Author: lillypuff
Email: lilly_puff22 (at) yahoo (dot) com
LiveJournal: http://lillypuff.livejournal.com
Characters From: Saiyuki
Gaiden & Saiyuki
Main Pairing: Tenpou x Kenren (and
visa versa)
Other Pairings (this chapter):
Homura x Kenren x Zenon, Konzen x Goku, Dokugakuji x Kougaiji, Tenpou x Konzen
(past)
Rating: R (for now)
Warning(s): sexual humor, mild
sexuality, language (so, the usual really)
Universe: Black Lotus
Summary: Modern Day Saiyuki Gaiden AU (still a
semi fantasy setting) - Tenpou and Kenren take two steps forward and one step
back.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Saiyuki does
not belong to me. As always, please assume all characters present are of legal age to be
at a strip club.
Random Notes: My idea for this has changed a little
bit. Originally Tenpou was supposed to
turn out sort of stalker-ish, but I'm having fun with him being shy and a bit
confused, so I think I'm going to stick with that. For anyone that is curious, characters like
Goujun, Doku, Kou et al. who have non-human physical traits in the manga/anime
still have them in this. Youkai are still
youkai, dragon kings still look dragon-ish and so on. Also, I think I've settled on the approximate
ages of the main four guys. Tenpou and
Konzen are mid to late 30's, Kenren is late 20's and Goku is early to mid
20's. I went with these age groups because
I wanted Tenpou to sort of be getting to that point where he's settling down in
life (same with Konzen) but Kenren and Goku are still young and a bit
wild. Basically, the younger two are
living the lives that the older two wax nostalgic about lol
"How many times have you gone
back?" Konzen asked, grinning in a
way he seldom did.
Tenpou shrugged his shoulders and
turned his head so he could stare at the nearest anything that wasn't Konzen's face, "Once or twice…"
"That's all?"
"Yes, well I don't have a lot of free time."
"I almost would have expected you
to make the time."
Tenpou snorted, "I did."
"Of course," Konzen replied,
still grinning, "See, I told you that you'd like him."
To that Tenpou didn't respond, still
trying to keep his gaze from falling upon his friend.
"Have you talked to him
yet?" Konzen asked after a minute of silence passed by.
"No."
"Ch. Scared?"
"No," Tenpou replied and it
wasn't a lie, as far as he knew.
Another moment of silence passed.
"You're smitten, aren't
you?"
"No!" Tenpou replied,
perhaps a little too quickly.
"Are you sure?"
Tenpou turned his eyes to stare at his
friend, "I am certain."
"Then what's the problem?"
Tenpou continued to glare at Konzen as
if the answer to that question should
have been obvious. It was to him anyway.
"He's a stripper, Konzen."
"I believe they prefer to be
called exotic dancers these
days."
"A rose, by any other name…"
Tenpou retorted with a roll of his eyes, "In any case it would seem he is
currently taken."
"You mean by Homura and
Zenon?"
"Yeah."
"That's laughable," Konzen replied
with a snort, "He's likely just their flavor of the month. Better off without them if you ask me."
Tenpou twitched slightly and shook his
head, "How exactly do you know all this?"
"Goku likes to talk," Konzen
replied with a shrug. "Speaking of,
I'm meeting him in a little while, you coming?"
*****
"Hey Konzen, how was your
trip?" asked the tall, dark haired and muscular bouncer Tenpou now knew as
Dokugakuji, Doku for short because drunk or
sober, it rolled off the tongue better that way.
"Boring," Konzen replied
with a flick of the wrist before gesturing back towards Tenpou. "This is
T-…"
"Tenpou," Dokugakuji
finished for the blond, and Tenpou smiled, "Back so soon?"
"It would appear so,"
replied Tenpou.
Doku opened the door for the two men,
Tenpou still smiling, Konzen looking slightly confused, "Have fun,"
he said with a wink.
*****
Once both men were inside and the door
had closed behind them Konzen stopped short in his tracks and turned to stare
at Tenpou.
"What?" Tenpou asked,
honestly curious about his friend's sudden scrutiny.
"I thought you said you hadn't
talked to anybody."
Tenpou snorted, "On the contrary
my friend, I said I had not talked to him."
"But you've chatted up everyone
else?"
"Well no, not everyone,"
Tenpou replied smiling, "I've not met your aunt yet, nor have I been
formally introduced to Goku's friend Nataku or this Goujun fellow I hear so
much about…"
All Konzen could do was stare back
blankly as he listened to Tenpou ramble on about all these different people,
some of which he himself barely knew.
He'd forgotten how good Tenpou was at remembering when it came to people and names.
"…I'm looking forward to meeting
Kougaiji one of these days and…"
Not knowing how much more he could
take, Konzen raised a hand to silence his friend, "I get it, I get
it. But how do you know of all these people?"
Tenpou shrugged, "You said it
yourself, Goku likes to talk. Apparently
you are not the only one who likes to listen.
It is quite amazing how much information he can spill in between
songs."
Konzen rolled his eyes, "You
should hear him when…on second thought, never mind."
At that Tenpou laughed.
*****
From his seat Goku scanned the
building, particularly near the entrance as he waited for Konzen, and hopefully
Tenpou, to arrive. His muscles were
twitchy and he couldn't sit still and he had no idea why. When a hand landed on his shoulder he nearly
jumped out of his skin.
"Hey now, settle down monkey, I'm
sure the princess will be here soon enough."
Goku narrowed his eyes at the taunt
towards Konzen but laughed none-the-less, "I'm not a monkey."
"Uh-huh," replied the dark
haired man who took a seat beside him.
"One time," Goku replied
laughing and scowling all at once, "It happened once and you're never gonna let me live it down are ya?"
"Nope," Kenren replied
grinning from ear to ear as he too scanned the room, his eyes eventually
landing upon a pair of men standing near the entryway, "Looks like the
blond bombshell is finally here."
Hearing that Goku followed Kenren's
line of sight until he too spotted Konzen talking to Tenpou who appeared to be
slightly amused.
"Who's the hottie in white
leather?" Kenren asked as he slid a cigarette between his lips.
"That's Tenpou," Goku
replied trying to sound nonchalant.
"That's Tenpou?"
"Yeah."
Kenren smiled around his cigarette,
"We'll I'll be damned."
At that Goku laughed.
*****
When Tenpou spotted Goku he smiled and
raised his hand to wave but when he saw who sat next to him his hand dropped
back to his side though the smile remained.
"Konzen, you wouldn't have had
anything to do with this, would you?" he asked through his smile.
"Do with wha…oh," Konzen
replied and Tenpou was pretty sure the man was hiding a laugh. "No I didn't actually."
"So, Goku is not only a chatter
box but a match maker as well?" Tenpou asked as he took the slightest step
back.
"I guess so," Konzen replied
as he grabbed a hold of Tenpou's coat sleeve, "Come on, no use running,
they've already seen us."
*****
Kenren flicked a stray ash from his
leg before standing to greet the two men as they approached the table. From the corner of his eye he noticed Goku
bounce to his feet as well as if taking a cue from him, as he often did.
When they stood just across the table
from him Kenren didn't miss the way Konzen seemed to be leading Tenpou by his
grip on the man's coat, even if it didn't seem very forceful. He couldn't help but wonder if it was the
contact and not the actual act of being pulled along that made Tenpou
follow. Frankly he look about as
skittish as Goku, but in a different way.
Goku, Kenren knew, was exhibiting all
the signs of someone who had fallen head over heels for another. It was cute, but disturbing in a way. In the years he'd known Goku he'd never seen
the young man act in such a matter and he wasn't sure what to make of it, one
way or the other.
Tenpou on the other hand looked as if
he were trying desperately to hold on to something -- or maybe even let
something go -- though obviously not in the physical sense. Kenren couldn't help but wonder what this man
had been like when he was a little younger for his eyes still had that look
that said he'd once been wild, and maybe still was if the leather was any
indication. He hoped like hell Tenpou
wasn't one of those guys that thought growing up meant no longer enjoying
life. He hated that kind of attitude and
it would be a waste for such a lovely creature as Tenpou to be engulfed by the
same dull outlook on life that Konzen sometimes possessed.
"Nice to finally meet you,"
Kenren said smiling after Konzen made the proper introductions, "Goku's
told me a lot about you."
"Has he now?" Tenpou replied
with a glance in Goku's direction.
"Both he and Konzen have been keeping me in the dark about you."
Kenren laughed as he sat back down,
"Well, what can I say? I guess it's
just in my nature to leave people speechless."
When Tenpou laughed in response,
Kenren was mildly relieved. The man
could take a joke, which was a good start, though he'd hadn't really been
joking about what he said, but that was beyond the point.
"So, drinks, yes?" Kenren
suggested as he placed another cigarette between his lips.
*****
Tenpou sat quietly sipping his drink
once it was placed before him. His mind
was surprisingly blank and oddly at ease as he listened idly to Goku and Konzen
'catch up' -- which mostly involved Goku asking how the trip went and Konzen's
monosyllable responses on a topic Tenpou knew the man thought as boring.
As long as he'd known him Konzen had never really been one to take much
joy from his job, he just did what he knew how to do and found joy
elsewhere. It wasn't something Tenpou
understood very well, but he no less accepted it.
Occasionally Tenpou allowed himself to
glance at Kenren and he was always met with a smile that he couldn't really
read which bothered him slightly. Most
people were an open book to him. But he
let it go for the time being; besides, he didn't even know the man.
When Kenren managed to get in a word
or two between Goku's ramblings, Tenpou gave the man his full attention, or at
least he appeared to. He caught the
necessary bits and pieces, enough to respond properly and nod his head in all
the right places but he just couldn't make himself concentrate fully on what
the man said.
It wasn't as if he wasn't interested,
in fact he thought it might be because he was too interested that he could only concentrate on the way Kenren's
lips wrapped around his cigarette or the way his bangs hung against his
forehead instead of paying close attention to the actual words that came out of
those lovely lips…
"Well this is a surprise. Look who's come to grace us with his
presence."
Kenren's words, all of which Tenpou
caught, jerked him back to his senses.
He took a deep breath then nearly choked on it when he noticed the man
who had been the target of Kenren's mildly sarcastic remark.
The man was tall, and Tenpou knew it
wasn't just because they were sitting down and he was standing; he really was tall with hair that seemed
impossibly white and long even though it was tied back in a loose pony
tail. Without a doubt, Tenpou knew this
to be Goujun. Goku had said previously
that he was hard to miss and the young man hadn't been lying, though Tenpou
didn't think it had so much to do with the height and the hair and the scales,
but more the aura the man exuded.
Frankly he seemed rather out of place; like something out of time long
passed that had somehow been thrust into the here and now.
"Good evening gentlemen,"
Goujun said with a pleasant smile that seemed to barely contain the sharp
tongue that undoubtedly hid behind it.
All at the table responded to the
greeting, Kenren with a 'yo' and a roll of the eyes and Goku with a 'hello'
that seemed to be filled with a fair amount of reverence. Of his three companions, only Konzen seemed
to be completely unaffected, one way or the other, by the dragon's presence.
"Goujun, this is Tenpou,"
Konzen added after saying his hello.
Tenpou cleared his throat and stood to
shake Goujun's hand, "Hello, nice to meet you."
"A pleasure," Goujun replied
with the slightest hint of a bow.
When Tenpou sat back down he tried to
let his gaze fall on Goku. At that
moment the young man seemed the safest place for his eyes to rest.
"Sorry to interrupt," Goujun
continued a moment later, "But your aunt would like to have a word with
you Konzen."
At that Konzen sighed and Kenren
snorted.
"Since when did you become Aunty
K's errand boy Goujun?" Kenren asked, his voice positively oozing with a
strange mix of sarcasm and friendly fire that Tenpou found rather
intriguing. "I would've thought
that sort of thing was beneath you."
Goujun snorted, "Jiroshin is ill,
I am just giving Kanzeon a hand until he is on his feet again."
"Ah, what a kind soul you are
dear Goujun."
"Oh can it, Kenren," Konzen
interrupted before turning his attention to Goujun, "Do you know what the
old hag wants?"
Goujun laughed politely and shook his
head, "No, she just told me to send you into her office." He paused, then turned his attention to Goku,
"You too…monkey."
At that Goku blushed, Konzen snorted
and Kenren laughed so hard that he nearly fell back in his chair. Tenpou couldn't help but laugh as well, even
though he had no idea what had just transpired; Kenren's laugh was just that infectious. It was the kind of laugh that said "look
at me, I'm enjoying life".
"I'm not a monkey," Goku
mumbled as Kenren's laughter began to die off and Konzen rose from his seat,
ruffling the young man's hair.
"Come on; let's go see what she
wants."
"Ok," Goku replied
obediently as he rose from his seat and followed Konzen away from the table.
For a moment after a strange silence
passed over the table and between the three men that remained and Tenpou tried
to think of something to break it.
"Care to join us?" He
finally asked, it being the only thing he could think to say. From his right he heard Kenren make an odd
sort of sound and Tenpou wasn't sure if it was a good sound or a bad one.
"I cannot," Goujun replied,
"I have things I must attend to this evening. Kanzeon has me running around like a gerbil
in a maze. Jiroshin has far more
patience then I when it comes to that woman."
"All the more reason to wish him
a speedy recovery," Kenren replied as he raised his glass and smiled.
"Indeed," Goujun replied
eyeing Kenren in an odd sort of way, "Tell me Kenren, where is your usual
company this evening?"
At that Kenren's smile quickly
disappeared and Tenpou though the man looked genuinely bothered by the dragon's
remark. "Elsewhere," he replied sternly and Tenpou didn't miss the
slight twinkle in Goujun's eye.
"Ah," Goujun replied with
smug satisfaction and Tenpou couldn't help but wonder if the dragon had just
scored a point in whatever little game the two seemed to be playing,
"Well, you seem to be in good hands now, so I shall leave you two and
continue with my work. It was a pleasure
to meet you Tenpou."
"You as well," Tenpou
replied as he watched Goujun turn and walk away. Once the dragon was some distance from the
table Tenpou turned to look at Kenren, "That was interesting."
"You think so?" Kenren
asked, a small smile returning to his face.
"Well, for lack of a better word,
yes. Are you two always so congenial?"
"It comes and goes," Kenren
replied with a shrug. "I imagine
he'll be back to himself when he's done playing errand boy for Kanzeon."
"I see," Tenpou replied, not
all together sure that he did, "He seems a bit out of place here."
Kenren laughed, then pulled a
cigarette from the pack that lay on the table, "Oh he is. He and Kanzeon go way back, he's just here to
have something to do. He's rather well
off, doesn't really need the work. I
imagine he's here because he likes the scenery."
"Interesting," Tenpou
repeated as he grabbed his own lighter and deftly produced a flame for Kenren,
lighting a cigarette of his own afterward.
Both men sat smoking in silence after
that and Tenpou noticed that Kenren spared him more then a few glances as he
tried to be nonchalant about his own wayward eyes. He tried to think of something interesting to
say, but found he was enjoying the silence they were sharing even among the
activity of the club around them. It was
all together quite comfortable; but like most moments of the sort, it didn't
last long and this time the spell was broken by a tune he found oddly familiar.
Tenpou watched as Kenren twitched,
surprised, before reaching a hand in his pocket and pulling out his cell phone,
rolling his eyes when he glanced at the caller ID.
"Speak of the fuckin' devil and
he will hear about it," Kenren
said through a sigh, "I'll be back in a second."
"Take your time," Tenpou
replied, smiling politely as he watched Kenren walk away from the table towards
a door marked 'employees'.
Just like that, Tenpou found himself
alone at the table that was once occupied by four.
"And then there was one,"
Tenpou mused as he began to actually pay attention to everything that was going
on around him, his eyes falling on one of the dancers who was currently up on
stage. He watched half dazed as Kenren's
ring tone played about in his head. He
knew the song, but for the life of him he couldn't place it.
Minutes passed and Tenpou lost himself
in watching the dancer up on the stage.
He was amazed by how hypnotic the man's movements seemed to be, as if
they were whisking him away to another reality…
"Want to go to my place?"
Tenpou practically jumped from his
seat as he turned his attention to Kenren who seemed to have materialized from
out of thin air right beside him.
"Huh?" was about all his
startled brain could muster.
"You, me, Konzen, Goku. My place?" Kenren replied with a grin,
"It's just down the street, walking distance really."
"Oh, um…sure," Tenpou
replied feeling slightly more flustered by the invitation then he thought he
should.
"Cool, I'll go see what's keeping
Blondie and the monkey, meet you outside?"
"OK," Tenpou replied,
"but what about our drinks?"
"Already taken care of."
"Oh, thanks."
"Anytime."
*****
"Leaving so soon?"
Dokugakuji asked as he opened the door for Tenpou.
"Apparently," Tenpou
replied, "I guess we are moving on to Kenren's apartment."
"Oh yeah?" Doku replied with
a smirk.
Tenpou chuckled, "Yeah, the four of us."
"Hey, whatever floats your
boat."
Tenpou shook his head but laughed none
the less.
"Ah, here's the little devil
now," Doku said through his thoroughly amused grin as Kenren walked out
the door.
"He givin' you any lip?"
Kenren asked with a nod in the bouncer's direction.
Tenpou smiled and shook his head
again.
"That's good; I'd hate to have to
kick his ass."
"As if you could,"
Dokugakuji replied, puffing up to his full height.
"We'll see about that,"
Kenren answered back with a playful punch before deftly dodging out of reach of
the larger man, "Later though, right now I have a guest to
entertain."
"Oh of course," replied Doku
with his patented wink, "You two have fun now."
"We will. Tell the little woman I said hello."
Doku snorted, "You know, Kou'd
kick your ass if he heard you call him that."
"Well then, it's a good thing
he's not here," Kenren replied as they began to walk away, "I'm not
sure I could take both of you at the same time."
*****
"Where are Konzen and Goku?"
Tenpou asked simply out of curiosity as they began their stroll through the
parking lot.
"They're gonna meet us at my
place. Goku knows where he's
going."
"Are we walking?"
"Nah, I drove," Kenren
replied as they came to a halt in front of a late model black corvette, it's
obviously aftermarket alarm chirping at their approach, "I was gonna go
somewhere later but, well, change of plans."
"Oh," Tenpou murmured, not
sure of what else to say. He was
starting to wonder if maybe he was intruding on something.
"Don't give me that look,"
Kenren replied, "Besides, you're far more interesting."
"Am I?" Tenpou asked rather
blankly as Kenren opened the corvette's passenger door.
"Yeah, you are."
*****
Kenren had been right; his apartment
building really was with in walking distance.
He wondered if he lived close to his place of employment for any
specific reason, or if it was just a matter of convenience.
When they entered the apartment,
Tenpou found himself quite impressed. It
was spacious, but that wasn't what caught Tenpou's eye. No, it was more the fact that the apartment
seemed so clean and organized and…loved.
Tenpou's own house didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever
looking that nice, though he imagined his occupation had something to do with
it.
The apartment had a sort of 'New York
meets the Orient' look to it and someone had put a lot of effort into making
sure the bamboo and assorted trinkets actually worked with the leather sofa and rather large flat screen TV. It was an impressive job, to be sure, though
one piece seemed to stand out among all of the other decorations.
Tenpou's appraisal reflexes kicked in
the second he saw the samurai daisho
displayed reverently on a stand that was far newer then the two swords it
held. The swords were old but well kept
and Tenpou couldn't help but wonder who had given them to Kenren for he was
pretty sure they were well out of the price range of even the most talented of dancers.
Tenpou had clients of his own that would most literally give their right
arm for the swords that were displayed before him.
"You like?" Kenren asked and
Tenpou could practically hear the pleased smile on the man's face. He had a feeling it was quite obvious that he
liked the two swords.
"I do, very much," Tenpou
replied as he gestured to the larger of the two swords, "May I?"
"Knock yourself out."
"Thank you," Tenpou replied
as he carefully removed the sword from the stand, delighted by the weight of
the piece in his hand. When he slowly
removed the sword from its sheath the blade made a lovely sound, one that had
always thrilled Tenpou to hear.
Sometimes he wondered if perhaps he'd be born in the wrong era.
"They were my father's,"
Kenren added a few moments later while Tenpou was getting a feel for the sword
in his hand, "and his father's before him and so on."
"Mmm," Tenpou replied almost
off in another world, "They are lovely pieces to hand down from father to
son. I know many people who would kill
for these."
When Kenren laughed Tenpou couldn't
help but smile, "Yeah, I bet my ancestor's knew people like that
too."
"Yes, I'm sure they did,"
Tenpou agreed as he re-sheathed the sword and gently placed it back on the
stand continuing to eye the swords that were more like pieces of art then
weaponry, as far as he was concerned. He
stayed like that, unmoving, until a glass seemed to materialize before him and
a warm breath tickled at his ear.
"And how is it that you've come
to appreciate such weaponry?" Kenren asked, his voice whisper soft as if
he were speaking of more private things.
"I deal in antiques," Tenpou
replied casually as he took the proffered drink from Kenren's hand having to
resist the urge to lean back against the body that was suddenly so close,
"I buy, sell, and appraise them."
"I bet you have an impressive
collection of your own then," Kenren crooned in his ear.
"You could say that," Tenpou
replied with a smirk, "Though none are as old as these."
For a moment after the words were out
of his mouth there was silence except for the sound of Kenren's gentle breath
in his ear; then as suddenly as it had appeared it was gone and Tenpou reminded
himself that he should probably start breathing again before he took a sip from
the glass he held in his hand.
"So, you specialize in weapons
then?" Kenren asked, his words no longer whispered, his breath no longer
playing at Tenpou's ear.
Tenpou turned to find Kenren sitting
on his leather sofa almost disappearing into it for all the black he wore.
"No, I specialize in books, maps
and other documentation. Everything else
sort of fell into my lap."
"Lucky you," Kenren
practically purred and Tenpou would have asked for further clarification on
that statement if it weren't for their second interruption of the evening, once
again in the form of Kenren's cell phone.
"I think someone up there
has it in for us."
"Hmm, it would appear so,"
Tenpou replied as he watched Kenren rise gracefully from the couch to where he'd
set his phone down when they arrived.
"Ah, the ice princess
calleth," Kenren reported through an annoyed smile and Tenpou suddenly had
an idea as to why Konzen might be calling.
"What's up Blondie, you guys get lost or somethin'?"
Tenpou knew that wasn't the case, and
he assumed Kenren did as well, considering you could see Kenren's building from the club.
"Oh, I see," Kenren replied
to whatever answer Konzen had given him, "Well, by all means, don't let us
stop you from enjoyin' a little slap and tickle."
Tenpou couldn't help but laugh at the
way Kenren spoke to Konzen.
"Hey, no problem, I can give him
a ride," Kenren said with a wink
and Tenpou couldn't hold back the slight blush that suddenly crossed his
cheeks, "Uh-huh, have fun."
"They're not coming?" Tenpou
asked as Kenren pocketed the phone. He
was stating the obvious, and he knew it, but he couldn't think of anything else
to say.
"Don't worry, I can give you a
ride home," Kenren replied, "Konzen has to take care of some monkey
business."
Tenpou snorted, "Well, what
should we do then?"
*****
Tenpou leaned back heavily against the
leather couch, the glass in his hand nearly empty, save for the melting
ice. His abdominal muscles ached in a
way they seldom did and every outburst of laughter he couldn't keep back made
his muscles hurt even more. It had been
a long time since he'd laughed so
long and so hard. He could blame it on
the alcohol, but he knew that wasn't the case.
Kenren seemed to have some of the most outrageous stories he'd ever
heard, and that was saying something considering Tenpou had been around the
block and back a few times.
"Where…did he get…the banana
from?" Tenpou asked between breaths.
"I have no idea," Kenren
replied, "all I know is that he was munchin' on it like there was no
tomorrow."
Tenpou held back another bought of
laughter, "And everybody saw him?"
"Heh, yeah, pretty much. We were all gathered 'round his cage laughin'
and he just sat there eatin' that damned banana. He even scratched his head a few times. That sealed the deal. He didn't realize until later why we were
laughin' so hard."
"The poor kid. He's going to be stuck with that nickname for
awhile, isn't he?"
"Oh yeah," Kenren replied
grinning, "If even Goujun's taken to calling him monkey then there's no
hope of it going away anytime soon."
"I wish I could have seen
that," Tenpou said through a soft smile before taking the last sip from
his glass.
"You can," Kenren replied,
"Kou was at the club that night taking pictures for one of his
projects. Just talk to him, he'll show
you."
"Poor kid," Tenpou repeated
through a chuckle, "Have you known him long?"
"Goku? Yeah, since he was a kid."
Tenpou raised his eyebrows, "He's
not much older then a kid now."
"He's older then you think,"
Kenren replied as he grabbed Tenpou's empty glass and walked to the kitchen,
presumably for a second refill. Or
perhaps the third, he hadn't been paying much attention to anything other then
Kenren and his stories.
"How did you meet him?"
"He's the youngest son of one of
my father's business partners. He used
to follow me around when we were forced to attend their business
functions. I guess we just sorta clicked."
"Did you two ever…" as soon
as the words were out of his mouth Tenpou tried to cut them short. He couldn't believe he even dared to
pry. He barely knew the man.
Kenren laughed from the kitchen,
"Nah, he's too much like a younger brother."
"Ah," Tenpou replied, still
mortified by his faux pas. He wondered if he should apologize…
"…what about you and
Konzen?" Kenren called back from the kitchen, his voice dotted by the
clink of ice against glass.
"Huh? What about
me and Konzen?" Tenpou didn't like where this was going.
"When did you meet?"
"Oh, about seven years ago. He sells personal property insurance; one of
our mutual clients introduced us."
"And when did the sparks start to
fly?" Kenren asked as he sauntered back into the living room, two fresh
drinks in hand.
"Wha?" Tenpou managed, feigning
innocence the best he could and he probably would have succeeded if not for the
blush the crept up on his face.
"Now now. Don't give me that. It was written all over your face the second
you walked in to the club with him."
"But…"
"Hey, you started it."
He had a point there. Now he really did regret asking about Goku.
Taking the new drink from Kenren's hand Tenpou took a healthy swig
before he answered the question currently on the table, "It was a couple
years after we met and it lasted for a couple years after that. Sometimes I think he just got bored with the
whole situation."
"Huh. Well, that sounds like the ice princess we
all know and love."
Tenpou smiled crookedly, "We were
different people in those days. We'd go
to parties, drink ourselves silly, fuck all night, pass out for a couple hours
and somehow manage to work eight to ten hour days. Rise, wash, repeat."
Kenren laughed and grinned slyly,
"So, what you're telling me is that I really should be putting more vodka
in your drinks?"
Hearing the words, Tenpou felt a warm
ball of heat come to life in the pit of his stomach. "I doubt that would be necessary,"
he mumbled into his drink as he closed his eyes. For some reason he didn't think he could bear
to see Kenren's reaction to what he just said, considering he couldn't believe
he had said it himself.
"Is that so?" Kenren replied
and once again he could hear the smile on the man's face.
Tenpou took a deep breath, nodded and opened
his eyes to find Kenren staring back intently.
He tried to think of something to say as Kenren leaned closer, but for
the umpteenth time that night words seemed to fail him. He decided to take that as a sign as he
lowered the glass he still held in his hand.
When Kenren reached out a steady hand
and began to run his fingers through his shoulder length hair Tenpou closed his
eyes again, this time not to hide away, but to savor the contact. There was something incredibly gentle in the
way Kenren ran his fingers through Tenpou's hair; it made him tingle
uncontrollably. When Kenren's hand
trailed its way dawn the back of his neck, Tenpou let out a quiet sigh which
quickly turned into a slightly louder moan when Kenren cupped the base of his
neck in a more possessive fashion, pulling him close.
When their lips touched, Kenren let
out a pleased little groan and Tenpou inhaled sharply and suddenly that ball of
heat that had been building in his stomach seem to explode, filling him with a
sort of urgency he hadn't felt in a long time.
He parted his lips and allowed his tongue to dart forward to flick at
Kenren's lips which were strong with taste of vodka and nicotine.
When Kenren let out what sounded like
a purr of delight Tenpou shivered and quickly reached out to touch Kenren in
any way he could, completely forgetting about the glass that he had been
holding against his leg and it fell to the floor with a dull thud, it's
contents splashing out onto the tan carpet.
Tenpou blinked hard as he felt the blush
rise to his cheeks, "Shit.
Sorry," he managed weekly as he peered down at the glass that has
fallen from his grip. He suddenly felt
like a teenager again, in more ways then one.
"I seem to have that effect on
people," Kenren replied through a good natured laugh, "I'll get
something to clean it up."
"Ok," Tenpou replied, still
dazed, "Sorry. Again."
"Heh, forget about it,
seriously. It's no big deal."
Tenpou nodded and let his eyes follow
Kenren as the man walked into the kitchen to grab a towel, "At least it
just vodka and tonic and not…" Kenren began before being cut off by a
melody that Tenpou was beginning to hate.
Kenren rolled his eyes as he tossed
the towel towards Tenpou before fishing his cell phone from his pocket.
Catching the towel Tenpou grumbled
inwardly as he picked up the glass which had thankfully remained intact. He was starting to think that Kenren had been
right, someone, somewhere must have it in for them and it frustrated him
further that he still couldn't figure out what song the damned ring tone was
from.
"Kenren's house of pain, how can
I hurt you?"
Hearing Kenren's rather odd way of
answering the phone nearly caused Tenpou to lose his grip on the glass once
more and he set it down gently on the coffee table before he had a chance to
actually break the thing. He set himself
to sopping up the spilled drink, trying his best not to listen to the only side of the conversation he could
hear. In this regard, he failed
miserably.
"…I'm actually entertaining a
guest at the moment."
"…I already told you
earlier. I wanted a quiet night at
home. I spend enough time at the club as
it is."
"…that is none of your business."
Tenpou continued to blot the wet spots
on the carpet, occasionally picking up a stray piece of ice and dropping it
back into the glass with a clink that
seemed to echo through the apartment.
"…you know, for a guy whose
favorite line seems to be 'no strings attached' Homura sure seems to be trying
to keep a close eye on me…"
Tenpou froze mid blot at the mention
of Homura. Somehow he had managed to forget that Kenren was in fact involved
with someone, more then one someone
in fact, though he had no idea to what extent.
Suddenly, the only thought that continued to flicker around in his head
was that he shouldn't be there.
"…well, my dear Zenon, you can
tell him that his interest is
perfectly capable of protecting itself…"
It wasn't a happy realization to make,
but Tenpou was beginning to think he should have just stayed home.
"…I'm gonna hang up now. I'm sure you can pick something up to fill
the void…"
Tenpou did not look up when he heard
Kenren's phone flip closed; instead he chose to focus on the individual fibers
that made up the carpet.
"Ok, what's the damage
report?" Kenren asked as he re-entered the living room and Tenpou couldn't
help but wonder if Kenren meant the carpet or something else entirely.
"Minimal," Tenpou replied,
opting to go with the carpet. He quickly
blotted it a few more times before continuing.
"It should be fine, like you said; it's just vodka and tonic."
Silence reigned for a moment and
Tenpou couldn't escape the feeling that Kenren was eyeing him intently. Unable to keep staring at the carpet any
longer, Tenpou glanced up at Kenren, who flinched slightly, though Tenpou was
not sure why.
"You ok?" Kenren asked.
Tenpou nodded, barely. "Just vodka and tonic," he repeated
quietly.
Kenren sighed, "Sorry that you
had to hear that."
"So am I," Tenpou replied solemnly as he stood and ge