Business as Usual, XVIII
by Laura Bryannan

Jin woke up at the crack of dawn, as usual, feeling lazy, which was not usual. He lay in bed listening to his lover breathe for many minutes trying to decide what to do, astounded that the answer was not a foregone conclusion. Finally he had to admit he did not want to leave, not yet, anyway.

He rolled to his other side and discovered Mugen sprawled on his stomach, head under the pillow, one arm around his elephant. The sight made him smile. Mugen never seemed to use a pillow, at least, not in the way they were intended to be used. His head was either under it, like this morning, or it would be dumped on the floor sometime during the night.

Jin thought the contrasts in their beds interesting, considering their personalities. Mugen was so sensual and passionate, yet his bed had the requisite sheets, covers and two austere pillows, which he never used. Jin was the cold, analytical fish, but his own bed was a snuggly nest of several blankets, a quilt and many, many pillows. He decided Mugen needed some educating in that respect.

He got up, pulled on the sweats Mugen wore last night, and decided to practice his kata in his host's workout room. About halfway through the forms he was surprised to see Mugen wander in wearing a pair of boxers, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and sit on the floor to watch.

“What are you doing up so early?” Jin asked him, eventually.

“Don't know. You want me to make you some coffee?”

“I'd prefer tea.”

“Black or green?”

“Black, please.”

Mugen sat for a few minutes longer before rousing and disappearing into the kitchen. Jin could smell coffee brewing, and soon he reappeared with two steaming mugs. He set them both on the floor and came near, throwing a punch that Jin blocked easily. They traded a flurry of strikes, none effectively connecting, then stepped up the intensity. Going full out in the relatively small space, they continued until both were panting, although neither gained the advantage. Eying each other, smiling grimly, fists were lowered by unspoken agreement. They circled, breathing each other in, close but not touching.

“I must go to work today,” Jin announced.

Mugen sighed. “Me too.”

“My place tonight.”

“Sounds good. Can I ask Yuki?”

“Yes, that would be fine.”

They reached for each other then, hips meeting first, mouths second, and Jin's hunger awakened as he felt them both hardening. They slowdanced as they kissed, hands on the other's ass, grinding, sliding, caressing, getting a languid dry hump going.

“Should I put on some music?” Mugen joked against his lips.

“Shut up,” Jin replied, stepping back enough to stroke him through the silky material of his boxers. Not to be outdone, Mugen reached inside the baggy sweatpants and proceeded to return the favor.

Stinging kisses and bitten tongues accompanied their increasingly feverish activities, neither interested in teasing or being teased, only in getting off—needing one more orgasm in the other man's arms before facing the realities of the morning. It was accomplished efficiently, the accompanying wash of mutual appreciation startling them both, as it always did. The emotion insured eye contact was avoided as they broke apart, hands lingering, unaware of how they continued to reach for each other as they separated.

“You can shower here if you wanna go straight to work,” Mugen said, picking up his cold coffee.

“Do you have underwear other than boxers I could borrow?”

“Boxer briefs?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jin showered, dressed in Mugen's clothes except his jeans, and found himself at work not knowing exactly how he accomplished these things. His mind was swimming with images and scenes from the past twenty-four hours, and it was very strange to be back in his office again. Yuki looked better, the bruises on his face less garish, and Jin felt relieved Mugen still wanted to include him in their play. Seeing his ex happy made him happy.

“He'll be waiting at the steak place on 11th after work,” Yuki informed him later that afternoon, and Jin nodded, smiling at his beaming face.

And so the terrible trio met downtown for dinner and wandered back to Jin's place afterward. He got them settled with some beer and was contemplating on the toilet when the phone rang. Cringing as Fuu's voice came on the answering machine, he cursed that the volume on the damn thing was high enough for Mugen and Yuki to hear what she was saying, but not him.

Yuki and Fuu had met many times over the years and neither warmed to the other. Jin had never outed himself to her, but she seemed to know that Yuki meant more to him than just a friend and disliked him for the threat he was. On his side, Yuki considered Fuu a cute but essentially unremarkable pest and had always been mystified by Jin's interest in her.

Jin didn't like his private business broadcast for his lovers to hear, but was otherwise unconcerned, returning to his living room with a smile. His lovers looked at him. Yuki's eyes were shining, shoulders shaking in silent laughter, hand trying to hide his smirk. Mugen's eyes, however, bored into his like lasers. He looked accusing, confused and not the least bit amused.

Jin's guts clenched. Something was very wrong. He glanced back and forth between them, their faces a study in contrasts. “What?” he asked, anxiously.


------------------------------


Mugen couldn't believe his ears.

“Jin, where are you?” the female voice began. “I called last night, but since you haven't called me back I'm just going to tell you. Auntie's driving me crazy and I really want out of here, but the dorms don't open for another week and a half. Can I stay at your place? She'll let me come early if I'm with you. Please, please, pretty please? I'll sleep on the couch if you want, or not...maybe...well.... Um, I've got a plane reservation that will keep for another twelve hours, so please call me tonight. Bye!”

Mugen looked at Yuki, who's jaw had dropped, and demanded, “Who the hell is that?”

“That's Seizou-san,” Yuki told him, “Jin's intended.”

“Say what?!?”

Yuki giggled. “Fiancée, betrothed...you know. Both families intended them to marry, but both sets of parents are gone now so I don't know where the situation stands.”

“I didn't think anyone did that kinda shit anymore.”

“In old, insulated families like Jin's they still do, obviously.”

“Holy shit!”

Yuki nodded. “You got it.”

Mugen felt as though someone had stabbed him in the gut, and he hadn't yet recovered when Jin returned. Eying them both, looking a little panicky, he asked what was wrong. Mugen couldn't begin to articulate his feelings so he kept his mouth shut, but Yuki piped up, grinning.

“When did you start screwing Fuu-chan, Jin? Was it last summer?”

“That's none of your business,” he hissed, eyes glaring.

Mugen was shocked. “You doin' some woman, Jin?” he asked, deciding it was his business.

Jin turned to him, exasperated. “No!” he insisted. “She and I were lovers for a short time a year ago. I've known her since we were children and our relationship is complicated. It's not something I wish to discuss.”

“Yuki said you were engaged to her.” The second the words came out of his mouth Mugen was sure the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Yuki cringed and Jin's face turned to stone.

“No, I am not!” he spat. “I don't know why Yuki would say such a thing, for he knows it's not true.”

Jin scrutinized his ex, who quailed under his piercing gaze for a moment, then suddenly rallied. Returning Jin's cold glance in full measure, Yuki purred, “Tell me you're no longer considering it, Jin-nii, and I'll apologize.”

Mugen's heart faltered as he watched Jin struggle to respond, his eyes searching Yuki's face in confusion, the expression on his own practically screaming, “Why are you doing this?” Yuki remained impassive, unthreatened, apparently as interested in Jin's response as Mugen was. Finally Jin sighed and sat down on the couch, looking at neither of them.

“I don't know whether my future includes Fuu or not,” he said quietly, “but she's beginning university this fall and will arrive in Okinawa in two weeks, so I'll be faced with the decision soon enough, I suppose.”

“Maybe sooner,” Mugen informed him. “She wants to move into your place before the dorms open. That's what she was calling about.”

“Impossible!” Jin decided without hesitation and the knife in Mugen's gut stopped twisting, although it was still stuck in there. He watched Jin consider for a few moments, then stride over to the phone and punch in a number he knew by heart.

“Hello, Fuu,” Jin said. He listened for a stretch of time and then, “No, himawari, it cannot be. I'll pay for a hotel if you want to come early. You can tell Auntie Mai you're staying here and I'll be glad to cover for you, but that's the best I can do. I'm sorry.”

Another long pause ensued and Jin's face looked pained. “You cannot stay here, hime, it's impossible. But there's a nice B & B near campus I know of, so go ahead and confirm your plane reservations and I'll call you tomorrow morning to work everything out.”

Once more they could hear the voice on the line continuing on, but the tone of Jin's was final, “No Fuu. I'm sorry. I'll call you tomorrow. Goodbye.” He hung up the phone and turned to Mugen, saying, “Excuse me a moment,” and took off into the kitchen.

“I'm outta here,” Yuki declared once he was gone. “He's so pissed at me, I'll just put a damper on things.”

“He's pissed at you?”

“He won't even look at me,” Yuki observed. “Why do you think he left the room? He's pissed alright.” He gave Mugen a rueful smile. “I don't suppose I can talk you into coming with me.”

Mugen shook his head. “I gotta find out what the hell's going on here.”

Yuki stood up. “I didn't think so. But if you learn anything interesting, do tell.”

He was about to leave when Mugen called, “Hey! C'mere.”

Jin returned to find them kissing in the middle of the room and sat down in a chair without comment. When they finished, Yuki eyed him one last time to make sure he was still being ignored—he was—and walked out. Mugen waited until he heard the front door shut before plopping on the couch. “Talk,” he demanded.

“What do you want to know?” Jin replied.

“I never figured you were the type to go for women,” Mugen said, “although I don't know why.”

“The only person I ever thought I was in love with was a woman.”

“This woman?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Mugen's heart sank into his stomach with a tangible thud. There were others? Shit! “Well...what's up with this one?”

Jin sighed wearily. “It would take hours to explain and there are other things I would prefer to do this evening.”

“Gimme the executive summary, then.” Mugen was so far from horny, he knew he was going to need hear the right combination of words before anything stirred below his belt. He wasn't sure what they were, he only knew that if he didn't hear them, nothing would happen tonight.

“Seizou Fuu is the only child of my parents' dearest friends,” Jin began, looking at the wall, not him. “We were betrothed on the day she was born, although it was never formally announced. Both our parents are gone now and her mother's family is not pursuing the suit, so there is no legal reason I must marry her.

“I've known her practically my entire life and I love her, but I've never been in love with her. She's had a crush on me since she was a baby, however, and understands me well. We became lovers last summer because she asked me and I was curious...she's very sweet and I am fond of her...oh, I don't know.” He sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses.

“I'm the last of my particular line of Takedas, a very ancient, aristocratic samurai family, blah, blah, blah, and I cannot decide whether I owe my ancestors children or not. On strong days I'm proud of who I am, including my sexual leanings, and tell myself it's all bullshit. But on the days I'm feeling ashamed of myself, I wonder whether I should hide in a relationship with her, play house, and pretend I'm not the homosexual deviant I am. Does that make sense?”

It did. Mugen had struggled with such issues himself, so it sure as hell did. He felt such relief, he laughed out loud, which caused Jin to glance at him sharply. “Oh, I get it,” Mugen assured him. “I been there. Not about continuing the aristocratic family line...” He snorted. “...but about playing house...shit, I did it for years.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“Hmmm.”

Mugen's heart had softened and another part was hardening, but one final matter needed to be addressed. “So, you gonna start screwing her again once she shows up?”

“No,” Jin assured him. “It was wrong to do it in the first place.”

“OK.” Mugen stood up. “Screw me, then.”

Jin looked incredulous. “Are you sure?”

Mugen gifted him with a smoky smile and headed toward the bedroom. “You better get your ass in here,” he yelled from the hallway, “before I change my mind about who's on the bottom.”

The feet behind him stepped to it.


------------------------------


Jin's deep dark secret was out and Mugen seemed unfazed. It was amazing. Jin hadn't realized what a weight the worry about Fuu had been until the loss of it made him feel lighthearted and almost lightheaded.

“I like your bed,” Mugen exclaimed, stripping off and diving in.

“I like you in it,” Jin's replied, joining him.

“It's a pillow orgy. Why do you have so many?”

“I live in this room, so I prefer it comfortable.”

“But there's no TV in here!” Jin chuckled. “You really don't watch TV? You don't have a gaming system?”

“No, I don't.”

“What the hell do you do in here then?”

“I work, or read, or listen to music.”

“You're weird,” came the muffled voice.

Jin smiled at his lover, who had buried his head under the pile of pillows Jin liked to lean against at the foot of the bed, leaving his most luscious part available for view. Jin's reached out to pet the alluring ass without even thinking. “You don't seem to like pillows,” he observed. “You never sleep with one.”

Mugen shrugged. “Mine was always getting stolen by the bigger guys where I grew up, so I guess I got used to sleeping without one.”

Jin's heart lurched. “Stolen, Mugen? Where did you grow up?”

“Two different group homes,” came the voice from under the pillow. “My ma disappeared when I was six and the social workers hunted me down a week or so later cuz I wasn't in school. They stuck me in one place till I was twelve, and another one...um...till I landed in prison.”

Jin didn't stop caressing the delicious backside. “Tell me about your mother.”

“Nothing to tell,” Mugen replied. “She was kinda schizo, real nice sometimes, horrible other times. Maybe it was cuz she drank at night. You wanna know her last words to me?”

“Yes.”

“Goddammit!” he yelled in a falsetto voice. “Bring those back, you fuckin' brat!”

Raising himself on one elbow, smirking, he pointed to his earring. “I liked to play marbles with 'em,” he explained, lowering his head again. “She never came home that night to beat 'em outta me. I still had 'em in my pocket when they came to take me away. All I have left from that life is ma's earrings and Nose.”

“Nose?” Jin puzzled. “Oh, your elephant.”

The poignancy of Mugen's story touched Jin's heart, but his ass was the most arousing thing he had ever gazed upon and took precidence, so he shifted his position to gain better access. Kneeling between Mugen's legs, he placed one palm on each cheek and caressed upward, running his thumbs along the seam. Cupping, weighing, squeezing...Jin fondled each luscious mound, noting how hard it was to keep his mind on the sad tale when other thoughts, shocking thoughts, loomed.

“I thought your elephant might go back that far,” he said. “It seems fitting that you came away with something of yours and something of hers. But Mugen, there's something I must ask. May I hit you?”

“Huh!?!”

“Your ass,” Jin explained. “If it was just a bit pink it would be absolute perfection. Let me spank you.”

“No way!”

“Just once...er...twice. One on each side.”

“What the fuck!” Mugen looked over his shoulder to peer at his lover. “That's your response to the heartbreaking story of my long lost mother?”

“I'm sorry, but your ass is too distracting.” Jin's petting had not ceased, but now he removed his hands to survey the alluring territory. He looked Mugen in the eye, and noted, “It's really quite perfect, but I'm itching to redden it. Allow me.”

Mugen shuddered inwardly as Jin's last words thundered in his gut. Curious about his odd mood, Mugen lowered his head to the mattress and acquiesced. “OK, go on.”

He hissed as the stinging slaps landed, but was soon sighing as Jin attended to the abused flesh with warm licks and caresses, lifting the tawny body to its knees to gain better access. Parting the now-pink cheeks with his thumbs, he began at Mugen's balls and slurped upward, nipping at the top of his crack. “Better now?” he asked huskily, before wandering back down to the quivering opening and snaking inside.

“Damn!” Mugen gasped and squirmed, it was most gratifying. “You can hit me all you want if you're gonna do that after.”

“Relax and I can do more.”

“I know, I know, it's just too good. Wait...OK...ahhhhh, man....”

Feeling grateful and generous, Jin loved up Mugen's back entrance, finding it just as responsive, just as eager as the mouth he generally preferred to kiss. He began lightly, butterfly touches barely there, reveling in the moans escaping from his lover's lips. And then more demanding, swirling, nipping, thrusting his tongue deep as Mugen gasped. He knew the language well by that point, what Mugen wanted when he relaxed and opened, and what was necessary when he clenched and the way was barred. So focused on his work, he was almost in meditative space when the voice startled him.

“Don't get me wrong, I ain't complaining, but you seem strange tonight.”

Jin raised his head, needing a second to think. “I'm happy,” he decided. “I didn't know what to tell you about Fuu-chan and I didn't realize how much I'd come to fear your finding out until you found out. I'm relieved you don't care.”

“Um...you can go back to what you were doing...if you want...but why should I care? Kohza's been in my life my whole life, pretty much. Womens be impossible to escape in this world.”

Jin chuckled and reached in the nightstand drawer for some lube. “Yes, that does appear to be the case,” he agreed. “I'd like to do this now, all right?”

“Mmmm, yeah, fuck me.”

“Fingers first.” Jin slid two inside and fluttered them against the sensitive gland buried there, just to watch Mugen writhe. Head still under a pillow, the magnificent, panther-like body danced to his tune and it was beautiful to witness. Pushing back against his hand, begging with eloquent body language to give him more, Jin finally obliged. Kneeling behind, he replaced his fingers with himself and the ready flesh accepted him greedily.

“Gimme all of it, K?” Mugen begged.

Jin pushed forward slowly as Mugen sighed, arching his back and stretching his arms out, hands flexed open. Being inside Mugen was very, very good. Jin was having trouble managing all the sensations and didn't want to shut them out, even if it meant he wouldn't last long. The sweet rhythm was pulling him along and then suddenly...lurch! The motion ahead of him stopped and his body flopped over Mugen's back, startling him out of his erotic dream.

“What's this?” Mugen asked, arising from beneath the pillows with his hands on something stashed behind the bed. Jin's heart froze. His sketchbook! “Hey, is that me?!?”

Shit!

to be continued