dramatically inclined?

15 minute fic: word #59

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:01:29 GMT

The word was bear, but this has nothing to do with bears. In fact, the word of the day should have been "chemistry".

Bear.

A simple game of footsie under the table almost turned into a violent chemical reaction.

Of sorts.

Their teacher mumbled something or another about the differences between covalent bonds and metallic bonds and whatever bonds, but the only bonds Julian and Drew could think of were bonds of flesh and fluid.

Only two more minutes were left of the last period of the day, and each student sat at the edge of his seat, waiting for the flat cry of the bell that signaled the end of the school day and the start of a two-day respite. The hands of the clock would not move fast enough, and each second stretched on and on, with its dying breath pulling apart time until it stretched like taffy—longer and longer and longer, never ending. Drew could feel Julian's warm foot, freed from its shoe, traveling up his body, settling between his legs where it rubbed gently against him.

He bit his lip, staring at Julian with utter contempt, his pants growing tighter the faster Julian's toes stroked against him. He could see Julian wear a haughty smile; his tongue moistened his lips seductively.

One minute.

Drew's eyes shot towards the clock, disappointed to see that there was only one minute to go. He through his head back, staring at the ceiling, trying to place his thoughts on other things, like his to-do list for the weekend, but all he could think about was diving into bed with Julian underneath them, their bodies crowded together under the sheets as they pushed and pulled into each other, creating their own chemical reactions, trading their electrons between their bodies, and reaching their own state of equilibrium.

His head was throbbing, pulsating violently and he waited and waited and waited, ready to rip the room apart and bolt out the door if the bell didn't ring. Just as he was about to lose his last ounce of restraint, he heard the faithful bell blasting away its old tired voice at precisely three o'clock. Catching Julian's gaze and with a nod of acknowledgment, the two jolted out of the room before the teacher could finish his last sentence.

[Avatar: The Last Airbender] "Gray Areas" | Zuko and Sokka | G

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:47:01 GMT

Title: Gray Areas
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: neutral? (But it has Sokka and Zuko!)
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Rating: G
Challenge: White Lie
Disclaimer: Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, owned by Nickelodeon. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.
Notes: One of these days I will write a SokkaxZuko and not feel bad about it. Today is just not that day.

I've grown up with the notion that all 'bad guys' were bad.

And I still believe that way.

But meeting him, oh boy, after meeting him the truth slowly turns into a lie.

I've grown up hating the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation took away my mother. The Fire Nation sent my father to the battle lines. The Fire Nation robbed my sister's childhood, my childhood, forced us to leap into adulthood without a second glance.

Katara became the mother. I became the warrior.

Though sometimes at night, when we think no one can see us or hear us, we cry silently to ourselves, we silently hate the Fire Nation wishing that it didn't have to be this way.

I've faced him once before, the scarred Prince with fire in his eyes. I hated him then, but not so much now. I threw my boomerang at him, watching as he ducked with ease and sent a flare of flames in my direction. It kisses my skin with a burning sensation and I fall onto the hard ground.

'I'm finished,' I thought, 'I'm finished.'

He stood over me, his shadow fell heavily onto my body. His hot hands wring around my neck, pressing tight enough so that I can feel my violent heart beat pulsate between his fingers but loose enough for me to take in short staggering breaths.

He's going to kill me he's going to kill me he's going to kill me he's going to kill me—

Overhead I hear a gush of wind, the familiar scent of Appa flies toward me.

Zuko lets go, releases his deathly grip on my neck. I look into his eyes and see a fire, burning tiredly.

"This is a secret between you and me."

He kicked a cloud of dust into my face and disappeared into the high sun, almost as though he became absorbed into fire.

Aang lands Appa right next to me, Katara brings out her healing water, Toph tells me I look stupid lying there with dust in my face.

But I can't get up. For the first time in my life, I'm utterly confused.

Weren't all bad guys supposed to be ... bad?

[JE] | "Crepes for You and Me" | Taiyou x Shoon | PG

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 08:01:22 GMT

Title: Crepes for You and Me
Group: Ya-Ya-yah
Pairing: Taiyou x Shoon
Rating: PG (language)
Disclaimer: While it is possible Shoon and Taiyou have eaten crepes together, they might not have eaten crepes together. Welcome to the world of fanfiction!
Notes: I think I'm on a roll. *boogies*

Usually when they had to stay in a hotel room for a Ya-Ya-yah shooting, Shoon and Taiyou would be paired to a room.

Blame it on the OTP (or the fact that Yabu and Hikaru liked each other a bit too much), but the two of them were always stuck with each other.

That was how it was supposed to be.

But this time, Shoon's little brother came along.

Reon.

Taiyou didn't hate him, he couldn't hate the boy since he was related to Shoon. But with another person in the room, Taiyou felt like a third wheel.

Before it had always been Taiyou and Shoon. Taiyou and Shoon would walk to the convenience store together at one in the morning to buy a few packages of cold onigiri. Taiyou and Shoon would fight over which was better, soba or udon. Taiyou and Shoon would watch horror movies together, squeezing each other's hands underneath the blankets while denying that both of them were scared shitless by the girl crawling out of the well.

But now it was Taiyou and Shoon and Reon.

He couldn't hate the boy. It wasn't his fault that Shoon doted on him, being a big brother and all. The way Shoon would look over his shoulders every now and then to check up on Reon; the way Shoon would give Reon his last piece of tempura; the way Shoon would buy a box of Apollo candies while scolding Reon for having too many sweets; Shoon used to do that for Taiyou.

Taiyou sat on the balcony of the hotel room ,the northerly winds flew in swooshing his hair all over the place, chilling him to the bone. It was cold, mighty cold, but he didn't want to go inside.

He might ruin the brotherly moment between Reon and Shoon. He didn't want that. Sitting outside, watching as the moon rose higher, growing brighter amongst the stars, a wave of coldness rushed in as his fingers grew numb. He leaned against the sliding glass door, sighing, cold...

and he didn't know what to do with himself.

Suddenly the door opened from the inside and Taiyou fell backwards, his back hitting against the rail of the door and his head handed on someone's cushioned feet.

Looking up he saw a pair of solid black boxers and Shoon's perplexed face boring into his eyes.

"Uh, hi?"

Shoon gave his head a slight kick. "What are you sitting out there for? It's cold!"

"I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

Taiyou smiled weakly as he walked in, the warmth of the room kissing against his skin.

"Nothing."

"Anyway, you want some crepe? Reon bought me two boxes for my birthday."

Taiyou dove into his bed, burying his head underneath the bleach-scented pillows. He mumbled, "No thanks."

Shoon grabbed onto his legs and pulled Taiyou off of the bed, dropping him onto the floor with a loud thump. "You will eat crepe!"

"Ouch!" Taiyou hollered, rubbing his sore backside as Shoon shoved a box of crepe into his face. "Shouldn't you be eating this with Reon?"

"Reon went to the arcade with Yabu and Hikaru."

"Oh."

Shoon sat down next to him, handed him a plastic spoon covered in lint. "You know, we haven't done anything together all day."

"Yeah we did." Taiyou dug into his crepe, mixing the jellied fruits together with the whipped cream. "We went out to lunch, we did a segment for Ya-Ya-yah, we chased Yabu down after he tried to ditch us on the Shinkansen—"

"That's not what I meant," Shoon said between bites, "I mean we haven't done anything together, just the two of us."

"Oh." Taiyou smiled as he ate a spoonful of crepe. Then he noticed Shoon's black slacks lying crumpled on the floor, a receipt from Betty's Crepe peeking out of his pockets. "Hey, I thought you said Reon bought these crepes for your birthday! Why do you have the receipt—"

Shoon silenced him. "Shut up and eat your crepe."

[JE] | "Underneath the Mistletoe" | Taiyou x Shoon | PG

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 07:15:53 GMT

Title: Underneath the Mistletoe
Group: Ya-Ya-yah
Pairing: Taiyou x Shoon
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Um, hi, this is fanfiction! :D
Notes: This was supposed to be for that Shoon fanfiction contest but uh, whoops, I missed the deadline. D: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHOON~ You'd be an adult in the U.S.! :D

Yabu thought it would be funny to place a twig of mistletoe underneath the doorframe.

Hikaru thought it would be funny to make the two people standing underneath it to kiss.

Taiyou happened to be standing underneath the said doorframe.

Shoon happened to be standing there as well.

"Now the two of you have to kiss." Hikaru smirked, pointing above at the wilting twig, its leaves browning around the edges.

"Taiyou is a boy." Shoon stated, hoping that Hikaru would notice the obvious and stop heckling him to kiss Taiyou.

"So? You still have to kiss."

From the corner, coming in with glass of milk and plateful of cookies, Yabu snickered.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Shoon stared at Hikaru who was staring at Taiyou who was eyeing Yabu's plateful of cookies. It wasn't that he didn't want to kiss Taiyou (it happened once or twice before, purely by accident, mind you), Shoon didn't want to do it in front of them, Hikaru and Yabu, the two conspiring con-artists who probably wanted them to kiss so they could take a picture of it and sell it on Ebay for hundreds (if not at least ten) dollars.

"I'm not going to kiss him." Shoon's shoulder's brushed against Taiyou's ever so slightly as he walked right past him and headed up the stairs and into his room.

And that was the end of that.

Or so he thought.

He could hear Yabu groan at a missed opportunity to make money and Hikaru curse since his plan failed, but he didn't hear Taiyou's loud footsteps thumping up the stairs.

He did, however, notice Taiyou bursting into his room, the door slammed into his wall making a noticeable dent.

"Are you saying that I'm a horrible kisser? Is that it?" Taiyou heaved, flustered and red all over.

"No, I didn't say anything like that."

"Then how come you didn't want a kiss?"

"Because those two were there."

Shoon picked up a random magazine, aimlessly flipping through it's pages, waiting for Taiyou to leave.

But he didn't.

"They're not here now, right?"

Obviously Taiyou didn't intend on leaving any time soon. "Why would you want a kiss from me? Wouldn't you rather save it for someone pretty like Satomi Ishihara or Kame's girlfriend—"

"Kame has a girlfriend?" Taiyou shouted.

"No, he doesn't! At least, I don't think he does... but what I'm saying is wouldn't you rather be kissed by a girl? Unless you swing—"

"No, I don't swing, I'm standing still. I think you're lying. The only reason why you didn't want to kiss me down there even though tradition demands it—"

"What tradition? That isn't a Japanese custom!" Shoon shot back.

"The only reason why you didn't kiss me is because you think I'm a horrible kisser!" Taiyou shouted even louder, running over Shoon with his words.

Shoon threw his arms up in defeat and fell back into his bed. When arguing with Taiyou, there was no winning. The boy always talked over his opponents.

When he opened his eyes (after twenty seconds of squinting his eyes shut, hoping Taiyou would go away), Taiyou's face was hovering over him, a blank expression drawn on his face.

"Let me kiss you."

"No." Shoon did not want to kiss Taiyou again, it would invoke too many strange feelings, and from deep inside his bones he knew that Yabu and Hikaru had a camera rigged somewhere, waiting for that very moment.

"One kiss. I'll stop harassing you afterward."

"... fine."

After making sure the door was shut, closing and opening it several times, and checking the room to make sure there were no cameras or microphones, Shoon sat down on his bed, his back pressed firmly against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Get it over with."

At first, he couldn't feel anything. He was tempted to open his eyes, but the thought of seeing Taiyou's face zooming in (seeing his eyebrows up close, the slight crook of his nose, the freckles on his cheek) was so frightening, he kept his eyes shut.

Then there it was!

Faint at first, the feel of Taiyou's warm smooth lips slowly pressed over his. Shoon had expected him to pull away after two seconds of contact, leaving him alone at last, but his lips stayed there, firmly against his before a sly tongue crept in.

Shoon jumped, shocked, scared, nervous at the same time as Taiyou gently bit his lip, teasing him and licking him, dragging him into a deep French kiss that lasted a few mere seconds but seem to have taken forever.

When he pulled away and wiped a thin trail of saliva from his lips, Shoon stared with wide-eyes, his chest pumping hard from the dizzying experience.

"I told you I wasn't a bad kisser." Taiyou took a cookie from his pocket and began eating it, crumbs falling into Shoon's bed sheets.

"But you never told me you could do that either."

And somewhere downstairs, Yabu and Hikaru were still whining over a missed opportunity.

[The Demon Ororon] | Sprawled | Mitsume x Othello | R

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 08:39:13 GMT

Title: Sprawled
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: Othello x Mitsume
Series: The Demon Ororon
Rating: R
Challenge: body language
Disclaimer: By Mizuki Hakase. (though if it were up to me, Othello and Mitsume would have gotten together on page one.)
Notes: Ahaha, I'm tired. Didn't execute this too well.

A quick shift of the eyes and Othello notices with a gleeful grin that Mitsume is sitting with his legs wide open. A tempting invitation from a character who yields to no one.

His eyes run over that disfigured body, tracing the thin layers of spider-like scars that run like train tracks on Mitsume's shoulders, the stump of his arm, and his torso. Then, taking a gamble, and betting his pride, Othello looks into Mitsume's drunken eyes.

Those eyes were dull and blank, a glossy film running over them and it's as though Mitsume had given up, unable to fight against the Othello, the world, or his lot in life. The way he was sitting with his back slumped against the walls and his legs sprawled like a rag-doll's, suggested lifelessness, but his shallow breathing gave it all away. Watching Mitsume's crumpled body made Othello gulp, his body growing tighter.

Mitsume moves like a puppet when he raises his arm, and Othello swears someone is controlling Mitsume from afar. With a slender finger and an dream-like gaze, the bounty hunter beckons Othello over. His tongue runs over his lips ever so slightly and Othello returns the request. For once Mitsume has given in, submitted to Othello's attractiveness. Maybe Mitsume has even fallen in love with the fifth prince.

One leg swaggers over the other, and Othello lowers himself ever so slightly until he touches Mitsume's lips with his own vodka stained mouth.

Everything tastes like alcohol to him, even the sweat on Mitsume's skin, everything doused with coat of bittersweetness.

His lips tremble down to Mitsume's hand, his hands claw through the tough fabric of Mitsume's denim, tearing the buttons away from their holes. The bounty hunter doesn't protest, his body limp as he moves wherever Othello guides him.

Ever so gently Othello kisses it, the soldier standing tall. His tongue plays a game of cat and mouse against the skin, touching it gently, touching it firmly, falling into a rhythmic pattern back and forth.

Then out of nowhere a sharp pain comes tears into his skin and he could smell the pungent scent of blood. Othello knows it's his own, he could feel it soaking through his clothes, seeping out of his skin. He hears Mitsume's deep laugher rumbling throughout his body. Mitsume's back becomes erect as he straightens himself out, plunging the sword deeper into Othello's back.

"You damn bastard." Othello hisses as Mitsume stands. He at Othello with cold eyes.

What was before limp, submissive, a body so inviting, now towered over the prince like a conqueror, glaring at him with harsh eyes. Mitsume smiles, nods a bit then walks out the door, taking long confident strides.

Othello is left crumpled on the ground, a sword still embedded into his back, but an even bigger wound to his spirit.

Sometimes (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #7; Make-believe; fantasy

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:24:04 GMT

Title: Sometimes
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme # 7. Make-believe; Fantasy
Disclaimer: Dear Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones, I made Cal dream!

There were days when Calcifer liked to believe that he was not trapped in a cramped, tiny fireplace. On those days, Calcifer would imagine that he floated in the sky, like a fiery blaze illuminating the dark velvet of night, shining brighter than any of the stars. Or he could reside amongst the clouds, cracking down in a single heartbeat as he raised terror onto earth in the form of lightening. Coupled with the loud roar of thunder, for a second Calcifer could be the almighty hand of God that struck down onto the defenseless earth below.

He fancied the thought of power, even if it were to last a few seconds.

Calcifer could also see himself as a candlelight’s flame. Though he’d be small in comparison to a wildfire, at least he’d have his freedom: freedom to light up as bright as he wanted to, freedom to sway dangerously in the wind, freedom to extinguish at his own desire. Anything to beat the captivity he lived in now.

At times Calcifer liked to dream, but all dreams eventually come to an abrupt end.

“Calcifer, where’s my hot water? I asked you twenty seconds ago!”

His eyes reluctantly opened, and with a fiery hiss, Calcifer steamed in full force to heat the water Howl requested for.

Questions to Ask, Lies to Spew (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #10

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:21:13 GMT

Title: Questions to Ask, Lies to Spew
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme # 10. Lie Detector; Truth Serum
Disclaimer: Dear Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones, I made Cal fly!

For some reason Calcifer was able to float in the air. Howl noticed this when the flame hooevered over him, apparently outside of his stove area.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could fly, Cal? That would have saved me a lot of trouble during our moves.”

Calcifer merely stared at Howl, his round eyes inflicting a deep glare.

The wizard began to feel a little nervous, sweat gathered at his temples before dripping down onto the corner of his jawline. Why was Calcifer staring at him like that? It was then that Howl realized his flaming companion had not said a word, not even a striking remark about how vain Howl was. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

All he did was float midair and stare like a penetrating beam.

Suddenly Calcifer sprouted arms, his fiery limbs grew into the shape of human limbs. Then grabbing a purple serum by the table, the demon jammed the needle into Howl’s arm, digging into his flesh until the tip pierced into his veins, injecting a strange dark substance into his body.

Howl’s eyes widened. “What are you doing, Calcifer!” He shouted as his free arm grabbed Calcifer’s hand and pulled the needle out. His fingers burned when he grabbed onto the flame, his skin bubbled from the tremendous heat.

Calcifer merely chuckled. Then in a booming voice, he shouted.

“Howl, why do you keep me locked up in downstairs? Why do I have to do your bidding? Do you really care about me? Why did you offer me your heart?”

Lies, that’s what Howl had intented to answer with. After all, if Calcifer knew the truth, just might ruin the relationship between the two of them.

Notes? These were sitting on my HD for about a month. :P

[real people slash] | Like This | Saito x Aoyagi | G

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:51:07 GMT

Title: Like This
Author: modestly_not
Rating: G, cute and cuddly. Maybe.
Word Count: 247
Disclaimer: Dear Saitoh Takumi, Dear Aoyagi Ruito, if we ever meet in real life (which is highly unlikely), please don't kill me for writing fanfiction about you two. X___X
Notes: Kissy-faces are awesome. ~~Especially if it’s Saitoh’s.~~ Please excuse the Lolita reference. THIS IS SO FLUFF, OMG.

Kissing is a work of art, only most people dismiss it as an artistic expression of love.

Saitoh hated sloppy kisses, where the other person tries to devour your lips and their plaque-blazed teeth bite furiously into your flesh, drawing blood like a determined leech. Scraping against the receiver’s mouth was also a big turn off for him; he did not like the kisses that most teenagers indulged in, the showy type where tongues battled to game dominance or to put on a show for audiences.

Kisses were intimate, meant to be shared by two people and two people only.

Kisses had to have the precise amount of contact, a certain element of something special to make it a real good one.

Most kisses did not fit Saitoh’s picky requirements.

However, this kiss was just right.

Ruito pressed his lips lightly against Saitoh’s and held it there just long enough for the man to catch a faint wisp of Ruito’s boyish smell. Warmth tingled against his lips, spreading from his face to his body, to his fingertips and down toward his toes, making his heart race in excitement.

Never once did he think that a young boy could make him feel like this, like he was floating amongst the clouds.

The boy smiled into the kiss before pulling away, leaving a trace of happiness lingering on Saitoh’s lips.

If Lolita made Humbert Humbert feel this way, Saitoh couldn’t blame the man for falling in love with her.

[real people slash] | Do What the Adults Do | Saito x Aoyagi | PG13

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:28:05 GMT

Title: Do What the Adults Do
Author: modestly_not
Rating: PG13 (underaged drinking, but hey, still work-safe!)
Word Count: 2,046
Disclaimer: Dear Saitoh Takumi, Dear Aoyagi Ruito, if we ever meet in real life (which is highly unlikely), please don't kill me for writing fanfiction about you two. X___X
Notes: It went from serious to ... not-so-serious. :D

Ruito could only remember two instances when Takumi was angry with him.

The first had been when Ruito had forgotten that he was supposed to meet Takumi at the movie theaters to catch the opening of the Prince of Tennis live-action movie. It wasn’t as if he had chosen to forget, quite the opposite really. Ruito had stayed up late the night before, cramming every last formula that he might need for his math exam early in the morning. And when he had returned home, drained from crunching numbers and memorizing useless formulas, he immediately crashed onto his bed and didn’t get up until two in the morning.

By that time, the movie was over, the theater had even closed when Ruito remembered about meeting Takumi.

Though he was mad, Takumi didn’t stay that way for long, especially once Ruito offered to pick up his dry cleaning for the next week.

The second instance was a little more serious. It was one of those days where Ruito wasn’t feeling so great, worrying obsessively over his insecurities, namely his age. He wondered whether Takumi was trying to humor him. After all, the man was older than him by nine years and had sophisticated tastes such as traveling and learning about world cultures. Why would he be interested in a 16 year-old boy like Ruito who’s biggest concern was “what’s for dinner tonight”?

He had been walking down the street, heading towards the convenience store for a bottle of milk his mother had requested. And while he stood in the long line, waiting for the cashier to ring up his items and take his money, Ruito overheard a gaggle of teenage girls talking.

The girls were rather ordinary, wearing the black cotton uniforms of the nearby high school and there certainly wasn’t anything special about them. These girls had long dark hair, pimples on their faces, that annoying “princess” style laugh which included them half-heartedly placing their hands over their lips.

Ruito wasn‘t interested in them, but he was interested in their conversation.

“I would so tap that guy who plays Arisada in Princess Princess D.” The tall one snorted.

“Oh man, he’s like, hot.” Shouted a short girl standing next to the tall one. “I wonder what he’d be like in bed. What’s his name again?”

A girl with pig-tails excitedly raised her hand in the air, giggling madly. “His name is Saito Takumi! I’d tap that too. I bet you he likes a chick who can hold her liquor.”

Suddenly the group of girls grew quiet, a slight murmur of agreement before they went ahead and paid for their items.

Thoughts ran through Ruito’s head, his mind swirling. He didn’t know that Takumi had preferred girls, much less those type of girls. And a girl, Ruito was not. But he could work on the drinking part.

When he arrived home, Ruito hurriedly took off his shoes and without even bothering to take the carton of milk out of the plastic bag, he dumped it into the refrigerator and started raiding the pantries, looking through the cabinets in search of liquor.

Maybe, he thought, maybe if I can prove that I’m able to hold down some liquor, Takumi will actually like me instead of pretending to like me.

Opening the can of beer, Ruito’s face cringed as he smelled the sour scent of alcohol. He had never taken a sip of wine, or beer, and he absolutely loathed the smell, but it if meant getting what he wanted, then he’d have to take a sip. No, make that more than a sip, make that six cans.

When the bitter taste washed along his tongue, the boy nearly gagged as he forced himself to swallow it. The liquid burned and tasted like rotting apples, he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to drink something so vile, something that looked like it belonged in a toilet rather than in a can.

Once he regained part of his composure, Ruito gulped the rest of the can, emptying it to the very last drop before he started on another can.

And another.

He had finished the third can when his head started to throbbed painfully. Not only did his stomach feel like it was going to implode and spread his guts all over the kitchen floor, but the taste of beer had infiltrated his nose, making everything smell of alcohol. His vision grew blurry, everything became distorted and fuzzy, like his eyes were turned into cotton ball. He reached for the next can, only to have his hand slam against the tile of his kitchen floor.

Great, he only held down three cans. Didn’t the girls say that Takumi liked a person who could hold down four cans of beer? Or was it six?

The door opened then, but Ruito wasn’t aware of it. Nor was he aware of the yellow vomit spewing out of his mouth. Warm chunks of rice and pieces of his breakfast splattered onto the floor as Ruito coughed and gagged. He didn’t notice a pair of hands wrapping around his waist, dragging him like a piece of lumber to the bathroom.

He was placed into the bathroom; someone was tugging on his shirt; suddenly there was the sound of rushing water; he felt wet; he leaned his back onto the bathtub and before he closed his eyes, he thought he saw Takumi’s worried face...

Ruito’s eyes shot wide open, the pang in the back of his head felt like an earthquake that was quickly spreading to all the other parts of his body: his chest, his arms, his legs, his stomach...

His stomach felt the worst, like someone had punched him multiple times then tied his intestines into a knot.

When his eyes finally focused, Ruito saw Takumi walk into the bathroom with a mop in one hand and a bucket in another. The tall man was wearing denim jeans that clung loosely to his legs, form-fitting but not too tight, and his shirt was embraced with special prints; the outfit looked like the type of clothes Takumi would wear on outings, like to see a movie or to a date.

“You’re awake! How do you feel?”

“Not to good.” Ruito mumbled. He rubbed his eyes but cringed when he noticed the foul smell from his hands.

“You don’t feel like throwing up anymore, do you?” Takumi asked as he washed his hands in the bathroom sink.

“Nope...”

“Good.” Takumi dried his hands then turned to face Ruito. “Good because I feel like I’m about to kill you right about now! How can you do such a stupid thing? I come over to your house, expecting to pick you up and go see the Prince of Tennis movie together, and instead I find that your front door was left wide open and you’re on the kitchen floor vomiting after drinking three cans of beer! What made you do such a stupid thing!” He shouted, his hands wrung around the towel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“I thought that it’d be a grown-up thing to do...”

“Are you stupid? Alcohol has nothing to do with being grown up!” He threw a towel to Ruito, who still lay feeble in the bathtub, then walked out of the room. “I hope that you’re well enough to get out of the bathroom yourself! Hopefully your mother won’t notice your hangover!”

Ruito winced as he heard the threatening sound of the front door slamming shut. Slowly climbing out of the bathtub, he wobbled his way into his room, clinging onto his bed sheet (despite the distinct smell of vomit filling his nostrils) and slept, feeling rather unaccomplished and angry at himself to believe a bunch of gossiping high school girls.

The next day Ruito had worked up enough courage to head over to Takumi’s apartment. The two of them still didn’t get to go to the movies, the first time being because Ruito forgot about it and the second chance was ruined because of Ruito’s experimentation with beer.

In fact, it seemed like Ruito ruined all his chances of seeing the movie with Takumi.

Sighing, Ruito stood in front of Takumi’s apartment, his intense stare focusing on the kanji that made up Takumi’s last name. He wondered whether or not he should ring the doorbell and apologize, or whether it would be wise to just turn around and go home.

Just as he was about to head back home, the door opened and Takumi walked out, dressed in clothes picked specifically for an outing.

“You’re here.” He shot Ruito a cold stare that stabbed the boy in the head, leaving him frightened.

“Hi Takumi, about yesterday...”

“How’s your head?” He asked, in the same cold manner as his greeting.

“Better than yesterday, anyway--”

Takumi ushered Ruito inside, pushing him forcibly into the living room, leaving Ruito no chance to take off his shoes as Takumi shoved him onto his couch.

“I’m sorry! What’s with you today?” Ruito shouted. His hands went to his face, in a defensive position just in case Takumi decided to hit him on the side of the head.

“You worried me a lot yesterday, did you know that? Scared the living daylights out of me! What were you thinking?” Takumi’s normally smooth, deep voice was enraged, shouting almost uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry! It’s just that I heard that you liked girls who could hold their liquor and I really like you but I’m not a girl and so I thought that maybe if I could drink a lot of beer maybe you’d like me back or treat me seriously!” Ruito’s explanation went at a rate of eighty miles per hour and when he was done, he curled into the corner of the couch, his back facing Takumi, ashamed to even look at the man in the face.

“What are you talking about? Of course I’m taking you seriously!” Takumi sighed as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

“You’re just saying that to get me to shut up. Why would you want to spend time with an awkward 16 year old? You’re nine years older than me,” Ruito’s lips began to quiver and he felt tears pouring down the corner of his eyes, “and you love traveling and world cultures and why would you be interested being friends with a kid like me?”

He choked back a sob and burrowed even deeper into the couch.

Takumi reached over to Ruito’s end of the couch, pulled the boy away from the corner and gave him a big hug, his arms wrapping around the boy’s crooked form and his head nuzzling against his warm back which shook every now and then from a sob.

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. A grown man hugging a teenage boy who was on the verge of bawling his eyes out. If Kazuki were to see him now, he (and the rest of the Hyotei guys) might point and laugh. Takumi had to remind himself that he was in the safety of his own home.

“I like you. Stop crying.”

Great, what a manly way to calm down a boy! Takumi mentally punched himself in the gut for not being a little more wordy and precise.

“You... do?” Ruito choked in between sobs.

“Yeah.”

Unexpectedly, Ruito turned around and gave Takumi a messy kiss on the lips, his boyish arms entangled themselves around Takumi’s neck and the two plopped onto the couch from the force of Ruito’s sudden move.

Takumi’s panic senses went haywire. For one thing, Ruito’s “like” was obviously different from Takumi’s “like”. Then there was the issue of Ruito kissing him, sliding his tongue into Takumi’s mouth (where did the boy learn to kiss like that?). Wasn’t this illegal? Ruito was 16, this had to be against the law. Couldn’t he get jailed for this?

Once again Takumi had to remind himself that he was at home, where it was (hopefully) safe. And as much as he wanted to shove Ruito off and explain to him what he meant by “like”, Takumi couldn’t bear the thought of having to deal with Ruito crying again.

Not to mention that he was starting to like this.

Strange Things Are Happening (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #22; silence

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:23:51 GMT

Title: Strangs Things Are Happening
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme # 22; silence
Disclaimer: Dear Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones, I think I made Howl stupid. And ten times more vain than he already is. D:

There was something that Howl wasn’t telling him.

Usually Calcifer would have cared less what secrets Howl had. Human affairs were so overly dramatic, to the point where it came predictable. But there as something about Howl’s behavior today that struck Calcifer as odd. In the 8+ years that Calcifer has been with Howl, there hasn’t been a time where Howl spent less than an hour in the bath.

And today the wizard spent a mere ten minutes.

“What’s going on Howl? You’re out an hour fifty minutes earlier than you usually are.”

Howl bustled along, dodging past the tables and the piles of dirty dishes, nearly tripping over Markl who was lying on the floor, trying to figure out the latest spell Howl had assigned to him.

“Howl?”

Calcifer was answered with a loud door slam and the sound of the portals changing.

Both Calcifer and Markl stared at the door in surprise.

[real people slash] | Lie to Children | Saito x Aoyagi | G

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:31:09 GMT

Title: Lie to Children
Author: modestly_not
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Dear Saitoh Takumi, Dear Aoyagi Ruito, if we ever meet in real life (which is highly unlikely), please don't kill me for writing fanfiction about you two. X___X
Notes: Angst, because the SaiRui pairing is just dripping with it.

He had told Aoyagi that love doesn’t count miles.

While it had seemed comforting then, after a while the boy started to realize that it was a lie, probably meant to keep him from turning into a pile of tears and snot at the airport. Leaving again. In all honestly, Aoyagi should have been used to it now, Saito’s comings and goings. The man loved to travel, he loved to explore new places, new cultures, he loved the world and what possibilities it held for him, and deep down in his heart, Aoyagi had hoped that maybe, just maybe Saito loved him more than he loved the world.

But then the sixteen year-old boy would find himself at Narita Airport yet again, one smile away from bawling his eyes out from the pang of his broken heart.

“Come back soon, okay?” Aoyagi dodges Saito’s eyes, afraid that if he looked into those brown orbs, he would lose all sense of composure and break down again.

Saito’s lanky arms wrapped around Aoyagi’s boyish figure, swallowing him in a tight embrace as he muttered quiet goodbyes. “Don’t worry, even though we’ll be far away, I’ll still love you.”

“Yeah, okay.” And for a moment, Aoyagi lost himself in that embrace, forgetting for a brief second that for the next two years, Saito won’t be in Japan. He tries to pretend that the two of them are in Saito’s apartment, sitting on the bed, eating dinner to the sound of the mumuring tv as a soothing background. But his little illusion broke when Saito slowly pulled away to say goodbyes to everyone else.

Then he watches as Saito walks away, disappearing into the terminal and boarding a plane that would take him across the ocean, to places that Aoyagi had never heard about, much less thought of.

He reaches out, his hands reaching out for Saito, but it was too late. The man was already out of his reach.

In the car he cries. Kenken puts his arm over Aoyagi’s shoulders, giving him an awkward man-hug, just like he had done before, and just like how he’ll do in the future when Saito comes back only to leave again.

The sniffles soon gave way to sleep, but when Aoyagi rests his head on Kenken’s shoulder, he doesn’t dream of how tight he’ll embrace Saito when he returns from his trip abroad nor does he dream of how it’ll feel to kiss Saito’s warm lips again. Instead, the boy worries. He worries over many things, including how it will feel when he starts to forget Saito’s face.

[Ludwig Kakumei] | Midnight Fairytale | Ludwig x Wilhelm | PG13

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 05:32:53 GMT

Title: Midnight Fairytale
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: Prince Lui x Wilhelm
Series: Ludwig Kakumei
Rating: PG13
Challenge: Lies
Disclaimer: Series by Kaori Yuki.
Notes: It's been a while since I've seen this pairing around.

The way Prince Ludwig acted was strange to Wilhelm. Even though Wilhelm had been in Prince Lui’s service since the time he was able to walk, never once did the prince treat him with such kindness, nor has he ever been touched with such gentle fingertips.

Prince Ludwig, though he was of royal lineage, was brash, vulgar in the mouth, and reckless. The only time he even resembled the Prince Charming stereotype was when he was courting a beautiful princess and even that was cruel for he never sought for more than a one-night-stand.

Wilhelm holds on to the firm door for support, in case his legs decide to fail him and send him tumbling into a melted state. Prince Lui’s hands wrapped around his waist, his lips whispering sweet nothings as his hips grinded into Wilhelm’s body, his hard erection rubbing against the fabric of Wilhelm’s pants.

“Prince Ludwig, what are you doing?” Wilhelm pants, his hands pushing against Ludwig’s firm chest, trying to escape him.

“Wilhelm, I’ve always loved you, don’t you love me? Or are my feelings unreturned?” Ludwig began a long series of kisses that trailed up and down Wilhelm’s neck, leaving him feeling hot and bothered whenever Ludwig’s lips met his burning skin. It felt lovely to have such warm kisses placed all over his body, but despite the pleasure, Wilhelm could smell a hint of alcohol masked under the prince’s flowery scent.

He sighed, unwilling to pull away from the tight embrace but if he didn’t put a stop to this now, his heart would be broken into tiny bits once morning arrives. “Yes Ludwig, I love you, very much.”

Kisses continued trailing up and down his neck, moving along the ridge of his jaw, tongue tracing the outer shell of his ear...

Closing his eyes, Wilhelm returned Prince Ludwig’s kiss, shutting away all the possible fears that had been bothering him moments before and Ludwig happily ran his hand down Wilhelm’s back, tracing the ridge of Wilhelm’s pelvis bone, leaving the servant trembling from each touch.

If it was only just a fantasy, then Wilhelm would like to hold on to it a little longer. He knew that once Ludwig woke up their roles would be reverted back to what they were before and instead of lovers, Ludwig would go back to being the prince and Wilhelm would go back to being the servant. But for a night, even if it was just for one measly night, Wilhelm wanted to believe the lie was true.

[fanfic] | [rps] | Saitoh x Ruito | 4000 Yen Escape | PG13

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 07:59:55 GMT

Title: 4000 Yen Escape
Author: modestly_not
Rating: PG-13? :D
Disclaimer: Dear Saitoh Takumi, Dear Aoyagi Ruito, if we ever meet in real life (which is highly unlikely), please don't kill me. X___X
Notes: Um. I watched Saitoh's "Calling" twice, had a rather obscene conversation with doramatikku once, and tried to write a SaiRui 3 times before I got this done. So it's a little choppy and I'm not too happy with it.

It... wasn’t supposed to be like this.

If Ruito had known that the door to the bathroom was unlocked, if he had known that Saitoh was going to be walking in on him, if he had known that he only had five minutes to put on his Hyotei costume, wig, and make-up, then he would have never popped in the DVD in the first place.

Life never worked out the way he wanted it to.

So there he was, sitting in the bathroom floor, the cold tiles making his butt numb as he watched the DVD movie unfold before his very eyes. It had arrived not more than a day ago, and because his body felt like a bag of bricks (with his legs and arms feeling sore, like someone hit him with a steel hammer), Ruito didn’t have a chance to watch it the night before. "Saitoh Takumi's 'Calling’", Ruito had spent well over 4,000 yen on this DVD, and his heart fluttered whenever he thought of watching it.

First the DVD started off like any other, the quiet hum of the background music played as the credits rolled onto the screen, its fancy font setting the atmosphere for the rest of the movie. The scenery in Thailand was so beautiful, Ruito felt jealous that senpai was allowed to spend a few days in that slice of paradise, with the lush green trees and the beautiful infinite sandy beaches.

His entire body shivered as he heard senpai’s voice, deep and rich like velvet, speak in English with such accuracy; he never knew that Saitoh knew English. And before he knew it, senpai was in a cozy hotel room, taking off his shirt, his pants, and lying around in the tiny bed in his black briefs. His legs smooth and slender; Ruito could imagine climbing between those legs, his hands sweeping over that body, being embraced by those delicate yet sturdy arms. In the bed with Saitoh, that’s where Ruito desperately wanted to be.

Even in the dark, Ruito felt embarrassed at how hard he felt. Quietly slipping his hands into his pants, he tried to get rid of the tight constriction he felt between his legs when in a blinding flash the lights to the bathroom came on. Quickly turning around, Ruito saw Saitoh open the door and walk in, one hand unzipping his pants as he was about to make his way towards the toilet.

Both of them froze.

Ruito saw Saitoh in his Hyotei costume, the colored wig covering parts of his face and the steel-framed glasses slipping from the bridge of his nose. He was surprised; Ruito could tell by the way Saitoh hastily zipped up his pants and quietly muttered an "excuse me".

Saitoh saw another scene, a rather obscene one: Ruito sitting on the tile floor, with one hand down his sweats and a mini DVD player in front of him, playing a movie that seem vaguely familiar.

"Hey, is that my DVD?"

Ruito blushed, turning into a red beet as he promptly took his hand out of his pants and snapped the screen of the DVD player shut, cursing loudly when he realized that his hand wasn’t as clean as he thought it was.

"Yes—um, I mean no! Why didn’t you knock?" Ruito huffed.

"It didn’t look like anyone was in here..." Saitoh shut the door, bolting the lock to "occupied" as he crept closer to Ruito. "That was my DVD, wasn’t it?"

"No it wasn’t," Ruito stammered; his eyes averted Saitoh’s firm gaze and focused on the green color of the tiles instead.

Grabbing Ruito’s sticky hand, Saitoh examined it closely, "Ahh, Rui, you made a mess."

"And whose fault is that?" Ruito hissed, breaking his hand away from Saitoh’s grip. His head was throbbing, the excitement, the embarrassment, the mass chaos of random thoughts colliding through his head. Saitoh’s lips were so close, so smooth, if only he could kiss it...

"Yours." Breaking the mood between the two, Saitoh walked over to the urinal and went about his business. "What were you thinking? We have dress rehearsal for our big show tomorrow and everyone is going nuts just looking for you."

Ruito washed his hands in the sink, mumbling to himself as he let the searing hot water run through his fingers, washing away the soap bubbles.

"Of course, I didn’t know you had bought my DVD. I’m quite embarrassed about it, actually." Saitoh laughed. Walking behind Ruito, he paused and brought his lips to Ruito’s ears, tickling him with his warm breath, "If I had known, I would have given it to you for free."

"Senpai! What are you saying!"

Saitoh laughed as he washed his hands. Flicking the excess water towards Ruito’s direction, he gave the younger boy a wink. "You’re so easy to tease. I won’t tell anyone about this little incident. Now hurry up before you miss rehearsal!"

Only after Saitoh had left did Ruito notice the water overflowing from the sink.

[JE] | “In Which Taiyou Swore He Saw a Clone” | Taiyou x Shoon | G

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 07:32:01 GMT

Title: In Which Taiyou Swore He Saw a Clone
Group: Ya-Ya-yah
Pairing: Taiyou x Shoon
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfic are actually real boys. Yes, including that “OMG SPAWN OF SHOON WHO LOOKS LIKE SHOON!” Reon dude.
Notes: Heehee, I wrote this after reading that rumor about Shoon’s brother.

Again, like always.

Shoon sighed as Taiyou casually walked into Shoon’s dressing room, randomly fluffing the pillows on his blue sofa, picking up his half-used can of hairspray, putting it down, then picking it up again.

Impatiently Shoon clicked his pencil, furiously making noise as he tried to give Taiyou a subtle hint.

Then again, he should have known better: Taiyou wasn’t so good with subtle hints.

“What is it, Taiyou?”

The taller boy grinned when Shoon finally acknowledged his existence, then jumping into the chair, Taiyou grabbed the recently fluffed pillow, holding it to his chest like he was at a sleepover and was waiting to hear a truth from a round of “Truth or Dare”.

“So, is it true? Is it true? Did your younger brother join the agency? Did he? Did he? Did he?” Taiyou blurted out, his words pouring at a speed of a hundred miles per hour.

“Yes, he did. Is that it?” Shoon sighed as he tried to resume reading his book.

“You know, I never met your brother. In fact, I’ve never seen him before. You’re too sneaky about your private life! I didn’t even know you had a brother!”

Shoon put his book down; it was impossible to read while there was ~~a blabbermouth~~ Taiyou in the same room. “You’ve met him before, he showed up to a few episodes of Ya-Ya-yah, remember? He came into my dressing room. You, Yabu, and Hikaru were talking to him while I was talking to Koyama about the on-site location for that day.”

“Aww! No fair! Yabu and Hikaru met him? I didn’t get to see him...” Taiyou pouted.

“Yes you did.” Shoon insisted.

“No I didn’t.”

“He ate your cookies, remember? And then you blew up on him, threatening to kill him with your bare hands.”

“No that was you--, wait, that was your brother?” Taiyou scratched his head, recalling the very moment he made that threat. Or rather, when he last made it (seeing how that was Taiyou’s only concern, making sure no one ate his cookies). He had been in a dressing room, Shoon’s dressing room, and there sitting on the very couch he was sitting on now was Hikaru, Yabu and Shoon, who was eating his cookies.

At least he thought it was Shoon. “Hey, but I thought that was you...”

“No, that was my brother.”

“Really?” Taiyou made a face as he tried to imagine the face of the culprit eating his cookies. It had looked like Shoon...

Suddenly the door opened and a face very similar to Shoon’s popped in.

“You left your cell phone at home so mom told me to give it to you.”

Shoon walked up and took the cell phone from the “other Shoon”.

“Thanks, Reon, I knew I was forgetting something!”

“Oh my Gackt! Shoon! There are two of you!.” Taiyou shouted, pointing at the ‘other Shoon’. Shoon looked at him, his eyes briefly rolling up as he sighed.

The ‘other Shoon’ turned to face him. “Uh, hi? I’m Reon, Shoon’s younger brother. Sorry for eating your cookies the other day.”

Startled, Taiyou latched onto Shoon, his arms wrapped over Shoon’s neck as he used Shoon as a body-shield. “He even sounds like you, Shoon!”

“I told you I had a brother.”

“Shoon!” Taiyou whined, “Make him go away! He scaring me with his ‘I am a clone of Shoon’ look!”

“Um, I’m going to go. Mom’s waiting for me in the car. Bye!” Reon ran out the door, leaving before Shoon could apologize and before Taiyou could whine some more.

“Taiyou...”

“Hmm,” Taiyou craned his neck so that he could see Shoon’s face, “now that I’m five inches away from your face, I see the difference. That guy’s bangs don’t swoosh to the right like yours and his cheekbones are higher, much higher. But wow, your brother does look like you! Now how are you gonna repay for those cookies he ate?”

[Prince of Tennis] 39 Steps To Somewhere | Dirty Pair: Oshitari Yuushi x Makahi Gaukto | G

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 07:08:24 GMT

Title: 39 Steps To Somewhere
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: Dirty Pair: Oshitari x Makahi
Series: Prince of Tennis
Rating: G
Challenge: Alfred Hitchcock; The 39 Steps.
Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi created the fandom. Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything perverted to your characters tonight. :D
Notes: This is better than my first attempt at a PoT fanfic. :D And [Bad username: ârei_kurasakiâ], I know you love the Dirty Pair.

The first step that Makahi Gakuto takes is up the first step up the stairs leading to Oshitari Yuushi’s apartment. He’s nervous, sweat from the summer sun made his black-and-white striped shirt cling to his back, his fingers fidgeting inside the pockets of his light cotton sweater. Gakuto isn’t used to this type of feeling, this anxiety that makes his heart skip a beat. All of his confidence began to wilt away with each step he took.

Second step, third step, fourth step, fifth step, sixth step...

Why is he feeling like this? He saw Yuushi everyday at tennis practice, the two of them have been playing doubles since forever, and whenever Gakuto wanted to try a new acrobatic move, Yuushi always helped him out, crafting each move like a master painter.

This? This was nothing more than a casual meeting after school, just to hang out. Normal kids hung out with their friends and Gakuto was normal (as normal as he could be); no big deal, going over to Yuushi’s house is no big deal.

At least, it shouldn’t be.

Nineteenth step, twentieth step and he was at the top of the stairs, facing the door to the Oshitari residence.

He realized why he was suddenly feeling so overwhelmed, why he felt as though a wave of ten thousand emotions and frantic thoughts were sweeping him under: this is the first time that Gakuto would spent time with Yuushi alone; no school to preoccupy his mind, no tennis to practice, no sleeping Jiroh to trip over while trying to walk over to Yuushi, no Atobe to mock him, no Kabaji to intimidate him, no other team members to distract him at all, it would just be him and Yuushi.

Him and Yuushi, Gakuto liked the sound of that.

Thirtieth step, thirty-first step, thirty-second step...

His pointer finger hovered over the doorbell, erect and trembling. Maybe he should turn around and go home, maybe he had some unexpected chores to do, maybe his mother was calling him, maybe he forgot to wake Jiroh up and tell him school was over, maybe Yuushi wasn’t even home--

Gakuto scratched that last thought out of his mind, it was impossible seeing how Gakuto had called him earlier to remind him that he was coming.

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Gakuto turned around and started towards the stairs, his mind whirling with incoherent thoughts.

Thirty-third step, thirty-fourth step, thirty-fifth step.

“Where are you going?” a deep voice called out to him.

Gakuto turned around, surprised to see Yuushi standing by the door, dressed in a casual tank-top (a lot better than Momoshiro’s “usual tank”, Gakuto thought smugly), with two hard-boiled eggs in his hand.

“Um. I thought someone was calling me from down the street, but no one’s there.”

Too late to turn back now, too late to worm out of it, Gakuto panicked. He considered dashing down the stairs and running home, throwing to Yuushi some excuse about how his mom just called, begging him to come home because his cat was choking on some cat litter, but before he could open his mouth and launch the tall-tale of an excuse to Yuushi, Yuushi broke the silence by speaking first.

“My mom’s not home yet, and I can’t really cook so there’s nothing but boiled eggs to eat. Aren’t you going to come in?” He opened the door wider, showing Gakuto the way into the house.

“Yeah. Sorry for inconveniencing you.”

Thirty-sixth step, thirty-seventh step, thirty-eighth step, and with the thirty-ninth step, Gakuto was inside Yuushi’s house.

He looked at his surroundings, the melon colored curtains hanging perfectly on the beam, the clean tatami mats lining the hallway, the gush of sunlight that spilled into the kitchen from the window, the wooden door that led the path to Yuushi’s room...

Gakuto turned to face Yuushi, eyeing him nervously as he walked further and further into the house. “You... you look nice.”

“And you look cute, as always. Want an egg?”

Gakuto blushed; he was alone with Yuushi.

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:44:37 GMT

Title: To Step on a Crack
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: Kunimasa x Norio
Series: Sex Pistols
Type: m/m
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Urban Myths
Disclaimer: Owned by Tarako Kotobuki, kthnx.
Notes: Nngggggh. *dead* I swtiched from first-person POV to second-person POV, so the ending might be... choppy.

Ever since the tender age of five, I stopped stepping on cracks.

A kid in my kindergarten class once told me that if you step on a crack, you’d break your mother’s back. I didn’t believe him; after all, this was the kid that thought fairies were made from his nose boogers, but one day, as I was walking home from school, I happened so step on a crack in the sidewalk.

When I got home, my cat had died.

Mommy said that he was trying to catch a bird while climbing on the edge of the fence when he lost his balance and fell. He probably broke his back.

He broke his back.

Ever since then, I stopped stepping on cracks. It wasn’t my mother whose back was broken, it was my cat. But cats and mothers, what’s the difference between the two when I had loved the both of them just as equally.

“Norio, why are you walking as if someone cut your heels off with a chainsaw?”

I looked at Kunimasa and shot him a glare. The way he looked at me, it was as if he thought I was crazy! After the accident, when I began to see people as monkeys and other animals, people would shoot me the same glare, the “This guy is crazy, isn’t he?: look. I was used to it by now, especially after I learned of how regular “monkey” humans couldn’t see the Madarui, but I wasn’t expecting the same type of look from Kunimasa.

“Cut it out, will you? Stop looking at me like that!”

Kunimasa turned away, like he wasn’t looking at me in the first place.

We walked down the schoolyard, me in my P.E clothes and Kunimasa in the school uniform. I was avoiding all the cracks in the sidewalks and Kunimasa was stepping on all the ones I dodged. I noticed this.

“Are you trying to kill me or something?”

He looked at me, in that bewildered yet stoic gaze that he’s shown me many times before. “What are you talking about, Norio? Did the dodge ball hit your head again today?”

“No it didn’t. What I mean to say is, why are you stepping on all the cracks in the sidewalk?”

“Am I supposed to not step on them?” He asked, amused (and wait, was that Kunimasa’s “turned on” face?) by my sudden loud outburst.

“You’re not supposed to step on any cracks! You want me to break my back or something? Geez! I’ve been avoiding all these cracks, hoping that if I don’t step on them, you won’t die of a broken back and here you are stepping on every single one of them! Are you doing this on purpose? You are aren’t you? Why you no-good conniving--”

Kunimasa stopped me with a kiss. It was meant to be a simple kiss, but soon Kunimasa’s tongue began to pry into mymouth, feeling the hot salvia dripping down mymouth. Pinning the me against the gymnasium wall, Kunimasa let his hands wander underneath my P.E. shirt then down my pants, past the elastic band that was keeping my shorts on.

“Unngh, Kunimasa, stop. We’re at school.”

“No one’s going to see us. And weren’t you worried about me dying from a broken back? I don’t want to die without fuc--”

“Dammit, Kunimasa stop! Yonekuni’s right there!”

Kunimasa spun around to see Yonekuni’s smiling face.

“Am I interrupting you two?”

[JE] | “Bless You, Darling!” | Koyama x Shige | G

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 03:20:34 GMT

Title: Bless You, Darling!
Group: NewS
Pairing: Koyama x Shige
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfic are actually real boys. It’d be great though if Koyama would fangirl Shige. 8D
Notes: My first Koyato after months and months (or maybe just weeks?) of not writing one. :D;

He kept sneezing.

Shige didn’t know why either, just that every time he moved, every time he tried to breathe, and every time he tried to do anything at all, he’d land into a hissy fit of sneezes.

Achoo! Achoo! Achooachooachoo!

At first he thought that it might have been a cold. But the more he thought about it, the more unlikely that conclusion became. It was summer, in the middle of July, the sun was shining brightly and everyday there was an 100% of humidity. Couldn’t be a cold, Shige thought, because there’s nothing cold about this weather!

Taking alternating steps between walking and sneezing, Shige made his way into the make-up room to do some touch-ups on his face before going out into the limelight. Tegoshi stared at him, an amused grin on his face as he watched Shige pick up the foundation, sneeze, then accidentally drop the foundation back on the desk.

“You sure look pitiful, Shige. Got a cold?”

“No,” Shige sniffled, “I don’t think it’s one.”

Tegoshi placed his palm on Shige’s forehead, expecting to feel the symptoms of a fever. But there wasn’t any, Shige’s temperature was normal.

“Then why are you sneezing so much?”

“I--” ACHOO! “don’t know. It just started up the moment I woke up this morning.”

“Funny.” Tegoshi went back to his make-up, applying a bit of hairspray here and there, and when that didn’t give him the desired affect, he wiped his hands full of lotion into his hair, fingering it through his dark locks. “Maybe someone’s talking bad about you.”

Shige snorted, “And who would do that? I don’t think anyone knows I exist, even if I make an appearance on national TV once a month. I mean, even this one guy I sat next to at school didn’t know who I was! ‘I heard there was a member from NewS attending this university’ he said. He didn’t even know he was sitting next to that said member!”

“Don’t worry, Shige,” Tegoshi assured him, “some people are just really dense. I’m sure there are mad rabid fan girls who drool over all your photo shoots in Myojo. Who knows, maybe they sleep with a picture of you under their pillows every night...”

Violently Shige let out an unexpected sneeze. “ACHOO!”

”Or a demon could be trying to steal your body! So every time you sneeze, you put yourself at risk to having your body stolen! In that case, I should bless you. I, Tegoshi Yuuya, am now blessing you, Kato Shigeaki, so that you may retain your body and be free of pesky demons.”

“Tegoshi, did you inhale your blush again? ACHOO!”

“Or maybe... someone’s thinking about you? That urban myth works both ways, y’know.” Tegoshi offered.

“I don’t think so, Tegoshi. I’m not as popular as you, remember?”

“Hey, I didn’t say that--!” Defensively Tegoshi tried turn the tables on Shige. Shige, however, stood up and started to walk towards the door.

“S’okay, you didn’t say it but that’s how it really is. No one seems to remember me, or think of me, no wonder I’m in the background all the time. I’m going to get Koyama, remind him that we’re shooting for Ya-Ya-yah today.”

He loudly knocked on Koyama’s door, wrapping the wooden surface with his knuckles and expecting a happy face to come greet him at the door. Koyama is always happy to see me, Shige thought, at least someone is.

Yet much to his chagrin, there was no happy smiling face to greet him. In fact, no one opened the door. Feeling a little irritated and a lot more upset than he had been moments before, Shige opened the door and walked into the seemingly empty room.

“Koyama?” No one replied to Shige’s call, but from a few feet away Shige could hear the sound of running water pounding on the porcelain bathtub.

As the smells of fresh shampoo and steam wavered into the room, Shige made his way to Koyama’s desk where he fiddled with Koyama’s game boy before he heard the distinct beeping sound. It sounded like an instant message, impatiently trying to catch Koyama’s attention, but when Shige turned his focus to Koyama’s laptop, he noticed that it was the sound of a completed download.

“Do you want to open this file now?”

Shige clicked yes; he needed some time to kill while Koyama was in the shower anyway.

Achoo!

A black screen opened up and soon a movie began to play. As the blackness faded into a picture, Shige’s eyes widened as he noticed that the person taking a bath in the movie was ...

HIM.

And in the next scene, the person taking a nap in his swimming trunks while at the beach...

That was also him!

Shige couldn’t believe it, and if it weren’t for the shock, he would have been very frightened to have encountered this rather stalker-like movie of himself being filmed so carefully. Why was this file in Koyama’s computer? More importantly, who managed to film a clip of him taking a shower?

The sound of running water from the next room stopped and quickly Shige exited the video player. Only, he wished he hadn’t done that.

As soon as the movie player disappeared, Shige noticed something peculiar about the image on the desktop wallpaper.

Again, it was a picture of him, but it was a rather naughty picture. He remembered it clearly, that photo shoot that he thought was a little too erotic to be in a magazine aimed for teenage girls. All the members of NewS were dressed in wet t-shirts, given a lemon to bite into, and told to sprawl on the floor according to the photographer’s theme which happened to be “Think sexy!”

Just why was this wallpaper of him in Koyama’s laptop?!

“Oh, Shige! I didn’t hear you come in...”

Shige slammed down the cover of the laptop in surprise and spun around to see Koyama wrapped in nothing more than a towel. A really small towel that was wrapped tightly around his slender (omg) naked waist.

“I just wanted to come remind you that we have to film for Ya-Ya-yah in half an hour. No one has seen you around so I decided to go get you. Anyway, I gotta go, you know, freshen up my face and all and—ACHOO!”

He sneezed.

Koyama laughed as he bent over to pick up his outfit. “Thanks. It’s weird, I’ve been thinking about you all day and now you’re suddenly here! I didn’t even have to call you.”

Shige’s head cocked to the side as he stared at Koyama in disbelief. ‘Koyama,’ he thought, ‘thinking about me all day?’

ACHOO!

It made sense.

“Koyama,” Shige smiled, “so it was all your fault!”

[JE] | "Gimme" | Taiyou x Shoon | G

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 08:12:04 GMT

Title: Gimme
Group: Ya-Ya-yah
Pairing: Taiyou x Shoon
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfic are actually real boys. OMG, SHOON, TAIYOU, I AM SO SORRY. D: D: D: D:(But using you two in fanfics is so much fun!)
Notes: Um. After a few months OUT of the JE-fandom, I get thrown in by an urge to write a Taisha. 8D

Taiyou had grown up knowing that it wasn’t right to steal things from others. He had also grown up to believe that the moon was made out of cheese, but that is a completely irrelevant fact.

But, even with that being said, there was something that Taiyou desperately wanted to possess and no amount of asking, pleading, or begging would let him have it. After all, it was quite unobtainable, he couldn’t even hold it when his own two hands.

He wanted a heart, not just anyone’s heart either:

It had to be Shoon’s.

Two o’clock in the morning. Taiyou couldn’t sleep anymore, so he decided to sneak into Shoon’s hotel room. Wiping out the key he had “borrowed” earlier, he slowly crept into the dark hotel room, feeling rather surprised that it was actually, well, dark.

Shoon was a picky sleeper. There were nights when he slept like a rock and nights where he woke up just because something wasn’t aligned within the solar system. As of late, however, he had so much trouble sleeping that Taiyou was certain he’d be awake during this hour. For the past month, he’d been sleeping at three or four in the morning, so why should today be any different?

He wondered if he should turn back. If Shoon had had a hard time sleeping, maybe he shouldn’t disturb him. After all, Shoon’s health might be going haywire due to the lack of sleep. Shoon’s naps on the train didn’t seem sufficient enough to get rid of his sleep deficit.

Turning around, Taiyou had almost made it back out into the hallway of the hotel when the bottoms of his pajamas caught on to something. Trying to grab a hold of something in order to thwart his fall (because he didn’t want another twisted ankle when he just recovered from one), Taiyou ended up grabbing Shoon’s sweater from the closet.

Of course, that didn’t help. The sweater (along with the clothes hanger and the rack of the closet) came tumbling down with him. He could hear the rack make a ripping sound as it was torn from it’s socket in the wall.

Lights came on.

‘Scurry out of there! Scurry out!’ his conscience was screaming. But just as he crawled out the door, a strong arm grabbed onto his ankle and pulled him back. Taiyou felt like he was falling through an abyss. Only, abysses never end, but at the end of this one was one very, very angry person.

Shoon’s bloodshot eyes glared at Taiyou, his lips formed a low growl.

“What are you doing?” He grunted; with his bed hair, Shoon truly looked like a devil.
“Um. I wanted to borrow... something.”

“At two in the morning? Do you know what we’re doing tomorrow? We’re filming. So why aren’t you asleep?”

“Um. Insomnia?”

Finally Shoon let go of Taiyou’s leg. (And that was when Taiyou noticed the hand marks on his ankle. Hopefully he’ll be wearing pants during the shooting tomorrow.) When Taiyou closed the door to Shoon’s room, he could hear the mumbling and grumbling coming from the other boy.

What a disappointment! He didn’t even come close to stealing Shoon’s heart!

Then again, he didn’t know how he was going to do it either. Perhaps he could bake cookies and give them Shoon, win his heart through his stomach. But did Shoon even like cookies? If there was one thing that Shoon was good at, it’d be keeping his personal life private. All the things Taiyou knew about Shoon came from the magazines he and the rest of Ya-Ya-yah posed for.

Maybe he could seduce Shoon?

Quickly Taiyou scratched that idea out of his head. Oh no, nothing risky until after he’d turn the big 2-0.

Digging into his pockets, Taiyou took out his key and tried to open the door to his hotel room when he noticed that...

The key didn’t work. In fact, it was the wrong key to the wrong room. The key in his hand was to Shoon’s room! Jiggling the door knob, Taiyou discovered that the room was locked and inside that locked room were his belongings and (perhaps the most important thing) his hotel key.

“Ahh, didn’t the reception desk close two hours ago?” Taiyou muttered. What was he to do? He couldn’t possibly sleep in the hallway! Hikaru and Yabu’s fan girls might trample him!

With only one alternative left, Taiyou turned around and walked to the door of Shoon’s room. Cautiously he knocked.

Slowly the door opened, and from the darkness came an angry bloodshot face.

“What?”

(Actually, Shoon said a few other things besides that, but since this is rated G, I can’t allow that type of language here.)
“Um. I left my keys in my room.”

“And...?” Shoon’s patience was wearing thin.

“My room is locked. Can I stay here?”

“Get in. Now.”

Quickly Taiyou darted inside, tripping over various items as he stumbled into the dark. Taiyou jumped into what he thought was a bed, but instead landed on something hard, something cold, and something that cracked when he hit it.

“Taiyou! Get off that bed! I didn’t get a chance to unpack so I left everything on that second bed.” Shoon grumbled.

“Then where am I supposed to sleep?” He fumbled around for the light switch and when he finally turned it on, he saw that Shoon’s room was absolutely devoid of chairs. And the second bed was in fact overflowing with Shoon’s things.

“I guess you can sleep on the floor--”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Fine.” Shoon took a pillow from the other bed and placed it next to his pillow. “You can sleep next to me, but no kicking! I haven’t gotten a good night’s rest in a month and I will seriously maim you if I don’t get any more sleep...”

Taiyou climbed into bed, feeling the warm sheets wrap around his body. But minutes after he turned off the lights, he noticed something was wrong.

Shoon’s body was rigid, straight as a chalkboard.

“What’s wrong, Shoon?”

”I... can’t go back to sleep. Darn it, why’d you have to wake me up? I was sleeping fine before!”

Taiyou pushed Shoon, “Turn around!”

“Why?”

“I’m going to rub your back! My mom always does this to me when I can’t sleep.”

“Um. No. It’s already odd enough that we’re sleeping in the same bed.”

“Just do it!”
Doing as he was told, Shoon flipped so that he was now lying on his stomach. Taiyou’s arm weaved up and down against the cotton of his shirt and soon he felt an odd smoothing sensation followed but the heavy droop of his eyelids.

“Huh, it does work.”

One step closer, Taiyou thought, if I keep doing this for a three weeks straight, maybe, just maybe I’ll have Shoon’s heart by Christmas! Taiyou cracked a smile as he heard Shoon’s deep breathing. Stealing was wrong, Taiyou grew up knowing that. But stealing someone’s heart was different from having someone give their heart to you.

Taiyou felt like a genius.

How to Uninvite Yourself From the King’s Palace (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #5;

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 05:34:09 GMT

Title: How to Uninvite Yourself From the King’s Palace
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme # 6; slander
Disclaimer: Dear Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones, I think I made Howl stupid. And ten times more vain than he already is. D:

April was in the air and it as that time of month again.

Calcifer watched as Howl strolled into the castle using the Kingsbury door. Truffles of his blonde hair stuck out underneath the brown curly wig he was wearing and the huge sunglasses he wore were constantly slipping off the bridge of his nose and landing on that hairy mustache he taped to his upper lip.

The demon had to remind himself that Halloween didn’t land in April.

“Howl, what’s with the get-up? You look like a suspicious criminal. Is that a black trench coat you’re wearing?”

Quickly Howl shut the door. “It is absolutely warm outside! Calcifer, send some hot water upstairs, the heat has dried up my skin and I need to make it beautifully smooth again.”

“You never answered my question!”

He shot a glare to Calcifer, angry that his friend wasn’t a bit more sympathetic to the condition of his skin. “For your information, I was out spreading gossip about myself. The slander should be enough to keep the King from summoning me to his palace for the royal birthday for Princess Valerie.”

With an amused look on his face, Calcifer edged closer to the edge of the chimney. “Really? What’d you say?”

“Well, being the creative genius that I am, I simply told the old women lounging around at Market Square that the Beautiful and Handsome Wizard Howl eats the hearts of women and that no woman can resist his charms.”

Calcifer groaned as he moved back further into the chimney. “Howl, that wasn’t slander! And it wasn’t creative either! Why didn’t you tell the old women that you like to sleep with little girls and boys and you turn people you didn’t like into slugs and then eat them for dinner? That would have scared off anyone, including the King!”

Looking appalled, Howl dramatically dropped the piece of bread he was holding and daintily put his hand over his heart. “What vile lies! And how are those supposed to keep me from being invited to Princess Valerie’s birthday party?”

Prompt # 5: hate; Riku x Sora

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 05:07:56 GMT

Title: You Make Me Think Too Much
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters: Riku and Sora
Prompt: 5; hate
Rating: G
Summary: Aftermath of the unexpected kiss.
Author's Notes: This was not smooth, not smooth at all. *failure*

Riku had tried to talk to him again, but the sight of the boy’s silver hair shining in the moonlight only intensified Sora’s rage. With his hands clenched around the handle of the hard wooden play sword, Sora hit the cherry tree in his backyard, watching as the young sakura blossoms fell from the forceful impact of his strike.

Strike, strike, strike!

As he hit the tiny tree, thoughts swirled around in his head. He was fuming mad at Riku for stealing his first kiss, embarrassed that he had been kissed by a boy (his best friend, even!), worried about what would happen to their friendship, but above all Sora was terrified about how his body felt the moment Riku kissed him.

His first kiss was supposed to be with Kairi. The thought itself might have been impossible, seeing how Kairi was on an indefinite vacation to who knows where, but weren’t boys supposed to save their first kisses for that one special girl?

The only attractive girl on Destiny Island was Kairi.

Sora collapsed onto the grass, his wooden sword fell beside him. His fingers ached, his head throbbed from the sudden burst of energy, and his back felt uncomfortable with the sweat coating his pores.

He hated Riku, he never wanted to see him again and it wasn’t so much because of the kiss, he was (mostly) over that.

Sora was scared of what might have happened after the kiss.

[Prince of Tennis] Make it Spicy Hot! | Tezuka x Fuji | PG13

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 06:31:19 GMT

Title: Make it Spicy Hot!
Author: modestly_not
Pairing: Tezuka x Fuji
Series: Prince of Tennis
Type: m/m
Rating: PG-13. :D; Well, not really.
Challenge: Heat
Disclaimer: Takeshi Konomi, I’m so sorry for abusing your characters. (Okay, not really.)
Notes: My third fanfic tonight. I’m on a roll~ (make it a wasabi roll. :D) PS: I'm using corny lines!

Fuji liked things spicy.

He could withstand a cup of Inui’s vegetable extract when most of his teammates gagged after taking only a sip. At Kawamura’s father’s sushi shop, he always ordered the wasabi roll. And he always, always had a box of fiery Chinese noodle soup under his bed whenever he couldn’t find anything that suited his tastes.

Though he liked things hot, there was one thing Fuji just couldn’t heat up: his budding relationship with Tezuka. All they ever did was kiss. When Fuji would slip his hands into Tezuka’s sweats, just before he got to the good part, Tezuka would always pull away and with a blush on his face, he’d say the same thing over and over again: “We’re supposed to be practicing.”

Tezuka needed work, he needed coaxing, he needed to be persuaded otherwise, he needed to let Fuji get to second base at least!

Things with the captain were lukewarm and Fuji was anxious to turn up the heat.

Catch a Lie and You’re a Winner (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #5; half-truth)

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:34:22 GMT

Title: Catch a Lie and You’re a Winner
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme # 5; half-truth.
Disclaimer: Created by Diana Wynne Jones and animated by Studio Ghibli! ♥

Howl had placed a strange contraption in front of Calcifer and the demon couldn’t decide whether Howl was showing off his latest purchase from Market Square or if he wanted Calcifer to fix it.

It certainly looked broken with it’s rusted iron buttons and faded buttons.

“Howl, what’s this?”

The wizard merely nodded, as if a simple nod provided all the answers to Calcifer’s burning questions.

Then Howl pulled out a gaudy suit, one of his “hunting for beautiful girls’ hearts” suits that he frequently wore when heading out to town. There were scorch marks by the sleeves of his white suit and the golden trimmed buttons were ashen black.

“Calcifer, my dear friend, did you or did you not ruin my lovely suit?”

Calcifer looked at Howl blankly, refusing to believe that Howl would ask him such a thing. And why would he want to destroy Howl’s suit? It already looked horrible to begin with! If Calcifer burned it or made any adjustments, it have only enhanced the suit.

“I didn’t do it. And I don’t know who did it either.”

The strange contraption that sat by the edge of the chimney suddenly started moving, a tiny buzz echoed from within its steel box.

“You’re lying.”

“... Okay, so I am lying. But I didn’t burn your suit.”

Standing behind Howl, Markl stood and mouthed a quiet “thank you” to Calcifer.

Prompt # 55: numbers; Riku x Sora

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:17:56 GMT

Title: Counting the Moments
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters: Riku and Sora
Prompt: 55; numbers
Rating: PG-13 for an implied scene.
Summary: Aftermath of the unexpected kiss.
Author's Notes: The first paragraph was an experimentation. I abused the semi-colon. :D;

Seven days since he last saw Sora; 168 hours since the younger boy locked himself within his house, unwilling to come out into the sun light; ten times a day Riku recalled the soft touch of his lips pressing against Sora; once every night Riku hand would burn with lust; three chances he had to apologize; thirteen times the phone rang before Sora’s answering machine turned on.

He could tell Sora was still upset about the kiss by the way Sora was avoiding him and the rest of the world. The younger boy would come out at night and that was only to take out the garbage.

When Riku approached him from the corners of the shadow, Sora would scurry away, back into the safety net of his home where he could avoid Riku, leaving the other boy in the dark with a heavy twinge in his heart.

Twelve times the clock tower’s bell chimed before Riku returned home defeated.

Prompt # 18: enemy; Riku x Sora

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 05:27:16 GMT

Title: Simply Kissed
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters: Riku and Sora
Prompt: 18; enemy
Rating: PG-13 for a kiss.
Summary: Riku gives Sora a kiss he never asked for.
Author's Notes: Ahaha, I can’t write kiss scenes to save my life. :D

Riku made an enemy out of Sora when he stole Sora’s first kiss. The whole town knew that Sora had been saving his lips (keeping it soft every night by applying Vaseline) for Kairi.

Only, Kairi was away on vacation, she’d been away for a half a year.

And Riku wasn’t the type to wait around until after Sora got his first kiss.

A summer’s day on Destiny Islands and all the kids had left, as usual. At high noon the sun’s ray were usually too much for the boys to keep playing sword fights or for the girls to build their sand castles. Riku didn’t mind the heat, and it seemed like Sora didn’t either. He sat on the dock, sitting beside his huge yellow shoes, his feet dipping into the water before he shot them up again, a spray of cold ocean water flying in droplets.

Riku walked over to the dock and handed Sora an ice cream cone. He watched as Sora bit into the chocolate coating, he noticed the curl of Sora’s tongue as he licked the dripping vanilla ice cream, and when Sora was crunching into the crispy waffle cone...

Riku kissed him. It wasn’t a simple kiss either, it was quite, quite complicated. His tongue brushed against Sora’s as his lips pressed harder against Sora’s mouth. One squeal, a shove, and a fall into the ocean later, Riku realized what he had done.

Looking at him with vile contempt, Sora disgustedly wiped his lips against the cotton fabric on his white shirt. And with one vulgar remark, Sora ran from the dock.

Riku sighed, flipping his wet silver hair out of his face. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was a stupid move.

But at least he got his kiss, even if it tasted like vanilla.

Prompt Table

My Lips Are Sealed (Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer and Howl, Theme #18; exposed)

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 05:07:23 GMT

Title: My Lips Are Sealed
Fandom: Howl’s Moving Castle
Subject: Calcifer and Howl
Theme(s): Theme #18, exposed
Disclaimer: Howl’s Moving Castle is a fantasy novel written by Diana Wynne Jones and I think you should read it. :D Or you could go watch the movie version by Studio Ghibli. Then drool over Howl. ♥

Summer nights in the castle felt like a swamp. Not only was it hot and stuffy, but the usually arid castle was humid. From sun up to well-past midnight, the atmosphere in the castle would remain this way until at least two in the morning, leaving Howl with roughly six hours of sleep before he awoke to the dampness of his sheets, covered in sweat.

And living with Calcifer did not make the situation better for Calcifer thrived in this type of weather (save for the part involving humidity). If it was a scorching 90 degrees outside in town square, it would be at least 20 degrees warmer inside the castle. Because of this, Howl took up the habit of going out early in the evening and normally he would not return until early morning.

This was one of those nights.

Casually strolling into the castle, Howl burst into the door, creating ruckus to announce his return home. He slammed the door, whistled loudly, and knocked into pile of potion bottles, scattering them onto the dusty floor.

“Calcifer, I’m home!”

“Howl, I was sleeping. Can’t you be a little quieter when--”

“Nonsense, I was as quiet as a mouse!”

Peeling his light jacket from his shoulders and hastily unbuttoning his white dress shirt, Howl stripped into his skivvies and grabbed a dirty cup before filling it with water. He drank in large gulps, downing two cups before he noticed Calcifer staring at him.

“What is it, ol’ flame? Are you astounded by my amazing body? Would you like me to take off my undergarments as well?” He mused.

“Not that, it’s just that... what’s that on your neck? It looks like a leech caught onto your neck? And is that perfume I smell?” Calcifer stared at the reddish mark on Howl’s neck as Howl laughed loudly.

“Hardly!” Howl began walking up the stairs, taking a bar of ice cream from the freezer with him.

“Then what is it?”

Howl laughed again; his lips were sealed.