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Chapter 3: Reaction to Action
It was twenty past ten and the drizzle was turning into persistent rain when Saigo strode up the rain-slicked steps towards the entrance of “Liquid”. A neon sign flickered overhead, casting an alternate pattern of light and dark over the small crowd of clubbers as they stood in line waiting to be frisked and hopefully admitted by the club’s bouncers.
He shouldered his way brusquely towards the front of the line, ignoring the glares and indignant hisses from the predominantly male crowd. Nodding curtly to the six-foot-something muscle bound bouncers, he made his way through the huge wooden doors. The room beyond was dim, but not dark. Artificial lighting cast an eerie reddish-purple glow to the room and stale cigarette smoke hung thickly in the air.
Loud music pulsated through the hidden speakers, its beat infectious. Saigo cut through the crowd of dancers – their bodies writhing and squirming to the beat. He made his way to a booth towards the end of the room and slipped into the vacant seat from across two obliviously preoccupied young men. From his vantage point, the one with the yard-long braid seemed to be giving his companion an overly enthusiastic mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
After a couple of minutes of intense staring, Saigo cleared his throat loudly to alert them of his presence. The pair broke apart, startled.
“That was absolutely disgusting,” Saigo drawled, fishing a pack of cigarette from his pockets. He lighted one and blew smoke rings into their faces. Two pairs of piercing blue eyes glared at him insolently.
“Fuck you,” the braided one snapped, tossing his long brown hair over his shoulder. “You’re late,”
“Any later and who knows what I might see,” Saigo said dryly. “I’m sure you didn’t ask me here to witness your depravity, Max. So, what gives?”
Turning their backs on the blond, the duo conferred in hushed tones.
Saigo narrowed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the table. “Max, Yuy, I don’t have all night,”
“We’ve got your goods,” Yuy grunted. He pushed a slim package across the tabletop. When Saigo reached out to take it, Yuy pulled it back just beyond his reach. “Show us the money,” he said flatly.
Saigo clicked is tongue impatiently. “How much?”
Max scribbled something on a napkin and pushed it towards the blond. Saigo’s eyes widened fractionally.
“Cutthroats,” he muttered.
Max nodded, his eyes trained on the blond. “Yeah. This stuff doesn’t come cheap. Took us a while to refine it,”
“How do I know it works?”
Max rolled his eyes. “We aren’t the best chem. students for nothing. We tested it, of course.” He leaned towards Saigo, his blue eyes glinting wickedly in the half-light. “It has a guaranteed one hundred percent success rate,”
“Really?” Saigo smirked.
“Yeah. Ask him,” Max jerked a thumb towards his reticent companion.
Yuy looked at Max sullenly, and then turned his attention towards Saigo. He nodded curtly.
“I see,” Satisfied, Saigo reached into his pockets and pulled out a wad of bills. He peeled off a few and tossed it towards Yuy. Yuy counted the bills silently, nodded once and pushed the slim package towards Saigo.
Saigo pocketed the package, and made to take his leave.
A flash of movement, and a hand gripped his arm, halting his progress. Saigo whipped around looking perplexed for a moment, and then looked at Yuy with eyes that glinted coldly in the half-light. His lips curled in a barely disguised sneer.
“What?” Saigo said, the menace in his tone cutting through the air sharply.
Across the table, Max leaned back against the seat and returned the blond’s stare. “What do you intend to do with the stuff?” he asked levelly.
Saigo noticed that Max’s hands were hidden from his view, and that triggered a small alarm at the back of his head.
“None of your business,” Saigo spat. “We’ve made a deal, no questions asked,”
The grip on his arm tightened.
“Watch it,” Yuy warned.
They glared daggers at each other.
The moment seemed to stretch on and on, until a dry chuckle broke the spell.
“Chill out, guys,” Max said, his tone half amused.
Saigo’s breath caught as Max stretched lazily out of his seat and came to stand behind his companion. Two pairs of eyes stared at Saigo maliciously. For all his brave words and bravado, the small shift of power made him edgy. Saigo had quickly learned in his dealings with the duo that they weren’t what he had originally thought them to be -- even if he didn’t know what that was. Nonetheless, his original impression of the pair as “small time drug dealers” had been revised to “psychotic drug designers”. Despite their laidback attitude, word had it that Max and Yuy could be ruthless when a deal turned sour.
Saigo held his breath, his expression grim, his body poised for a fight. For a fleeting moment he wondered if he’d made a mistake. He quelled the thought angrily.
Max grinned, amused at the discomfiture obvious in the blond’s defensive stance.
“Relax, Saigo,” he purred. “Just be discreet when you use that. We don’t want anyone to trace your misdeeds back to us,” Max jabbed a thumb towards Yuy. “Better not piss this guy off too. He gets very … upset … when that happens,”
“Hn,” Yuy grunted in the positive. He let go of Saigo’s arm, and took a half step back from the blond, his expression inscrutable.
Saigo tensed as Max leaned forwards, closing the gap between them. He came to a dead stop inches from Saigo’s face.
“Do you understand?” Max hissed, the menace evident in his tone.
Saigo blinked several times before nodding, once. “Got it.”
Turning on his heels, he walked away from the booth. His face was burning with anger at the transparency of his less than wholesome motives. He slid his hand inside his pocket and felt the reassuring bulge against his fingers. His lips curled up in a sneer.
It would soon be time for a long-awaited payback.
Athrun fiddled with the stereo’s remote control listlessly, surfing from one channel to another at random. He was still smarting from the encounter with Saigo earlier that day, and had remained taciturn since they got back home. It wasn’t because he wanted to be partnered with Kira; they often had to rotate research partners anyway.
Athrun’s present anger was intensified as he recalled the manner in which the bleached blond had circled around Kira with an openly lecherous look. And to make matters worse, Saigo had seen through him. Kira hadn’t seen Saigo’s expression just then, but he was directly in line of Athrun’s sight when he had widened his smirk fractionally and winked at the latter. Athrun couldn’t control the surge of anger and jealousy that coursed through him, and Saigo had noticed. That had really pissed him off. Athrun was frustrated he didn’t have a gun then; he would have ventilated Saigo a new hole to put another one of his foul jewellery through.
“Shit!” Athrun picked up a cushion and hurled it across the room, barely missing Kira as the latter emerged from the kitchen.
“Athrun?” Kira asked, bewildered. He picked the cushion up and looked at the younger boy curiously. When Athrun studiously ignored him, Kira padded over, his bare feet making no sound on the carpet and sat by his side. “What’s wrong?”
Athrun looked away, his fringe obscuring his face completely. He didn’t want Kira to see the conflict of emotions evident in his eyes. One thing he knew for sure, after all these years when it came to Kira his emotions could be read like an open book. It had caused some painful conflicts in the past; people simply couldn’t understand why Kira was so important to him, beyond being his very close childhood friend.
Athrun was good at controlling his emotions, or at least he thought so; but whenever the violet-eyed boy came into the picture, he became utterly irrational. For Athrun, Kira’s well-being and happiness were the most important things in his life. Time and again, especially during the war, he had made some incredibly rash decisions in order to protect the older boy from real and imagined harm. Jumping into the enemy’s line of fire, being physically assaulted by his fellow ZAFT pilots and getting shot by his enraged father had been worth the pain and humiliation as it had meant he succeeded in protecting the other boy. People found his protectiveness downright mind-boggling. If truth be told, he found it astonishing as well.
Without warning, he grabbed another cushion and punched it repeatedly, muttering mild profanities under his breath. He stood up abruptly, almost dislodging Kira from the sofa, and drop kicked the cushion across the room. Kira looked at him in stunned silence as Athrun spun on his heels and slumped face down onto the sofa.
“Shit. I hate Saigo,” Athrun muttered darkly, his face buried in Kira’s lap.
Kira’s lips twitched in amusement, and he reached out to stroke Athrun’s hair. Presently, the tension in Athrun shoulders eased. The feel of Kira’s fingers in his hair, stroking and smoothing calmed his anger. His eyes slid shut and he nuzzled his face against the other boy’s skin.
“I hate him too,” Kira confessed.
“He’s a tosser,”
“Mm-mm,” Kira murmured in the positive, his left hand threading through Athrun’s hair, letting it slip and separate through his fingers. Athrun’s warm breath on his skin sent a delicious shiver up his spine.
“He’ll steal your work and claim it as his,” Athrun complained, his voice muffled as he absently played with the hem of Kira’s pyjama shorts.
“Most likely, yeah,” Kira admitted. The texture of Athrun’s hair slipping through his fingers felt good. “Like he did yours,”
“Drop him. Ask for a new assignment partner,”
“Wish I could,” Kira murmured softly.
They both knew Professor Kreig would never allow that. She would probably give him a terse lecture on the importance of teamwork, cooperation and some other stupor-inducing stuff if he even dared to broach the subject.
Athrun turned around and pouted. His dark hair fanned across Kira’s lap; it was getting way too long again and Kira secretly thought it made him look rather effeminate.
“Saigo’s a jackass. He did a real number on me that time. I’m going to punch the lights out of him one of these days, I swear,” Athrun made a face, curled his right hand into a fist and smacked it hard against his left palm.
Kira knew Athrun’s hatred for Saigo had stemmed from the fact that the blond had blatantly stolen Athrun’s research and claimed it as his own. Despite Athrun’s protests and irrefutable proof of the crime, Saigo had gotten away with just a mild rebuke from the professor. Athrun was adamant that someone had stepped in to cover Saigo’s hide – most probably his influential father. The old geezer had probably donated an obscene amount of money to the research professor in return for a cover up. Had another research assistant been found guilty of a similar offence, they would have been severely reprimanded. But not Saigo; Saigo was above all that.
“Tell you what. If he tries to steal my work we can team up and beat the crap out of him, okay?” Kira promised.
“Sounds good,” Athrun said, staring into his friend’s eyes, looking petulant.
Kira suppressed the laughter that was bubbling within his chest; Athrun was having one of his rare temper tantrums, something that only Kira was privy to. As far as Kira was aware, no one else had been privy to this facet of Athrun’s sometimes emotional character – the younger boy kept his innermost emotions in check in public, but with Kira he was able to let it all out and just be himself. The good, the bad and the downright exasperating; Kira had seen it all and accepted him as he was.
Deciding on a whim that Athrun needed something sweet to comfort him, Kira pushed him gently off his lap, brushed his shoulder lightly and stood. Athrun followed him with his eyes as the older boy disappeared into the kitchen. He appeared a moment later with two frozen confections in his hand.
“Here,” Kira handed him one of the confections. He knew Athrun had a weakness for that particular brand of ice cream.
Athrun looked at the ice cream as if it was an offensive weapon. “What’s this?”
Kira rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “Ice cream, you idiot. Stop bellyaching about Saigo and eat it.”
“Am not bellyaching,” Athrun lied.
Kira snorted. “Really?”
“I’m not nine you know,” Athrun told him. “Can’t bribe me with that,”
“You act like you’re nine,” Kira countered mildly. “Shift over,”
Athrun chuckled as he unwrapped the sweet, his mood lightening. Trust Kira to find a way to cheer him up. He shifted, making room on the sofa for Kira to slip in beside him. When he felt a tug at his sleeve he looked up, surprised, and turned to his right to see the older boy looking at him with an amused expression.
Moving to sit lengthwise on the sofa, Kira touched his shoulder and pulled him backwards gently so that he was leaning back against his chest.
“Better?” Kira asked, his voice soft and soothing.
Nodding, Athrun settled himself between Kira’s legs. Since childhood, they had always been tactile when they were together, often making silent demands to be hugged and cuddled, in a way each were convinced was strictly platonic and normal behaviour between very close friends. Neither seemed to have any problem with that, despite the fact that they were almost twenty-one.
Athrun put his elbow casually on Kira’s knee, and waited for a reaction. When none came, he became bolder and leaned his head back against the older boy’s shoulder. Kira didn’t object. Nevertheless, Athrun’s heart skipped a beat when Kira snaked his right arm gingerly around his waist.
They sat in silence, chewing on their ice creams as they listened to the monotonous drumming of the rain against the windowpanes. Time passed with delightful slowness; the only measure was the gradual shortening of their ice creams.
Kira leaned against the armrest and chewed on his ice cream. “Mm, this is delicious,” he said.
“What did you get?” Athrun asked, turning his face slightly to look at him.
“Musk melon. Want a taste?” Kira offered, waving his half eaten ice cream before Athrun’s nose.
“Sure,” Athrun stuck his tongue out and ran it up the ice cream slowly. He slid his lips slowly over the top and sucked.
For the second time that day, Kira’s vision slid out of focus, and his heart hammered audibly in his chest. Damn, it had clean slipped his mind that Athrun had a quirky way of eating ice creams. Unlike himself, Athrun never chewed his ice cream in a hurry; instead he preferred to savour the flavour, or so he said. Athrun licked, nibbled, sucked and made small happy noises. Long ago, Kira had more than once jokingly told him off for being obscene, and Athrun had retorted that it was all in his mind.
By the sounds Athrun was making, it seemed like old habits died hard.
Kira swallowed dryly as a heady rush overpowered him. His breath caught in his throat as unbidden, his mind replayed a segment from his sinfully erotic dream ...
The moonlight streaming through the open windows … Athrun straddling his lap, green eyes wicked with lust … his pale smooth skin glowing softly in the half-light … Athrun sliding down his body, hands caressing his sides even as he rained butterfly kisses from one side of his hip … across the flat expanse of his belly … tongue dipping into his navel, sending a delicious shiver up his spine … their bodies arching against each other in intense pleasure … their moans shattering the stillness of the night …
He glanced down to look at the co-star of his dreams. The skin on his nape prickled as he stared in rapt fascination. Athrun was still nibbling on his lolly. Maybe he should just swap his with Athrun’s at the rate the other boy was going, but deep inside, he didn’t want Athrun to stop. Kira wondered idly how it felt to be the lolly. Damn, it must be good …
“Mm-mm, it’s good,” Athrun smacked his lips. “Want to taste mine? It’s banana milk,” Athrun added, holding out his ice cream.
The sound of Athrun’s voice broke him out of his reverie.
Dear God, what’s happening to me? he thought, partially appalled and partially ashamed at the train of thought that had taken over him. He blinked his eyes stupidly, knowing that he couldn’t hide the series of confused emotions that flitted across his face from Athrun. Kira gulped and licked his lips nervously. His pulse quickened, and his breath came out in a ragged gasp.
Athrun sensed rather than felt the tension that surged through the older boy’s body. He turned around slowly, his curiosity piqued. Could it be Kira was having another one of his waking dreams? If that was the case, then the kiss they shared a fortnight ago did nothing to prove Kira’s idiotic theory. Athrun concentrated, his sharp mind recalling seemingly random events that made up his roommate’s past fortnight. His memory zoomed to the morning following the night they spent together.
Athrun remembered waking up enveloped in delicious warmth that pressed against the entire length of his body. Sometime during the night they must have had turned towards each other; how else could he explain the way their legs tangled together, and the unmistakable weight of the older boy’s arms around him? As for his own hands, he was rather mortified to discover that his right hand had strayed towards Kira’s buttocks while his left curved around the other boy’s shoulder in a possessive embrace. Athrun had spent the next thirty minutes lying very still, pretending to be asleep and praying that Kira wouldn’t move in his sleep and cause unnecessary friction. He kept his breath even and his eyes shut until Kira finally stirred. However, he had a tough time faking sleep when he felt a light brush against his cheek. Kira, the little rascal, had stolen a kiss from him. Granted, it was nothing more than a fleeting brush against his skin, but that had set Athrun’s heart racing and his mind whirling.
During the day, Kira had acted normally around him, but at night he noticed that Kira had a hard time settling down to sleep. Athrun wasn’t a light sleeper, but the noises that Kira made in the throes of his dreams were loud enough to wake him up. Kira had tossed and turned, kicked his blankets off, and made strange and downright erotic noises. It made him wonder if the other boy’s dreams had turned into nightmares, or worse, was he a witness to Kira’s wet dreams?
Furthermore, Kira had been insistent that he should do all the laundry, while Athrun took care of the garbage. Kira’s sudden obsession with changing his bed sheets daily had initially brought some light-hearted ribbing from Athrun, but Athrun had stopped when he realised that Kira had been genuinely embarrassed.
A sudden flash of realisation caused Athrun’s eyes to widen more than usual. There was no denying it; Kira was indeed suffering from an erotic dream overload, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together to guess who or what the object of his repressed desire was. After all, Kira had told him, right? How could he be so daft as to forget that important piece of information?
Athrun’s heart did a crazy dance of joy as he realised that he held the upper hand. Unlike himself, Kira was still unsure of his own feelings; that had been pretty obvious from the start. Athrun decided that it was entirely up to him to steer the older boy towards their seemingly mutual goal, and to admit their less than platonic attraction towards each other -- an attraction that was deliciously exciting and frightening at the same time. Perhaps it was time to take the bull by the horns and be done with it.
Sitting up, he nudged Kira lightly, signalling to him to reverse their position. When Kira looked at him in puzzlement, Athrun gave an impatient huff, got off the sofa and squeezed himself behind the slightly stunned boy.
“It’s more comfortable this way. I won’t squash your arm,” Athrun parted his knees and patted the space between his legs. “Now sit down,”
Kira hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should excuse himself and go to bed or do as he was told and stay with Athrun on the sofa and continue to cuddle.
Cuddle, Kira thought dazedly. Oh god, that’s what we are doing! Cuddling on the sofa like a pair of starry-eyed couple! Oh God …
His decision was taken away from him as Athrun made an impatient noise and pulled him firmly but not forcefully against his chest. Kira willed his body to relax, hoping that Athrun wouldn’t notice how tense he really was.
It’s just Athrun, silly … it’s no big deal, he told himself. No need to get all worked up like an idiot. What Athrun doesn’t know won’t matter, right? It’s not like Athrun has a thing for me … at least not THAT way … anyway, we’ve done this hundreds of time before …
Nevertheless, his pulse quickened when he felt the intimate brush of the other boy’s breath against his neck.
“Your ice cream’s melting,” Athrun voice purred warmly against his ear. “You should finish it,”
“Wha --?” Kira looked confounded for a moment, and then he grinned sheepishly. “Oh, right!”
For long moments neither spoke.
“Hey Kira?” Athrun said after a comfortable silence. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,”
The one thing they had always had as close friends was the ability to share long silences. Whenever Athrun felt the need to break the silence Kira knew there was something on his mind he wanted to talk about.
“Your dreams, have they gone away?” Athrun asked quietly, his breath tickling Kira’s ear.
“Wha … what do you mean?” Kira stammered.
“Your theory, silly,” Athrun said, his voice even lower than usual. “You said that if I let you kiss me it would help convince you that you don’t feel ‘that’ way about me.” Athrun paused. “So, did it work?”
Stunned by the bluntness of the question, Kira sputtered uncharacteristically. “Athrun!” He spun around in the circle of Athrun arms, his eyes wide as saucers. “What kind of question is that?!”
Athrun regarded him with a serious expression. Kira stiffened slightly, and Athrun’s arms tightened around him.
“I asked you a simple question,” Athrun replied without batting an eyelid. “So … did it work?”
Utterly mortified, Kira’s mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a small Haro.
Arching an eyebrow, and feeling decidedly naughty, Athrun asked, “Are you telling me you made it up, then?”
The expression on Kira’s face was priceless. He opened and shut his mouth several times, unable to find a suitable reply. Feeling immensely stupid, he snapped his mouth shut. He froze at the sound of a soft chuckle, close to his ear.
“You could just ask you know,” Athrun continued calmly.
“Ask what?” Kira gulped, not entirely sure what the younger boy was driving at.
Athrun made an impatient sound with his tongue. “A kiss, silly. I don’t mind … we are best friends, right?”
Kira gaped. He wondered if Athrun had genuinely lost his marbles.
“Athruuunn!” he said weakly. “Are you nuts? Why would I make up such an outrageous story?”
“Kira,” Athrun chided. “I know what’s bothering you, and it’s not true. I know you.” His eyes softened as it roamed over the older boy’s face. “In fact, I know you better than you know yourself,” Athrun raised his hand to brush Kira’s fringe.
Kira lowered his eyes and rubbed his face, embarrassed. Athrun knew. He knew …
Struggling to keep his composure, Kira asked, “How long have you known?”
“Hmm … almost six months now,”
“Wha … what?” Kira was dumbstruck. Colour rose to his cheeks, as his eyes widened in disbelief.
Athrun nodded. “Yeah,”
When Kira remained mute, Athrun tightened his hold and continued, “Its not like it’s a bad thing, is it?”
Kira head snapped up. “But you’re my friend! I … I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why, or how …” His voice rose in distress. “And how can you just sit there taking all these in so calmly?!”
“Because I like you,” Athrun answered him, watching him closely for any reaction.
“I know that!” Kira snapped, nervousness and guilt lending a sharp edge to his tone. “I’m not stupid you know!”
Athrun smiled and ran a hand through the hair at the nape of the other boy’s neck. His green eyes bore into Kira’s, his gaze unfaltering.
“I like you very much, Kira,” he confessed.
The words took a while to sink into Kira’s befuddled mind, and when it did he found that he’d momentarily lost his power of speech. His heart pounded. Was Athrun saying what he thought he was saying – that Athrun was just as attracted to him as he was to Athrun?
Kira’s mind whirled furiously. Deep inside he knew he was attracted to Athrun because of who he was; the gender issue never did cross his mind. But what about Athrun? Why in the blazes was the boy attracted to him, and more importantly since when? What about Cagalli? They seemed to get along quite well together. Kira shuddered, both at the turn his thoughts had taken and at the light brush of Athrun’s lips against his temple.
“Athrun!” he protested weakly, once again stunned by the other boy’s daring.
“Shush,”
Kira shushed, but he couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down his spine when Athrun ran a hand up the slope of his shoulder and pulled him close. He raised his eyes nervously to meet Athrun’s.
Any protest that he had died unspoken, and his eyes widened in disbelief as cool lips covered his own. He choked back a cry – the kiss was chaste and quick, a gentle brush against his lips, from one friend to another, but it startled him all the same.
“Athrun!” Kira gasped, the word escaping on an exhaled breath.
“Yes, Kira?” Athrun answered. He tilted his head slightly and gazed at the older boy affectionately.
Kira couldn’t tear his eyes away from Athrun’s even if he wanted to. The look in Athrun’s eyes and his semi-parted lips made him shiver. Kira was positive Athrun had no idea just how desirable he looked just then, and how much his doe-eyed gaze turned him on. The colour on Kira’s cheeks deepened, and he bit his lip apprehensively, but his gaze remained steady.
“Do it again,” Kira breathed.
Athrun couldn’t believe his ears. Was Kira asking him for another kiss?
When Athrun didn’t react, Kira steeled himself, and continued, “But this time do it properly,”
For long moments neither spoke.
Kira pressed closer, his fingers moving to trail up Athrun’s arm, stroking his shoulder, collarbone, and finally entangling in his hair. “Athrun … I’m asking now,” he breathed quietly, as he tucked Athrun’s hair behind his ear, his thumb and forefinger toying with the shell of the younger boy’s ear.
Athrun gave a soft sigh and curved his arm around Kira’s waist. With deliberate slowness, he pressed their lips together, chastely. A low purr escaped Kira, and he smiled. To hell with modesty; Athrun started this, so he’d better not chicken out this time round.
Using his positional advantage Kira pressed Athrun against the armrest and kissed him back -- and this time it wasn’t chaste. Athrun let out a muffled gasp against Kira’s mouth at the sudden reversal of events and Kira seized the opportunity to slip his tongue into his mouth. Mmmm-mmm, Athrun taste of banana milk, Kira thought dreamily. How nice ...
Kira’s free arm slid down to curve around Athrun’s back; he could feel Athrun’s hands gliding up his chest, moving slowly to link behind his neck. Kira pressed against him, making it impossible for Athrun to move. Athrun submitted readily; if Kira wanted to be in control then so be it. He tightened his hold on the older boy, and there was nothing left between them but the rapid beating of their hearts and the increasingly fervent kiss they shared.
They were breathless when they finally pulled apart, their cheeks flushed, eyes filled with mutual disbelief and comprehension. Athrun loosened his grip around Kira’s neck and ran his hands down his chest, his fingers tracing the light musculature along his sides before coming to rest on the small of his back. Kira pulled back and looked at Athrun anxiously.
“You all right?” he asked, reluctantly drawing back further to allow the other boy some breathing space.
“Mm,” Athrun smiled at him, his face glowing with an inner radiance. “That wasn’t ghastly, was it?” He playfully reminded Kira of his comment the fortnight before.
Kira blushed, and dropped his head on Athrun shoulder. “No, it wasn’t,” he chuckled softly.
“You sure?” Athrun asked, his voice low and teasing. He fiddled with the hem of Kira’s t-shirt absently, rolling the material between his fingers.
Kira raised his head and looked at him quietly. A half-smile formed on his lips, his eyes all but sparkle in anticipation. “Jog my memory then,” he whispered.
Athrun grinned impishly, and slid his hands underneath Kira’s t-shirt, his palms making contact with his skin. He raised his head and caught Kira’s bottom lip with his teeth, eliciting a startled gasp from the other boy. He kissed Kira deeply, his fingers scratching Kira’s skin lightly. Kira’s warmth enveloped him, lulling him as Kira kissed him back. When he felt Kira’s knee nudging against him, he straightened his legs, allowing Kira to straddle him.
In hindsight, Athrun realised that was probably the second stupidest thing he did that night. Kira’s weight pressing onto him and the heat from Kira’s tongue flickering to meet his own ignited little fires of desire that spread through his body and ran together until his very blood was molten. He prayed that the intense heat starting in his groin wasn’t about to progress into something else. Athrun wondered if they hadn’t overdone it a bit.
Dimly, at the periphery of his hearing he heard the vidphone buzz.
“Um, we … should stop,” Athrun sounded slightly breathless.
The buzz was getting persistently louder.
“Why?” Kira murmured, his hands fumbling with the buttons on Athrun’s shirt. There was a soft rustle of material as he pushed the shirt off Athrun’s shoulder, exposing the delicate curve of his neck. He stuck his tongue out and licked Athrun’s skin experimentally.
Athrun panted, his toes curling reflexively.
The buzzing persisted, annoying a latent part of his brain.
Athrun mumbled something as Kira found a sensitive spot on his collarbone and nipped at it gently. Athrun shivered as he realised how tantalisingly intimate they were, with only Kira’s t-shirt serving as a flimsy barrier.
Pinned beneath Kira, Athrun was suddenly made very aware of something stiff nudging against his navel. His eyes widened; he didn’t even dare to wonder what it was. Athrun prayed that Kira wouldn’t move and cause unnecessary friction. In his current state, he had no idea how his body would react if that happened.
“Kiiiraaa …” Athrun moaned as Kira licked the curve of his neck.
Athrun slid his hands up Kira’s back – alternating between tracing lazy circles and scratching abruptly, and then moving to tangle in Kira hair. Acting on impulse, he pulled sharply. Kira gasped and retaliated by biting him hard. Athrun’s eyes flew open, giddy of the combination of pain and pleasure. He dug his nails sharply into Kira’s shoulders.
He rejoiced inwardly as he heard a startled gasp.
Kira growled and shoved him roughly against the cushions. “Play nice,” he warned, his lips brushing against Athrun’s earlobe as he spoke. Before Athrun could react, he lunged at the other boy and bit his chin playfully, then moving upwards to kiss him fiercely.
“Kira … we really … should … stop,” Athrun gasped against his mouth, his eyes glazing over. His body was reacting to Kira’s increasingly enthusiastic touch, and what had been a ghost of a quickening had grown into a full-blown erection.
“Relax,” Kira said, grabbing Athrun’s wrists and pinning each one on either side of his head.
Athrun decided he’d better put the brakes on before things progressed beyond the point of no return. Otherwise they might end up doing something incredibly stupid. Athrun wasn’t sure they were ready for that yet.
“Kiiiraaaa …” Athrun tore his mouth away reluctantly from Kira’s and turned his head to the side. His eyes were instinctively drawn to the vidphone screen.
He froze.
Fuck, he thought dizzily.
Kira pulled away fractionally when Athrun lay silent and motionless underneath him. A sudden irrational fear gnawed at his insides. “Athrun?” Kira began hesitantly. Athrun looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “What’s …”
His next words died unspoken as a shrill voice issued from the vidphone – so deafening and enraged that it almost shattered his eardrums.
“BASTARDS! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”
Kira whipped around, horrified, into the furious glare of Cagalli.
1] Athrun accidentally connected the vidphone via voice while Kira was busy nipping his collarbone. He had left it on video mode after making the call in the morning.
2] Kira got a bit carried away. Can’t really blame him, can I? (^_~)
3] S.P.a.G beta by Passo and Starkiller.
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