Part 8

They ploughed their way through the homework. Akaya had at least caught up in some subjects earlier that day, and was able to help Kamio in turn, so he didn't feel like such a complete sponge. By the time his eyes were crossing, long after they'd had to turn on the lights, he'd given up on his noble intentions in favour of relieving the crick in his neck. He was sitting sideways on the couch facing Kamio now, so that he could lean forward and literally read over the redhead's shoulder.

Kamio was acutely aware of Akaya’s presence at his shoulder, but he struggled gamely to ignore it. Akaya was close, but he wasn’t doing any of the things he’d been doing before, he wasn’t touching him or flirting with him. After a while, Kamio found that he was able to relax, even with Akaya so close, it becoming comfortable rather than causing him to blush every two seconds.

Finally, he sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, forcing Kirihara to move back slightly. “All right,” he said. “I’m done. I can’t think anymore and it’s getting late. Why don’t I try to figure out where you should sleep, okay?”

"The floor is still fine with me," Akaya insisted. Leaning back, he stretched his arms up over his head, working out the kinks in his spine from sitting at such an odd angle. Then he gave in to the urge he'd been fighting for the last couple of hours, to run his fingers briefly through Kamio's red hair and find out if it was as silky as it looked. It was. "In your room, or the spare room, I don't care. I don't think I could sleep on this couch, though, it's too..." he searched for the right word, and finally ended up with "vulnerable."

Kamio stopped breathing for a moment, freezing as Akaya’s fingers threaded through his hair. Flushing a deep red, Kamio jumped to his feet. “I-I’ll go see if I can find something for you to sleep on,” his voice a little higher than normal. “If not, it’ll have to be my room, or you’ll have to sleep on bare hardwood. My room is carpeted, at least.” He turned and headed away rapidly, the blush still high on his cheeks. Maybe there was a futon mattress in the closet in the spare bedroom.

Likes being petted, does he? Akaya noted in amusement, grinning after the redhead. I'll have to keep that in mind for future reference. Assuming this ever goes anywhere.

Gathering up the books, he made his way up to Kamio's room, figuring that was probably where the other boy kept them.

Kamio hunted through the whole house before finally concluding that Akaya was going to have to sleep on the floor, at least for tonight. We can buy a second-hand futon tomorrow after school, he thought to himself, for once grateful there were no regular practices on Mondays. We should have one, anyway. It’s stupid for that room to just be sitting there empty.

He had found several blankets, however, and he carted the armload of bedding into his bedroom awkwardly, dropping them on the bed and then glancing around critically. Gotta clear some floor space, too, he thought with chagrin. “At least this’ll help make the carpet a little softer,” he said, not quite looking at Akaya, but not blushing anymore either. I hope that’s OK…

"It'll be fine," Akaya assured him, hiding a yawn behind his hand. "Believe me, honestly. It's a hell of a lot better than the one time I crashed at Jackal's place, he's got hardwood floors and he didn't even have any extra blankets or anything. Either that, or he just said he didn't because he was hoping I'd go away," he added with a laugh. He knew that wasn't true, any of the Rikkai Regulars would have done anything for the others when push came to shove. And Jackal had been horribly embarrassed that he didn't have anything better to offer, but he'd never expected to be the one Akaya came to for a place to spend the night. The only reason it had happened that one time had been because Niou had been sick with an awful cold, and Yanagi had been out of town.

"We still gonna go back to my place to get my stuff?" he asked, glancing at the clock. It was relatively late; if his father was home he was probably asleep, but it was always hard to predict what kind of schedule his mother might keep.

“Do you think it’s safe yet?” Kamio asked, shoving some stuff out of the way and arranging the blankets in a relatively soft nest on the floor. “And I don’t want you to have to sleep on hardwood if you’re going to be sticking around, Akaya. I’ll try to get something better for you tomorrow.”

"I still haven't..." Akaya started to snap, annoyed at the assumption that he would be staying. Then he bit the words off and took a deep breath, admitting the truth to himself. He'd been thinking as if he'd made the assumption as well, having to continually remind himself that he hadn't actually made the decision yet.

"We may yet kill each other if we're forced into close quarters, you realize," he said roughly instead. "You sure about this? Really damn sure? Because if I leave and then you kick me out later, I'm not going to have anywhere to go."

Kamio reached out and put a hand on Akaya’s arm, giving him a determined look. “I’m sure,” he said. “Really, really sure. No matter what happens, I won’t kick you out. We might fight, but that’s why I’m going to make sure you have a space of your own, so we can get away from each other sometimes.” There’s no way I’m sending him back to his house, or putting him on the street, just because he pisses me off sometimes!

"I knew I was crazy, but I didn't realize I was actually out of my mind before this," Akaya muttered, running a hand though his messy curls in a nervous gesture. "All right, fuck it. Let's do it. We might as well grab all my stuff in one trip instead of going back again later. Not like I've got a hell of a lot anyway, just some clothes and the rest of my tennis stuff."

He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. How many times in his life had he desperately wished he lived somewhere, anywhere, other than with his family? He'd even tried running away once when he was much younger, but he'd been caught and brought home by the police pretty quickly. He hadn't even missed more than one day of school.

Now he was seriously going to leave, for good. Hell, maybe coming to Fudoumine hadn't been such a bad thing in his life, after all. "Let's go," he declared, firmly shoving his nerves aside.

Kamio gave his arm a squeeze and let go, grinning at him. He was a little scared, and had NO idea what he was going to do if Akaya’s psychotic mother caught them sneaking out of his house with all of his stuff, but superseding the fear was excitement. Kamio had never been much of a rebellious kid, though he was certainly not perfectly behaved, but he’d never done anything this dangerous before.

Giving Akaya a nod, he grabbed his backpack and emptied it, just in case they needed some more space to carry stuff, and then led the way out of the house.

The walk back to the Kirihara's apartment was silent, yet oddly energized. The two boys kept giving each other nervous looks followed by conspiratory grins, though most of Akaya's attention was focused inwards. Part of him felt bad for agreeing to this, for letting Kamio agree to this, when the redhead didn't know the truth about him. More specifically, about his sometimes precarious mental state.

Hells, it's not like he hasn't had all kinds of warnings, he finally told himself. He saw what I did to Tachibana, he's seen me at my worst. I warned him to not provoke me if my eyes've gone red, and if he was still thinking it's something I control or decide to do, well... he's seen my mother at her worst, too. If he can't figure out from all those hints that I might not be entirely sane, he's obviously being deliberately ignorant.

They finally arrived back at the Kirihara house, which was dark and silent. Kamio hung back a bit, letting Akaya precede him towards the front door, and chewing on his lower lip a little. He was nearly vibrating with excitement at this point, the anticipation charging him until he felt almost like he was about to play an important tournament match. “I’ll follow you,” he whispered.

Fishing in his pocket for his key, Akaya nodded. His hands were shaking slightly as he tried to unlock the door, and he cursed as he had to try twice to get it open. "This is stupid," he whispered in irritation, more to himself than Kamio. There was no reason for him to be this worked up, and if he wasn't careful he was going to end up losing control through sheer nerves. That was the last thing he needed at this point.

Finally they were inside, and they made their way to Akaya's tiny room on silent sock feet. "All right," he said in a slightly more normal voice once he'd locked the bedroom door behind them. "There should be a duffle bag in the closet - shove my uniforms and whatever else you can manage of my casual clothes in there. Try to get the newer looking stuff, it'll last longer and I won't outgrow it as fast."

Dumping his racquet bag on the floor, he started shoving his tennis supplies into it. He'd emptied it at Kamio's, so there was plenty of room. First he grabbed his Rikkai Regulars uniform, and carefully wrapped his framed picture and medal into it to cushion them. Then the Senbatsu uniform, along with a framed picture of that team and the medal from the tournament. Finally he just started grabbing every grip tape roll, spare racquet string set and anything else he could think of.

Kamio nodded and went to the closet, finding the dufflebag and beginning to shove stuff into it. He wasn’t too concerned about keeping everything neat – they would be able to hang it up again once they got back to his house, and even the school uniforms shouldn’t suffer that badly for a short time in a bag. “Don’t forget your school stuff,” he said quietly. “And anything else you might want to keep,” he added, waving around at the posters and such on Akaya’s wall.

"Text books can go in your bag," Akaya replied shortly, his attention on making sure he wasn't missing anything important. So many of his things, like his computer and stereo and various video game platforms had all been taken along with his family's house. He'd already had to make the decisions on what to leave behind once; it wasn't nearly as hard this time. "Posters and stuff I'll worry about if there's room, I want to make sure I get everything I can't replace or live without."

The battered second-hand stereo he instantly wrote off, it was bulky and awkward and basically a piece of crap. His small bookcase of non-school related books he also dismissed - he'd be sorry to lose a few of them but they weren't anything he couldn't find at a library. At the last moment he remembered to grab his cell phone charger; one of the few things he hadn't (yet) lost because the plan had been paid up until the end of the school year. "I think I'm good, how're you doing?" he asked, looking around again.

Kamio had finished with the clothes and was stuffing books into his backpack. As Akaya spoke he shoved the last one in and zipped up the bag. “I’m done,” he said, straightening and slinging the bag onto his shoulder. He grabbed the dufflebag by the handles and looked at Akaya. “You ready?”

Taking a deep breath, Akaya nodded. "Yeah. Lemme just leave a note or something." Moving to the desk, he grabbed a loose piece of paper and a pen, and quickly scribbled an explanation that he'd left and wouldn't be returning, that he'd be living with a friend and not to worry about him. "Hopefully my dad will find it first - probably, my mom doesn't usually come in my room." His mother would probably be grateful to be rid of him; his father would feel guilty, but happy not to have the additional expense of a growing teenage boy. He'd call his sister at some point and let her know what was going on; they'd never been close but she deserved to know he was okay.

"Let's get out of here before I change my mind," he said when he was done. He strode to the door, yanked it open...

And promptly came face to face with his mother, who seemed to be on her way back from either the kitchen or the bathroom. She took one look at him, outlined in the dim light from his room, and shrieked. Turning on her heel, she bolted back into the kitchen and out of sight, shrieking the whole way about demons and oni. Akaya knew from experience that if he went after her she'd be huddled in a corner or under the table. "SHIT," he said with feeling. Great last memory to have of his mother, or her of him. Well, her throwing a dish at him wasn't really any better, he supposed.

Kamio’s eyes were wide and startled. “W-we should go, right?” he asked uncertainly, putting a hand on Akaya’s shoulder. He wondered guiltily if they should leave a forwarding number, but then realized that his family probably had Akaya’s cellphone number. That would be enough if his family wanted to contact him. He gazed unhappily in the direction Mrs. Kirihara had gone, wondering what had happened between Akaya and his mother to make her so afraid of him.

Startled out of his dismay by Kamio's touch, Akaya nodded in a jerky way and turned to the door. "Yeah. My dad'll probably ignore it, but he might come looking for her if she doesn't go back to bed. Assuming he's here." He could still hear her soft whimpering and cries of 'oni!' even as they reached the door, but he thought it might just be his imagination.

After a moment of thought, he took his door key off his key ring and set it on the table in the hall. Then he pulled the door shut behind them, feeling like he was definitively breaking the tie between himself and this life.

To his utter shock, he realized as he turned away that there were tears on his cheeks, though he didn't seem to be actively crying. With a muttered oath he wiped them away quickly, hoping Kamio wouldn't take the opportunity to tease him for a change. "Let's go."

Kamio wouldn’t even think of teasing Akaya for something like that. Awkwardly, he put out his free hand, brushing a fleeting, reassuring touch against Akaya’s arm. “Let’s go,” he echoed softly, moving forward and taking the lead as he turned towards home.

By the time they made it back to Kamio's, Akaya had gotten better control over the unexpected difficulty he'd had in actually, finally, breaking that tie. Unfortunately the emotional weakness had opened a crack in his mental amour, or maybe it was just the stress breaking him down. Either way, the oni was louder than usual tonight, and a great deal more solid, ghosting around the edges of his vision. It was all he could do not to yell at it to shut up or something equally stupid; not only would it not work, but Kamio would want to know what the hell was wrong with him.

He managed not to do anything too obvious, but his breathing was erratic and he was shaking a bit by the time Kamio's house came into sight. He'd worked up a light sweat as well, and he hoped Kamio wouldn't notice any of it. Or would at least attribute it to his distress over leaving his family.

Kamio had definitely noticed, and was very worried, but he had no idea what to do to help Akaya. He could imagine if he were to suddenly decide to leave home forever, he’d probably have an extreme reaction, too, even if it were something he really wanted to do. He wondered if Akaya was frightened that his parents would do something to him, and that that was the reason for the sweating, shaking and erratic breathing, but he didn’t think it was a good idea to ask.

He tried to stay casual and seem oblivious as he led the way into his house and up the stairs, bypassing his room and moving straight to the empty one at the end of the hall. “We might as well put all your stuff in here right now,” he said softly as he let Akaya into what would soon be his new room. “There’s a closet…no furniture though. I’ll try and figure out a way to fix that as soon as I can,” he said, putting up a stream of empty babble that he hoped would give Akaya some time to recover.

"Anything you can manage will be fine, Akira," Akaya replied quietly. "And I meant what I said about keeping track of anything you spend on me. You'll get every cent back when I go pro and start winning tournaments. I pay my debts." He cracked a faint smile. "And considering how much time we'll probably end up spending playing tennis, by the time the season starts you'll be as good as Tachibana."

It might be arrogant of him to say so, but the fact was, Akaya was that good. And Kamio was the type of person who would keep pushing himself to improve, to try to beat him. With a goal as high as Akaya to try to reach, Kamio was going to improve a lot. He certainly had the potential to do so, if he'd only been playing for a year and a half and he was already this good.

Kamio beamed at Akaya, warmed by the idea that he’d soon be as good as Tachibana. Of course, Akaya had said nothing about Kamio being as good as HIM, but that didn’t matter right then. “Don’t worry,” he said, opening the dufflebag and starting to pull clothes out. He had left them on the hangers, so he just had to pull them out, smooth them down and hang them up. “If that’s what you want to do, we can keep track of everything, and you can pay me back whenever you can.”

"Okay, good," Akaya agreed. Privately he resolved to add at least ten percent to whatever figure Kamio gave him in the end; there would be things the redhead forgot to account for, and if he objected, Akaya would just say it was interest. He had every intention of going all the way to the top, maybe even taking the Grand Slam - he'd have the money to pay it back.

He emptied his bag and just lined the stuff up against the walls for now. With some amusement, he commented, "Y'know, this is probably the cleanest and neatest this room will ever be again while I'm here."

Kamio snickered. “Well, I hope you’ll help with the cooking and cleaning, anyway,” he said lightly, really starting to feel good about this. It would be nice to have someone else here, sort of like a brother – right down to all the fighting that was sure to happen. “I don’t care what you do to your own room, but…”

"Well, you might have to teach me how," Akaya was a little embarrassed at having to make the admission. At least the banter was helping to distract him, forcing the oni to recede again. "I mean, we had servants when I was growing up, and it's not like anybody's been making much of an effort to do stuff since then. But I'll pull my weight, I'm not gonna make you do everything."

Kamio’s head whipped around and he stared at Akaya. “You…you had SERVANTS?” he sputtered. He’d known that Akaya’s family had to be well off for him to have been able to go to Rikkaidai, but he had no idea that it cost THAT much.

"Well, yeah, a couple," Akaya agreed, a little bemused by what seemed to him to be an extreme reaction. "Can you honestly see my mother doing housework? I mean, they weren't live-in or anything, just a girl who came in to clean and cook and a guy who did the heavy work." Why was this always such a big deal to people who'd never had help?

“I…I guess so,” Kamio said, bending down to grab the rest of Akaya’s clothes and hanging them up. “Well, you’re willing to help, right?” he asked, a little nervously. “I mean, it’s really not that hard, but it’s such a handful doing it all myself. I don’t want to have to pick up after THREE people now.”

"Of course I'm willing to help, I just said so, didn't I?" Akaya countered, taking the now empty duffle and folding it up to go in the bottom of the closet. "It's just that I didn't want you expecting me to know how to cook anything that isn't instant. And I have no idea how to do, you know," he made a face. "Laundry and stuff, but I'll learn."

Kamio rolled his eyes, grinning. “Laundry is really easy,” he said. “You just make sure you don’t put really bright things with white stuff and use the right amount of soap. The machine does everything else. And then when you’re done you hang it up outside.” He extracted the last of the text books from his backpack and piled them neatly in the corner so that Akaya could find them again. “Don’t worry, you’ll be so good at laundry by the time I’m done with you, you’ll never forget.”

"Well, I guess it'll be useful for when I'm on my own as a pro," Akaya snickered slightly. "I'd look pretty dumb if I showed up at a tournament with my shorts pink and my shirts all splotchy, wouldn't I? I'd have a hell of a time finding a sponsor then." Glancing around, he saw that everything seemed to be unpacked. His amusement faded, replaced by a wry and somewhat bitter twist to his lips. Laid out like this, it was really obvious just how far he'd come from the person he'd been just half a year ago. It was a pretty sad statement that a fourteen-year-old's entire worldly posessions could fit in three bags. "I think we're done here."

Kamio nodded, glancing around the bare room. It seemed a little sad and empty to him, too, though he hoped he could help Akaya to brighten it up a little and make it like home. A bed would probably help a lot, he thought wryly.

“You wanna head back to my room?” he asked, offering Akaya a smile. “More comfortable for sitting and talking, I think.”

"Just a little bit," Akaya had to laugh. He turned his back on the room - he couldn't quite bring himself to think of it as his room, not yet - and headed for Kamio's. "Any bets on how long it'll take the rumour mill to discover we're living together?" he asked lightly as they entered Kamio's much brighter and more cozy room. "Given that Ibu will be the first to know, and his propensity for mumbling out whatever comes into that pretty little head of his..."

“Uh…” Kamio reddened slightly. “Yeah, probably not that long. Is that bad?” he flopped down on his bed, folding his arms behind his head. “I guess people will probably start asking us why… what do you want me to tell them?”

"Oh, hell, I don't care," Akaya shrugged, seating himself on the bed at Kamio's feet, leaning against the wall. He pulled one knee up and rested his arm on it, giving Kamio an impish look. "Tell them you said I couldn't be on the Regulars unless I agreed to be your love slave or something, and I finally gave in."

Kamio blushed deeply. “They wouldn’t believe it!” he protested, still grinning. “But they might believe that you made me your love slave, and then insisted on moving in with me to keep an eye on me.” He wasn’t sure how he got through that entire sentence without stuttering, but somehow he did.

"Nah, you're clearly the one with all the power here," Akaya teased, loving the way the redhead's flush clashed with his hair. "I mean, you are the captain. And considering the past history between us, it would make more sense for you to be demanding all sorts of unreasonable things from me before you'll consider letting me play with the team."

Kamio grinned. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t MAKE anyone my sex slave,” he said. It was so much easier to take Akaya’s teasing when he KNEW it was meant in fun and was just teasing. “Whereas you’re evil enough to pull it off, corrupting their innocent captain for your…p-perverted pleasure.” He was starting to lose it, the blush deepening and a shy stutter entering his voice at certain words, but still having fun. He and Shinji didn’t tease each other nearly this much. Shinji was too literal.

"Ho?" Akaya's grin turned perdatory and just a bit feral. He leaned forward, still the full length of Kamio's body away and yet somehow managing to give the impression that he was about to kiss the other boy. "You telling me you can picture yourself in the position of my sex slave? Fulfilling all my," his voice dropped to a purr, "perverted pleasures? Why Akira, I had no idea you had such a vivid imagination."

Kamio choked audibly and sat up, the blush, if that were even possible, growing even deeper and flowing down his neck and out to the tips of his ears. “A-Akaya!” he sputtered. “Of course I can’t, you pervert!” He grabbed a pillow and threw it hard at the other boy.

Laughing, Akaya fended off the pillow and tossed it right back again. "Who's the pervert?" he demanded. "You're the one who mentioned the perverted part, which means you're the one who has the dirty mind, not me." The look he gave Kamio made it clear his thoughts were anything but pure, however. It was all he could do not to follow through on the teasing and kiss the redhead silly. Too tempting by half, he thought to himself, careful to control his breathing so Kamio wouldn't see how much of an effect he was having.

Kamio grabbed a second pillow and surged forward, taking advantage of his higher position to beat Akaya about the head and shoulders. “It’s your fault that we’re talking about it at all!” he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear despite his embarrassment. “And don’t try to tell me that you’re not perverted, Akaya. I’m sure you are.”

In a deep, husky voice Akaya replied, "Never said I wasn't. It's a hell of a lot more fun that way. Want to try?" Unfortunately the effect he was going for was somewhat ruined by the fact that he had his arms over his head to fend off the vigorous beating, and by the laughter still trembling in his voice no matter how he tried to suppress it. Finally he ducked under Kamio's swing and lunged past him, reaching for the abandoned first pillow in a desperate attempt to defend himself. The result was him sprawling half over the redhead's lap, both of them tangled together as Akaya started hitting Kamio from behind.

“Shut up!” Kamio cried, turning and getting a facefull of pillow. He sputtered and retaliated, and the two of them continued the pillowfight until they collapsed, panting for breath, Akaya narrowly managing to force Kamio to drop his pillow and end up facedown on the bed with his limbs pinned by the other boy. Laughing and panting helplessly, Kamio shouted his surrender, his voice muffled by the bed.

"Shouldn't the one who surrenders have to pay some sort of forfeit?" Akaya asked, just as breathless as Kamio was. It wasn't entirely for the same reason, however, as he was far too acutely aware of the position they were in. I could lean down, breathe over his neck and ear, he'd probably even believe I wasn't doing it on purpose... No, damn it, I promised him I'd keep my hands to myself! He shifted so he was on his knees and using his lower legs to trap Kamio's limbs, rather than using his whole body to pin the redhead. It was a slightly less secure position, but carried less risk of Kamio realizing the state Akaya was in.

Kamio squirmed without putting much force behind it. The truth was his body was no less affected by their position than Akaya’s. He pushed up as much as he could, given he had hardly any leverage at all, just to clear his mouth so he could breathe and speak. “What kind of forfit?” he gasped, trying to twist himself so he could look up at the other boy. “Pervert!” he added, smirking. For once he was glad that his mother was probably deep in a drunken stupor. It was the only explanation for why she hadn’t come to investigate the shouting.

"Now you're just repeating yourself," Akaya said, his eyes glittering with amusement and something hotter. He found himself leaning down to Kamio, closing the space between them until they were inches apart instead of feet. "And I've already admitted that I am, by your standards anyway, so it's not working particularly well as an insult. As for the forfeit, I guess you'll just have to think of something that will be worth me giving up my current advantage over you."

Kamio squirmed again, his face growing hot once more. Why does he always do this to me? he thought to himself, twisting his body to give Akaya a helpless look, and discovering that he didn’t like the look in the other boy’s eyes – or rather, liked it far too much for his own comfort. “Well…” he murmured. He chewed his lower lip uncertainly as a thought formed in his mind. I can do that. It’s no big deal. “I’ll give you another kiss,” he said bravely.

Breath catching in his throat, Akaya stared down at the redhead. "Well, that would definitely be worth it to me," he replied, his voice gone too husky to even be called a purr. "Whether it's worth it to you or not is the question." I'm not forcing him into this, if he chooses to kiss me that's his business, he told himself, even as he was willing Kamio to go through with it. He wanted to taste the redhead again, see if the fleeting thrill over his nerves that he'd gotten before would still be the same.

Kamio looked up at him, his eyes determined, if somewhat vulnerable. “It’s worth it to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have said it if it weren’t. So let me up, Akaya.”

"Aw, I don't get kissed from here?" Akaya teased, licking his lips deliberately. The fact that he was staring at Kamio's mouth wasn't deliberate though; he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. "But if I move off you, how do I know I'll really get my forfeit?"

Despite his words, he rolled off to one side, letting Kamio have the space to move. He was pretty sure the vulnerable look in the redhead's eyes had been emotional, but if it was a fear of being trapped then Akaya didn't want to continue to provoke it. They ended up face to face, almost breathing in each other's air, as Akaya waited to see what the other would do.

“Yeah, but how do I know you’ll let me up after I kiss you?” Kamio said with a smile, sitting up slowly and curling his feet under him. He hesitated for a long moment, then shifted forward, his eyes sliding shut as he sealed his lips to Akaya’s. This kiss was still hesitant, but his determination to get this right showed itself in a firmer press of lips, in a gentle flick of his tongue as he turned his head and opened his mouth.

Though his natural inclination was to shift so he would have the dominant position, Akaya lay still and let Kamio have his way with him. Well, up to a point. He took control of the kiss itself easily enough, opening his own mouth to take advantage of the invitation Kamio had given him. Even so it was more of a tease than a kiss, his tongue darting lightly to touch the places that were most sensitive, daring Kamio to make it deeper and more forceful.

Slowly, Kamio’s confidence grew, and he slid his tongue into Akaya’s mouth in response to the teasing, exploring eagerly. His arms stole around Akaya’s neck and he clung to him tightly, shifting to press against the other boy’s chest. He felt dizzy, and wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen, or if it was the intoxicating taste of Akaya’s mouth.

A soft moan echoed between them, and it took Akaya a moment to realize it had actually come from him, not Kamio. He had to fight himself not to reach out and run his hands over the redhead, looking for sensitive spots on the body the same way his tongue was finding them in the mouth. But he'd promised not to touch, so this was Kamio's show.

Unlike Kamio he was experienced enough to know the trick to breathing while continuing to kiss, so he didn't need to come up for air any time soon. He took advantage of that, pressing deeper into Kamio's mouth and rubbing his tongue against the redhead's, then pulling back to invite Kamio deeper into his mouth in turn. It was possible to seduce someone by touching nothing more than their lips; Akaya didn't know if he could do it, but he was willing to try.

The moan elicited one from Kamio and he tightened his grip on Akaya, clinging as the other boy began to drive him crazy, just from the touch of his tongue.

Suddenly he broke the kiss, panting for breath. He turned his head away from Akaya, trying to resist the almost overpowering urge to just keep going, to kiss him again and let Akaya seduce him. Settling against him, his head against Akaya’s chest, he concentrated on just trying to breathe, and on ignoring his body’s disappointment. “Th-that was good,” he whispered.

"Mmm. Much better than the last one," Akaya purred in agreement, his green eyes dark with passion as he looked down at Kamio. He looks good right there, he thought to himself in satisfaction, seeing the way Kamio's startlingly red hair spread out over his shoulder. He also realized, a bit to his chagrin, that he was running his fingers lightly through that fall of crimson despite not meaning to touch Kamio at all.

Kamio's eyes were loosely shut, a soft moan like a rumbling purr issuing from his throat at the touch of Akaya's fingers. He wasn't at all objecting to the stroking - didn't even remember that Akaya had promised not to touch him. He could hear the other boy's heart against his ear, and it was comfortable and soothing.

After a few long minutes of feeling oddly content despite the throbbing hard-on he was sporting, Akaya realized he was starting to drift off. It was late, and he'd been through a hell of a lot in one day. "If we're gonna fall asleep like this, we might want to get our clothes off first," he muttered softly, reluctant to break the spell but not wanting to sleep in his clothes either.

Kamio started slightly, having also started to doze. "Uh...you're right," he said, feeling suddenly shy about the idea of Akaya seeing him in the nude. Regretfully, he unwound himself from the other boy, blushing and averting his gaze as he drew his shirt up over his head.

Akaya sat up as well, then snorted with amusement. "Hell. Being the genius that I am, I didn't bring any sleep clothes out of the other room. Oh well, I ought to brush my teeth anyway. Where's the bathroom?"

He was taking advantage of the opportunity to ogle Kamio's bare back and shoulders as he spoke, though, highly reluctant to leave and miss the lovely sight. Tennis had defined the muscles of the redhead's shoulders and arms, making them stand out as he pulled the shirt over his head. It was quite enticing.

"Uh, it's at the end of the hall, opposite your room," Kamio said, turning to look at Akaya with a shy smile. His chest was as nicely defined as his back was. He wasn't sorry that Akaya was going to go. He wouldn't have forced him out of the room - that would have been just ASKING to be teased - but this way he'd have time to change into his own sleeping clothes before Akaya came back.

Deliberately, Akaya trailed his eyes down over Kamio's chest, making sure the other boy knew what he was doing. He'd promised not to touch, but nobody had said anything about looking. Then, with a wicked grin, he let his gaze drop a little further and linger there. They were both still wearing their tennis clothes and the shorts were a little too baggy to see much, but there was a definite bulge there.

"All right, I'll be right back," he stood and made his way to the door, not making any effort to hide the state of his own body as he went.

Kamio was redfaced and sputtering, mortified. Why did he have to LOOK at me like that?! he thought to himself as he quickly changed out of his clothes and into some loosefitting pyjama pants. They did little to hide the bulge, but at this point, NOTHING was going to help.

Telling himself sharply to calm down, it was just a kiss, and he was just looking like that to get his goat, he made his way down to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

After he'd changed into sleeping pants and grabbed his toothbrush, Akaya made his way to the bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb, watching Kamio. The harsh light that was typical of all bathrooms made the redhead's skin seem even paler than usual. Akaya's eyes trailed over that smooth expanse of muscled back again as Kamio leaned over the sink to spit.

"You're not a hundred percent Japanese, are you?" he asked curiously. What little body hair Kamio had proved his hair colour was probably naturaly. Most people would have avoided asking such a question out of fear of mortally offending the other person, but with his green eyes and curly hair, Akaya figured it was fairly obvious that he didn't have room to point any fingers.

"Uh...no," Kamio admitted, glancing back at Akaya after he'd spit out the toothpaste. He rinsed his mouth and dried his face. "My grandmother on my mother's side was a gaijin."

"Really?" Akaya blinked. Usually the story was about a Japanese girl who'd gone and gotten herself pregnant by an American soldier just after the war. "That far back and you've still got red hair and blue eyes? Weird. I've got it on both sides."

"Well, we think there might be something on my father's side, but no one will confirm it," Kamio said embarrassedly. He stepped out of the way, letting Akaya at the sink. "My father has blue eyes, too."

"Could even be way far back," Akaya said, shrugging. "There was some outbreeding before the war, just not much. Let me guess, your grandmother was Irish?" He grinned and started brushing his teeth.

Kamio nodded. "I have NO idea how they met," he confessed. "They got married and everything. And they both passed away pretty close to each other." He smiled slightly. His grandparents' marriage was certainly less rocky than his own parents, and it gave him a bit of hope to have seen that.

"Cool," Akaya commented around the mouthful of minty froth. He spat it out and rinsed, then added, "I have NO fucking clue where my gaijin genes originated. Green eyes aren't that uncommon, and neither is curly hair." He shrugged. "Now, out, so I can go to the bathroom. Unless you're into watching that kind of stuff?" he asked in a tone that was clearly teasing.

Kamio made a face. "Ew! No!" he cried, quickly exiting the room. "PERVERT!" he added through the now-closed door. Grinning to himself, he headed back to his room, crawling immedately into bed.

Laughing at the parting shot, Akaya relieved himself... and quickly took care of another pressing matter as well. Otherwise he wouldn't have trusted himself to go back into that room and be able to control himself. He'd been trying to seduce Kamio with that kiss, but it'd had a pronounced effect on him too.

He wondered if his new housemate were doing the same thing in his room... he'd be hesitant, furtive, not sure when Akaya was coming back, but unable to bear it... that beautiful back arched as he came all over his hand, and a desperate attempt to find tissues to clean it up with...

Akaya came hard, stifling any noise he might have made with the back of his other hand. It was a nice fantasy; he might have to ask Kamio to jerk off in front of him some day, just to see how the real thing compared. Flushing the toilet, he washed his hands and made his way back to the room, making sure to make plenty of noise so Kamio would know he was coming. Just in case.

Kamio tried not to let his body betray him, he really did, but the minutes drew out as he waited for Akaya to return, and his hand drifted down despite his best efforts.

He slipped his hand under the loose waistband of his pants, curling his fingers around the hot flesh and laying back with his eyes closed, thinking about Akaya's warm lips, and his hands sliding over his body. His hand moved faster and faster as he absorbed himself in the fantasy, not even hearing Akaya's progress down the hallway as he drew himself towards release.

...Apparently he'd been wrong about making enough noise to warn Kamio. Akaya entered quickly and shut the door as quietly behind him as he could. Then he just stood there, watching with naked lust in his expression. So much for taking care of his own problem; watching Kamio touch himself had made him twice as hard as he had been to start with.

Kamio let out a shuddering gasp as he climaxed, writhing on the bed with Akaya's name on his lips. He opened his eyes to grab a tissue to clean himself with and let out a yelp when he saw Akaya, jerking back against the wall. "A-Akaya!!"

"Gorgeous," was Akaya's utterly unashamed reply. His green eyes were wide and burning with need, fixed on Kamio's face. He actually hadn't even been watching what Kamio was doing towards the end; it was all obscured by blanket and clothes anyway, just quick furtive movements. But the look on the redhead's face as he'd neared and then achieved climax... gods. Somehow, he found the power of will to remain against the doorway, though his breathing was a little ragged.

Kamio blushed bright red. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, utterly mortified. Turn off the light. Please turn off the light, he pleaded mentally.

"For what?" Kamio's powers of telepathic mind control - or even of planting suggestions - clearly needed some work, because the thought of turning off the light never even entered Akaya's head. Deprive himself of that glowing, panting vision? Why? His voice came out in a husky growl. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of. I'm the pervert, remember? Gods damn, Akira, that was hot." The last emerged as little more than a moan.

Kamio hastily averted his gaze. "I...uh... I just didn't mean you to see that," he stammered. And then, more forcefully. "It's embarrassing, Akaya! Wouldn't you be embarrassed if I walked in on YOU j-jerking off?"

"No," Akaya admitted frankly. "I'd probably just ask if you wanted to help. But I'd be perfectly happy just to let you watch; it turns me on." He smiled slightly, that predatory smile that scared most people who didn't know him. And many of the people who did know him, for that matter. "It doesn't make you the least bit hot, knowing I was watching you and now I'm dying of lust, even right after I just got off?"

Well, okay yes, THAT was an arousing thought. "Uhm," Kamio swallowed. "Yeah, I guess it does. I mean, yes," he continued more firmly. He glanced up hesitantly. "But you're the pervert, liking to watch and let people watch you, not me," he said with a crooked smile.

"Most people like to watch and be watched, if they admit it to themselves," Akaya shrugged. "What's not to like about someone beautiful getting off right in front of you? Beats the hell out of porn. And there's something about being watched that makes you draw it out, show off a little..." He was working himself up now, and at this rate he was going to have to turn around and go straight back to the bathroom.

Kamio swallowed hard, nodding slowly. "I...I guess so," he said uncertainly. "I guess I'm just shy," he glanced away, frowning. "It's stupid, I know. You probably think I'm pretty funny, how I carry on about all this stuff that comes so naturally to you."

"Nah," Akaya said dryly, finally managing to peel himself off the door. He somehow made it to the nest of blankets Kamio had made for him earlier, and collapsed down into them. It was hard to find a comfortable position when you had such a raging hard-on, but he finally ended up mostly on his back looking up at Kamio. "I know I'm the weird one. I've been told more than once that I'm missing a few essential connections. Like the shame gene. Or the guilt one." He shrugged.

"You're not missing the guilt gene," Kamio protested. He settled on his stomach, his chin pillowed in his arms right on the edge of the bed so he could look down at Akaya. "But you probably did miss out on the shame gene," he added with a grin. "And I think I got your helping..."

"Well, I obviously didn't miss out entirely, or I'd just have paraded in here naked," Akaya teased, deciding not to dispute Kamio's assertion that he was capable of feeling guilt. He was actually, he was just so good at hiding it that most people never realized it.

"Well thank goodness you didn't," Kamio said severely, though he immediately grinned. "Don't make me start another pillowfight with you," he warned, half seriously. "We actually might need to get some sleep tonight!"

"Oh? You want your ass handed to you again that badly?" Akaya grinned, though in truth it had been a very close fight. And with the advantage of the high ground by being on the bed, Kamio would probably win a rematch. "Or did you just like having me pinning you like that?"

Not that he'd object to having Kamio pinning him this time, hell no. But if he really did intend not to break his promise and sleep with the redhead, then another round probably wasn't wise.

Kamio reddened and grabbed his pillow automatically, threatening Akaya with it, then shoved it back on the bed and rolled over onto his back. “You’d LIKE that, wouldn’t you!” he exclaimed, his tone amused rather than irritated.

"Well, obviously" Akaya drawled in a tone that said he thought Kamio should have been able to figure that out for himself. "I liked it the first time, didn't I?" Thinking about pinning Kamio again - or being pinned - was not helping the problem of his somewhat painful hard-on. He was half tempted just to take care of it and let Kamio sputter and blush, but he thought that might be pushing his luck just a little. He squirmed a bit, trying to think of things that might help it go down.

Kamio sighed and got up, stepping over Akaya to turn off the light. “Jerk,” he said affectionately, his blush still very much present, though at least his own erection had been relieved for the moment.

"Tease," Akaya shot back, just as fondly. Then, just because he could, he dropped his voice and purred, "So can I watch again next time?"

Kamio flopped back on his bed again, getting really tired of blushing all the time. “Only if you tell me you love me,” he said, a touch of wistfulness in his tone, then rolled over to face the wall, adding softly. “Night, Akaya.”

A little stunned, Akaya just gaped in his direction for a long moment. Surely he hadn't meant that seriously? If he had, that 'little crush' he thought Kamio had on him might be a rather larger problem than he'd thought.

It wasn't even really that he felt guilty about the almost certainty that he would end up crushing Kamio's heart if the redhead really did fall for him. He'd warned him, after all. And Kamio wouldn't be the first to think he could be the one to break the ice around Akaya's heart - it was a futile effort. Akaya was capable of genuinely caring about someone, his friendships with his Rikkai teammates proved that. But it was only friendship, a sort of mutual trust and loyalty and respect built up over shared hardships. And no one yet had ever succeeded in generating feelings Akaya could even begin to think might be 'love'.

But he had to live with Kamio from now on, and that meant he did NOT want to get into a really horrible kind of breakup situation. And, he realized, he was actually a bit fond of the redhead. He might not feel guilty about hurting him, but he wouldn't enjoy it either.

Finally he just sighed, and rolled over onto his side. "G'night, Akira," he murmured softly, just in case the other boy was already asleep. "Sweet dreams."

|Prologue| |Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Part 10| |Part 11|

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