[One-Shot] Candlelight
Nooo I did not forget about my beloved Koalaboy's birthday. It was just that I was caught up with eight hundred thousand assignments because school started and I couldn't finish his birthday fic in time. DDD:
My birthday post for him here→ KOALABOY'S 26TH
Title: Candlelight
Disclaimer: I stake my claim on the candles.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Nakamaru/Ueda (with Nakamaru/Jin)
Warnings: Slash, M/M sex, slight profanity
Word count: ~4,200
Summary: Yuichi had no idea what Tatsuya was up to, and none of the notes he left for him made any sense at all.
A/N: Belated birthday fic for my beloved N of K-A-T-T-U-N~ ♥
Tatsuya’s bedroom slippers sat nicely outside the bathroom door. It was just that there was no one in the bathroom. There was no one in the kitchen. There was no one in the living room. There was no one in the balcony. Most importantly, Yuichi woke up to find nobody in bed next to him. And now that he had walked around the entire apartment, he found that he was the only one in there. It was all very strange.
Tatsuya didn’t leave him any message either, so Yuichi didn’t know where he had gone. Thinking that Tatsuya might have just gone out to buy breakfast, Yuichi went into the bathroom again. The toilet seat cover was unusually down, so Yuichi lifted it. Stuck with a piece of sticky tape to the underside of the toilet seat cover was a note.
Yuichi bent over to read it. There was, however, only one word - “The”. He looked around to see if there were any other notes stuck on the walls or anywhere, but he saw none. Turning to the basin where two toothbrushes hung nicely side-by-side next to the shelf where the toothpaste sat, Yuichi turned on the tap and washed his hands before plucking his toothbrush from the holder.
He found the second note when he picked up the toothpaste. All it said was “secret”. So Tatsuya was obviously planning something, and he had left notes all over the house as clues for Yuichi. Yuichi frowned, then wondered where the next one might be. It definitely wouldn’t be anywhere obvious, seeing as the first two were somewhat hidden. Shrugging, he decided to brush his teeth and wash his face first. Then after that, he could have a glass of milk and continue looking.
Yuichi took the two notes and put them in his pocket as he left the bathroom. When he went into the kitchen, there wasn’t anything stuck on the refrigerator or on the cabinet doors. He opened the refrigerator door and reached for the carton of milk. Once he lifted it out of the lower rack, he saw his next clue under where the carton of milk was. The note said: “lies”.
Yuichi stared at it. Lies. It didn’t exactly look like a word that could mean anything good and it scared him a little. First there was some kind of secret, and now there were lies. Yuichi quickly put down the carton of milk on the kitchen counter, and grabbed the piece of paper out of the refrigerator before closing the door. He lay the note on the counter as well, and then quickly poured a glass of milk before replacing the carton of milk back where it came from.
Holding up the piece of paper as he drank his glass of milk slowly, Yuichi stared at the single word on it. Lies. He needed to find the next note right away or he was going to start freaking out. Stuffing the note into his pocket as well, Yuichi went on with his daily routine, because so far it seemed that Tatsuya had placed every note according to what he did each morning.
So the next thing Yuichi did was to sit on the table right in the middle of the kitchen. It had become a habit he couldn’t kick, even when Tatsuya wasn’t there, like now. Every morning he would sit on the table and watch Tatsuya while he whipped up some scrambled eggs or pancakes. And Yuichi would be sipping his glass of milk initially, before putting it down on the table and then both of his hands would reach down to grip the edge of the table. Just like now.
Yuichi ripped the note from the underside of the table. Tatsuya knew him so well it was amazing. The note read, “with”. If “with” was the word that came after “lies”, that would mean that “lies” did not have any negative connotation and there would be no “secret lies” waiting to be uncovered.
So… “The secret lies with” what? Yuichi stared into space absent-mindedly for a little while, in the direction where Tatsuya usually stood. Picking up his glass of milk again, he finished it quickly and hopped off the table. Yuichi tried not to consciously think what his next step would be and attempted to just do his stuff naturally. He supposed if he thought too hard, he might end up doing something different and missing clues.
Yuichi walked to the couch and sat down. He dug out the other notes from his pocket and placed them all on the coffee table next to the newest one. It just so happened that the “with” ended up in a position right next to the remote control for the DVD player. He picked it up, and switched on the player, finding a note underneath it at the same time. It was another “the”, and there was something in the DVD player.
Switching on the television as well, Yuichi hit the Play button.
On the screen, Tatsuya was backing away from the camera to sit in the couch, right exactly where Yuichi was sitting right then. “Happy birthday, my love!” TV-Tatsuya said, smiling cheekily into the camera. “Because I know you can’t live without seeing me for a few hours, and you’re probably not going to see me anytime soon, I thought this video would suffice.” Another toothy grin. Yuichi couldn’t help but smile too, although his current concern was why he would not be seeing Tatsuya anytime soon. “Anyway, if you want your present, and I hope for your own sake that you can get it by the end of today, your next clue is ‘letter’. Good luck, darling!” TV-Tatsuya flashed a victory sign at the camera before going forward to stop the camera.
The screen faded to black. And Yuichi looked at the clock. It was 12noon. He had twelve hours before his birthday was over. Jumping up, he stared at the notes again. “The secret lies with the”… “letter”? What letter?
Yuichi wondered where he usually went after that. Bedroom again? Bathroom? There weren’t really a lot of things he did in the morning unless he did not have to go out at all that day. Logically, he would be heading back to his bedroom. So he did. Instinctively, he opened his wardrobe. Nothing seemed to flap at him in his face. Yuichi looked at his shirts and randomly pulled one out. No note. He replaced it and pulled another one. Still no note. Then he realized that his favourite shirt was hanging strangely at an angle, like it was going to fall off the hanger. He pulled it out. Yes note. It said “LETTER”, in capital letters.
Perhaps Yuichi was supposed to look for a real letter. He ran back outside to the letter holder on the wall. He rummaged in it until he found an envelope addressed to him in Tatsuya’s handwriting. Opening it hurriedly, the only thing he saw inside was a piece of paper with a huge “J” with an equally huge full stop.
“The secret lies with the letter ‘J’?” Yuichi said aloud. And what could that be? Yuichi looked around, wondering if there could be any more clues. He saw just one. The photo frame that was so aptly placed opposite the letter holder had two people in it. One was Yuichi himself, but the other wasn’t Tatsuya.
Scrambling to get his phone, he called the most obvious ‘J’ he knew. After a few minutes on the phone, Yuichi hurried to take a shower and get dressed and was on his way to Jin’s place. Whatever Tatsuya wanted him there for; Yuichi had no idea at all. He was trying to drive as calmly as he could, but eventually he still stepped rather hard on the accelerator.
Yuichi knocked so hard on Jin’s door that when Jin didn’t take long to open it.
“For goodness sakes, are you trying to destroy my door?”
“Sorry,” Yuichi apologized, looking sheepish. Then he immediately started walking around purposefully in search of something that might lead him to Tatsuya. Jin closed the door as he did so.
In fact, Jin had just closed the door when Yuichi appeared back next to him, which startled Jin a little. “Where is it?”
“Where is what?”
“What did Tatsuya leave here?”
“What did Tatsuya leave here?” Jin echoed in a snarky tone.
“Jiiiin.” Yuichi cocked his head to the side and stared at Jin.
Jin froze for a moment. Then he sighed. “All right, all right!” He pointed at a fat and short candle that was burning brightly and steadily on his coffee table.
Yuichi looked at it, then he looked back at Jin, who shrugged and raised his eyebrows. So Yuichi went over to look at the candle. The wax was opaque, and it seemed to be just a normal candle. He took it up to examine it, and saw from the side that there seemed to be a piece of card stuck a fifth of the way down, and another one towards the bottom. Yuichi looked at Jin again.
“What?”
“Um… What am I supposed to do now?”
“What else can you do?”
“I… have to wait?”
Jin smiled sweetly and nodded.
“I’m sure Tatsuya told you something, right? What is it?”
Jin shook his head. “One word - wait.”
Yuichi gaped at the candle. It didn’t look like it was going to burn out soon.
“Would you, um, like a drink or anything?” Jin asked.
“Uh, okay.” Yuichi said in resignation and went to sit in one of the bubble chairs situated next to the balcony.
Jin came out from the kitchen a few minutes later with a cup of coffee for himself and a glass of apple juice for Yuichi. He handed the glass to Yuichi and then sat in the other bubble chair. “How’s your birthday so far?”
Yuichi narrowed his eyes at Jin. “How do you think it is?”
Jin chuckled. “You know, I’m more of a straightforward guy.”
Yuichi pulled out the cushion on which he was sitting on and threw it at Jin.
Jin caught it, and proceeded to bury his face in the cushion. “You smell nice.”
“Oh, stop it, you.”
Jin peeked at Yuichi from behind the cushion. Yuichi was glaring at him. Jin threw the cushion back at him. “All right. I thought-”
“Nope. Stop thinking about that. It’s been over for a long time.”
“I’m heartbroken.”
“Must you be like this?”
“Do you want a birthday present?”
“JIN!”
“Just kidding,” Jin laughed. And then he brought Yuichi’s attention back to the candle.
The first card was showing, and Yuichi jumped down the bubble chair and plucked it out. “‘When the candle burns out…’,” Yuichi read aloud. “Well, that is useful.”
Jin laughed some more. “Tacchan turned you into a humorous person.”
“I have always been one.”
While waiting for the candle to burn more, Jin proposed video games, and Yuichi agreed. They spent the next couple of hours playing, and pigging out on snacks, because the candle took its own sweet time to burn. When the last card finally started to show, it was already five in the evening, and Yuichi couldn’t believe he had actually spent most of his day so far with Jin.
Yuichi yanked the card out and read it. “‘Get out of Jin’s place and come home now, my love’,” he deadpanned. “So this entire thing was just to make me get out of my apartment.”
Jin looked amused.
Yuichi glanced at Jin, “I can’t believe he chose you of all people to conspire with.”
Jin sidled towards Yuichi and leaned towards him. “Are you sure you don’t want a birthday kiss?”
Yuichi made a face at Jin. “No thanks, I’ll be off now, if you don’t mind.”
Jin called “Happy birthday, Yucci darling!” playfully as Yuichi ran towards the elevators. He was definitely in a rush to get home.
+++
Yuichi stood outside his door, not knowing if he should press the doorbell or just barge in. He knew he was probably being ridiculous for thinking such stuff, but what if he did the wrong thing and somehow ruined Tatsuya’s plan? He certainly did not need anything like that to happen, especially not after waiting an entire day. Sure he had fun playing video games with Jin, even though he had had more enjoyable times with him before. (He preferred not to think of those times anymore, though.) But he had gone an entire day without seeing Tatsuya. Not that it was particularly unbearable, but it was his birthday.
Feeling stupid, Yuichi pressed the doorbell anyway.
“Just come in, you dumbass!”
When Yuichi opened the door, he was greeted by a sweet floral scent. And an array of lighted candles covering almost every horizontal surface he could see. Yuichi slammed the door behind him and made short work of locking up. He was fast, but Tatsuya was even quicker than him, because when Yuichi turned around, Tatsuya was right in front of him.
“Er, hi.”
Tatsuya rolled his eyes. “Have you never met me before?”
Yuichi blushed uncontrollably.
“Go sit at the table,” Tatsuya ordered.
Yuichi obediently did.
Then Tatsuya held out three cards to him.
Yuichi groaned. “There’re more?”
“Uh-huh. What you pick is going to decide your fate.”
“I don’t like this game.”
“Too bad, since I chose you, you’ll have to like it.”
Yuichi pouted. “But it’s my birthday.”
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing bad in any of these. There are some that aren’t as good, though.”
“I should have taken up Jin’s offer just now,” Yuichi sulked.
Tatsuya chortled, “Oh, please! He’s probably ten kazillion times more sadistic than I am.” He patted Yuichi’s cheek. “Be glad you’ve got me, my love.” Then he waved the cards at Yuichi.
Very reluctantly, Yuichi raised a hand to pick a card. His hand hovered above the cards as he watched Tatsuya’s face. As he expected, Tatsuya’s expressions did not give away anything at all. Yuichi took the one on his left, but Tatsuya quickly snatched it from him.
“This is dessert. Let’s have dinner first.”
“You are being so… Argh, never mind. Yes, I’m starving.”
+++
The candlelight and floral scent was making him woozy, and Yuichi felt like he was in some fairytale. It all felt too surreal. The steak was heavenly, the wine was exquisite, and the company was more than pleasurable. Most of the time, though, Yuichi was just gazing at Tatsuya in the soft light, and generally ignoring everything he said until Tatsuya got annoyed and flicked mashed potato at him.
It was dessert time, and Yuichi found out that the card he picked gave him a bowl of strawberries and cream ice cream.
“That’s it?” Yuichi pointed to the ice cream incredulously.
“It could have been a sundae - with lots of chocolate sauce - or waffle - also with lots of chocolate sauce.” Tatsuya gestured for Yuichi to move his chair out, and then sat on his lap. “For strawberries and cream, you get me feeding you instead.”
“I like this game so far.” Yuichi grinned, putting his arms around Tatsuya’s waist.
“I told you.”
Fifteen minutes later, the half-finished bowl of ice cream was abandoned on the table because their mouths were occupied with other things, namely, each other’s mouths. Tatsuya had slung one arm around Yuichi’s neck, and his other hand rested on Yuichi’s chest.
They kissed unhurriedly, both having already tasted and memorized every inch of their mouths so many times. Yuichi ran his hand up and down Tatsuya’s thigh, and mumbled something unintelligible into Tatsuya’s mouth. Tatsuya immediately broke the kiss, and said, “No, no, wait. There’re more cards.”
“Bring it on, baby,” Yuichi drawled.
Tatsuya pulled three cards from his pocket.
Yuichi chose one without hesitation this time. He flipped it over and looked at it, and all it had were seven little lines. “What’s this?”
“Hangman. Or you could call it stripman if you like.”
“Wh-what?”
“It’s simple, see. For every letter you get wrong, you take something off. For every letter you get right, I take something off. And then when you get the entire word…”
Yuichi let Tatsuya down before he got up from the chair himself. Then he snaked his arms around Tatsuya’s waist again, pulling him close. He was slowly backing them into the kitchen, and Tatsuya wasn’t resisting.
Pushing him so he was pressed flat against a cabinet, Yuichi held him by his shoulders, and nuzzled the side of his face. “I.”
“Shit, how did you get your first guess correct?” Tatsuya tugged on the scarf he wound around his neck until he got it free and flung it away.
“It’s my birthday,” Yuichi grinned, nibbling at Tatsuya’s ear now. “N.”
“God, I hate you.” Tatsuya removed Yuichi from his ear and peeled off his sweater.
“I’m good, eh?”
“Shut up,” Tatsuya muttered, as Yuichi started flicking his tongue across his neck.
“H.”
Tatsuya narrowed his eyes at Yuichi. “Are you cheating?”
“Is there even a way to cheat in the first place?”
Tatsuya sighed. “This isn’t fun,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt.
“It’s not. You’re wearing eight hundred layers of clothing,” Yuichi groused, his hands wandering and lifting up Tatsuya’s shirt.
Tatsuya chuckled and hit his hand away. “Don’t cheat. And… Let’s just say I’m well-prepared.”
“E.”
“You suck.”
“Now?”
Tatsuya ignored him and unbuckled his belt. He was tugging it out of his jeans when Yuichi stopped him.
“Let me do it,” Yuichi whispered against Tatsuya’s ear. Then he dropped his hands to Tatsuya’s waist and slowly pulled his belt out. Yuichi’s fingers trailed right above the waistband of Tatsuya’s boxers as he did so. When the entire length of the belt was free, Yuichi just let it drop to the floor.
“I fucking hate you.”
“Good, because the rest of the letters are K, T and C.” Yuichi announced smugly. “Take them all off now.”
“How did you guess?” Tatsuya protested.
Yuichi grinned, “A while ago, you told the whole world that you wanted to have sex in the kitchen. Don’t you remember?”
Tatsuya looked up at Yuichi, who had a devious smirk on his face.
“Would you like some help in removing your clothes, my love?”
“You cheated,” Tatsuya stated. “You-”
Yuichi shut him up by placing a finger on his lips. “Well, I noticed that there are candles everywhere except on the island table.” Yuichi unbuttoned Tatsuya’s jeans, pushing it down past his butt, “And that’s where you’re going to be.” He turned Tatsuya around and hoisted him onto the table. Then he pulled the jeans lower and Tatsuya wiggled his feet out of them. “Now that tank top has to go, too.”
“You know, I’m only complying because it’s your birthday today,” Tatsuya took off the last top he was wearing.
Yuichi pushed him backwards so he lay flat on the table. “That’s why I have to take advantage of it.” Yuichi then climbed on top of the table, with Tatsuya’s legs trapped between his. He slowly lowered himself until his face was just inches above Tatsuya’s, and was about to kiss him again when Tatsuya thrust something in his face.
“Your present.”
Yuichi moved back a little so he could see it. It was a studded black collar with a little shiny, silver tag. Yuichi grinned and took it. “I love it.” Still in a kneeling position over Tatsuya, Yuichi deftly put it on for him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tatsuya reached up and grabbed his shirt so that Yuichi leaned forward. He took that as a cue to shut up and kiss.
Tatsuya hooked his legs around Yuichi’s waist, drinking in his scent as Yuichi’s tongue softly caressed his. He buried his hand in Yuichi’s soft black hair, cupping his head, and wondering why Yuichi was always so worried about how his hair looked. In his opinion, Yuichi looked great in anything. And nothing. Which was why his other hand was unbuttoning Yuichi’s jeans.
Yuichi helped him with it, pushing his jeans and boxers down to his knees. Tatsuya wrapped his fingers around Yuichi’s erection and stroked gently. Yuichi pulled Tatsuya’s boxers out of the way and hitched his legs higher up onto his back. Tatsuya stopped touching him, and put his hand on Yuichi’s back for leverage and support instead.
“You ready for this?” Yuichi rasped, breaking the kiss.
“Always,” Tatsuya replied, placing his other hand on Yuichi’s back as well.
Yuichi gazed into Tatsuya’s eyes, which were half-lidded yet staring at him so intently. Then Yuichi slowly pushed himself into Tatsuya, knowing it would hurt.
Tatsuya bit his lips, his fingernails digging into Yuichi’s back through his shirt.
“If it hurts too much, I can-”
“No! Go on!”
Yuichi said no more. He thrust into Tatsuya and felt Tatsuya suddenly tensing and tightening around him. Yuichi breathed heavily, pausing for a moment until he heard Tatsuya let out a small breath and relaxing. He braced his elbows on the table, knowing that Tatsuya was mumbling something incoherent. Then he pushed into him again.
Tatsuya stopped mumbling, and his words were replaced by soft moans instead. He followed Yuichi’s rhythm, moving in sync with him. They gradually grew more urgent, and Yuichi’s shirt was sticking to his body as he broke out in sweat. The kitchen wasn’t exactly a cool place, plus the windows were all closed. Tatsuya wasn’t sure if his own perspiration was due to the heat, the pain or the intensity. Perhaps it was all of those.
Yuichi nuzzled Tatsuya’s neck, flicking the silver tag on the collar around with his tongue. It made little jingling sounds as it bumped continuously into the studs. “This thing is cute,” Yuichi breathed.
Tatsuya chuckled, his chest heaving.
Then the kitchen was silent again except for the jingly sounds and their breathing. And the whistling sounds coming from the electric kettle that Tatsuya had no idea when he had put on. After that the refrigerator seemed to think it was the right moment to whir its motor.
Both of them ignored the sounds coming from their kitchen appliances, concentrating on each other instead.
Yuichi’s eyes were shut tightly and his brows were etched. He stopped playing with the tag, and Tatsuya tensed up again for a second. The next moment Yuichi came, his hotness spilling out of Tatsuya’s arse and onto the table. He flopped onto Tatsuya, the sensation overwhelming him and turning his brain into a blob of white fuzz. He panted softly, and took a while to open his eyes and focus his sight on Tatsuya.
“Next time you’re not doing that again,” Tatsuya murmured, referring to Yuichi entering him without any lubrication.
“But it was-”
“Alright, fine, if you like it.”
Yuichi grinned, sliding out of Tatsuya as he pushed Yuichi up to get into a sitting position.
“Get down,” Tatsuya ordered.
“Huh-” Yuichi started to protest but was silenced by Tatsuya, who shoved him violently off the table and sent him reeling backwards into the cabinets, narrowly missing the protruding handles by a bit.
Tatsuya latched his lips onto Yuichi’s, and at the same time finding Yuichi’s hand and guiding it to his own erection. He repressed a sigh when Yuichi’s hand closed around it, continuing to kiss Yuichi fervently instead.
Yuichi used his free hand and groped around the table right where the cabinets ended, knowing that there should be a bottle of maple syrup somewhere. He took a while to find it and when he did, he popped the cover. The sound made Tatsuya pull back and ask, “What’s that?”
“Maple syrup,” Yuichi replied, his eyes gleaming.
“Oh. OH, you…”
+++
Yuichi realized that Tatsuya had it all planned out. He had placed the most incredible huge-ass candles Yuichi had ever seen in his room, and they really took their time to burn, which was why Yuichi had his elbow propped on his pillow and was gazing at the beautiful sleeping form of his lover in the soft orange glow. He smelled of maple syrup, and so did Yuichi’s shirt, which he had since taken off and thrown onto the floor.
It was the first time Yuichi really looked at the tag on the studded collar which he had put on for Tatsuya earlier. He leaned forward and examined it, and raised his brows when he saw the words engraved on it. On the top there was Tatsuya’s name, and when he flipped it to the back, it read: ‘Property of Nakamaru Yuichi’.
Yuichi put the tag down gently so it didn’t fall backwards and clink with the studs. He lowered his head and kissed Tatsuya’s forehead. “I love you too,” he whispered.
Tatsuya stirred and opened his eyes. “Hmm?”
“Nothing, love. Go back to sleep,” Yuichi smiled.
Tatsuya returned his smile and closed his eyes again, snuggling into Yuichi and wrapping his hands around him.
Yuichi held him close, and soon fell asleep; his dreams full of Tatsuya, maple syrup, kitchen appliances on strike, and of how he couldn’t invite guests to his house for lunch or dinner anymore because there was only one dinner table in his apartment. That one.
-END-
Wish I had found you ten years ago but... never mind, I shall follow you for the next ten years. And the next ten. And for many ten years to come. ♥
My birthday post for him here→ KOALABOY'S 26TH
Title: Candlelight
Disclaimer: I stake my claim on the candles.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Nakamaru/Ueda (with Nakamaru/Jin)
Warnings: Slash, M/M sex, slight profanity
Word count: ~4,200
Summary: Yuichi had no idea what Tatsuya was up to, and none of the notes he left for him made any sense at all.
A/N: Belated birthday fic for my beloved N of K-A-T-T-U-N~ ♥
Tatsuya’s bedroom slippers sat nicely outside the bathroom door. It was just that there was no one in the bathroom. There was no one in the kitchen. There was no one in the living room. There was no one in the balcony. Most importantly, Yuichi woke up to find nobody in bed next to him. And now that he had walked around the entire apartment, he found that he was the only one in there. It was all very strange.
Tatsuya didn’t leave him any message either, so Yuichi didn’t know where he had gone. Thinking that Tatsuya might have just gone out to buy breakfast, Yuichi went into the bathroom again. The toilet seat cover was unusually down, so Yuichi lifted it. Stuck with a piece of sticky tape to the underside of the toilet seat cover was a note.
Yuichi bent over to read it. There was, however, only one word - “The”. He looked around to see if there were any other notes stuck on the walls or anywhere, but he saw none. Turning to the basin where two toothbrushes hung nicely side-by-side next to the shelf where the toothpaste sat, Yuichi turned on the tap and washed his hands before plucking his toothbrush from the holder.
He found the second note when he picked up the toothpaste. All it said was “secret”. So Tatsuya was obviously planning something, and he had left notes all over the house as clues for Yuichi. Yuichi frowned, then wondered where the next one might be. It definitely wouldn’t be anywhere obvious, seeing as the first two were somewhat hidden. Shrugging, he decided to brush his teeth and wash his face first. Then after that, he could have a glass of milk and continue looking.
Yuichi took the two notes and put them in his pocket as he left the bathroom. When he went into the kitchen, there wasn’t anything stuck on the refrigerator or on the cabinet doors. He opened the refrigerator door and reached for the carton of milk. Once he lifted it out of the lower rack, he saw his next clue under where the carton of milk was. The note said: “lies”.
Yuichi stared at it. Lies. It didn’t exactly look like a word that could mean anything good and it scared him a little. First there was some kind of secret, and now there were lies. Yuichi quickly put down the carton of milk on the kitchen counter, and grabbed the piece of paper out of the refrigerator before closing the door. He lay the note on the counter as well, and then quickly poured a glass of milk before replacing the carton of milk back where it came from.
Holding up the piece of paper as he drank his glass of milk slowly, Yuichi stared at the single word on it. Lies. He needed to find the next note right away or he was going to start freaking out. Stuffing the note into his pocket as well, Yuichi went on with his daily routine, because so far it seemed that Tatsuya had placed every note according to what he did each morning.
So the next thing Yuichi did was to sit on the table right in the middle of the kitchen. It had become a habit he couldn’t kick, even when Tatsuya wasn’t there, like now. Every morning he would sit on the table and watch Tatsuya while he whipped up some scrambled eggs or pancakes. And Yuichi would be sipping his glass of milk initially, before putting it down on the table and then both of his hands would reach down to grip the edge of the table. Just like now.
Yuichi ripped the note from the underside of the table. Tatsuya knew him so well it was amazing. The note read, “with”. If “with” was the word that came after “lies”, that would mean that “lies” did not have any negative connotation and there would be no “secret lies” waiting to be uncovered.
So… “The secret lies with” what? Yuichi stared into space absent-mindedly for a little while, in the direction where Tatsuya usually stood. Picking up his glass of milk again, he finished it quickly and hopped off the table. Yuichi tried not to consciously think what his next step would be and attempted to just do his stuff naturally. He supposed if he thought too hard, he might end up doing something different and missing clues.
Yuichi walked to the couch and sat down. He dug out the other notes from his pocket and placed them all on the coffee table next to the newest one. It just so happened that the “with” ended up in a position right next to the remote control for the DVD player. He picked it up, and switched on the player, finding a note underneath it at the same time. It was another “the”, and there was something in the DVD player.
Switching on the television as well, Yuichi hit the Play button.
On the screen, Tatsuya was backing away from the camera to sit in the couch, right exactly where Yuichi was sitting right then. “Happy birthday, my love!” TV-Tatsuya said, smiling cheekily into the camera. “Because I know you can’t live without seeing me for a few hours, and you’re probably not going to see me anytime soon, I thought this video would suffice.” Another toothy grin. Yuichi couldn’t help but smile too, although his current concern was why he would not be seeing Tatsuya anytime soon. “Anyway, if you want your present, and I hope for your own sake that you can get it by the end of today, your next clue is ‘letter’. Good luck, darling!” TV-Tatsuya flashed a victory sign at the camera before going forward to stop the camera.
The screen faded to black. And Yuichi looked at the clock. It was 12noon. He had twelve hours before his birthday was over. Jumping up, he stared at the notes again. “The secret lies with the”… “letter”? What letter?
Yuichi wondered where he usually went after that. Bedroom again? Bathroom? There weren’t really a lot of things he did in the morning unless he did not have to go out at all that day. Logically, he would be heading back to his bedroom. So he did. Instinctively, he opened his wardrobe. Nothing seemed to flap at him in his face. Yuichi looked at his shirts and randomly pulled one out. No note. He replaced it and pulled another one. Still no note. Then he realized that his favourite shirt was hanging strangely at an angle, like it was going to fall off the hanger. He pulled it out. Yes note. It said “LETTER”, in capital letters.
Perhaps Yuichi was supposed to look for a real letter. He ran back outside to the letter holder on the wall. He rummaged in it until he found an envelope addressed to him in Tatsuya’s handwriting. Opening it hurriedly, the only thing he saw inside was a piece of paper with a huge “J” with an equally huge full stop.
“The secret lies with the letter ‘J’?” Yuichi said aloud. And what could that be? Yuichi looked around, wondering if there could be any more clues. He saw just one. The photo frame that was so aptly placed opposite the letter holder had two people in it. One was Yuichi himself, but the other wasn’t Tatsuya.
Scrambling to get his phone, he called the most obvious ‘J’ he knew. After a few minutes on the phone, Yuichi hurried to take a shower and get dressed and was on his way to Jin’s place. Whatever Tatsuya wanted him there for; Yuichi had no idea at all. He was trying to drive as calmly as he could, but eventually he still stepped rather hard on the accelerator.
Yuichi knocked so hard on Jin’s door that when Jin didn’t take long to open it.
“For goodness sakes, are you trying to destroy my door?”
“Sorry,” Yuichi apologized, looking sheepish. Then he immediately started walking around purposefully in search of something that might lead him to Tatsuya. Jin closed the door as he did so.
In fact, Jin had just closed the door when Yuichi appeared back next to him, which startled Jin a little. “Where is it?”
“Where is what?”
“What did Tatsuya leave here?”
“What did Tatsuya leave here?” Jin echoed in a snarky tone.
“Jiiiin.” Yuichi cocked his head to the side and stared at Jin.
Jin froze for a moment. Then he sighed. “All right, all right!” He pointed at a fat and short candle that was burning brightly and steadily on his coffee table.
Yuichi looked at it, then he looked back at Jin, who shrugged and raised his eyebrows. So Yuichi went over to look at the candle. The wax was opaque, and it seemed to be just a normal candle. He took it up to examine it, and saw from the side that there seemed to be a piece of card stuck a fifth of the way down, and another one towards the bottom. Yuichi looked at Jin again.
“What?”
“Um… What am I supposed to do now?”
“What else can you do?”
“I… have to wait?”
Jin smiled sweetly and nodded.
“I’m sure Tatsuya told you something, right? What is it?”
Jin shook his head. “One word - wait.”
Yuichi gaped at the candle. It didn’t look like it was going to burn out soon.
“Would you, um, like a drink or anything?” Jin asked.
“Uh, okay.” Yuichi said in resignation and went to sit in one of the bubble chairs situated next to the balcony.
Jin came out from the kitchen a few minutes later with a cup of coffee for himself and a glass of apple juice for Yuichi. He handed the glass to Yuichi and then sat in the other bubble chair. “How’s your birthday so far?”
Yuichi narrowed his eyes at Jin. “How do you think it is?”
Jin chuckled. “You know, I’m more of a straightforward guy.”
Yuichi pulled out the cushion on which he was sitting on and threw it at Jin.
Jin caught it, and proceeded to bury his face in the cushion. “You smell nice.”
“Oh, stop it, you.”
Jin peeked at Yuichi from behind the cushion. Yuichi was glaring at him. Jin threw the cushion back at him. “All right. I thought-”
“Nope. Stop thinking about that. It’s been over for a long time.”
“I’m heartbroken.”
“Must you be like this?”
“Do you want a birthday present?”
“JIN!”
“Just kidding,” Jin laughed. And then he brought Yuichi’s attention back to the candle.
The first card was showing, and Yuichi jumped down the bubble chair and plucked it out. “‘When the candle burns out…’,” Yuichi read aloud. “Well, that is useful.”
Jin laughed some more. “Tacchan turned you into a humorous person.”
“I have always been one.”
While waiting for the candle to burn more, Jin proposed video games, and Yuichi agreed. They spent the next couple of hours playing, and pigging out on snacks, because the candle took its own sweet time to burn. When the last card finally started to show, it was already five in the evening, and Yuichi couldn’t believe he had actually spent most of his day so far with Jin.
Yuichi yanked the card out and read it. “‘Get out of Jin’s place and come home now, my love’,” he deadpanned. “So this entire thing was just to make me get out of my apartment.”
Jin looked amused.
Yuichi glanced at Jin, “I can’t believe he chose you of all people to conspire with.”
Jin sidled towards Yuichi and leaned towards him. “Are you sure you don’t want a birthday kiss?”
Yuichi made a face at Jin. “No thanks, I’ll be off now, if you don’t mind.”
Jin called “Happy birthday, Yucci darling!” playfully as Yuichi ran towards the elevators. He was definitely in a rush to get home.
+++
Yuichi stood outside his door, not knowing if he should press the doorbell or just barge in. He knew he was probably being ridiculous for thinking such stuff, but what if he did the wrong thing and somehow ruined Tatsuya’s plan? He certainly did not need anything like that to happen, especially not after waiting an entire day. Sure he had fun playing video games with Jin, even though he had had more enjoyable times with him before. (He preferred not to think of those times anymore, though.) But he had gone an entire day without seeing Tatsuya. Not that it was particularly unbearable, but it was his birthday.
Feeling stupid, Yuichi pressed the doorbell anyway.
“Just come in, you dumbass!”
When Yuichi opened the door, he was greeted by a sweet floral scent. And an array of lighted candles covering almost every horizontal surface he could see. Yuichi slammed the door behind him and made short work of locking up. He was fast, but Tatsuya was even quicker than him, because when Yuichi turned around, Tatsuya was right in front of him.
“Er, hi.”
Tatsuya rolled his eyes. “Have you never met me before?”
Yuichi blushed uncontrollably.
“Go sit at the table,” Tatsuya ordered.
Yuichi obediently did.
Then Tatsuya held out three cards to him.
Yuichi groaned. “There’re more?”
“Uh-huh. What you pick is going to decide your fate.”
“I don’t like this game.”
“Too bad, since I chose you, you’ll have to like it.”
Yuichi pouted. “But it’s my birthday.”
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing bad in any of these. There are some that aren’t as good, though.”
“I should have taken up Jin’s offer just now,” Yuichi sulked.
Tatsuya chortled, “Oh, please! He’s probably ten kazillion times more sadistic than I am.” He patted Yuichi’s cheek. “Be glad you’ve got me, my love.” Then he waved the cards at Yuichi.
Very reluctantly, Yuichi raised a hand to pick a card. His hand hovered above the cards as he watched Tatsuya’s face. As he expected, Tatsuya’s expressions did not give away anything at all. Yuichi took the one on his left, but Tatsuya quickly snatched it from him.
“This is dessert. Let’s have dinner first.”
“You are being so… Argh, never mind. Yes, I’m starving.”
+++
The candlelight and floral scent was making him woozy, and Yuichi felt like he was in some fairytale. It all felt too surreal. The steak was heavenly, the wine was exquisite, and the company was more than pleasurable. Most of the time, though, Yuichi was just gazing at Tatsuya in the soft light, and generally ignoring everything he said until Tatsuya got annoyed and flicked mashed potato at him.
It was dessert time, and Yuichi found out that the card he picked gave him a bowl of strawberries and cream ice cream.
“That’s it?” Yuichi pointed to the ice cream incredulously.
“It could have been a sundae - with lots of chocolate sauce - or waffle - also with lots of chocolate sauce.” Tatsuya gestured for Yuichi to move his chair out, and then sat on his lap. “For strawberries and cream, you get me feeding you instead.”
“I like this game so far.” Yuichi grinned, putting his arms around Tatsuya’s waist.
“I told you.”
Fifteen minutes later, the half-finished bowl of ice cream was abandoned on the table because their mouths were occupied with other things, namely, each other’s mouths. Tatsuya had slung one arm around Yuichi’s neck, and his other hand rested on Yuichi’s chest.
They kissed unhurriedly, both having already tasted and memorized every inch of their mouths so many times. Yuichi ran his hand up and down Tatsuya’s thigh, and mumbled something unintelligible into Tatsuya’s mouth. Tatsuya immediately broke the kiss, and said, “No, no, wait. There’re more cards.”
“Bring it on, baby,” Yuichi drawled.
Tatsuya pulled three cards from his pocket.
Yuichi chose one without hesitation this time. He flipped it over and looked at it, and all it had were seven little lines. “What’s this?”
“Hangman. Or you could call it stripman if you like.”
“Wh-what?”
“It’s simple, see. For every letter you get wrong, you take something off. For every letter you get right, I take something off. And then when you get the entire word…”
Yuichi let Tatsuya down before he got up from the chair himself. Then he snaked his arms around Tatsuya’s waist again, pulling him close. He was slowly backing them into the kitchen, and Tatsuya wasn’t resisting.
Pushing him so he was pressed flat against a cabinet, Yuichi held him by his shoulders, and nuzzled the side of his face. “I.”
“Shit, how did you get your first guess correct?” Tatsuya tugged on the scarf he wound around his neck until he got it free and flung it away.
“It’s my birthday,” Yuichi grinned, nibbling at Tatsuya’s ear now. “N.”
“God, I hate you.” Tatsuya removed Yuichi from his ear and peeled off his sweater.
“I’m good, eh?”
“Shut up,” Tatsuya muttered, as Yuichi started flicking his tongue across his neck.
“H.”
Tatsuya narrowed his eyes at Yuichi. “Are you cheating?”
“Is there even a way to cheat in the first place?”
Tatsuya sighed. “This isn’t fun,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt.
“It’s not. You’re wearing eight hundred layers of clothing,” Yuichi groused, his hands wandering and lifting up Tatsuya’s shirt.
Tatsuya chuckled and hit his hand away. “Don’t cheat. And… Let’s just say I’m well-prepared.”
“E.”
“You suck.”
“Now?”
Tatsuya ignored him and unbuckled his belt. He was tugging it out of his jeans when Yuichi stopped him.
“Let me do it,” Yuichi whispered against Tatsuya’s ear. Then he dropped his hands to Tatsuya’s waist and slowly pulled his belt out. Yuichi’s fingers trailed right above the waistband of Tatsuya’s boxers as he did so. When the entire length of the belt was free, Yuichi just let it drop to the floor.
“I fucking hate you.”
“Good, because the rest of the letters are K, T and C.” Yuichi announced smugly. “Take them all off now.”
“How did you guess?” Tatsuya protested.
Yuichi grinned, “A while ago, you told the whole world that you wanted to have sex in the kitchen. Don’t you remember?”
Tatsuya looked up at Yuichi, who had a devious smirk on his face.
“Would you like some help in removing your clothes, my love?”
“You cheated,” Tatsuya stated. “You-”
Yuichi shut him up by placing a finger on his lips. “Well, I noticed that there are candles everywhere except on the island table.” Yuichi unbuttoned Tatsuya’s jeans, pushing it down past his butt, “And that’s where you’re going to be.” He turned Tatsuya around and hoisted him onto the table. Then he pulled the jeans lower and Tatsuya wiggled his feet out of them. “Now that tank top has to go, too.”
“You know, I’m only complying because it’s your birthday today,” Tatsuya took off the last top he was wearing.
Yuichi pushed him backwards so he lay flat on the table. “That’s why I have to take advantage of it.” Yuichi then climbed on top of the table, with Tatsuya’s legs trapped between his. He slowly lowered himself until his face was just inches above Tatsuya’s, and was about to kiss him again when Tatsuya thrust something in his face.
“Your present.”
Yuichi moved back a little so he could see it. It was a studded black collar with a little shiny, silver tag. Yuichi grinned and took it. “I love it.” Still in a kneeling position over Tatsuya, Yuichi deftly put it on for him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tatsuya reached up and grabbed his shirt so that Yuichi leaned forward. He took that as a cue to shut up and kiss.
Tatsuya hooked his legs around Yuichi’s waist, drinking in his scent as Yuichi’s tongue softly caressed his. He buried his hand in Yuichi’s soft black hair, cupping his head, and wondering why Yuichi was always so worried about how his hair looked. In his opinion, Yuichi looked great in anything. And nothing. Which was why his other hand was unbuttoning Yuichi’s jeans.
Yuichi helped him with it, pushing his jeans and boxers down to his knees. Tatsuya wrapped his fingers around Yuichi’s erection and stroked gently. Yuichi pulled Tatsuya’s boxers out of the way and hitched his legs higher up onto his back. Tatsuya stopped touching him, and put his hand on Yuichi’s back for leverage and support instead.
“You ready for this?” Yuichi rasped, breaking the kiss.
“Always,” Tatsuya replied, placing his other hand on Yuichi’s back as well.
Yuichi gazed into Tatsuya’s eyes, which were half-lidded yet staring at him so intently. Then Yuichi slowly pushed himself into Tatsuya, knowing it would hurt.
Tatsuya bit his lips, his fingernails digging into Yuichi’s back through his shirt.
“If it hurts too much, I can-”
“No! Go on!”
Yuichi said no more. He thrust into Tatsuya and felt Tatsuya suddenly tensing and tightening around him. Yuichi breathed heavily, pausing for a moment until he heard Tatsuya let out a small breath and relaxing. He braced his elbows on the table, knowing that Tatsuya was mumbling something incoherent. Then he pushed into him again.
Tatsuya stopped mumbling, and his words were replaced by soft moans instead. He followed Yuichi’s rhythm, moving in sync with him. They gradually grew more urgent, and Yuichi’s shirt was sticking to his body as he broke out in sweat. The kitchen wasn’t exactly a cool place, plus the windows were all closed. Tatsuya wasn’t sure if his own perspiration was due to the heat, the pain or the intensity. Perhaps it was all of those.
Yuichi nuzzled Tatsuya’s neck, flicking the silver tag on the collar around with his tongue. It made little jingling sounds as it bumped continuously into the studs. “This thing is cute,” Yuichi breathed.
Tatsuya chuckled, his chest heaving.
Then the kitchen was silent again except for the jingly sounds and their breathing. And the whistling sounds coming from the electric kettle that Tatsuya had no idea when he had put on. After that the refrigerator seemed to think it was the right moment to whir its motor.
Both of them ignored the sounds coming from their kitchen appliances, concentrating on each other instead.
Yuichi’s eyes were shut tightly and his brows were etched. He stopped playing with the tag, and Tatsuya tensed up again for a second. The next moment Yuichi came, his hotness spilling out of Tatsuya’s arse and onto the table. He flopped onto Tatsuya, the sensation overwhelming him and turning his brain into a blob of white fuzz. He panted softly, and took a while to open his eyes and focus his sight on Tatsuya.
“Next time you’re not doing that again,” Tatsuya murmured, referring to Yuichi entering him without any lubrication.
“But it was-”
“Alright, fine, if you like it.”
Yuichi grinned, sliding out of Tatsuya as he pushed Yuichi up to get into a sitting position.
“Get down,” Tatsuya ordered.
“Huh-” Yuichi started to protest but was silenced by Tatsuya, who shoved him violently off the table and sent him reeling backwards into the cabinets, narrowly missing the protruding handles by a bit.
Tatsuya latched his lips onto Yuichi’s, and at the same time finding Yuichi’s hand and guiding it to his own erection. He repressed a sigh when Yuichi’s hand closed around it, continuing to kiss Yuichi fervently instead.
Yuichi used his free hand and groped around the table right where the cabinets ended, knowing that there should be a bottle of maple syrup somewhere. He took a while to find it and when he did, he popped the cover. The sound made Tatsuya pull back and ask, “What’s that?”
“Maple syrup,” Yuichi replied, his eyes gleaming.
“Oh. OH, you…”
+++
Yuichi realized that Tatsuya had it all planned out. He had placed the most incredible huge-ass candles Yuichi had ever seen in his room, and they really took their time to burn, which was why Yuichi had his elbow propped on his pillow and was gazing at the beautiful sleeping form of his lover in the soft orange glow. He smelled of maple syrup, and so did Yuichi’s shirt, which he had since taken off and thrown onto the floor.
It was the first time Yuichi really looked at the tag on the studded collar which he had put on for Tatsuya earlier. He leaned forward and examined it, and raised his brows when he saw the words engraved on it. On the top there was Tatsuya’s name, and when he flipped it to the back, it read: ‘Property of Nakamaru Yuichi’.
Yuichi put the tag down gently so it didn’t fall backwards and clink with the studs. He lowered his head and kissed Tatsuya’s forehead. “I love you too,” he whispered.
Tatsuya stirred and opened his eyes. “Hmm?”
“Nothing, love. Go back to sleep,” Yuichi smiled.
Tatsuya returned his smile and closed his eyes again, snuggling into Yuichi and wrapping his hands around him.
Yuichi held him close, and soon fell asleep; his dreams full of Tatsuya, maple syrup, kitchen appliances on strike, and of how he couldn’t invite guests to his house for lunch or dinner anymore because there was only one dinner table in his apartment. That one.
-END-
Wish I had found you ten years ago but... never mind, I shall follow you for the next ten years. And the next ten. And for many ten years to come. ♥