Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1150783.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Kamen_Rider_Gaim
  Relationship:
      Kureshima_Takatora/Kureshima_Mitsuzane, Sengoku_Ryoma/Kureshima_Mitsuzane
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-01-24 Words: 4806
****** Shedding Layers ******
by emothy
Summary
     "Anyone who works as closely with your brother as I do would know
     you," he says simply. "Takatora is very protective of you, Mitsuzane.
     It wouldn't be wise for me to incur his wrath by mistreating you. Do
     you understand?"
     (Set during/after episode 14)
     content notes: reference to an incestuous relationship (brief, but
     tagged in the pairings also for people who wish to avoid it
     entirely), reference to mind-altering substances, reference to
     blackmail, semi-explicit sexual activity (no penetrative sex),
     underage character in a sexual situation (and an age-gap between the
     pair).
     I wish there was reference to Ryoma/Takatora in here too, but that's
     still a secret 8D
-
Kouta-san killed Yuuya-san.
Yuuya-san.
Kouta-san did it, he didn't even know-
"You can't stay here, someone will find you," a calm, firm voice says from
above him. Micchi tries to look up but he can't make his eyes focus properly,
his vision sliding off to the side and far into the distance. He can't stop
thinking about it. Yuuya-san... Yuuya-san is gone.
A hand grips the underside of his arm to pull him upright. "Come on," the man
speaks again, "do you want your brother to find you here like this?"
"Niisan...?" Micchi repeats distractedly. That's something he can try to focus
on. Why would his niisan care if he found him here?
...Where is he?
"Mmmhmm, your brother, Takatora. You're lucky I had someone pull him from the
room with a phone call earlier. I arranged that for you."
Micchi tries to recall the last few minutes. Is it minutes? It could be longer
- everything is hazy and seems unimportant compared to what he's just
discovered about Kouta and Yuuya. He can remember unfamiliar corridors, people
in suits seen from a distance. Yggdrasill. He's at Yggdrasill. His brother will
never forgive him if he finds out.
Suddenly it occurs to him to wonder just who his benefactor is. Micchi isn't
used to not knowing things - it makes him uncomfortable - and he doesn't know
this man at all, beyond seeing him in the videos he had watched just now. He
was experimenting, recording the results.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" He tries to demand. It comes out a feeble
and confused jumble of words. The man in the lab coat - whose hand is still
firmly wrapped around his upper arm - softens his expression into a smile.
His smile knows too much.
"Anyone who works as closely with your brother as I do would know you," he says
simply. "Takatora is very protective of you, Mitsuzane. It wouldn't be wise for
me to incur his wrath by mistreating you. Do you understand?"
Micchi understands that he hasn't been told anything, and too much, all at
once. This man knows far more about him than the reverse. He has to regain some
ground.
"I know you discovered the fruit," Micchi says, "in Helheim Forest. And that
you discovered what it does to animals… to people!"
"I never tested the effects on people myself," comes the calm reply. "I have
recorded the results, yes, but I didn't lead anyone to the fruit, nor force
them to ingest it. I've been researching how to control the appearance of the
Cracks, for the safety of everyone."
"Who are you?" Micchi persists.
"Knowing that won't reveal anything to you. But you can call me professor if
you like."
Micchi pulls a face, and the man laughs.
"Ryoma, then?" he suggests with a gleam in his eye. In the next moment his face
is serious and stern. "We haven't time for this. If you wish to continue this
discussion without being caught by Takatora then come with me now. He'll be
returning at any moment."
His grip on Micchi isn't overly firm, but Micchi doesn't feel capable of
summoning the strength to resist anyway should he choose to become any more
aggressive. He allows himself to be led back to the door.
"Take off your coat," Ryoma says, "it's too obvious you don't belong here when
you're wearing outdoor clothing. Just follow me and don't make eye contact with
anyone and you'll be safe, I promise."
Micchi has no reason to trust Ryoma, but he has no better options right now
either. He should have known earlier that once the camera had caught him he was
doomed. He did, really. He had known, deep down inside, but he'd convinced
himself that since he was already inside Yggdrasill's tower he should simply
try to find out as much as he could before inevitably getting caught. And
perhaps his brother never would have found out. This way there's a chance he
still won't.
And if he is, well, it's nothing Micchi wasn't expecting anyway. He fumbles
with the toggles of his coat until Ryoma's hands reach out to help him as it
becomes clear that he still hasn't regained his coordination. The shock might
never go away, he realises with dismay. He has to keep this from Kouta-san.
Kouta-san can't know that he killed Yuuya-san in Inves form. Neither can any of
the team; they'd be heartbroken. Mai-san would be heartbroken. But how can he
keep this secret? It's probably written all over his face. Micchi stands rooted
to the spot as his coat and the blazer beneath it ("also too recognisable; it's
clearly school uniform," Ryoma says flatly when he uncovers it), are pulled off
his shoulders and folded up, placed in his arms. He clings to them like a
comfort blanket from when he was small.
"Stay close," Ryoma reminds him with a whisper, right beside his ear. Micchi
gives a half-hearted nod and allows his head to continue to hang low as he
follows Ryoma out into the corridor. Left, right, left, right, it's the safest
thing to think about. One foot in front of the other. If anybody notices him
they make no comment. Micchi has no way of knowing that a meek subordinate who
doesn't even dare look up following two steps behind Professor Ryoma is nothing
new to the other Yggdrasill employees.
"This is my laboratory," Ryoma says as he guides Micchi through the door.
"Security cameras only operate in here when I will it, so there's no chance of
anyone seeing you via that footage. You can relax." Ryoma pulls out a chair and
gestures to Micchi to sit down in it. "Rest. You've had a big shock. Let me get
you a hot drink to calm your nerves."
"Ah," Micchi nods in agreement. And then the wheels start to turn in his mind.
He can't help it; it's the way Ryoma said the words so knowingly. You've had a
big shock. Well, discovering that animals and humans can be turned into Inves
certainly was-
"It must've been particularly upsetting to discover your own friend is a
murderer," Ryoma says from across the room as the whirr of the coffee maker
sounds out. And then he turns. "Right, Micchi?"
Micchi.
Micchi.
Nobody calls him that except-
Micchi bolts up out the chair. Ryoma, this professor, he knows about the team!
He knows about Team Gaim, and Kouta-san. He knows Kouta-san is the armoured
rider from the video, and he knows that Micchi-
He knows about Micchi.
"Think before you run," Ryoma says, turning back to the coffee maker as though
Micchi isn't a flight risk. "Out there you have no allies at all, except your
brother. But will his instinct to protect you win out against his anger at you?
I have no data to go on in that respect, otherwise I'd be able to advise you on
it. I, on the other hand, know your secrets and I'm not angry about them. Think
wisely."
Micchi can feel tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. How can Ryoma be
right? Why does knowing that somebody knows who he is lift a weight from his
shoulders? To his brother he is a smart, studious young man with interesting
insights, who will one day be a fine employee for Yggdrasill. To his friends
he's a smart but carefree boy who enjoys dancing and who has learnt how to
fight. None of those things are a lie, exactly, but they're certainly not the
whole truth either.
He doesn't move. He doesn't leave.
"And, as I'm sure you've surmised - since Takatora is terrible at keeping his
feelings hidden - he has no idea that you are the owner of one of the Drivers,
either, Armoured Rider Ryuugen," Ryoma smirks, bringing a cup of hot coffee
over to Micchi and placing it on the desk beside his currently-empty chair.
"As to how he has managed to stay ignorant of this key piece of information,
well. Part of it was an inadvisable choice of his to dismiss the files
containing the information, because he considers all of the test subjects - the
Beat Riders - beneath him. As you well know. The rest was the decision of his
contemporaries to avoid sharing the knowledge with him after that initial
dismissal, so as not to risk being the recipient of his anger." Ryoma leans
back against one of the desks opposite Micchi and runs a finger along the edge
of it thoughtfully. "If it helps, I don't believe he will accept the truth of
it unless he sees it with his own eyes. No mere accusation will convince your
brother that you were capable of obtaining a Driver without his knowledge.
Especially since they were all carefully distributed by Sid-san. Sid would
surely have known better than to do such a thing."
"But he did do it," Micchi retorts. "I threatened him."
"I'm well aware," Ryoma replies. "Sid was wearing recording equipment in order
for me to verify the identities of the people he gave the drivers to. I know
very well that you're a force to be reckoned with, Mitsuzane. That's why I'd
prefer to have you on my side."
"You… That's why?"
"Does it surprise you so much?" Ryoma asks, eyes brightening. "To have somebody
be truthful with you?"
"For you to, yes," Micchi says. "Yggdrasill are behind something terrible -
people are getting hurt! - and all you're doing is covering it up to hide your
own mistakes."
"We're covering up the incidents so as not to incite mass panic," Ryoma states
simply. "There is currently only one entrance into Helheim Forest that I have
had the privacy and resources to have harnessed and now control, as you saw
earlier. The others appear at random in very open, public places, often with no
resources nearby, such as electricity to attempt to create a forcefield around
and stabilize them. The only way I can attempt to tame the erratic nature of
the forest right now is by looking for a pattern in how often the cracks
appear, how long for, and where. And I can only continue to do that so long as
the people of the city remain largely ignorant."
"...You're right."
Micchi sinks back down into the chair, feeling his knees go weak beneath him.
What Yggdrasill have begun is wrong, but at least Professor Ryoma is attempting
to make it right. He never could have known this was going to happen when they
started.
"Drink your coffee. I made sure not to put too much caffeine in it."
Ryoma looks at him expectantly. Too expectantly.
"What's in it?" Micchi asks, eyes widening as he realises how close he could
have come to being drugged, or worse. There are things that wipe your short-
term memory - what if he'd forgotten everything he'd learnt today about
Yggdrasill and their experiments, and about Yuuya-san, and had been dumped on
the street somewhere to wake up confused and alone?
"Oh dear," Ryoma's mouth twists with amusement as he shakes his head. "I'm a
little more forthright than that. Think about what I've told you so far. I've
revealed many of my secrets too, Mitsuzane. If I wanted to make you more
compliant I'd get your permission first."
It doesn't sound like a reassuring promise; it sounds like he would simply
resort to manipulation. He would allow Micchi to think it was all his own idea
and choice. But Ryoma's so open about it! How does he possibly think it would
work if he tells Micchi what he plans to do beforehand?
"What do you want from me?"
"Oh," Ryoma pulls up a chair and sits down opposite Micchi, leaning back and
crossing his legs loosely. "Shall I be honest? Perhaps a little of what you
give your brother that often causes him to smile when he thinks nobody is
looking. It's the only time he really does smile, you know."
Micchi feels his heart speed up. Of all his secrets, this one is the one with
the fewest people who know it. Just himself and his brother... And Ryoma,
apparently. But how? Micchi can't even work out how to deny it - he shouldn't
have to deny it! It should be obvious. Brothers don't sleep with brothers!
Ryoma never even said it explicitly, Micchi could pretend to misunderstand,
because there's no way anyone else would infer from those words that-
"It's okay," Ryoma says soothingly, "you haven't done anything wrong. Takatora
wears his heart on his sleeve. He made it very obvious, but only to me. Other
people don't notice details the way I do. He loves you very much, and his love
includes a sexual component. You share those feelings for him."
"You don't," Micchi stammers. You don't understand? "You can't-" You can't tell
anyone? He can't even decide what the most important thing to say is anymore.
He hasn't even touched upon the fact that Ryoma just suggested he wants to have
sex with him! "Are you... blackmailing me?"
"Not at all," Ryoma says. "I don't want you to feel coerced. If I were to
blackmail anyone with this information, wouldn't it be better for me to
blackmail your brother? He project manages our operation, I could use the
leverage to get plenty of things I needed for my research. Besides, who would
believe such a sweet, studious young boy such as yourself could have seduced
his serious, smouldering older brother? The blame would fall squarely on him.
You would be well cared for in the aftermath. Takatora would not be so lucky."
"You are blackmailing me," Micchi says flatly. "You're telling me that I
shouldn't do it to protect myself, but for niisan's sake."
"I'm not," Ryoma replies. "I'm telling you that your secret is safe with me. As
all of them are. I could have used the information at any time but I haven't. I
like Takatora. He amuses me."
"What if I tell niisan everything you've told me?"
"I'd be disappointed," Ryoma admits. "I had been predicting more from you. And
I, of course, in turn would have to tell Takatora everything you have told me.
Or show him. I told you that security cameras don't run in here unless I will
it. That doesn't mean I don't have my own personal documentation devices
running at any given time." Ryoma leans forward and taps a few keys on the
computer keyboard until a live video feed of the room pops up. As he speaks the
words echo on the screen. "I didn't have to tell you about this, but I am. Just
because you believe we're on opposing sides doesn't mean you can't trust me.
Doesn't it feel good to drop all of the layers and to not have to lie, hmm?"
Micchi doesn't answer but he doesn't really have to. They both know it's true
without it having to be said out loud. Ryoma is always two steps ahead of him -
he's older, wiser, he has access to unlimited resources thanks to Yggdrasill's
influence and profits. Micchi wants the potential Ryoma has at his fingertips.
Ryoma's power entices him.
"If you're not attracted to me that's fine," Ryoma says casually. Smugly. Like
he knows Micchi can't call his bluff. Of course having sex with someone because
you're attracted to them is far more compelling a reason to than doing it
because of the risk of blackmail. I'd get your permission first, Ryoma had said
earlier, and Micchi knows that this is his own decision, and yet it's still
exactly what Ryoma had wanted in the first place. Sex is a very fast and
effective way to obtain power over someone, though. Micchi knows that from
experience.
Micchi loosens the tie around his neck until it comes all the way undone and
then drops it to the floor. "Will you turn it off now if I ask you to?" he
asks, nodding at the image of himself getting undressed on the screen.
"I am quite sure I'll remember this even without footage," Ryoma concedes, and
hits the 'end recording' button. Micchi takes a step forward.
"That's definitely the only recording you had going?"
"Yes. But it's very difficult to prove something definitively does not exist.
You'll have to trust me," Ryoma brings his hand to his mouth and trails his
finger along his lower lip as he speaks, pronouncing the words slowly and
carefully. "You have to remember," he points out, "that I wouldn't necessarily
want that sort of footage to exist either. There would always be the chance
that Takatora would discover it." And unleash his wrath on me, Ryoma does not
add, but the implication is plain.
"But he would see me undressing for you," Micchi says as he starts to unbutton
his shirt.
"He wouldn't believe it even if he saw it," Ryoma says knowingly. He sits back
in his chair again, slouching almost lazily as he allows Micchi to come to him,
keeping his legs together to allow Micchi to straddle them. Micchi sits himself
right across Ryoma's lap. "He'd accuse me of seducing you. Corrupting you. He's
so proud of you. When he speaks about you it sounds as though you represent all
of his ideals."
I don't, Micchi thinks, but doesn't say it aloud because it feels disloyal.
It's fine to know that he keeps secrets from his brother, and that Takatora
doesn't know the real him in a lot of ways, but his love for his niisan is
real, and he wouldn't want that misunderstood. Instead he reaches out for
Ryoma's hands. As he touches them Micchi notices that they're rough and
callused like they've laboured, not just sat at a desk typing notes in files.
It's curious. Micchi sets the thought aside and brings them up to his waist for
Ryoma to touch him.
"Do you want me to touch you the way Takatora does, Mitsuzane?" Micchi squirms
away from Ryoma's hands and shakes his head.
"No," he says firmly. "No, don't pretend you're like him." There is nobody like
Takatora. "I thought the point was that we could be ourselves here, not pretend
to be something else."
"Good point," Ryoma agrees softly, and leans forward to sink his teeth into
Micchi's shoulder. Micchi yelps. He wasn't expecting it; nobody has ever done
such a thing to him before! It didn't hurt badly though, it was the shock that
made him cry out, and there isn't even any time to linger on it because Ryoma
quickly sweeps his tongue over the place he's just bitten to soothe it. Then he
probes at it as though testing to see whether he has made the skin particularly
tender anywhere.
"How will I... explain that?" Micchi asks with a whimper as Ryoma throws
himself into nibbling at the spot, his teeth creating light little pinches that
make Micchi's entire spine tingle. It'll be colourfully bruised by tomorrow.
"Not my problem," Ryoma replies, kissing his way up Micchi's neck. "Just enjoy
it. I want to taste all of you. I want to know all of you."
"Yes," Micchi agrees, throwing away all pretence of caring whether it's wise or
not. Nothing he has done today has been wise. All that matters is getting Ryoma
at least partially naked, as he himself is. Micchi fists hands into Ryoma's
shirt and tugs at it until his hands reach higher and inward and finally meet
with the buttons. The kisses continue up along his jawline, soft but
persistent, until Ryoma's mouth is quite literally claiming his, barely even
allowing him to breathe. It's intense. Micchi gasps into Ryoma's mouth and
shifts himself even closer, until their bodies are pressed tightly together -
Ryoma jerks his hips in response right in his seat even with Micchi's weight on
top of him - and then Ryoma's shirt is suddenly half undone, and there are
hands sliding up Micchi's back, under his open shirt and feeling every
available inch of skin.
Micchi barely has room between himself and Ryoma to finish unbuttoning Ryoma's
shirt, but he reaches down between the two of them anyway, uncaring of the fact
that his hands come into contact with his crotch. Not so easy to ignore when it
happens, though. When he moans Ryoma pulls away, glancing down and immediately
understanding.
"Undo your pants," he suggests with a predatory gleam in his eyes, and shrugs
off his lab coat and shirt in one casual move, some fluid flick of the arms and
a drop of the shoulders that makes them pool behind him on the chair. Micchi is
surprised to see that even though Ryoma is ridiculously slender he has firmly
defined arm and abdomen muscles. Another vague clue that suggests he is far
more active than a professor might be presumed to be.
Micchi's legs are spread too wide on either side of Ryoma for him to be able to
pull his pants down very far, but it'll be far enough. He feels a little
vulnerable to be undressing like this, even if it's liberating at the same
time. He glances at Ryoma to see that he's doing the same thing, casually
unbuckling his belt and opening his pants. It's reassuring to at least feel as
though they're both on level ground. Both as naked as one another. Perhaps
Micchi's secrets have been the more dangerous ones, but he hasn't had to
confess anything Ryoma didn't already know, only confirm it. Ryoma has been the
one divulging new information for Micchi to armour himself with here. It counts
as even.
Micchi hesitates to actually slide his pants down off his hips when it comes to
it, and Ryoma doesn't say anything when he stops. Ryoma himself has no such
qualms, lifting up with Micchi still astride him to push his pants and
underwear part-way down his thighs. His cock is already fully hard,
unmistakably so. He doesn't seem to care if Micchi keeps looking at it; he
actually seems pretty smug about it. Micchi just wants to touch him. He has no
idea if he'll do it right - the way Ryoma would like - but putting a hand on
his cock and feeling it is more of a priority than worrying about that right
now anyway.
His hand hovers between the two of them. Taking that step would be so final.
Ryoma doesn't try to rush him, just reaches out to Micchi's waist and slides
his hands around to Micchi's back again. With his belt open there is plenty of
give around his waistband now, and Ryoma takes advantage of it, plunging his
hands beneath the layers of clothing to get a firm grip on Micchi's ass. He
isn't gentle when he squeezes. Micchi gasps as he's propelled forward even more
- he hadn't realised their bodies could get any closer! The way he's being
handled, it's so rough, and so different, and so good. And Ryoma is right; he
needs to just stop thinking and start doing. He's already been pulled within
even easier reach of Ryoma's cock. Micchi wraps his hand around it and pumps
experimentally.
Things blur a little after that. Ryoma's hands on his ass ease his pants down
lower and lower, until Micchi's cock meets with the cool air of the room too.
It practically touches Ryoma's. A sharp squeeze to his ass makes it happen.
Micchi tries to get his hand around both of their cocks at once but his fingers
don't quite reach. Which is when Ryoma's hand joins his.
"Your hands are too small and pretty," Ryoma says with a smile. "Don't worry,
you're not done growing yet."
What if to a scientist like him measuring and watching Micchi's growth from
adolescent to adult is something he'd get off on? Micchi can't help thinking it
when Ryoma sounds so enthused. Ryoma has a way of chasing the thoughts right
out of his mind, though, not allowing him to ponder them or the bigger picture
involved. He strokes their cocks much more quickly and sharply than Micchi had
been, as though he's challenging himself to make Micchi come as quickly as
possible.
"Unfortunately I haven't the time to do more with you than this today," Ryoma
says, digging the fingers of the hand that still remains on Micchi's ass right
into his skin again. His nails are blunt, but rough. How is Micchi going to
explain that if it leaves marks? "I have other places to be and things to do
today. Perhaps next time?"
Micchi hasn't even been thinking about a next time. He hasn't not been thinking
about a next time, but how? And when? And where - here? But there will be a
next time, it's practically decided. And there will be more. He's barely had a
taste, and Ryoma can't be satisfied with the little he's had time to explore,
but the promise of more is enough to send Micchi over the edge. His entire body
trembles with want, and Ryoma's hand doesn't let up for a moment until the want
becomes so intense it balls itself up tight and turns into blissful release.
Ryoma doesn't even pause, milking Micchi's orgasm right out of him until he can
hardly even keep himself upright. He has to place a hand on Ryoma's chest to
support himself as he gasps for breath.
"Don't let up," Ryoma tells him; Micchi's hand is still partially beneath his,
being guided up and down the length of Ryoma's cock speedily, and Ryoma wants
to get off too. "I'm so close after seeing that look on your face. You blush
when you come; you must be so hot right now."
The continual touching of his cock even after coming is starting to be a little
too much. Micchi feels tender and raw, and can only respond by whimpering
pitifully. It's that if anything which makes Ryoma come - that delightful, mild
expression of pain and pure helplessness. It's something he revels in. He makes
some kind of satisfied noise as he orgasms, something low brought up from deep
within. Nothing loud that anyone would overhear. And then there's silence.
There's no tenderness, no holding one another afterwards like Micchi is used
to. He perches on Ryoma's thighs awkwardly. It's impossible to know what to do
now. He should just... go. Or at least get dressed so that he can go. He climbs
off of Ryoma and zips his pants back up before scooping up his shirt, walking
over to his coat and blazer.
Ryoma stays casually draped in his chair. He seems in no rush to put his
clothes back on, no matter what he said moments before.
"You have it with you, don't you? The driver?"
Micchi nods. It's the first thing that's been said since the silence descended
and he doesn't want to create tension. He pulls the driver out from his pile of
clothes. Ryoma only takes it from him when offered. Micchi is reluctant to hand
it over at first, of course, but quickly remembers it isn't like anyone but him
can use it anyway. That assumption may have been a stupid one, he realises
afterwards, but nothing happens, Ryoma just looks at it.
"I created them. I was the one who gave you the power you were craving." Ryoma
strokes the Driver almost lovingly, tracing the outlines of the belt and
thumbing the spot where a Lockseed can be placed. "Did you know these belts are
only the prototypes? The new drivers are capable of much more. Would you like
for me to give you even more power?"
"No," Micchi says, snatching the driver back. Ryoma holds his hands up in
apology. "I'd rather keep the belt I got by my own means."
"Even if it came from Yggdrasill?"
"Even if it came from Yggdrasill," Micchi agrees grimly. "I'll unlock more
potential from it than you ever intended. I'll use it to take Yggdrasill down
if necessary. I'll make the power my own."
"If you manage it I'll applaud you," Ryoma shrugs. "I had already predicted you
would answer that way; I didn't actually even have a Genesis Driver to give
you. I just wanted to hear you say it. So you'll use me for information
Takatora won't give you until you feel confident enough to challenge us
properly?"
"Like you used us as guinea pigs for your Sengoku Drivers," Micchi replies,
staring Ryoma down.
"It's a deal," Ryoma says, offering out his hand to shake. Micchi hesitates for
a long, long time before taking it, but eventually he does. Ryoma shows no
reaction, until he breaks into a smirk. "Now, Mitsuzane, do tell me: after your
little spying session today how exactly were you planning to get back out of
the Yggdrasill building?"
-
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