[HnG] Comfort (PG-13) [Impatience arc Part 14]
Title: Comfort
Author: Kimmie (tasukichiriko@hotmail.com)
Category: shonen ai
Pairings: AkiHika
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I mean no harm, I have no money... Stuff like that. Yeah. (Hotta and Obana, guys!)
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: None.
Spoilers: None.
Notes: Part fourteen of the "Impatience" arc... which I missed posting yesterday because I spent all day at a Japanese summer festival and ate way too much tempura, rice, gyoza, and buns filled with bean paste. (But I caught a goldfish and named him Atobe.) Enjoy! (Find previous parts at Jumpy Boys.)
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Hikaru set a warm mug of tea on the floor within Akira's reach and made enough room for himself in Akira's futon to wrap his arms around Akira and hold the other man close. "It's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen because of this."
Akira lay bonelessly in bed; his eyes red-rimmed and tired. "They know, Hikaru. They know that we're... we're gay, with each other, with the blow jobs and the lubricant and the whole deal, and the ring, and I don't know what's going to happen." His voice strained in spite of the strength behind it.
"Even if they're waiting outside the apartment right now and writing articles about just how gay we are, let's face the facts here, Akira. The only place where we really matter is the world of go. Right now, we're on top of the world. They just want to know, Akira, and telling them doesn't mean we're going to have to give up on our dream of the Hand of God."
Akira shook slightly, even as Hikaru smoothed a hand firmly along his spine in an attempt to calm him. "If that reporter hadn't asked if I was still a virgin, things might have been fine."
Hikaru pulled the other man close again and kissed his cheek. "When you said 'No', I wanted to kiss you so bad."
Letting out a weak laugh, Akira turned onto his back with some effort and looked at the ceiling. "Do you think they're going to put that in the article about my win?"
"If you're talking about your fifteen-minute, twenty-move win, then, no, I don't think so. That's the kind of thing that's newsworthy on its own."
Akira was silent, his eyes glazed over.
Hikaru sat up and straddled Akira, putting a hand on either side of his head. "Look at me, Akira."
With effort, Akira focused his eyes and saw worry in Hikaru's own.
"Even if the whole world knows that you had a dick up your ass and liked it, that doesn't change the fact that you're close enough to the Hand of God to taste it, and this just points even more toward it."
Akira let his eyes wander to the window, but Hikaru suddenly grabbed his jaw just hard enough to startle him. He looked at Hikaru again, his arms still limp by his sides.
"Are you this ashamed of our relationship?" Hikaru's eyes were flashing in the darkness.
"No, I..." Akira trailed off. He couldn't begin to describe the look on Hikaru's face, but he recognized the hurt there, and recognized that he was the cause.
Hikaru stood up and took a step toward the door. Akira couldn't muster the energy to say anything. Shaking his head, Hikaru said, "I'm going to sleep on the couch." He walked off, leaving Akira alone with a rapidly-cooling mug of tea.
Akira's mind took off in a thousand directions at once until he exhausted even that and fell into a sleep that did nothing to take the edge off of the next morning.
When Akira crawled out of bed the next day, he nearly knocked over the untouched mug of tea, but managed to right it before it spilled. He smiled sadly at the effort that Hikaru had put into trying to calm him the night before and walked slowly out into the living room. To his surprise, Hikaru was not there. When he glanced at the clock, he saw that he had slept until almost noon. It wasn't too odd for Hikaru to be up without an alarm, but Akira wondered where he'd gone, already missing the morning kiss to which he'd grown accustomed.
The kitchen was also empty of Hikaru, but had a note on the table and a plate of fresh fruit. Akira read the note, smiling at Hikaru's sloppy writing. "Akira, the press are not outside the door. News says that Ogata was arrested yesterday for sex with a minor. Whole thing will blow over. I'm at the store getting food. We're out of meat and bread. Be back soon. Hope you feel better. Love, Hikaru"
Akira poured himself a glass of juice and sat at the table, picking at the pear slices on the plate. If Ogata had done something like that, especially with his go not being the best as of late, there was a chance that Akira's own sexual orientation wasn't going to be plastered on the *front page* of Weekly Go, at least. It was a comforting thought, but it didn't really put his mind to ease.
Fifteen minutes later, as Akira ate the last grape on the plate and finished his juice, he stood up with purpose and strode to the bathroom. He showered quickly and just threw a towel on his head as he raced to the bedroom to get dressed. Within another fifteen minutes, he was out the door. He left a note on the kitchen table saying simply, "I'll be back. Love, Akira".
When Akira came back nearly two hours later, Hikaru was waiting in the living room, reading the murder mystery that Akira had been reading at their go party only a week or so before. "Hey! You're back. Where did you go?"
Akira sat next to Hikaru and pulled something out of his pocket. Hikaru marked his spot in the book and set it on the other side of him on the couch. "Shindou Hikaru, this is for you." He opened up the box in his hand to show Hikaru the ring inside that matched his own.
"How did you... Why?" Hikaru reached for the ring and put it on.
Smiling, Akira pointed to the ring box. "I recognized the logo on the box and went there, asking whether you'd gotten a ring for yourself as well. You hadn't, so I got it for you. If we're going to be together, we might as well let the world know."
"Akira..." Hikaru clutched at the ring on his finger.
"There's also going to be an announcement of our engagement on page two of Weekly Go." Akira smiled. "Amano is going to write it. Ogata is going to have a big article on the front page, but it's going to be a bit more about what's going to happen to his title since he's going to be in jail. The article about my win will also be on the front, but it's not going to mention you."
Hikaru smiled. "Good. I don't want to hog your glory."
Akira reached over and grabbed Hikaru's hand, his own ring gleaming on his finger. "Thank you for everything you've ever done for me."
"But I just-"
"No. Don't try to duck out of it." Akira laughed and caressed Hikaru's go-roughened hands. "Take some responsibility for what you've done."
"And what, exactly, have I done?"
"Isn't it obvious? You made me love you."
Hikaru laughed loudly, pulling Akira into a tight hug that ended with the other man practically on Hikaru's lap. "We need to start making plans, you know."
Akira nodded. "Everyone we know reads Weekly Go, so they'll want to know the date."
"Isn't it obvious?" Hikaru asked with a knowing grin on his face.
"May 5th so you can remember?" Akira leaned in toward Hikaru.
"Well, I was going to say tomorrow so that I can start calling you my husband, but I guess things may take a little longer to work out than that. May 5th it is, then." He leaned toward Akira to meet him halfway, their lips meeting in a now-practiced way.
When they pulled away, Akira smiled brightly and Hikaru was glad to see it. "Did you get anything good for dinner?"
Hikaru laughed. "Chicken. Although, I wouldn't mind having you."
Akira blushed. "Now, Hikaru, you know I'm for dessert."
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Owari. ^_~
Author: Kimmie (tasukichiriko@hotmail.com)
Category: shonen ai
Pairings: AkiHika
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I mean no harm, I have no money... Stuff like that. Yeah. (Hotta and Obana, guys!)
Rating: PG-13.
Warnings: None.
Spoilers: None.
Notes: Part fourteen of the "Impatience" arc... which I missed posting yesterday because I spent all day at a Japanese summer festival and ate way too much tempura, rice, gyoza, and buns filled with bean paste. (But I caught a goldfish and named him Atobe.) Enjoy! (Find previous parts at Jumpy Boys.)
----------
Hikaru set a warm mug of tea on the floor within Akira's reach and made enough room for himself in Akira's futon to wrap his arms around Akira and hold the other man close. "It's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen because of this."
Akira lay bonelessly in bed; his eyes red-rimmed and tired. "They know, Hikaru. They know that we're... we're gay, with each other, with the blow jobs and the lubricant and the whole deal, and the ring, and I don't know what's going to happen." His voice strained in spite of the strength behind it.
"Even if they're waiting outside the apartment right now and writing articles about just how gay we are, let's face the facts here, Akira. The only place where we really matter is the world of go. Right now, we're on top of the world. They just want to know, Akira, and telling them doesn't mean we're going to have to give up on our dream of the Hand of God."
Akira shook slightly, even as Hikaru smoothed a hand firmly along his spine in an attempt to calm him. "If that reporter hadn't asked if I was still a virgin, things might have been fine."
Hikaru pulled the other man close again and kissed his cheek. "When you said 'No', I wanted to kiss you so bad."
Letting out a weak laugh, Akira turned onto his back with some effort and looked at the ceiling. "Do you think they're going to put that in the article about my win?"
"If you're talking about your fifteen-minute, twenty-move win, then, no, I don't think so. That's the kind of thing that's newsworthy on its own."
Akira was silent, his eyes glazed over.
Hikaru sat up and straddled Akira, putting a hand on either side of his head. "Look at me, Akira."
With effort, Akira focused his eyes and saw worry in Hikaru's own.
"Even if the whole world knows that you had a dick up your ass and liked it, that doesn't change the fact that you're close enough to the Hand of God to taste it, and this just points even more toward it."
Akira let his eyes wander to the window, but Hikaru suddenly grabbed his jaw just hard enough to startle him. He looked at Hikaru again, his arms still limp by his sides.
"Are you this ashamed of our relationship?" Hikaru's eyes were flashing in the darkness.
"No, I..." Akira trailed off. He couldn't begin to describe the look on Hikaru's face, but he recognized the hurt there, and recognized that he was the cause.
Hikaru stood up and took a step toward the door. Akira couldn't muster the energy to say anything. Shaking his head, Hikaru said, "I'm going to sleep on the couch." He walked off, leaving Akira alone with a rapidly-cooling mug of tea.
Akira's mind took off in a thousand directions at once until he exhausted even that and fell into a sleep that did nothing to take the edge off of the next morning.
When Akira crawled out of bed the next day, he nearly knocked over the untouched mug of tea, but managed to right it before it spilled. He smiled sadly at the effort that Hikaru had put into trying to calm him the night before and walked slowly out into the living room. To his surprise, Hikaru was not there. When he glanced at the clock, he saw that he had slept until almost noon. It wasn't too odd for Hikaru to be up without an alarm, but Akira wondered where he'd gone, already missing the morning kiss to which he'd grown accustomed.
The kitchen was also empty of Hikaru, but had a note on the table and a plate of fresh fruit. Akira read the note, smiling at Hikaru's sloppy writing. "Akira, the press are not outside the door. News says that Ogata was arrested yesterday for sex with a minor. Whole thing will blow over. I'm at the store getting food. We're out of meat and bread. Be back soon. Hope you feel better. Love, Hikaru"
Akira poured himself a glass of juice and sat at the table, picking at the pear slices on the plate. If Ogata had done something like that, especially with his go not being the best as of late, there was a chance that Akira's own sexual orientation wasn't going to be plastered on the *front page* of Weekly Go, at least. It was a comforting thought, but it didn't really put his mind to ease.
Fifteen minutes later, as Akira ate the last grape on the plate and finished his juice, he stood up with purpose and strode to the bathroom. He showered quickly and just threw a towel on his head as he raced to the bedroom to get dressed. Within another fifteen minutes, he was out the door. He left a note on the kitchen table saying simply, "I'll be back. Love, Akira".
When Akira came back nearly two hours later, Hikaru was waiting in the living room, reading the murder mystery that Akira had been reading at their go party only a week or so before. "Hey! You're back. Where did you go?"
Akira sat next to Hikaru and pulled something out of his pocket. Hikaru marked his spot in the book and set it on the other side of him on the couch. "Shindou Hikaru, this is for you." He opened up the box in his hand to show Hikaru the ring inside that matched his own.
"How did you... Why?" Hikaru reached for the ring and put it on.
Smiling, Akira pointed to the ring box. "I recognized the logo on the box and went there, asking whether you'd gotten a ring for yourself as well. You hadn't, so I got it for you. If we're going to be together, we might as well let the world know."
"Akira..." Hikaru clutched at the ring on his finger.
"There's also going to be an announcement of our engagement on page two of Weekly Go." Akira smiled. "Amano is going to write it. Ogata is going to have a big article on the front page, but it's going to be a bit more about what's going to happen to his title since he's going to be in jail. The article about my win will also be on the front, but it's not going to mention you."
Hikaru smiled. "Good. I don't want to hog your glory."
Akira reached over and grabbed Hikaru's hand, his own ring gleaming on his finger. "Thank you for everything you've ever done for me."
"But I just-"
"No. Don't try to duck out of it." Akira laughed and caressed Hikaru's go-roughened hands. "Take some responsibility for what you've done."
"And what, exactly, have I done?"
"Isn't it obvious? You made me love you."
Hikaru laughed loudly, pulling Akira into a tight hug that ended with the other man practically on Hikaru's lap. "We need to start making plans, you know."
Akira nodded. "Everyone we know reads Weekly Go, so they'll want to know the date."
"Isn't it obvious?" Hikaru asked with a knowing grin on his face.
"May 5th so you can remember?" Akira leaned in toward Hikaru.
"Well, I was going to say tomorrow so that I can start calling you my husband, but I guess things may take a little longer to work out than that. May 5th it is, then." He leaned toward Akira to meet him halfway, their lips meeting in a now-practiced way.
When they pulled away, Akira smiled brightly and Hikaru was glad to see it. "Did you get anything good for dinner?"
Hikaru laughed. "Chicken. Although, I wouldn't mind having you."
Akira blushed. "Now, Hikaru, you know I'm for dessert."
----------
Owari. ^_~