he watched Ruki bend down and grab a room temperature water bottle out of one of the floor level cabinets, elegantly downing half the bottle in just a few gulps. “If you don’t like my coffee, go home and drink your own. It’s not like I’m forcing you to stay here.”
Tongue flicking out and gathering a few of the wandering drops of water, Ruki twisted the lid back onto the bottle and placed it on the counter before placing himself back in front of the blond, “Kicking me out before the sun even rises? Wow, Rei, you’re a true gentleman. It’s a wonder why no one wants to actually date you,” pinching the electrician’s cheeks between his thumb and forefinger, slanted eyes peckishly analyzed the blond’s features, “It’s a shame, really. You’re not that bad looking and well, let’s face it; the reason I keep coming back to you is because you can thrust your hips like a God.”
Brows knitting together, Reita scuffed and slapped away the journalist’s hand, some of his coffee spilling onto the tile floor with the quick movement and causing his glare to fixate upon the fashion journalist as he stood to get a towel to wipe the mess up with, “Why are you still here? Don’t you have a fashion disaster to go write about or something?”
“Ohh, Reita, you know me so well. Actually, the subject of this week’s fashion no-no is right in front of me.”
Reita paused in wiping up the mess, sending Ruki a questioning glance, “What’re you talking about?”
“Seriously, Rei? Red totally isn’t your color. That sweater should have been burned alongside all those bras feminists charred in the 60’s.”
Mouth falling open in the slightest, Reita tried his best to think of a comeback, but his mind remained empty and already he could spot that victorious grin spreading across Ruki’s smug face. Luckily, before the auburn had been able to claim his win, Reita’s cell phone began ringing, giving him an out for not replying to the journalist’s banter.
Unsurprisingly, the text message that appeared was from his boss Uruha; an address with a short list of instructions attached.
Aurora Town 93, Rikubetsu-cho, Ashoro-gun, Hokkaido 089-4315. Be there at 9 o’clock. Client’s name is Kai-san. Heater needs fix. Stop by office before, need to talk. – Uruha
Locking the phone’s screen, Reita shoved the device back into the pocket of his black sweat pants. At least Uruha had gotten better with his texting over the years. Reita could remember the times where he had to spend almost a half an hour trying to decipher his friend’s unusually lazy attempts at speaking to him through symbols that looked like the hieroglyphics found in Egyptian pyramids.
“Let me guess, Uruha’s calling you in early so he can vent to you the frustrations of being a straight male married to a female vixen? Poor family man, whatever will he do?” Twisting his wavy auburn locks around a finger, Ruki rolled his eyes.
Reita snorted, walking to the sink and draining what was left of his now cool coffee, talking above the sound of pouring water as he gave the porcelain a quick scrub down, “You’re just pissed off because of the fact that he is straight, Ru. You’re going to have to accept the fact that not everybody wants to fuck you.”
Sighing dramatically, Ruki laid his upper half across the surface of the counter, using his crossed arms as support as his solemn voice replied; “Sadly, I already know that. Why do you think I stick with you?”
Quirking a brow, Reita turned around, his back leaning against the damp counter and his face turning smug with a wide grin as he remembered Ruki’s words from just minutes ago, “According to you, it’s because I’m classified as a Godly fuck.” He wiggled his light eyebrows, smirking snidely.
A sarcastic puff of laugher followed, Ruki righting himself as he stood in front of the electrician, patting his cheek with a few playful slaps before he morphed his features into a state of pity, “Oh Rei, I was just trying to stroke your ego in hopes of getting some early morning action. Unfortunately, you’re just as thickheaded as the day we met and can’t even pick up on the subtlest of hints. It’s alright though, buy me some more drinks tonight and we can work on improving your mediocre bed skills.”
Reita’s defense came out as nothing but spluttering, his face turning red in anger as he watched Ruki disappear back into the bedroom. The sound of the shower came seconds later, and feeling like this would be his only escape from the fashion journalist’s early morning attack, Reita took the opportunity to get in his work clothes of a full navy blue one piece, making sure he left his red sweater atrocity out and in the open for Ruki to spot once the auburn was out of the shower.
Slipping on his boots, he bundled up in all the necessary snow attire, before grabbing his keys and work gloves on his way out the door, shouting to Ruki to let himself out whenever he was finished.
By the time he reached Takashima’s Electric, it was just turning 7 o’clock. Scurrying past all his co-workers with a simple wave of the hand, Reita jousted straight into the back of the building where Uruha’s office was located. Without bothering to knock he entered his boss’s office, finding the usually collected man face down on his desk in a pile of scattered papers.
Gently closing the door behind him, he cleared his throat in hopes of grabbing the attention of the coral haired man before him, but Uruha remained slouched over on his desk, Reita unsure if he were even properly breathing.
“Uru? You ok?” he tapped his boss’s pinstriped suit clad shoulder with caution, seeing the rise and fall of his back indicating that he was indeed breathing, but again getting no verbal reaction. “Uru? I got your message. What did you want to talk about?”
Upon getting another negative response, Reita’s hazel tinted eyes scanned the surface of the desk, finding papers, folders, take out boxes, and a family portrait proudly on display atop a pile of books. Smiling at the picture with good fortune, he ignored Uruha’s languid state and picked up the frame, running his thumbs over the faces of the two small children who were clinging to the side of either parent with toothless smiles on their small faces.
Their names were Tai and Tae; Uruha’s daughter and son born only minutes apart and who Reita considered his niece and nephew. He and Uruha had known each other since their college days. Reita had been Uruha’s best man at his wedding, he’d been the one to drive Uruha to the hospital from work the day his wife Emi went into labor, and he’d been the third person to ever hold the set of twins four years ago. Every step of the way, he’d been there, which is why he could stop with the questioning and worrying now, taking the opportunity to laugh at Uruha’s exaggerated behavior.
“What they’d do now, Uru?” chuckling softly, he placed the photo back down and sat in the seat across from Uruha’s desk, interlacing his fingers and setting them over his stomach as he slouched comfortably.
After a few more silent moments, muffled noises came from Uruha’s side of the desk, Reita straining to catch what his boss was saying, but able to pick up on enough to put together a sentence of his own. “They did what with Emi’s make up?”
A tired sigh was released on Uruha’s part, the man dressed in the formal but extremely unkempt suit finally sitting up and looking at Reita for the first time. Unbelievable bags were under his usually glossy eyes and his skin appeared pastier than usual. What should be carefully styled shoulder length hair was knotted at the ends, and sticking to the side of his face was a large smudge of ink from the papers he’d just been resting in. Simply put, Uruha was a mess – a state Reita had seen him in far too often since he attained the status of fatherhood.
“Rei…they’re going to be the death of me, I know it.” His eyes were wide and stained with deep red lines, voice serious and low. If Reita hadn’t know just who it was he was talking to, he would have sworn the man before him would need to be committed and receive some serious help. “I turned my back on them for five minutes, Rei. Five measly minutes and they somehow managed to get into Emi’s beauty kit and smear the hall walls in blood red lipstick. I was up all night trying to get the stains out before Emi got home from visiting her sister.”
Coughing to hide his small laughing fit, Reita covered his mouth with his hand before asking calmly; “Did you manage?”
“Kind of…” Uruha shrugged, tilting his hand back and forth and scrunching his face up. Reita gave him a look that told him to go on with an explanation and Uruha sighed again as he pressed his body far back into his swivel chair and sunk until the knees of his long legs hit the underside top of his desk. “Well, let’s just say our hallway now has a fresh coat of white paint…”
Reita’s eyes widened, “Uru…you didn’t.”
“I did.”
“Oh my god, Uru. You are so fucking whipped!”
If possible, Uruha seemingly sunk further in his seat, hiding his reddening face behind his curtain of coral tinted hair as Reita’s obnoxious laugh filled the space of the small office. “It’s not funny, Rei. Emi would have been pissed if she would have come home to that, I had to do something!”
“How about let the kids take the blame for once? You let them get away with murder, Uru.”
“No I don’t. They’ve been grounded before…”
“Uru, you sent them to their room with the big screen TV and every toy imaginable, that’s not a punishment. Besides, you do remember the incident where they tried to turn Mr. Snowball into an actual snowball, right? That practically was murder.”
Because no matter how hard Uruha tried to act like his kids had never taken his wife’s kitten and attempted to roll it around on the ground of the snowy backyard so he could be the head of their snowman, Reita would never forget. After all, he had been the one that stay up with the father of two all night, making sure the kitten stayed warm and hadn’t gotten hypothermia before Emi came home from a business trip in Tokyo.
Uruha’s crazed eyes came back across his features before he shot up out of his chair and threw an accusing finger in Reita’s direction, “You promised you’d never bring that up again! Emi might divorce me if she ever found out…”
“Uru, she’s been with your paranoid ass for over ten years, I don’t think she’s going anywhere any time soon.”
“You never know,” mumbling, Uruha sat back down in his swivel chair, keeping his gaze down as he began sorting through papers and stacking them in neat piles.
“Uru, seriously. You bend to her ever beck and call and paint entire hallways to cover up your kids’ mistakes. She’s not going anywhere, trust me on that.”
“Hmm, remain cautious, or listen to the 32 year old who has never been in a serious relationship in his life and gets some self-absorbed midget drunk every weekend in order to get a piece of ass? I don’t know Rei, what option would you pick?”
In that moment, Uruha seemed more condescending than Ruki ever had with his batting eyelashes and shifty eyes. It pissed Reita off. “Fuck you, man. I left my place early just to talk you out of going batshit, and you’re going to sit there and tell me the way I’m living my life is no good? You’re an ass.”
“No, Rei. I’m just looking out for you. It’s time for you to settle down. Have you tried actually dating Ruki? Maybe you guys can do something besides fuck…”
“Uru, you’re talking about Ruki here. You know, the guy that’s tried to get into your pants on more than one occasion knowing you were married and straight…”
Silently staring at one another for a good five minutes, Uruha was finally the one to break the contact by dropping a stack of papers with a sigh and waving his hand dismissively in the air, “Alright, forget I even brought him up as an option. But, seriously, you need to get out there and find someone willing to date you. Otherwise you’re going to turn senile and spend your weekends knitting Keiji and Oscar mini sweaters and hats…”
Leaning forward, Reita rested his round chin on clasped together knuckles, his next sentence completely serious as he looked Uruha straight in the face, “Uru, don’t be crazy. I don’t know how to knit. I’d be crocheting them mini sweaters and hats…”
Uruha deadpanned, “You’re hopeless.”
Reita smiled, “Don’t I know it…”
After their little quarrel on his love life, Reita and Uruha talked business matters for a few short moments, and in no time the blond was grabbing his box of tools from the down stairs shed of the office building, and then stepping up into the driver’s side of the large company van.
With the verbal torture he received from both Ruki and Uruha this morning, the alone time in the van he was awarded with felt like the equalivent to a three month paid vacation. The town he lived in was small, and due to the early hour and excessive amounts of snow plaguing the streets, he was about the only one on the road.
Unlike Uruha, Reita was perfectly fine with the way his life was going right now. He made plenty of money to get by and always had company in the form of Keiji, Oscar, and, unfortunately every now and then, Ruki. He was happy, content. The thought of finding himself in a permanent relationship never even crossed his mind. He wasn’t sure he even knew how to date, considering every ‘date’ he’s been on since high school always ended in something sexual.
Sighing, he slid his finger down to flick on the blinker, the van turning left and continuing straight down a strip of wintery fresh snow.
The area the client’s house was located in wasn’t one Reita was very familiar with. It was isolated from the rest of the jam packed town by a good few miles, but the drive itself would still only take about 20 minutes.
His 20 minute predication turned into 28, the thick snow causing him to drive slower than usual. The house he parked outside of was nowhere near small and it look like it came straight out of an olden times Western film. Three steps led up to a small front porch, the entire house looking built of wood and false brick. It was two storied and the roof was pointed, smoke seeping out from the chimney at the very top.
Knowing it would be near impossible to do his job in the layers of clothing he wore, Reita quickly stripped down till he was only wearing the long sleeved navy one piece. Reaching into the back of the van, he grabbed his tool box and work gloves, and without a second thought he was jogging up the steps to the house, trying to ignore just how cold he’d gotten from the short distance from the car to the front door.
Blowing a quick breath of hot air into his cupped hands, he kept moving constantly on foot to foot as he knocked, praying his client wasn’t one of those elderlies who took forever to answer. The heater may have been broken inside the old house, but the smoke from the chimney surely indicated the client had a fire storming on the inside, which meant it had to be a hell of a lot more warm in there then out here.
Slow seconds turned into dreadful minutes, and already Reita could feel the tips of his nose, fingers, and ears begin to frost over. Getting impatient, he knocked again, beginning the wait cycle all over again.
Remembering the name from Uruha’s text message this morning, he knocked again, this time shouting calmly; “Kai-san, my name’s Reita. I’m from Takashima’s Electric. I’m here to fix your heater.”
A few more minutes passed, and as Reita was about to give up hope and assume the client had forgotten about the appointment, the door began to creak open slowly, the tip of a floating head covered by a thick beany hat and a pair of large brown eyes that would put Bambi to shame being the only thing to creep out from behind the slab of wood.
“Kai-san?” Reita questioned lightly, a kind and inviting smile gracing his lips as he bowed in the slightest while keeping his sight on the bundled up man before him. “You’re the one who called about the heater, right?”
With the pace of a slug, Kai opened the door fully, exposing his entire body. From Reita’s observation, the bug eyed man before him was wearing at least four sweaters, a red marshmallow puff jacket being the outer coating. Black mittens were fastened tightly against shaking hands, and washed out gray sweatpants hung loosely on a pair of the skinniest legs Reita had ever seen. The image made his smile widen, it reminding him of how Uruha dressed up Tai and Tae before they left for pre-school during the winter mornings.
“I am,” the words came about strained, as if Kai had to think hard about how to answer the short question.
“Well, why not let me in and take a look at it so I can bring you some proper heat?” Reita’s smile continued to stay warm. Kai pursed his lips, looking as if he were back in his thinking stage again, before he nodded his head and began walking back into the house, leaving the door open for Reita to come in after.
Toolbox in hand, Reita followed the slightly smaller man further into the house. Based on the interactions of the short conversation he has had with Kai, Reita has gathered the man was somewhat strange, and walking into his house verified the validity of his observation.
Storage boxes were everywhere. Against the walls, in the middle of the floor, even following up the staircase. Taking a small peak inside one of the boxes as he walked passed it, Reita noted that lines of canned food filled the box’s entirety, something that had his brow raising in wonderment.
Another one of the boxes contained books, clothes, and random papers, and in order to break the silence that had fallen upon them, Reita asked the first thing that came to mind, “Are you planning on moving soon or something?”
Kai paused in his step and turned around to face Reita. Tilting his head to the side, his lips parted slightly and forehead crinkled in confusion, “No…what would make you think that?” Big brown eyes blinked dumbly at Reita. Reita’s smile fell slightly.
“Well, you know. The boxes…” the hand he wasn’t using to hold his tool box waved around the house, pointing at different boxes, and Kai just smiled back.
“Oh, those are…nothing?” Kai’s face scrunched again, Reita wondering why it seemed the bundled man was questioning his own statement, “Anyways, where should I be directing you? Because I was just going back to my room and have no idea why you’re following me…”
Reita couldn’t believe it. He had actually found someone with worse people skills than Ruki.
“Umm, getting a glance at your circuit breaker would be the best starting point…”
“Oh, that’s in the basement. Down the hall, last door on the right. You should find it no problem.”
Without another word, Kai turned into the room he had paused outside of, closing the door silently behind him and leaving Reita to stand out in the hall and figure out his own way through the overly clustered home.
In his mind, Reita scratched the label of Kai being ‘somewhat strange’ and changed it to ‘strangest person he’d ever met’.
After following Kai’s vague instructions, the electrician came face to face with a door that was bolted shut with a grand total of 8 padlocks. Again, his eyebrows rose. He was about to call down the hall and ask Kai to come unbolt the locks, but from the corner of his eye he spotted a silver key hanging from a pin in the wall. Shaking his head, he grabbed the object, and sure enough, it was a universal key that was able to unlock all the locks.
Flipping a switch on the wall, the basement lit up below and Reita trotted down the steps. To his un-surprise, the basement was loaded with even more boxes. Once in front of the circuit breaker, he opened the slim panel, and before touching anything else, he slid on his work gloves which were insulated with rubber.
Upon actually setting his eyes on the breaker in front of him, he actually found himself wanting to smash his head against the brick wall it lay against. The circuit was merely tripped. One smooth flip of a switch and heat would be radiating through the old house in no time. Restraining from his automatic impulse, he flipped the switch; the sound of the heater starting up hitting his ears instantly.
By the time he made in back up stairs and had all the locks put back into place, he could actually feel the heat against his skin. Keeping his thoughts to himself about how stupid some people could be over the simplest things, he made his way back to the room Kai had trailed off into and knocked, hearing Kai’s invitation to enter seconds later.
After seeing the boxes and the locks, it shouldn’t have surprised Reita that Kai’s room would be a bit strange itself, but still he gawked into the room with his jaw slacked and eyes wide.
As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t even a room. It was more along the lines of a fucking jungle made entirely of bamboo. Not one, not two, but three bookshelves the length of the far side wall were crammed into the average sized space, a potted bamboo plant taking up every centimeter.
Stalks of the green plant stood up straight against the walls, resting in a giant vase of water and looking healthier than some of the bamboo Reita had seen growing in the wild.
In the middle of the room sat the only seemingly normal feature of a bedroom; a rolled out futon. Kai was laying atop the cushion on his back, a laptop balanced on his drawled up knees as he typed; the screen illuminating his face in a hue of blue.
Clearing his throat, Reita stepped further inside the room, grabbing Kai’s attention with his sudden steps, “Heater’s all fixed. Your breaker just needed to be flipped…”
“So that’s why is got so warm in here all of a sudden…” Kai spoke more to himself than anything, and then his attention was back on his screen, typing away with the same lightning speed as before.
Reita stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to say or do. Running his fingers through his flat blond hair, he cleared his throat again, “So, Kai-san…this is an interesting room you have here…”
He didn’t want to make small talk, but barging into Kai’s room and demanding payment for having to drive all the way out here for nothing just seemed rude and so Ruki like. He was hoping the start of a small conversation would eventually lead to payment methods.
The small statement seemed to have elated Kai, the strange man practically throwing his laptop aside and jumping up from the futon; eyes sparklingly in delight and million watt smile lighting up the room, “Really?”
It was only then Reita realized Kai had rid himself of all his excess clothing, the smaller man now only in a plain black shirt and the same baggy gray sweatpants. The beany was gone, a full head of tar black hair now on display. It was styled almost childishly, dark bangs covering his entire forehead, and the rest of the length falling only a little past the tips of his ears while cut into layers of choppy bits.
He was pale, unbelievably so, it matching well with his soft features. Knowing the man was a little bit more than strange, it was hard for Reita to find it in himself to admit, but Kai was actually pretty damn cute…
“Yeah really, I mean…you have bamboo….lots of it.”
That statement only managed to excite Kai even more, and before Reita had a chance to protest, Kai was giving him an entire tour of his room, showing him all the different types bamboo and telling him the story behind each ones name.
“…And finally, this is Isola-chan.” Kai held up a mini-potted plant, stroking the green leaves with care as he sprayed a mist bottle over the roots, “I’ve had her for over six years. She was the first one I ever got, actually…”
Forty five goddamn minutes. That’s how long Kai dragged Reita from shelf to shelf, rattling on and on about his precious bamboo.
“She’s lucky, you know?” he turned to Reita, eyes still sparkling and baby smile showing the dimple that the electrician noticed he had after the first half hour of the bamboo tour.
Something about Kai’s tone changed at the mention of this particular plant. He was more serene; off in a little world of his own.
“Oh yeah? How so?” Reita didn’t have the heart not to fake attentiveness before, but now he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that Kai’s sudden change in behavior had him interested.
“It’s because of her that I’m alive…”
Solemn. Serious. Sincere.
Reita could think of no better words to describe the scene in front of him as Kai continued to pet the leaves of Isola-chan’s stalk. He wanted to know more…
“Do you mind me asking how?” From over his shoulder, Kai graced him with another quirk of lips, but the gesture was so laden with melancholy that Reita himself almost could feel his mood damper.
“I…I want some tea. Do you want some tea? Yeah, tea sounds real nice. Right? I’ll go make us some.”
Placing Isola-chan down, Kai grabbed Reita from around the wrist and dragged the electrician into the kitchen. After forcing the blond to sit down at the table, Kai begun digging through a box on the counter where he pulled out a tea kettle, glass cups, and a variety of flavored teas.
What felt like seconds later, they were both sitting at the table, steaming cup in hand, and simply talking. Well, Kai was actually doing a majority of the speaking, but Reita thoroughly enjoyed watching the dark haired man and picking up on all his eccentricities.
Like how he constantly had to have his knees drawn up to his chest, or how he would tilt his head to the side and scrunch his face every time he had to question if what he was saying was correct. Also, the excessive amount of sugar he poured into his already sweet tea and how he would always verify if Reita was listening by adding ‘right?’ to the end of nearly every sentence…
Kai was strange, but he was definitely one of a kind, and that one of a kind personality is what prevented Reita from realizing that he’d already been at his house for over three hours.
Three hours would have probably easily turned into six if he hadn’t gotten a text message from Uruha, demanding to know what the hell was taking him so long to check back in.
Knowing he had other clients to get to today, Reita politely excused himself, feeling like the worst person in the world when he saw that melancholy expression make its way back onto Kai’s face.
“Hey…Reita?” Kai spoke up quietly at the door, head down and toe digging into the carpet as his hands gripped tightly onto the ajar wooden slab.
“Yeah?” Reita asked kind of hurriedly due to a combination of wanting to get back into the heat of the company van and arrive to his next appointment on time.
“I like you, you’re really nice. We could hang out again sometime, right?”
Hearing that actually made Reita feel a little warmer on the inside.
Raising his hand, he grabbed Kai’s shoulder, making the smaller man look up at him. “I’d like that very much, Kai. I can get your cell phone number from my boss, I’ll text you the next time I’m free, alright?”
Kai responded with a vigorous head shake, his choppy hair dancing all over the place before he shouted a quick ‘bye!’ and slammed the door shut with Reita still standing on the front porch.
It was only after Reita was driving down the same snowy strip of road that brought him to Kai’s house in the first place did he realize he had forgotten to ask Kai for the service charge payment.
Uruha was going to kill him.
Next Chapter--->
***
Author's Note: I blame this fic entirely onkrasivayadusha, since she's the one who gave me the bingo card AND posted the GIF set (<-- click that) that inspired Kai's look/personality xD
I have few things to say:
1.) This fic is going to get angsty. Only the beginning chapters a going to be like this.
2.) I don't plan on it being TOO long...maybe 10 chapters at most?
3.) The summary I tossed up there isn't truly what the fic is about...but it's all I can put up for now without giving anything away.
4.) I based Kai's house off a real house in Rikubetsu (<--- click that, too)
5.) Kai's and Reita's meeting seems a little rushed to me, but ehhh, Kai's a weirdo, so their relationship isn't going to develop like a normal one would xD
6.) I'm tired and need a nap.
Chapter: 1/??
Author:
bite_to_all136Genre: AU, Romance, Fluff, Slice of Life, Comedy, Angst, Drama, Smut
Warnings: mxm relationships, inappropriate language, mental instability
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Pairings/Characters: Reita/Kai, Reita/Ruki, Uruha/OC, Aoi
Summary: Reita is an electrician who lives the life of a bachelor; not caring at all to settle down and put himself in a serious relationship. Will the enigmatic Kai be the one to change his bachelor ways?
Notes:‘Busted Heater in the Heart of Winter’ fill on
krasivayadusha's fluff/angst bingo card.Oh, the mentioned temperature at the beginning IS in Celsius, btw. Certain parts of Japan can get cold as fuck.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the mediocre story line.
Pulling his arm from under the petite man curled up beside him, Reita sluggishly sat up, the rounds of his palms rising to rub at his heavy eyes almost instantly. A tingling sting resonated from the tips of his fingers to the bend of his left arm, Ruki’s lightweight having rested on it for a better part of the night pinching and putting nerves in an uncomfortable alignment. The thick duvet covering his body descended gradually with his movement, naked chest and torso getting exposed to the bitter cold of the winter morning.
The heat was going full blast, but when it came to winter in Rikubetsu, no amount of electrically generated warmth could save you from its almost daily temperatures of −20 °. The second Reita had pealed himself away from the small auburn haired man’s smooth figure, his body decreased in temperature rapidly, and already he was having to fight the urge to crawl back into bed and curl up against Ruki’s body which was still bundled in the elaborately swirled comforter that Reita seemed to have had for forever.
Outside, it was still dark. Just hours ago the streets had been lined block to block with civilians, celebratory lights and cheers coming from all directions as fireworks shot off into the night sky. Drunken songs were sang and the delighted roars of children had echoed throughout the town’s streets as midnight hit and the New Year was counted in. Now, it was eerily quiet and the only reason Reita had been able to pull himself from his alcohol induced sleep was because his damn internal clock never allowed him to sleep past the too-early time of 5am.
Ignoring what felt like the constant jabbing of ice picks into his temples, he combed his fingers through his flaxen blond locks and wrapped a thin white sheet around his exposed body, before begrudgingly getting up out of bed. After a not so quick shower of hot and only hot water, he padded his way into the kitchen, the single cup coffee maker being the only object in his line of vision.
Placing his favorite porcelain mug under the small device, he flipped the switch from ‘off’ to ‘on’, and as the whirling’s of the coffee machine started and the bitter-sweet aroma began attacking his senses, he padded off into the smaller spare bedroom his flat contained, his mood brightening noticeably.
“How are Papa’s babies doing today?”
The only reply he received was some squawking, his straight lips tugging slightly at the sides as he squatted next to a cage and reached his hand inside, petting the soft feathers of his beloved cockatiels.
Keiji was the older of the two fleecy birds and Reita had had him since he first moved out of his parents’ house at the age of 18. Washed out yellow feathers and bright orange cheeks, Keiji has been Reita’s companion for the last 14 years. The younger, spotted gray cockatiel was Oscar and he had been bought a few years after Keiji when Reita started working full time at Takashima’s Electric Company.
His job as an electrician was only supposed to be part time until he decided what he actually wanted to do with his future, but somewhere along the line Reita realized there was truly nothing he had a mindset goal on. Being an electrician paid well and came easy to him, so he just stuck with it. That being said, he’d felt bad leaving Keiji alone and with no company while he was away at work all day, so in his mind the only logical solution was the buy his feathered friend a companion of his very own.
“Sorry I left you guys alone so long last night, but you know Ruki – makes me treat him like royalty even when he’s the one to phone up the booty call.”
A statement that wasn’t even anywhere close to an exaggeration. The one night stand he’d had with Ruki seven years ago has cascaded and spread out into a mutual agreement of fuck buddies. No matter how many times they’d slept together throughout the years, the one factor that never changed is Ruki always insisted that Reita take him out for drinks before they got to rolling around in the sheets. Every time Reita would question why, Ruki would insist that he needed to be drunk in order to get into bed with someone as thickheaded as Reita. That, and it was only logical, seeing as being drunk of their asses was how they met in the first place.
Even after years of knowing the auburn fashion journalist, Reita hadn’t a clue on how to dissect his thought pattern. From his perspective, it was easier to do as the small man demanded and get him drunk, then fuck. Nothing more, nothing less. He’d rather pour whatever extra money he had into drinks for the younger than have to deal with his incessant bitching while sober. A drunk Ruki was fun and adventurous; a sober Ruki was annoyingly haughty and condescending and made you want to smoother your face in into a pillow.
Exchanging a few more words with his cockatiel pair, Reita swiftly changed their food and water, giving them one last stroke on the head a piece before locking the cage up. By the time he was finished, the smell of his brewed coffee was filling the flat, and with a lot less sloth like steps, he re-entered the kitchen, only for his face to drop into a pinched frown.
“That’s my coffee.” Dropping down lazily onto the short stool by the counter, Reita leaned against the solid surface, tugging the dark red sleeves of his thick sweater over his hands as he did his best to restrain from raising his voice. It was too early in the morning to get into a pointless argument and those ice picks were still continuing to edge their way through his temples.
Full lips resting against the steaming porcelain, Ruki shrugged his shoulders before taking another sip, his mouth twitching in distaste as he pulled the mug away and shoved it back into Reita’s grip, “No wonder why it taste like shit then. Just an FYI, it doesn’t make you manlier to drink black coffee. Keeping some cream and sugar in the house won’t make it look like you have a fucking vagina.” Clapping Reita on the shoulder, Ruki walked past the electrician, beginning to scour and search cabinets for something less toxic to quench his thirst.
Sighing, Reita cupped the mug easily in his palms, sipping the tart liquid as he watched Ruki bend down and grab a room temperature water bottle out of one of the floor level cabinets, elegantly downing half the bottle in just a few gulps. “If you don’t like my coffee, go home and drink your own. It’s not like I’m forcing you to stay here.”
Tongue flicking out and gathering a few of the wandering drops of water, Ruki twisted the lid back onto the bottle and placed it on the counter before placing himself back in front of the blond, “Kicking me out before the sun even rises? Wow, Rei, you’re a true gentleman. It’s a wonder why no one wants to actually date you,” pinching the electrician’s cheeks between his thumb and forefinger, slanted eyes peckishly analyzed the blond’s features, “It’s a shame, really. You’re not that bad looking and well, let’s face it; the reason I keep coming back to you is because you can thrust your hips like a God.”
Brows knitting together, Reita scuffed and slapped away the journalist’s hand, some of his coffee spilling onto the tile floor with the quick movement and causing his glare to fixate upon the fashion journalist as he stood to get a towel to wipe the mess up with, “Why are you still here? Don’t you have a fashion disaster to go write about or something?”
“Ohh, Reita, you know me so well. Actually, the subject of this week’s fashion no-no is right in front of me.”
Reita paused in wiping up the mess, sending Ruki a questioning glance, “What’re you talking about?”
“Seriously, Rei? Red totally isn’t your color. That sweater should have been burned alongside all those bras feminists charred in the 60’s.”
Mouth falling open in the slightest, Reita tried his best to think of a comeback, but his mind remained empty and already he could spot that victorious grin spreading across Ruki’s smug face. Luckily, before the auburn had been able to claim his win, Reita’s cell phone began ringing, giving him an out for not replying to the journalist’s banter.
Unsurprisingly, the text message that appeared was from his boss Uruha; an address with a short list of instructions attached.
Aurora Town 93, Rikubetsu-cho, Ashoro-gun, Hokkaido 089-4315. Be there at 9 o’clock. Client’s name is Kai-san. Heater needs fix. Stop by office before, need to talk. – Uruha
Locking the phone’s screen, Reita shoved the device back into the pocket of his black sweat pants. At least Uruha had gotten better with his texting over the years. Reita could remember the times where he had to spend almost a half an hour trying to decipher his friend’s unusually lazy attempts at speaking to him through symbols that looked like the hieroglyphics found in Egyptian pyramids.
“Let me guess, Uruha’s calling you in early so he can vent to you the frustrations of being a straight male married to a female vixen? Poor family man, whatever will he do?” Twisting his wavy auburn locks around a finger, Ruki rolled his eyes.
Reita snorted, walking to the sink and draining what was left of his now cool coffee, talking above the sound of pouring water as he gave the porcelain a quick scrub down, “You’re just pissed off because of the fact that he is straight, Ru. You’re going to have to accept the fact that not everybody wants to fuck you.”
Sighing dramatically, Ruki laid his upper half across the surface of the counter, using his crossed arms as support as his solemn voice replied; “Sadly, I already know that. Why do you think I stick with you?”
Quirking a brow, Reita turned around, his back leaning against the damp counter and his face turning smug with a wide grin as he remembered Ruki’s words from just minutes ago, “According to you, it’s because I’m classified as a Godly fuck.” He wiggled his light eyebrows, smirking snidely.
A sarcastic puff of laugher followed, Ruki righting himself as he stood in front of the electrician, patting his cheek with a few playful slaps before he morphed his features into a state of pity, “Oh Rei, I was just trying to stroke your ego in hopes of getting some early morning action. Unfortunately, you’re just as thickheaded as the day we met and can’t even pick up on the subtlest of hints. It’s alright though, buy me some more drinks tonight and we can work on improving your mediocre bed skills.”
Reita’s defense came out as nothing but spluttering, his face turning red in anger as he watched Ruki disappear back into the bedroom. The sound of the shower came seconds later, and feeling like this would be his only escape from the fashion journalist’s early morning attack, Reita took the opportunity to get in his work clothes of a full navy blue one piece, making sure he left his red sweater atrocity out and in the open for Ruki to spot once the auburn was out of the shower.
Slipping on his boots, he bundled up in all the necessary snow attire, before grabbing his keys and work gloves on his way out the door, shouting to Ruki to let himself out whenever he was finished.
By the time he reached Takashima’s Electric, it was just turning 7 o’clock. Scurrying past all his co-workers with a simple wave of the hand, Reita jousted straight into the back of the building where Uruha’s office was located. Without bothering to knock he entered his boss’s office, finding the usually collected man face down on his desk in a pile of scattered papers.
Gently closing the door behind him, he cleared his throat in hopes of grabbing the attention of the coral haired man before him, but Uruha remained slouched over on his desk, Reita unsure if he were even properly breathing.
“Uru? You ok?” he tapped his boss’s pinstriped suit clad shoulder with caution, seeing the rise and fall of his back indicating that he was indeed breathing, but again getting no verbal reaction. “Uru? I got your message. What did you want to talk about?”
Upon getting another negative response, Reita’s hazel tinted eyes scanned the surface of the desk, finding papers, folders, take out boxes, and a family portrait proudly on display atop a pile of books. Smiling at the picture with good fortune, he ignored Uruha’s languid state and picked up the frame, running his thumbs over the faces of the two small children who were clinging to the side of either parent with toothless smiles on their small faces.
Their names were Tai and Tae; Uruha’s daughter and son born only minutes apart and who Reita considered his niece and nephew. He and Uruha had known each other since their college days. Reita had been Uruha’s best man at his wedding, he’d been the one to drive Uruha to the hospital from work the day his wife Emi went into labor, and he’d been the third person to ever hold the set of twins four years ago. Every step of the way, he’d been there, which is why he could stop with the questioning and worrying now, taking the opportunity to laugh at Uruha’s exaggerated behavior.
“What they’d do now, Uru?” chuckling softly, he placed the photo back down and sat in the seat across from Uruha’s desk, interlacing his fingers and setting them over his stomach as he slouched comfortably.
After a few more silent moments, muffled noises came from Uruha’s side of the desk, Reita straining to catch what his boss was saying, but able to pick up on enough to put together a sentence of his own. “They did what with Emi’s make up?”
A tired sigh was released on Uruha’s part, the man dressed in the formal but extremely unkempt suit finally sitting up and looking at Reita for the first time. Unbelievable bags were under his usually glossy eyes and his skin appeared pastier than usual. What should be carefully styled shoulder length hair was knotted at the ends, and sticking to the side of his face was a large smudge of ink from the papers he’d just been resting in. Simply put, Uruha was a mess – a state Reita had seen him in far too often since he attained the status of fatherhood.
“Rei…they’re going to be the death of me, I know it.” His eyes were wide and stained with deep red lines, voice serious and low. If Reita hadn’t know just who it was he was talking to, he would have sworn the man before him would need to be committed and receive some serious help. “I turned my back on them for five minutes, Rei. Five measly minutes and they somehow managed to get into Emi’s beauty kit and smear the hall walls in blood red lipstick. I was up all night trying to get the stains out before Emi got home from visiting her sister.”
Coughing to hide his small laughing fit, Reita covered his mouth with his hand before asking calmly; “Did you manage?”
“Kind of…” Uruha shrugged, tilting his hand back and forth and scrunching his face up. Reita gave him a look that told him to go on with an explanation and Uruha sighed again as he pressed his body far back into his swivel chair and sunk until the knees of his long legs hit the underside top of his desk. “Well, let’s just say our hallway now has a fresh coat of white paint…”
Reita’s eyes widened, “Uru…you didn’t.”
“I did.”
“Oh my god, Uru. You are so fucking whipped!”
If possible, Uruha seemingly sunk further in his seat, hiding his reddening face behind his curtain of coral tinted hair as Reita’s obnoxious laugh filled the space of the small office. “It’s not funny, Rei. Emi would have been pissed if she would have come home to that, I had to do something!”
“How about let the kids take the blame for once? You let them get away with murder, Uru.”
“No I don’t. They’ve been grounded before…”
“Uru, you sent them to their room with the big screen TV and every toy imaginable, that’s not a punishment. Besides, you do remember the incident where they tried to turn Mr. Snowball into an actual snowball, right? That practically was murder.”
Because no matter how hard Uruha tried to act like his kids had never taken his wife’s kitten and attempted to roll it around on the ground of the snowy backyard so he could be the head of their snowman, Reita would never forget. After all, he had been the one that stay up with the father of two all night, making sure the kitten stayed warm and hadn’t gotten hypothermia before Emi came home from a business trip in Tokyo.
Uruha’s crazed eyes came back across his features before he shot up out of his chair and threw an accusing finger in Reita’s direction, “You promised you’d never bring that up again! Emi might divorce me if she ever found out…”
“Uru, she’s been with your paranoid ass for over ten years, I don’t think she’s going anywhere any time soon.”
“You never know,” mumbling, Uruha sat back down in his swivel chair, keeping his gaze down as he began sorting through papers and stacking them in neat piles.
“Uru, seriously. You bend to her ever beck and call and paint entire hallways to cover up your kids’ mistakes. She’s not going anywhere, trust me on that.”
“Hmm, remain cautious, or listen to the 32 year old who has never been in a serious relationship in his life and gets some self-absorbed midget drunk every weekend in order to get a piece of ass? I don’t know Rei, what option would you pick?”
In that moment, Uruha seemed more condescending than Ruki ever had with his batting eyelashes and shifty eyes. It pissed Reita off. “Fuck you, man. I left my place early just to talk you out of going batshit, and you’re going to sit there and tell me the way I’m living my life is no good? You’re an ass.”
“No, Rei. I’m just looking out for you. It’s time for you to settle down. Have you tried actually dating Ruki? Maybe you guys can do something besides fuck…”
“Uru, you’re talking about Ruki here. You know, the guy that’s tried to get into your pants on more than one occasion knowing you were married and straight…”
Silently staring at one another for a good five minutes, Uruha was finally the one to break the contact by dropping a stack of papers with a sigh and waving his hand dismissively in the air, “Alright, forget I even brought him up as an option. But, seriously, you need to get out there and find someone willing to date you. Otherwise you’re going to turn senile and spend your weekends knitting Keiji and Oscar mini sweaters and hats…”
Leaning forward, Reita rested his round chin on clasped together knuckles, his next sentence completely serious as he looked Uruha straight in the face, “Uru, don’t be crazy. I don’t know how to knit. I’d be crocheting them mini sweaters and hats…”
Uruha deadpanned, “You’re hopeless.”
Reita smiled, “Don’t I know it…”
After their little quarrel on his love life, Reita and Uruha talked business matters for a few short moments, and in no time the blond was grabbing his box of tools from the down stairs shed of the office building, and then stepping up into the driver’s side of the large company van.
With the verbal torture he received from both Ruki and Uruha this morning, the alone time in the van he was awarded with felt like the equalivent to a three month paid vacation. The town he lived in was small, and due to the early hour and excessive amounts of snow plaguing the streets, he was about the only one on the road.
Unlike Uruha, Reita was perfectly fine with the way his life was going right now. He made plenty of money to get by and always had company in the form of Keiji, Oscar, and, unfortunately every now and then, Ruki. He was happy, content. The thought of finding himself in a permanent relationship never even crossed his mind. He wasn’t sure he even knew how to date, considering every ‘date’ he’s been on since high school always ended in something sexual.
Sighing, he slid his finger down to flick on the blinker, the van turning left and continuing straight down a strip of wintery fresh snow.
The area the client’s house was located in wasn’t one Reita was very familiar with. It was isolated from the rest of the jam packed town by a good few miles, but the drive itself would still only take about 20 minutes.
His 20 minute predication turned into 28, the thick snow causing him to drive slower than usual. The house he parked outside of was nowhere near small and it look like it came straight out of an olden times Western film. Three steps led up to a small front porch, the entire house looking built of wood and false brick. It was two storied and the roof was pointed, smoke seeping out from the chimney at the very top.
Knowing it would be near impossible to do his job in the layers of clothing he wore, Reita quickly stripped down till he was only wearing the long sleeved navy one piece. Reaching into the back of the van, he grabbed his tool box and work gloves, and without a second thought he was jogging up the steps to the house, trying to ignore just how cold he’d gotten from the short distance from the car to the front door.
Blowing a quick breath of hot air into his cupped hands, he kept moving constantly on foot to foot as he knocked, praying his client wasn’t one of those elderlies who took forever to answer. The heater may have been broken inside the old house, but the smoke from the chimney surely indicated the client had a fire storming on the inside, which meant it had to be a hell of a lot more warm in there then out here.
Slow seconds turned into dreadful minutes, and already Reita could feel the tips of his nose, fingers, and ears begin to frost over. Getting impatient, he knocked again, beginning the wait cycle all over again.
Remembering the name from Uruha’s text message this morning, he knocked again, this time shouting calmly; “Kai-san, my name’s Reita. I’m from Takashima’s Electric. I’m here to fix your heater.”
A few more minutes passed, and as Reita was about to give up hope and assume the client had forgotten about the appointment, the door began to creak open slowly, the tip of a floating head covered by a thick beany hat and a pair of large brown eyes that would put Bambi to shame being the only thing to creep out from behind the slab of wood.
“Kai-san?” Reita questioned lightly, a kind and inviting smile gracing his lips as he bowed in the slightest while keeping his sight on the bundled up man before him. “You’re the one who called about the heater, right?”
With the pace of a slug, Kai opened the door fully, exposing his entire body. From Reita’s observation, the bug eyed man before him was wearing at least four sweaters, a red marshmallow puff jacket being the outer coating. Black mittens were fastened tightly against shaking hands, and washed out gray sweatpants hung loosely on a pair of the skinniest legs Reita had ever seen. The image made his smile widen, it reminding him of how Uruha dressed up Tai and Tae before they left for pre-school during the winter mornings.
“I am,” the words came about strained, as if Kai had to think hard about how to answer the short question.
“Well, why not let me in and take a look at it so I can bring you some proper heat?” Reita’s smile continued to stay warm. Kai pursed his lips, looking as if he were back in his thinking stage again, before he nodded his head and began walking back into the house, leaving the door open for Reita to come in after.
Toolbox in hand, Reita followed the slightly smaller man further into the house. Based on the interactions of the short conversation he has had with Kai, Reita has gathered the man was somewhat strange, and walking into his house verified the validity of his observation.
Storage boxes were everywhere. Against the walls, in the middle of the floor, even following up the staircase. Taking a small peak inside one of the boxes as he walked passed it, Reita noted that lines of canned food filled the box’s entirety, something that had his brow raising in wonderment.
Another one of the boxes contained books, clothes, and random papers, and in order to break the silence that had fallen upon them, Reita asked the first thing that came to mind, “Are you planning on moving soon or something?”
Kai paused in his step and turned around to face Reita. Tilting his head to the side, his lips parted slightly and forehead crinkled in confusion, “No…what would make you think that?” Big brown eyes blinked dumbly at Reita. Reita’s smile fell slightly.
“Well, you know. The boxes…” the hand he wasn’t using to hold his tool box waved around the house, pointing at different boxes, and Kai just smiled back.
“Oh, those are…nothing?” Kai’s face scrunched again, Reita wondering why it seemed the bundled man was questioning his own statement, “Anyways, where should I be directing you? Because I was just going back to my room and have no idea why you’re following me…”
Reita couldn’t believe it. He had actually found someone with worse people skills than Ruki.
“Umm, getting a glance at your circuit breaker would be the best starting point…”
“Oh, that’s in the basement. Down the hall, last door on the right. You should find it no problem.”
Without another word, Kai turned into the room he had paused outside of, closing the door silently behind him and leaving Reita to stand out in the hall and figure out his own way through the overly clustered home.
In his mind, Reita scratched the label of Kai being ‘somewhat strange’ and changed it to ‘strangest person he’d ever met’.
After following Kai’s vague instructions, the electrician came face to face with a door that was bolted shut with a grand total of 8 padlocks. Again, his eyebrows rose. He was about to call down the hall and ask Kai to come unbolt the locks, but from the corner of his eye he spotted a silver key hanging from a pin in the wall. Shaking his head, he grabbed the object, and sure enough, it was a universal key that was able to unlock all the locks.
Flipping a switch on the wall, the basement lit up below and Reita trotted down the steps. To his un-surprise, the basement was loaded with even more boxes. Once in front of the circuit breaker, he opened the slim panel, and before touching anything else, he slid on his work gloves which were insulated with rubber.
Upon actually setting his eyes on the breaker in front of him, he actually found himself wanting to smash his head against the brick wall it lay against. The circuit was merely tripped. One smooth flip of a switch and heat would be radiating through the old house in no time. Restraining from his automatic impulse, he flipped the switch; the sound of the heater starting up hitting his ears instantly.
By the time he made in back up stairs and had all the locks put back into place, he could actually feel the heat against his skin. Keeping his thoughts to himself about how stupid some people could be over the simplest things, he made his way back to the room Kai had trailed off into and knocked, hearing Kai’s invitation to enter seconds later.
After seeing the boxes and the locks, it shouldn’t have surprised Reita that Kai’s room would be a bit strange itself, but still he gawked into the room with his jaw slacked and eyes wide.
As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t even a room. It was more along the lines of a fucking jungle made entirely of bamboo. Not one, not two, but three bookshelves the length of the far side wall were crammed into the average sized space, a potted bamboo plant taking up every centimeter.
Stalks of the green plant stood up straight against the walls, resting in a giant vase of water and looking healthier than some of the bamboo Reita had seen growing in the wild.
In the middle of the room sat the only seemingly normal feature of a bedroom; a rolled out futon. Kai was laying atop the cushion on his back, a laptop balanced on his drawled up knees as he typed; the screen illuminating his face in a hue of blue.
Clearing his throat, Reita stepped further inside the room, grabbing Kai’s attention with his sudden steps, “Heater’s all fixed. Your breaker just needed to be flipped…”
“So that’s why is got so warm in here all of a sudden…” Kai spoke more to himself than anything, and then his attention was back on his screen, typing away with the same lightning speed as before.
Reita stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to say or do. Running his fingers through his flat blond hair, he cleared his throat again, “So, Kai-san…this is an interesting room you have here…”
He didn’t want to make small talk, but barging into Kai’s room and demanding payment for having to drive all the way out here for nothing just seemed rude and so Ruki like. He was hoping the start of a small conversation would eventually lead to payment methods.
The small statement seemed to have elated Kai, the strange man practically throwing his laptop aside and jumping up from the futon; eyes sparklingly in delight and million watt smile lighting up the room, “Really?”
It was only then Reita realized Kai had rid himself of all his excess clothing, the smaller man now only in a plain black shirt and the same baggy gray sweatpants. The beany was gone, a full head of tar black hair now on display. It was styled almost childishly, dark bangs covering his entire forehead, and the rest of the length falling only a little past the tips of his ears while cut into layers of choppy bits.
He was pale, unbelievably so, it matching well with his soft features. Knowing the man was a little bit more than strange, it was hard for Reita to find it in himself to admit, but Kai was actually pretty damn cute…
“Yeah really, I mean…you have bamboo….lots of it.”
That statement only managed to excite Kai even more, and before Reita had a chance to protest, Kai was giving him an entire tour of his room, showing him all the different types bamboo and telling him the story behind each ones name.
“…And finally, this is Isola-chan.” Kai held up a mini-potted plant, stroking the green leaves with care as he sprayed a mist bottle over the roots, “I’ve had her for over six years. She was the first one I ever got, actually…”
Forty five goddamn minutes. That’s how long Kai dragged Reita from shelf to shelf, rattling on and on about his precious bamboo.
“She’s lucky, you know?” he turned to Reita, eyes still sparkling and baby smile showing the dimple that the electrician noticed he had after the first half hour of the bamboo tour.
Something about Kai’s tone changed at the mention of this particular plant. He was more serene; off in a little world of his own.
“Oh yeah? How so?” Reita didn’t have the heart not to fake attentiveness before, but now he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that Kai’s sudden change in behavior had him interested.
“It’s because of her that I’m alive…”
Solemn. Serious. Sincere.
Reita could think of no better words to describe the scene in front of him as Kai continued to pet the leaves of Isola-chan’s stalk. He wanted to know more…
“Do you mind me asking how?” From over his shoulder, Kai graced him with another quirk of lips, but the gesture was so laden with melancholy that Reita himself almost could feel his mood damper.
“I…I want some tea. Do you want some tea? Yeah, tea sounds real nice. Right? I’ll go make us some.”
Placing Isola-chan down, Kai grabbed Reita from around the wrist and dragged the electrician into the kitchen. After forcing the blond to sit down at the table, Kai begun digging through a box on the counter where he pulled out a tea kettle, glass cups, and a variety of flavored teas.
What felt like seconds later, they were both sitting at the table, steaming cup in hand, and simply talking. Well, Kai was actually doing a majority of the speaking, but Reita thoroughly enjoyed watching the dark haired man and picking up on all his eccentricities.
Like how he constantly had to have his knees drawn up to his chest, or how he would tilt his head to the side and scrunch his face every time he had to question if what he was saying was correct. Also, the excessive amount of sugar he poured into his already sweet tea and how he would always verify if Reita was listening by adding ‘right?’ to the end of nearly every sentence…
Kai was strange, but he was definitely one of a kind, and that one of a kind personality is what prevented Reita from realizing that he’d already been at his house for over three hours.
Three hours would have probably easily turned into six if he hadn’t gotten a text message from Uruha, demanding to know what the hell was taking him so long to check back in.
Knowing he had other clients to get to today, Reita politely excused himself, feeling like the worst person in the world when he saw that melancholy expression make its way back onto Kai’s face.
“Hey…Reita?” Kai spoke up quietly at the door, head down and toe digging into the carpet as his hands gripped tightly onto the ajar wooden slab.
“Yeah?” Reita asked kind of hurriedly due to a combination of wanting to get back into the heat of the company van and arrive to his next appointment on time.
“I like you, you’re really nice. We could hang out again sometime, right?”
Hearing that actually made Reita feel a little warmer on the inside.
Raising his hand, he grabbed Kai’s shoulder, making the smaller man look up at him. “I’d like that very much, Kai. I can get your cell phone number from my boss, I’ll text you the next time I’m free, alright?”
Kai responded with a vigorous head shake, his choppy hair dancing all over the place before he shouted a quick ‘bye!’ and slammed the door shut with Reita still standing on the front porch.
It was only after Reita was driving down the same snowy strip of road that brought him to Kai’s house in the first place did he realize he had forgotten to ask Kai for the service charge payment.
Uruha was going to kill him.
Next Chapter--->
Author's Note: I blame this fic entirely on
krasivayadusha, since she's the one who gave me the bingo card AND posted the GIF set (<-- click that) that inspired Kai's look/personality xDI have few things to say:
1.) This fic is going to get angsty. Only the beginning chapters a going to be like this.
2.) I don't plan on it being TOO long...maybe 10 chapters at most?
3.) The summary I tossed up there isn't truly what the fic is about...but it's all I can put up for now without giving anything away.
4.) I based Kai's house off a real house in Rikubetsu (<--- click that, too)
5.) Kai's and Reita's meeting seems a little rushed to me, but ehhh, Kai's a weirdo, so their relationship isn't going to develop like a normal one would xD
6.) I'm tired and need a nap.
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Date: 2014-02-07 11:54 pm (UTC)Omg
I freaking had a party when you posted this! OTP FTW!
Thank you thank you thank you!
Daw Kai, I just wanna smoosh him so hard right now! What a cute little thing
Though I feel sorry for Reita having to listen to him rave about his bamboo plants XD
Then again, I'd sit there and listen to him rant as well
Even if he is a weirdo
Well once again, amazing chapter~ I have a feeling Ruki won't like when he loses his fuck buddy with the godly hip thrust bwahaha
Wow a straight Uruha, this actually makes me happy!
So many fics just make them all gay or put him with Aoi
This is fresh, I like it!
Thank you again waifu! I can't wait to see Uruha's reaction when he finds out Reita forgot the payment XD
I hope you have a good nap though =3
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Date: 2014-02-08 04:24 pm (UTC)Kai is so adorably weird and I'd totally want him as my best friend :'3 We can smoosh him together <3
We all know Reitard like hearing about those plants, he can't even deny it ;)
Is bitchy Ruki ever happy? xD He'll just have to go find a new thrusting buddy, cause Reita is now all Kai's~ Well...not YET, but you know how fic world goes xDD
Honestly, I see Uruha as the straightest one in the entire band xD So it's easy to make his character a family man :P And, Waifu...you should know I'd never put him with Aoi xDD
DON'T THANK ME *shakes finger at you* Seriously, you don't need to, when it should be me thanking you~~ <3
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Date: 2014-02-08 11:47 pm (UTC)I will patiently wait for the day it's complete, cause hot damn Reitard and Aoi as lumberjacks? Pls and thank you bwahaha
Ah I think we are going to have this little disagreement every time I comment and thank you XD
JUST ACCEPT IT WAIFU!
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Date: 2014-02-08 03:39 am (UTC)Firstly I'd just like to apologize for my comments being rather scarce on your posts lately. Things have been pretty hectic for me this past week with finally starting my last year of high school etc >.<
I can already tell that I'm really going to love this little beauty. The whole thing is just so intriguing, plus Reita/Kai is one of my FAVOURITE pairings ever. So freakin' cute and there just aren't enough. One of the many reasons I love your writing so much is because you tend to stay away from the common, 'cliche' kind of pairings like Uruha/Aoi and Reita/Ruki (even though I do still love those pairings). It's just always really good to have different pairings to read about.
I have to say that I really love your Kai. Really strange, out-there kind of characters are always fantastic. I love them. To be completely honest, he reminds me a bit of L from 'Death Note'. I really like his look, that gif set was so adorable. The whole bamboo thing is really really interesting as well. I can't say I've ever read anything of a similar nature before so I'm super excited to find out more.
I am a total sucker for a sassy Ruki. Like, no matter how many times I read a sassy Ruki I never ever get stick of him. That just seems like the way he would be in real life. So I hope there is plenty more of him to come.
I really, really love your writing style. You're so descriptive and it really helps to keep your readers engaged. I can see everything so clearly in my head it's almost like I'm watching a movie. I really like the way that you delve into characters and really explore their mindset because it makes reading so much more interesting and engaging.
Overall I'm super excited to read more of this. It's such an interesting and different concept, I can already tell that I'm really going to love it. I always feel like my comments are super long and rambley, so I apologize of that's the case >.< But, really, I'm looking forward to reading this one. Very good job, darling <3 :)
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Date: 2014-02-08 04:45 pm (UTC)Reikaiii~ I seriously don't understand how they aren't a more popular paring. Seriously, they're one of the fluffiest pairings you could ever ask for, and let's face it,everybody enjoys a little fluff every now and then ;) And thank you ^^ I'm actually thrills me that I've been able to keep my journal alive and going even though the two main pairings I post are two of the LEAST popular in the fandom D:
The way I've written Kai, he's always been the typical sweetie pie blahblah. And as much as I love him like that I wanted to try something new. And trust me...we haven't seen half of his weirdness yet xD I've never been in manga/anime, but I know who L is, but I don't know if Kai reminding you of him is a good or bad thing xDD I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good! As for the bamboo...it'll make sense eventually ^^ Kai's weird tendencies have an actual explanation - he's not just some random nut job :3
Ruki plays a pretty big role here, so expect him to pop up every now and then ^^ And of course he'll always be just as sassy as he was the chapter before~.
I'm always afraid I'm not descriptive ENOUGH, so thank you again! That really means a lot :D
Don't apologize, rambling is always welcomed~ And your comments are well put together, unlike my own that are always clustered with emoticons and incoherent squealing xD
Thanks again, your comment means a lot!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-08 11:12 pm (UTC)HAHA you wrote REITUKI! IDC if you say it's not real Reituki...you.wrote.Reituki. and even though they're not an actual couple, -I love it-. Ruki is unabashedly elitist and bitchy, which weirdly warms my heart (i'm messed up, but you know this)and Reita is just horny. And that's basically their relationship and I am okay with that :P That being said - I'm curious to see if you'll reveal exactly why it is that Ruki insists they're totally hammered every time they fuck...I'm sensing some deeper issues at hand here? Or at least from Ruki's end...
*snorts* Reita w/his birdies was too cute - and basically what I imagine real Reita is like with his birds. All macho and bro-sy when he's out in public - but he goes home to dat sweet bird and coos and uses a baby voice like the rest of us. We've got your number, Reita. Your manliness is all a shaaaam. :P Anyways - C U T E.
Ahhh, I love Uruha so much! A dad who gets completely and utterly played by his children..also too cute :P Holy shit he painted the whole wall just so his wife wouldn't find out...what a devoted (or just scared shitless) husband you are, Uru. JFC THE CAT PART. I nearly spilled tea all down my front. The image was so hilarious there...oh my god. And coincidentally, I had a white cat named 'snowball' growing up...so the terror was real for me D: haha. And Uru & Reita's relationship is so great here...all the little remarks you throw in from either side makes it really easy to see the depth & ease in their friendship :3 Bros for life~
OH MY GOD KAI IS WEIRD AND ADORABLE. No for real, I'm really excited about this characterization of him since you sort of let me in on what's going on with him...the development of his relationship with Reita and how he opens himself up/explains his life is going to be *really* interesting to read. And I am beyond intrigued about how that little bamboo plant saved his life...for real. I need to know. Like yesterday. I'm impatient, I'm sorry ;___; haha.
And speaking of Kai - you did a really great job w/his section of the chapter in terms of description. I could *see* every part of his apartment, and all of the eccentricities..and I know that will be a really important part of understanding him...so job well done. It was lovely to read! It's so nice when author's are able to paint a really vivid image of a setting...it just pulls everything together so nicely :3
this is lovely and I'm really excited and imma send you obnoxious amounts of gifsets forever if it means more fic >:D thank you, darling girl!! <3
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Date: 2014-02-12 07:22 pm (UTC)Psssh, he's still manri even though he sweet talks and coos to his birdies~. ;)
I wanted a twist on the usual calm, relaxed Uruha I usually have, so I figured an overly paranoid, fatherly hubbie Uru was best xDD I think it's a combination of devoted and scared shitless xD We haven't met his wife yet, but when we do, you'll understand Uruha's paranoia. I think almost every body had a cat named Snowball when they were younger xD You know I always have to have a little Reita and Uru brosies interaction, it just wouldn't be the same without it :P
Ahhh, our socially awkward Kai :3 Yeah, definitely my favorite characterization I've created for him thus far xDD I was gonna make him all shy and shit at first, but I figured a wtf behavior was much better than the usual blushing mess xDD All will be explained in time, I promise~ :D
*wipes brow* I'm always afraid I do too much or too little description, so I'm glad I seem to have put the right amount this time :)
I'll take any and all gif sets from you >:D And no need to thank me~ you should know that by now ^^;
no subject
Date: 2014-02-09 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-12 02:27 pm (UTC)Oh, all that will definitely be explained in time. Kai's weirdness is partially due to just his natural persona, but there are definitely deeper causes to his weirdness ;)I'm so glad you're excited, it's comments like this that make me want to write faster! Thank you <33
no subject
Date: 2014-02-10 05:57 am (UTC)And URUHA??? STRAIGHT AND MARRIED??? BUT NOT TO MEEEEE???? Okay, that's okay; I like that transition HAHAHA!
But cute little eccentric Kai...I pictured him so cute and innocent and naïve in this fic; I'm looking forward to its progression :D
no subject
Date: 2014-02-12 02:20 pm (UTC)Shhh, you can just pretend it's yourself~ ;)You can raise his two terrible children while he's off at work killing Reita :P
I wanted to write cutie pie Kai, but not your typical shy, blushing cutie pie Kai, so I decided why not make him weird and socially awkward? xD
Thanks so much!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-10 06:45 am (UTC)I
LOVE
THIS
SO
FREAKING
MUCH
Asdfghjkl This is literally perfect, I’m already completely hooked on this fic! First of all, I just adore your portrayal of Uruha as a whipped husband, he’s an absolute darling :3
AND KAI!
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI <3
I was in love with his character from the moment he opened the door. Something about the way you describe him and his house is very… almost Burton-esque. He’s so weird but strangely intriguing.
(and what is he writing? Is he a writer???????????????? Because if he is…. *dies*)
Reita with his birds… It was epic, I laughed like an idiot when he started talking to them about Ruki.
And I love your sassy Ruki, you know that. Though I kind of want him to go away and make room for Kai xD But okay, it doesn’t seem like Reita really has that much of an interest in him anyway, so I guess the angst won’t come in the shape of a ~love triangle~
Speaking of angst, IT WORRIES ME D: Because this was so funny and cute and now I’m scared that something is going to be really, really wrong with Kai… I mean he is… eccentric, but I hope he won’t turn out to be completely insane or something like that >_> *braces self*
And as everyone else has already mentioned, your writing is just SO GOOD and it really is like watching a movie ^___^ Reading this first thing in the morning has made me feel like this will be a good day lol
I wish I had time to write more because I LOVE EVERYTHING, ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS! But I don’t, I’m sorry ;______; Next time though! I really can’t wait to read the next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*dies of excitement*
no subject
Date: 2014-02-12 03:12 pm (UTC)Cutie pie, socially awkward Kai makes me really happy :D And Reita seemingly accepting his strangeness makes me all the more happier xD I seriously have no idea where I pulled this personality from, but I like it and I'm glad I went with it :P
You just KNOW everybody talks to their animals, even the manri Reita xDD
Definitely no love triangle, I'm tired of seeing those xD The angst will come though, and it just may somehow be related to Ruki ;)
*whistles suspiciously* I must keep my mouth shut for now xD Just continue to think of Kai as 'weird', nothing else, I swear! ;)
This comment was more than enough and made me smile in every way possible, so, thank you!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 03:32 am (UTC)ALL THESE WARNINGS OF ANGST! D: Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?!
Fluff~ Where did you go~? ;_;
Nah jk, I'll survive! Somehow... That being said, I'm actually ridiculously curious to find out how the angst is related to RUKI, of all people. So I kinda don't want it, but at the same time... I really really do :3
By the way, I forgot to mention it (...when it still seemed relevant...) buuut I freaking loved this part:
“Uru, don’t be crazy. I don’t know how to knit. I’d be crocheting them mini sweaters and hats…”
Reita, ILU <3
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Date: 2014-02-12 07:30 pm (UTC)Your pairings are great (I don't like or even read pairings like Ruki/Reita or Uruha/Aoi ever) and you make the characters so likeable and stories really interesting!
So thank you.
I'll be following your fics even I'm not the best of leaving feedback :)
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Date: 2014-02-12 10:21 pm (UTC)I'm not one for the popular pairings myself, they're a bit overwhelming. I'm really, really glad you enjoy my not-so-usual pairings and plots, I feel somewhat successful now xD
Thanks again! :D
no subject
Date: 2014-09-05 06:50 am (UTC)*run to read*
Thaaaaaaaaanks a lot <3333
no subject
Date: 2015-11-23 05:00 pm (UTC)