Dis Aliter Visum - Chapter 80 - 2,334 words
Note: Short chapter with d'awwwww. I think I'm finally inspired to write for them again. I've been struggling a lot, between work I'm doing on my novel and all of the medical appointments.
Beta-reader: ItachiTenshi and Lea Summers
Chapter summary: Leap of trust.
Chapter 80
Morning light awoke Kuroro, sun rays slipping through a slight gap between the curtains to fall across his eyes. There was a warm presence against his chest and an arm wrapped loosely across his side. It suddenly occurred to him that with two other bedrooms as part of their suite, he could have chosen another bed to sleep in. How odd that the thought had never even crossed his mind.
Kurapica stirred in his arms, snuggling closer. He nuzzled Kuroro's throat and made a soft sound, reminding the older man of a cat. As the blond settled again, the corners of Kuroro's lips pulled up slightly in an amused smile that he didn't even try to contain. His hand slowly grazed the blond's skin and came to rest at the small of his back. Kuroro pulled him a little closer. Once more, Kurapica uttered a quiet sound and he buried his face against the Ryodan leader's shoulder.
Well, now... Kuroro would love starting something up, but he was also itching to get away from the town - and the theft - now that it wouldn't be too suspicious for them to leave the scene of the crime. He started to move away, but Kurapica let out of a soft groan of protest and closed the distance between them once more. Kuroro's eyebrows arched high on his forehead. Were he to tell the proud Kuruta that he'd snuggled his former enemy in his sleep, no doubt that Kurapica would vehemently deny the possibility that he could ever actually seek out Kuroro's touch.
Kuroro could always just keep it secret for now. He could certainly use it later, as there would be no point in telling Kurapica right away. All it would do would be to embarrass the younger man. Better to keep it as possible ammunition for the future.
Before trying once more to get out of bed, he leaned forward and caught himself before he could complete the uncharacteristic action. He hovered over the blond and tried to gather his wits and analyze what had just happened. His lips were a mere centimetre from Kurapica's forehead. He frowned thoughtfully. Things were definitely getting a little strange between his new recruit and himself.
He purposefully moved away and this time, he didn't stop until he was sitting up in bed. Kurapica groaned again and shifted in his sleep. The older man slid his legs over the edge of the mattress and put his feet down on the floor, his toes sinking into the thick rug.
“...'Time is it?”
Kuroro glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand closest to him.
“Six-thirty,” he answered, turning his head to look at the blond.
Kurapica still had his eyes closed, but he nodded to indicate he'd heard.
“Are you hungry?” Kuroro wanted to know. “I'm going to make some coffee and I could order room service, or we can buy something to eat on the road.”
Kurapica frowned, obviously thinking about which to choose. The Spider Head observed the play of light on his fair skin as a gentle breeze pushed the curtains in slow, lazy ripples of fabric.
“Food later,” Kurapica finally mumbled. “Coffee now.”
Kuroro chuckled. That the young man would have the gall to order the leader of the most feared organization in the world around should perhaps have annoyed him. Instead, he felt mightily entertained.
“At once, your Highness,” he replied teasingly.
Kurapica lifted a hand and half-heartedly slapped in the direction of his voice, but since Kuroro had just gotten to his feet, he missed him by a metre or so.
Kuroro snorted in amusement and made his way to the main room of their suite. He started the coffee machine, then made his way to the bathroom. Kurapica's dress was still crumpled on the floor in front of the sink. Kuroro glanced at it and shrugged, ignoring it in favour of getting into the shower. So what if the dress was ruined? He doubted Kurapica would ever want to wear it again. He'd seemed pretty eager to take it off after the party, and not just because Kuroro was seducing him. Thoughts of the previous night made the Spider Head smile again.
When he went through the bedroom, Kurapica was gone. After Kuroro got dressed, he went to the common room and the blond already sitting at the table, nursing a mug with both hands.
“Morning,” Kuroro greeted.
Kurapica let go of his mug with one hand so that he could wave vaguely in response. His eyes were barely open. Kuroro shook his head, a small grin working its way onto his lips once more. He made his way to the coffee machine and was pleasantly surprised to find that Kurapica had already set the machine to prepare a cup for him. When it was ready, he picked it up and blew lightly over the top before taking a careful sip.
“So what's the plan, today?” Kurapica asked him. His words were still a bit mumbled, but he was slowly coming awake. “Are we leaving town?”
“Yep,” Kuroro confirmed cheerfully, turning towards the blond and leaning back against the counter. He took another sip of coffee. “How soon can you be ready?”
“As soon as I finish my coffee, shower and get dressed,” Kurapica answered, seeming now appropriately caffeinated.
He had this tiny smile that showed he knew perfectly well that he hadn't really answered the question.
“Cute,” Kuroro deadpanned, hiding a smile behind his coffee mug. “Then I suggest you get to it. I can't wait to have this town in my rear-view mirror. We can get more coffee and breakfast on the way. Go shower.”
An odd look flitted over Kurapica's face. He seemed about to fire back something that was probably unflattering to Kuroro, but the blond seemed to think better of it and went back to his coffee. There was a stubborn look frozen on his features now, something that clued in to what the boy was doing. Obviously, he didn't like to be ordered around, now that he didn't consider himself obligated to by virtue of being a prisoner or having an ever growing pile of Scarlet Eyes held in ransom for his obedience. Kuroro wasn't surprised. What did surprise him was the fact that he actually didn't mind Kurapica challenging his authority. And really, it wasn't the end of the world if the blond took the time to finish his coffee before getting ready.
For all his silent protest, Kurapica actually did speed up his movements and soon finished his beverage. Wordlessly, he got up and placed his cup in the sink, then disappeared in the bedroom.
It didn't take long for him to get ready. Kuroro was taking the last sip of his second cup of precious caffeine when Kurapica came out of the bedroom, bags in hand, packed and ready to go. Pleased that the boy had at least made it quick, Kuroro grinned. He set his mug down, got to his feet and summoned the Skill Hunter book to put their things away.
Once the book and cloth had disappeared again and there was nothing left to keep them at the hotel, he turned to the door and walked out, followed by the younger man. They checked out, got into their car and made their way to a coffee shop drive-through so they could get more of the glorious beverage as well as something to eat for breakfast.
As they drove out of the city, Kuroro pulled out his cellphone and dialed Florenzia's number. He hoped to keep their cover and buy them a little more time to get away on the off chance that anyone might start to be suspicious of them. The young woman sounded rather dispirited when she answered, but as soon as Kuroro identified himself, her voice became much more cheerful and lively. He laid it thick, pretending to be a concerned friend as he asked about her health and emotional state following the theft of something she valued greatly. He let her know he and his 'sister' were leaving as scheduled, but he'd try to call back soon. As he disconnected, he glanced at his companion.
Kurapica was silent, staring out of the window, a dark look on his fair features. His latest reading material lay open on his lap, forgotten for the moment. Kuroro couldn't tell if he was sulking or just pensive.
He gave him a moment to say whatever was on his mind, but the blond didn't speak and at length, Kuroro decided he'd had enough. He turned on the radio and pressed the scan button until he found a rock station. He hummed along and pushed another button, which lowered his window. The wind started whipping his dark hair wildly around his head. He glanced at Kurapica again. The blond was scowling at the radio now, but the older man didn't let the boy's mood get to him.
“You're not reading,” he pointed out.
“I know,” Kurapica replied and turned away from him.
Kuroro was purposefully testing the blond's new limits, curious to see how much he could get away with now. He turned the volume up and grinned as the song got louder. He kept an eye on his companion as much as he could while still concentrating on driving.
Kurapica was simply gazing out of the side window, a dour expression on his beautiful face. The suburb gave way to fields, with narrow strips of trees separating the different properties. The music had a good rhythm and the Spider Head found himself tapping the tempo on the steering wheel with his fingers.
As the song ended and a new one began, they entered another town. Kuroro stole yet another glance at the younger man and his smile widened, though he tried to stop himself from being too obvious. Kurapica's fingers drummed against his thigh along with the rapid beat of the music. Finally noticing the attention he had garnered from the older man, the blond looked at him out from the corner of his eye and his hand stilled. Ah, well. Figuring he'd more or less proven his point - whatever point that happened to be - Kuroro lowered the volume again.
“Things are becoming more and more complicated,” he commented.
Kurapica glanced over at him.
“Is this where you tell me we should start -” He paused, clearly thinking of a way not to use a word related to theft.“- procuring more than just the Eyes again?”
Kuroro beamed at him and laughed.
“That's a good idea,” he cheerfully proclaimed. “Let's do that!”
The look that Kurapica sent him next spoke volumes.
“What?” Kuroro defended, having a grand time teasing the younger man. “You suggested it!”
The blond didn't even bother getting upset. He huffed out a much put-upon sigh and turned back towards the side window. Kuroro glanced at him, trying to read Kurapica's mood. Was he truly fed up, or was he putting on a show of annoyance simply on principle? Oddly enough, he couldn't read him. Kurapica seemed distant, somewhat pensive. Kuroro hoped that their most recent late night... distraction hadn't pushed the younger man back into his shell. Even he had to admit that he'd been doing some very unorthodox things to the blond, things that were a bit much, even for him. He decided to leave this particular line of enquiry alone and refocus on their previous conversation.
“I was thinking we could use some extra hands, actually,” he said.
Kurapica seemed to freeze for a split-second, then he caught himself and made a noncommittal noise of mild interest. He wasn't fooling the Spider Head, however. Somehow, Kurapica's reaction cheered him tremendously. To think that the blond felt so comfortable with him now, that considering bringing in other Spiders made the Kuruta nervous enough to tense up visibly like this! Kuroro couldn't help mentally patting himself on the back.
“Who,” Kurapica began and then he hesitated, looking away for a moment. There was an awkward pause. Suddenly, the blond leaned forward and turned the volume down until the radio clicked off. “Who were you thinking of calling in?”
Kuroro frowned as he slowly considered all of his options, closing the window again so he didn't have to raise his voice over the sound of the wind. There were a few ways that he could go about this, each of them - save for one - needing quite a bit of trust on Kuroro's part. This was something that was definitely lacking in their relationship, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, he knew that he was perfectly capable of taking on Kurapica, were the Kuruta to turn on him. Although things had progressed to a point beyond the most insane plans that he'd entertained when he'd captured the ornery blond, Kuroro was fairly certain that he still did not have Kurapica's loyalty. Even he was not that good a manipulator to achieve this so rapidly. It would come, though. Eventually. He'd make sure of that.
If not, he could easily kill him anyway.
After long and careful consideration, he finally said, “I will give you information on my Spiders, including the skills each of them have that could prove useful to us, and I will let you plan some of our future jobs.”
The look of utter amazement that crossed Kurapica's face made him think that this had been a wise decision, where the blond's opinion was concerned, if not for his future safety and that of his team. The last altercation they had had, back in York Shin, Kurapica had won a temporary victory over the Spider Head, but he'd had the benefit of surprise then. This time, the Ryodan leader knew what to expect. He'd keep both eyes on the boy and give out information drop by parsimonious drop.
Kuroro could only hope that he wouldn't have cause to regret it in the future.
Beta-reader: ItachiTenshi and Lea Summers
Chapter summary: Leap of trust.
Chapter 80
Morning light awoke Kuroro, sun rays slipping through a slight gap between the curtains to fall across his eyes. There was a warm presence against his chest and an arm wrapped loosely across his side. It suddenly occurred to him that with two other bedrooms as part of their suite, he could have chosen another bed to sleep in. How odd that the thought had never even crossed his mind.
Kurapica stirred in his arms, snuggling closer. He nuzzled Kuroro's throat and made a soft sound, reminding the older man of a cat. As the blond settled again, the corners of Kuroro's lips pulled up slightly in an amused smile that he didn't even try to contain. His hand slowly grazed the blond's skin and came to rest at the small of his back. Kuroro pulled him a little closer. Once more, Kurapica uttered a quiet sound and he buried his face against the Ryodan leader's shoulder.
Well, now... Kuroro would love starting something up, but he was also itching to get away from the town - and the theft - now that it wouldn't be too suspicious for them to leave the scene of the crime. He started to move away, but Kurapica let out of a soft groan of protest and closed the distance between them once more. Kuroro's eyebrows arched high on his forehead. Were he to tell the proud Kuruta that he'd snuggled his former enemy in his sleep, no doubt that Kurapica would vehemently deny the possibility that he could ever actually seek out Kuroro's touch.
Kuroro could always just keep it secret for now. He could certainly use it later, as there would be no point in telling Kurapica right away. All it would do would be to embarrass the younger man. Better to keep it as possible ammunition for the future.
Before trying once more to get out of bed, he leaned forward and caught himself before he could complete the uncharacteristic action. He hovered over the blond and tried to gather his wits and analyze what had just happened. His lips were a mere centimetre from Kurapica's forehead. He frowned thoughtfully. Things were definitely getting a little strange between his new recruit and himself.
He purposefully moved away and this time, he didn't stop until he was sitting up in bed. Kurapica groaned again and shifted in his sleep. The older man slid his legs over the edge of the mattress and put his feet down on the floor, his toes sinking into the thick rug.
“...'Time is it?”
Kuroro glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand closest to him.
“Six-thirty,” he answered, turning his head to look at the blond.
Kurapica still had his eyes closed, but he nodded to indicate he'd heard.
“Are you hungry?” Kuroro wanted to know. “I'm going to make some coffee and I could order room service, or we can buy something to eat on the road.”
Kurapica frowned, obviously thinking about which to choose. The Spider Head observed the play of light on his fair skin as a gentle breeze pushed the curtains in slow, lazy ripples of fabric.
“Food later,” Kurapica finally mumbled. “Coffee now.”
Kuroro chuckled. That the young man would have the gall to order the leader of the most feared organization in the world around should perhaps have annoyed him. Instead, he felt mightily entertained.
“At once, your Highness,” he replied teasingly.
Kurapica lifted a hand and half-heartedly slapped in the direction of his voice, but since Kuroro had just gotten to his feet, he missed him by a metre or so.
Kuroro snorted in amusement and made his way to the main room of their suite. He started the coffee machine, then made his way to the bathroom. Kurapica's dress was still crumpled on the floor in front of the sink. Kuroro glanced at it and shrugged, ignoring it in favour of getting into the shower. So what if the dress was ruined? He doubted Kurapica would ever want to wear it again. He'd seemed pretty eager to take it off after the party, and not just because Kuroro was seducing him. Thoughts of the previous night made the Spider Head smile again.
When he went through the bedroom, Kurapica was gone. After Kuroro got dressed, he went to the common room and the blond already sitting at the table, nursing a mug with both hands.
“Morning,” Kuroro greeted.
Kurapica let go of his mug with one hand so that he could wave vaguely in response. His eyes were barely open. Kuroro shook his head, a small grin working its way onto his lips once more. He made his way to the coffee machine and was pleasantly surprised to find that Kurapica had already set the machine to prepare a cup for him. When it was ready, he picked it up and blew lightly over the top before taking a careful sip.
“So what's the plan, today?” Kurapica asked him. His words were still a bit mumbled, but he was slowly coming awake. “Are we leaving town?”
“Yep,” Kuroro confirmed cheerfully, turning towards the blond and leaning back against the counter. He took another sip of coffee. “How soon can you be ready?”
“As soon as I finish my coffee, shower and get dressed,” Kurapica answered, seeming now appropriately caffeinated.
He had this tiny smile that showed he knew perfectly well that he hadn't really answered the question.
“Cute,” Kuroro deadpanned, hiding a smile behind his coffee mug. “Then I suggest you get to it. I can't wait to have this town in my rear-view mirror. We can get more coffee and breakfast on the way. Go shower.”
An odd look flitted over Kurapica's face. He seemed about to fire back something that was probably unflattering to Kuroro, but the blond seemed to think better of it and went back to his coffee. There was a stubborn look frozen on his features now, something that clued in to what the boy was doing. Obviously, he didn't like to be ordered around, now that he didn't consider himself obligated to by virtue of being a prisoner or having an ever growing pile of Scarlet Eyes held in ransom for his obedience. Kuroro wasn't surprised. What did surprise him was the fact that he actually didn't mind Kurapica challenging his authority. And really, it wasn't the end of the world if the blond took the time to finish his coffee before getting ready.
For all his silent protest, Kurapica actually did speed up his movements and soon finished his beverage. Wordlessly, he got up and placed his cup in the sink, then disappeared in the bedroom.
It didn't take long for him to get ready. Kuroro was taking the last sip of his second cup of precious caffeine when Kurapica came out of the bedroom, bags in hand, packed and ready to go. Pleased that the boy had at least made it quick, Kuroro grinned. He set his mug down, got to his feet and summoned the Skill Hunter book to put their things away.
Once the book and cloth had disappeared again and there was nothing left to keep them at the hotel, he turned to the door and walked out, followed by the younger man. They checked out, got into their car and made their way to a coffee shop drive-through so they could get more of the glorious beverage as well as something to eat for breakfast.
As they drove out of the city, Kuroro pulled out his cellphone and dialed Florenzia's number. He hoped to keep their cover and buy them a little more time to get away on the off chance that anyone might start to be suspicious of them. The young woman sounded rather dispirited when she answered, but as soon as Kuroro identified himself, her voice became much more cheerful and lively. He laid it thick, pretending to be a concerned friend as he asked about her health and emotional state following the theft of something she valued greatly. He let her know he and his 'sister' were leaving as scheduled, but he'd try to call back soon. As he disconnected, he glanced at his companion.
Kurapica was silent, staring out of the window, a dark look on his fair features. His latest reading material lay open on his lap, forgotten for the moment. Kuroro couldn't tell if he was sulking or just pensive.
He gave him a moment to say whatever was on his mind, but the blond didn't speak and at length, Kuroro decided he'd had enough. He turned on the radio and pressed the scan button until he found a rock station. He hummed along and pushed another button, which lowered his window. The wind started whipping his dark hair wildly around his head. He glanced at Kurapica again. The blond was scowling at the radio now, but the older man didn't let the boy's mood get to him.
“You're not reading,” he pointed out.
“I know,” Kurapica replied and turned away from him.
Kuroro was purposefully testing the blond's new limits, curious to see how much he could get away with now. He turned the volume up and grinned as the song got louder. He kept an eye on his companion as much as he could while still concentrating on driving.
Kurapica was simply gazing out of the side window, a dour expression on his beautiful face. The suburb gave way to fields, with narrow strips of trees separating the different properties. The music had a good rhythm and the Spider Head found himself tapping the tempo on the steering wheel with his fingers.
As the song ended and a new one began, they entered another town. Kuroro stole yet another glance at the younger man and his smile widened, though he tried to stop himself from being too obvious. Kurapica's fingers drummed against his thigh along with the rapid beat of the music. Finally noticing the attention he had garnered from the older man, the blond looked at him out from the corner of his eye and his hand stilled. Ah, well. Figuring he'd more or less proven his point - whatever point that happened to be - Kuroro lowered the volume again.
“Things are becoming more and more complicated,” he commented.
Kurapica glanced over at him.
“Is this where you tell me we should start -” He paused, clearly thinking of a way not to use a word related to theft.“- procuring more than just the Eyes again?”
Kuroro beamed at him and laughed.
“That's a good idea,” he cheerfully proclaimed. “Let's do that!”
The look that Kurapica sent him next spoke volumes.
“What?” Kuroro defended, having a grand time teasing the younger man. “You suggested it!”
The blond didn't even bother getting upset. He huffed out a much put-upon sigh and turned back towards the side window. Kuroro glanced at him, trying to read Kurapica's mood. Was he truly fed up, or was he putting on a show of annoyance simply on principle? Oddly enough, he couldn't read him. Kurapica seemed distant, somewhat pensive. Kuroro hoped that their most recent late night... distraction hadn't pushed the younger man back into his shell. Even he had to admit that he'd been doing some very unorthodox things to the blond, things that were a bit much, even for him. He decided to leave this particular line of enquiry alone and refocus on their previous conversation.
“I was thinking we could use some extra hands, actually,” he said.
Kurapica seemed to freeze for a split-second, then he caught himself and made a noncommittal noise of mild interest. He wasn't fooling the Spider Head, however. Somehow, Kurapica's reaction cheered him tremendously. To think that the blond felt so comfortable with him now, that considering bringing in other Spiders made the Kuruta nervous enough to tense up visibly like this! Kuroro couldn't help mentally patting himself on the back.
“Who,” Kurapica began and then he hesitated, looking away for a moment. There was an awkward pause. Suddenly, the blond leaned forward and turned the volume down until the radio clicked off. “Who were you thinking of calling in?”
Kuroro frowned as he slowly considered all of his options, closing the window again so he didn't have to raise his voice over the sound of the wind. There were a few ways that he could go about this, each of them - save for one - needing quite a bit of trust on Kuroro's part. This was something that was definitely lacking in their relationship, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, he knew that he was perfectly capable of taking on Kurapica, were the Kuruta to turn on him. Although things had progressed to a point beyond the most insane plans that he'd entertained when he'd captured the ornery blond, Kuroro was fairly certain that he still did not have Kurapica's loyalty. Even he was not that good a manipulator to achieve this so rapidly. It would come, though. Eventually. He'd make sure of that.
If not, he could easily kill him anyway.
After long and careful consideration, he finally said, “I will give you information on my Spiders, including the skills each of them have that could prove useful to us, and I will let you plan some of our future jobs.”
The look of utter amazement that crossed Kurapica's face made him think that this had been a wise decision, where the blond's opinion was concerned, if not for his future safety and that of his team. The last altercation they had had, back in York Shin, Kurapica had won a temporary victory over the Spider Head, but he'd had the benefit of surprise then. This time, the Ryodan leader knew what to expect. He'd keep both eyes on the boy and give out information drop by parsimonious drop.
Kuroro could only hope that he wouldn't have cause to regret it in the future.