Happy Santa_Smex, na_kabaji_usu!
To: na_kabaji_usu
From: serenia
Title: The Blue Notebook
Recipient's name: na_kabaji_usu
Rating: R-NC17
Pairing(s): Mizuki/Yuuta
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Merry Christmas, na_kabaji_usu! I hope you enjoy this story.
Fuji Syuusuke watched his brother from over the rim of his mug. "He's not good for you."
Yuuta grunted around his mouthful of tea cake. "Let me live my own life, okay?" He scowled.
Syuusuke sighed. "I would, if you'd pick more sensible people to look up to. What about Akazawa? He's much more responsible than Mizuki. Heck, if you need a flashy peacock of a role model, what about Atobe from Hyoutei? He's just as vain as Mizuki, but at least he wouldn't be the sort to encourage someone on his team to risk permanent arm damage from a dangerous technique."
"Are you still going on about that?" Yuuta set down his plate and reached for his serviette. "It was my choice, okay? I don't even use the twist spin that often anymore, but I'd use it again if it meant the chance to beat you!"
"…And you wonder why I won't play a practice match with you."
"…And you wonder why I moved out. I don't need two mothers, Aniki." Yuuta got up, signalling that he'd had enough of the conversation. "I'm going to say goodbye to Mum, then I'm going back." He glared at his brother and then left the room, heading for the living room, where his mother was watching a TV drama.
"I just want you to take care of yourself," Syuusuke called after him, but Yuuta didn't respond.
***
Yuuta kicked a stone along the footpath in front of him. His mother had offered him a lift to the train station, but he'd refused, knowing that the walk would give him the chance to cool down. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered visiting his family. Yumiko was often out with her friends during the evening or on weekends, Syuusuke always lectured him, and their mother was the same as ever - she'd serve dinner, then clean up the dishes afterwards, and then she'd retire to the living room for her favourite TV programs. Sometimes, she would make him feel guilty for leaving home - perhaps not intentionally, but it would still happen.
It frustrated Yuuta no end that his brother insisted on picking on Mizuki all the time. How could Syuusuke have so many bad things to say about him when they bumped into each other less than once a month? The fact was that Mizuki had been the first person to recognise Yuuta as an individual, rather than as Syuusuke's brother. He saw Yuuta's own value, not his worth as compared to his 'genius' brother. For that, Yuuta would always be grateful. Maybe that was what Syuusuke's problem was.
***
Yanagisawa looked up from his book when Yuuta arrived back at their shared dorm room. Feeling the pressure of third-year study requirements, he'd chosen to stay at school on Saturday, rather than going home to see his family. "How was your visit?"
Yuuta dropped his backpack beside his bed and flopped down with a noncommittal grumble.
"Ahh, good as usual, da ne," Yanagisawa smirked.
"How did your studying go? Have you caught up?" Yuuta changed the subject, looking over at his friend.
Yanagisawa nodded. "Yep, pretty much, da ne."
"Want to go hit some balls before curfew?" With an hour before they had to be inside the building again, they wouldn't have time to get to the courts and have a proper match, but they could at least get in some practice.
"Sure thing." Yanagisawa hopped off his bed and grabbed his racquet. They headed out to the court together.
***
On Sundays, the nuns at St Rudolph encouraged the students to attend the morning Mass, but it wasn't compulsory. Yuuta considered going, for lack of better things to do (and because there was morning tea afterwards for those who attended), but he bumped into Mizuki on the way, who invited Yuuta to go on a shopping trip with him. Yuuta collected a day release note from the school office, and they headed for the bus into town.
***
Yuuta felt rather out of place in the upmarket boutique Mizuki had chosen to shop in. He stood by a table of neatly folded shirts, not touching anything, while Mizuki perused the clothes hanging on wall-mounted racks.
Mizuki spotted a deep purple shirt, and whisked it immediately into the changing room. After some rustling of clothes, he came out wearing the shirt, and posed for Yuuta. "What do you think? I like the colour."
Yuuta wondered whether he should treat shopping with Mizuki like shopping with his sister and say what he thought Mizuki wanted to hear, or just tell the truth. His honest nature won out. "I think it's too dark. Makes you look like a vampire or something." Mizuki smiled as though the comparison pleased him, but Yuuta wasn't sure he'd meant it as a compliment. Mizuki decided to buy the shirt, which cost three times what Yuuta would normally spend on a shirt at the sports store.
They had lunch at a diner, and while they waited for their order to be brought to them, Mizuki pulled a small blue notebook out of his pocket. He scribbled something down in it, but Yuuta, sitting across from him, couldn't see what. When the waitress arrived with their food, Mizuki tucked the notebook away again. They ate their lunches like the hungry teenagers that they were, and discussed Mizuki's ideas for a new training program for Yuuta.
"I think we need to work on muscle building in your arms," he said. "Also, your stamina, and perhaps your cardio fitness." He looked pointedly at the slice of apple pie beside Yuuta's bowl of noodles. "Maybe I should work out a meal plan for you, too."
Yuuta made a sour face, and Mizuki chuckled. Yuuta wondered if he really left himself open to teasing all the time, or if it was just people like Mizuki and his brother that were especially good at finding his sensitive spots.
***
Having Mizuki hover around the courts with a notebook during practice was no unusual occurrence, but lately Yuuta was noticing that Mizuki was using both his usual large notebook and the small blue one. The blue one was used mostly while Mizuki was watching Yuuta, which made him suspect it had something to do with the new training regime Mizuki had put him on. When Mizuki was practicing himself, though, the large notebook was left with his water bottle and towel, whereas the small one disappeared back into his pocket. It probably didn't contain any big secrets, but Mizuki's behaviour piqued Yuuta's interest nonetheless, and he started thinking of ways to get hold of the little book.
***
Late one afternoon, Yuuta was spending some spare time watching the girls' tennis team at practice. He was standing outside the courts, with a can of soft drink in his hand. It was difficult to tell if he was appreciating their techniques, or just enjoying watching the female form.
Mizuki approached, wearing his new purple shirt, and when Yuuta noticed him, he recalled his impression of the shirt when Mizuki had tried it on. "I still think you look like a vampire in that," he said, when Mizuki came up beside him.
Mizuki chuckled and put on a poor impersonation of a Romanian accent. "I vant to suck your blooood," he drawled, hooking an arm around Yuuta's shoulders and biting playfully at his neck. There was a clunk as Yuuta dropped his can of drink in surprise, and he stared stupidly down at the liquid pooling at his feet, rather than pushing Mizuki away. "You clumsy thing," laughed Mizuki, letting go of him.
Yuuta sighed and picked up his can, taking it to the bin. He could still feel where Mizuki's teeth had touched his skin, although it was too light a touch to have left a mark. It tingled, though, and he rubbed at it whilst trying to convince himself that his burning face was due to embarrassment, rather than anything else.
Mizuki watched him go, drawing the little blue notebook out of his pocket almost unconsciously.
***
"Can I ask a favour?" Yuuta asked his roommate, when they were both in their dorm room that evening.
"Sure, da ne."
"You're in Mizuki's class. You know that little blue notebook that he keeps in his pocket? Do you know what he writes in it?"
Yanagisawa shrugged. "Knowing Mizuki, it could be anything, da ne." He grinned in anticipation. "Want me to try and get hold of it?"
Yuuta grinned back. "You read my mind."
"Alright." Yanagisawa leaned back on his bed. "But next time you go home for the weekend, you've gotta bring me back a piece of your sister's raspberry pie!"
"It's a deal."
***
Mizuki cornered Yuuta in the clubhouse the next afternoon, looking agitated. "Has anyone said anything weird to you today? Or last night?"
Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "You said you wanted to suck my blood yesterday. That was weird."
"Apart from that. Anyone else, I mean. Like Yanagisawa, for instance."
"No." Yuuta shook his head, looking puzzled. Inside, though, he was a bit excited. Mizuki's behaviour suggested that Yanagisawa had gotten hold of the notebook already, and moreso, that it contained something interesting that Mizuki didn't want known.
Relief crossed Mizuki's face for an instant. "Good. Well, if anyone does say anything weird, don't listen, okay?" With that strange admonition, he disappeared.
Yuuta couldn't wait for practice to be over so that he could hear what Yanagisawa had to tell him.
***
"Yuuta, guess what, da ne!" Yanagisawa burst into their room, where Yuuta was doing his homework.
Yuuta turned around in his chair, trying not to look too excited, although Yanagisawa was excited enough for both of them.
"I got hold of the notebook, like you said, da ne. You'll never believe this, but Mizuki likes you, da ne!"
"Well, we're friends," said Yuuta, sure he was misunderstanding Yanagisawa's implication.
"No, no, no." Yanagisawa waved his hand. "He likes you, da ne. As more than a friend, da ne. That book has everything about you, like what you like to eat, and what makes you blush, da ne. By the way, did he really bite your neck?"
Yuuta covered his face with his hands. "Oh my god," he muttered.
Yanagisawa sat on the edge of his bed. "Anyway, he's got this big plan to win you over, bit by bit, da ne. He's planning to do it slowly, so you won't suspect anything until it's too late, and you've fallen for him." He swooned mockingly back onto the bed, hand to his forehead. "How dramatic, da ne! Only thing is, he caught me trying to slip it back into his pocket, so I'm pretty sure he knows that I know, da ne." He looked up at the ceiling with a smile of satisfaction. "And now you owe me pie."
Yuuta made a sound of agreement. He thought it would be good to ask Yumiko for some advice, too.
***
"So," said Yumiko, rummaging through her dressing table drawer for her deck of tarot cards. She found them and unwrapped them from the silk scarf that protected them. "This person likes you, but you're not sure whether you like them or not?"
"Well, I like them as a friend," Yuuta clarified. "I just haven't thought about them in that way. It's not that the idea feels wrong, I just don't know if I should say something or not."
"Do they know that you know how they feel about you?" Yumiko handed Yuuta the deck of cards, telling him to shuffle them whilst thinking about his admirer.
"I'm pretty sure, yeah." Yuuta gave the shuffled cards back, and then picked one when Yumiko fanned them out.
"Then it would be cruel to pretend ignorance, wouldn't it? I think they'd like closure, one way or another." Yumiko took Yuuta's card and turned it over. "The Lovers, hmm?"
Yuuta blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.
Yumiko laughed at him. "It doesn't have to be interpreted literally," she told him. "This card is also about making a choice and following your instincts in order to become complete. It's about finding something that is missing in your life. That could be your friend, perhaps. It doesn't necessarily mean you will become lovers, but this would be a good time to talk to them and become closer."
Yuuta took the card and flopped back across the bottom of Yumiko's bed. The image of the naked Adam and Eve somehow brought to his mind a picture of himself and Mizuki standing together, similarly clad, and he felt that the meaning of the card was a lot plainer than Yumiko suggested. He purposely hadn't told Yumiko who the friend in question was, because there was a good chance she might gossip with Syuusuke, who would insist upon interfering, claiming to know what was best for Yuuta. It was certain that he wouldn't approve of Yuuta's choice. Rather than staying the night and risking another interrogation by his brother, Yuuta took two slices of Yumiko's freshly baked raspberry pie and headed back to school.
***
It took Yuuta a couple of days to work up the courage to talk to Mizuki. Mizuki, for his part, seemed to be avoiding Yuuta, and looking a little nervous whenever circumstances brought them together. Finally, Yuuta caught up with Mizuki in the school corridors at the end of the day.
"Mizuki," said Yuuta, grabbing his friend by the sleeve of his shirt. "Can we talk for a minute?" Without waiting for a clear response, he tugged Mizuki into an empty study room, locking the door behind them.
Mizuki sank into a chair, looking pitiful without the sparkle of his usual confidence.
Yuuta sat on the edge of the desk that Mizuki's chair was behind. There were a hundred possible ways to open this awkward conversation, but he got straight to the point. "Why didn't you just tell me you liked me?"
Mizuki looked up sharply, not having expected such a direct question. "It was too risky," he said, after a pause. "I couldn't tell how you'd react, so I was observing you, to try and find an ideal situation." He sighed and folded his arms. "But that stupid duck-faced git got hold of my notes, and obviously blabbed everything to you. I could have just killed him!" Anger rose up in Mizuki, taking over his nervousness.
"Don't kill him just yet," said Yuuta. "I mean, if he hadn't told me, I might never have known how you felt. I've thought about it a bit, and I'd like to try… if you're still interested, that is."
Mizuki's anger faded. "Really?" he said, surprised. "You'd consider being my boyfriend?" He blushed a little, but it was nothing compared to the flaming red of Yuuta's face as he nodded and reached for Mizuki's hand.
Feeling much more confident, Mizuki interlaced his fingers with Yuuta's, and used his other hand to catch Yuuta's school tie and pull him down for a kiss.
It wasn't Yuuta's first kiss, by any means, but it was very different from kisses with girls at parties. Though Mizuki's lips were soft and sweet-tasting, no doubt from a flavoured lip balm, his mouth was wider and his movements more aggressive. Girls would let Yuuta take charge, but Mizuki was determined to have control of this kiss. Yuuta didn't mind at all.
One kiss became two, then three, then blended together in a mash of lips and tongues from which it was no longer possible to distinguish individual kisses. Yuuta combed his fingers through Mizuki's curls, and Mizuki seemed content to let him. Perhaps later Yuuta might get told off for messing up Mizuki's hair, but for now, rational thought was not a priority.
They broke apart and stared at each other for a moment, both breathing heavily from excitement. Mizuki kissed beneath Yuuta's jaw. "I want more," he murmured, tracing the line of Yuuta's pulse with his tongue until he encountered the collar of his shirt. "Would it be too much?"
If Yuuta had been thinking clearly, he might have suggested that they take things slowly, but he was just as caught up in the moment as Mizuki was. He loosened his tie, while Mizuki unbuttoned the front of Yuuta's shirt, baring his chest to his eager mouth.
Yuuta hadn't realised that his nipples were so sensitive; every time Mizuki's tongue or teeth slid over them, it sent the most delightful shiver through him. Yuuta wanted to do things to make Mizuki feel good, too, but Mizuki wouldn't pause in his ministrations to allow them to change positions. There was little Yuuta could do but touch Mizuki's hair or his shoulders.
When Mizuki's lips slid down to Yuuta's belt, Yuuta squirmed. "You don't have to…" he protested, pushing Mizuki's head back a little. The look of lustful hunger that met Yuuta's half-lidded gaze left little room for argument; Mizuki didn't have to, but he wanted to. Yuuta gripped the edge of the desk while Mizuki unbuckled the belt and unzipped his trousers, freeing Yuuta's cock from the confines of his briefs. Mizuki's lips touched the head of his penis, and Yuuta closed his eyes, drawing a sharp breath when Mizuki's mouth opened around him.
It was an incomparable feeling for Yuuta, having Mizuki suck his most sensitive part right into his mouth. In truth, Mizuki wasn't exceptionally good at it; he was as inexperienced as Yuuta, but Yuuta had no previous experience to compare it to, so it didn't really matter.
After only a couple of minutes of Mizuki's determined sucking and licking, Yuuta was finished. "Mizuki!" he gasped, a little late for a warning, as his release shot into Mizuki's mouth.
Mizuki jerked backwards, coughing. "You… could've… warned me!" he complained, trying to clear his windpipe. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and spat into it, using a corner to wipe his mouth. "I wasn't quite ready for that."
"Sorry," muttered Yuuta, contritely. "Neither was I." There was an awkward pause between them. "Should I…?" Yuuta gestured vaguely to the tented front of Mizuki's trousers.
"Actually, we'd better get out of here," said Mizuki, looking at his watch. "Before the classrooms all get locked." He popped a breath mint into his mouth. "It can be your turn next time." Mizuki started buttoning up Yuuta's shirt, while Yuuta rearranged his pants and straightened his tie. Mizuki took out a comb and quickly put his curly hair in order, and the two of them looked once more like a pair of respectable Catholic schoolboys.
They picked up their schoolbags and headed for the door. Just as Mizuki reached for the handle, Yuuta stopped him for one last kiss, before they walked to the dormitory block together.
***
Yanagisawa peeked over the top of the manga he was reading when Yuuta returned to their room.
"I don't think I even need to ask how things went with Mizuki, da ne," he commented.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Yuuta, but his blush gave him away.
"Well, I saw the two of you disappear into a classroom after school, da ne, and now look at you - you're almost glowing, da ne!" He smirked and went back to his reading. "Little Yuuta's not a virgin anymore, da ne," he teased, in a singsong voice.
"I am, too!" protested Yuuta, loudly, before covering his mouth. Since when was that something to proudly admit to? "Just shut up," he muttered, and changed into his pyjamas.
Yanagisawa just laughed. "You're too much fun, da ne!"