Odd Ends - Chapter 15/17 [The Gazette - Uruha/Aoi, Reita/Ruki]
Title: Odd Ends
Author: Pelting_Rain
Rating: PG15 for this chapter
Genre: Slight Humour/ Romance/ AU/ Fluff/ Angst/ High School/ Rape- underage (overally)
Chapter: 15/17
Warnings: Rape, Double Penetration, Sex, Angst in quite a few chapters, Slight cursings [Overally]
Band[s]: the Gazette
Pairing[s]: Uruha/Aoi; Reita/Ruki
Beta[s]: camillaoc, konicoffee
Disclaimer: The following contents are purely fiction, and I am in no way related to the characters in the stories.
Synopsis: A spoiled brat meets an average, justice-seeking male, and falls head over heels in love with him. The reluctant Aoi is forced to work as a personal servant to Uruha, the school’s tyrant, and love blooms unconsciously between them. The happiness doesn’t last for long, however. Facing the trauma of a rape incident, will Aoi be able to overcome it with the help of Uruha, or will the latter leave him because of the humiliation? There is an ending to everything- but just how odd can it be?
Comments: I particularly love this chapter X) It's one of the lighter chapters in this series, and it's one of my longer works =D Umm so like I said, it's a happy chapter, so I had a wonderful time re-reading it XD (If I were to judge, it's somehow closer to the lighter texts in the first few chapters^^ and it mainly revolves around how macho Uruha is.) COUGHS. And two more chapters to go.^^ I'm hoping to finish this fast, since I've got the story planned out well. (: So enjoy, people! (: [LJ rich text still hates me =(]
Kyoko’s heart clenched at the sight before her.
His lips were pale, as was his skin. The usual smooth complexion was turning dry after days of cooping himself up in his air-conditioned room. The sparkle in his eyes was gone, leaving him with two solid eyeballs staring into blank space. There was no expression on his face, nothing at all. Kyoko searched for any signs of fatigue, disappointment or misery, but it was all in vain. And the lack of feeling made the middle-aged woman even more worried.
Uruha had been like this for days since the last time he had seen Aoi. After that short but fatal meeting with Akira, Aoi had left the apartment without much of a warning, and that was the last he had seen of the brunette. Uruha had tried searching for Aoi in school, but there were not the least traces of him. After a few days of mindless searching, he just gave up, and stopped going to school altogether. He didn’t stop searching- of course not. There was still hope that Aoi would return to him one day, and it wasn’t something that would die away.
There was painful regret. His expression didn’t reveal anything, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t feel anything. He regretted not chasing after Aoi. He regretted not treasuring their time together. And he hated himself for all the misery he himself started. Aoi would understand if he was here. Uruha didn’t need anyone else; he needed Aoi.
“Takashima-san.” Kyoko addressed Uruha politely. Uruha didn’t respond, as usual. He simply stopped caring about anything. There was nothing else to make him laugh. There was nothing else he could love as much. His reason to live in life was gone, not that he would attempt to kill himself in any way. That was stupid, and he still had his logical thinking at work.
Kyoko gave a sigh. “Suzuki-san’s here.” A dark shadow appeared in the corridor and a hand pushed the door open wider.
“Uruha.”
Reita’s voice was greatly familiar. The blonde had been visiting him every single day ever since the incident, sometimes by himself, sometimes together with Ruki. From what Uruha could see out of the corner of his eyes, Ruki wasn’t here today. There were heavy footsteps nearing him, and he felt warmth on his cold shoulder.
Reita gave a small shake to Uruha’s shoulder, but to no avail. He gave up swiftly, since he had never really gotten any improvements over the past few days. But this time, it wasn’t just any other day. He had news for Uruha, something that would wake him up to his senses.
“I’ve found Aoi.”
Uruha winced at the name, turning his stiff head around, meeting eyes with Reita for the first time in ages.
Reita grinned.
Aoi stared at the television screen blankly. “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” was playing, yet he paid no attention to the action movie. He was lost in his own deep thoughts, until he felt a dip in the sofa beside him.
“Hey.” He saw the warm smile that never failed to brighten up his day.
“Hey, Kai.” There was an awkward pause, with Kai simply staring at Aoi. “Um, what’s up?”
“How are you feeling?” Concern was evident in his voice.
“Well, fine, I guess.” Aoi was surprised himself. There were no fevers, no chills, and even no weight loss. Aoi had even gained weight under Kai’s care. And honestly, he felt as healthy as before. Perhaps it was some sort of false security.
“That’s great. How about your mental health?” Kai gave a small nod towards Aoi’s chest.
Aoi gave a generous smile that had lost its meaning, and touched his nose absent-mindedly.
“Never better.”
Kai stared at Aoi knowingly.
“Don’t lie to yourself, Aoi.”
“I ain’t lying.” Aoi’s gaze faltered and moved to stare at the coffee table.
“I know you are, dear. You touched your nose, a sign of deception.” Aoi bit his lips. “You miss him, don’t you?”
Aoi’s face fell at the mention of his lover. Or should he say, EX, lover.
“No.” The reply was firm, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy Kai.
“Just admit it, Aoi. You know you miss him. You’re spacing out more often now, and don’t assume I can’t hear the silent sobs you try holding in every night.”
“That’s just because of the symptoms I’m suffering from!”
“Don’t give me that shit, Aoi.” Aoi grimaced at the strong word Kai had used. To say that he was shocked was a fair bit of an understatement. “Do you miss him…?”
Kai’s gaze pierced and completely destroyed Aoi’s defenses.
“I do…” Kai had a fantastic way of making people talk. “I really do. I more than miss him. I want him, and I need him more than anything else in the world.” A pained expression was evident on Aoi’s face.
Kai gave a smile and nodded his head.
“You’ll come to appreciate me someday.” Kai was strangely amused, as he stared at his cell phone.
“Honestly, you look horrible.”
“I don’t need you to remind me of that, asshole.” Uruha ignored Reita’s scrutinizing gaze as he tried on the different blouses. He almost had a heart attack himself when he stood in front of the mirror reluctantly. He was in a horrible state, and simple adjectives were not enough to describe it.
Reita felt a smile pull at the corner of his lips. Uruha was shooting insults at him again, and he knew Uruha was back to normal. Well, close to normal, at least.
“White? Or Blue?” Uruha held up two different blouses, each being ironed and hung on the metal hanger neatly. Reita rubbed his chin, as if deep in thoughts.
“White. Blue will look good on me, probably.” Reita nodded thoughtfully, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Uruha.
“You ain’t gona rob my closet again.” Reita wasn’t poor- he could afford his own closet of clothes. But he found snatching Uruha’s designer outfits to be an amazing past-time, and frankly speaking, some of the outfits even looked good on him.
“Whatever.” Reita rolled his eyes as Uruha dressed himself up. Within moments, he was back to his usual self, dark blue jeans and the translucent white shirt, a suave and carefully-styled hair, the arrogant stance back again, with the irritating accompaniment of a smart-ass mouth.
“Good. Now get your ass out of here. You’ve got to ask Kyoko to clean this mess up. I’m telling you it is horribly humid.” It made sense since the curtains hadn’t been drawn for days, and no sunlight was allowed into the room.
The two blondes ran down the stairs in a hurry, with Uruha buckling up his watch and Reita whipping out his car keys.
“We’re taking your car?”
Reita rolled his eyes.
“Duh. I ain’t driving the Takashima’s cars. Besides, Kuro doesn’t know where I’m going.” Reita proceeded down the stairs to the large living space.
“Well then, tell him where we’re going!” Uruha retorted as he chased after his best friend.
“No, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Well, nobody wanted it as a surprise!”
“I do!”
Uruha raised his eyebrows.
“That’s because you’re admitting you’re nobody!”
“Well, yes. And nobody is perfect.” Uruha raised his eyebrows and Reita rolled his eyes.
“Forget it; you’re too much of an idiot to understand anything at all.”
Both of them crashed out of the large door into the garden, chasing each other down the long walkway before arriving at Reita’s outstanding silver Mustang. Both of them got in rapidly, and within moments, Reita was speeding down the neighborhood.
“Dude, you don’t have to drive so fast, you know?” Uruha gave a nervous chuckle as he held on to his seatbelt for life. Reita didn’t answer, but slowed down reasonably. The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with Uruha lost in his own thoughts.
He was excited, eager, and a complete nervous wreck. He was seeing Aoi for the first time in days, ever since the rejection. The rejection, Uruha felt, which made all his hopes fell. Aoi had rejected him earlier that week, he had refused to burden Uruha, and the blonde felt nothing but hurt and betrayal. What if Aoi was going to reject him once again?
Uruha’s thoughts were disrupted as the car drove down a familiar neighborhood. The tens of restaurants and coffee shops lining down the road, the children playing in the narrow but clean alleys. Uruha would forget anything but this. Before long, the car engine was turned off and Reita retrieved his car keys from the key hole. Uruha scanned the dimly-lit car park, before settling his eyes upon Reita’s.
Uruha was searching for signs of acknowledgement, and his doubts were cleared when Reita gave a short nod.
“Come on.”
The iron slid across the piece of white laundry easily, smoothing out the edges and wrinkled areas. The confession earlier had made him blank out for the entire day. He hated to admit it, but Uruha had completely occupied his mind.
His memory drifted back in time, to when he had first met Uruha. He gave a silent laugh at the thought of calling Uruha a dickhead, and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips when he got reminded of how Uruha threatened to make him his sex toy. All these had happened too fast, from how Uruha had been such a bully in the school, to Aoi becoming his personal maid. And from how Aoi had taught Uruha how to farm, to how Uruha embraced him when he had nightmares.
Uruha had meant too much to him, and he knew it was impossible for him to forget the blonde. But he had to give up on him. All these for Uruha’s future; for the greater good.
The doorbell rang aloud, surprising Aoi and the hot iron brushed against his index finger in accident.
“Fuck…” Aoi cursed to himself as he brought his injured digit to his mouth, engulfing it in saliva.
“Aoi, do you mind getting the door?” Kai’s voice travelled all the way from the kitchen to the laundry room, followed by a few clanging of the pots. Aoi winced at the loud noise, wiping his slicked finger at his shirt.
“Alright.” Aoi shot one last concerned look at the mess in the kitchen, before making his way to the door. He murmured silent vulgarities under his breath, trying his best to ignore the pain in his throbbing finger.
“Who is it-“ The door opened to reveal Reita, and behind him, a certain someone Aoi didn’t want to see that moment. Aoi couldn’t help but gape at the sight before him. He was still as amazing as usual, and it was as if he was practically glowing.
“Aoi.” Aoi hadn’t heard Reita’s voice for days, since he had broken off contact with anyone Uruha would possibly approach. Kai had promised not to tell on him, but it seems like Reita had successfully managed to force it out of the former. Aoi retreated back into the house, clearly still shocked at the sudden intrusion.
Reita proceeded into the house, with Uruha following close behind. The taller blonde shut the door behind him. Reita gave a nod in Uruha’s direction, before disappearing behind Aoi and into the kitchen. Uruha took a step forward, and Aoi backed away by instinct.
“Aoi…” Uruha’s voice was pleading, and his hurt was apparent. He could feel a piece of his heart breaking away with every passing moment, and he wanted all this shit to end soon. He wanted Aoi back with him.
Aoi gave no response, but regained his cold composure and proceeded back to the laundry room. He didn’t want to deal with Uruha now, not when his voice threatened to break the moment he open his mouth, not when tears were welling up in his eyes.
“Aoi…” Uruha gave a second call as he followed his lover into the narrow room. Yes, Aoi was still his lover, no matter what else the brunette thought of their relationship. It wasn’t over yet, Uruha wouldn’t allow that to happen. Aoi continued ignoring Uruha, returning back to his chore.
Before his mind could register anything, Aoi’s breath was knocked out of him as he found himself pinned against the wall. The familiar scent of Uruha penetrated his nostrils, and he winced at the pain at the back of his head. Uruha definitely caused a great deal of injuries to him that day.
“Aoi.” Uruha’s voice was turning serious, even though his grip on Aoi was still considerably gentle. He didn’t like being ignored, especially not when he needed to talk to Aoi that instant.
“What?” Aoi snapped, clearly annoyed at the roughness Uruha displayed.
“We need to talk.”
Aoi swallowed thickly. A talk with Uruha was the last thing he wanted then. He felt a stinging sensation in his eyes again, and he avoided eye contact with Uruha.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” As small as it can be, Uruha could still identify the accidental change of note in Aoi’s voice as he defended himself. It gave him splinters of hope.
“Yes, there is.” Uruha released his grip on Aoi’s left hand, using it to force Aoi’s head around carefully. “Look at me, Aoi.”
The brunette’s attempt to resist failed miserably, since Uruha was much stronger. He cursed under his breath as he stared anywhere but into Uruha’s orbs.
“It’s over between us two.” Uruha’s hopes seem to crush him as he felt his stare faltered.
“No, it isn’t.” He wouldn’t allow a break up. He couldn’t lose Aoi. “Look at me in the eyes, Aoi. Look at me, and tell me you don’t love me.” It was meant to be an order, but it turned out to become more of a plead.
Aoi didn’t respond. He knew he couldn’t do that- his voice would break before any words came out of his mouth. He had the right to remain silent, and he was going to make full use of it.
“Look at me!” Uruha was losing his patience as he bellowed, making Aoi wince.
Aoi’s head snapped back to stare at Uruha square in the eye.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!?” With a sudden summon of his strength, Aoi pulled his hands roughly away from Uruha’s grip and placing them on his chest, gave a strong push. The blonde stumbled backwards in shock, gaping at what had happened.
“It’s not that I don’t love you anymore.” Aoi’s eyes fell at the confession, and his gaze settled on his feet. “You don’t understand, do you? I have to leave you, Uruha.”
Uruha felt his heart skip a beat at the sudden use of his name, and the bitterness in Aoi’s voice. The brunette appeared so fragile, and Uruha wanted so badly to just embrace him in his arms that moment.
“No, I don’t understand. So explain to me, why do you have to leave me…?”
“You have a bright future ahead of you, Uruha. You’ll inherit the Takashima fortune, and you’ll marry a pretty woman, you’ll have kids and-“ Aoi’s voice finally did him justice by breaking off in the middle of the sentence. Tears rolled down his cheeks mercilessly, and Aoi wiped them off with his sleeve.
With a swift lash out and a tug of the hand, Aoi was in Uruha’s tight embrace. The brunette pulled away instinctively, and Uruha wrapped his arms around his lover even tighter. He felt as if he had obtained a partial victory.
“No, I won’t-“
“Yes, you will, Uruha. Trust me, rather than spending your wonderful life with someone who is going to die any moment, you might as well marry a dead corpse.” Aoi’s venomous statement broke Uruha off suddenly. “We can’t continue on like this. You’ll move on with your life without me. Aoi, Shiroyama Yuu, would never have existed in your life, and you never would have loved him.”
Aoi’s statement was firm. He wouldn’t let his voice break again. He could leave the crying for later on, but now, he had to convince Uruha to leave him. The blonde wouldn’t relent, however.
“Aoi, I want you to know that I love you, and only you. No other woman, or man, would catch my interest. I wouldn’t care for anyone else, I wouldn’t notice anyone else, and I wouldn’t love anyone else. The times we’ve spent together may be short, but I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned how to farm, I’ve learned how to respect, and I’ve learned how to love. You stole my heart away the moment I met you, and now that you have it in your hands, you’re crushing it into pieces.” There was a short pause. “You are my everything, Aoi. I love you.”
Aoi felt all the resistance he had put up earlier washing down the drain, and the defensive barrier around him gradually crumbling away. Uruha told him he loved him, Uruha wouldn’t love anyone else, he was Uruha’s everything. What else could he bargain for? Uruha seem to notice the dilemma Aoi was in.
“So Aoi, are you willing to spend the rest of your life with me?”
Aoi held his breath. That wasn’t just any simple question. It was a proposal. His eyes rose to meet Uruha’s.
“I’m going to die soon.” Uruha frowned, but nodded in any case. “And you’re willing to spend your brilliant life with me.” A smile, then another nod.
“That is, if you want to, my dear.”
Aoi bit his lips, giving a tiny nod of approval, but that wasn’t something Uruha was going to miss.
“FUCK YES!” Uruha gave a yelp and a jump into the air, before embracing Aoi in a death grip once more. Aoi gave a cough as he felt his respiratory system crushing, and his face contorted in pain.
“Get your hands off Aoi, Uruha! You’re killing him!” Kai barged in on the couple and clawed at Uruha’s hands in horror. He didn’t want a case of murder in his house.
Uruha released his grip on Aoi, and the latter gasped desperately for air.
“Aoi-kun! Are you alright?!?” Kai exclaimed in shock, holding the brunette up as Aoi threatened to fall over any second. Uruha watched the scene before him unfold in terror, and smacked Kai’s hands off Aoi.
“Hey! What the hell did you do that for?!”
“Well, to show that he’s mine, of course! You haven’t developed any feelings for Aoi in this period, have you?”
Kai blushed in embarrassment.
“Definitely not! N-not to say that Aoi isn’t attractive, but… well…” Reita chuckled as Kai broke into a series of stutters as he desperately trying to retain his composure.
“Give him a break, dude.”
A few minutes later
The good news: the lovebirds are finally back together.
The bad news: the consequences are as follows, a blonde with a broken jaw, another blonde with horribly messed-up hair spikes, a brunette with his laundry room screwed upside down, and another with life-long mental scarring.
Honestly, how much worse can it possibly get?