bitetoall136 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bitetoall136) wrote2014-02-21 03:24 pm
bitetoall136) wrote2014-02-21 03:24 pm
Unseen Solitaire - Chapter 2 {Reita/Kai}
Title: Unseen Solitaire
Chapter: 2/??
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:A fill for the 'busted heater in the heart of winter ' square onkrasivayadusha's angst/fluff bingo card. :P
Previous Chapters: (Chapter 1)
Chapter 2
Stepping out from the bathing area and into the lounge of his flat, Reita hunkered down onto the black leather sofa with a strident sigh. Throwing his feet up onto the pricey cushion of the upholstery, he lay relaxed, hands reaching up to the towel hung sloppily around his shoulders, beginning to dry his recently washed blond locks. His vision became practically none as the dark towel rested over his entire face, the thick cloth masking the scent of something rich and earthy – warm amber scented shampoo seeming to smell stronger in such a muffled space.
In the background, he could hear Keiji and Oscar chirping happily, he having stopped by the pet store on his way home and brought them back a new toy mirror, along with some special feed and cuttlebone. After having to report back to his boss that he forgot to collect payment from a customer, Uruha had given him the lecture of a life time, which in turn ended in the two friends having a pointless argument over money they’ve borrowed and lent to each other over the years and how one forgotten payment wasn’t going to hurt Uruha’s sky high business.
At one point, their verbal argument had turned somewhat physical; Uruha’s eyes widening to their usual level of crazy as he chucked a stapler at the back of Reita’s head as the blond stormed out of his office with his middle finger held proud and high. The argument had of course left Reita with a little extra steam bubbling up inside, and he figured the only way to rid himself of that acidic feeling was to go blow whatever pocket change he had and do what he did best in life; spoil his birds.
Reaching to dry the back of his hair, the electrician hissed painfully, fingers scathing over a small bump. Face grinding into an unpleasant scowl, he cursed Uruha under his breath before throwing the towel off and over his face, it landing somewhere on shaded gray carpeting.
He knew after their fight that Uruha wouldn’t be expecting him to come in tomorrow. That’s how things have always worked between them; they’d get into a dispute, take a break away from each other for 24 hours, and when they met up the next time, it would be as if nothing happened. No unfading tension between them, no blame on who started it all; nothing. And it was for that very reason alone that Reita realized a long time ago that having your best friend as your boss consisted of nothing but perks.
Laying back to the couch and eyes to the ceiling, the electrician contemplated whether he wanted to simply roll over and watch television for the rest of the night until he fell asleep, or if he wanted to accompany that TV watching with the six pack left chilling in his fridge. Deciding on the later, he stood and began meandering his way into the small kitchen. Once there, he opened the stainless steel fridge and started pushing left over take out boxes and a probable expired carton of milk out of the way, until he reached the shimmering Hokkaido Beer in the very back.
Placing the six pack on the counter, he padded off to one of the top cabinets, grabbing the abnormally tall glass he always used to drink his hometown’s namesake beverage out of. The white foam of the burnt yellow liquid just reached the lip of the glass, Reita able to feel his sulky mood brighten at the thought of having the tart, yet sweet drink rummaging through his system, when from across the room, his house phone began to ring.
If it had been his cell phone, Reita probably would have ignored it, but this was his house; the number restricted to only his close friends and family for absolute emergencies. Slamming the can back down onto the counter, he practically skidded across the cool linoleum of the kitchen, the black socks he wore almost making him slide past the phone in his quick haste. With fumbling hands and fingers, he was finally able to answer the call and hold the device up to his ear properly; his hectic speech of asking what was wrong quickly dropping and face morphing back into wrathful annoyance at the realization of who was on the other end.
“Uru, unless there’s something wrong with Tae, Tai, or Emi, what the hell are you doing calling this number?” Using his thumb and forefinger, he pinched the crease between his lids and nose, the bump on his head finally starting to settle into a headache.
On the other end of the line, Uruha hummed, his query of nonchalant making the hairs on the back of Reita’s neck stand, “I needed to talk to you and I knew you wouldn’t answer if I called your cell phone. It’s important…”
Reita grunted, “If it’s so important, why didn’t you just come see me in person?” sliding down the small slither of wall next to the land line, he twirled the curly cord around his finger, eyes closed lightly.
“It’s important, but it’s not so important that I’m going to risk you punching my lights out by putting myself in your presence after I attacked you with a stapler just a few hours ago.”
Another annoyed grunt, “Then just tell me what’s so important so I can get back to drinking my beer – it’s no good warm.”
A hesitant silence came from Uruha’s end, Reita’s eyes shooting open in shock at his friend’s next words, “Well, Rei…I called to say sorry. A few minutes after our fight, that customer called up and said he’d forward a payment to the company right away,” Uruha paused, sounding almost confused, before continuing, “then he started rambling, wanting to know if I had a preferred brand of planted bamboo, which I completed didn’t-”
“Bamboo…?” Reita’s mild interruption was followed by him jumping off the ground and onto his feet, hands beginning to dig through drawers alike in an attempt to find pen and paper.
Between having to visit the homes of eight other customers today and getting into his light quarrel with Uruha, he’d almost completely forgotten about Kai and getting the outlandish character’s contact information from Uruha. Any normal person would have probably pegged his forgetfulness as a stroke of luck on his part, seeing as that gave him a valid excuse to never have to converse with such a strange man ever again, but then again, Reita hadn’t agreed to hanging out with Kai again out of pity like most would have. He’d agreed because he was truly interested in getting to know Kai. He was different, refreshing; Reita never knew what to expect from him.
“Yeah, bamboo. I guess he wants to give us a stalk or something as part of a thank you and-”
“Uru, do you have his file folder anywhere nearby?” Reita balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, black ink pen tapping against the white of an envelope as he waited for Uruha’s reply.
“Uhmm, yeah…It’s right in front of me, but why-”
“Read his cell number off to me.”
Reita couldn’t see it, but he knew Uruha’s expression was twisting into something of suspicion.
“Why…? You know it’s against company policy to give out private information-”
“Uru, if you don’t give it to me, I will go to your house and prove to Emi just how fresh that paint in the hallway is…”
Uruha gasped, “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, but I so would.”
It wasn’t long after the small threat that Reita could hear the coral haired grumbling as sheets of papers were flipped, Uruha’s deep voice sounding nothing but defeated as he read off ten digit number.
“You know, I don’t know who is going to drive me batshit first – you or my kids?”
Reita snorted, “You know we work together in driving you crazy, Uru. Give us all equal credit.”
A sigh, “Are you at least going to tell me why you want his number?”
Repeatedly tracing the number he just jotted with the black ink pen, Reita smirked, chirping a quick ‘Bye, Uru’ into the phone, before hanging up on the other, figuring he deserved to be left wondering after the injury he’d left him with earlier.
Grabbing his warming beer, he took a sip of the bitter liquid, sitting on a stool and casually typing the recently attained number into his contacts list, adding the name ‘Kai’ as the recipient’s name. Arms slouched on tiled countertop, the side of his face dug into his upper arm, hazel eyes scanning the screen, contemplating whether to send a message or not. It seemed too soon to by doing so. After all, he had told Kai he’d text him the next time he was free – wouldn’t it seem desperate if he contacted him just a few hours after their meeting? Then again, what was there to look desperate about? Kai just wanted to hang out, probably talk his ear off again; it’s not like he’d asked him or anything.
Between thinking, drinking, and his thumping injury, his headache worsened and Reita found himself shrugging off his worriment, thinking of a few friendly words to send Kai’s way. Of course, as soon as he had the perfect sentence structured in his mind, an obnoxious knock resounded, causing the electrician to groan and place his cell phone down on the counter, before shuffling off to the front door.
“R-reitaaa, let me in,” the obnoxious pounding continued as Reita’s hand wrapped around the knob, he registering that drunken voice as Ruki. The door was opened, Ruki falling against him and wrapping arms around his neck, bringing their lips close, “God, I want to suck you off so bad.” A deep, drunk giggle followed, Reita rolling his eyes as Ruki’s face planted against his shoulder, a mad fit of giggles being muffled as he dragged the small fashion journalist into his flat, placing him at the stool he was just sat at.
It wasn’t unusual for Ruki to show up at his door step like this – drunker than one could imagine. Typically when Reita took the auburn haired out for a night of drinking, lots of sex followed. But then there were nights such as tonight where Ruki would show up on his own accord, Reita piecing together over the years that the journalist used drinking to fill an empty void; a void Reita hadn’t a clue about.
Filling a glass of water from the tap, he handed it off to the still giggling man, “Drink this, it’ll help sober you-” he paused, taking in Ruki’s apparel, something that could only be described at aghast hitting him, “Thought you said that shirt was an atrocity,” a near hiss as he pinched the red cotton material between his thumb and fore finger, plopping down on to stool beside Ruki.
Giggling again, Ruki placed the cup of water to the side, quickly reaching for Reita’s half empty glass of beer and guzzling what he could before Reita swiped it away from him. Wiping his mouth with the collar of the shirt, he smiled, “No, I said you made it look like an atrocity. I on the other hand make it look fabulous. Red is completely my color.” Reita could tell Ruki fought another round of giggles, but in the end drunkenness won, and the small auburn broke into hysterics.
The electrician ignored the fit, simply staring at the journalist in frustration, catching an all too familiar scent, “You smell like Lotus, who’d you get to buy your drinks tonight?” Lotus, a fruit that made anyone who ate it forget their problems and want to sleep, the perfect name for a bar. The very bar Reita and Ruki had met at, and the bar they frequented quite often.
Ruki scuffed, seeming completely sober all of a sudden, “Buy? Nobody bought them. You know how much Aoi loves me, he gave them to me for free.”
Aoi, a bartender at Lotus and someone who has gradually become Reita’s friend. The electrician seemingly felt bad for Aoi, seeing as it’s as obvious as obvious can be that he’s had a major thing for Ruki way before Reita made his way into the picture. Even the day Reita met Ruki, Aoi had tried his best to subtly woo the fashion journalist, but all Ruki could insist was he only went after stupid blonds, proving his point further to the bartender by walking out of the bar with Reita. It didn’t really surprise Reita that the next time he walked into Lotus, Aoi had a thick, blond streak decorating the right side of his hair – a streak that was still there seven years later.
“I really don’t get why you have to be such a dick to him, Ru. Can’t you see-” a hand muffled his next words, Ruki practically glaring at him as he stood from the stool and got in his face.
“Shut. Up.” Their menacing stares met, Reita pushing the smaller’s hands away with a sneer.
Rubbing at his mouth where the hand was just placed, Reita asked angrily, “Ru, why the fuck are you even here?
“I told you,” Ruki again approached him, this time smiling and lacing his arms around his neck, warm breath and tongue flickering across the shell of Retia’s ear as he whispers seductively, “I told you…I want to suck you off.”
Plush lips traveling down his neck and jawline like that normally did Reita in, but he just wasn’t in the mood today, “Ru, stop,” his hands reach up and push on shoulders, but Ruki continues, kissing Reita deeply before dropping to his knees and beginning to fumble with the drawstring to the electrician’s plaid-blue pajama pants.
“Ruki. STOP,” hissing through clenched teeth, head falling back as he feels soft hands wrap around his flaccid cock, a moan escaping as Ruki’s tongue flicks out over the head.
“No,” Ruki’s disobedient reply as he hums, encasing Reita between his plush lips.
The feel of a warm, wet cavern wrapped around him made Reita realize just how much not up to this he was, hands wrapping in wavy auburn and yanking back, “RUKI,” he says sternly, pulling the fashion journalist’s face up to meet his, “Stop, I’m seriously not in the mood.”
Standing, Ruki scuffs, wiping his mouth off on the edge of his shirt, “What’s crawled up your ass today? You’re a bigger dick than usual.”
Sighing, Reita runs a hand through his hair, only to pick up his cell and begin fidgeting with it, the screen lighting up and showing the kanji for Kai he typed in before Ruki’s arrival. “Nothing, just a long day.”
Suddenly, Ruki’s voice was closer than before, Reita able to feel him hovering above his shoulder with his next question, “Whose Kai?”
Locking the screen, Reita placed the device back on the counter screen down, quickly answering, “No one…”
“No one?” Ruki shot back, only to notice the slight tint on Reita’s cheeks, “Oh my god, Rei…DO YOU HAVE A DATE?” And before Reita could say anything, the phone was snatched off the counter, any and all drunkenness leaving Ruki as he ran across the flat, his fingers twiddling away on the touch screen.
“NO! Ru, it’s not like that! Give me my damn phone back!” On his feet and chasing the auburn journalist, Reita reached out and swatted repeatedly, trying to get his phone back before Ruki’s devious mind could do any harm to his and Kai’s just budding friendship.
“Oh yeah, what’s it like then? He just another fuck buddy?” Ruki’s eyes lit up from the hue of the screen as he cornered himself and typed a message, a grin appearing on his features that urged Reita to get his phone back all the sooner.
“NO,” finally able to grab the touch screen, Reita quickly went to his outbox, seeing Ruki had indeed sent out a message. Tapping the little envelope symbol as quickly as possible, Reita nearly imploded.
Size of penis? Length and girth, please~.
“Ruki! What the fuck is wrong with you? Kai…he’s he-” a vibration noise fills the air, stopping Reita mid rant as he opened the new message, only for his face to flush an uncanny white.
Erect, flaccid, or both?
“Oh my god, Reita, give me that!” Still too shocked at Kai’s unexpected answer, Ruki was able to snatch the phone from Reita’s grip easily, typing out another message, only to get one sent back to him just as fast, “Jesus fuck, Rei, he has a cock that puts killer whales to shame!” throwing his head back and laughing, the phone was snatched back from Ruki, Reita quickly pocketing it and grumbling under his breath. Taking a moment to calm down, Ruki fell back against the couch, asking Reita seriously, “Where the hell did you find this guy, Rei? He’s awesome.”
Slouching down next to the fashion journalist, Reita rested his head against the back of the couch, glaring at the auburn, “It’s none of your business, but Kai...he's-"
For the third time a vibration interrupted, Reita digging through his pocket and swiping his thumb across the screen, Ruki automatically hovering over his shoulder as they read the message together.
Who is this, by the way? I’ll only send picture proof to people I actually know.
Reita’s face turned even whiter, but again, Ruki laughed hysterically, he now red from lack of oxygen.
“Oh my—Rei, I need to meet this guy! I. LOVE. HIM.”
It wasn’t too soon after the newest message did Ruki finally pass out, his tolerance to outdo the alcohol finally hitting him. Laying the small fashion journalist out on the couch and placing a throw blanket over him, Reita turned off all the lights and said goodnight to Keiji and Oscar, before settling into his own bed. Staring at the messages on his phone is what kept his mind from shutting down, the electrician simply trying to figure out the mystery behind Kai.
While at the strange man’s home, Kai had seemed just that – strange. The boxes, the excessive locks, the bamboo. Every inch of his personality screamed ‘unusual’; it left Reita wanting to know more. Even now, over the text messages, Kai seemed nothing but strange. He all but gave out extremely private information to a complete stranger. Hell, Kai hadn’t even known it was ‘Reita’ texting him; as far as his choppy head of black hair was concerned, he was simply texting a ten digit number with the same area code as his.
Reita didn’t understand, but he really wanted to.
Opening a new message, he quickly composed just what it is he wanted to send out earlier, of course having to add a few altercations.
Hey Kai, it’s me, Reita. I’m really sorry about those strange messages earlier, my friend was tipsy and got a hold of my phone and…well, you can see what happened I guess. Anyways, I’m free tomorrow, so I was wondering if then would be a good time for me to come over? – Reita
It was barely thirty seconds he had to wait for a reply.
Why is your friend so interested in my male anatomy? And tomorrow is good, I was hoping you’d stop by soon. Oh, Reita? Could you do me a favor? – Kai
Sure, anything. – Reita
Before you get here tomorrow, could you stop by the convenience store by my house and pick up some plant feed? Isola-chan is starting to get yellow spots and I want to treat her as well as she’s treated me. – Kai
Reita smiled. The ask was odd, yet at the same time, endearingly cute.
Not a problem, anything for that little life saver. – Reita
(^___^) Thank you so much! Oh, and Reita, now that I know it’s you I’m talking to, please know that picture proof will be available any time you wish to see it. – Kai
It if were anybody else but Kai, Reita would have assumed he was being flirted with. But even with how brief their time together might have been, Reita knew the intention behind Kai’s text wasn’t that in the least bit. He’d pieced together from their little chat at the table and Ruki’s own drunken text exchange with the dark haired man that Kai was extremely open once comfortable around someone – that small details which normally bothered others to talk about seemed like speaking about the weather to him.
Replying back with only a small good night, the electrician plugged his phone into the charger and bundled up under the duvet, sleep hitting him within minutes.
When he awoke, the sun had yet to rise; the digital clock beside the bed reading 5:09am. Snow was coating the outside of the bedroom window, but Reita still found it in him to strip his pajamas and change into a thick track suit, sticking to his usual off day routine of taking an hour long jog in the morning. By the time he arrived back at his flat, he was a complete mess of rosy cheeks, sweat stains, and blond strands sticking to the sides of his face.
Kicking his shoes off, he entered the kitchen, downing three glasses of water before continuing with his morning schedule. All showered and ready to start his day, he rolled up the sleeves to his ash gray sweatshirt and walked out into the longue room, finding on the couch a perfectly folded blanket and no Ruki. Assuming the fashion journalist had to leave early for work, he shrugged off his absence and threw the blanket in the wash, hoping he’d be able to rid it of the scent of cigarettes and liquor.
By 8 o’clock he found himself lying flat on his back in bed, scrolling through his and Kai’s conversation from the previous night. They never set an exact time for him to come over, and being the early bird he’s always been, Reita found the hours passing by tediously slow, wondering if it was late enough to begin the short 20 minute ride over to the choppy haired man’s home. Instead of using logic and texting Kai to ask if now was an appropriate time, Reita found himself lying there for another three hours before finally saying fuck it and hopping up out of bed, sliding on his jet black hoodie, and locking up.
When the heat was blowing full blast in his gray Honda Ridgeline, he began to carefully make his way down the road, it still too snowy to go anywhere close to the set legal limit. Reaching the turn that would take him down the road which led to Kai’s house, Reita turned right instead of left, making a pit stop at the small corner convenience store and purchasing the plant seed Kai had asked for. There were about 5 different brands, and again, instead of logically calling Kai to ask him which one he preferred, Reita just bought one of each.
Finally arriving at the old home, Reita nearly ran up the steps with the plastic bag in hand, this time knocking louder than yesterday and deciding to make it known who was there right away, “Kai! It’s me, Reita. Open up, I have that plant feed you asked for!”
Seconds. It must have only been a mere few seconds, and then Reita heard feet pounding against the creaky wooden floor, the door shooting open, allowing him to come face to face with a buzz eyed Kai. The dark haired man looked panicked; hair tousled, sweater dangling off his thin frame, glasses that weren’t there yesterday laying crooked on his face, complexion even paler, and one foot bare as the other wore a wholly stripped sock.
“Kai?” Reita questioned worriedly, “Are you ok? You seem a little-”
“Did you bring the plant feed?” Kai cut the electrician off with hurry, nearly shouting his question.
Raising the bag, Reita nodded his head, “Y-yeah, it’s right here. Kai-”
He was unable to finish expressing his concern, seeing as in another split second, Kai grabbed him by the wrist, dragged him inside, and broke into a full sprint. The run didn’t last long, the pair ending up in Kai’s bed room, but Reita was sure he’d have bruises on his legs the next day from running into all the scattered boxes.
The moment they’d entered Kai’s jungle of a bedroom, Reita’s wrist was released and the bag was snatched from his hand, allowing him to stand back and watch as Kai dropped to his knees and began rummaging through the bag, picking up each different pack of feed and reading the back, scrunching up his face and throwing to the side the packs whose ingredients he didn’t agree with.
When it came down to the final pack, Kai made a noise of delight that Reita would consider inhumane, and ran to the far window, taking from its sill the bamboo Reita came to know as Isola-chan the previous day. The plant had many patches of yellow compared to yesterday.
“It’s going to be ok, Isola. Reita’s a nice man and brought you medicine, you’re going to be alright.” Kai spoke to the bamboo stalk in a nurturing way as he poured the feed into the base of its pot; almost like a mother would to a sick child. “You’ll be healthy again, I promise.” He continued, stroking her leaves just as he did yesterday and smiling gently, as if his good mood would better her condition.
The entire time Kai spent taking care of Isola, Reita merely leaned back against the wall with crossed arms and observed. Yes, the shorter was obviously talking to a plant, but if one ignored that fact, the enigmatic man from yesterday seemed to be completely gone. He never once questioned himself, he was confident the words he was telling Isola were accurate. His initial panic from just a few minutes ago was now non-existent, he now cheering on Isola to drink more water and soak up more sun. He seemed happy; that happiness dragging Reita in.
Pushing up off the wall, he approached Kai, touching his shoulder and grabbing his attention, before raising his other hand and beginning to stroke Isola’s leaves, just as Kai had been doing, “Wow, you’re already looking much healthier.” Kai’s unsuspecting behavior must have already worn off on Reita, because if someone were to ask him less than 24 hours ago if he would ever talk to a plant, the answer would have been an immediate ‘no’.
“She took a drastic turn since I talked to you last night. When I woke up, she was practically covered in yellow. I thought this would be it for her…” Kai’s voice was soft as he spoke, sounding horrified at even thinking of such a possibility.
“Well, I think under your care, Isola-chan here is going to outlast us, wouldn’t you say?” Tilting his head to the side, Reita’s flat blond hair brushed against his face as he smiled at Kai, watching as the dark haired man smiled back one of those dimpled baby smiles of his own.
Placing the potted plant back down on the sill and angling her so she’d get the most sun, Kai grabbed Reita’s hand, dragging him back out of the room, “Come on, I think we deserve some tea after saving such a critical patient, right?” he turned his head to meet Reita who was trailing in back of him, smiling again as he expertly avoided the boxes in their short walk.
Reita chuckled lightly, allowing himself to relax under Kai’s grip, “Right…”
It went almost the same as yesterday; Kai dug for the tea kettle and cups, added way too much sugar to his drink, sat down with his legs burrowed against his chest, and began talking to Reita non-stop; today’s topic being how ridiculous the snow fall was this year. The electrician was grateful Kai was chatty, just for the fact the he was typically quiet and more reserved and never really added much to a conversation anyways. However, about an hour in, Kai decided he’d had enough of Reita’s silence and asked the electrician a question Reita hadn’t been expecting.
“It would be ok if we played a game, right?” And even if Reita wanted to decline, there was no doing so when Kai looked at him with those damn Bambi eyes.
“What kind of game?” Reita asked, swirling around the small amount of tea left at the bottom of his cup.
Unwrapping his arms from around his legs and standing, Kai grabbed a bottle from off the counter, placing it between him and Reita. “A game of questions, well, 20 questions to be exact.”
Quirking a brow, Reita grabbed the bottle, reading its label, “Genshu? Isn’t this stuff like lethal?”
“It’s only 20% alcohol.” Kai quipped back, already repositioned on his chair, this time with his knees crisscrossed and cheeks resting in the palms of both hands.
“Only 20%,” Reita laughed, swishing the bottle in circles, able to tell it’s never been open, “What are you doing with this anyways? You haven’t been drinking it, apparently.”
Kai yanked the bottle back from Reita, opening the seal and popping the cork, “I just got it from a student for New Years. There was no sense opening it until I had something to celebrate, and I figure saving Isola is something celebratory, right?” he asked cheerfully, already pouring Reita half a glass.
That caught Reita's full attention, “Student? Are you a teacher?”
Tilting his head, Kai asked; “Is that your first question?”
“What?”
“The game. You get to ask me 20 questions, I get to ask you 20. If one of us refuses to answer, we’re forced to take a shot. So, is that your first question?”
Reita grinned, settling the glass down, “Why do I get the feeling you’ve played this game quite a bit?”
“I use to play with my ex all the time,” Kai scrunched his face, that melancholy expression which made Reita feel worthless appearing for a fraction of time before he waved him off. It might have been for the small schism of time, but still, Reita caught it. “Anyways, that’s not important. Now tell me, that’s your first question, right?”
“Sure,” the blond replied, lips turning up at the corners due to Kai’s persistency and how quickly the dark haired man could change moods.
“I’m an online teacher. I teach lessons a few times a week covering mainly sciences, but there are times where I’ll fill in for another teacher and lecture on some algebra classes. Alright, good enough answer, right? Right. My turn now. What age did you lose your virginity?”
Kai jumping right in to personal questions and answering Reita’s own at the speed someone on a game show would answer made Reita choke a bit on his spit, the blond coughing and hitting his chest before focusing back on Kai, “What?”
Drawing his legs back up to his chest, Kai buried his face between his knees so only his framed eyes showed, whispering his next statement, “Oh…I’m sorry. Are you still a virgin? Its ok if you are, I just assumed…”
Kai was sincere, as if he really were apologetic that Reita was still a virgin at his age. The electrician couldn’t help but laugh, “No, I’m not a virgin, haven’t been one since I was 15.”
“That’s really young,” Kai commented, back to his ways of sounding like he questioning himself, “I didn’t sleep with anybody until I was 20.” Eyes shifting to the bottom of his thick frames, Kai remained silent, seeming to forget the rules of the game as he picked up his own cup, taking a sip of the strong sake and troubled expression appearing back on his face.
Wanting to break the looming atmosphere that had just formed, Reita mimicked Kai and took a sip of his own Genshu, hissing due to the strong drink burning as it went down his throat, “So, is Rikubetsu your home town, or did you move here?”
Even with this new question, Kai seemed to remain gloom, refusing to lift his head and words coming out mumbled, “I moved here from Tokyo 2,933 days ago….”
Reita blinked, “Isn’t that like-”
“8 years, 1 week, and 5 days ago.”
“Why do you know the exact number of days?”
Finally lifting his head, Kai straightened his glasses and lifted the shoulder of his drooping sweatshirt, allowing a small but sad smile to grace his features, “I have a bachelors in environmental science and a masters in applied mathematics. Numbers come easily to me.”
Still wanting to lighten the mood, Reita slouched back in his chair, drawling out his next words teasingly, “Environmental science? Ohhh, so you’re a nature freak. That explains all the bamboo.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Reita should’ve known Kai wouldn’t understand tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.
“Really? Ok, that’s my next question then; why all the bamboo?” He wanted to add ‘and locks and boxes’, but decided to leave that for another time.
It seemed Kai hadn’t forgotten the rules of the game, because instead of answering Reita, he took a shot. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he looked to Reita, his mood now completely flipped as he tilted his head to the side and grasped tighter onto his knees, smiling widely, “My turn now, right?” Reita nodded his head, Kai’s smile deepened, “Do you have any kinks?”
Reita’s jaw dropped slightly, “What’s with you and sex?”
Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I’m somewhat of a scientist.”
“An environmental scientist,” the blond corrected.
“Yeah, but still a scientist, right?”
Now it was Reita’s turn not to answer, the electrician taking a shot of his own.
How much longer the game went on, Reita wasn’t sure. He stuck to asking simpler questions, finding out Kai was 26, moved to Rikubetsu when he was 18 to take care of his ill grandpa, only to inherit the very house they sat in 6 months later when he passed. Also that Kai went to the local community college for two years, before transferring his entire schedule online and completing his course work via video conferencing. When Reita asked why he didn’t go to University and get the full college experience, Kai had declared that it was cheaper and more efficient to receive his degrees online.
Most of the questions Kai had for Reita went unanswered, the dark haired man’s abnormally open questionnaire stunting Reita; the blond deciding to silence his embarrassing answers with more Genshu.
Sooner rather than later, the strong sake began to affect both men; Kai’s cheeks turning a bright red on his usually pale face and acting like his words weren’t coming out slightly slurred, while Reita began to get warm, so warm that he decided to take off his hoodie, which left him wearing his ash gray sweater with rolled up sleeves.
Unable to really focus on talking anymore, he placed his head against the table, watching at an angle as Kai clapped his knees together back and forth, still continuing to talk as if the alcohol hadn’t affected him. He was at the perfect tilt, so every time Kai’s knees came apart before they clapped back together, Reita was leveled with his crotch, and all his hazy mind could do was think back to Ruki’s texts and Kai’s replies from the night before. With that thought crossing his mind, Reita realized it might not just be Kai’s personality or strangeness he was attracted to…
“Reita?” the question bounced off his ears as muffled, Reita looking up groggily and only finding blurry chocolate brown irises staring at him, choppy hair thrown to the side, all topped off with one of those adorable head tilts. And it was when the word adorable swam across his self-thoughts did Reita realize how drunk he truly was.
“Y…ye-ah?” in his mind, his response sounded completely coherent, but the small giggle Kai hid behind proved otherwise.
“Thank you for the buying the plant feed, Isola-chan looks so much better now.”
“Not a,” a hiccup interrupted, “pr-o….blem.”
“And Reita?”
“Yeh...” he’d lost all control of verbal function, that short, cut off answer having to suffice.
“Thank you for keeping me company. I really appreciate it. I hope you’ll continue coming over…”
All Reita could do was offer what he hoped was a smile – then he passed out.
Next Chapter
***
Author's Note: Surprise? Inspiration kinda hit me out of nowhere, so I'm giving this to you guys :3 Like I said in my last post, I'll continue to post, seeing as my undying itch to write will allow me nothing less, but it may take a long while between updates ^^;.
Also, I want to thank you all for showing me your love and support again - it means so much <3
I know I have a backlog of messages and comments to reply back to, but I'm just way too tired right now, guys ;___; I'll get back to you as soon as possible, I promise!
Also, just a heads up, next chapter we'll be officially introduced to Aoi and the REAL story will begin. These first two chapters were merely building blocks on the characters relationships :)
Oh, and I haven't really read this over all but once, which means it's probably loaded with mistakes, but my eyes are legit burning, so I'll look for those later *____*
Chapter: 2/??
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:A fill for the 'busted heater in the heart of winter ' square on
krasivayadusha's angst/fluff bingo card. :PPrevious Chapters: (Chapter 1)
Stepping out from the bathing area and into the lounge of his flat, Reita hunkered down onto the black leather sofa with a strident sigh. Throwing his feet up onto the pricey cushion of the upholstery, he lay relaxed, hands reaching up to the towel hung sloppily around his shoulders, beginning to dry his recently washed blond locks. His vision became practically none as the dark towel rested over his entire face, the thick cloth masking the scent of something rich and earthy – warm amber scented shampoo seeming to smell stronger in such a muffled space.
In the background, he could hear Keiji and Oscar chirping happily, he having stopped by the pet store on his way home and brought them back a new toy mirror, along with some special feed and cuttlebone. After having to report back to his boss that he forgot to collect payment from a customer, Uruha had given him the lecture of a life time, which in turn ended in the two friends having a pointless argument over money they’ve borrowed and lent to each other over the years and how one forgotten payment wasn’t going to hurt Uruha’s sky high business.
At one point, their verbal argument had turned somewhat physical; Uruha’s eyes widening to their usual level of crazy as he chucked a stapler at the back of Reita’s head as the blond stormed out of his office with his middle finger held proud and high. The argument had of course left Reita with a little extra steam bubbling up inside, and he figured the only way to rid himself of that acidic feeling was to go blow whatever pocket change he had and do what he did best in life; spoil his birds.
Reaching to dry the back of his hair, the electrician hissed painfully, fingers scathing over a small bump. Face grinding into an unpleasant scowl, he cursed Uruha under his breath before throwing the towel off and over his face, it landing somewhere on shaded gray carpeting.
He knew after their fight that Uruha wouldn’t be expecting him to come in tomorrow. That’s how things have always worked between them; they’d get into a dispute, take a break away from each other for 24 hours, and when they met up the next time, it would be as if nothing happened. No unfading tension between them, no blame on who started it all; nothing. And it was for that very reason alone that Reita realized a long time ago that having your best friend as your boss consisted of nothing but perks.
Laying back to the couch and eyes to the ceiling, the electrician contemplated whether he wanted to simply roll over and watch television for the rest of the night until he fell asleep, or if he wanted to accompany that TV watching with the six pack left chilling in his fridge. Deciding on the later, he stood and began meandering his way into the small kitchen. Once there, he opened the stainless steel fridge and started pushing left over take out boxes and a probable expired carton of milk out of the way, until he reached the shimmering Hokkaido Beer in the very back.
Placing the six pack on the counter, he padded off to one of the top cabinets, grabbing the abnormally tall glass he always used to drink his hometown’s namesake beverage out of. The white foam of the burnt yellow liquid just reached the lip of the glass, Reita able to feel his sulky mood brighten at the thought of having the tart, yet sweet drink rummaging through his system, when from across the room, his house phone began to ring.
If it had been his cell phone, Reita probably would have ignored it, but this was his house; the number restricted to only his close friends and family for absolute emergencies. Slamming the can back down onto the counter, he practically skidded across the cool linoleum of the kitchen, the black socks he wore almost making him slide past the phone in his quick haste. With fumbling hands and fingers, he was finally able to answer the call and hold the device up to his ear properly; his hectic speech of asking what was wrong quickly dropping and face morphing back into wrathful annoyance at the realization of who was on the other end.
“Uru, unless there’s something wrong with Tae, Tai, or Emi, what the hell are you doing calling this number?” Using his thumb and forefinger, he pinched the crease between his lids and nose, the bump on his head finally starting to settle into a headache.
On the other end of the line, Uruha hummed, his query of nonchalant making the hairs on the back of Reita’s neck stand, “I needed to talk to you and I knew you wouldn’t answer if I called your cell phone. It’s important…”
Reita grunted, “If it’s so important, why didn’t you just come see me in person?” sliding down the small slither of wall next to the land line, he twirled the curly cord around his finger, eyes closed lightly.
“It’s important, but it’s not so important that I’m going to risk you punching my lights out by putting myself in your presence after I attacked you with a stapler just a few hours ago.”
Another annoyed grunt, “Then just tell me what’s so important so I can get back to drinking my beer – it’s no good warm.”
A hesitant silence came from Uruha’s end, Reita’s eyes shooting open in shock at his friend’s next words, “Well, Rei…I called to say sorry. A few minutes after our fight, that customer called up and said he’d forward a payment to the company right away,” Uruha paused, sounding almost confused, before continuing, “then he started rambling, wanting to know if I had a preferred brand of planted bamboo, which I completed didn’t-”
“Bamboo…?” Reita’s mild interruption was followed by him jumping off the ground and onto his feet, hands beginning to dig through drawers alike in an attempt to find pen and paper.
Between having to visit the homes of eight other customers today and getting into his light quarrel with Uruha, he’d almost completely forgotten about Kai and getting the outlandish character’s contact information from Uruha. Any normal person would have probably pegged his forgetfulness as a stroke of luck on his part, seeing as that gave him a valid excuse to never have to converse with such a strange man ever again, but then again, Reita hadn’t agreed to hanging out with Kai again out of pity like most would have. He’d agreed because he was truly interested in getting to know Kai. He was different, refreshing; Reita never knew what to expect from him.
“Yeah, bamboo. I guess he wants to give us a stalk or something as part of a thank you and-”
“Uru, do you have his file folder anywhere nearby?” Reita balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, black ink pen tapping against the white of an envelope as he waited for Uruha’s reply.
“Uhmm, yeah…It’s right in front of me, but why-”
“Read his cell number off to me.”
Reita couldn’t see it, but he knew Uruha’s expression was twisting into something of suspicion.
“Why…? You know it’s against company policy to give out private information-”
“Uru, if you don’t give it to me, I will go to your house and prove to Emi just how fresh that paint in the hallway is…”
Uruha gasped, “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, but I so would.”
It wasn’t long after the small threat that Reita could hear the coral haired grumbling as sheets of papers were flipped, Uruha’s deep voice sounding nothing but defeated as he read off ten digit number.
“You know, I don’t know who is going to drive me batshit first – you or my kids?”
Reita snorted, “You know we work together in driving you crazy, Uru. Give us all equal credit.”
A sigh, “Are you at least going to tell me why you want his number?”
Repeatedly tracing the number he just jotted with the black ink pen, Reita smirked, chirping a quick ‘Bye, Uru’ into the phone, before hanging up on the other, figuring he deserved to be left wondering after the injury he’d left him with earlier.
Grabbing his warming beer, he took a sip of the bitter liquid, sitting on a stool and casually typing the recently attained number into his contacts list, adding the name ‘Kai’ as the recipient’s name. Arms slouched on tiled countertop, the side of his face dug into his upper arm, hazel eyes scanning the screen, contemplating whether to send a message or not. It seemed too soon to by doing so. After all, he had told Kai he’d text him the next time he was free – wouldn’t it seem desperate if he contacted him just a few hours after their meeting? Then again, what was there to look desperate about? Kai just wanted to hang out, probably talk his ear off again; it’s not like he’d asked him or anything.
Between thinking, drinking, and his thumping injury, his headache worsened and Reita found himself shrugging off his worriment, thinking of a few friendly words to send Kai’s way. Of course, as soon as he had the perfect sentence structured in his mind, an obnoxious knock resounded, causing the electrician to groan and place his cell phone down on the counter, before shuffling off to the front door.
“R-reitaaa, let me in,” the obnoxious pounding continued as Reita’s hand wrapped around the knob, he registering that drunken voice as Ruki. The door was opened, Ruki falling against him and wrapping arms around his neck, bringing their lips close, “God, I want to suck you off so bad.” A deep, drunk giggle followed, Reita rolling his eyes as Ruki’s face planted against his shoulder, a mad fit of giggles being muffled as he dragged the small fashion journalist into his flat, placing him at the stool he was just sat at.
It wasn’t unusual for Ruki to show up at his door step like this – drunker than one could imagine. Typically when Reita took the auburn haired out for a night of drinking, lots of sex followed. But then there were nights such as tonight where Ruki would show up on his own accord, Reita piecing together over the years that the journalist used drinking to fill an empty void; a void Reita hadn’t a clue about.
Filling a glass of water from the tap, he handed it off to the still giggling man, “Drink this, it’ll help sober you-” he paused, taking in Ruki’s apparel, something that could only be described at aghast hitting him, “Thought you said that shirt was an atrocity,” a near hiss as he pinched the red cotton material between his thumb and fore finger, plopping down on to stool beside Ruki.
Giggling again, Ruki placed the cup of water to the side, quickly reaching for Reita’s half empty glass of beer and guzzling what he could before Reita swiped it away from him. Wiping his mouth with the collar of the shirt, he smiled, “No, I said you made it look like an atrocity. I on the other hand make it look fabulous. Red is completely my color.” Reita could tell Ruki fought another round of giggles, but in the end drunkenness won, and the small auburn broke into hysterics.
The electrician ignored the fit, simply staring at the journalist in frustration, catching an all too familiar scent, “You smell like Lotus, who’d you get to buy your drinks tonight?” Lotus, a fruit that made anyone who ate it forget their problems and want to sleep, the perfect name for a bar. The very bar Reita and Ruki had met at, and the bar they frequented quite often.
Ruki scuffed, seeming completely sober all of a sudden, “Buy? Nobody bought them. You know how much Aoi loves me, he gave them to me for free.”
Aoi, a bartender at Lotus and someone who has gradually become Reita’s friend. The electrician seemingly felt bad for Aoi, seeing as it’s as obvious as obvious can be that he’s had a major thing for Ruki way before Reita made his way into the picture. Even the day Reita met Ruki, Aoi had tried his best to subtly woo the fashion journalist, but all Ruki could insist was he only went after stupid blonds, proving his point further to the bartender by walking out of the bar with Reita. It didn’t really surprise Reita that the next time he walked into Lotus, Aoi had a thick, blond streak decorating the right side of his hair – a streak that was still there seven years later.
“I really don’t get why you have to be such a dick to him, Ru. Can’t you see-” a hand muffled his next words, Ruki practically glaring at him as he stood from the stool and got in his face.
“Shut. Up.” Their menacing stares met, Reita pushing the smaller’s hands away with a sneer.
Rubbing at his mouth where the hand was just placed, Reita asked angrily, “Ru, why the fuck are you even here?
“I told you,” Ruki again approached him, this time smiling and lacing his arms around his neck, warm breath and tongue flickering across the shell of Retia’s ear as he whispers seductively, “I told you…I want to suck you off.”
Plush lips traveling down his neck and jawline like that normally did Reita in, but he just wasn’t in the mood today, “Ru, stop,” his hands reach up and push on shoulders, but Ruki continues, kissing Reita deeply before dropping to his knees and beginning to fumble with the drawstring to the electrician’s plaid-blue pajama pants.
“Ruki. STOP,” hissing through clenched teeth, head falling back as he feels soft hands wrap around his flaccid cock, a moan escaping as Ruki’s tongue flicks out over the head.
“No,” Ruki’s disobedient reply as he hums, encasing Reita between his plush lips.
The feel of a warm, wet cavern wrapped around him made Reita realize just how much not up to this he was, hands wrapping in wavy auburn and yanking back, “RUKI,” he says sternly, pulling the fashion journalist’s face up to meet his, “Stop, I’m seriously not in the mood.”
Standing, Ruki scuffs, wiping his mouth off on the edge of his shirt, “What’s crawled up your ass today? You’re a bigger dick than usual.”
Sighing, Reita runs a hand through his hair, only to pick up his cell and begin fidgeting with it, the screen lighting up and showing the kanji for Kai he typed in before Ruki’s arrival. “Nothing, just a long day.”
Suddenly, Ruki’s voice was closer than before, Reita able to feel him hovering above his shoulder with his next question, “Whose Kai?”
Locking the screen, Reita placed the device back on the counter screen down, quickly answering, “No one…”
“No one?” Ruki shot back, only to notice the slight tint on Reita’s cheeks, “Oh my god, Rei…DO YOU HAVE A DATE?” And before Reita could say anything, the phone was snatched off the counter, any and all drunkenness leaving Ruki as he ran across the flat, his fingers twiddling away on the touch screen.
“NO! Ru, it’s not like that! Give me my damn phone back!” On his feet and chasing the auburn journalist, Reita reached out and swatted repeatedly, trying to get his phone back before Ruki’s devious mind could do any harm to his and Kai’s just budding friendship.
“Oh yeah, what’s it like then? He just another fuck buddy?” Ruki’s eyes lit up from the hue of the screen as he cornered himself and typed a message, a grin appearing on his features that urged Reita to get his phone back all the sooner.
“NO,” finally able to grab the touch screen, Reita quickly went to his outbox, seeing Ruki had indeed sent out a message. Tapping the little envelope symbol as quickly as possible, Reita nearly imploded.
Size of penis? Length and girth, please~.
“Ruki! What the fuck is wrong with you? Kai…he’s he-” a vibration noise fills the air, stopping Reita mid rant as he opened the new message, only for his face to flush an uncanny white.
Erect, flaccid, or both?
“Oh my god, Reita, give me that!” Still too shocked at Kai’s unexpected answer, Ruki was able to snatch the phone from Reita’s grip easily, typing out another message, only to get one sent back to him just as fast, “Jesus fuck, Rei, he has a cock that puts killer whales to shame!” throwing his head back and laughing, the phone was snatched back from Ruki, Reita quickly pocketing it and grumbling under his breath. Taking a moment to calm down, Ruki fell back against the couch, asking Reita seriously, “Where the hell did you find this guy, Rei? He’s awesome.”
Slouching down next to the fashion journalist, Reita rested his head against the back of the couch, glaring at the auburn, “It’s none of your business, but Kai...he's-"
For the third time a vibration interrupted, Reita digging through his pocket and swiping his thumb across the screen, Ruki automatically hovering over his shoulder as they read the message together.
Who is this, by the way? I’ll only send picture proof to people I actually know.
Reita’s face turned even whiter, but again, Ruki laughed hysterically, he now red from lack of oxygen.
“Oh my—Rei, I need to meet this guy! I. LOVE. HIM.”
It wasn’t too soon after the newest message did Ruki finally pass out, his tolerance to outdo the alcohol finally hitting him. Laying the small fashion journalist out on the couch and placing a throw blanket over him, Reita turned off all the lights and said goodnight to Keiji and Oscar, before settling into his own bed. Staring at the messages on his phone is what kept his mind from shutting down, the electrician simply trying to figure out the mystery behind Kai.
While at the strange man’s home, Kai had seemed just that – strange. The boxes, the excessive locks, the bamboo. Every inch of his personality screamed ‘unusual’; it left Reita wanting to know more. Even now, over the text messages, Kai seemed nothing but strange. He all but gave out extremely private information to a complete stranger. Hell, Kai hadn’t even known it was ‘Reita’ texting him; as far as his choppy head of black hair was concerned, he was simply texting a ten digit number with the same area code as his.
Reita didn’t understand, but he really wanted to.
Opening a new message, he quickly composed just what it is he wanted to send out earlier, of course having to add a few altercations.
Hey Kai, it’s me, Reita. I’m really sorry about those strange messages earlier, my friend was tipsy and got a hold of my phone and…well, you can see what happened I guess. Anyways, I’m free tomorrow, so I was wondering if then would be a good time for me to come over? – Reita
It was barely thirty seconds he had to wait for a reply.
Why is your friend so interested in my male anatomy? And tomorrow is good, I was hoping you’d stop by soon. Oh, Reita? Could you do me a favor? – Kai
Sure, anything. – Reita
Before you get here tomorrow, could you stop by the convenience store by my house and pick up some plant feed? Isola-chan is starting to get yellow spots and I want to treat her as well as she’s treated me. – Kai
Reita smiled. The ask was odd, yet at the same time, endearingly cute.
Not a problem, anything for that little life saver. – Reita
(^___^) Thank you so much! Oh, and Reita, now that I know it’s you I’m talking to, please know that picture proof will be available any time you wish to see it. – Kai
It if were anybody else but Kai, Reita would have assumed he was being flirted with. But even with how brief their time together might have been, Reita knew the intention behind Kai’s text wasn’t that in the least bit. He’d pieced together from their little chat at the table and Ruki’s own drunken text exchange with the dark haired man that Kai was extremely open once comfortable around someone – that small details which normally bothered others to talk about seemed like speaking about the weather to him.
Replying back with only a small good night, the electrician plugged his phone into the charger and bundled up under the duvet, sleep hitting him within minutes.
When he awoke, the sun had yet to rise; the digital clock beside the bed reading 5:09am. Snow was coating the outside of the bedroom window, but Reita still found it in him to strip his pajamas and change into a thick track suit, sticking to his usual off day routine of taking an hour long jog in the morning. By the time he arrived back at his flat, he was a complete mess of rosy cheeks, sweat stains, and blond strands sticking to the sides of his face.
Kicking his shoes off, he entered the kitchen, downing three glasses of water before continuing with his morning schedule. All showered and ready to start his day, he rolled up the sleeves to his ash gray sweatshirt and walked out into the longue room, finding on the couch a perfectly folded blanket and no Ruki. Assuming the fashion journalist had to leave early for work, he shrugged off his absence and threw the blanket in the wash, hoping he’d be able to rid it of the scent of cigarettes and liquor.
By 8 o’clock he found himself lying flat on his back in bed, scrolling through his and Kai’s conversation from the previous night. They never set an exact time for him to come over, and being the early bird he’s always been, Reita found the hours passing by tediously slow, wondering if it was late enough to begin the short 20 minute ride over to the choppy haired man’s home. Instead of using logic and texting Kai to ask if now was an appropriate time, Reita found himself lying there for another three hours before finally saying fuck it and hopping up out of bed, sliding on his jet black hoodie, and locking up.
When the heat was blowing full blast in his gray Honda Ridgeline, he began to carefully make his way down the road, it still too snowy to go anywhere close to the set legal limit. Reaching the turn that would take him down the road which led to Kai’s house, Reita turned right instead of left, making a pit stop at the small corner convenience store and purchasing the plant seed Kai had asked for. There were about 5 different brands, and again, instead of logically calling Kai to ask him which one he preferred, Reita just bought one of each.
Finally arriving at the old home, Reita nearly ran up the steps with the plastic bag in hand, this time knocking louder than yesterday and deciding to make it known who was there right away, “Kai! It’s me, Reita. Open up, I have that plant feed you asked for!”
Seconds. It must have only been a mere few seconds, and then Reita heard feet pounding against the creaky wooden floor, the door shooting open, allowing him to come face to face with a buzz eyed Kai. The dark haired man looked panicked; hair tousled, sweater dangling off his thin frame, glasses that weren’t there yesterday laying crooked on his face, complexion even paler, and one foot bare as the other wore a wholly stripped sock.
“Kai?” Reita questioned worriedly, “Are you ok? You seem a little-”
“Did you bring the plant feed?” Kai cut the electrician off with hurry, nearly shouting his question.
Raising the bag, Reita nodded his head, “Y-yeah, it’s right here. Kai-”
He was unable to finish expressing his concern, seeing as in another split second, Kai grabbed him by the wrist, dragged him inside, and broke into a full sprint. The run didn’t last long, the pair ending up in Kai’s bed room, but Reita was sure he’d have bruises on his legs the next day from running into all the scattered boxes.
The moment they’d entered Kai’s jungle of a bedroom, Reita’s wrist was released and the bag was snatched from his hand, allowing him to stand back and watch as Kai dropped to his knees and began rummaging through the bag, picking up each different pack of feed and reading the back, scrunching up his face and throwing to the side the packs whose ingredients he didn’t agree with.
When it came down to the final pack, Kai made a noise of delight that Reita would consider inhumane, and ran to the far window, taking from its sill the bamboo Reita came to know as Isola-chan the previous day. The plant had many patches of yellow compared to yesterday.
“It’s going to be ok, Isola. Reita’s a nice man and brought you medicine, you’re going to be alright.” Kai spoke to the bamboo stalk in a nurturing way as he poured the feed into the base of its pot; almost like a mother would to a sick child. “You’ll be healthy again, I promise.” He continued, stroking her leaves just as he did yesterday and smiling gently, as if his good mood would better her condition.
The entire time Kai spent taking care of Isola, Reita merely leaned back against the wall with crossed arms and observed. Yes, the shorter was obviously talking to a plant, but if one ignored that fact, the enigmatic man from yesterday seemed to be completely gone. He never once questioned himself, he was confident the words he was telling Isola were accurate. His initial panic from just a few minutes ago was now non-existent, he now cheering on Isola to drink more water and soak up more sun. He seemed happy; that happiness dragging Reita in.
Pushing up off the wall, he approached Kai, touching his shoulder and grabbing his attention, before raising his other hand and beginning to stroke Isola’s leaves, just as Kai had been doing, “Wow, you’re already looking much healthier.” Kai’s unsuspecting behavior must have already worn off on Reita, because if someone were to ask him less than 24 hours ago if he would ever talk to a plant, the answer would have been an immediate ‘no’.
“She took a drastic turn since I talked to you last night. When I woke up, she was practically covered in yellow. I thought this would be it for her…” Kai’s voice was soft as he spoke, sounding horrified at even thinking of such a possibility.
“Well, I think under your care, Isola-chan here is going to outlast us, wouldn’t you say?” Tilting his head to the side, Reita’s flat blond hair brushed against his face as he smiled at Kai, watching as the dark haired man smiled back one of those dimpled baby smiles of his own.
Placing the potted plant back down on the sill and angling her so she’d get the most sun, Kai grabbed Reita’s hand, dragging him back out of the room, “Come on, I think we deserve some tea after saving such a critical patient, right?” he turned his head to meet Reita who was trailing in back of him, smiling again as he expertly avoided the boxes in their short walk.
Reita chuckled lightly, allowing himself to relax under Kai’s grip, “Right…”
It went almost the same as yesterday; Kai dug for the tea kettle and cups, added way too much sugar to his drink, sat down with his legs burrowed against his chest, and began talking to Reita non-stop; today’s topic being how ridiculous the snow fall was this year. The electrician was grateful Kai was chatty, just for the fact the he was typically quiet and more reserved and never really added much to a conversation anyways. However, about an hour in, Kai decided he’d had enough of Reita’s silence and asked the electrician a question Reita hadn’t been expecting.
“It would be ok if we played a game, right?” And even if Reita wanted to decline, there was no doing so when Kai looked at him with those damn Bambi eyes.
“What kind of game?” Reita asked, swirling around the small amount of tea left at the bottom of his cup.
Unwrapping his arms from around his legs and standing, Kai grabbed a bottle from off the counter, placing it between him and Reita. “A game of questions, well, 20 questions to be exact.”
Quirking a brow, Reita grabbed the bottle, reading its label, “Genshu? Isn’t this stuff like lethal?”
“It’s only 20% alcohol.” Kai quipped back, already repositioned on his chair, this time with his knees crisscrossed and cheeks resting in the palms of both hands.
“Only 20%,” Reita laughed, swishing the bottle in circles, able to tell it’s never been open, “What are you doing with this anyways? You haven’t been drinking it, apparently.”
Kai yanked the bottle back from Reita, opening the seal and popping the cork, “I just got it from a student for New Years. There was no sense opening it until I had something to celebrate, and I figure saving Isola is something celebratory, right?” he asked cheerfully, already pouring Reita half a glass.
That caught Reita's full attention, “Student? Are you a teacher?”
Tilting his head, Kai asked; “Is that your first question?”
“What?”
“The game. You get to ask me 20 questions, I get to ask you 20. If one of us refuses to answer, we’re forced to take a shot. So, is that your first question?”
Reita grinned, settling the glass down, “Why do I get the feeling you’ve played this game quite a bit?”
“I use to play with my ex all the time,” Kai scrunched his face, that melancholy expression which made Reita feel worthless appearing for a fraction of time before he waved him off. It might have been for the small schism of time, but still, Reita caught it. “Anyways, that’s not important. Now tell me, that’s your first question, right?”
“Sure,” the blond replied, lips turning up at the corners due to Kai’s persistency and how quickly the dark haired man could change moods.
“I’m an online teacher. I teach lessons a few times a week covering mainly sciences, but there are times where I’ll fill in for another teacher and lecture on some algebra classes. Alright, good enough answer, right? Right. My turn now. What age did you lose your virginity?”
Kai jumping right in to personal questions and answering Reita’s own at the speed someone on a game show would answer made Reita choke a bit on his spit, the blond coughing and hitting his chest before focusing back on Kai, “What?”
Drawing his legs back up to his chest, Kai buried his face between his knees so only his framed eyes showed, whispering his next statement, “Oh…I’m sorry. Are you still a virgin? Its ok if you are, I just assumed…”
Kai was sincere, as if he really were apologetic that Reita was still a virgin at his age. The electrician couldn’t help but laugh, “No, I’m not a virgin, haven’t been one since I was 15.”
“That’s really young,” Kai commented, back to his ways of sounding like he questioning himself, “I didn’t sleep with anybody until I was 20.” Eyes shifting to the bottom of his thick frames, Kai remained silent, seeming to forget the rules of the game as he picked up his own cup, taking a sip of the strong sake and troubled expression appearing back on his face.
Wanting to break the looming atmosphere that had just formed, Reita mimicked Kai and took a sip of his own Genshu, hissing due to the strong drink burning as it went down his throat, “So, is Rikubetsu your home town, or did you move here?”
Even with this new question, Kai seemed to remain gloom, refusing to lift his head and words coming out mumbled, “I moved here from Tokyo 2,933 days ago….”
Reita blinked, “Isn’t that like-”
“8 years, 1 week, and 5 days ago.”
“Why do you know the exact number of days?”
Finally lifting his head, Kai straightened his glasses and lifted the shoulder of his drooping sweatshirt, allowing a small but sad smile to grace his features, “I have a bachelors in environmental science and a masters in applied mathematics. Numbers come easily to me.”
Still wanting to lighten the mood, Reita slouched back in his chair, drawling out his next words teasingly, “Environmental science? Ohhh, so you’re a nature freak. That explains all the bamboo.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Reita should’ve known Kai wouldn’t understand tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.
“Really? Ok, that’s my next question then; why all the bamboo?” He wanted to add ‘and locks and boxes’, but decided to leave that for another time.
It seemed Kai hadn’t forgotten the rules of the game, because instead of answering Reita, he took a shot. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he looked to Reita, his mood now completely flipped as he tilted his head to the side and grasped tighter onto his knees, smiling widely, “My turn now, right?” Reita nodded his head, Kai’s smile deepened, “Do you have any kinks?”
Reita’s jaw dropped slightly, “What’s with you and sex?”
Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I’m somewhat of a scientist.”
“An environmental scientist,” the blond corrected.
“Yeah, but still a scientist, right?”
Now it was Reita’s turn not to answer, the electrician taking a shot of his own.
How much longer the game went on, Reita wasn’t sure. He stuck to asking simpler questions, finding out Kai was 26, moved to Rikubetsu when he was 18 to take care of his ill grandpa, only to inherit the very house they sat in 6 months later when he passed. Also that Kai went to the local community college for two years, before transferring his entire schedule online and completing his course work via video conferencing. When Reita asked why he didn’t go to University and get the full college experience, Kai had declared that it was cheaper and more efficient to receive his degrees online.
Most of the questions Kai had for Reita went unanswered, the dark haired man’s abnormally open questionnaire stunting Reita; the blond deciding to silence his embarrassing answers with more Genshu.
Sooner rather than later, the strong sake began to affect both men; Kai’s cheeks turning a bright red on his usually pale face and acting like his words weren’t coming out slightly slurred, while Reita began to get warm, so warm that he decided to take off his hoodie, which left him wearing his ash gray sweater with rolled up sleeves.
Unable to really focus on talking anymore, he placed his head against the table, watching at an angle as Kai clapped his knees together back and forth, still continuing to talk as if the alcohol hadn’t affected him. He was at the perfect tilt, so every time Kai’s knees came apart before they clapped back together, Reita was leveled with his crotch, and all his hazy mind could do was think back to Ruki’s texts and Kai’s replies from the night before. With that thought crossing his mind, Reita realized it might not just be Kai’s personality or strangeness he was attracted to…
“Reita?” the question bounced off his ears as muffled, Reita looking up groggily and only finding blurry chocolate brown irises staring at him, choppy hair thrown to the side, all topped off with one of those adorable head tilts. And it was when the word adorable swam across his self-thoughts did Reita realize how drunk he truly was.
“Y…ye-ah?” in his mind, his response sounded completely coherent, but the small giggle Kai hid behind proved otherwise.
“Thank you for the buying the plant feed, Isola-chan looks so much better now.”
“Not a,” a hiccup interrupted, “pr-o….blem.”
“And Reita?”
“Yeh...” he’d lost all control of verbal function, that short, cut off answer having to suffice.
“Thank you for keeping me company. I really appreciate it. I hope you’ll continue coming over…”
All Reita could do was offer what he hoped was a smile – then he passed out.
Next Chapter
Author's Note: Surprise? Inspiration kinda hit me out of nowhere, so I'm giving this to you guys :3 Like I said in my last post, I'll continue to post, seeing as my undying itch to write will allow me nothing less, but it may take a long while between updates ^^;.
Also, I want to thank you all for showing me your love and support again - it means so much <3
I know I have a backlog of messages and comments to reply back to, but I'm just way too tired right now, guys ;___; I'll get back to you as soon as possible, I promise!
Also, just a heads up, next chapter we'll be officially introduced to Aoi and the REAL story will begin. These first two chapters were merely building blocks on the characters relationships :)
Oh, and I haven't really read this over all but once, which means it's probably loaded with mistakes, but my eyes are legit burning, so I'll look for those later *____*