Philander [Chapter 5]
Author: Ani
Genre: AU, romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Chiitaro
Word Count: 1941
Summary: In which Ryutaro is working as a host and Chinen's sister winds up with an unfair debt.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
Dedication: lovetoosweet because she is just amazing and I promised her one. It's thanks to her that I am obsessively revising this series over and over like a madwoman
Chinen pulled himself out from under the bed, coughing and sneezing as a horde of dust bunnies attacked him mercilessly. "When was the last time you cleaned your room?"
"I dunno, it was clean when I first moved in." Ryutaro's voice came from the other side of the room.
"...and when did you move in?" The older boy was almost afraid to ask.
"About two years ago." Chinen felt his jaw drop figuratively to the floor. Saya would kill him if he did that, mainly because they shared the same room and she was a neat freak. "How do I look?"
Chinen used the bed as a support to prop himself up and nearly slipped off. Ryutaro had changed from casual to formal while he'd been fighting off dust bunnies. It was the same outfit he'd first seen the other boy in the night before, except Ryutaro hadn't donned the jacket yet. Without the jacket though, the white shirt contrasted sharply beneath the black vest he was just buttoning up.
And a weird thing happened.
As Ryutaro slipped the jacket on, Chinen's breathing got faster as did his heart. Crap, why was it pounding so hard? The outfit seemed to have been tailor-made for the other boy, it fit so perfectly and Ryutaro was looking so - Chinen settled for 'mature' because he didn't want to acknowledge what he really thought. He looked every part of a host and could have easily passed for a high schooler without question.
"Chinen?" Ryutaro was still waiting for his answer.
"Um...uhh..." Chinen's brain was a blank. He didn't want to compliment him, yet compliments were the only things he could think of. "Your tie's crooked."
"Damn it." He turned to the mirror on his desk and frowned. "No, it looks fine. Are you lying to me, Yuuri?"
Chinen flinched hearing his named being used by someone other than Saya. Simultaneously, his face flushed, because it was Ryutaro who used it. "Don't use that. No one does."
"Why not, Yuuri? I think it fits you." Ryutaro wasn't even trying to hide his smile.
"Stop calling me 'Yuuri.'" Chinen snapped, irritated at the way he kept reacting to the way Ryutaro said his name. "You don't even know me that well."
"Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Chinen covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound of Ryutaro's voice. "Lalalalalalala-"
"You look cute when you get mad." Chinen's eyes snapped opened and found himself staring at Ryutaro's face that was only inches away from his own. "Yuuri~" He caught a sudden whiff of mint green tea that made him go weak.
A huge rush of blood streamed up to Chinen's head, making him light-headed and dizzy as Ryutaro's mouth gently met his. The mint green tea was stronger than ever and getting addicting. Butterflies fluttered wildly in his stomach and he was conscious of Ryutaro's firm hands holding his shoulders. His own were clutching the front of Ryutaro's jacket for support as he leaned against the other boy. If he had been standing, he probably would have collapsed.
Ryutaro turned his head, kissing him from a slightly different angle as he pulled him in closer. Chinen almost felt like melting. Without meaning to, he found himself returning the soft presses, his eyes flickering shut to better enjoy the way Ryutaro was deepening their kiss. Wait, he was enjoying this?!
Chinen's eyes snapped open. Ryutaro's expression nearly made his heart stop, the other boy looked so cute with his eyes closed like that. The thought made him all flustered and he started wriggling to get out of Ryutaro's hands. Stubbornly, the taller boy refused to let him go for another few seconds. Annoyed and panicking, Chinen pushed him away as far as possible, his hand moving on its own to slap Ryutaro across the face.
Panting heavily, Chinen vaguely realized he had stopped breathing for the past minute or so. It did not help his hammering heart slow when he saw Ryutaro's tie had loosened and his collar was slightly opened from all his struggles. Chinen kept his eyes down, the blood coloring his cheeks as he consciously tried not to stare. He didn't want to think about the state of his own clothes.
"You slapped me. Again." Ryutaro winced as he rubbed the spot of pain on his cheek. "Geez, why are you getting so worked up over a little kiss?"
"W-wh-why...?" was all Chinen was able to get out. He was really starting to hate the smell of mint green tea, it was all he could focus on.
"Do I need a reason to kiss someone?" Ryutaro teased, his lips barely brushing Chinen's ears.
The smaller boy froze, unable to think straight. "Y-y-yeah you do, b-b-b-because..." His voice trailed off with a squeak as Ryutaro leaned closer to him. He didn't know what he would do if Ryutaro kissed him a third time, but he doubt he could stop him if he did.
"Be good and stay here, 'kay?" And despite a lot of resistance, Ryutaro managed to slip one hand into Chinen's (their fingers intertwined, making his insides grow all warm and fuzzy), the other around his waist, and gently held him for a few moments before leaving.
By the time Chinen's brain was working properly again, Ryutaro was already gone so he couldn't physically hurt the other boy. Instead, he kicked the nearby wall, but that nearly broke his ankle, so he decided to the punch the pillow instead. It could cushion his fist and allowed him to vent more easily.
"Damn it, what the hell was that all about?" he asked, looking down at the pillow that laid silent in his hands, still blushing as the fresh memory repeated itself over and over like a broken record.
Of course, since he was by himself, only the silence answered him, which didn't really help distract his thoughts away from the recent incident. It was the second time in two days that he got kissed. Against his will, he might add. Plus, knowing Ryutaro's personality, he would probably get charged again.
"Who kisses someone and then leaves without an explanation?" Chinen buried his head in the pillow, trying to suffocate himself. It would have been fine had he not caught lingering hints of mint green tea.
Frustrated, Chinen chucked the pillow as hard as he could, but being so light-weighted, it didn't really help release his feelings. It hit the wall with a small poof! and flopped lazily onto the floor.
"This is messed up," he told the pillow. "What's with charging money for kisses? It's like selling yourself as a prostitute or something."
Chinen stared at the indented pillow for a few seconds, half-debating whether or not to just leave it there. It looked so sad and lonely, its corners seemed to almost droop at being thrown away. Finally, he felt compelled to go over and pick it up, placing it back on the bed where it belonged with the other pillows.
"Ryu-tan, why are you still here? It's already five past six, you should be do-" Chinen, nerves still frayed, jumped as a young man walked in with a look of bafflement. He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Chinen, and the brows furrowed even more. "Who are you?" The tone did not sound friendly.
"I-I'm...I...uhh...got...umm...Ryutaro..." Chinen's words tumbled out in an incomprehensible order. Luckily, the man seemed to understand what he meant to say by the way his face brightened up. He looked much less scary when he smiled, since his eyes crinkled and disappeared in a strangely reassuring way.
"Oh, you're the boy Ryu-tan was talking about earlier. He spent an hour trying to convince me to let you work here."
"Who are you?" Chinen couldn't help asking, even though he sounded rude.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Haven't I introduced myself?" When Chinen shook his head, the man bowed apologetically to him. "I'm Yabu Kota, the manager for this host club." He held out his hand and after a moment's hesitation, Chinen took it. It was a better way of getting introduced to someone.
What surprised Chinen the most wasn't how genial Yabu was to him (his first impression had been somewhat marred by Ryutaro) but how young he looked. He more or less expected someone older to be running a business, but Yabu only looked like he was in his early 20's.
"I'm Chinen...Yuuri." As his name left his mouth, he wondered if he should have kept quiet. Apparently Yabu had heard about what he did the night before, since he began to nod.
"Yeah, Ryu-tan told me how you cross-dressed like a girl and actually go in here. Congratulations. Then again, Oka-chan hasn't had as much experience as the rest of us, so he can't really tell the difference yet, especially if it's someone who's really good at it." Chinen couldn't tell if he was being complimented or insulted.
"Oka-chan?" Chinen did not remember meeting anyone by that name.
"He's probably the one who greeted you at the door. He speaks with a bit of an accent."
"Oh, you mean Keito-san." Chinen wondered if Yabu had some weird obsession about nicknames.
"So, Chii-chan, feel free to come to me if you need any help or questions." Yeah, Yabu probably had a thing for nicknames. "I'm right upstairs, first door to the right."
"'Kay, thanks." Chinen returned the warm smile Yabu was giving him. It was good to have someone be so caring, even if he was a bit strange.
"By the way, is Ryu-tan making you do anything?" Yabu inquired curiously.
Grateful for a change of subject, Chinen quickly answered, "He told me to clean his room and then randomly-" He broke off just in time, his face returning to its previous red shade. "...just left."
Yabu looked thoughtful for a moment, then went out the door, beckoning for Chinen to follow him. Curiously, he did so and the older man led him to down the hall until they got to a door that was labeled 'Utility Closet'. Taking out some keys, Yabu unlocked it and after a bit of digging, pulled out a broomstick, a bucket, and a ragged, moth-eaten old towel. "Just thought you might need those to fight the dust bunnies. Let me know if you need anything else. Remember, I'm right upstairs, first door to your right."
"Thanks..." Chinen went back to Ryutaro's room with a reeling mind.
Taking the broom in his hand, Chinen started to sweep out every dust bunny and his family from under the bed, hidden in the corners and behind the desk.
Relative to his own room (which could also be his apartment), Ryutaro's was bigger. Much bigger. It would take a long time, plus he was sneezing every five minutes. He looked at the clock and wished the hands would move faster. Once his battle against the dust bunnies was over and he'd emerged victorious, he took the bucket across to the restroom and filled it up with water. Some way or the other, he managed to drag it back across the hall while spilling out half of it on the tiled floors.
Sighing tiredly, he got to his knees, dipped the towel in the bucket and started to wipe the floors. It was barely nine and Ryutaro had told him the club closed at twelve. Great, three more hours to go.
His stomach growled and Chinen suddenly realized he hadn't had any dinner yet. He was wondering whether he would ever be fed or not when the door opened and Ryutaro came in.
A/N: Here's the chawteness I promised, hope it was to your satisfaction. The kiss must have been rewritten like five or six times before I was happy. And Yabu got demoted from manager with the split personality disorder to assistant manager (because he was creeping me and I turned the mean version to Johnny-san the manager), then back to manager again, cuz the Johnny-san part was really irrelevant to plot.
Genre: AU, romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Chiitaro
Word Count: 1941
Summary: In which Ryutaro is working as a host and Chinen's sister winds up with an unfair debt.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
Dedication: lovetoosweet because she is just amazing and I promised her one. It's thanks to her that I am obsessively revising this series over and over like a madwoman
Chinen pulled himself out from under the bed, coughing and sneezing as a horde of dust bunnies attacked him mercilessly. "When was the last time you cleaned your room?"
"I dunno, it was clean when I first moved in." Ryutaro's voice came from the other side of the room.
"...and when did you move in?" The older boy was almost afraid to ask.
"About two years ago." Chinen felt his jaw drop figuratively to the floor. Saya would kill him if he did that, mainly because they shared the same room and she was a neat freak. "How do I look?"
Chinen used the bed as a support to prop himself up and nearly slipped off. Ryutaro had changed from casual to formal while he'd been fighting off dust bunnies. It was the same outfit he'd first seen the other boy in the night before, except Ryutaro hadn't donned the jacket yet. Without the jacket though, the white shirt contrasted sharply beneath the black vest he was just buttoning up.
And a weird thing happened.
As Ryutaro slipped the jacket on, Chinen's breathing got faster as did his heart. Crap, why was it pounding so hard? The outfit seemed to have been tailor-made for the other boy, it fit so perfectly and Ryutaro was looking so - Chinen settled for 'mature' because he didn't want to acknowledge what he really thought. He looked every part of a host and could have easily passed for a high schooler without question.
"Chinen?" Ryutaro was still waiting for his answer.
"Um...uhh..." Chinen's brain was a blank. He didn't want to compliment him, yet compliments were the only things he could think of. "Your tie's crooked."
"Damn it." He turned to the mirror on his desk and frowned. "No, it looks fine. Are you lying to me, Yuuri?"
Chinen flinched hearing his named being used by someone other than Saya. Simultaneously, his face flushed, because it was Ryutaro who used it. "Don't use that. No one does."
"Why not, Yuuri? I think it fits you." Ryutaro wasn't even trying to hide his smile.
"Stop calling me 'Yuuri.'" Chinen snapped, irritated at the way he kept reacting to the way Ryutaro said his name. "You don't even know me that well."
"Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Chinen covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound of Ryutaro's voice. "Lalalalalalala-"
"You look cute when you get mad." Chinen's eyes snapped opened and found himself staring at Ryutaro's face that was only inches away from his own. "Yuuri~" He caught a sudden whiff of mint green tea that made him go weak.
A huge rush of blood streamed up to Chinen's head, making him light-headed and dizzy as Ryutaro's mouth gently met his. The mint green tea was stronger than ever and getting addicting. Butterflies fluttered wildly in his stomach and he was conscious of Ryutaro's firm hands holding his shoulders. His own were clutching the front of Ryutaro's jacket for support as he leaned against the other boy. If he had been standing, he probably would have collapsed.
Ryutaro turned his head, kissing him from a slightly different angle as he pulled him in closer. Chinen almost felt like melting. Without meaning to, he found himself returning the soft presses, his eyes flickering shut to better enjoy the way Ryutaro was deepening their kiss. Wait, he was enjoying this?!
Chinen's eyes snapped open. Ryutaro's expression nearly made his heart stop, the other boy looked so cute with his eyes closed like that. The thought made him all flustered and he started wriggling to get out of Ryutaro's hands. Stubbornly, the taller boy refused to let him go for another few seconds. Annoyed and panicking, Chinen pushed him away as far as possible, his hand moving on its own to slap Ryutaro across the face.
Panting heavily, Chinen vaguely realized he had stopped breathing for the past minute or so. It did not help his hammering heart slow when he saw Ryutaro's tie had loosened and his collar was slightly opened from all his struggles. Chinen kept his eyes down, the blood coloring his cheeks as he consciously tried not to stare. He didn't want to think about the state of his own clothes.
"You slapped me. Again." Ryutaro winced as he rubbed the spot of pain on his cheek. "Geez, why are you getting so worked up over a little kiss?"
"W-wh-why...?" was all Chinen was able to get out. He was really starting to hate the smell of mint green tea, it was all he could focus on.
"Do I need a reason to kiss someone?" Ryutaro teased, his lips barely brushing Chinen's ears.
The smaller boy froze, unable to think straight. "Y-y-yeah you do, b-b-b-because..." His voice trailed off with a squeak as Ryutaro leaned closer to him. He didn't know what he would do if Ryutaro kissed him a third time, but he doubt he could stop him if he did.
"Be good and stay here, 'kay?" And despite a lot of resistance, Ryutaro managed to slip one hand into Chinen's (their fingers intertwined, making his insides grow all warm and fuzzy), the other around his waist, and gently held him for a few moments before leaving.
By the time Chinen's brain was working properly again, Ryutaro was already gone so he couldn't physically hurt the other boy. Instead, he kicked the nearby wall, but that nearly broke his ankle, so he decided to the punch the pillow instead. It could cushion his fist and allowed him to vent more easily.
"Damn it, what the hell was that all about?" he asked, looking down at the pillow that laid silent in his hands, still blushing as the fresh memory repeated itself over and over like a broken record.
Of course, since he was by himself, only the silence answered him, which didn't really help distract his thoughts away from the recent incident. It was the second time in two days that he got kissed. Against his will, he might add. Plus, knowing Ryutaro's personality, he would probably get charged again.
"Who kisses someone and then leaves without an explanation?" Chinen buried his head in the pillow, trying to suffocate himself. It would have been fine had he not caught lingering hints of mint green tea.
Frustrated, Chinen chucked the pillow as hard as he could, but being so light-weighted, it didn't really help release his feelings. It hit the wall with a small poof! and flopped lazily onto the floor.
"This is messed up," he told the pillow. "What's with charging money for kisses? It's like selling yourself as a prostitute or something."
Chinen stared at the indented pillow for a few seconds, half-debating whether or not to just leave it there. It looked so sad and lonely, its corners seemed to almost droop at being thrown away. Finally, he felt compelled to go over and pick it up, placing it back on the bed where it belonged with the other pillows.
"Ryu-tan, why are you still here? It's already five past six, you should be do-" Chinen, nerves still frayed, jumped as a young man walked in with a look of bafflement. He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Chinen, and the brows furrowed even more. "Who are you?" The tone did not sound friendly.
"I-I'm...I...uhh...got...umm...Ryutaro..." Chinen's words tumbled out in an incomprehensible order. Luckily, the man seemed to understand what he meant to say by the way his face brightened up. He looked much less scary when he smiled, since his eyes crinkled and disappeared in a strangely reassuring way.
"Oh, you're the boy Ryu-tan was talking about earlier. He spent an hour trying to convince me to let you work here."
"Who are you?" Chinen couldn't help asking, even though he sounded rude.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Haven't I introduced myself?" When Chinen shook his head, the man bowed apologetically to him. "I'm Yabu Kota, the manager for this host club." He held out his hand and after a moment's hesitation, Chinen took it. It was a better way of getting introduced to someone.
What surprised Chinen the most wasn't how genial Yabu was to him (his first impression had been somewhat marred by Ryutaro) but how young he looked. He more or less expected someone older to be running a business, but Yabu only looked like he was in his early 20's.
"I'm Chinen...Yuuri." As his name left his mouth, he wondered if he should have kept quiet. Apparently Yabu had heard about what he did the night before, since he began to nod.
"Yeah, Ryu-tan told me how you cross-dressed like a girl and actually go in here. Congratulations. Then again, Oka-chan hasn't had as much experience as the rest of us, so he can't really tell the difference yet, especially if it's someone who's really good at it." Chinen couldn't tell if he was being complimented or insulted.
"Oka-chan?" Chinen did not remember meeting anyone by that name.
"He's probably the one who greeted you at the door. He speaks with a bit of an accent."
"Oh, you mean Keito-san." Chinen wondered if Yabu had some weird obsession about nicknames.
"So, Chii-chan, feel free to come to me if you need any help or questions." Yeah, Yabu probably had a thing for nicknames. "I'm right upstairs, first door to the right."
"'Kay, thanks." Chinen returned the warm smile Yabu was giving him. It was good to have someone be so caring, even if he was a bit strange.
"By the way, is Ryu-tan making you do anything?" Yabu inquired curiously.
Grateful for a change of subject, Chinen quickly answered, "He told me to clean his room and then randomly-" He broke off just in time, his face returning to its previous red shade. "...just left."
Yabu looked thoughtful for a moment, then went out the door, beckoning for Chinen to follow him. Curiously, he did so and the older man led him to down the hall until they got to a door that was labeled 'Utility Closet'. Taking out some keys, Yabu unlocked it and after a bit of digging, pulled out a broomstick, a bucket, and a ragged, moth-eaten old towel. "Just thought you might need those to fight the dust bunnies. Let me know if you need anything else. Remember, I'm right upstairs, first door to your right."
"Thanks..." Chinen went back to Ryutaro's room with a reeling mind.
Taking the broom in his hand, Chinen started to sweep out every dust bunny and his family from under the bed, hidden in the corners and behind the desk.
Relative to his own room (which could also be his apartment), Ryutaro's was bigger. Much bigger. It would take a long time, plus he was sneezing every five minutes. He looked at the clock and wished the hands would move faster. Once his battle against the dust bunnies was over and he'd emerged victorious, he took the bucket across to the restroom and filled it up with water. Some way or the other, he managed to drag it back across the hall while spilling out half of it on the tiled floors.
Sighing tiredly, he got to his knees, dipped the towel in the bucket and started to wipe the floors. It was barely nine and Ryutaro had told him the club closed at twelve. Great, three more hours to go.
His stomach growled and Chinen suddenly realized he hadn't had any dinner yet. He was wondering whether he would ever be fed or not when the door opened and Ryutaro came in.
A/N: Here's the chawteness I promised, hope it was to your satisfaction. The kiss must have been rewritten like five or six times before I was happy. And Yabu got demoted from manager with the split personality disorder to assistant manager (because he was creeping me and I turned the mean version to Johnny-san the manager), then back to manager again, cuz the Johnny-san part was really irrelevant to plot.