Fic: Out of the Ashes (1/1) PG-13
JE Fic
Title: Out of the Ashes
Pairing: Akanishi Jin/Kamenashi Kazuya
Genre: RPF, slash
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 2,967
Summary: Kame missed Jin's birthday and tries to make up for it, with unexpected results.
A/N: This fic has nothing to do with "Driven"; while written at roughly the same time, the two evolved independently and the characterizations are different.
Huge, huge thanks go to Kou for inestimable help in birthing this one.
The neighborhood was dark and wet underfoot and quiet. Kamenashi Kazuya could only hear the distant sounds of traffic here, and the smell of rain and wet leaves was very strong. It had been raining all day, and only now had it begun to taper off to a light mist when Kame asked the taxi driver to let him out a few blocks away from Jin's apartment. He was a little nervous and a vague sense of disquiet settled over him mixed in with a fluttering of anticipation.
Kame fingered his mobile and hesitated before pressing the button to dial Jin's number. Nervous. Hopeful. Fuck it. He forced himself to suppress every stupid, babbling thought that flew across his mind as he stared down at the glowing display panel, and prepared for disappointment.
When he heard Jin's voice through the earpiece, he forgot everything he had planned to say.
"Akanishi! It's Kamenashi." He spoke very fast. "I'm getting out early tonight. I know it's late notice, but...are you free?"
There was a long pause before Kame heard Jin clear his throat. "When?
And just like that, they'd arranged it. It was extremely unusual that both of them actually had an early night at the same time - Kame could hardly believe it. And although Jin had sounded rather wary on the phone, he had agreed to have Kame meet him around nine p.m. at his apartment. Kame hung up in relief.
Now, he shrugged uneasily, as the skittery anticipation expanded in his belly. He was glad he'd decided to walk these last couple blocks. The rain and silence soothed him as he felt the moisture kiss his skin, and he closed his eyes every few steps and inhaled the wet scent of the quiet night. He regretted that he didn't have more moments like this - a space of solitude that he never seemed to find lately.
His steps slowed as he finally reached Jin's apartment building, and Kame looked up at its looming profile in the streetlight. Squaring his shoulders, he almost laughed at himself for being even the slightest bit nervous. After all, it was just dinner.
***
Jin opened the door to find Kame standing there with a bag in each hand. He was neatly clad in a dark blue button-down shirt, open at the throat to reveal a silver chain, and faded jeans that clung to his slim hips and were tucked into a pair of battered black leather boots. His face and hair were entirely beaded with tiny, tiny drops of water that sparkled in the hall light.
"Akanishi," Kame smiled nervously, holding the bags up. Jin looked like he had just taken a shower - his hair was still damp and curled around his neck above a white scoop-necked t-shirt that showed off finely-modeled collar-bones.
Jin just stared at him, surprised at the sudden flush of warmth that rose in his cheeks. Kame looked very tired but still, he stood there with clear eyes and a curiously open expression. Jin felt an uncharacteristic pang when he realized that Kame had given up a chance to go home and sleep so they could have dinner.
"It's still raining? Come in," Jin said, forestalling any further comment, and he bent forward to take the bags from Kame's hands and padded off toward the kitchen while Kame closed the door and bent to pull off his boots. "What the hell did you bring?" Jin asked over his shoulder. "These bags are heavy!"
"Dinner," Kame replied shortly, "and..."
"I made dinner," Jin called from the kitchen.
"Great, he made dinner," Kame muttered to himself, pulling a face.
"And don't make that face, because I know you're making a face," Jin continued, sticking his head out of the kitchen.`
Kame struggled to hide his grimace and tried to not look too guilty for it. "You didn't have to make dinner," he said, as he joined Jin in the kitchen.
"Well, you didn't say you were bringing it, so what was I supposed to do?" Jin reached into one bag and stacked the plastic take-out containers on the counter.
"I didn't?" Kame frowned, rubbing his neck in puzzlement. How could he have forgotten to tell Jin that he was bringing dinner? "Well...I'm sorry you went to all this trouble."
"It's no trouble," Jin replied, absently, and turned too quickly at the same moment that Kame was reaching over him for the other bag, and they awkwardly collided.
Jin flinched as if he'd been burned, and they both quickly apologized. Kame tried to suppress his hurt as he reached into the other plastic bag and held out the cold bottle.
"Huh?" Jin frowned as he accepted the chilled bottle with the elegant label: Dom Perignon, 1990. "Kazuya..." he trailed off in shock. Stunned, he looked up to meet Kame's eyes.
Kame smiled weakly. "Happy birthday."
Jin's mouth worked soundlessly, so he just looked down at the bottle again and then turned to carefully stand it on the counter. He didn't even have to struggle to recall the significance of this bottle: when they'd been younger and more carefree, they'd laughingly promised to split a bottle of expensive Dom when they each turned twenty-two - for no better reason than that they liked the symmetry of the age. He was sure that Kame had forgotten all about that. Maybe he had. Maybe this didn't mean anything at all.
He looked up, and when he saw the guarded expression on Kame's waiting face, he decided not to bring up old history. Everything was different now.
"You know, my birthday was two months ago," he said finally, while Kame shifted uneasily next to him.
"I know. I just...I'm sorry I missed it." Kame took a breath and met Jin's eyes. "I was hoping that I could make it up to you."
"What--tonight? You wanted to drink this tonight?" Jin asked incredulously.
"No--no!" Kame denied truthfully. "You should save that for a really special occasion!"
Jin laughed, and relaxed. "That's a relief. I just don't think I can drink 12, 000 yen champagne tonight."
"No...I brought something else for tonight, if you're interested."
"What?" Jin's face lit up and he made as though to dive at the bag, but Kame was already reaching inside and produced two more bottles. Jin looked from the bottles to Kame's face and back down again in amused puzzlement. "Butterscotch schnapps...and Bailey's?"
Kame smiled sheepishly. "It's just something one of the Australians introduced me to when I was working on Yuuki. It has a funny name, though," he warned.
"Which is?"
"I'll tell you later," Kame said hastily. "Let's have dinner!"
***
Later, Jin put some music on while Kame cleaned away the wreckage of dinner, which had ended up being a combination of Jin's dubious home-cooking (although Kame allowed that he was improving) and Kame's takeout. It was getting very late, but Jin showed no signs of showing Kame the door, and surprisingly, despite traces of awkwardness, they were actually having a reasonably good time.
Kame had his hands full of soapy dishes when he heard Jin's voice very close to his ear, and startled, he jumped, nearly dropping the dish.
"So we need shot glasses?"
"What?" Kame asked, trying to calm his suddenly-racing heart. He concentrated on rinsing the dish and putting it in the dish rack.
"For whatever it is we're doing with the schnapps and Bailey's - are you okay? You look flushed."
"I'm fine," Kame replied shortly, heat rushing to his face, which was of course the last thing he needed. He'd only had two beers to Jin's three with dinner, but now he felt like he'd had much more.
Several minutes later, Kame came out of the kitchen drying his hands on a dish towel and found Jin sitting on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table in the living room. There was a perfect line of shot glasses. Fourteen of them, all lined up like little toy soldiers. And the liquor bottles stood right behind them like stern generals, and Kame burst out laughing as he contemplated how silly that sounded.
Jin looked up, surprised, and Kame tried to control his laughter. "What?" Jin asked, scrubbing one hand through fluffy dark hair.
"Nothing," Kame said, suppressing a grin.
"Tell me," Jin insisted as Kame sat down next to him on the floor. Kame shook his head, so Jin bumped against him playfully.
"Just tell me, you idiot."
"Fine. I was thinking that these shot glasses are lined up like toy soldiers and those bottles are the generals. You can laugh now."
Jin threw him an incredulous glance and he did exactly that - he laughed, and soon, Kame was laughing too, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to put his head on Jin's shoulder and giggle helplessly at nothing at all.
"So what do we do now?" Jin asked when the laughter faded.
"It's not hard," Kame said seriously, "but it does take a little practice to get it right." He slid one shot glass nearer and after opening the schnapps, poured a quantity into each of the fourteen little glasses. Jin frowned quizzically.
"You need technique for that?"
Kame threw him an impatient glance and rolled his eyes. "No, idiot. Just watch." He unscrewed the top of the Bailey's and carefully tipping the shot glass with its clear liquid, Kame placed the bottle against the edge and very carefully poured so that the Bailey's slowly trickled down the side of the glass in a thin stream. When he was done, he very slowly righted the glass, and admired the effect. The Bailey's had formed a perfect tan layer floating on top of the clear schnapps. "Do you see?" He looked at Jin who seemed fascinated. "Do you want to try?"
They alternated, and while the first few didn't look that great, Jin got better as he went along, until the last few were perfect. They sat there admiring their neat row of shot glasses.
"So...." Jin began.
"I guess we should drink them," Kame ventured.
"Yes, but...what are they?"
Kame quickly picked up two glasses and handed one to Jin. "Drink first." Kame sipped at his, swirling the contents, because he liked it better that way, and surprisingly Jin followed suit.
"Wow," he said, gazing at his glass admiringly after a generous taste.
Kame smiled. "It's good, isn't it?"
"Mmmmm," Jin replied wordlessly, licking his lips, and then he downed it.
Kame looked at him and Jin gazed back expectantly.
"So?"
"Cowboys," Kame said.
"That's it? What's wrong with that? I thought you said they had a funny name." Jin waved his hand dismissively and reached for another glass which he quickly brought to his lips.
"They're called Cocksucking Cowboys," Kame continued just as Jin gulped another shotglass down, and then nearly spit the entire mouthful all over the table. Kame reached over and pounded his back as Jin choked, wheezed and sputtered. He couldn't help laughing at the expression on Jin's face.
"Trust you to feed me girly drinks. Obscene girly drinks," Jin grumbled when he could speak again.
Kame ran one hand through his brown hair and tipped his head back onto the couch. "But you like girly drinks, Jin! You're always the first one to order something fruity with an umbrella. Besides, cowboys are good."
"Well, yes, they are," Jin allowed grudgingly as he held his third shot up. He glanced consideringly at Kame who didn't notice. There were faint spots of color in Jin's cheeks and his eyes were very bright. "They're very, very good."
***
"Very, very good," Jin was saying after his sixth shot and by this point, Kame was stretched out on his side on the couch, one hand propping his head up while the other accepted another shot from Jin who twisted around to face him. Kame tossed off the shot with a beatific expression and handed the glass back to Jin as he stretched languorously, pushing his bare feet against the far arm of the sofa. Lightheaded, his tongue was beginning to feel rather numb. Kame curled one arm under his head and lay there while Jin turned back to watch him with an odd expression. Kame shifted his head slightly and didn't look away. He wasn't sure what he had expected to happen tonight, but there was a growing sense of expectancy coiling in his belly, heated by the looks Jin kept throwing his way.
"So how the hell are you, Kazu-chan?" Jin asked suddenly. "And don't say 'fine,' because I'll know you're lying. I'm not blind - I can see the circles under your eyes just like anyone else, and how much sleep did you get last night?"
"Th-three hours," Kame replied, startled into telling the truth. He flipped onto his back and tucked one arm under his head, so he could avoid the look in Jin's eyes. Why did he feel so drunk and yet Jin was still sober enough to ask him stupid questions? Suddenly, Kame felt the prickle of tears, so he blinked rapidly to clear them away. He was so busy trying to stave off his own stupidity that he didn't notice Jin's hand until it was already there, brushing the hair back from his face.
Kame froze at that light touch and he stared up wonderingly at Jin who was dreamily stroking his hair. Kame remembered to start breathing again, but his heart raced and the blood rushed to his face beneath Jin's delicate touch.
"Jin," he breathed finally.
"Shut up," Jin retorted in an unsteady voice. "You always talk too much. Do you have to work tomorrow? Yes or no."
"Yes."
"Shit."
"You know I have to work," Kame protested. "But..." he faltered as Jin's fingertips left his hair and began to stroke the side of his face. "But I don't have call until the afternoon."
"So that's why you're here getting drunk with me."
Kame said nothing. He supposed Jin was right, but he didn't really want to think about that. In fact, he was having trouble thinking about anything rational at this point.
Jin's hand left his face, and Kame almost breathed a sigh of relief at the absence at the same time he regretted it bitterly. He pulled his arm out from under his head and draped his forearm over his eyes. This was totally fucked up.
He was about to push himself up to try to leave, when he felt something wet against his lips. He jerked the arm off his eyes to see Jin leaning over him with the last shot glass in one hand, and two fingers hovered over his mouth. Instinctively, Kame licked his lips, and Jin tsked in annoyance.
"Hold still, idiot." Jin dipped his fingers into the glass again and then stroked them over Kame's mouth, his eyes flickering to meet Kame's. Kame just looked up at him with wide eyes and held his breath.
Jin put the glass down and then bent to kiss him.
At first it was just the lightest brush, a feather-stroke to glide against the creamy butterscotch-Bailey's moisture, but then Jin's tongue swiped at the sticky substance he'd slicked over Kame's mouth, and Kame instinctively parted his lips, feeling a suffocating weight crushing his chest and his head swam until his entire awareness had shrunk to the sensation of Jin's mouth on his, Jin's tongue sliding against his, Jin stealing his breath and tenderly cradling his head and kissing him slowly, drunkenly, in a desirous stupor.
Kame nearly cried from the delicious cruelty of it, but he struggled to blank his mind and just feel without the intrusion of rational thought. Jin was drunk, but he wasn't sloppy; instead his lips were warm and loving, and he tasted like the butterscotch and Bailey's and something that was altogether his own. Kame didn't realize he had twined one arm around Jin's neck to hold him closer until he felt Jin push himself up and away. He whimpered as Jin's mouth drifted away, but then Jin's arm was under his shoulders, helping him to his feet.
"Walk," Jin insisted drunkenly, "because I am not carrying you."
"Okay," Kame mumbled, pressing his face against Jin's neck, his head spinning, but Jin's arm was strong against him, and even though they both stumbled, they managed to stay erect long enough to reach Jin's bedroom where they tumbled down onto the bed together.
"You're not going home," Jin explained slowly, as though he was talking to a small child. Kame stared up at him dazedly, trying to understand how he had ended up here, with Jin's hands clumsily unbuttoning his shirt and slipping inside the parted halves, and his mouth following suit. Jin's hands worked at his belt buckle and Kame curled toward him, reaching for Jin's neck, for Jin's mouth, for anything to anchor him.
"I'm not going home," Kame repeated in dutiful agreement, rejecting all rational thought that tried to force its way through the delirious sensations. Jin nuzzled his neck and kissed him again. And again, and Kame smiled into Jin's mouth.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Kame asked, barely coherent, when they both stopped to breathe for a moment.
Jin gazed down at him, considering. His cheeks were flushed and his over-bright eyes were hungry as they wandered down Kame's sprawled form beside him on the bed and then came back up again to meet Kame's eyes.
He shrugged. "Because you need this?" he asked uncertainly. "Right now, I know I do." He leaned in again to capture Kame's mouth in another starved kiss.
That was enough, Kame thought, as he dissolved beneath Jin's lips.
It had to be. For now.
FIN
Sequel: In a Little While: R, 1,161 words, October 2006
Fanfic Index
p2
Title: Out of the Ashes
Pairing: Akanishi Jin/Kamenashi Kazuya
Genre: RPF, slash
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 2,967
Summary: Kame missed Jin's birthday and tries to make up for it, with unexpected results.
A/N: This fic has nothing to do with "Driven"; while written at roughly the same time, the two evolved independently and the characterizations are different.
Huge, huge thanks go to Kou for inestimable help in birthing this one.
The neighborhood was dark and wet underfoot and quiet. Kamenashi Kazuya could only hear the distant sounds of traffic here, and the smell of rain and wet leaves was very strong. It had been raining all day, and only now had it begun to taper off to a light mist when Kame asked the taxi driver to let him out a few blocks away from Jin's apartment. He was a little nervous and a vague sense of disquiet settled over him mixed in with a fluttering of anticipation.
Kame fingered his mobile and hesitated before pressing the button to dial Jin's number. Nervous. Hopeful. Fuck it. He forced himself to suppress every stupid, babbling thought that flew across his mind as he stared down at the glowing display panel, and prepared for disappointment.
When he heard Jin's voice through the earpiece, he forgot everything he had planned to say.
"Akanishi! It's Kamenashi." He spoke very fast. "I'm getting out early tonight. I know it's late notice, but...are you free?"
There was a long pause before Kame heard Jin clear his throat. "When?
And just like that, they'd arranged it. It was extremely unusual that both of them actually had an early night at the same time - Kame could hardly believe it. And although Jin had sounded rather wary on the phone, he had agreed to have Kame meet him around nine p.m. at his apartment. Kame hung up in relief.
Now, he shrugged uneasily, as the skittery anticipation expanded in his belly. He was glad he'd decided to walk these last couple blocks. The rain and silence soothed him as he felt the moisture kiss his skin, and he closed his eyes every few steps and inhaled the wet scent of the quiet night. He regretted that he didn't have more moments like this - a space of solitude that he never seemed to find lately.
His steps slowed as he finally reached Jin's apartment building, and Kame looked up at its looming profile in the streetlight. Squaring his shoulders, he almost laughed at himself for being even the slightest bit nervous. After all, it was just dinner.
***
Jin opened the door to find Kame standing there with a bag in each hand. He was neatly clad in a dark blue button-down shirt, open at the throat to reveal a silver chain, and faded jeans that clung to his slim hips and were tucked into a pair of battered black leather boots. His face and hair were entirely beaded with tiny, tiny drops of water that sparkled in the hall light.
"Akanishi," Kame smiled nervously, holding the bags up. Jin looked like he had just taken a shower - his hair was still damp and curled around his neck above a white scoop-necked t-shirt that showed off finely-modeled collar-bones.
Jin just stared at him, surprised at the sudden flush of warmth that rose in his cheeks. Kame looked very tired but still, he stood there with clear eyes and a curiously open expression. Jin felt an uncharacteristic pang when he realized that Kame had given up a chance to go home and sleep so they could have dinner.
"It's still raining? Come in," Jin said, forestalling any further comment, and he bent forward to take the bags from Kame's hands and padded off toward the kitchen while Kame closed the door and bent to pull off his boots. "What the hell did you bring?" Jin asked over his shoulder. "These bags are heavy!"
"Dinner," Kame replied shortly, "and..."
"I made dinner," Jin called from the kitchen.
"Great, he made dinner," Kame muttered to himself, pulling a face.
"And don't make that face, because I know you're making a face," Jin continued, sticking his head out of the kitchen.`
Kame struggled to hide his grimace and tried to not look too guilty for it. "You didn't have to make dinner," he said, as he joined Jin in the kitchen.
"Well, you didn't say you were bringing it, so what was I supposed to do?" Jin reached into one bag and stacked the plastic take-out containers on the counter.
"I didn't?" Kame frowned, rubbing his neck in puzzlement. How could he have forgotten to tell Jin that he was bringing dinner? "Well...I'm sorry you went to all this trouble."
"It's no trouble," Jin replied, absently, and turned too quickly at the same moment that Kame was reaching over him for the other bag, and they awkwardly collided.
Jin flinched as if he'd been burned, and they both quickly apologized. Kame tried to suppress his hurt as he reached into the other plastic bag and held out the cold bottle.
"Huh?" Jin frowned as he accepted the chilled bottle with the elegant label: Dom Perignon, 1990. "Kazuya..." he trailed off in shock. Stunned, he looked up to meet Kame's eyes.
Kame smiled weakly. "Happy birthday."
Jin's mouth worked soundlessly, so he just looked down at the bottle again and then turned to carefully stand it on the counter. He didn't even have to struggle to recall the significance of this bottle: when they'd been younger and more carefree, they'd laughingly promised to split a bottle of expensive Dom when they each turned twenty-two - for no better reason than that they liked the symmetry of the age. He was sure that Kame had forgotten all about that. Maybe he had. Maybe this didn't mean anything at all.
He looked up, and when he saw the guarded expression on Kame's waiting face, he decided not to bring up old history. Everything was different now.
"You know, my birthday was two months ago," he said finally, while Kame shifted uneasily next to him.
"I know. I just...I'm sorry I missed it." Kame took a breath and met Jin's eyes. "I was hoping that I could make it up to you."
"What--tonight? You wanted to drink this tonight?" Jin asked incredulously.
"No--no!" Kame denied truthfully. "You should save that for a really special occasion!"
Jin laughed, and relaxed. "That's a relief. I just don't think I can drink 12, 000 yen champagne tonight."
"No...I brought something else for tonight, if you're interested."
"What?" Jin's face lit up and he made as though to dive at the bag, but Kame was already reaching inside and produced two more bottles. Jin looked from the bottles to Kame's face and back down again in amused puzzlement. "Butterscotch schnapps...and Bailey's?"
Kame smiled sheepishly. "It's just something one of the Australians introduced me to when I was working on Yuuki. It has a funny name, though," he warned.
"Which is?"
"I'll tell you later," Kame said hastily. "Let's have dinner!"
***
Later, Jin put some music on while Kame cleaned away the wreckage of dinner, which had ended up being a combination of Jin's dubious home-cooking (although Kame allowed that he was improving) and Kame's takeout. It was getting very late, but Jin showed no signs of showing Kame the door, and surprisingly, despite traces of awkwardness, they were actually having a reasonably good time.
Kame had his hands full of soapy dishes when he heard Jin's voice very close to his ear, and startled, he jumped, nearly dropping the dish.
"So we need shot glasses?"
"What?" Kame asked, trying to calm his suddenly-racing heart. He concentrated on rinsing the dish and putting it in the dish rack.
"For whatever it is we're doing with the schnapps and Bailey's - are you okay? You look flushed."
"I'm fine," Kame replied shortly, heat rushing to his face, which was of course the last thing he needed. He'd only had two beers to Jin's three with dinner, but now he felt like he'd had much more.
Several minutes later, Kame came out of the kitchen drying his hands on a dish towel and found Jin sitting on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table in the living room. There was a perfect line of shot glasses. Fourteen of them, all lined up like little toy soldiers. And the liquor bottles stood right behind them like stern generals, and Kame burst out laughing as he contemplated how silly that sounded.
Jin looked up, surprised, and Kame tried to control his laughter. "What?" Jin asked, scrubbing one hand through fluffy dark hair.
"Nothing," Kame said, suppressing a grin.
"Tell me," Jin insisted as Kame sat down next to him on the floor. Kame shook his head, so Jin bumped against him playfully.
"Just tell me, you idiot."
"Fine. I was thinking that these shot glasses are lined up like toy soldiers and those bottles are the generals. You can laugh now."
Jin threw him an incredulous glance and he did exactly that - he laughed, and soon, Kame was laughing too, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to put his head on Jin's shoulder and giggle helplessly at nothing at all.
"So what do we do now?" Jin asked when the laughter faded.
"It's not hard," Kame said seriously, "but it does take a little practice to get it right." He slid one shot glass nearer and after opening the schnapps, poured a quantity into each of the fourteen little glasses. Jin frowned quizzically.
"You need technique for that?"
Kame threw him an impatient glance and rolled his eyes. "No, idiot. Just watch." He unscrewed the top of the Bailey's and carefully tipping the shot glass with its clear liquid, Kame placed the bottle against the edge and very carefully poured so that the Bailey's slowly trickled down the side of the glass in a thin stream. When he was done, he very slowly righted the glass, and admired the effect. The Bailey's had formed a perfect tan layer floating on top of the clear schnapps. "Do you see?" He looked at Jin who seemed fascinated. "Do you want to try?"
They alternated, and while the first few didn't look that great, Jin got better as he went along, until the last few were perfect. They sat there admiring their neat row of shot glasses.
"So...." Jin began.
"I guess we should drink them," Kame ventured.
"Yes, but...what are they?"
Kame quickly picked up two glasses and handed one to Jin. "Drink first." Kame sipped at his, swirling the contents, because he liked it better that way, and surprisingly Jin followed suit.
"Wow," he said, gazing at his glass admiringly after a generous taste.
Kame smiled. "It's good, isn't it?"
"Mmmmm," Jin replied wordlessly, licking his lips, and then he downed it.
Kame looked at him and Jin gazed back expectantly.
"So?"
"Cowboys," Kame said.
"That's it? What's wrong with that? I thought you said they had a funny name." Jin waved his hand dismissively and reached for another glass which he quickly brought to his lips.
"They're called Cocksucking Cowboys," Kame continued just as Jin gulped another shotglass down, and then nearly spit the entire mouthful all over the table. Kame reached over and pounded his back as Jin choked, wheezed and sputtered. He couldn't help laughing at the expression on Jin's face.
"Trust you to feed me girly drinks. Obscene girly drinks," Jin grumbled when he could speak again.
Kame ran one hand through his brown hair and tipped his head back onto the couch. "But you like girly drinks, Jin! You're always the first one to order something fruity with an umbrella. Besides, cowboys are good."
"Well, yes, they are," Jin allowed grudgingly as he held his third shot up. He glanced consideringly at Kame who didn't notice. There were faint spots of color in Jin's cheeks and his eyes were very bright. "They're very, very good."
***
"Very, very good," Jin was saying after his sixth shot and by this point, Kame was stretched out on his side on the couch, one hand propping his head up while the other accepted another shot from Jin who twisted around to face him. Kame tossed off the shot with a beatific expression and handed the glass back to Jin as he stretched languorously, pushing his bare feet against the far arm of the sofa. Lightheaded, his tongue was beginning to feel rather numb. Kame curled one arm under his head and lay there while Jin turned back to watch him with an odd expression. Kame shifted his head slightly and didn't look away. He wasn't sure what he had expected to happen tonight, but there was a growing sense of expectancy coiling in his belly, heated by the looks Jin kept throwing his way.
"So how the hell are you, Kazu-chan?" Jin asked suddenly. "And don't say 'fine,' because I'll know you're lying. I'm not blind - I can see the circles under your eyes just like anyone else, and how much sleep did you get last night?"
"Th-three hours," Kame replied, startled into telling the truth. He flipped onto his back and tucked one arm under his head, so he could avoid the look in Jin's eyes. Why did he feel so drunk and yet Jin was still sober enough to ask him stupid questions? Suddenly, Kame felt the prickle of tears, so he blinked rapidly to clear them away. He was so busy trying to stave off his own stupidity that he didn't notice Jin's hand until it was already there, brushing the hair back from his face.
Kame froze at that light touch and he stared up wonderingly at Jin who was dreamily stroking his hair. Kame remembered to start breathing again, but his heart raced and the blood rushed to his face beneath Jin's delicate touch.
"Jin," he breathed finally.
"Shut up," Jin retorted in an unsteady voice. "You always talk too much. Do you have to work tomorrow? Yes or no."
"Yes."
"Shit."
"You know I have to work," Kame protested. "But..." he faltered as Jin's fingertips left his hair and began to stroke the side of his face. "But I don't have call until the afternoon."
"So that's why you're here getting drunk with me."
Kame said nothing. He supposed Jin was right, but he didn't really want to think about that. In fact, he was having trouble thinking about anything rational at this point.
Jin's hand left his face, and Kame almost breathed a sigh of relief at the absence at the same time he regretted it bitterly. He pulled his arm out from under his head and draped his forearm over his eyes. This was totally fucked up.
He was about to push himself up to try to leave, when he felt something wet against his lips. He jerked the arm off his eyes to see Jin leaning over him with the last shot glass in one hand, and two fingers hovered over his mouth. Instinctively, Kame licked his lips, and Jin tsked in annoyance.
"Hold still, idiot." Jin dipped his fingers into the glass again and then stroked them over Kame's mouth, his eyes flickering to meet Kame's. Kame just looked up at him with wide eyes and held his breath.
Jin put the glass down and then bent to kiss him.
At first it was just the lightest brush, a feather-stroke to glide against the creamy butterscotch-Bailey's moisture, but then Jin's tongue swiped at the sticky substance he'd slicked over Kame's mouth, and Kame instinctively parted his lips, feeling a suffocating weight crushing his chest and his head swam until his entire awareness had shrunk to the sensation of Jin's mouth on his, Jin's tongue sliding against his, Jin stealing his breath and tenderly cradling his head and kissing him slowly, drunkenly, in a desirous stupor.
Kame nearly cried from the delicious cruelty of it, but he struggled to blank his mind and just feel without the intrusion of rational thought. Jin was drunk, but he wasn't sloppy; instead his lips were warm and loving, and he tasted like the butterscotch and Bailey's and something that was altogether his own. Kame didn't realize he had twined one arm around Jin's neck to hold him closer until he felt Jin push himself up and away. He whimpered as Jin's mouth drifted away, but then Jin's arm was under his shoulders, helping him to his feet.
"Walk," Jin insisted drunkenly, "because I am not carrying you."
"Okay," Kame mumbled, pressing his face against Jin's neck, his head spinning, but Jin's arm was strong against him, and even though they both stumbled, they managed to stay erect long enough to reach Jin's bedroom where they tumbled down onto the bed together.
"You're not going home," Jin explained slowly, as though he was talking to a small child. Kame stared up at him dazedly, trying to understand how he had ended up here, with Jin's hands clumsily unbuttoning his shirt and slipping inside the parted halves, and his mouth following suit. Jin's hands worked at his belt buckle and Kame curled toward him, reaching for Jin's neck, for Jin's mouth, for anything to anchor him.
"I'm not going home," Kame repeated in dutiful agreement, rejecting all rational thought that tried to force its way through the delirious sensations. Jin nuzzled his neck and kissed him again. And again, and Kame smiled into Jin's mouth.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Kame asked, barely coherent, when they both stopped to breathe for a moment.
Jin gazed down at him, considering. His cheeks were flushed and his over-bright eyes were hungry as they wandered down Kame's sprawled form beside him on the bed and then came back up again to meet Kame's eyes.
He shrugged. "Because you need this?" he asked uncertainly. "Right now, I know I do." He leaned in again to capture Kame's mouth in another starved kiss.
That was enough, Kame thought, as he dissolved beneath Jin's lips.
It had to be. For now.
FIN
Sequel: In a Little While: R, 1,161 words, October 2006
Fanfic Index
p2