Fanfiction: When contempt and disdain collide (Chapter 3/3: Pain and Pleasure)
Characters: Tsubasa, Kame, Ryo, Pi, Takki, Jinnifer, Jin (in order of appearance)
Pairings in this chapter: KamePi and TakkiTsuba
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, even the plot is loosely based on an old international favourite. Make a guess. Pride and Prejudice.
Note: Many thanks to darke_phoenixe, one of her book reviews got me started on this.
Chapter 1/3: Ryokan & Renowned International Hotel Chain
Chapter 2/3: Proposal and Punishment
‘Although we come from very different background, and you may not have the necessary qualifications or experience, I hope you’d work for me. Coming from a small country town, I don’t know what qualifications you might have, if any. But I am willing to overlook it if you’d be with me, I mean… work for me.’
‘It’s an offer many would jump at and I’m sure you have no reason to decline. So what do you say?
Although Tsubasa sought for confirmation, he was quietly confident. It was an offer few could refuse.
Understandably, Takki’s astonishment was beyond words.
But finally, he found the right word.
‘No.’
………..
Tsubasa was suddenly suspended in disbelief. Did Takki just refused him?
Seeing Tsubasa lose his composure, Takki felt a slight pang of compassion.
‘I’m sorry to have to reject your generous offer. But I’ve never desired your good intention, much less ever dreamt of working for you.’
‘Why, might I ask?’
Takki eyed him in amazement.
‘He’s not the sharpest pencil in the box, is he? Well, certainly not the kindest.’ Takki thought.
‘If you weren’t so eloquent on the inferiority of my background, or so articulate on how little you thought of me, I might even be obligated enough to feel a tingling of gratitude. But that’s of little concern.’ Takki paused to contain himself.
‘I could never be tempted by the man, who had perhaps forever, ruined the happiness of a most beloved brother.’
If Tsubasa was only shaken earlier, he was now stirred as well.
‘I just heard from Aunt Jinnifer that you had earlier dissuaded Kamenashi-san from an imprudent employment from the countryside.’
‘She doesn’t know who. But it’s my brother, right?’
Thinking back on the acute misery Pi suffered, waiting for news that never came, Takki got all flushed and agitated.
With forced tranquility, Tsubasa finally uttered.
‘You love your brother and I love mine. Kame is like a brother to me. And I only ever wanted to save him the heartache of being with someone, I thought was a mummy’s boy simply following the orders of his mummy dearest.’
Daring himself to continue, Tsubasa explained, ‘This might be improper. But even you have to admit that your mother had been acting every bit the part of a gold-digger. It was obvious that she had been scheming for your brother to get into Kame’s good books then into his company.’
‘I’m sorry that I failed to realize that there was genuine affection behind it all.’
‘Affection? I’m surprised that an arrogant, conceited and selfish person like you would ever be acquainted with such an emotion!’
Takki was clearly still livid and of the unyielding opinion that Tsubasa was of little merit.
‘You have said quite enough. I understand your feelings fully and am now ashamed of my own. Forgive me for taking so much of your time, and please get well soon.’
With that, Tsubasa and Takki parted ways.
………………
Wanting to thank her sister for allowing Takki help out at her ryokan, Jinnifer invited her and her family to Tokyo for the weekend. And since Jinnifer had recovered completely from her fall, she happily went about making the arrangements for their visit, an operation she dubbed, Jinnifer’s Delight.
At the airport, she proudly proclaimed to the Takizawa family that ‘Jinnifer’s Delight’ would be the experience of a lifetime.
But to Pi, reuniting with his brother, Takki was enough of an experience. Although they called each other every night and air-kissed each other to sleep, nothing beat having Takki in his arms and squeezing the living daylights out of him.
While the others ventured ahead, Takki was lagging far behind trying to hoist a struggling Pi into the air.
‘I need to weigh you. You seemed to have lost weight,’ Takki asserted.
‘Of course! I missed your cooking and senbeis,’ Pi sighed and with an air of resignation gave in to Takki’s advances. But in revenge, he insisted that Takki piggyback him to the car.
With Pi’s arms draped around his shoulders and legs wrapped around his waist, Takki cheekily asked, ‘Is that all you missed?’
True to Aunt Jinnifer’s words, when they exited the airport, there was a shiny white stretch limousine waiting for them. Seeing their astonished faces, Jinnifer carelessly brushed it aside, saying, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’
The real catch was actually what was inside, waiting for the longest time.
As she opened the door, a long awaited face appeared, Kame’s.
‘Isn’t he the prettiest thing alive? And this pretty boy claims to know you and insisted that he’s in your itinerary.’
Pi’s eyes popped and Mrs Takizawa’s cried. It seemed she was even happier to see Kame than Takki. Watching the two was akin to seeing a tearful reunion between a doting mother and her long-lost son. Pi had unfortunately no part in this yet, but he was too overwhelmed to know what to do either. Feeling completely lost, all he could do was cling tightly onto Takki’s hand for comfort.
When Mrs Takizawa finally let Kame go, Kame asked to speak to Pi alone for a while.
Seeing that his mother had forgiven and forgotten Kame’s broken promise so freely, Pi felt it wasn’t right to drag it out. Heartbroken as he was, Pi knew deep down that he could never hate Kame or even be slightly angry at him. Pi was soft-hearted and good-natured like that, so ready to forgive and trust again.
‘I don’t dare to ask you to forgive me. But please just give me another chance to make it right,’ Kame pleaded sincerely.
‘You got me at hello,’ Pi giggled, trying to make light of the uncomfortably tense situation.
‘That’s so cheesy.... but I love it!’
Kame’s expression relaxed and he was now bashfully smiling, an expression mirrored by Pi.
……………..
‘Is this palace-lookalike your hotel?’ Mrs Takizawa gasped.
‘No. I’m afraid that my branch in town is fully booked for a convention. But this one’s even better. It’s the only seven-star hotel in Japan. And you know the owner too, my friend, Imai-san. He was the one who informed me of your family’s visit to Tokyo.’
‘How did he know?’ Mrs Takizawa asked, massively puzzled.
‘Oh, I told him. We happen to be dance partners,’ Jinnifer explained.
‘You mean that stiffy can dance?’
‘’Very well, in fact.’
Admiring the majesty of Tsubasa’s very fine hotel, Mrs Takizawa was experiencing a paradigm shift.
‘Perhaps, I’ve been too harsh on him. Maybe deep down inside, he’s really a very sweet boy.’
Meanwhile, Takki was horrified at the possibility of meeting up with this ‘very sweet boy’ that he had unceremoniously rejected earlier.
Upon hearing that Tsubasa was out of town, he reluctantly agreed to step into the hotel.
It turned out that Tsubasa was a very sweet boy indeed. He not only arranged the presidential suite for them but also painstaking instructed the butler that the mini-bar be stocked with Takki’s favourite senbei and sake. And all these privileges and pampering were, of course, on the house.
In their luxurious suite, on a plush designer sofa, looking out into Tokyo’s cityscape, Mrs Takizawa had never been happier. Pi was happy too, gazing into Kame’s eyes. Yabu was happy too, jumping on his king sized bed with his cousin, Jin. Only Takki was less than happy, thinking about Tsubasa.
And they say you attract what you fear.
…………..
For dinner, they were ushered by the butler into a posh, award-winning French restaurant in the hotel.
Dinner was going well and Takki was gradually beginning to unravel his nerves. Lulled by the soft music and soothing ambience of the restaurant, he was starting to feel that it was safe to be here. That was until the appearance of a very unexpected visitor.
Seeing that visitor, Takki panicked.
‘Argh…’ Takki struggled as he chocked on an escargot.
Unfortunately, everyone seemed too preoccupied to notice. Mrs Takizawa was engaged in a finger game with Jinnifer. Jin was busy making advances on Yabu. Even Pi was busy locking eyes with Kame to notice his brother flailing away.
And so it was left to Tsubasa to save the day.
He hurriedly applied first aid, which promptly forced the intruder flying out.
With Tsubasa’s arms still wrapped around his chest, Takki asked, ‘I thought you were out of town?’
‘The wings of the plane gave way before take off. Besides, I have some pressing business here anyway,’ Tsubasa coolly replied.
Observing Tsubasa, it seemed that his earlier refusal had no lasting effect on him. He was back to his former composed self, except not entirely. Tsubasa was strangely gentler now. It was as if he had transformed from Ice Man to Ice Cream Man. After dinner, he personally showed them around his hotel and assured them that all facilities and services were complimentary.
His hospitality even extended to the next day, in which he escorted them around town. Since Kame had excused himself so that he could show Pi around his company, Tsubasa took his place. He patiently accompanied them to a kabuki, an ikebana exhibition and even carried their shopping. Yabu and Jin were mightily impressed, for even they couldn't tolerate the torture and left midway for more stimulating pursuits. When Jin persuaded Takki to escape with them, the latter could not bear to leave Tsubasa alone to fend for himself and chose to stay.
It was a decision that took a huge toil on Takki’s mental and physical well-being. He could not decide which was more of a strain, the sedated and mind numbing feminine ‘pleasures’ or be in close company of Tsubasa, a spurned suitor, and having to watch him struggle to maintain that unreasonably bright fakeness on his face.
…………
Exhausted and with screaming feet, they crammed themselves into the already packed lift, aching to return to their suite quickly. In the jam-packed lift, Tsubasa could feel his hands pressed onto Takki’s. In that moment, he recalled how in the onsen, he touched a semi-conscious Takki for the first time. And the euphoria he felt then once again flushed his senses. He was expecting Takki to hastily move his hands away, now that he was conscious. But Takki didn’t.
Embolden, Tsubasa grasped Takki’s hand.
It was a move very uncharacteristic of Tsubasa. Perhaps it was out of fear that he would never again be in such close proximity to Takki. It was reckless and stupid, since the man had only recently rejected him flatly. But Tsubasa would much rather regret doing it than never knowing how it felt like to hold Takki’s hand.
Once again, Takki didn’t push his hand away, only lowering his head.
………….
The next day, the Takizawa family was up early preparing to leave for their hometown. Takki too was leaving, now that his aunt was well enough to run her own ryokan again. There were emotional goodbyes all round, except for Kame and Pi who had made a pact to meet again the next weekend when Pi officially move to Tokyo to work for Kamenashi Hotels as Kame’s full-time PA and part-time boyfriend.
Missing out on all the action was Tsubasa who had excused himself to attend to pressing business concerns.
………….
After feeling sure that all the commotion was over, Tsubasa laid himself to rest. Hugging the pillow that last cradled Takki’s head, Tsubasa closed his eyes to envision what Takki would look like lying on that same bed only a couple of hours ago. Breathing deeply, Tsubasa tried to salvage any scent of Takki that was still left on the pillow. Lying on the bed that still held a little of Takki’s warmth, Tsubasa pondered if it was a mistake not to have sent Takki off.
While Tsubasa had done his utmost best to be cordial to Takki’s family, he was unsure whether that was enough to change the latter’s mind about him. And with Takki’s resounding refusal still ringing in his ears, Tsubasa cowardly backed down and surrendered. He was, after all, still a very proud man. Another refusal might just mortally wound him beyond remedy.
As a naked Takki stood looking down at a pillow-buried Tsubasa, he realized that Tsubasa was man of many surprises.
‘What are you doing here?’ Tsubasa asked alarmed.
‘This is my room,’ Takki replied with fake nonchalance, as he tried to inconspicuously move the towel that was a moment ago on his wet hair down south.
‘What are you doing here?’ He asked in return.
‘Well, technically, this is my room too,’ Tsubasa justified.
Looking out the window, Takki said, ‘My family’s left ahead of me. I’m just taking a shower before I meet up with some friends. Then leave Tokyo.’
Watching Takki’s back and silhouette against the light, Tsubasa felt a stab of pain to his heart.
‘Don’t go.’
Tsubasa indulged himself with another clasp of Takki’s hand, this time holding it with both hands.
‘My offer still stands. But one word from you and I’ll forever remain silent on this matter.’
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘No, unless your offer is for me to be your PA cum... boyfriend. I don’t think that I can bear to be so close to you and not have you. I… ‘
As Takki felt Tsubasa’s lips pressed firmly against his, he was glad that the latter had chosen instead to let his actions speak for themselves.
…………
But as he felt the kiss become more needy, and Tsubasa’s hands roving up and down his back, and the towel around his waist falling to his ankles, Takki wasn’t so sure if that was such a good idea after all….
Note:
This is my sixth fan fiction and only now did Takki and Tsubasa actually kiss on the lips. That’s how innocent I am. And if you find it mildly entertaining, you may want to look out for the sequel, Lunchtime Workout.
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