Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/506854.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Tennis_no_Oujisama_|_Prince_of_Tennis
  Relationship:
      Sanada_Genichirou/Akutsu_Jin
  Character:
      Sanada_Genichirou, Akutsu_Jin
  Stats:
      Published: 2012-09-08 Words: 21722
****** Therapy is for Quitters ******
by Whisper132
Summary
     Sanada and Akutsu learn you can't completely escape your past.
     Sometimes, you have to settle for simply getting along.
Sanada Genichirou was silent as his father's car pulled into the parking lot of
his new school. While his friends spent their time relaxing and waiting to
graduate from the junior high wing to the high school wing of Rikkaidai Fuzoku,
Sanada occupied himself taking practice tests and researching high schools that
were both far enough away to warrant boarding and close enough to appease his
parents.
"We're not paying for you to fool around," his father reminded him for the
fourteenth time. "We expect good reports on your grades and your behavior."
"Yes, sir." Genichirou looked around at the various boys lugging suitcases. He
was pleased to note that he didn't recognize any of the faces turned towards
him. His future was truly at hand. He could leave the pressure of The Emperor
and the overwhelming stress of carrying a team to someone else. Here, in this
secluded boys' school, he could study calligraphy and further his reputation in
kendo, a sport where he couldn't be weighed down by the performance of others.
Sanada Genichirou had found himself a new start, and he meant to make the most
of it.
*****
Akutsu Jin could not fuck this up. If he got thrown out of this place, his mom
would cry. She was already shelling out more money than she should be on a
waitress' salary, but she said she wanted her baby boy to have all the
opportunities she could give him. She also said that if she got more than three
calls complaining about his discipline during the first term, she was going to
come up there on her next day off and rip his nuts off. Jin knew his mom well
enough to believe the threat.
He really needed a smoke. The gum his mom bought him wasn't doing the trick,
and the shitbox the school called a dorm room was triggering his
claustrophobia. He prayed his roommate was some nice, quiet kid who would do
his homework for him and run into town for contraband snacks on command.
Failing that, at least someone who would take the rap for his smoking when the
nicotine gum ran out or Jin got tired of looking like a bubble-popping pansy.
Shoving another piece of gum into his mouth, Akutsu started to unpack his few
belongings. His uniform was wrinkled, but he'd get someone to iron it before
the entrance ceremony on Monday. If he couldn't find a lackey in the next 48
hours, he might as well cut his own balls off and ship them home. He stopped a
moment, wincing at the thought, then took his karate belt from the bag. He
handled his one treasure gently and stowed it in the small wooden dresser
beside his bed.
The only reason he'd been able to get into this school, beyond the propensity
for private schools to let in anyone who could pay, was his karate prowess.
While he'd gotten back into tennis for a while, he'd also resumed his karate
activities, mostly because Kawamura guilted him into it, but also because
smacking someone down in an official setting gave him a sense of
accomplishment. Jin was to join the school's karate club as part of the
conditions of his enrollment. He was looking forward to it and just hoped the
club wasn't run by a bunch of pansies who couldn't stand the sight of blood.
*****
The dorm room was empty when Sanada and his father arrived, guided by a third
year escort. "Your roommate must be out," the older boy, Muratake, said while
handing Sanada the room key. "The bath and toilet are at the end of the hall.
Lunch will be served in the dining hall at noon, sharp. If you have any
questions, just ask someone wearing a green armband. Your orientation pamphlet
should cover the basics, and you'll find out more at Monday's school
orientation assembly. Until then, get to know the campus and meet some of your
classmates." Muratake bowed and left the room, likely to begin the small campus
tour cycle with another student. Sanada was glad to see him go; Muratake tried
too hard to be funny, and neither Genichirou nor his father were the joking
sort.
"I expected a bit more for what we're paying in boarding fees," his father
said, looking around the room with a grimace.
"I just need a bed and a desk. This is fine." It was more than fine; it was
heaven. Even if the owner of the ratty suitcase sitting on the bed on the other
side of the room was a complete idiot, this room was far away from any of the
worries that had twisted his gut into daily knots during middle school. Here he
could smile when it suited him or make a joke without having classmates
question his sanity.
"If you need anything, call us and we'll send it." Genichirou's father wasn't
an overly sentimental man, but his features softened as he placed a hand on his
son's shoulder. "We'll miss you."
"I'll come home at least once a month. I promised mom, and it's only two hours
by train." Giving into impulse, Genichirou surged forward and folded his father
in a quick embrace. "I'll miss you, too."
The moment dissipated just as quickly as it had formed, and the two separated.
Genichirou retrieved his suitcase and put it atop his own bed, and his father
gave the room a final inspection before declaring it was time for him to head
back home. Genichirou offered to walk him to the car, but his offer was
refused. "I can find it myself," his father said, his voice slightly pitchier
than Genichirou was used to hearing it. With a final clap to his son's
shoulder, the older man exited the room, his solid footsteps in the hall
rumbling the floor. Genichirou blinked until the stinging in his eyes faded.
*****
Jin was surprised to find the door to the room unlocked when he returned from
his shower. Half naked wasn't how he wanted to meet his new roommate, and he
debated heading back for a soak in the simulated hot spring bath the school
provided but decided that he wasn't going to wuss out on asserting his
dominance just because doing so in the Hawaiian print towel his mother had sent
with him made the task a little more difficult. Akutsu Jin could wear a tutu
and still kick the ass of anyone who dared oppose him. Doubters could ask his
first grade classmate Kawano Hidenobu all about it.
"Now listen here," Jin began as he pushed into the room. "I don’t—" His train
of thought met a bloody end as soon as he got a clear look at his roommate. It
would be his fucking luck that something like this would happen. Sanada didn't
seem to be much happier.
"We don't need to talk to one another," Sanada said, resuming his ironing.
Jin bristled. "So Mr. Rikkaidai is too good to talk to scum like me, huh?" He
put his hands on his hips and, when he encountered the towel, remembered that
he was starting a fight nearly naked.
Sanada set the iron aside and looked up. "I just want to be left alone by you
and by everyone else from that time. Understood?" Sanada's mouth twitched.
"Nice towel."
"You want me to leave you alone? Maybe you should keep your fucking mouth
shut." There was a heat in his balls as his fist began to clench. "Or maybe
you'd like to come over here and say that again." Just a little fight to take
the edge off his nerves would do the trick. After a few punches he could go for
a walk and cool his head before he had to deal with the noise of the dining
hall and the idiots running around it.
"I'm busy." Sanada took up his iron again. "Bring your uniforms. I assume
they're wrinkled."
Well, shit. If he did as he was told, he'd have the cleanly pressed uniforms he
needed. He would also set a precedent for Sanada bossing him around like some
first year ball boy. The still-present tingling in his genitals reminded him
that showing up to class with a uniform in non-regulation condition was
considered a disciplinary infraction. Three of those and he was toast. Still…
"You training to be a housewife?" Jin asked even as he tossed his uniforms onto
Sanada's bed.
Sanada ignored him and finished pressing a tie.
Jin let the conversation drop while he got dressed. It was more than a little
difficult to stuff himself into his white skinny jeans when he was half hard,
but he managed. "Hang my shit in the closet when you're done. I'm outta here."
No response came before Jin stormed out and toward the workout room in the gym.
If he didn't hit something soon, he'd get himself kicked out before the school
year even started.
*****
What the school lacked in living accommodations it more than made up for in
dining experience. The dining hall was clean and orderly. What was more, it was
outfitted with actual tables and chairs arranged according to dormitory blocks.
The downside was that Sanada was forced to sit next to his roommate.
"Now we'll explain the dining procedure," a third year boy said. "Block leaders
will assign a chore schedule. Duties will rotate weekly according to the chart.
Today, in honor of the new first year students, the third years will handle all
duties, but we will begin the rotation at breakfast tomorrow. Those on
preparatory shift need to be in the dining hall at 6am. Breakfast is served at
7. Lunch is at noon. Dinner at 6. Snacks are available for purchase from four
to five daily, or from vending machines in the dormitory lobby."
Sanada tuned out the remainder of the speech, having read the orientation
booklet after he finished his ironing. Instead, he shifted his eyes to look to
his obviously bored roommate. Akutsu's shoulders were slumped and he had
shifted down in his chair. If Sanada were that tall, he'd probably be doing the
same; Akutsu towered over all but the third year students. It must be
embarrassing…if Akutsu ever felt embarrassment. Sanada wasn't sure his roommate
ever felt an emotion beyond pissed off, though he supposed his former teammates
would've said the same thing about him.
Shaking away from thoughts of his former school, Sanada focused his attention
on his placemat and waited for the third years to bring lunch to the table.
******
Staring was fucking rude, and Akutsu would tell the bastards in the dining hall
so as soon as he could. He'd already noted three or four guys who looked like
they needed some sense smacked into them. Just because he was taller than the
other new kids didn't give everyone a free pass to gawk at his ass.
To top it off, he had to sit next to his pissy roommate who hadn't said a damn
word to him since their first meeting. Jin came back from his workout to find
the other boy reclined on his bed reading the orientation book, earbuds in
place, iPod resting on his stomach. Sanada had given a nod toward the pressed
uniforms resting on Jin's bed then gone back to his reading.
On the bright side, Jin met a few other first years at the gym and thought
Nakajima from room 23 would make a good lackey, sturdy but spineless. The kid
wasn't too bright, though, so Jin would have to find someone else to do his
homework…or steal Sanada's if they were in the same class.
"Please pass me a napkin."
Jin started at Sanada's request. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that
he failed to notice the meal had started. Wordlessly he plucked a napkin from
the nearby holder and handed it to his roommate.
"Thank you." Sanada took the napkin and dabbed a spot at the corner of his
mouth. The action was so prissy, Jin burst out laughing.
Under the table, Sanada kicked him. Jin kicked back, harder, and the table
shook.
"Is there a problem?" their block leader, Matsumoto, asked.
"He gets leg spasms when he sits improperly," Sanada said, his eyes meeting
Jin's. There was a vicious glint in them, a challenge. "If he starts to slouch,
please remind him."
"Bitch," Akutsu hissed, straightening up in his chair and feeling, yet again,
all those eyes buzzing over his skin.
"Improper posture is bad for your health and your karate practice." Sanada
picked up his bowl of miso soup and sipped at it.
Akutsu wanted to say that broken bones were bad for Sanada's tennis game, but
their school didn't have a tennis club and Jin hadn't bothered to find out what
Sanada was planning to do with himself. He made a note to raid the other boy's
things while Sanada was in the bathroom. But, more importantly, "How did you
know about the karate?" he asked once the table had settled back down.
Sanada chewed a mouthful of food and sipped at his water before answering.
"Process of elimination. None of the other clubs would suit your background."
"What the hell do you know about my background?" Jin's fists itched to plant
themselves into that placid face, to blacken those bored eyes, smash that noble
nose.
"Eat." Sanada pointed to Akutsu's chopsticks. "This isn't the time."
Akutsu's fist slammed down onto the table. "Fucking make it the time!"
Matsumoto cleared his throat. "Akutsu, the dorm supervisor would like to see
you."
Akutsu stood and kicked his chair out of the way.
Two to go.
*****
Sanada returned to his room with the slight hope that he'd find Jin packing his
bags. Instead, he found Jin's half of the room in shambles. The desk drawers
were scattered on the floor, the bedclothes were draped over the desk chair,
and the clothing that had been hung in the closet was on the floor. This was
all fine. What was not fine was that the clothes Sanada had taken the time to
iron earlier were now crumpled on the floor.
The stomping and snarling alerted Sanada to his roommate's arrival before the
door opened. Sanada picked the wrinkled articles up off the floor and shoved
them into Akutsu's face. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Get that shit out of my face." Akutsu batted the clothes away. He was
distracted enough by the laundry that he didn't see Sanada's fist coming. There
was no other reason Sanada could think of for his punch to land so solidly
against Akutsu's cheek.
"I didn't iron these so you could—"
Akutsu rushed him, sending them both to the floor. "If you'd kept your damn
mouth shut, none of this would be happening."
Sanada would have commented that he'd tried that and Akutsu had just bitched to
stop ignoring him, but Akutsu's fist was moving toward Sanada's stomach. Sanada
twisted to avoid the punch and, purely on accident, kneed Akutsu in the groin.
The other boy howled and leapt away.
"Let's get this cleaned up before the dormitory supervisor gets here." Sanada
had no doubts that their small tussle had been heard and reported. He was not,
under any circumstances, letting Akutsu's idiocy damage his reputation with the
staff.
"Fuck you."
A knock sounded on the door. On the way to answer it, Sanada kicked Akutsu's
things out of his half of the room. If the other boy wanted to destroy this
opportunity, fine. He wasn't going to take Genichirou with him.
*****
The sofa in the school counselor's office was much more comfortable than Jin's
bed. It was an ugly olive green, though, and pleather so the backs of his legs
would stick to it if he got too hot.
"I see from your file that you have difficulty with self-control." The
counselor, a woman with a face like a raisin that'd been rehydrated then
stepped on, smiled and patted Jin's leg. "I think, with some work, we can get
you back to a place where you're able to function normally with your peers."
This was not Jin's first visit to a counselor; he'd been having mandatory
monthly visits since primary school. Looked like high school would be no
exception. He sighed and sank deeper into the sofa. "I don't need to function
with a group of assholes."
"Tell me about your roommate."
Akutsu's hand automatically cupped his still aching crotch. "Don't you have a
file on him?"
The counselor took a few notes. "Of course I do, but I want to know how you see
him. Tell me about the Sanada Genichirou that you know."
What the hell was he supposed to say? Sanada Genichirou was The Emperor of
Rikkaidai, one of the greatest tennis players in the national youth circuit. He
got good grades, had talented friends, and couldn't do a fucking thing wrong.
He was also pretty good at ironing stuff (it was pretty nice of him to offer to
do Jin's stuff, too), listened to shitty pop music with his iPod volume up too
high, and had, in the course of five hours, pissed Akutsu off more times than
anyone else ever had in a single day.
The counselor cleared her throat.
Jin groaned when he followed her eyes to where his hand was rubbing in tight,
slow circles.
"Now then, about your roommate—"
*****
After half an hour, the mess got on Sanada's nerves and he cleaned it up. The
hanging clothes he placed back in the closet, and the other things he folded
into Akutsu's suitcase. He took the bed linens to the lobby office and
exchanged them for fresh ones before making the bed.
He began to feel optimistic when Akutsu didn't turn up for dinner. Perhaps the
counselor was recommending the volatile boy be sent back home. Perhaps Sanada
would get a new, sane roommate or, even better, get a room to himself.
"Didn't you used to go to Rikkaidai?" a student at the table—Sanada didn't
catch his name—asked during the meal.
"Yes." The salmon on Sanada's plate looked a little less appetizing.
"Why would you want to give that up for a place like this?"
Sanada set his chopsticks down and looked right at the other boy. "I like the
quiet," he said. He continued his stare a few more seconds, a technique he'd
picked up in a book on leadership. Stare down the weak-willed and they'll
easily follow. He'd put many a first year in his place with the technique…and a
few teachers as well.
As expected, the subject was dropped in favor of talk on movies, TV programs,
and music idols. Nobody asked where Sanada's missing roommate might be.
"Hey, is it true that third years all get singles?" one boy asked their block
leader.
Matsumoto swallowed before answering. "Yep. Third years are in a separate
building except for the block leaders. The rooms're the same size, but they're
singles. It's mostly to accommodate them for exam season."
There was a collective sigh of understanding around the table. The exhaustion
of exams was still heavy on their eyelids even though the exams were a month in
the past. Sanada's family was understanding when his bedroom light didn't turn
off until 3am, though they were less understanding when frustration caused him
to hurl his books at the walls. Hopefully the third year dorm rooms had thick
walls.
"Oh! Tomorrow's Saturday so club activities will be starting. You can go check
'em out if you want. If you've already got a club in mind, feel free to join
in." Matsumoto drank down the last of his water and refilled it from a pitcher.
"I don't know about other clubs, but table tennis is meeting in the gym at 9."
Sanada's mind drifted to the kendo equipment sitting in his closet. The car
ride and excitement of the day had made him stiff in the shoulders and in need
of stretching. If Akutsu stayed gone, there'd be enough room to practice a few
stances. If not, the lobby would work, though he didn't look forward to the
inevitable gawkers.
"Oooh! Dessert!"
Sanada looked up at the cry to find a piece of strawberry chiffon cake being
placed in front of him. Upon seeing it, all thinking stopped completely and he
lost himself in the sweetness of one of the many joys his father thought the
household better without. While dessert might become commonplace after a few
months, Sanada was determined to enjoy each and every sugary delight as if it
were his last. And, if Akutsu didn't come back, he'd gladly eat the other boy's
share, too.
*****
The raisin pulled some administrative voodoo and saved Akutsu's ass in exchange
for weekly sessions to help him "adapt to a new environment and mindset."
Whatever the hell that meant. All Jin cared about was his mother and how she
wouldn't find out that Jin's roommate was causing him to "react negatively" to
his "oversensitivity to human interactions." It took Dr. Hirashige—that was the
raisin's name—twenty minutes to explain that "oversensitivity" wasn't a fancy
way of saying "wuss."
Now, all Akutsu really wanted was a smoke before he had to go back into his
room and deal with Sanada. His fingers itched to feel the paper between his
fingers, and his tongue slid over the spot on his lips where he usually held
his stick. Hell, even the pansy gum his mom bought him would help a little, but
the gum was in his bedside drawer, tucked neatly behind his karate belt.
Just as Jin began to ponder shaking down third years until he found some smokes
or, at the very least, got information on the campus' smoking spot, Sanada
strode down the hall from the direction of the baths.
"Have you been expelled?" Sanada asked, stopping shoulder to shoulder. He
smelled like sulfur; he must've been in the simulated hot spring.
"Don't be stupid. They don't expel you for shit like that." A cigarette would
be really, really nice after a soak, maybe a beer afterward, though Akutsu
doubted the prissy kids at the school had the guts to sneak it in.
Sanada shrugged. The movement drew Akutsu's eyes to his lean frame. Sanada
looked a lot bigger when he had clothes on.
"I'm going back to the room." Sanada continued on his previous path and Jin,
having nothing better to do, followed, his tongue still stroking the spot where
a cigarette ought to be.
*****
By the time Monday morning rolled around, Sanada was beginning to doubt his
ability to tolerate living in the same room as Akutsu. It wasn't the other
boy's temper that was the problem—Sanada had dealt with Kirihara and could
therefor handle any kind of tantrum fate could throw his way—the problem was
that Akutsu was, under the punches and the obscenities, a horribly busybody.
"Where'd you get those bruises from?" Akutsu smacked out through his morning
nicotine gum. "You didn't have 'em when you changed last night."
Sanada pulled on a white undershirt. "Kendo practice. Sometimes it takes a
while for them to show color."
"You don't get bruises like that from sticks. Besides, you wear all that
armor." Akutsu fumbled with his tie in the full length mirror on the back of
their door. "Who hit you? If you say you fell down the stairs, I'll put a few
more on you."
"It's none of your business." Sanada smoothed out his undershirt and tucked it
into his pants. He winced when his fingertips brushed a particularly sensitive
spot.
"Some guy hits my roommate, then it's my business." Finally managing to get his
tie knotted, Akutsu moved toward Sanada's half of the room. "Besides, if I have
to look at your ugly ass every day, it's better if it's not beaten to shit."
There was something very uncomfortable about the slow way Akutsu's eyes trailed
over the places Sanada's bruises were hidden. "If you don't like it, then stop
looking." Sanada quickly pulled on his uniform shirt, a second layer of
protection against Akutsu's scowling, burning stare. "You don't play kendo
without a few bruises. You've got them, too, I'd imagine."
"Not a damn one." Jin stepped closer, beyond the imaginary line separating
their areas of control. "Except where you hit me with the damn broom
yesterday."
Sanada grinned. "Pick your things up properly and you won't fall into my broom
while I'm cleaning. Tripping on your underwear is pathetic. You might also work
on dodging. I suspect it'll improve your karate performance."
In the two days since their initial meeting, they'd fallen into a pattern of
verbal sparring that Genichirou was embarrassed to admit he enjoyed. Nothing he
said would deeply hurt Akutsu, and nothing Akutsu could say would ever have a
lasting impact on Sanada's self-esteem. As such, Sanada felt free to say
whatever came to mind. It always stayed inside the room—nobody on campus would
understand that it was all harmless and in a sort of fun—and it seemed as
though Akutsu's temper was settling down as a result of being able to talk out
his anger, even if the discussions were nothing more than insults.
"You still didn't tell me what asshole hit you." If only Akutsu would mind his
own business.
Sanada moved around Akutsu and toward the mirror to do up his own tie. "There
was a misunderstanding between myself and a senpai. It's not important." The
senpai in question had heard of Sanada's tennis skills and thought Sanada unfit
to join the kendo team. He cornered Sanada in the equipment room and attempted
to threaten him out of the club. He managed to land a few punches before Sanada
laid him out in a single blow. Genichirou didn't anticipate any further issues
from that particular senpai nor any of his friends who had been mutely standing
in the background during the incident.
"Is that shit eating grin because you taught the bastard a lesson or because
you can tie your own tie without your mommy's help?"
Unable to help himself, Sanada started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Akutsu stormed forward and pushed Sanada from behind,
sending him into the door. He kept Genichirou pinned with an arm across his
back. "You teach that guy a lesson or not?" Akutsu leaned in, his chest
pressing against Sanada's back, shoving him into the mirror. The frame pushed
into Sanada's shoulder.
"Get off." The mirth was gone from Sanada's voice, replaced with the stone cold
solidity of The Emperor.
Akutsu leaned forward more, molding himself completely to Sanada's back. The
minty chemical smell of nicotine gum crawled along Sanada's shoulder and
tickled his nose as Akutsu snarled, "If you're letting some asshole beat the
crap out of you, I'll kick your ass right here and now."
Sanada tried to push back and froze. The long, solid ridge pressing against him
was not what he expected. "He won't be bothering me again, now get away from
me. It's time to get to the gym for the assembly."
With a grunt, Akutsu backed away. "You go ahead, I got some stuff to take care
of."
Sanada threw on his blazer, grabbed his bag, and strode from the room as fast
as dignity would allow.
*****
Nothing could break Sanada Genichirou. If Akutsu was certain of anything, he
was certain of that. Fate had saddled him with one of the toughest bastards in
the world, and it was fucking fantastic. No matter what Jin said, no matter
what he did, Sanada could take it without whining or crying like a girl. As the
still dark circle on Akutsu's cheek attested, Sanada could take care of himself
and didn't need anyone riding to his rescue.
Still…
"Shit." Akutsu threw his blazer down on his bed and kicked the bedframe. If
anyone was going to stomp down Sanada's pride and make him submit, it was going
to be him, Akutsu Jin, not some third year too afraid of Sanada's talents to
face him fairly in a match.
Okabe, the captain of the karate team, was friends with Ishiura, the spineless
shit who, even after Sanada gave him a beating, was trying to force Sanada into
changing clubs because Ishiura didn't have the skill to keep a team together
without scaring away talented first years. If the conversation Akutsu overheard
was any indication, three first years, skilled swordsmen all, had already
changed clubs because they didn't want to deal with the bullying.
Sanada's key had Akutsu hurrying to look like he hadn't been about to rip the
curtains off their rings. "Ah, fuck," he swore, trying to find something to do.
As the door opened, Akutsu started taking off his uniform shirt.
Sanada entered the room and locked the door behind him. He was silent, but his
eyes were focused sharply and his feet stomped down.
"Dinner's in half an hour," Jin said, hanging his shirt up in his closet.
"Tonight's curry." What the fuck was he doing, chatting about dinner? Just
looking at Sanada's wrinkled shirt Akutsu could tell someone had tried messing
with him again. It was only Thursday of their first week and Sanada'd come back
to the room with new bruises and scratches every day.
Sanada grunted acknowledgement.
"Who the fuck was it today?" Jin asked, taking the two long steps needed to
come up behind where Sanada was glaring at a wall. It only took a push to send
Sanada sprawling across his bed. It was pathetically easy to block the punches
Sanada sent to keep Jin from peeling off his uniform shirt and hiking up his
undershirt. The bastards must've put up a good fight to wear him out so much.
"Where'd they get you?"
While Sanada's arms were pinned by his shirt, his legs were free and he
twisted, kicking Jin in the back of the head. "Get off me."
"Was it Ishiura again or some other guy?" Jin adjusted, hooking his legs around
Sanada's to prevent another kick. It was a variation of a judo hold he'd seen
in his P.E. textbook. With Sanada's legs in check, Akutsu was able to let his
hand roam over Sanada's chest, seeking out any damage deeper than the purple
spots that dotted the surprisingly soft skin.
Sanada hissed when Akutsu's fingers probed a spot just under his left ribs.
The sound went straight to Jin's core. He leaned forward, pushing himself into
the boy under him. "Listen and listen good. If anyone else touches you, he's
going to the fucking hospital. Got it?" Jin's fingers tightened in Sanada's
undershirt, securing Sanada's hands, before Jin's tongue moved along Sanada's
collarbone. The taste was disgusting, a cross between salt water and overcooked
oyster, but a small sound snuffled out of Sanada's nose and Jin wanted to eat
the other boy alive just so he could hear it again.
"It's none of your business." Sanada's hips arched up.
Jin ground down, sliding his hardness alongside Sanada's and biting down on an
exposed shoulder when the pulse through his stomach and spine started to dig a
scream out of him. When the wave passed, he continued to move slowly against
the body beneath him. "If you're too chickenshit to take care of it, then I'll
do it for you." He let go of Sanada's shirt and reached down to work at
Sanada's belt.
With his hands free, Sanada was able to push Akutsu away and onto the floor.
The shock of impacting the floor stunned Jin long enough to allow Sanada to
reverse their positions. "I can take care of myself," Sanada growled. He
flicked his wrist and Jin's belt buckle was undone. "If you fuck up any of my
plans, you'll be the one sent to the hospital. Am I clear?"
Jin's mind began to fog over when Sanada slid his zipper down and reached
inside. "Yeah." He pushed up and into the callused fingers slowly wrapping
around him. "Shit, that’s good."
Sanada squeezed, almost painfully, then pulled away. "Clean yourself up. It's
time for dinner." Sanada stepped away, leaving Akutsu and his leaking cock on
the floor, both twitching ever so slightly.
*****
Sanada paused at the entrance to the school's dojo. There was a sick churning
in his stomach and, as he looked at the three steps leading up into the
practice space, he heard Yukimura's voice in his head, a memory from their
first year at Rikkai.
We can't just be number one, Sanada. We have to destroy everything and rebuild
it. It's the only way they'll accept us and the only way we'll be able to shape
things as we like.
As a middle school student, Sanada wanted what Yukimura was striving for: a
tennis revolution and a nationals level team to shape as they saw fit. Now,
though…
"You going in?" Kita, a fellow first year with a sloppy forward rush, set his
hand down on Sanada's shoulder. "The third years have really been giving you
hell. I wish they'd spend more time practicing and less time bragging. Know
what I mean?"
Through the open door Sanada could see the captain warming up with his three
friends, all of them regulars and all of them below Sanada's level because,
while Sanada had practiced tennis daily during middle school, he maintained a
regular and vigorous kendo training schedule to keep his skills in prime
condition.
"It would be nice if somebody would just put them in their place before they
scare away the rest of the team." Kita's hand gave Sanada's shoulder a squeeze
before he stepped away and up the stairs. "See ya inside!"
Sanada could do what Kita was asking. He could walk into the dojo, challenge
his senpai, and beat them all without blinking. What he would not do was
shoulder the burden that came with ousting a regime. Sanada had no intention or
desire to lead the kendo team. He wanted to be a quiet member who won his
matches and let someone else take care of everything else.
"Hey, tennis kid! You just gonna stand there?"
Sanada's fingers twitched around his equipment bag. Bruises he could endure.
Idiotic screaming he could endure.
"Maybe he finally realized that he's not good enough and he's too afraid to
come in."
Some things, though, were beyond Sanada's endurance. Sanada Genichirou was not
afraid, and anyone who believed otherwise would be crushed. Eyes forward,
Sanada entered the dojo, resolved to destroy the abomination that was the kendo
club and resigned to shoulder the burden of its reconstruction.
*****
Akutsu reclined back on the olive green sofa and exhaled deeply.
"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
"I need a smoke. Bad." He probably shouldn't be saying stuff like that to a
member of the school staff, but she said there was some sort of confidentiality
thing going on, so he could say anything he wanted and not get busted for it.
No way was he telling her about last night, though. Well, not the good parts.
"How would you rate your stress on a scale from one to ten?" She wrote a note
down on her clipboard and paused, waiting for him to answer.
Jin stopped and thought a minute. He wanted to say ten, but he hadn't punched
anyone all day, even when he ran across that bastard Ishiura on his way to
karate practice. He even did a little bit of homework and answered a few
questions in class. Maybe Sanada's hand on his dick had some sort of freakish
mellowing effects.
"Two," Jin said after a small snicker at the idea of asking Sanada to grope him
and what the other boy's face might look like when he said it was for medicinal
purposes.
"That's very good. Why did you say you needed nicotine if you're not stressed?"
An image of Sanada's bare chest that morning came to mind along with Jin's need
to run his hands over the tight abdominals, trail his tongue around the toned
pectorals. "Haven't had one in a while," he said, licking his lips. "It's habit
and stuff."
"Your file indicates that your mother is sending you nicotine gum to aid in
quitting your habit, and the school has agreed to let you use it. Are you
finding that the gum isn't satisfying your cravings?"
There were a lot of cravings that weren't getting satisfied. "My roommate's
been in some shi…trouble. Maybe I'm worried." He wasn't worried; he was pissed
off and tired of sitting around doing nothing instead slamming the asshole's
face into a wall.
"Have you spoken to your roommate about this?"
"That didn't go so well." Jin adjusted himself at the reminder of their talk
the night before.
"What happened?" Dr. Hirashige set her clipboard on her lap and gave Akutsu her
full attention.
What the fuck could he tell her? "I told him he should stop being a wuss. We
fought, I skipped dinner, and now he's ignoring me."
"And how does him ignoring you make you feel?"
Horny. "It pisses me off."
"Are you angry that he's ignoring you, or are you angry because you feel he
doesn't value your concern?" The clipboard was up again, and the doctor was
writing quickly.
"I'm angry because I could take care of those assholes in fifteen minutes.
There's no fucking reason for him to be getting the shit knocked out of him
every day. Why the fuck should I let some lameass go pummeling my roommate,
huh? And what the fuck? Sanada can take those guys. Does he like getting hit,
because if he does then he doesn't need to go slutting around; he can just come
back to the room and I'll slap him around some."
"Do you think your roommate receives sexual pleasure from these fights?"
"What? Who the hell said that?"
The doctor read back Jin's words.
"Shit, I didn't mean it like that." He tried to sink into the couch, hide away
from the doctor's curious eyes.
"How did you mean it?"
Jin stared at the ceiling and tried to order his thoughts so he didn't sound
like a moron this time. "I'm just sayin' that if somebody's gonna pick on him,
it's gonna be me. If he needs anything, he can just get it from me. Everyone
else should just keep their hands off."
"I see." She scribbled more. "Have you expressed these feelings to him?"
"Yeah. He told me to fuck off, said he had plans and I should mind my own
business." It had been said a little different, but he couldn't tell her the
exact words, the ones he'd repeated in his head over and over in the shower
that morning. He didn't want to remember the gravely catch of Sanada's angry
voice, didn't want to share the whole of that moment with anyone. Besides, if
he told her that Sanada had bested him, he'd look like a loser.
"Part of being in a relationship is learning to allow your partner space."
"Hold it, I never said anything about a relationship."
The doctor held up her hand, halting Jin's oncoming rant. "Relationship is
merely a word we use to describe the interaction between two people. It's often
used to describe romantic involvement, but we counselors use it in a broader
sense. You and I, for example, have a relationship as counselor and patient.
You and your roommate share a relationship as well." She looked like she was
going to say more but paused. "I hope that clears things up, and I'm sorry I
didn't express myself properly."
"Uh…it's fine. Sorry I yelled." It was the first time anyone'd ever apologized
to him and the first time he'd ever reciprocated. It was nice to not get the
blame for someone else's stupidity. Maybe the raisin wasn't so bad after all.
"However, while we're on the topic, have you ever experienced any sexual
thoughts in regards to your roommate?"
Fucking bitch.
*****
There was not a muscle that didn't ache as Sanada opened the door to his room.
He'd gone rounds with every regular player in the club, then all the sub-
regulars. He'd won every match, but now he was exhausted and wanted nothing
more than to collapse on his bed and sleep through the weekend. Tomorrow would
be a new dawn for the kendo club, though, and he had a practice schedule to
prepare as well as homework to attend to.
Akutsu looked up from a comic when Sanada closed the door. "Sit your ass down.
We're gonna talk."
The last thing Sanada wanted after eighteen consecutive matches was to deal
with Akutsu. If they got into a fight now, Sanada knew he didn't have the
strength to win. "Not now. I'm tired."
"Why? Been acting like a punching bag again?" Akutsu rolled off his bed and
reached Sanada in three long strides. "I told you before, anyone who hurts you
is gonna pay for it."
Sanada stepped back to avoid the hands trying to slide under his shirt. "That's
over. I took care of it."
Akutsu stepped back. "You kick his ass?"
Sanada had done more than kick Ishiura's ass. He annihilated him. During their
match not one of Ishiura's swings hit home, and every one of Sanada's cut down
the third year, hitting hard enough that, by the end of the match, Ishiura was
black and blue beneath his armor. All of the seniors who'd followed Ishiura's
lead in the past week were dealt a similar brand of justice. A few, seeing the
pain of their friends, ran before it was time for their matches.
"You just gonna stand there laughing or are you gonna answer my damn question?"
While his tone was gruff, Akutsu was back on his bed, comic in hand, a slight
smile twitching at the edges of his mouth.
"Take a look at him during dinner. That should answer your questions."
Akutsu snorted and brought his comic closer. "Whatever. Take a shower; you
smell."
"I thought you wanted to talk."
"If you don't get your smelly ass out of here, I'll start gagging. We'll talk
later." He peered over the top of the comic. "Or are you so worn out that I
need to carry you to the showers like a girl?"
A knot of tension Sanada hadn't realized was there burst between his shoulders
and he collapsed onto his bed in laughter.
"What the fuck's so funny?"
He could just imagine Akutsu lumbering through the halls, kicking at the other
residents to get out of his way then guarding the door to the showers like a
dog until Sanada was finished.
"Nothing," Sanada wheezed as he tried to regain his composure. "I'm going." He
quickly grabbed his towel and toiletries set and left the room, the occasional
chuckle slipping out as he made his way down the hall.
*****
Where Akutsu was the Get the Fuck Out of My Face world champion, Sanada seemed
to be the Biggest Kissass Magnet on the Planet. An hour after Sanada came back
from his shower, losers started knocking on their door, asking to talk to him.
"The fuck's all this?" Akutsu asked when the fifth kid showed up, knees quaking
like Sanada had laid claim to his soul and was about to crush it.
"It's kendo club business." Sanada looked over a piece of paper the kid brought
while the twerpy thing shivered and shook in the doorframe.
"It's fucking annoying is what it is." Akutsu snatched the paper and read over
it. "Why do you give a crap about some tournament lineup? It's not your job."
The kid in the doorframe squeaked in horror when Akutsu crumpled up the paper
and threw it back at him. "He's not your captain. Deal with this shit
yourselves and leave him alone." A twitch of Akutsu's upper lip was all it took
to send the kid running off down the hall. "And if anyone knocks on this
fucking door tonight, he's dead!" Akutsu assumed from the silence that fell
over the hall that his message was received and he shut the door.
"Mind your own business." Sanada looked like something was crawling up his ass
and both tickled and stung like a bitch.
"My room, my business. Besides, you look like shit and you said you wanted to
rest. They wanna talk to you, they can do it after dinner." Jin looked at the
clock and frowned. "We've got about an hour so get your ass on the bed and take
a nap."
Sanada sat on the side of his bed and sighed. "I—"
Akutsu wasn't in the mood to hear Sanada's tale of woe, which he'd more or less
pieced together from the blabbering idiots that visited earlier. "Shut up and
sleep. I'll wake you up." Stupid Rikkai bastards and their need to be in charge
of everything; it was going to make Sanada pissier than he already was,
especially since Akutsu got the feeling Sanada didn't want all these losers
depending on him. The raisin said Sanada was the type of guy to get caught up
in other people's problems too easily, which was why he acted like an asshole.
If people didn't want to be near him, they wouldn't try to make him run their
lives for them.
Sanada's snoring bit into Akutsu's thoughts and prompted him to search through
his dirty laundry pile for his headphones. If the snoring, which Sanada'd only
started last night, was a sign that Sanada was getting a cold, Jin was kicking
his roommate out. The newcomer's karate tournament was in two weeks and Jin
needed to train, kick ass, and send a first place medal home to his mom so she
wouldn't be tempted to come and check up on him.
Jin turned on his iPod and flipped through his playlists until he came across
one titled "Loud." He cranked the volume up loud enough to drown out Sanada's
snoring and grabbed his history book. He might as well do something useful.
Thinking about Sanada's mental issues wasn't going to keep Akutsu's mom off his
case or give him the grades he needed to stay an active member of the karate
team. All thinking about Sanada would do was make him pissed off because Sanada
wasn't the nice, docile roommate Jin wanted, one to do his homework and suck
his dick when the need arose, which was far too often now that Akutsu knew what
Sanada's big, calloused fingers felt like and how tight that hand could clench
around him.
Jin hissed at the warm pulse that shot through him with the memory. It was a
one-time thing and he wasn't some sissy who mooned over people. He just needed
to find someone to get him off and he'd be fine. For the first time, Akutsu
missed Yamabuki and its battalion of eager, easily scared freshman. They were
never particularly skilled, but they got the job done without drama.
After dinner, Akutsu decided, he was going for a smoke.
********
Sanada awoke to find the room empty and a large piece of paper taped to the
door.
Your snoring was annoying so I went out. You're probably getting sick, so rest
your ass down some more and I'll bring you something to stuff your face with
later.
Akutsu's handwriting was surprisingly legible. Sanada expected any notes from
his roommate to be scrawled out like a serial killer's and laced with
misspelled words. He wondered if Akutsu might have studied calligraphy at some
point; his characters certainly held the flare of one who'd trained in the art
of the brush.
Sanada tossed the letter into the burnable garbage can and removed his pajamas
from the tiny dresser at the foot of his bed. His limbs felt heavy as he
changed from his everyday clothes to pajama bottoms. If Akutsu was bringing
food, he might as well put off changing into the shirt until after he'd eaten.
Besides, it was strangely warm in the room.
Changed, he dragged himself to the mirror to check his bruises. The ones from
earlier in the week had faded from purple to green, and the few that he had
from the day's matches were barely noticeable. With any luck, they'd all be
gone by the following week and Akutsu would stop whining about them.
"Stupid," Sanada grumbled to himself and fell back onto the bed. "What was I
thinking?" He raised his tingling hand in front of him. If he closed his eyes,
he could still feel the friction of Akutsu's skin in his grasp, could still see
Akutsu's pupils expand and contract in waves counter to the movement of his
hips. He could hear the wet gasps as they moved out of Akutsu's smoker's lungs
and dug into his stomach so deep that he'd jerked off to the memory every day
since, and still the sound resonated in him, stirring him up whenever he was
stupid enough to recall it.
It was only 6:45. Dinner would last a while yet. If he hurried, he might be
able to—
"You better be in the fucking room." Akutsu's voice preceded the jiggling of a
key in the lock. Sanada took a deep breath and moved his hand out from where it
had been sliding down his lower abdomen.
******
Bringing food back to the room was a lot harder than Akutsu anticipated. First,
the staff thought Akutsu was trying to cover up something, then they got all
concerned that Sanada was sick and needed medical attention. A few of the
dweebs from the kendo club asked just as many questions before they started
boring Akutsu to death with their retelling of Sanada's matches against the
third years that afternoon. Some of them even started trailing Akutsu back to
the room like the rat dogs they were.
"You better be in the fucking room," he growled when the last of the shits
finally realized he wasn't going to let them in. He didn't hear any snoring so
Sanada was either awake or out. If the bastard wasn't resting, Akutsu would
beat the crap out of him. He hadn't just braved all that annoying crap for
nothing.
He stomped into the room, locked the door, and put the food he'd braved idiots
for on Sanada's desk. Only then did he turn to his roommate.
Sanada's hard-on would probably be visible from space. It strained at the leg
of his pajama pants, pushing at the fabric until the cotton was almost see-
through. It was long and thicker than Jin would have believed from the few
times he'd seen Sanada naked in the shower rooms and, one time, in the
simulated hot spring. Even Sanada's morning wood hadn't seemed anything more
than passingly impressive. It was by far larger than Akutsu's own and,
considering Sanada wasn't nearly as tall or broad as his attitude suggested, it
seemed kind of stupid for a guy that size to have a cock that big. It just
proved the point the Sanada was a fucking showoff.
"Stop staring." Sanada got up off the bed, his pajamas still obscenely tented,
and opened one of the bento boxes Akutsu brought. "Thanks."
Akutsu sat on his bed and watched Sanada wolf down the meal. As the other boy
ate, his erection slowly calmed until, halfway through the second bento box of
the three Jin'd brought, Sanada's pajama pants rested smoothly against his
thigh once more. Now that the distraction had gone and he could look somewhere
other than Sanada's crotch, Akutsu cleared his throat.
"We've gotta talk about…" Akutsu pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and
read it, "…your constant need to take care of others even though you come to
resent those you offer your protection to." The raisin said their
'relationship' would go a lot better if Akutsu and Sanada talked when things
bugged them. She even helped Akutsu write a few smart-sounding things about why
Sanada was a crazyass bastard who needed to stop hanging out with crybabies.
"What?"
"This ain't Rikkaidai. You don't have to take over the team just because you
beat everyone else. All that means is that you're better so you don't have to
take their crap." Akutsu stole a fried shrimp from the box and sat down on the
side of Sanada's bed, his knees bobbing up and down as his legs shook with the
effort of keeping his language in check. According to the raisin, you sounded
willing to compromise if you didn't call your roommate a spineless shit for
brains.
"How would you know anything about it?" Sanada was still stuffing his face and
was almost finished with the second box.
"You think I haven't kicked the ass of every last member of the karate club?
Those pansies aren't even half my level. You don't see me looking over training
schedules and crap like that, do you? No. I mind my own business and they mind
theirs. When the tournaments come, I'll kick ass and they can pretend they had
something to do with the school winning even though most of 'em won't even make
it through the qualifiers." He fell backwards and stared at the ceiling.
Sanada's bed smelled like sweat and the linen spray Sanada used when he ironed
stuff.
"It can't be helped. It's already in motion." Sanada's shoulders slumped down
and he stared at the empty second bento box. He sighed and took out the third.
"It's only for three years."
"Fuck that." Akutsu sprang from the bed and turned Sanada's chair to face him.
"You want to lead, then lead. You don't want to, then don't. It's not some
freaking Zen puzzle."
The corners of Sanada's mouth lifted and he let out a sound halfway between a
laugh and a groan. A few seconds later, the laughter ate up the groan and
Sanada reclined back in his chair and clutched his stomach as waves a deep
hyena laughter slid out of him.
"What's so funny?" Akutsu opened the third bento box and took another fried
shrimp.
"Me." Sanada closed his eyes. "Getting life advice from Akutsu Jin."
"Yeah, real fucking funny. Ha ha." He couldn't help that the last came out
almost as a true laugh. He also couldn't help the heat building inside him as
he looked at Sanada's flush cheeks and recalled the sight that had greeted him
when he walked in.
"Thanks," Sanada said. "I'll think about what you said."
"You wanna thank me, you can get your hand over here and put it around my
cock."
Sanada set his chopsticks down. "That will never happen again."
Akutsu cupped himself through his uniform slacks. "You seemed pretty good at
it. Get a lot of practice over at Rikkai?"
"At my family dojo, actually. And I'm good at everything I do." Sanada's eyes
glanced Akutsu's hand. "The answer is still no."
Akutsu hated everyone at the Sanada family's dojo, every last asshole who'd had
that hot hand wrapped around him more than once. If Akutsu ever found out who
they were, he'd wreck 'em all.
"I'm goin' out." If Sanada wasn't going to take care of things, Jin needed to
find someone who would. He wasn't going to spend his high school career jerking
off in the shower. And he still hadn't had that cigarette yet.
******
When Sanada woke on Saturday, his mouth tasted like expired miso paste and his
limbs felt too heavy to lift. The room was unbearably hot, but he didn't want
to chance stripping away the bottoms that clung to his sweaty legs or the t-
shirt he'd put on when Akutsu came back the prior evening smelling of smoke and
stared at Sanada's chest like he meant to bore a hole through it.
"Shut the fucking alarm off," Akutsu grumbled from across the room.
Sanada gathered his strength and flung his arm out. The alarm ceased its shrill
beeping and flew off the bedside stand and onto the floor. He had ten minutes
to retrieve the device before it went off again. All he had to do was move.
"I'm sick," Genichirou sighed on his third failed attempt to sit up in bed.
Akutsu snorted. "No shit." The other boy got out of bed and snatched up the
alarm. "Why the fuck do you set it on Saturday?"
"I want breakfast. Breakfast is at 7." At the thought of the expansive
traditional breakfast the school offered daily, Sanada's stomach growled. He
tried, once more, to sit up and was almost perpendicular when Akutsu's hand on
his chest shoved him back down.
"Tch. I'll get your damn breakfast, but you owe me."
"I'm not paralyzed. I can get it myself." If he tried hard, he might even
stumble into the dining hall before all of the good pickles were gone. He'd
done more when he was in worse shape. This was nothing.
"If you don't keep your ass in bed, I'll—" Akutsu took a deep breath. "Just
stay here. I'll be back." Still in his pajamas, Akutsu stomped out of the room,
leaving Genichirou no alternative but to wait and hope Akutsu knew to bring
extra daikon pickles and put a little salt on his salmon.
******
Akutsu looked at the medicines lined up on Sanada's desk and frowned. "They all
look the same."
"Read the labels," Sanada croaked out of a throat hoarse from three days of
coughing. "It's the one for stomach pain."
"You've got two for that." Akutsu picked up the two bottles and brought them to
Sanada's bedside. While the other boy read over the labels, Akutsu sat down in
the desk chair that had become his constant perch. "Even your damn colds are
fucking stubborn," he grumbled.
"Feel free to room elsewhere. The nurse said it was an option if you were
concerned about getting sick."
The last time Akutsu had a cold he was in elementary school. "Then who would
take care of your sorry ass, huh? You couldn't even pick up a water bottle
yesterday." It was strange to watch his usually pissy roommate quietly sweat
through three sets of pajamas and wheeze in his sleep. Akutsu doubted any of
those bastards at Rikkai ever watched Sanada vomit into a bucket or had to tilt
his head up and hold a water bottle to his lips. None of them woke their asses
up early to get him breakfast or hauled out bags of used tissues.
Sanada opened one of the pill bottles, took out two pills, and held out a hand.
Jin placed a newly refilled water bottle into it silently. His stomach twisted
when Sanada's fingers slid over his own when grabbing the bottle. If he really
wanted to, Akutsu could do anything and Sanada wouldn't be able to stop him. He
could slide his hands over the still slightly bruised chest, drag his teeth
through the hairs just below Sanada's navel, trail his tongue along the line of
flesh just above Sanada's waistband and watch as Sanada writhed and begged
Akutsu to suck him.
The pill bottle hit Akutsu between the eyes. "Put it back on the desk and go to
class."
Jin snorted at the command and threw the bottle toward the desk. It hit the
wall and rolled under the desk. "I'll get it later," he said to Sanada's scowl.
"And I'm not going to class, so just go back to sleep."
He knew Sanada was still feeling like shit when there was no argument.
******
All movement stopped when Sanada stepped into the dojo on Thursday. The third
years, huddled together near the equipment rack in the corner, regarded him
with wary eyes while the first and second years seemed at a loss. Did they come
talk to him, alienating them from their senpai, or did they stay away,
alienating them from the strongest member of the club? Sanada was familiar with
the awkward silence; it was the same one that permeated the Rikkaidai clubhouse
on the first day of Yukimura's reign. On that day, Yukimura broke the silence
with a string of orders that even the third years were quick to obey.
But this wasn't Rikkaidai.
"What are we doing today?" Sanada asked, his eyes focused on Ishiura.
The silence continued on and Sanada waited, making no move to control even the
movement of the conversation. Finally Ishiura stepped out of his cloud of
classmates.
"Did the nurse clear you for practice?"
Sanada held out the note the nurse'd given him. "I'm clear."
Ishiura took the note. "Well, uh, we're glad you're back. First years are doing
swings, but you'll be with the third years for sparring practice."
"Understood." Sanada gave a small bow and took his gear to the back of the dojo
where the members kept their bags during practice.
"Hey, look."
Sanada turned to find Ishiura behind him. "Yes?"
"I was a real jerk to you, and I just wanted you to know that I won't give you
any more problems." There was a twitch to Ishiura's smile when he held out his
hand. "Let's try to get along, huh?"
The small flinch Ishiura gave when Sanada took his hand was satisfying. "I'll
be in your care, captain."
******
Jin exhaled a lungful of smoke and the breeze broke it down into tiny rivulets
that curled around the trees of the forest cradling the back of the school.
Nakajima from room 23 had a good mouth on him, wet and hot, but it just wasn't
tight enough. Still, it was better than nothing.
Akutsu stared down the length of his body at the carefully spiked hair on the
head that bobbed on and off of him slowly, like the guy was trying to savor the
dick in his mouth. Jin grabbed a handful of spikes, turning Nakajima up to face
him. "Hurry it up. I gotta get to practice."
Nakajima smiled as best he could with his mouth stretched out then got back to
work, sucking harder and moving faster.
It still wasn't enough. Akutsu took another drag on his cigarette. He'd have to
find a way to get another pack soon. He stole this pack from the teacher's room
when he went there to get Sanada's homework on Monday. There were only two
sticks left.
Nakajima let out a whimper and Akutsu realized he was still holding onto the
kid's hair. He let go and used his free hand to rub at his stomach. Man, this
guy's blowjobs were really fucking boring. Still, it was better than doing it
himself again and imagining that his hand was thicker in the fingers and
rougher in the pads, that his grip was stronger…
On the positive, Nakajima wasn't a spitter and swallowed Jin's load down in two
smooth undulations of his throat.
Akutsu clapped Nakajima on the shoulder and tucked himself into his pants.
"Thanks." He walked away to the sound of Nakajima's zipper rushing down.
*****
Golden Week and Sanada's first trip back home came faster than expected. He was
almost sad to leave the campus and board the train for the two hour ride home.
His father was going to pick him up at the station and drive them home.
"Why are there so many old people on the train in the morning?" Akutsu kicked
his feet up onto the seat next to Sanada. "If you give up your seat to anyone…"
Akutsu's threat hung in the air. Sanada expected it was because Akutsu, while
volatile, was fairly harmless most days. He certainly wasn't going to beat up
an old woman and, after taking the effort to help Sanada through his cold a
week prior, it was unlikely he'd raise a hand to his roommate, either.
"I'm not giving my seat to anyone. Relax." Sanada watched trees whip past them
as they rounded through the mountains. There was an hour of scenery before
they'd enter into the endless grey of the city.
Akutsu's sock clad foot impacted with Sanada's leg. "Thanks for inviting me."
Akutsu didn't look Sanada in the eye, but his gaze flickered a time or two. Jin
said his counselor was making him say thank you ten times a day for…some reason
Sanada hadn't been paying attention to.
"I didn't invite you; my mother did. Did you bring your gum? There's no smoking
at my house."
Akutsu stuck out a tongue coated in whitish-grey gum. "I'm gonna stop by my
mom's place and get some more. She ain't gonna be home most days because she's
working, but she said she'd buy some more and leave it in the apartment."
"That's good." Sanada patted the foot still resting against his side. After his
cold, Sanada began to see Akutsu in a different light. The other boy wasn't all
that bad; he just didn't know how to think before he spoke and had a tendency
to solve all of his problems by hitting them. He certainly wasn't the kind of
person Sanada usually associated with but, since there was no choice, Sanada
would do his best to create an environment in which Akutsu could show the
quieter side he'd displayed during Sanada's illness. Some experimentation
revealed that Akutsu responded well to quick, light physical stimuli. A touch
to the shoulder or a pat on the foot seemed to do more to relax Akutsu than his
disgusting nicotine gum. Sanada hadn't heard Akutsu complain about cigarettes
all week, and none of the other boy's clothing had the nose-burning stench
clinging to them.
Akutsu's toes wiggled, twisting up the fabric of Sanada's pants. Genichirou
pulled at the fabric to right it and glanced up; Akutsu was looking out the
window. Sanada rested his hand down on his thigh, fingers stretching out to
glide over Akutsu's ankle. Without looking away from the blurred treescape,
Akutsu's toes resumed kneading Sanada's leg. They continued the ride in
silence.
*****
Akutsu figured the best way not to offend Sanada's family was to keep his mouth
shut. Sanada's dad was one mean looking bastard, and his mother wasn't far
behind. Both paled in comparison to the old fart who glared disapprovingly at
Akutsu the moment they stepped into the house. The geezer walked around like a
cat, swift and silent. It was fucking unnerving.
"Didn't you play tennis?" Mrs. Sanada asked. "I think I remember you from one
of Genichirou's tournaments."
"He played for Yamabuki," Genichirou said. His face was all pinched like he was
constipated but trying really hard to get it out.
"Is your school teaching you to answer for other people, Genichirou?" Mrs.
Sanada stared down her son and Akutsu thought he was starting to understand why
Sanada was such an asshole.
Genichirou turned and bowed to Akutsu. "I apologize for my rudeness." His eyes
caught Jin's as he rose and the warning flashing in them made Jin's stomach
burn.
"Go prepare the dojo for tonight's classes. You can show your friend around
when you've finished." Mrs. Sanada left and, watching her, Akutsu's spine
ached. Nobody needed to stand that straight all the time. Nobody.
"You can come with me or you can stay inside." Sanada craned his neck toward
the back of the house. "The dojo's next door."
"I'm gonna go home and get some stuff." He was also going to smoke, maybe find
someone in his old neighborhood to give him a quick one, then shower it all off
before coming back. "I'll be back later."
Sanada shrugged. "Call if you're not coming back for dinner. Or at all."
The remark that he wasn't going to ditch Sanada stalled on Akutsu's tongue
because, though he wanted to say it, he wasn't really sure it would be true,
and Akutsu Jin was a lot of things, but he was never a filthy liar.
******
The day passed and Sanada didn't hear from Akutsu. He assumed the other boy was
back home and resuming his habit of smoking and fighting for no reason in
particular. That was fine. So long as Akutsu's behavior didn't reflect on
Sanada in any way, Jin could do whatever he liked.
Genichirou was kept busy with cleaning the dojo, assisting and participating in
the advanced lessons, then cleaning again. The routine was welcome and helped
the time pass before he had to explain Jin's absence to his family.
"Hey, good to see you again."
Sanada didn't look up from the spot of floor he was polishing. The voice
rolling over him and wiggling into his gut was just one more thing he wanted to
leave behind when he went off to school. "Sugimoto."
Bare feet smacked against the hardwood and stopped in the corner of Sanada's
vision. "You didn't tell me you were going away for school. It got really
lonely around here."
He flinched when a hand trailed down his back, one finger tickling the ridge of
his spine. The smart thing to do would be to tell Sugimoto to go home. The
smart thing would be to finish polishing the floors, go inside, and call Akutsu
to make sure his roommate wasn't in the hospital after a street fight. "I'm
busy," Sanada said. "I don't have time right now."
Sugimoto never listened when Sanada said he didn't have time. He always seemed
to think that it was Sanada's way of maintaining his dignity as the dojo's
heir. His hands, still trailing over Sanada's spine, reached around and he
pulled Sanada up to stand in front of him, back to chest. "I missed you."
Sanada closed his eyes as Sugimoto's hands rubbed over his chest, parting the
folds of his practice gi and digging into his pectorals, kneading them in
handfuls. He didn't mind this, not really, but he knew the situation was
horribly, horribly objectiontionable. He should be cleaning like a responsible
son, not allowing himself to be felt up by one of the students, especially not—
"I never gave you your graduation present before you left," Sugimoto whispered
across the back of Sanada's neck. "Want me to give it to you now?" He trailed
his tongue along Sanada's collarbone and circled round, hands working at the
deep blue hakama tied about Sanada's waist.
The time to say no was long past. He didn't say no that first day, three years
ago, nor any of the countless times that followed. If Sanada were honest, he
would admit that he enjoyed it and that Sugimoto was a good, discreet partner
who asked for nothing more than Sanada's cock shoved deep down his throat.
As his hakama fell in a pool at his feet, Sanada stood a bit taller. He ran his
fingers over Sugimoto's buzzed head and, as he always did, pressed down to
signal his acceptance. He closed his eyes as Sugimoto, the only one who'd ever
been able to take all of him without complaint, drew him in and hummed. It was
something that, when they first started, used to make Sanada's knees weak. Now,
it was merely a nice buzzing addition to the routine and a signal that Sugimoto
was comfortable enough for Sanada to start moving, sliding in and out with
slow, lazy movements, enjoying the practiced suction and skillful stroking of
Sugimoto's tongue.
There was no passion in it, but there was a quiet comfort of home whenever he
buried himself in Sugimoto's eager mouth. The quiet settled around him and
buffered him from all the responsibilities constantly shoveled on him. In the
silent dojo, balls tapping Sugimoto's chin, Sanada's shoulders relaxed and a
sigh escaped him moments before his jaw clamped shut to hold back the growl
that always wanted to accompany his moment of release.
Sugimoto swallowed around him, licked him clean, then began the process of
dressing him. While Sugimoto fumbled with the strings on the hakama, Sanada
gathered his breath and centered himself before reaching out to cup the swell
in Sugimoto's sweatpants.
"You don't have to," Sugimoto said, just like he always did.
Sanada snorted and dove his hand down. "Shut up."
*****
Akutsu did not fucking need to see this. He didn't need to watch some guy
slurping at Sanada's crotch like it was the fucking Fountain of Youth. The
bastard had to be working his way to 30, easy. Jin had done a lot of things in
his life, but he'd never done anything that was obviously so damn stupid. He
should take his phone out, snap a photo, and get the asshole sent to jail…right
after he chopped the fucker's dick off so Sanada could never touch it again.
The asshole groaned and shot his load on Sanada's hand. Jin was pleased to see
Sanada grimace and walk immediately to the sink to wash up. "I need to finish
cleaning. You should go." Sanada squirted out a second helping of soap and kept
washing, probably to get the scent of old fart off him.
The guy couldn't take a hint and fucking hugged Sanada like he was some kind of
teddy bear. "When are you leaving?" The gentle kiss to Sanada's neck was too
much and Akutsu kicked the sliding door off its track.
"You've got five seconds to save your ass by running," Akutsu hissed, his body
already slipping into an offensive stance. "You stick around after that and
I'll rip you apart."
Sanada's shoulders stiffened. The old guy turned, arms spread. "I'll keep you
safe. Don't worry."
"One."
Sanada turned and patted the guy on the shoulder. "It's fine. Go."
"Two."
The asshole put his hand on Sanada's face and fucking kissed him. "I'm not
going to leave you here with a crazy guy."
"Three." It was an effort to keep his counting even and not just waste the
loser.
Sanada scowled. "Don't do that again."
"Four."
"Genichirou, we've been together—"
Five wasn't required. Sanada laid the bitch out himself. "I need to clean the
floors," he told Akutsu. "Get him out of here."
Akutsu grabbed the guy by an arm and dragged him out. "We're gonna have a
little talk first."
Sanada picked up a dustcloth. "Do as you like."
*****
Jin didn't return until Sanada was rinsing out the last of the grime from his
scrubbing cloth. He had scratches across his arms and was bleeding from the
left corner of his mouth. His chest rose and fell quickly and Sanada could hear
his exhalations from across the dojo.
"Dinner will be ready soon. Do you want the first aid kit?" Genichirou hung the
cloth he'd just cleaned on the drying rack, a nice distraction from the queasy
realization that Akutsu now had the ability to completely destroy his life and
bring shame upon his family dojo all in one phone call.
Akutsu's feet slapped on the floor and Sanada felt each smack as though it were
a sock to the stomach. The taller boy spun Sanada around by the shoulders and
stared him in the eye. "You got a thing for old guys?"
It wasn't the invitation to blackmail Sanada was expecting, but Jin's sneer
suggested the answer to the question would determine just how horribly he would
mangle Sanada's world. Genichirou took a deep breath to center himself. There
was nothing he could do but tell the truth and face the consequences of his
choices. "He's not old. He's 24." He pressed on through Jin's snort of
contempt. "He offered, I accepted. That's all there is to it."
"How many other assholes been giving you offers?" Akutsu's face was
uncomfortably close. His breath smelled strongly of mint and, under it, a hint
of nicotine. Sanada could hardly chastise Jin for his smoking now, though.
"A few." Seven to be exact, but seven suddenly felt like an uncomfortably large
number.
"Like the old guy?" Akutsu took a fistful of Sanada's gi.
"24 isn't old, and no, just other students. Nobody you'd know." Nobody anyone
would know, which had been the appeal and the comfort.
Akutsu released Sanada with a shove. "Good. If you're gonna fuck around, keep
away from sick bastards like that one. You don't know the kind of shit going on
in his head."
The dojo was quiet. Jin stood, his mouth still bleeding, his eyes meeting
Sanada's in an unwavering stare. For the first time, Sanada knew what it felt
like to be one of the numerous first years he'd stared into submission.
"Understood," he said before Akutsu grew impatient. "I'll get the kit and clean
that cut."
Akutsu shrugged. "Whatever. Your mom a good cook? I'm starving."
*****
His mom's café wasn't busy, which was good because Jin didn't like the feeling
of all those people wondering why he was sitting at a table by himself, sipping
a water and not eating anything. Some of the eyes were accusatory, watching to
make sure he didn't steal anything from the table—like he could go out and make
a fortune on some crappy flatware and a placemat, and some of them were full of
pity, thinking he was some poor, homeless kid who couldn't afford a meal and
was just there for the free water.
"I'll be on break in ten, Jin," his mother said, leaning down to give him a
quick peck on the cheek before floating away to tend to a table full of old
women ready to place their dessert orders.
Sanada was having lunch with his old team because Yukimura called and told him
they'd physically drag him there if he didn't come willingly. Jin would've
liked to see them try it, but Sanada was a wuss and agreed even though he
stared death at the phone after he hung up. Instead of hanging around Sanada's
mother and listening to her complain that her eldest son didn't care enough
about his family to come home from college for Golden Week, Akutsu decided to
head out to his neighborhood for the day. He was supposed to spend the
following day with his mom—it was her day off—so coming a day early shouldn't
be a big deal.
Ikuko, one of the other waitresses, set a seafood doria down in front of him.
"On the house," she whispered and pinched his cheek. He didn't smack her
because she was his mom's friend and had helped change his diapers. She also
picked him up from the police station once when a guy in the neighborhood
couldn't take a hint and Akutsu had to explain, in real simple terms, that he
wasn't interested in being anybody's bitch.
The food was good but hot and stung against the cut on his mouth. "I shoulda
hit him some more," Jin hissed at the cheese caked to his spoon. If he'd hit
the asshole more, though, then the guy wouldn't have been able to stumble away,
whimpering like the waste of skin he was. Another punch to the gut, one more
kick to the knees, and the only way the guy could've left would've been by
ambulance. If the ambulance came, the police would want to know why Jin had to
kick the crap out of him and Sanada would've been in deep shit. Jin suspected
that deep shit in the Sanada house was a lot worse than what it would cost
Jin's pride to let the guy walk. The pervert was dead if Jin ever saw him near
his roommate again, though.
"What's wrong? You don't like my cooking?" Michihiro, the cook, turned a chair
around and sat next to Jin.
"It's great. Thanks." Jin took a bite of the molten doria. "Too hot to eat
still."
"You looked like you wanted to throw it at someone. I'm gonna take a smoke
before your mom's break. Bet it'll cool by the time I'm done." Michihiro
crooked his head toward the staff door. "Let's go have a talk."
Jin rose slowly, his side still a bit sore from where the old pervert'd managed
to get a hit in. "I ain't gonna smoke with you, though. I quit."
Michihiro quirked a pierced eyebrow. "That a fact? Huh." He reached out and put
a hand to Jin's back, guiding him out of the café. "Good for you. The wife
keeps telling me to quit, bad for the kids, but I still have one or two when
I'm out of the house. Been smokin' for 20 years now. It's a bit late to quit."
When they were outside Michihiro lit up, careful to blow his smoke away from
Jin.
Damn, that stick looked good. "Mom wants me to stop."
Michihiro snorted. "That didn't stop you before."
Jin didn't have a father and the man before him had filled in whenever Jin'd
had questions he couldn't bring to his mother. Michihiro worked two jobs and
had a family of his own, but he'd never let Akutsu down.
"I'm real careful to brush my teeth and shit after I smoke now, but my roommate
can still tell. He gets this face that pisses me off, like he thinks I'm
sneaking around and smoking because I don't have the balls to quit."
"Roommate, huh?" Michihiro smiled around his cigarette. "I got a roommate; I
call her my wife." The smile faded as he exhaled a lungful of wonderful,
nicotine-laced smoke that undulated in the air, calling to Jin. "That what
this's about? Your roommate got a girl?"
He'd never told anyone that he'd rather slam his dick down a tube of sandpaper
than ever let some sissy woman touch it, but Michihiro knowing didn't really
surprise Jin. The old guy was perceptive, probably because his second job was
nighttime muscle for the yakuza.
"Some old sicko was sucking him off yesterday."
If he were talking to the raisin—not that he'd ever talk about this shit with
her—she would ask him how that made him feel and if he thought that acting out
physically was the right way to deal with stress.
Michihiro tapped off some ash and looked into the café's back alley. "The guy
still alive?"
"Yeah." Unable to resist, Jin grabbed the stick and took a pull, just one, and
handed it back. "Shit," he sighed, the word leaving his lungs in a curl of
smoke.
"I tell you about the time Aya and I broke up in college? I'd joined up with
the local group for some pocket money and she got pissed, said she wouldn't
have anything to do with anyone involved in anything like that." Michihiro took
a drag then offered the dwindled stick to Jin, who refused. "She started going
out with this guy, real straight-laced bastard with a lot of money. First time
I saw 'em together, I beat the guy so well he was in the hospital for a week
gettin' his face put back together." He took a final puff then ground the stub
out on the wall. "While the ambulance was takin' him away and the police were
filling out the paperwork to arrest me, I told her I'd do the same to any
asshole who touched my girl."
"And she still married you?" Jin'd never met Aya, but he'd heard her on the
phone. She didn't sound like someone who'd take that kind of ultimatum.
"She brought me cookies in jail, told me if I embarrassed her again in front of
everyone she would rip my dick off and burn it while I watched." He laughed and
pulled out another cigarette.
"I don't need to hear your old love stories." Jin blushed and looked away at
the gentle expression on his mentor's face. The guy went completely soft when
he talked about his woman or his kids.
"Yeah you do, kid." He reached and gave Jin a shove. "Go eat your food so
you're not talking to your mom with your mouth full. I'll be in after I finish
this."
Jin nodded and did as he was told. The damn doria was still too hot.
*****
The month after Golden Week passed in a flurry as Sanada grappled with midterms
and his first official kendo tournament in which he placed an embarrassing
second place due to a footing error during the final match. He rarely saw
Akutsu except at meals and during the evenings when they were both hunched over
their desks, absorbed in either studies or training manuals. Akutsu placed
first in his karate tournament and his certificate hung on the wall between
their beds. Sanada's second place certificate and medal were in the bottom
drawer of his desk and would be mailed home as soon as he got up the nerve to
tell his family he'd lost.
A knock on the door pulled Sanada away from his science textbook. The door
wasn't locked—Jin was out for Saturday training—and Sanada wasn't expecting
anyone. Hopefully it was just one of Jin's classmates come to borrow the notes
Jin'd copied from Sanada. Genichirou tried to explain that, being in different
classes, his notes might not be of any use, but Akutsu insisted on copying them
anyway and, since he got the fourth best score on the midterm exams, all of
Akutsu's classmates were asking to borrow his things. Sanada placed first in
his class but had already made it abundantly clear that he didn't aid slackers.
"What?" he said as he opened the door.
Nakajima from down the hall held up a box of small sponge cakes. "My mom sent
me this. It's my town's specialty." He pushed the box forward. "I thought you
and Akutsu might want some." He craned his neck around Sanada. "Is he here?"
Sanada plucked a cake from the box. "He's at practice." He had no quarrels with
Nakajima, though he felt a certain unease whenever the other boy was near.
Nakajima had made it clear on several occasions that his reason for choosing an
all-boys school was less for academics and more to see how many guys he could
coerce into screwing him. Nakajima had a habit of addressing all his questions
to Sanada's crotch.
"That's too bad. Mind if I come in?" Nakajima held up the cake box. "You can
have his, too, since he's not here." His eyes sunk slowly from Sanada's chest
to the waistband of his sweats. "I won't tell."
Sanada bit into the cake, checking to see if another one would be worth the
bother. The light, fluffy sweetness melted on his tongue within moments.
"Fine." He grabbed a second cake and moved aside to allow Nakajima in.
"Shouldn't you be practicing, too? I thought the kendo team practiced in the
afternoon on Saturday." Nakajima turned slowly like he was trying to find
something. "Table tennis practice is in the mornings and I sometimes see you on
your way when I'm leaving."
"We had a tournament last week. This week is a holiday for recovery." A pause
followed, long enough to get on Sanada's nerves. "Why are you here?"
Nakajima jumped and spun from his perusal of Akutsu's award. "I was going to
see if Jin was free and wanted to spend a little time together." The slow
licking of his lips told Sanada everything he needed to know about what kind of
'time' the two shared. Given the events of Golden Week, Sanada's room to
disapprove was negligible.
"He'll be back in about an hour or so. I'll tell him you came by."
"Oooor," Nakajima walked up and planted a hand on Sanada's chest, "you could
eat the rest of these cakes. I'll just…eat you." His hand slid down and over
Sanada's crotch like he thought Sanada was stupid and couldn't comprehend his
brilliant come-on.
Sanada snorted and moved Nakajima's hand away. "No."
"I'm real good. Ask Akutsu." His hand was back in place, rubbing the fabric of
Sanada's sweatpants in a way that, Sanada had to admit, backed up his claim to
skill. "I won't tell anybody."
Sanada grabbed Nakajima's wrist with one hand and his chin with the other.
"No," he said again, even if the growing heat in his cock was telling him that
once wouldn't be so bad and, really, what was the harm?
"Why not?" Nakajima tossed the cake box onto the bed and used his free hand to
stroke Sanada's bicep. "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."
Three years would be a long time to go without. If Sanada thought about it,
Nakajima might be the solution he needed to make sure his needs were met.
Akutsu had clearly made use of him, so there was nothing the other boy could
object to or blackmail him for. Overall, it was a reasonable situation.
He stroked his thumb over Nakajima's bottom lip. "I have conditions." He
managed to make his voice steady and intimidating despite the shivers up his
spine from Nakajima's hand rubbing against his slowly growing erection.
"I'll do whatever you want." Nakajima sucked Sanada's thumb into his mouth.
Sanada pulsed his thumb in and out of Nakajima's mouth and released the wrist
he was holding. "If you want this," he glanced his hand over the one now firmly
holding him through the sweatpants, "then you won't be spending time with
anyone else." It would be more hygienically sound and less of a burden on his
schedule if Nakajima were available solely to him.
Nakajima moaned when Sanada removed his thumb. "I'm all yours," he said with an
enthusiasm that had Sanada wondering if he hadn't just made a very large
mistake. Again.
Shaking off his misgivings, Sanada reached back and plucked up a sponge cake.
"These are good," he said and widened his stance.
Nakajima sunk to his knees and curled his fingers into the waistband of
Sanada's sweatpants. "I'll tell my mom to send some more. You can keep this box
if you want." He tugged down both sweatpants and underwear. "They were right
about you," he whispered, rubbing his face in Sanada's crotch and inhaling.
"You're amazing."
Sanada didn't particularly want to know who was gossiping about his penis, but
for the sake of staving off any future rumors, he asked, "Who are they?"
"Akutsu and some of the guys on the kendo team." Nakajima took hold of Sanada
with both hands and slowly began to twist and slide, urging Sanada to full
hardness. "This is going to be great."
"Get to it, then." A look at the clock showed they had half an hour until
students started returning from their club activities. Sanada didn't want
anyone seeing Nakajima leave the room. He wasn't ashamed of what they were
doing, but the rest of the campus didn't need to know about it, especially
Akutsu. Sanada had a feeling his roommate would react badly if he knew Sanada
stole his fuck toy.
"I like that look on your face. Your smile's really good." Nakajima grinned
before attempting to swallow Sanada down. He came away gagging, saliva dripping
from the side of his mouth.
It was only when the door opened and slammed shut that Sanada realized he'd
left it unlocked.
*****
Akutsu hadn't had a smoke since the puff he'd taken off Michihiro back at the
café. He hadn't even bothered with the sissy gum, deciding if he was gonna
quit, he might as well just fucking do it and get on with his life. He was
antsy the first few days, but his spirits were lifted by his performance on the
midterm exams and at the karate tournament. He even bought a frame for his
certificate and put it up to remind himself that, phenomenal fuckup that he
was, he could still accomplish things if he wanted to.
Once the high of accomplishment wore off, though, a deep agitation bled through
him. He left Saturday practice early when it became clear that he wasn't going
to be able to focus on anything. He didn't want to accidentally hurt one of his
teammates, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let them get a hit in during
sparring. Leaving was the only solution. So, when he opened the door to his
room and found that shit Nakajima sucking Sanada off, all the agitation bubbled
up and out through his fist, knocking Nakajima away from Sanada and into
Sanada's bedside stand.
"I thought I told you to fucking stay away," he growled as he picked Nakajima
up by the collar of his shirt. He had, too. Several times Nakajima asked about
Sanada, wondering if he'd be inclined to accept Nakajima's special brand of
service. Akutsu said, each and every time, that any asshole who messed with his
roommate would get knocked down so hard he wouldn't be able to get back up.
Akutsu Jin did not make threats he didn't intend to back up.
"It's none of your business what he does." Nakajima crawled over to Sanada's
feet. Sanada reached back behind him and picked up some kind of cake thing.
"My room, my roommate, my business." Akutsu kicked Nakajima in the stomach and
he rolled back with a cry. Jin stepped back, waiting.
Sanada shoved the cake into his mouth then reached back for another. He held it
out to Akutsu. "His mom sent them. They're good."
"Help me!" Nakajima shouted, slowly crawling back to Sanada. "You said I was
yours!"
Akutsu watched Sanada swallow down the last of the cake in his mouth then look
down to the boy at his feet. "No, I didn't."
Nakajima ran his hand up Sanada's calf and pressed his face against Sanada's
shin. "You told me you didn't want me seeing anyone else. That means I'm yours,
doesn't it?"
Jin couldn't help but laugh. "When are you gonna learn to keep your fucking
mouth shut?" he asked his roommate. "You keep finding these losers who think
you love them, even if they only just fucking met you. I'm not gonna keep
picking up your damn messes." He grabbed Nakajima by the hair and yanked him up
to his feet. "You don't know a fucking thing about him," he told Nakajima. "You
think he wants you hanging around him, whining like some girl for him to take
care of you?" His fist impacting with Nakajima's nose seemed to release a
weeks' worth of tension in his gut. "You were here and he wanted to get off. He
just didn't want you dirtying up your pretty mouth with some other guy's cock
between uses." He kicked Nakajima in the shins and the knotted muscle under his
shoulder blade relaxed for the first time in a month. "Why do you think I told
you to stay away, huh? I didn't want anyone bringing this annoying shit into my
nice, quiet room." Another kick. Nakajima rolled into a ball, clutching at his
stomach. Akutsu stepped back once he spied that one of Nakajima's kneecaps was
out of joint.
With the intruder out of the way, Jin turned his rage on his roommate, who was
still hard and still holding the cake he'd offered to Akutsu.
*****
Sanada's brain was refusing to process anything beyond the cake he was eating.
If he thought about Akutsu or the beaten body twitching on his floor, he'd be
horrified or, worse, he wouldn't be horrified when he really, really ought to
be.
"I don't wanna eat your fucking cake." Akutsu grabbed the cake and shoved it in
Sanada's mouth while simultaneously pushing Sanada backwards onto the bed. The
tiny grooves in the cake box shoved into Sanada's lower back and he had to
twist to remove the box. When the box was gone, he swallowed the cake down and
looked up to meet Akutsu's stare.
"What are you doing?" The way Akutsu's hand was lightly touching his hip, he
was fairly certain he knew, but there was a chance Akutsu meant to distract him
from an incoming punch.
"I'm gonna say this real slow so your stupid ass can understand it," Akutsu
whispered against Sanada's ear. The hand on Sanada's hip moved to cradle his
balls. "If you let any more assholes touch you, I'm ripping these off," his
hand tightened painfully, "and shoving them down your throat. I've saved your
ass twice now, so it's mine, and nobody touches my stuff, got it?"
Sanada nodded, not because he agreed, but because it was the only thing that
would get Akutsu's hand to loosen its grip. Once the hand was away, Sanada
pulled back and delivered a punch that knocked Akutsu off of him.
"You gonna fight me like that?" Akutsu pointed to Sanada's swaying, dripping
erection. "Looks to me like you're not all that angry."
Sanada followed the slow movement of Akutsu's tongue over chapped lips. When
Akutsu approached again, he didn't fight, just widened his stance and waited.
*****
Akutsu was aware, as he shucked off the sweaty t-shirt he'd worn to practice,
that he was about to do something he'd long considered to be a job reserved for
wimpy little shits who could only get off by crawling up to stronger guys and
begging for it. Guys like Nakajima didn't have the guts it took to command the
service of others, so they spent their lives on their knees, slurping at cocks
until they found someone to take care of them.
On the floor, Nakajima whimpered. Jin turned and gave him another kick. "Did I
tell you to make noise?" he asked. Nakajima tightened up further and shook his
head. "Good. Just shut up and watch." Jin ran a hand along Sanada's side.
"Better remember this, cuz if I catch you looking at him again, it'll be the
last thing you look at. Got it?"
Nakajima nodded.
Akutsu's attention was redirected when Sanada pushed Jin's track pants down and
ran his knuckles along the exposed hip. "Stop wasting my time," Sanada said.
"I've got homework to do."
Jin leaned forward and, using Sanada as a brace, kicked off his track pants.
Clear of the obstacle, he moved his mouth around and nipped at Sanada's ear.
"I'm gonna make you scream, and you better not hold it in." He licked the shell
of Sanada's ear, thrilling at the moan that rumbled Sanada's chest. He reached
down and stroked the damp length resting next to his own. "I don't give a shit
if the entire campus hears you. If anybody gives you shit, I'll rip 'em apart,
got it?"
Sanada's hand squeezed his dick and Jin almost lost his legs. "Got it," Sanada
growled then bit down into Akutsu's shoulder. "And I told you that I have
homework, so get on your knees or get away from me."
Jin wanted to laugh, but the fingers sliding around him pulled away and the
laugh morphed into a whine of regret halfway out of his mouth. If anyone heard
him make that noise he'd be…
On the floor, Nakajima was twitching, some of it from pain, but most of it was
likely from his hard-on. Next to Akutsu, Sanada stepped away and took three
strides toward the injured boy. He grabbed him up, hauled him to the door, then
threw him into the hallway. By the time he turned from locking the door, Akutsu
was already on him.
*****
Akutsu wasn't as skilled as some of the guys Sanada'd had, but he fearlessly
and relentlessly swallowed down until he could do so in smooth strokes,
refusing to be intimidated by size or girth, uncaring if his teeth occasionally
scraped or nicked Sanada's sensitive flesh. Head resting back against the door,
Sanada began to pump his hips, driving himself deeper into the back of Akutsu's
throat, content in the knowledge that he could do as he wished and not have to
worry about meeting anyone's unrealistic expectations.
Sanada groaned in disappointment when Akutsu pulled away.
"You're gonna start fucking my lungs if you go any deeper," Jin gasped. Spit
ringed his mouth and dribbled from his chin. Sanada ran his hand over Jin's
face to collect it then tackled the other boy to the ground and ran his slicked
hand around Jin's shaft.
"Maybe then you'd shut up." Sanada gripped as tightly as he could and watched
Jin wince then shudder as he loosened his grip and moved his hand away.
"You're the one who keeps talkin' back. Fuck. Do that again." Jin's hips arced
up, searching.
Sanada obliged, this time adding a twist of his wrist and an upward pull. He
repeated and watched as Akutsu, breath coming in gasps, undulated on the floor
in motions counter to Sanada's hand. He'd never paid much attention while
pleasuring his partners, preferring to get them off then get them out of his
way, but watching Akutsu was fascinating. The other boy's mouth hung open,
relaxed out of its usual sneer, and muscles hardened from tennis and karate
training bunched and relaxed under skin so pale it was hard to believe Akutsu
ventured out into the sun every day for hours on end.
Akutsu's body was so distracting, Sanada didn't have time to stop the other boy
from grabbing him in a hold and flipping him to his back.
*****
Laughter wasn't the reaction Akutsu expected when he slammed Sanada onto the
floor hard enough to shake the furniture, but the sound…wasn't bad. It wasn't
the Better Than You Rikkai Bastard laugh that Jin was accustomed to hearing,
but a deeper sound that rippled the muscles of Sanada's abs and shook his
shoulders. Sanada's hand, still connected to Jin's cock, squeezed in time with
the chuckles and Jin had to slide out of his grip or risk blowing before
Sanada, which he was determined would happen only if Sanada had a heart attack
and died before he could come.
"What's so funny?" Jin asked. He reached down and glided his fingers over the
swollen sac between Sanada's toned, delicious legs. They had a few small
bruises from Akutsu's hands earlier, and Jin was filled with the desire to show
those bruises to every asshole who'd ever though they could touch his roommate
so everyone would know that Akutsu Jin had decided to lay his claim and only
those with a death wish would go near the muscular thighs that were a blinding
white compared to the soft gold of the rest of Sanada's skin.
Finally, Sanada's laughter halted. After a few lingering gasps and a moan when
Jin trailed his finger to collect the fluid seeping from Sanada's tip,
Genichirou raised up on his elbows and caught Jin's eye. "I don't think I've
ever enjoyed it this much."
Jin's gut twisted and he had the ridiculous urge to crawl up Sanada's body and
suck his tongue down. "Fuck it," he grumbled. He leaned down and over Sanada,
sliding up his body until his mouth was hovering over Sanada's and their cocks
slid parallel to one another. He ground down with his hips and, when Sanada's
mouth opened, ate the groan down like a snake, swallowing the sound whole.
*****
Sanada soon discovered that there was a place in him beyond words and thought.
It was a place where his skin sizzled and the air in his lungs burned like
fire. His vision, dotted with specks of light, wavered in and out of clarity in
time with the body that pressed him down into the hardwood flooring. In the few
moments his mouth was free, he knew sounds were coming out, great guttural
things without any resemblance to human speech.
He tried a few times, the motionless moments when Akutsu was adjusting their
positions, to bring back the loose threads of his sensibilities, but they
avoided him, floated farther and farther away until he gave up trying and
relinquished everything to the technicolor brilliance washing over him.
"Fucking come already," Akutsu ordered. The words barely made sense, could
barely be heard through the roaring of Sanada's heart in his ears and the
squeaking of their sweat-slick bodies against one another.
Akutsu bit into Sanada's shoulder, his body starting to shake, and the pressure
that had slowly been building since Akutsu first took Sanada's dick into his
mouth broke the fragile canister of Genichirou's control. The growled cry he'd
always managed to contain before spilled from him and was quickly swallowed
down by Akutsu's bruised and chapped lips.
Slowly, the world began to right itself.
*****
"How would you rate your stress today, Jin?" The raisin smiled up at him over
her clipboard. She'd gotten a new one a bit ago, right after that whole ordeal
when Nakajima, the fucking crybaby, told the dorm supervisor that Akutsu beat
him up. If Sanada hadn't stepped forward and said Nakajima had been trying to
blackmail him and Akutsu was protecting him—a lie that the Sanada-loving idiots
ate up without question—Akutsu might have been sent back home to be castrated
and buried by his mother. As it was, Akutsu was a hero, the staff still thought
the sun shined out of Sanada's ass, and Nakajima was expelled for moral
misconduct. The entire incident also served to send a nice message to anyone
who thought they had a chance with Sanada: Trespassers will be beaten to shit.
"Two." Things were going good, but the term exam was closing in and he, Akutsu
Jin, was trying his hardest to be the top in his class. Sanada refused to lend
Jin his notes, saying their bet would be meaningless if Akutsu couldn't do it
on his own.
"That's excellent!"
Yeah, it would be excellent when results were announced and Akutsu could
finally feel Sanada's mouth wrapped around him, all hot and wet. "I'm doin' my
best," he said when the silence of his thoughts took a bit too long.
"You've done very well, Jin. It's difficult to quit smoking, and you've not
only done that, you've managed to improve your studies as well. You should be
very proud of yourself."
The smoking was no longer an issue. Sanada said he wouldn't have anything to do
with someone who smelled like an ashtray and Jin, idiot that he was, figured
reliable, quality orgasms were a lot better than the quick fix smoking gave him
anyway. Still, there were moments, whenever Sanada was out of sight, that Jin
started to get twitchy, wondering if this thing they'd started was gonna come
back and bite him in the ass. Those times, he longed for the quiet reassurance
of a lungful of smoke and, once, he walked out to the school's smoking spot
just to breathe it in a little. When he got to the room that afternoon,
Sanada's nose turned up and he sniffed the air, pronounced Akutsu to be
disgusting, and fell into the pissy passive-aggressive silence Jin associated
with their first week as roommates.
"Hey, tell me something," Jin said, eyes on the ceiling. "And don't write this
down. It's just you an' me."
The raisin set her clipboard down onto the floor and folded her hands in her
lap. "What would you like to discuss?"
"So I've got this roommate, yeah?" He shouldn't be talking about this, but it
was bugging him, and getting in the way of his studies and his sanity.
"Sanada Genichirou, yes."
"You've talked to him a couple times, right?"
"We had a few sessions." The raisin was calm in her chair and smiling softly,
like she knew what Jin was going to say but was going to let him say it anyway.
Jin swallowed down his nerves. "He talk about me?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to discuss other patients. You wouldn't want me to
tell him what we talk about in here, would you?"
Akutsu winced at the thought of Sanada knowing what an utter nutjob he was. "I
guess not, it's just…" He stopped and took a deep breath. Once. Twice. "We
screw around sometimes."
There should have been shock on her face. She was way too calm to not know. "I
suspected you two were close," she said to him.
Close. Was that the clinical term for fuck buddies? "It's making me fucking
crazy," Jin said once he had calmed from the heat even the idea of Sanada's
body brought forth.
"How so?" She still had that calm, controlled smile.
"You can't repeat any of this shit."
"Of course not. We operate in strict confidentiality here, Jin. Always."
His heart was beating in his chest and his legs were sweating, sticking to the
fake leather couch. "I've become a fucking wuss," he said, finally. "I stopped
smoking just so he won't get all pissy and hold out on me. I started studying
just so he'll do something I could get anyone to do, but I don't want those
other guys, I just want him to do it." He slammed his fist into the couch
cushion.
"Why?" the raisin prompted.
Akutsu didn't want to talk about what Sanada did to his cock with an old
married woman or tell her about the sounds Sanada made when he came and the way
Sanada's balls smelled after he'd been working out. He didn't want to say that
he left marks on Sanada's body with obsessive regularity to show anyone
fortunate enough to see Genichirou naked that he was Jin's property and not to
be touched. He especially didn't want to discuss how Sanada neither did nor
felt any of these things and, while this thing was becoming more a need and
less of a want for Jin, Sanada seemed like he could take it or leave it at any
time, and that thought was making Jin into the kind of guy he used to spit on
before kicking in the crotch.
"It's okay, Jin. Take your time."
Jin brushed away all the thoughts swirling in his head until he was down to the
deepest, most tightly coiled desire in the pit he called his brain. "I wanna
fuck him so bad that I'd chop my own dick off if he promised it'd get in him
some day." Once the words started, they continued to tumble out toward the
ceiling while a sweat broke on Jin's forehead. "I wanna lock him in the room so
I know he's not going to anyone else, and I wanna rip apart anyone who touches
him for any reason. I wanna die with his hand on my cock and his mouth moaning
out my name while he shoots on himself." He should be hard just from thinking
about it, but the impossibility of it kept him soft and sunken into the couch.
He turned to look at the counselor.
"You've given this some thought," the raisin said, the blush on her cheeks
giving her face the most color Akutsu'd ever seen her have, and that counted
the week she was wearing too much of that cheap looking makeup.
"It's all I can think about," Jin grumbled. "I told you; I'm a fucking wuss
now."
The raisin picked up her clipboard. "I am going to suggest a joint session with
your roommate. I feel there is a communication gap between you. Perhaps some
moderated discussion would assist you in furthering your emotional goals."
Jin returned his gaze to the ceiling. "What the fuck does that mean?"
There was a creak and, when Jin looked to the side, the raisin was standing
next to him. "It means," she said, resting her hand on Jin's head, "that you
need to start talking with your pants on, and I'd like to help you learn how."
"Fine. Whatever."
She patted his head and returned to her chair. "Good. I'll expect you both on
Monday after classes. Our time's up for today."
Akutsu rolled off the couch and stumbled toward the door. "Thanks," he said
over his shoulder.
******
Sometimes Akutsu came back from his counseling sessions full of energy and
pounced on Sanada, demanding attention. Other times, Jin walked in, set his
things down, and flopped onto his bed without a word. When Sanada heard the bed
creak, he knew it was going to be a rough night.
"Tough session?" he asked, standing from his desk and sitting at the end of
Akutsu's bed. While waiting for a reply, he started removing Akutsu's socks.
The fool would stay in them all night and get foot fungus if left to his own
devices.
"She wants you to come with me on Monday." Jin wiggled the free toes on his
left foot while Sanada removed the sock on his right. "She says we're shit at
communicating."
He certainly couldn't disagree with that, though he had to wonder what Akutsu'd
said to give her that impression. Sanada'd been very careful to give
appropriately bland and uninformative responses to her questions when the
school forced him to speak with her after the disaster Nakajima created. "Is
this optional?"
Jin flexed his feet and rolled his ankles. "Probably," he sighed. "That feels
good."
Sanada continued to massage his thumbs into the arch of Akutsu's foot. "How
long will it take? I don't want to miss club activities." There was a
tournament coming up and Sanada needed to win. His grandfather sent him a very
long email upon receipt of Genichirou's second place certificate, saying
Genichirou could expect some personal training during the summer break if he
couldn't step up his performance.
"Thinking about your asshole grandfather again?" Akutsu lifted his legs and
wrapped them around Sanada's waist. The force of the pull wasn't enough to
actually topple Sanada, but Genichirou got the hint and scooted back, falling
down to rest between Jin's legs with his head on Jin's stomach. "I told you I'm
gonna kick his ass if he hurts you. I don't care how fucking old he is."
Akutsu's fingers slid through Genichirou's hair.
"I never should've told you about that. It only happened once." Sanada's
grandfather once smacked him for mouthing off during training. It hadn't been
hard enough to cause severe injury, but it left a bruise that Genichirou'd had
to explain to his middle school teammates. He mentioned the incident to Akutsu
while they were swapping stories of their middle school tennis days and
Sanada's hand down Akutsu's pants was the only thing that kept the other boy
from boarding a train and taking out the old man.
"Don't put up with that shit," Akutsu snarled. His fingers massaged Sanada's
scalp.
"If something comes up, I'll deal with it." Sanada scraped his nails lightly
over the fabric covering Jin's kneecaps. "Don't worry."
"I'm not worried. I'm just letting you know." Jin's hands moved from Sanada's
scalp to his shoulders. "Why're your shoulders always so tense?"
The course of Sanada's hands grew longer, looping from the top of Akutsu's
knees around to the bottom of his calves and back. "Maybe it's because you're
unreasonable and think I can't take care of myself." Shit. He wasn't supposed
to say that.
The hands on Sanada's shoulders squeezed. "So, you coming on Monday?"
"Yeah, I'm coming." Sanada started to scoot toward the end of the bed but Jin
pulled him back. It was always shocking how strong those arms were.
"Where you goin'? I thought you were trying to cheer me up." Akutsu nuzzled the
back of Sanada's neck.
The small, high pitched noise that snuck out of his nose was completely
involuntary. "Is that what I was doing?"
"You were doin' a really shitty job of it, but yeah." Jin's teeth raked across
the base of Genichirou's neck.
"I'm sure dinner will help. Let's go." Smiling as he turned away from Akutsu,
Sanada jumped off the bed. "There's cheesecake for dessert today." It was nice
not to have to hide his joy at the thought of the sweet dessert.
Akutsu groaned and flopped back onto the bed. "Fucking communication issues is
right."
*****
Jin waited for Sanada to sit down before flopping on the couch and resting his
feet up on his roommate's lap. Sanada patted his feet briefly but didn't look
at him. Akutsu flexed his socked feet and dug his toes into the hard muscle of
Sanada's thigh.
"Boys, how are you doing today?" The raisin looked at them both then wrote
something down.
"One to ten like usual?" Akutsu asked, figuring he'd better go first and give
Sanada time to think.
"Of course."
"Five." He relaxed a little deeper down until his ankles were cradled on
Sanada's farthest leg. "I got a lot of stuff wrong on the practice test. The
guy who sits next to me said some stuff and I wanted to sock him."
"Did you?"
"Nah." He stopped and caught Sanada looking at him in disbelief. "I got more
important stuff to punch people for than them running their mouths about a
practice test." He looked back at the raisin and found her smiling at him.
"You're really doing well managing your anger, Jin. That's fantastic." She
wrote something down then turned to Sanada. "How about you, Sanada?"
Jin felt Sanada tense. "Just chill," he whispered. "She's not gonna run her
mouth." The body under his feet relaxed a bit and Jin's stomach fluttered with
the knowledge that he'd done something right.
"Eight," Sanada said.
"That's a very high number," the raisin said when Sanada offered no
explanation.
Sanada looked toward a bookshelf on the side of the room. "It's normal for me."
"This is gonna take all day," Akutsu groaned, throwing his head back onto the
arm of the couch. "Just fucking tell us why your day sucked. And what the fuck
do you mean by normal?"
"Jin," the raisin said, "you need to give Sanada time to answer at his own
pace. Not everyone is comfortable speaking their mind."
Sanada looked away from the bookshelf and back to the raisin. He shoved Jin's
feet off of him. "During PE someone saw where you bit my hip yesterday and
started asking me how much you charged for your bodyguard services and if it
was one of the fringe benefits. I punched him. I missed three questions on the
practice math exam because of an equation transcription error. Lunch contained
eggplant, which I hate. Before history half the class was aware that I punched
someone and wanted to know why. Two people became belligerent when I didn't
answer and I had to punch them, too. My fist hurts and I might have pulled a
muscle in my shoulder."
"That's quite a day," the raisin said when Sanada paused.
"I'm not finished." Sanada sat forward on the couch and turned to face Jin. "I
want a new roommate."
Jin's heart stopped and his viscera constricted into a leaden ball. The only
thing he could think to say was a stuttered, "What the fuck?"
"You keep running your mouth about how I belong to you. I'm not some toy to be
pulled out when you need to get off or pass an exam. I'm busy. I don't have
time to stop everything so you can cover your nicotine cravings with my come. I
don't need you protecting me with your ridiculous and disgusting bites. I can
take care of myself." Sanada inhaled deeply and turned to the raisin. "That is
why my day is an eight."
"Hold the fuck up." Jin launched himself onto Sanada's side of the couch and
grabbed Sanada by the front of his shirt. "You think I don't know you can take
care of yourself? You forget how you almost beat the crap out of me that first
week?" Akutsu's dick certainly hadn't forgotten and chose that moment to remind
him that there were better things to do with Sanada than argue with him. For
once, he ignored it. "If I can't fucking beat you, how could those assholes do
it? Unless you fucking let them again."
"Boys. Enough." The raisin's voice cut through the scant space between the
them. "Jin, back to your side of the couch, please." She waited until Jin was
settled before she spoke again. "What I hear you saying, Sanada, is that you
feel Akutsu only values you as an object. Is that correct?"
Sanada shrugged.
"Jin, I'd like you take a moment to think. When you feel ready, please tell
Sanada how you feel about your relationship in one sentence. Genichirou…may I
call you Genichirou?"
Sanada nodded.
"Thank you. Genichirou, I'd like you to do the same. Now, please close your
eyes and don't open them until I've indicated it's okay to do so. The only
thing you should say is your sentence. Take all the time you need. This is not
a race."
Akutsu closed his eyes and immediately felt like an idiot. Why had he ever
thought the raisin might be able to help him get his shit with Sanada together?
This wasn't about emotions; this was about…something else. It was about how
good it felt when Sanada made him come and how good it felt when he heard that
sexy growl before Sanada came and how fucking fantastic it was that he could
get all of this from one of the toughest fuckers in school. It was about how
nice it was to just lean against Sanada and listen to music because he knew the
other boy wouldn't give a shit what he was listening to or how much he liked
having warm, calloused hands trace gently up and down his chest for no reason.
It was about being able to focus on something other than how shitty other
people were.
But it was also about the frantic beating of Akutsu's heart whenever somebody
looked at Genichirou a little too long. It was about the gut deep desire to tie
the other boy down so he could never leave and never be stolen. It was about
wanting to rip out of Sanada everything he'd held back from others so Jin could
say that Sanada Genichirou, every last thought and breath and heartbeat,
belonged to him, Akutsu Jin, and no one else would ever be able to have him.
Slowly, through lips dry with worry, Jin spoke.
*****
'He gives good head' was likely not going to be the sort or response Dr.
Hirashige was looking for, though it was the first thing that came to mind when
Sanada thought of his relationship (if it could be called such a thing) with
Akutsu. Sanada spent a good amount of time sublimating his feelings in the name
of tennis, kendo, and general survival, so he wasn't shocked that Akutsu spoke
first.
"He's the first thing I've wanted that I'm not willing to give up."
If not for Dr. Hirashige's quiet cough when he opened his mouth to say Akutsu
was full of shit, he might have broken the code of silence for the exercise.
Instead, he pushed Akutsu's words to the back of his mind and continued to
think on his own sentence.
What did he think of Akutsu Jin? He thought that Jin came too quickly and
couldn't get it up again soon enough. He thought that Jin was loud,
embarrassing, and ran away from challenges by punching them in the face instead
of thinking them through. He thought that Jin could blow him every day and he'd
never get bored with it. He thought that his parents would destroy him if they
knew how much he enjoyed reading his textbooks with Jin sprawled over him,
listening to music, lazily grinding their hips together to convince Genichirou
to 'put the fucking book down.'
He thought Akutsu could break through the last of his control. He thought
Akutsu could destroy every carefully placed tile in the shogi board that was
his life, upending it all in one swoop. He thought it might be nice to just let
Jin do it so he could really do what he wanted, be what he wanted. He thought
it was pathetic that he couldn't do it himself, even after all the work he'd
done to run away from what he thought was the source of it all.
"He reminds me that I'm a coward," he spoke into the silence, hating how the
words echoed in his head long after they'd thinned in the air.
*****
When the raisin told them they could open their eyes, Jin kept his closed. He'd
been stupid and said something dumb. And what the hell was he going to say now
that he'd heard Sanada say that he made him feel like shit. Get over it? Are
you fucking nuts? Jin knew what it felt like to mask over cowardice. He spent a
lot of time flinging his fists at everything and anything so he wouldn't have
to face the shitty circumstances he was living in. He got over it, though, and
he supposed Sanada would, too.
"Boys. Open your eyes." There was a no-nonsense tone to the raisin's voice that
dragged open Jin's leaden eyelids. As his eyes focused he noticed Sanada had
just started to open his as well. "Let's talk about what we've learned today.
I'd like to offer some observations and suggestions if you both don't mind."
Sanada shook his head. Jin raised his hand and gestured for her to continue.
"We'll begin with you, Jin."
*****
After the session they walked quietly back to the room. It was too late to go
to club activities—the session took two hours—and Sanada wasn't feeling up to
seeing other people anyway. The urge to skip dinner and survive on the snacks
he had stored in his desk drawer was strong.
Akutsu unlocked the door and immediately collapsed on his bed. Sanada locked up
and mechanically changed out of his uniform and into the sweatpants he used to
lounge around the room. He grabbed a bottle of lukewarm water from his desk and
drank it down. It did nothing but emphasize the empty pit in his stomach.
"This is fucking stupid," Akutsu said, raising up on his elbow and looking at
Sanada. "I don't give a fuck if I'm an obsessive bastard who is trying to find
a socially whatever the fuck addiction."
"Socially acceptable and sustainable," Sanada offered. He quite agreed with Dr.
Hirashige's analysis on that one, though he didn't particularly feel her
analysis of him held any merit at all.
"And I don't care if your self-esteem's so shit that you sabotage anything that
tries to help you." Akutsu got up, unbuttoning his shirt as he rose. "If you're
gonna do stupid shit, I'll just stop you. If your dick gets sore because I'm
sucking it too much, fucking punch me in the face and tell me to calm the fuck
down. Problem fucking solved." Jin stepped out of his pants and boxers. "Now
get the hell over here and suck my damn cock, then we're going to eat dinner.
They've got chiffon cake for dessert and you'll be a bitch tomorrow if you miss
it."
Sanada couldn't hold back the laugh but wasn't sure if it was amusement or
hysteria. Akutsu was standing before him, nude and completely soft, suggesting
they simply pummel their way through their problems like Neanderthals. The
simplicity of it was charming…and horribly tempting.
"Dinner's in twenty minutes."
"Then you better get sucking." Akutsu cupped himself and waddled forward. "Or
you afraid you're not good enough to get the job done?"
Sanada moved forward the final step to bring himself flush with Akutsu. "I told
you that you have to be first in the term exam." His slipped his hand down and
batted Akutsu's away from the slowly thickening length. "You'll take what I
give you until then." He pulled slowly and lightly, encouraging Jin to full
hardness. "I might reconsider if you find a suitable bribe."
Akutsu groaned and started pumping his hips. "Shit," he hissed as Sanada's
finger traced over his slit, picking up the pearl of moisture there and rubbing
it around the head. "What've I gotta do?"
A drop of sweat collected at the side of Jin's face and rolled down into the
curve of his neck. Sanada licked it up. "What do you think?" He sucked at the
juncture of Jin's neck and shoulder, making sure to leave a mark dark enough to
show through the thin white cotton of their uniform shirts. Let Jin enjoy the
pain of kicking away nosy classmates. He deserved it for the drama he'd turned
Sanada's quiet life into.
Jin made the noise in his nose that signaled he was close. Sanada tightened his
grip and began to twist, just the way Jin liked. With a spasm and a hiss, Jin
came, holding on to Sanada's shoulders for support as the last tremors shook
him. "How many fucking pieces of cake you want?"
Sanada smacked a come covered hand against Akutsu's ass and grinned when his
dick bobbed with the impact as though trying to rally itself for another go,
futile as the endeavor might be. "Ten pieces."
"That's fucking impossible."
"Good luck studying." One more smack and Genichirou went to his desk for a
tissue.
"Five pieces." Akutsu crossed his arms over his chest. "Five pieces and you
don't have to swallow."
Sanada tossed him the tissue box. "Ten, and I wasn't planning to swallow
anyway."
Akutsu grabbed the box out of the air and cleaned himself off. "Shit. Fuck.
Fine." He threw the used tissues away and started to dress again. "Put a
fucking shirt on so we can go."
Sanada threw on a shirt and changed into pants that weren't splattered with
Akutsu's come. "Ten pieces," he reminded his roommate as they left.
"Yeah, I heard you." Akutsu swatted Sanada's ass and grinned. "What do I get
for twenty?"
Sanada finished locking the room and pocketed the key. He looked around the
hall to make sure nobody was watching before running his hand over Akutsu's
warm crotch. "Suspended," he said, finally. Akutsu's groan of frustration wiped
away the last of his weariness and, together, they walked to the dining hall
intent on enjoying a good meal and some light thievery. Afterwards, Sanada
would gorge himself on chiffon cake and grumble about his stomach until Jin,
concerned, would tell him to go to bed, neatly getting him off the hook until
Jin was horny again…a good five or six hours later if Sanada was lucky.
Seated at the table, waiting for the meal to begin, Sanada couldn't help but
think it really would be a wonderful year.
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