Stranded
Title: Stranded
Rating: R
Pairing: Kamenashi/Nakamaru
Disclaimer: Johnny’s also owns KAT TUN.
Summary: Kame's love of hiking and Maru's fear of heights come together for unexpected results.
Note: This is for ryogrande, who donated to the fundraising for Japan drive on arashi_on. Thank you so much! And kisses to yarukizero for betaing and helping me get my facts straight. Also my first KAT TUN fic ever.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come. I never come on these things, why did I come today?”
“That is indeed a good question.”
Kamenashi Kazuya was trying really hard not to be annoyed at his friend and his complaints, because he held a special place in his heart for Nakamaru, the one that didn’t include outdoor sports like baseball and hiking.
This was a pretty usual thing. They were filming and showing off the better points of the climb and any people they had found interesting along the way (a very small number this time around), and although Maru didn’t usually join them, when it had been brought up in the studio a few weeks ago, he had looked thoughtful, glanced at Kame as if to say you’ll take care of me, right? and agreed to come.
Well, here they were, halfway up the quite long mountain route and going sort of slow because of Maru, and both Ueda and Koki had gone ahead when their feet started itching (which was pretty early this time because of the initial pace). With them went half of their crew, leaving Kame, who was already anticipating babysitting Maru since he had agreed to come, with a single camera and microphone, but they charged on, Kame trying to brighten the mood by telling a joke or two, and Maru playing up his unmanliness as he faced the camera during their (frequent) breaks.
And then it started to rain.
Well, it had already looked like rain from the beginning, and even though the crew had been prepared, after twenty minutes some unidentifiable electronic part stopped working, and then another and another, until they had a short meeting and decided to turn back.
Except Kame wasn’t ready to give up his beautiful (albeit rainy) hike after being in the city for weeks on end, and the other half of their filming group was still going, somewhere up ahead, so he decided he would find them and continue the show while the remaining staff tried to salvage something back at the van.
Of course they were worried about the fact that he would be alone, and although Maru looked tempted to retreat with the rest of the them, he boldly volunteered to make the trip too so that it wouldn’t be as dangerous.
Kame thought the fact that it was Maru that was trying to help him was kind, despite knowing that it would only inconvenience him, and he wanted them both to get a little more air time if they could, rather than just coming back with a tape of Ueda and Koki, so he eventually agreed, even if it would be hard going. Plus, the longer they waited around here discussing it, the longer it would take to catch up, so the decision was made quickly.
Once the staff had left, it went a little faster, but not much, although they weren’t wasting time or energy talking and it seemed like Maru was moving easier when Kame grabbed his hand to help him every once in a while, and when they sat down to eat something an hour later, Kame was even feeling encouraged. If nothing else, they would meet them coming back down the trail and it would be better than nothing.
But once they began hiking again, it started raining harder, and even though they had energy, they were slipping so much in the mud that Kame was basically pulling Maru up the hill behind him and he had started his trip of complaining about everything.
“I really wasn’t built for stuff like this-dancing, okay, and I’ve had my experience with soccer, but seriously, Kame-this hurts. I don’t get how you guys can do this all the time.”
“It’s called exercise. If you got outside of that apartment of yours once in a while, you’d know about it,” he replied with a chuckle, and Maru smiled back, shaking his head and obviously thinking that Kame was a bit of a fanatic.
He didn’t respond, though, too busy with gasping for breath as Kame dragged him up a particularly sharp incline, and then when they were at the top (and didn’t stop for a break), he added, “Man, we’re getting pretty high, aren’t we?”
“Don’t worry, Maru. I won’t let you fall,” Kame replied, his impish attitude intact, and this time he didn’t pull his hand away when they started the next part, which was less extreme, in hopes of encouraging his friend even more. They were making pretty good time right now.
“God, my boots are making squishing sounds. I can’t tell if it’s water inside of them, or the mud underneath.” Maru was holding his hand tightly, as if he needed a reward for being dragged through all of this, and this was the best he could come up with on the spot.
“Probably both.”
“I’m hungry again.”
“We’ll eat in another thirty minutes, okay?” The complaining had turned from half hearted comments to serious discontent, and Kame was feeling it on his back like an extra brick in his bag.
They started up another hill and he was getting seriously discouraged when they slowed to about the same movement as slugs, Maru stumbling and unable to lift his legs much despite Kame keeping him balanced. Even though he wanted them both to succeed, to finish this thing together, it really didn’t help when your partner wasn’t willing or very receptive to your obvious encouraging activities (like hand holding). Maybe he should start offering kisses instead.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come. I never come on these things, why did I come today?”
“That is indeed a good question.” This time his tone was curt and Maru fell into immediate silence, but Kame couldn’t bring himself to turn around and look at him because he knew there would be a depressed face hiding under the hood of the jacket. It wasn’t like he meant to be mean, he just wouldn’t take it anymore.
But really… maybe it was better if they started down again. Or wait at the next rest stop for the other group's descent. Because he could tell Maru was at his limit right now and he didn’t want to push him past that, even if Kame still had a lot of energy to go (it wasn’t enough for both of them, though, not with the way he had been affected by Maru up until now). And of course he wouldn’t leave Maru to wait or fend for himself, because he would be more worried about him doing something stupid and getting hurt and wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything at all.
They reached the next landing in a few minutes, both of them completely out of breath, but Kame’s weighing mood lifted almost immediately when he saw the view that was laid out before them.
“It’s so green! Look Yuichi!” he exclaimed with a bright smile, releasing his hand and moving closer to the edge of the flattened area, raising the hood of his waterproof jacket so he could see better, then pulling out his phone to take a picture.
When he finally turned back to his friend, he almost laughed, because the area from which he could see the view was slightly devoid of trees and pretty steep on the one side--part of the reason why he could see so far--and Maru looked like he would be sick.
“Come on,” Kame laughed, returning to him with a curt pace, and gently leading him back to where he had been a minute ago, a little closer to the overlook, with one hand on his wrist and the other his lower back. Maru took three steps without any qualms, but as they got closer, he started fighting more and more.
“Kazu, stop it! You know I hate heights!” he whined, then sniffled a little as if to say, plus I’m getting sick.
“But you’ve come all this way! We should take a picture together or something! To prove that you made it this far.”
It seemed like he was headed in the right direction somewhere in his words, because Maru looked up at him with large eyes that were full of mixed feelings, then pulled back his hood to assess the situation better.
They had stopped, so he looked at the ground to see how far away they were from the edge (about two meters), and then at the scenery that Kamenashi had been admiring, and then at the man himself before swallowing once and nodding his head.
“Well, I guess since we came so far and if you want to take a picture together…”
“We gotta get closer, though,” Kame replied with a grin, and Nakamaru shook his head avidly. “Just one more step,” he urged, and once again pressed him forward with a hand on his lower back.
“Just one,” he conceded, obviously wanting to close his eyes but knowing that would probably make the situations worse, but he inched forward, simply staring at his feet the whole time, and then slowly (very slowly) turned around as Kame started to.
It was probably comical how long it took and how much effort he put into staying in one place, and when he was finally ready, Kame had his own phone out and the camera turned on.
“Okay, here we go,” he mumbled, wrapping his arm around Maru’s waist and pulling them close together so they could both get into the shot, their heads right next to each other as they looked into the viewfinder together. “Are you smiling?” Kame asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes,” Maru replied, tensely holding his expression.
The phone made a clicking sound, and then Kame immediately looked at the screen to assess the picture while Maru took a deep breath and almost started walking away, content with just copying Kame’s onto his own cell later, but he was stopped.
“We have to do it again. You can’t see anything behind us.”
“Wh-what?” Maru whined in return, trying to give him his best pathetic look.
“We have to back up more!”
“Why don’t I just take a picture of you?” he tried with a pouty frown, but Kame looked a little hurt by that suggestion, so he sighed and said, “Fine.”
Maru was about to turn back around to face the edge of the landing again, but Kame stopped him and told him, “Just back up a foot.”
The terror of doing that was obvious on his face, and he shook his head even as Kame started forcing him again, eager to stop wasting time so they could get back to hiking (because Maru’s mood seemed to have lifted a little too, so after a quick rest they could probably go farther).
“Here, I’ll stand behind you, okay?” he conceded, shuffling over to get behind him, pulling Maru backward gently by the hips, “So that you know you won’t fall, okay?”
Immediately giving in despite his fear of heights, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be led backward a few steps, actually taking comfort in Kame’s behavior (and maybe getting a little caught up in the moment), and when he heard a soft, okay, right next to his ear, he opened his eyes to take in the clearing in front of him with burning cheeks. It didn’t seem like he had moved that far, so it was probably okay after all.
“Just take the picture,” he said under his breath, although his tone had lost its bite, and they posed again, smiling widely and pressing their heads close together while Kame reached out to hold the phone up and snap the shot.
They redid it twice, first because Kame wasn’t in the picture all the way, and second because it was blurry, but the third picture was perfect and Maru took a breath of relief.
But he was still a bit nervous and maybe curious, so he turned around just a little, looking only at the ground, and then jumped when he realized he was much closer to the end than he realized.
Jumping was the wrong thing to do, though, because he got ruffled and terrified that he was going to fall and so he dove for Kame, who was still right next to them, but wrapping his arms around him tightly sent Kame off balance, and then on top of them struggling to even remain upright, the mud underneath them was slipping off the side of the mountain and then they were gone.
+++
“Kazu, I’m cold.”
They had gotten lucky enough to not fall completely to their deaths, and somehow (he couldn’t really recall) Kame had gotten a hold on Maru and fumbled for a tree or something and got a rock instead, but their falling momentum had slowed enough that as soon as he was given the opportunity, Maru pulled himself under a very small overhang which only had a meter radius, where it was flat and somewhat stable, and then tugged on Kame (who had almost lost his footing) until they were both panting and resting their backs against a jutting surface of rock.
And then Maru refused to leave his spot in exactly the center of the wall, closing his eyes and panicking for several minutes while Kame tried to figure out how to fix the mess they had gotten into.
It had probably been a good twenty meters that they had fallen, so there wasn’t a very high chance of them climbing back up (and Maru probably wouldn’t allow himself to be left alone anyway), so that was out of the question. Next he pulled out his cell phone, but…of course no reception. It had been questionable at best all the way up the mountain, and even though they had had a good view a moment ago, now they were surrounded by trees (although none of them really close enough to do anything with).
“Maru, let’s yell for help,” he said calmly, and his friend grasped onto that idea in an instant, screaming at the top of his lungs, but after about five minute they got tired, and even though Kame would still call out every once in a while, nothing came of it.
Next he took a second to take into consideration everything he had with him, including his small backpack and the emergency equipment inside (which had a first aid kit, but nothing particularly useful in his situation), but they had left the larger stuff, like a rope, with the staff, not thinking they might need it for anything. Maru probably had less with him than he did, but at least it was something.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” he thought to ask after a minute, even though neither of them seemed like they had gotten anything worse than a few scratches and bruises. But Maru remained pretty upset, although it was obvious that was mental and not physical.
After Kame repeated his question, he finally responded, “I don’t think so,” in a tiny voice, but tentatively touched his wrist, like that might have taken some damage, although he was still sort of staring into space at the same time.
“Let me see it,” he kindly requested, stopping himself from reassuring Maru that they would be alright because… well, he didn’t honestly know if they would. He needed to think about it. But it important to Kame that he make sure that Maru was physically okay, even if his mental stability was questionable; nothing to do about that, though, what with his mild to serious Acrophobia, depending on the day and situation.
Of course, other injuries might come up later that they couldn’t recognize right now, but if anything was broken or serious, Maru could get sick or go into shock and that would be even worse than just spending the night in the elements (at this point, Kame hadn’t even assumed that not being in top form was a possibility for himself; Maru was the one to worry about).
So he gently took Maru’s wrist even though it wasn’t offered to him and turned it over in his grip tentatively, glancing up at his facial expression to check for any changes from his current emotion of completely blank. He kneaded the skin softly at first, feeling the tendons and bones, but when Maru still didn’t react, squeezed harder until he finally winced and glared over at him, trying to pull his arm back.
“Does it hurt?”
“Just a little,” he replied curtly, still trying to free his arm, but Kame’s hold was firm and he gave up after only two seconds, leaning his head on his shoulder.
“I don’t think it’s broken. You probably just twisted it or something on the way down,” he mumbled, now holding it gently between both of his hands and running his fingers over Maru’s palm, examining the skin that had gotten a little rough from their workout this morning.
“What’re you doing?” he asked calmly, and Kame was surprised that he hadn’t immediately fallen back into his panicked state.
“Just making sure you’re okay,” he responded easily, continuing his exploration because it seemed to be distracting Maru, and the longer that lasted the easier their recovery would be. Next he pulled back the sleeve of Maru’s jacket and shirt underneath and pointedly examined his inner arm, then ran his fingers down the soft skin as if he needed to double check it for scratches and bruises that wouldn’t be apparent.
“That tickles-“ Maru squirmed, trying to pull his arm away, but Kame stopped him again and turned with a smile finally forming at the teasing, but once their eyes met it seemed like their playful aura had broken right in half.
He hadn’t realized they had been sitting so closely.
Maru broke the gaze first, retracting his arm and moving himself off of Kame, pushing his sleeve back down as he stared at his arms and then didn’t look up again.
Kame glanced him over one more time, just to be sure, but it would be hard to tell if something was wrong anyway, especially if Maru wasn’t going to cooperate (which appeared to be the case) so it was better to just wait until they got to safety and then he would make him see a doctor. At least for the time being he wasn’t going into shock, and something weird had just happened, so Kame didn’t want to push it any farther than he already had.
Standing with his cell phone in hand, he intended to walk around their small space to see if he could pick up a signal somewhere obscure, but as soon as he had done just that much, Maru immediately came back to life and grabbed him around the leg to keep him from moving.
“Don’t! We were lucky to land here and we’re still high up and it’s muddy and I don’t want you to die Kazu!”
Kame almost laughed, except for Maru looked so plainly upset and serious that it didn’t come out. He had turned completely irrational, but that was certainly better than clamming up so much that he couldn’t move (and it was amusing anyway).
“Listen, I’ll be careful. I’m just going to move around a little and see if I can get a signal. If I can call someone, they can come and get us.”
But Maru shook his head avidly and didn’t give up, continuing to cling to his leg until Kame sat back down.
It seemed like a magical action, because as soon as he was back in place, his friend took a deep breath and leaned back against the rock wall, pulling his legs up to his chest and staring out in front of them, obviously keeping himself from a mental breakdown.
“It’ll be okay,” Kame tried to assure him, “They’ll come back for us.”
“Yeah, but how long will it take for them to notice we’re gone? When Koki and Uedo get back to the van?”
“Probably,” he replied, finding that talking seemed to calm Maru down, and if they worked out the facts that they knew and came up with a likely solution, it would probably make Kame feel better about the whole thing too. “For us, we were about an hour from the top, so if they started down already it’ll be about five hours until they reach the van… maybe sooner if they get in contact with the other group, but…”
What he wanted to say was pretty obvious. They most likely wouldn’t have to spend the night here, but it could certainly be a while until anyone found them, let alone until they were actually safe.
“Maru, check your phone,” Kame threw in, realizing that it was probably the same as his (they had to try, though), then while he was doing so, continued, “Well, the place we fell is probably obvious, since the mud gave way and our footprints stopped, and worst case, they know it’s somewhere between where we left the other guys and the top.”
“Ugh,” Maru let out, rubbing his face and handing over his phone to Kame, to show him that there was indeed no reception.
“Honestly, we’ll probably be okay. This seems pretty stable and I still have some food and water. How about you?”
“...Yeah…” His reply was reluctant, as if he didn’t want to admit that they weren’t in extreme danger.
“Plus if it gets dark, I have my flashlight!” Kame added in a slightly more energetic voice, as if he was looking forward to the instance that he would need it after carrying it around uselessly for so long.
But Maru didn’t respond, just acted depressed, and so they two of them fell into an unusual silence because Kame didn’t really feel depressed himself, but at the same time knew that trying to cheer up his friend would only make it worse.
Without any talking, though, it was pretty boring. Kame couldn’t use his phone and thought that playing games might be a waste of battery in this situation, but he kept it on just in case a very specific tree or rock was displaced and he suddenly had reception again.
Eventually, without anything else to do, he had fallen into thinking, about his schedule, upcoming performances, and life in general (and maybe a little about the man next to him too), and it had been at least an hour when Maru had timidly let out that he was cold.
There was certainly reason to be, since the rain hadn’t stopped (although the overhanging rock stopped most of it from falling on them) and the sun was slowly setting from its high perch. Plus they hadn’t eaten any of their supplies, just in case they really did end up being here overnight, so they had lost some of their energy as well.
Kame was glad for the opportunity to lighten the mood a little, though, so he immediately scooted closer and hugged Maru tightly, resting his head on his shoulder.
“Is that better?”
His response was just as fast, resting his own head on top of Kame’s and sighing pathetically. “I’m scared, Kazu.”
“It’ll be fine. Really,” he tried to assure him, but then sat up straighter and unzipped his jacket, getting Maru’s attention in a second and hopefully distracting him from his dour mood. “We’ll be warmer if we hook our jackets together,” he explained; since they were the same make and same size (only different colors) they could snap the metal buttons together around them and combine their heat.
There was a little work required on Kame’s part, mostly because of Maru’s lack of enthusiasm, but soon enough they were huddled closer together, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around him, leaving his coat sleeves empty, because sitting apart was too much effort.
Maru was stiff in his grip at first, his muscles hard under Kame’s fingers, but after a second he relaxed, and a few minutes later even rested his head on Kame’s shoulder like they had before, although this position was so much more intimate, both of them in their much thinner long sleeved shirts.
It was still a little boring, though, without any talking, even if the tense atmosphere had dissipated, and it wasn’t long until Kame was looking for a way to amuse himself while they continued to wait to be found.
So he decided to see how far Maru could be pushed until he laughed (because if his time wasting activity could put him in a good mood, it was two birds with one stone), starting with lightly and discreetly tickling his sides until he felt him tense up again.
“What’re you doing-“ he gasped out as he wiggled a little, and it was obvious he was trying to stop himself from reacting, but that only made Kame try harder. “We’re attempting to keep warm-“
Kame couldn’t keep himself from responding with the first thing that came to his head as he caught sight of Maru’s flushed cheeks and mouth parted with shallow breaths.
“This’ll make you hot.”
Then he kissed him, quite plainly, on the lips, simply because he felt like doing so and not because he was thinking about the consequences of the action or how it was going to (hugely) change their relationship.
He pulled away after only a peck because he wanted to see Maru’s reaction, and of course he looked a little flustered, but mumbled under his breath, “I want you to know that you started this,” and then kissed him back.
It was… not exactly what Kame was expecting, but he went with it, both because it would waste time and (most likely, if his response was anything to go by) put Maru in a good mood, and besides, it wasn’t like he had never thought about doing this before, so that was three for the price of one.
He mumbled a mm as a tongue pressed into his mouth and he closed his eyes, feeling Maru coming closer, trying to get on top of him (not really making it because of the confined area), but he settled for tangling their legs together so that his crotch was pressed into one of Kame’s thighs, also creating the same position in reverse.
Kame didn’t really want to wait, though, he wanted to keep things moving at the same pace they were, so he began pulling at Maru’s shirt, enough that he could shove his hands up underneath, but the reaction that he got was him pulling away and biting out, “Cold!”
“They’ll be warm in a second,” he smirked back, running his fingers against the soft skin on his back, and then shivered himself when Maru’s hands were pressed against his stomach. “You’re hands are cold-“ he tried to hold a serious expression to tease him, but Maru interrupted him with a curt, “Shut up.”
Then they were quiet again, although their breaths had gotten faster, and Kame sort of wanted to start kissing again, but the way Maru’s lips were slightly parted in concentration as he explored his way farther up was nice too, so he went with that for the time being.
There was a slight hesitation beforehand, and the insecurity of the whole thing was written plainly on his face, but Maru still did it anyway, pinching both of his nipples between his fingers at the same time, making Kame gasp and jerk a little.
“That’s good-“ he let out quickly, bending forward because he thought that Maru could grip them easier that way, but as he moved his cock pressed against the thigh that was fit snugly in front of it and he was reminded of something else they could be doing.
So instead of returning the nipple pulling (he wondered if Maru would like that as much as he did-but he had started it in the first place, so he probably had some interest), Kame went right for his belt.
They were still covered by the jackets surrounding them, and now his hands were warm too, so when he leisurely began jerking him, Maru gave him a good response and moaned out Kazu, right next to his ear, his breath coming out in only puffs.
This was a little surreal, how fast they were moving, from being nervous about their rescue to doing this, after only a teasing kiss, but Kame supposed that people did extreme things in extreme situations, and it wasn’t like he was going to complain about it, not with how addicting Yuichi tasted or how curious he was for how far they could take this right now. Because he certainly wanted to take it as far as he could.
“Get on your knees,” he whispered, one of his hands at the small of Maru’s back to coax him into the position he wanted, and although he lost the teasing of his nipples, this way was easier and faster than trying to please each other simultaneously with the small amount of room they had. Kame ducked his head inside the jackets for easier maneuvering, taking a moment to use both hands to pull up the shirt as far as it would go, and he could hear Maru’s let out a short, unprepared gasp.
He started kissing his chest quickly before shamelessly licking his nipple on one side, coaxing it into hardness with the rough surface, and then began sucking on it as he started jerking his cock again, able to feel the effect he had on him through his obvious increase in breathing and the way his hips began moving of their own accord.
When he realized that his other hand was free, it went to the other nipple and it was only a moment before Maru warned him in a half moan, “Kazu, I’m going to come-“
“Fuck, wait,” Kame suddenly pulled away, and although his hand stopped it was still wrapped around his hot cock. It wasn’t that he didn’t want him to come-that’s what they were working towards after all-he just needed somewhere for him to do it. As they were, it would get stuck on his shirt and a stain like that would be quite obvious if anyone saw it.
But the inside would work, so Kame grabbed the bottom of his long sleeved top and positioned it over the head of his erection so that, even after the clothing was cleaned as well as it could be, the stain would be hidden against Kame’s stomach.
“Okay.Come,” he let out against Maru’s chest and then went back to sucking on his nipple (because that was obviously doing a lot for him), and he started jerking again, as fast as he could.
“Oh fuck, Kame-“ he moaned, his hand suddenly squeezing the back of his head, gripping onto his hair and pulling him closer, and his hips rocked forward into his grip before he gasped (it sounded muffled with his hand, but Kame couldn’t actually see) and shot into the underside of his shirt, and a little on his stomach.
Kame pulled back and wiped his mouth because some saliva had pooled in the corner of his lips, then, while carefully holding his shirt, worked his head back up through the neck of their attached jackets and looked at Maru, who was slowly sinking back to the ground.
“Do you have a tissue?” he asked in a casual voice, unable to tear his eyes away from the satisfied look that was making his features soft and sensual.
Maru blinked at him first, then realization came alive in his eyes and he quickly replied, “Yeah, in my pocket,” and struggled to find the one he was looking for, since his pants had half fallen down his hips. But he pulled them back into place, then a second later there was a subdued plastic sound and he fumbled to place the tissue in Kame’s hand.
It was difficult to see anything in the fading light, especially since it was black inside their jacket covering, but he managed to get off what he could from his shirt (even though there was still remnants that were obvious against the skin of his stomach), and then, when he didn’t have anything to distract himself with anymore, finally met Maru’s stare.
The moment their eyes met, Maru’s shifted downwards, almost shyly, and then his hands slowly drifted back to Kame’s waist, sliding down his exposed sides before stopping on the top of his pants.
“Don’t force yourself-“ Kame started in a soft whisper, touching the side of Maru’s face with his clean hand, but he was interrupted with a kiss, another soft one that could barely be felt.
“If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t,” he replied in a tone that matched the kiss, then started working at Kame’s belt, and it was the first time during everything that had happened that he realized that Maru might like him as more than a friend.
That was good.
Just as Kame had done earlier, he ducked his head into their joint jackets and pushed his shirt up quickly so that he could start kissing his chest too, and Kame shifted onto his knees to make the whole thing easier for him, so that he didn’t have to get completely down on the ground to reciprocate.
But when Maru had finally worked his cock out of his jeans and was teasing it until it was throbbing, he started moving his mouth lower, across Kame’s abs, and then it was obvious that this wasn’t going to be quite the same as it had been before.
“Maru, you don’t-“ he tried to give him a way out again, but it was too late now and a soft breath on the head of his cock was the only warning he had before it was encompassed in slick warmth and Kame really wished he could see this instead of Maru’s head being covered by their jackets.
So instead he groped around with his hand, having a pretty good idea where to start, before he roughly grabbed onto his hair, unable to stop himself, and he thrust just a little, already riding the high of doing this in the first place, coupled with the speedy realization that this was the way it was supposed to be between them.
Maru was trying to keep the pace steady, leaving room to run his tongue over the top of the erection, but Kame wasn’t going to be patient about this, so he took the liberty of setting his own pace, which was faster and probably rougher than he should be.
“Oh fuck-“
But Maru was complying, opening his mouth as far as he could and relaxing so that the cock went back far enough to touch his throat, and even though somewhere in the back of his head, a voice was screaming for Kame to slow down, he couldn’t.
“Maru… Yuichi! God, that’s good,” he moaned a little loudly, sending his voice out into the silence of the forest, and the other hand that wasn’t forcing the mouth farther down on his cock grabbed one of his own nipples. “Fuck-coming!” he warned him so that he could do what was needed to hide the cum, but instead of pulling away like Kame did, Maru took it all in his mouth, one of his hands at the base of his cock to encourage him to let it go.
And he really did let it all go, closing his eyes tightly and picturing what was happening under those jackets in his mind’s eye while his hand pulled at Maru’s hair and his hips went as far forward as they could manage.
Maru gently let go of him, tugging the tissue, which Kame had been holding the whole time this had been happening, into his own hand and (assumably) spitting out the cum instead of swallowing it.
Kame’s thighs were shaking as he did up his pants, trying to collect himself from that amazing release, and then a second later Maru was also struggling to get his head back through the hole on top, his face red and flushed with heat.
“You didn’t have to go that far,” Kame told him breathlessly, but he was trying so hard not to smile at Maru’s obvious affection for him, which must have been the reason leading to something so intense.
“My wrist hurts,” he replied instead with a deadpan expression, and Kame was momentarily stunned.
“Oh.”
He didn’t know what to say. He had thought that Maru was going to tell him something sexy like I wanted every inch of you.
There was an awkward silence while Maru adjusted himself into a sitting position and Kame just stared at him, wondering if he had misread everything that had just happened.
“Fine. I like you. Is that what you were waiting for?” he shot out with a slightly defensive tone, obviously uncomfortable under the intense look (and it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go, so he just plowed on without any qualms).
“I like you too?” Kame replied uneasily, not actually sure if he should trust what his head was telling him, because it must be biased after what they just did.
“Whatever. You don’t have to force yourself-“ he shot Kame’s words back at him, and he could tell he was pouting, and that was the last thing he wanted, so he pulled Maru into his arms and adjusting them against the rock wall behind them.
“I’m not-really,” he added when Maru rolled his eyes (but he didn’t pull away, so that was a good thing), “Listen, let’s talk about this later when we’re not in a life or death situation.”
“I already told you that you were the one that started it.”
“So you did.”
The conversation couldn’t continue after that and neither of them changed it until, about five minutes later, Maru mumbled, “I’m tired.”
“Then sleep for a little while.” The response itself was a little sarcastic, but Kame’s tone was kind, as if he had given up trying to fight him, and even adjusted himself so that he could lie on his shoulder.
“What time is it? How long as it been?” he asked sleepily, even as he buried his face into Kame’s neck, evidently ignoring their earlier, slightly awkward conversation.
Checking his phone and doing the calculation in his head, a moment later, when Maru’s eyes were closed, he replied, “They should have at least gotten to the van by now. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait much longer.”
+++
It was about an hour later, Maru fast asleep from exhaustion and Kame in the middle of a game of shiritori with himself (he had lost three times now and was stuck on a zu word), when he heard faint voices above him.
“Look, the mud here is gone…”
“We’re down here!!” he yelled as loud as he could, without a moment’s hesitation, and Maru was awake in an instant, joining him before he even took a breath.
“Someone save us!”
“It’s Kame and Maru!”
“For the love of God! I don’t want to die!”
“How far down are you?” It was Koki who yelled back, and then his voice faded as he made a comment to someone else. “How the hell did that happen?”
“I’m not sure. We’re under a piece of rock.”
“Oh my God!” That was Ueda. “Are you hurt?”
“I mean, we sitting in this underhang thing. We’re not hurt, but I can’t see you,” Kame called back, breathing faster as adrenaline pumped through his system.
“Okay, just sit still and we’ll think of something.”
Maru was looking at him when Kame redirected his attention, and he seemed so relieved he was about to cry.
“They found us, Kazu!”
“Yeah. See? I told you it would be-“ but then Maru was kissing him again, caught up in the moment, and he kissed back because they would about to be rescued and lose the little intimate ball that had somehow been created while they were stranded on this mountain and he would have to face this in real life and who knew what was going to come of it.
“Hey, Kame! We’re throwing down a rope! If you can reach it yell!”
So they broke apart and both looked around wildly for it, but it fell right on top of the rock and landed in front of their faces and Kame called back immediately.
“It’s right here. Should I take it?”
“Wait a second! We’ll tie it to a tree.”
And then it was another five minutes, the two of them clinging to each other and trying to calm down so that they could get out of this mess like they needed to, but they eventually realized that they should return their jackets to their proper order and make sure that everything was intact after becoming stagnant for so long.
“Kame, you remember how to tie it around your ass right? For rock climbing?” Koki yelled, and another rope fell along with the first.
“Yeah,” Kame yelled back, wondering what they were thinking. They had learned a few survival tips before this segment had started, and that had been one of them, for exactly situations like this, and although it didn’t seem particularly important at the time, he had messed around with Koki for a while because they had been fascinated by it and got caught up in teasing each other.
“Well, you should be able to swing your way over to flatter area if you go south from here. There’s a pretty big rock face, but it’ll be easier than trying to pull yourself back up this way.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Maru automatically argued, pushing himself against the rock and pulling his knees up to his chest in the smallest defensive position he could manage.
“Come on, it’s better than climbing back up, just like Koki said,” Kame replied, already grabbing one of the ropes and testing it in his hands. It was thin, but strong and he trusted the other two to be able to make a good judgment of where to tie it. If there was anyone that Kame wanted to help him out of a situation like this, it was his hiking buddies (although a professional rock climber might have been nice too).
Maru looked over at him pathetically as he began wrapping the rope around the inside of his thighs, and Kame sighed, hoping this wasn’t going to be an ordeal.
“We’ll go together. I won’t leave you,” Kame reassured him as he tied the first knot. “If we wait any longer we won’t be able to see anything.”
“Ueda says he’ll wait by the hiking path where you should come out,” Koki yelled again. “When you’re ready to go, let me know.”
With only one more look at Nakamaru, who still hadn’t moved, Kame finished securing the rope around himself as fast as he could, in the shape of a makeshift harness, and then went over to his friend and pulled him up (Maru was surprisingly pliant in his grasp, and he even stayed still when Kame started tying the rope around him).
“Kazu, I’m scared.” He closed his eyes and was holding his closed jacket in both fists, so hard that they had already turned white.
“The other option is staying here. All night. It’ll be cold,” Kame warned him, not pausing the work of the second rope, tying it as tight as he needed to while still moving quickly. “You have everything, right?”
“Y-yeah.” They had both put on their backpacks again once they had unhooked their jackets, not having touched them other than to make themselves more comfortable.
“Koki, we’re ready,” Kame suddenly called, straightened up as he finished the last knot, and Maru looked down in surprise at his work, startled at it getting finished so quickly.
“Okay! Be careful!”
And Kame took Maru’s hand and slowly led him to the edge of their little overhang, adjusting the rope above him, trying to give himself room to move easier.
“Kazu, I really don’t want to-“
But he was ignored and basically pulled over the end because Kame really didn’t want to waste any more time.
And of course he screamed in surprise and clung to Kame for dear life as they swung back and forth a little, but when they stabilized he began gasping for breath and fought to get a grip on the rock in front of him.
“The faster we go the less time you’ll be hanging here,” Kame said lightly and Maru cursed at him before scrambling to get a hold of his hand again, and Kame led the way as they maneuvered around the rock face.
And then when they could get a hold of some trees it went even faster, although the rope got a little tangled, and then there was Ueda, waving at them frantically, and then Koki right behind him, smiling in relief.
“Fuck, what’s the matter with you guys?” he yelled out and Kame stabilized himself on a tree while helping Maru get in front of him and urging him to take the final leap to Ueda (it took longer than it shoulder have, but finally he did and clung to Ueda as he emotionally broke in half).
Kame made the same move with far less effort, and then Koki was holding his upper arm tightly and patting him on the shoulder like he was so proud that he had survived something like that (in fact, they would talk about it later as their most exciting hike yet), and then looked over at Maru and pointedly said, “Must have been hell.”
Although Koki probably interpreted his knowing smile as Kame agreeing with his statement (and that Maru was the last person either of them wanted to be stuck with in a situation where heights were a factor), there was actually another meaning under that.
“Not as bad as you’d think.”
+++
A/N: How was it? =A= My first KAT TUN fanfiction. yarukizero said I should write this pairing more, but I'm not sure if I could because I was so insecure about it. But she helped me a lot, so I'm very satisfied with the final product. :)
Going away for Golden Week, so I (probably) won't post for a while, even though I've made some progress with the other requests. ^__^ As always, thanks for your support everyone!
Rating: R
Pairing: Kamenashi/Nakamaru
Disclaimer: Johnny’s also owns KAT TUN.
Summary: Kame's love of hiking and Maru's fear of heights come together for unexpected results.
Note: This is for ryogrande, who donated to the fundraising for Japan drive on arashi_on. Thank you so much! And kisses to yarukizero for betaing and helping me get my facts straight. Also my first KAT TUN fic ever.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come. I never come on these things, why did I come today?”
“That is indeed a good question.”
Kamenashi Kazuya was trying really hard not to be annoyed at his friend and his complaints, because he held a special place in his heart for Nakamaru, the one that didn’t include outdoor sports like baseball and hiking.
This was a pretty usual thing. They were filming and showing off the better points of the climb and any people they had found interesting along the way (a very small number this time around), and although Maru didn’t usually join them, when it had been brought up in the studio a few weeks ago, he had looked thoughtful, glanced at Kame as if to say you’ll take care of me, right? and agreed to come.
Well, here they were, halfway up the quite long mountain route and going sort of slow because of Maru, and both Ueda and Koki had gone ahead when their feet started itching (which was pretty early this time because of the initial pace). With them went half of their crew, leaving Kame, who was already anticipating babysitting Maru since he had agreed to come, with a single camera and microphone, but they charged on, Kame trying to brighten the mood by telling a joke or two, and Maru playing up his unmanliness as he faced the camera during their (frequent) breaks.
And then it started to rain.
Well, it had already looked like rain from the beginning, and even though the crew had been prepared, after twenty minutes some unidentifiable electronic part stopped working, and then another and another, until they had a short meeting and decided to turn back.
Except Kame wasn’t ready to give up his beautiful (albeit rainy) hike after being in the city for weeks on end, and the other half of their filming group was still going, somewhere up ahead, so he decided he would find them and continue the show while the remaining staff tried to salvage something back at the van.
Of course they were worried about the fact that he would be alone, and although Maru looked tempted to retreat with the rest of the them, he boldly volunteered to make the trip too so that it wouldn’t be as dangerous.
Kame thought the fact that it was Maru that was trying to help him was kind, despite knowing that it would only inconvenience him, and he wanted them both to get a little more air time if they could, rather than just coming back with a tape of Ueda and Koki, so he eventually agreed, even if it would be hard going. Plus, the longer they waited around here discussing it, the longer it would take to catch up, so the decision was made quickly.
Once the staff had left, it went a little faster, but not much, although they weren’t wasting time or energy talking and it seemed like Maru was moving easier when Kame grabbed his hand to help him every once in a while, and when they sat down to eat something an hour later, Kame was even feeling encouraged. If nothing else, they would meet them coming back down the trail and it would be better than nothing.
But once they began hiking again, it started raining harder, and even though they had energy, they were slipping so much in the mud that Kame was basically pulling Maru up the hill behind him and he had started his trip of complaining about everything.
“I really wasn’t built for stuff like this-dancing, okay, and I’ve had my experience with soccer, but seriously, Kame-this hurts. I don’t get how you guys can do this all the time.”
“It’s called exercise. If you got outside of that apartment of yours once in a while, you’d know about it,” he replied with a chuckle, and Maru smiled back, shaking his head and obviously thinking that Kame was a bit of a fanatic.
He didn’t respond, though, too busy with gasping for breath as Kame dragged him up a particularly sharp incline, and then when they were at the top (and didn’t stop for a break), he added, “Man, we’re getting pretty high, aren’t we?”
“Don’t worry, Maru. I won’t let you fall,” Kame replied, his impish attitude intact, and this time he didn’t pull his hand away when they started the next part, which was less extreme, in hopes of encouraging his friend even more. They were making pretty good time right now.
“God, my boots are making squishing sounds. I can’t tell if it’s water inside of them, or the mud underneath.” Maru was holding his hand tightly, as if he needed a reward for being dragged through all of this, and this was the best he could come up with on the spot.
“Probably both.”
“I’m hungry again.”
“We’ll eat in another thirty minutes, okay?” The complaining had turned from half hearted comments to serious discontent, and Kame was feeling it on his back like an extra brick in his bag.
They started up another hill and he was getting seriously discouraged when they slowed to about the same movement as slugs, Maru stumbling and unable to lift his legs much despite Kame keeping him balanced. Even though he wanted them both to succeed, to finish this thing together, it really didn’t help when your partner wasn’t willing or very receptive to your obvious encouraging activities (like hand holding). Maybe he should start offering kisses instead.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come. I never come on these things, why did I come today?”
“That is indeed a good question.” This time his tone was curt and Maru fell into immediate silence, but Kame couldn’t bring himself to turn around and look at him because he knew there would be a depressed face hiding under the hood of the jacket. It wasn’t like he meant to be mean, he just wouldn’t take it anymore.
But really… maybe it was better if they started down again. Or wait at the next rest stop for the other group's descent. Because he could tell Maru was at his limit right now and he didn’t want to push him past that, even if Kame still had a lot of energy to go (it wasn’t enough for both of them, though, not with the way he had been affected by Maru up until now). And of course he wouldn’t leave Maru to wait or fend for himself, because he would be more worried about him doing something stupid and getting hurt and wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything at all.
They reached the next landing in a few minutes, both of them completely out of breath, but Kame’s weighing mood lifted almost immediately when he saw the view that was laid out before them.
“It’s so green! Look Yuichi!” he exclaimed with a bright smile, releasing his hand and moving closer to the edge of the flattened area, raising the hood of his waterproof jacket so he could see better, then pulling out his phone to take a picture.
When he finally turned back to his friend, he almost laughed, because the area from which he could see the view was slightly devoid of trees and pretty steep on the one side--part of the reason why he could see so far--and Maru looked like he would be sick.
“Come on,” Kame laughed, returning to him with a curt pace, and gently leading him back to where he had been a minute ago, a little closer to the overlook, with one hand on his wrist and the other his lower back. Maru took three steps without any qualms, but as they got closer, he started fighting more and more.
“Kazu, stop it! You know I hate heights!” he whined, then sniffled a little as if to say, plus I’m getting sick.
“But you’ve come all this way! We should take a picture together or something! To prove that you made it this far.”
It seemed like he was headed in the right direction somewhere in his words, because Maru looked up at him with large eyes that were full of mixed feelings, then pulled back his hood to assess the situation better.
They had stopped, so he looked at the ground to see how far away they were from the edge (about two meters), and then at the scenery that Kamenashi had been admiring, and then at the man himself before swallowing once and nodding his head.
“Well, I guess since we came so far and if you want to take a picture together…”
“We gotta get closer, though,” Kame replied with a grin, and Nakamaru shook his head avidly. “Just one more step,” he urged, and once again pressed him forward with a hand on his lower back.
“Just one,” he conceded, obviously wanting to close his eyes but knowing that would probably make the situations worse, but he inched forward, simply staring at his feet the whole time, and then slowly (very slowly) turned around as Kame started to.
It was probably comical how long it took and how much effort he put into staying in one place, and when he was finally ready, Kame had his own phone out and the camera turned on.
“Okay, here we go,” he mumbled, wrapping his arm around Maru’s waist and pulling them close together so they could both get into the shot, their heads right next to each other as they looked into the viewfinder together. “Are you smiling?” Kame asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes,” Maru replied, tensely holding his expression.
The phone made a clicking sound, and then Kame immediately looked at the screen to assess the picture while Maru took a deep breath and almost started walking away, content with just copying Kame’s onto his own cell later, but he was stopped.
“We have to do it again. You can’t see anything behind us.”
“Wh-what?” Maru whined in return, trying to give him his best pathetic look.
“We have to back up more!”
“Why don’t I just take a picture of you?” he tried with a pouty frown, but Kame looked a little hurt by that suggestion, so he sighed and said, “Fine.”
Maru was about to turn back around to face the edge of the landing again, but Kame stopped him and told him, “Just back up a foot.”
The terror of doing that was obvious on his face, and he shook his head even as Kame started forcing him again, eager to stop wasting time so they could get back to hiking (because Maru’s mood seemed to have lifted a little too, so after a quick rest they could probably go farther).
“Here, I’ll stand behind you, okay?” he conceded, shuffling over to get behind him, pulling Maru backward gently by the hips, “So that you know you won’t fall, okay?”
Immediately giving in despite his fear of heights, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be led backward a few steps, actually taking comfort in Kame’s behavior (and maybe getting a little caught up in the moment), and when he heard a soft, okay, right next to his ear, he opened his eyes to take in the clearing in front of him with burning cheeks. It didn’t seem like he had moved that far, so it was probably okay after all.
“Just take the picture,” he said under his breath, although his tone had lost its bite, and they posed again, smiling widely and pressing their heads close together while Kame reached out to hold the phone up and snap the shot.
They redid it twice, first because Kame wasn’t in the picture all the way, and second because it was blurry, but the third picture was perfect and Maru took a breath of relief.
But he was still a bit nervous and maybe curious, so he turned around just a little, looking only at the ground, and then jumped when he realized he was much closer to the end than he realized.
Jumping was the wrong thing to do, though, because he got ruffled and terrified that he was going to fall and so he dove for Kame, who was still right next to them, but wrapping his arms around him tightly sent Kame off balance, and then on top of them struggling to even remain upright, the mud underneath them was slipping off the side of the mountain and then they were gone.
+++
“Kazu, I’m cold.”
They had gotten lucky enough to not fall completely to their deaths, and somehow (he couldn’t really recall) Kame had gotten a hold on Maru and fumbled for a tree or something and got a rock instead, but their falling momentum had slowed enough that as soon as he was given the opportunity, Maru pulled himself under a very small overhang which only had a meter radius, where it was flat and somewhat stable, and then tugged on Kame (who had almost lost his footing) until they were both panting and resting their backs against a jutting surface of rock.
And then Maru refused to leave his spot in exactly the center of the wall, closing his eyes and panicking for several minutes while Kame tried to figure out how to fix the mess they had gotten into.
It had probably been a good twenty meters that they had fallen, so there wasn’t a very high chance of them climbing back up (and Maru probably wouldn’t allow himself to be left alone anyway), so that was out of the question. Next he pulled out his cell phone, but…of course no reception. It had been questionable at best all the way up the mountain, and even though they had had a good view a moment ago, now they were surrounded by trees (although none of them really close enough to do anything with).
“Maru, let’s yell for help,” he said calmly, and his friend grasped onto that idea in an instant, screaming at the top of his lungs, but after about five minute they got tired, and even though Kame would still call out every once in a while, nothing came of it.
Next he took a second to take into consideration everything he had with him, including his small backpack and the emergency equipment inside (which had a first aid kit, but nothing particularly useful in his situation), but they had left the larger stuff, like a rope, with the staff, not thinking they might need it for anything. Maru probably had less with him than he did, but at least it was something.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” he thought to ask after a minute, even though neither of them seemed like they had gotten anything worse than a few scratches and bruises. But Maru remained pretty upset, although it was obvious that was mental and not physical.
After Kame repeated his question, he finally responded, “I don’t think so,” in a tiny voice, but tentatively touched his wrist, like that might have taken some damage, although he was still sort of staring into space at the same time.
“Let me see it,” he kindly requested, stopping himself from reassuring Maru that they would be alright because… well, he didn’t honestly know if they would. He needed to think about it. But it important to Kame that he make sure that Maru was physically okay, even if his mental stability was questionable; nothing to do about that, though, what with his mild to serious Acrophobia, depending on the day and situation.
Of course, other injuries might come up later that they couldn’t recognize right now, but if anything was broken or serious, Maru could get sick or go into shock and that would be even worse than just spending the night in the elements (at this point, Kame hadn’t even assumed that not being in top form was a possibility for himself; Maru was the one to worry about).
So he gently took Maru’s wrist even though it wasn’t offered to him and turned it over in his grip tentatively, glancing up at his facial expression to check for any changes from his current emotion of completely blank. He kneaded the skin softly at first, feeling the tendons and bones, but when Maru still didn’t react, squeezed harder until he finally winced and glared over at him, trying to pull his arm back.
“Does it hurt?”
“Just a little,” he replied curtly, still trying to free his arm, but Kame’s hold was firm and he gave up after only two seconds, leaning his head on his shoulder.
“I don’t think it’s broken. You probably just twisted it or something on the way down,” he mumbled, now holding it gently between both of his hands and running his fingers over Maru’s palm, examining the skin that had gotten a little rough from their workout this morning.
“What’re you doing?” he asked calmly, and Kame was surprised that he hadn’t immediately fallen back into his panicked state.
“Just making sure you’re okay,” he responded easily, continuing his exploration because it seemed to be distracting Maru, and the longer that lasted the easier their recovery would be. Next he pulled back the sleeve of Maru’s jacket and shirt underneath and pointedly examined his inner arm, then ran his fingers down the soft skin as if he needed to double check it for scratches and bruises that wouldn’t be apparent.
“That tickles-“ Maru squirmed, trying to pull his arm away, but Kame stopped him again and turned with a smile finally forming at the teasing, but once their eyes met it seemed like their playful aura had broken right in half.
He hadn’t realized they had been sitting so closely.
Maru broke the gaze first, retracting his arm and moving himself off of Kame, pushing his sleeve back down as he stared at his arms and then didn’t look up again.
Kame glanced him over one more time, just to be sure, but it would be hard to tell if something was wrong anyway, especially if Maru wasn’t going to cooperate (which appeared to be the case) so it was better to just wait until they got to safety and then he would make him see a doctor. At least for the time being he wasn’t going into shock, and something weird had just happened, so Kame didn’t want to push it any farther than he already had.
Standing with his cell phone in hand, he intended to walk around their small space to see if he could pick up a signal somewhere obscure, but as soon as he had done just that much, Maru immediately came back to life and grabbed him around the leg to keep him from moving.
“Don’t! We were lucky to land here and we’re still high up and it’s muddy and I don’t want you to die Kazu!”
Kame almost laughed, except for Maru looked so plainly upset and serious that it didn’t come out. He had turned completely irrational, but that was certainly better than clamming up so much that he couldn’t move (and it was amusing anyway).
“Listen, I’ll be careful. I’m just going to move around a little and see if I can get a signal. If I can call someone, they can come and get us.”
But Maru shook his head avidly and didn’t give up, continuing to cling to his leg until Kame sat back down.
It seemed like a magical action, because as soon as he was back in place, his friend took a deep breath and leaned back against the rock wall, pulling his legs up to his chest and staring out in front of them, obviously keeping himself from a mental breakdown.
“It’ll be okay,” Kame tried to assure him, “They’ll come back for us.”
“Yeah, but how long will it take for them to notice we’re gone? When Koki and Uedo get back to the van?”
“Probably,” he replied, finding that talking seemed to calm Maru down, and if they worked out the facts that they knew and came up with a likely solution, it would probably make Kame feel better about the whole thing too. “For us, we were about an hour from the top, so if they started down already it’ll be about five hours until they reach the van… maybe sooner if they get in contact with the other group, but…”
What he wanted to say was pretty obvious. They most likely wouldn’t have to spend the night here, but it could certainly be a while until anyone found them, let alone until they were actually safe.
“Maru, check your phone,” Kame threw in, realizing that it was probably the same as his (they had to try, though), then while he was doing so, continued, “Well, the place we fell is probably obvious, since the mud gave way and our footprints stopped, and worst case, they know it’s somewhere between where we left the other guys and the top.”
“Ugh,” Maru let out, rubbing his face and handing over his phone to Kame, to show him that there was indeed no reception.
“Honestly, we’ll probably be okay. This seems pretty stable and I still have some food and water. How about you?”
“...Yeah…” His reply was reluctant, as if he didn’t want to admit that they weren’t in extreme danger.
“Plus if it gets dark, I have my flashlight!” Kame added in a slightly more energetic voice, as if he was looking forward to the instance that he would need it after carrying it around uselessly for so long.
But Maru didn’t respond, just acted depressed, and so they two of them fell into an unusual silence because Kame didn’t really feel depressed himself, but at the same time knew that trying to cheer up his friend would only make it worse.
Without any talking, though, it was pretty boring. Kame couldn’t use his phone and thought that playing games might be a waste of battery in this situation, but he kept it on just in case a very specific tree or rock was displaced and he suddenly had reception again.
Eventually, without anything else to do, he had fallen into thinking, about his schedule, upcoming performances, and life in general (and maybe a little about the man next to him too), and it had been at least an hour when Maru had timidly let out that he was cold.
There was certainly reason to be, since the rain hadn’t stopped (although the overhanging rock stopped most of it from falling on them) and the sun was slowly setting from its high perch. Plus they hadn’t eaten any of their supplies, just in case they really did end up being here overnight, so they had lost some of their energy as well.
Kame was glad for the opportunity to lighten the mood a little, though, so he immediately scooted closer and hugged Maru tightly, resting his head on his shoulder.
“Is that better?”
His response was just as fast, resting his own head on top of Kame’s and sighing pathetically. “I’m scared, Kazu.”
“It’ll be fine. Really,” he tried to assure him, but then sat up straighter and unzipped his jacket, getting Maru’s attention in a second and hopefully distracting him from his dour mood. “We’ll be warmer if we hook our jackets together,” he explained; since they were the same make and same size (only different colors) they could snap the metal buttons together around them and combine their heat.
There was a little work required on Kame’s part, mostly because of Maru’s lack of enthusiasm, but soon enough they were huddled closer together, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around him, leaving his coat sleeves empty, because sitting apart was too much effort.
Maru was stiff in his grip at first, his muscles hard under Kame’s fingers, but after a second he relaxed, and a few minutes later even rested his head on Kame’s shoulder like they had before, although this position was so much more intimate, both of them in their much thinner long sleeved shirts.
It was still a little boring, though, without any talking, even if the tense atmosphere had dissipated, and it wasn’t long until Kame was looking for a way to amuse himself while they continued to wait to be found.
So he decided to see how far Maru could be pushed until he laughed (because if his time wasting activity could put him in a good mood, it was two birds with one stone), starting with lightly and discreetly tickling his sides until he felt him tense up again.
“What’re you doing-“ he gasped out as he wiggled a little, and it was obvious he was trying to stop himself from reacting, but that only made Kame try harder. “We’re attempting to keep warm-“
Kame couldn’t keep himself from responding with the first thing that came to his head as he caught sight of Maru’s flushed cheeks and mouth parted with shallow breaths.
“This’ll make you hot.”
Then he kissed him, quite plainly, on the lips, simply because he felt like doing so and not because he was thinking about the consequences of the action or how it was going to (hugely) change their relationship.
He pulled away after only a peck because he wanted to see Maru’s reaction, and of course he looked a little flustered, but mumbled under his breath, “I want you to know that you started this,” and then kissed him back.
It was… not exactly what Kame was expecting, but he went with it, both because it would waste time and (most likely, if his response was anything to go by) put Maru in a good mood, and besides, it wasn’t like he had never thought about doing this before, so that was three for the price of one.
He mumbled a mm as a tongue pressed into his mouth and he closed his eyes, feeling Maru coming closer, trying to get on top of him (not really making it because of the confined area), but he settled for tangling their legs together so that his crotch was pressed into one of Kame’s thighs, also creating the same position in reverse.
Kame didn’t really want to wait, though, he wanted to keep things moving at the same pace they were, so he began pulling at Maru’s shirt, enough that he could shove his hands up underneath, but the reaction that he got was him pulling away and biting out, “Cold!”
“They’ll be warm in a second,” he smirked back, running his fingers against the soft skin on his back, and then shivered himself when Maru’s hands were pressed against his stomach. “You’re hands are cold-“ he tried to hold a serious expression to tease him, but Maru interrupted him with a curt, “Shut up.”
Then they were quiet again, although their breaths had gotten faster, and Kame sort of wanted to start kissing again, but the way Maru’s lips were slightly parted in concentration as he explored his way farther up was nice too, so he went with that for the time being.
There was a slight hesitation beforehand, and the insecurity of the whole thing was written plainly on his face, but Maru still did it anyway, pinching both of his nipples between his fingers at the same time, making Kame gasp and jerk a little.
“That’s good-“ he let out quickly, bending forward because he thought that Maru could grip them easier that way, but as he moved his cock pressed against the thigh that was fit snugly in front of it and he was reminded of something else they could be doing.
So instead of returning the nipple pulling (he wondered if Maru would like that as much as he did-but he had started it in the first place, so he probably had some interest), Kame went right for his belt.
They were still covered by the jackets surrounding them, and now his hands were warm too, so when he leisurely began jerking him, Maru gave him a good response and moaned out Kazu, right next to his ear, his breath coming out in only puffs.
This was a little surreal, how fast they were moving, from being nervous about their rescue to doing this, after only a teasing kiss, but Kame supposed that people did extreme things in extreme situations, and it wasn’t like he was going to complain about it, not with how addicting Yuichi tasted or how curious he was for how far they could take this right now. Because he certainly wanted to take it as far as he could.
“Get on your knees,” he whispered, one of his hands at the small of Maru’s back to coax him into the position he wanted, and although he lost the teasing of his nipples, this way was easier and faster than trying to please each other simultaneously with the small amount of room they had. Kame ducked his head inside the jackets for easier maneuvering, taking a moment to use both hands to pull up the shirt as far as it would go, and he could hear Maru’s let out a short, unprepared gasp.
He started kissing his chest quickly before shamelessly licking his nipple on one side, coaxing it into hardness with the rough surface, and then began sucking on it as he started jerking his cock again, able to feel the effect he had on him through his obvious increase in breathing and the way his hips began moving of their own accord.
When he realized that his other hand was free, it went to the other nipple and it was only a moment before Maru warned him in a half moan, “Kazu, I’m going to come-“
“Fuck, wait,” Kame suddenly pulled away, and although his hand stopped it was still wrapped around his hot cock. It wasn’t that he didn’t want him to come-that’s what they were working towards after all-he just needed somewhere for him to do it. As they were, it would get stuck on his shirt and a stain like that would be quite obvious if anyone saw it.
But the inside would work, so Kame grabbed the bottom of his long sleeved top and positioned it over the head of his erection so that, even after the clothing was cleaned as well as it could be, the stain would be hidden against Kame’s stomach.
“Okay.Come,” he let out against Maru’s chest and then went back to sucking on his nipple (because that was obviously doing a lot for him), and he started jerking again, as fast as he could.
“Oh fuck, Kame-“ he moaned, his hand suddenly squeezing the back of his head, gripping onto his hair and pulling him closer, and his hips rocked forward into his grip before he gasped (it sounded muffled with his hand, but Kame couldn’t actually see) and shot into the underside of his shirt, and a little on his stomach.
Kame pulled back and wiped his mouth because some saliva had pooled in the corner of his lips, then, while carefully holding his shirt, worked his head back up through the neck of their attached jackets and looked at Maru, who was slowly sinking back to the ground.
“Do you have a tissue?” he asked in a casual voice, unable to tear his eyes away from the satisfied look that was making his features soft and sensual.
Maru blinked at him first, then realization came alive in his eyes and he quickly replied, “Yeah, in my pocket,” and struggled to find the one he was looking for, since his pants had half fallen down his hips. But he pulled them back into place, then a second later there was a subdued plastic sound and he fumbled to place the tissue in Kame’s hand.
It was difficult to see anything in the fading light, especially since it was black inside their jacket covering, but he managed to get off what he could from his shirt (even though there was still remnants that were obvious against the skin of his stomach), and then, when he didn’t have anything to distract himself with anymore, finally met Maru’s stare.
The moment their eyes met, Maru’s shifted downwards, almost shyly, and then his hands slowly drifted back to Kame’s waist, sliding down his exposed sides before stopping on the top of his pants.
“Don’t force yourself-“ Kame started in a soft whisper, touching the side of Maru’s face with his clean hand, but he was interrupted with a kiss, another soft one that could barely be felt.
“If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t,” he replied in a tone that matched the kiss, then started working at Kame’s belt, and it was the first time during everything that had happened that he realized that Maru might like him as more than a friend.
That was good.
Just as Kame had done earlier, he ducked his head into their joint jackets and pushed his shirt up quickly so that he could start kissing his chest too, and Kame shifted onto his knees to make the whole thing easier for him, so that he didn’t have to get completely down on the ground to reciprocate.
But when Maru had finally worked his cock out of his jeans and was teasing it until it was throbbing, he started moving his mouth lower, across Kame’s abs, and then it was obvious that this wasn’t going to be quite the same as it had been before.
“Maru, you don’t-“ he tried to give him a way out again, but it was too late now and a soft breath on the head of his cock was the only warning he had before it was encompassed in slick warmth and Kame really wished he could see this instead of Maru’s head being covered by their jackets.
So instead he groped around with his hand, having a pretty good idea where to start, before he roughly grabbed onto his hair, unable to stop himself, and he thrust just a little, already riding the high of doing this in the first place, coupled with the speedy realization that this was the way it was supposed to be between them.
Maru was trying to keep the pace steady, leaving room to run his tongue over the top of the erection, but Kame wasn’t going to be patient about this, so he took the liberty of setting his own pace, which was faster and probably rougher than he should be.
“Oh fuck-“
But Maru was complying, opening his mouth as far as he could and relaxing so that the cock went back far enough to touch his throat, and even though somewhere in the back of his head, a voice was screaming for Kame to slow down, he couldn’t.
“Maru… Yuichi! God, that’s good,” he moaned a little loudly, sending his voice out into the silence of the forest, and the other hand that wasn’t forcing the mouth farther down on his cock grabbed one of his own nipples. “Fuck-coming!” he warned him so that he could do what was needed to hide the cum, but instead of pulling away like Kame did, Maru took it all in his mouth, one of his hands at the base of his cock to encourage him to let it go.
And he really did let it all go, closing his eyes tightly and picturing what was happening under those jackets in his mind’s eye while his hand pulled at Maru’s hair and his hips went as far forward as they could manage.
Maru gently let go of him, tugging the tissue, which Kame had been holding the whole time this had been happening, into his own hand and (assumably) spitting out the cum instead of swallowing it.
Kame’s thighs were shaking as he did up his pants, trying to collect himself from that amazing release, and then a second later Maru was also struggling to get his head back through the hole on top, his face red and flushed with heat.
“You didn’t have to go that far,” Kame told him breathlessly, but he was trying so hard not to smile at Maru’s obvious affection for him, which must have been the reason leading to something so intense.
“My wrist hurts,” he replied instead with a deadpan expression, and Kame was momentarily stunned.
“Oh.”
He didn’t know what to say. He had thought that Maru was going to tell him something sexy like I wanted every inch of you.
There was an awkward silence while Maru adjusted himself into a sitting position and Kame just stared at him, wondering if he had misread everything that had just happened.
“Fine. I like you. Is that what you were waiting for?” he shot out with a slightly defensive tone, obviously uncomfortable under the intense look (and it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go, so he just plowed on without any qualms).
“I like you too?” Kame replied uneasily, not actually sure if he should trust what his head was telling him, because it must be biased after what they just did.
“Whatever. You don’t have to force yourself-“ he shot Kame’s words back at him, and he could tell he was pouting, and that was the last thing he wanted, so he pulled Maru into his arms and adjusting them against the rock wall behind them.
“I’m not-really,” he added when Maru rolled his eyes (but he didn’t pull away, so that was a good thing), “Listen, let’s talk about this later when we’re not in a life or death situation.”
“I already told you that you were the one that started it.”
“So you did.”
The conversation couldn’t continue after that and neither of them changed it until, about five minutes later, Maru mumbled, “I’m tired.”
“Then sleep for a little while.” The response itself was a little sarcastic, but Kame’s tone was kind, as if he had given up trying to fight him, and even adjusted himself so that he could lie on his shoulder.
“What time is it? How long as it been?” he asked sleepily, even as he buried his face into Kame’s neck, evidently ignoring their earlier, slightly awkward conversation.
Checking his phone and doing the calculation in his head, a moment later, when Maru’s eyes were closed, he replied, “They should have at least gotten to the van by now. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait much longer.”
+++
It was about an hour later, Maru fast asleep from exhaustion and Kame in the middle of a game of shiritori with himself (he had lost three times now and was stuck on a zu word), when he heard faint voices above him.
“Look, the mud here is gone…”
“We’re down here!!” he yelled as loud as he could, without a moment’s hesitation, and Maru was awake in an instant, joining him before he even took a breath.
“Someone save us!”
“It’s Kame and Maru!”
“For the love of God! I don’t want to die!”
“How far down are you?” It was Koki who yelled back, and then his voice faded as he made a comment to someone else. “How the hell did that happen?”
“I’m not sure. We’re under a piece of rock.”
“Oh my God!” That was Ueda. “Are you hurt?”
“I mean, we sitting in this underhang thing. We’re not hurt, but I can’t see you,” Kame called back, breathing faster as adrenaline pumped through his system.
“Okay, just sit still and we’ll think of something.”
Maru was looking at him when Kame redirected his attention, and he seemed so relieved he was about to cry.
“They found us, Kazu!”
“Yeah. See? I told you it would be-“ but then Maru was kissing him again, caught up in the moment, and he kissed back because they would about to be rescued and lose the little intimate ball that had somehow been created while they were stranded on this mountain and he would have to face this in real life and who knew what was going to come of it.
“Hey, Kame! We’re throwing down a rope! If you can reach it yell!”
So they broke apart and both looked around wildly for it, but it fell right on top of the rock and landed in front of their faces and Kame called back immediately.
“It’s right here. Should I take it?”
“Wait a second! We’ll tie it to a tree.”
And then it was another five minutes, the two of them clinging to each other and trying to calm down so that they could get out of this mess like they needed to, but they eventually realized that they should return their jackets to their proper order and make sure that everything was intact after becoming stagnant for so long.
“Kame, you remember how to tie it around your ass right? For rock climbing?” Koki yelled, and another rope fell along with the first.
“Yeah,” Kame yelled back, wondering what they were thinking. They had learned a few survival tips before this segment had started, and that had been one of them, for exactly situations like this, and although it didn’t seem particularly important at the time, he had messed around with Koki for a while because they had been fascinated by it and got caught up in teasing each other.
“Well, you should be able to swing your way over to flatter area if you go south from here. There’s a pretty big rock face, but it’ll be easier than trying to pull yourself back up this way.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Maru automatically argued, pushing himself against the rock and pulling his knees up to his chest in the smallest defensive position he could manage.
“Come on, it’s better than climbing back up, just like Koki said,” Kame replied, already grabbing one of the ropes and testing it in his hands. It was thin, but strong and he trusted the other two to be able to make a good judgment of where to tie it. If there was anyone that Kame wanted to help him out of a situation like this, it was his hiking buddies (although a professional rock climber might have been nice too).
Maru looked over at him pathetically as he began wrapping the rope around the inside of his thighs, and Kame sighed, hoping this wasn’t going to be an ordeal.
“We’ll go together. I won’t leave you,” Kame reassured him as he tied the first knot. “If we wait any longer we won’t be able to see anything.”
“Ueda says he’ll wait by the hiking path where you should come out,” Koki yelled again. “When you’re ready to go, let me know.”
With only one more look at Nakamaru, who still hadn’t moved, Kame finished securing the rope around himself as fast as he could, in the shape of a makeshift harness, and then went over to his friend and pulled him up (Maru was surprisingly pliant in his grasp, and he even stayed still when Kame started tying the rope around him).
“Kazu, I’m scared.” He closed his eyes and was holding his closed jacket in both fists, so hard that they had already turned white.
“The other option is staying here. All night. It’ll be cold,” Kame warned him, not pausing the work of the second rope, tying it as tight as he needed to while still moving quickly. “You have everything, right?”
“Y-yeah.” They had both put on their backpacks again once they had unhooked their jackets, not having touched them other than to make themselves more comfortable.
“Koki, we’re ready,” Kame suddenly called, straightened up as he finished the last knot, and Maru looked down in surprise at his work, startled at it getting finished so quickly.
“Okay! Be careful!”
And Kame took Maru’s hand and slowly led him to the edge of their little overhang, adjusting the rope above him, trying to give himself room to move easier.
“Kazu, I really don’t want to-“
But he was ignored and basically pulled over the end because Kame really didn’t want to waste any more time.
And of course he screamed in surprise and clung to Kame for dear life as they swung back and forth a little, but when they stabilized he began gasping for breath and fought to get a grip on the rock in front of him.
“The faster we go the less time you’ll be hanging here,” Kame said lightly and Maru cursed at him before scrambling to get a hold of his hand again, and Kame led the way as they maneuvered around the rock face.
And then when they could get a hold of some trees it went even faster, although the rope got a little tangled, and then there was Ueda, waving at them frantically, and then Koki right behind him, smiling in relief.
“Fuck, what’s the matter with you guys?” he yelled out and Kame stabilized himself on a tree while helping Maru get in front of him and urging him to take the final leap to Ueda (it took longer than it shoulder have, but finally he did and clung to Ueda as he emotionally broke in half).
Kame made the same move with far less effort, and then Koki was holding his upper arm tightly and patting him on the shoulder like he was so proud that he had survived something like that (in fact, they would talk about it later as their most exciting hike yet), and then looked over at Maru and pointedly said, “Must have been hell.”
Although Koki probably interpreted his knowing smile as Kame agreeing with his statement (and that Maru was the last person either of them wanted to be stuck with in a situation where heights were a factor), there was actually another meaning under that.
“Not as bad as you’d think.”
+++
A/N: How was it? =A= My first KAT TUN fanfiction. yarukizero said I should write this pairing more, but I'm not sure if I could because I was so insecure about it. But she helped me a lot, so I'm very satisfied with the final product. :)
Going away for Golden Week, so I (probably) won't post for a while, even though I've made some progress with the other requests. ^__^ As always, thanks for your support everyone!