FIC: Going Steady, Part 4

[geri_chan]

Okay, it does look like this is going to run 5 chapters, because Kikuchi and Onozuka were a little more long-winded than I had planned. ^_^

Title: Going Steady, Part 4
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~3,175
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka and Kikuchi resume their postponed date, but has Kikuchi really forgiven Onozuka?

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

***

Onozuka showed up at Kikuchi's apartment with a deluxe platter of sushi from a good restaurant, and was greeted with a pleasant smile. "Come on in," Kikuchi said cheerfully, as if they hadn't quarreled the night before. "I have some beer to go with the food."

"Great," Onozuka said. He had been wondering if he ought to confess the truth and apologize again, but if Kikuchi was willing to let it go, maybe he should just leave well enough alone.

"Kitamura sent me the script, and I made a copy for you," Kikuchi said, handing Onozuka a thick sheaf of papers as they laid out the food and beer on the kitchen table. "But keep quiet about it, because no one else except for the other co-star, Suzuki-san, has been given one yet."

"My lips are sealed," Onozuka promised, then impulsively leaned in to seal that promise with a kiss.

Kikuchi returned the kiss, but broke it off before things got too heated. "I still haven't completely forgiven you for standing me up yesterday," he warned, but he smiled as he spoke.

"I promise that I'll make it up to you tonight," Onozuka purred in a sultry voice.

"We'll see," Kikuchi replied, brushing his lips lightly against Onozuka's. "I have very high expectations."

"I'll fulfill any expectations you have," Onozuka promised recklessly, and Kikuchi laughed.

"Be careful what you promise, Onozuka-kun," he cautioned with a sly and sexy grin that sent shivers--of anticipation, not fear--down Onozuka's spine.

They sat down to eat, and Onozuka leafed through the script while Kikuchi tackled the sushi with obvious pleasure and good appetite.

"You seem hungry," Onozuka observed. "Did you not have time for lunch today?"

"Well, I guess you could say I had lunch, but it wasn't very satisfying," Kikuchi replied, popping a piece of ikura-covered sushi into his mouth. He paused to chew and swallow before continuing, "I was on that show 'Connoisseur Report' today."

"Eh?" Onozuka asked. "That show where they try to guess which dish the guests hate most? Iwaki was on it once."

"It's a stupid show, but it's popular," Kikuchi sighed. "My agency wants to keep me in the public eye, so they scheduled an appearance on it, but I'd rather be acting than wasting time on some game show."

"It's acting of a sort," Onozuka disagreed. "You're playing out your public persona to the audience. After all, aren't you the one who said that there's a difference between the image that audience perceives and who you really are?"

"I suppose so," Kikuchi agreed. "There's certainly a big difference between the real you and your public persona--your Highness."

Onozuka grinned. "Actually, I've always thought it would be fun to be on that show, but it never worked out with my schedule. I can eat almost anything and at least pretend that I like it." As the Nakata heir, he'd been required to attend many social functions with his parents, where he had been expected to eat or drink whatever he was served and compliment it with a smile, whether he liked it or not. He had resented it at the time, but looking back now, it had served as an early lesson in acting.

"Well, I would gladly have traded places with you," Kikuchi said ruefully.

"Oh, did you not do well on the show?" Onozuka asked.

"It was humiliating," Kikuchi groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I lost to a little girl!"

"I'll have to be sure to watch this episode!" Onozuka laughed. "What little girl are you talking about?"

"You know, the one who stars in all those high school dramas...Kyoko-chan."

"Oh yeah, I had a bit part in one of her series a couple of years ago," Onozuka replied, recognizing the starlet, who was so popular these days that people didn't even bother to use her last name anymore. "She's older than she looks, though. So what happened on the show?"

"I was fine with the extra-spicy kim chee," Kikuchi said glumly. "And I could handle the natto, though I never really liked it and haven't touched the stuff since I moved to the U.S."

"So what finally did you in?" Onozuka asked curiously.

"The dojo-jiru," Kikuchi sheepishly confessed.

"Loach soup?" Onozuka said, startled. "Well, it's not my favorite dish, but I never thought of it as repulsive..."

"It's not so much the taste, but bad associations," Kikuchi explained. "When I was little, my parents took me to a fancy restaurant where they cooked the dish in front of us--by throwing the live loaches into the boiling soup. I was sort of traumatized by the sight of the fish writhing in agony as they were cooked alive, and I've never been able to eat loaches after that."

"Aw, you're a surprisingly tender-hearted guy for such a big action star," Onozuka teased. "You must not like like broiled unagi, either--the best places cut up the eel while it's still alive."

"I have no problem with eating meat or fish," Kikuchi grumbled. "I just like my meal to be dead before it's cooked!"

"Well, it does seem kind of cruel to cook or filet a fish while it's still alive," Onozuka conceded. "They could at least put it out of its misery first."

"So I surrendered when confronted with the loaches, even though they were already dead and cooked," Kikuchi sighed.

"How did the producers find out about your weakness?" Onozuka asked.

Kikuchi groaned again. "They called up my family to ask which dishes I hate, and my mother told them 'natto and loaches'. Can you believe it? I was betrayed by my own mother!"

"Poor Kikuchi-san," Onozuka sympathized. He probably would have found it funnier if he hadn't been feeling a little touchy about his own family.

"And to make it worse, little Kyoko-chan ate everything merrily, without flinching once," Kikuchi complained. "Afterwards, she admitted that she hates bananas, though. So if we'd made it to dessert--which was a banana cream pie--she would have been the one to give in." He shook his head in disbelief and muttered, "Bananas!"

"Maybe she was traumatized by a banana when she was a kid," Onozuka joked.

"Now you're just making fun of me," Kikuchi accused, but the sheepish smile on his face seemed to indicate that he wasn't really angry.

Still, Onozuka bowed his head and apologized meekly, "I'm sorry, Kikuchi-san. Actually, I think it's sweet that you're so kind-hearted."

"I think I would prefer to be feared," Kikuchi said wryly. "Anyway, as I said, 'lunch' was not very satisfying, and we went straight to the office after that to negotiate the movie contract, and I didn't have time to eat anything else until now, so I'm starving!"

"Well, there's plenty of food, so please, eat to your heart's content," Onozuka laughed.

Onozuka continued skimming through the script as they ate, and he observed, "This Eisuke is a rather shy and innocent sort of guy, isn't he?"

"Totally unlike the real you," Kikuchi said with a grin.

Onozuka just laughed, taking no offense. "That's why we got into acting, right--to play people different from ourselves? It's no challenge to play a character who's exactly like me."

"I suppose so," Kikuchi agreed. "According to the script, Eisuke is supposed to be very sheltered, since he was seriously ill for most of his life and didn't socialize much before the transplant. His parents are dead, and he's looked after by a protective older brother."

"Heh, I bet Big Brother doesn't appreciate you romancing me," Onozuka chuckled.

"No, he thinks that I'm just using you as a substitute for my wife, and that's not too far off the mark in the beginning," Kikuchi replied.

"So do we get to have sex?" Onozuka asked, flipping ahead in the script to try and find the love scenes. "In the movie, I mean. I was hoping that my character could at least get laid, even if I can't."

"Don't forget, he's not your character yet," Kikuchi reminded him.

Onozuka grinned slyly at him. "Then maybe we should rehearse a few scenes."

"Okay, why don't we move over to the couch?" Kikuchi suggested, grinning back at him.

"Ooh, so I am going to be auditioned on the couch, after all!" Onozuka said eagerly, and Kikuchi laughed.

Naturally, they decided to rehearse the big love scene between Ryotaro and Midori/Eisuke. "Mi...Midori?" Kikuchi stammered.

"Yes, it's me, Ryo," Onozuka whispered huskily; the use of a nickname without any honorifics was the audience's cue that it was Midori's spirit speaking; in the script, Eisuke always addressed the detective as "Ryotaro-san". And of course, it would also be the actor's job to change his voice and expressions enough so that the audience could tell the difference between when Eisuke was speaking and when Midori was speaking through Eisuke.

"But...Eisuke..." Kikuchi-as-Ryotaro protested halfheartedly.

"He has loaned me his body for this one night," Onozuka whispered. "Please, Ryo--let me be with you one last time."

He leaned in and kissed Kikuchi, and their scripts fell to the floor as Kikuchi kissed him back and pushed him down onto the couch. Onozuka felt almost overwhelmed by sensations--Kikuchi's tongue in his mouth, and Kikuchi's hands on his body, and Kikuchi's erection pressing against his own--driving him into a frenzy of lust. He moaned, the sound muffled by Kikuchi's mouth clamped over his, and his fingers were fumbling with the buttons on Kikuchi's shirt when suddenly Kikuchi sat up and pulled away from him.

"Kikuchi-san?" Onozuka groaned in confusion.

"I think we should stop here," Kikuchi said. He seemed to be trying for a casual tone of voice, but was still breathing a little heavily.

"You're kidding, right?" Onozuka demanded.

Kikuchi picked up his fallen script and said, "It doesn't really go into detail about the sex scene--it just says that 'Ryotaro and Eisuke make love'--so we'll have to wait and see how Kitamura wants to choreograph it. Assuming, of course, that you win the role."

"Forget the damned script!" Onozuka said impatiently, knocking the offending item out of Kikuchi's hand. "Let's improvise!"

"No, that would be highly unprofessional," Kikuchi said disapprovingly, but Onozuka caught a hint of a smug gleam in his eyes.

"You're punishing me for standing you up yesterday, aren't you?" Onozuka accused.

"Who, me?" Kikuchi asked innocently, then grinned wickedly when Onozuka glared at him. "Well, perhaps I am, a little."

Onozuka gave him a hurt, pleading look and said, "But Kikuchi-san, I really am sorry," injecting an artful little quaver into his voice. He allowed his lower lip to quiver slightly, as if he were on the verge of tears, and trailed a hand seductively down Kikuchi's chest. "I promise that I'll never do it again, so please forgive me, Kikuchi-san," he whispered.

Kikuchi caught Onozuka's hand and lifted it to his lips, and for a moment, Onozuka thought that he was forgiven. And then Kikuchi said, still grinning, "Oh, I believe that you're sorry, Onozuka-kun. This is just a little reinforcement to make sure that you don't forget to call me the next time that you need to...work."

There was a slight but pointed pause before the word "work" that caused Onozuka to silently curse Miyasaka again for running off at the mouth. "Actually, I have something to confess, Kikuchi-san," he said, hanging his head in a show of contriteness. "I wasn't doing any promotional work yesterday."

"Really?!" Kikuchi exclaimed, with such exaggerated surprise that Onozuka nearly said something sarcastic about his acting abilities, but bit back the comment because he figured that he was already in enough trouble as it was.

"I went to visit my sister," Onozuka said, steeling himself for the questions that Kikuchi was sure to ask.

However, all Kikuchi said was, "I see."

"You're not going to ask me what happened?" Onozuka asked cautiously.

"You made it clear that you don't want to talk about your family," Kikuchi replied calmly. "So it's none of my business, unless you decide to share it with me."

"Oh," Onozuka said in a small voice that wasn't feigned this time.

"All you had to do was say that you had some family business to take care of, and I would have understood," Kikuchi continued. "Do you understand, Onozuka-kun? I wasn't angry because you broke our date. I was angry because you didn't bother to call me, and then made up false excuses when you did."

Onozuka felt his face grow hot, and he felt like a child being lectured by a teacher or parent, except that he had always blithely ignored those lectures. But he wanted Kikuchi's respect, and it was humiliating to know that the actor he admired (and desired) so much viewed him as a thoughtless child.

"I understand," he mumbled. "I'm sorry, Kikuchi-san."

"Then I forgive you, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi said, kissing him gently on the mouth.

"Then...can we continue 'rehearsing'?" Onozuka asked hopefully.

"No, unfortunately I have to be up early tomorrow," Kikuchi replied. "The studio has scheduled a press conference to announce the movie, and I'm expected to be there. So I should probably turn in early and get a good night's rest. I'll call you a cab."

"But it's still early!" Onozuka protested. "Surely you don't need that much sleep!"

"I'm at the age where I need all the beauty sleep I can get, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi said with mock-regret.

"You're already beautiful, and knock it off with the old man act!" Onozuka snapped. "I promise that I've learned my lesson, so you don't need to punish me anymore. Besides, aren't you punishing yourself as well?" He reached out to teasingly caress the still-evident erection tenting Kikuchi's trousers, and was pleased when the other actor's breathing turned ragged. He leaned in to flick his tongue playfully against Kikuchi's ear and whisper, "I know that you want me just as much as I want you. Let me show you just how sorry I am, Kikuchi-san."

Kikuchi kissed Onozuka deeply, and for one triumphant moment, Onozuka thought that he'd won. But then Kikuchi pulled away and said with a wicked smile, "One advantage of age over youth is that one inevitably learns some patience over the years. Good night, Onozuka-kun. I'll call you that cab now." He rose to his feet and walked over to the phone.

"But...but what about those 'high expectations' that you expected me to fulfill?" Onozuka wailed plaintively. "We haven't even done anything yet!"

Kikuchi motioned for him to be quiet while he spoke to the taxi company and gave them his address, and Onozuka fumed silently. When he hung up the phone, Kikuchi purred, "But I do have very high expectations. It's much harder to deprive yourself of something that you want than it is to indulge in that pleasure, isn't it?"

"So your expectation is for me not to have sex with you?" Onozuka asked incredulously.

"Oh, I expect more than that, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi said with a positively evil grin. "I expect you not to go home and masturbate tonight."

"What?!" Onozuka exclaimed, his face turning bright red.

"There's no need to be so shy; we all do it," Kikuchi said, obviously enjoying himself. "After all, didn't you used to jerk off to that poster of me when you were a kid?"

"I did not!" Onozuka protested indignantly. "That's your own twisted fantasy!"

"Really?" Kikuchi chuckled. "I'm kind of disappointed. Well, anyway, Onozuka-kun, I expect you not to touch yourself until you see me again."

"And how would you know whether I'm whacking off at home or not?" Onozuka demanded. "Do you have a spy camera set up in my bedroom?" Actually, he wouldn't put that past Kikuchi---no, even Kikuchi wouldn't go that far...would he?

"Oh, believe me, I'll know," Kikuchi assured him. "And I don't need a spy camera. I'll be able to look into your eyes and tell whether that frustration is still there or not. If you look too relaxed, then I'll know that you disobeyed me."

"I'm an actor, remember?" Onozuka retorted defiantly. "Who says that I can't pretend to be frustrated? I wouldn't even need to do much pretending, because you are an incredibly frustrating man, Kikuchi-san."

"Of course you could attempt to deceive me," Kikuchi replied calmly. "But do you really want to take that risk? Because if I think that you've lied to me, I promise that I'll send you right back home again without any...relief."

"You're an evil man, Kikuchi-san," Onozuka groaned in defeat. He had confidence in his acting skills on the screen, but none in his ability to deceive Kikuchi, who always seemed to see through him so easily. "What about you?" he asked suspiciously. "Are you going to relieve your frustration tonight? That would hardly be fair, now would it?"

"I don't think that you're in a position to talk about what's fair, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi reminded him. "If you hadn't lied to me, I would have happily relieved your frustration. I think I'll leave it up to your imagination as to whether or not I'll relieve my own."

Onozuka groaned, cursing both Kikuchi and himself, because the mental image of Kikuchi masturbating only stimulated him further, increasing his thwarted desire.

Kikuchi laughed, in that deep, wickedly beautiful voice of his, and leaned over to whisper, "But to tell you the truth, Onozuka-kun, I think that I'll probably abstain. Because the frustration and anticipation will only make that moment all the more sweet when I finally do take you."

Onozuka nearly came right then and there, driven right to the edge by Kikuchi's voice and the mere thought of Kikuchi making love to him. "I think I hate you, Kikuchi-san," he groaned.

"I know you don't really mean that, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi laughed, giving him a chaste peck on the lips. "Your cab will be here in a few minutes; you'd better go down and wait for it." He handed Onozuka his coat and the second copy of the script, saying, "Here, you can keep this, but don't let Miyasaka see it."

"Thanks," Onozuka muttered, not very graciously. He pulled on his coat, grateful that it was long enough to hide his erection, although it did nothing to ease the insistent throbbing of his aching cock. "So can I come over tomorrow night?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate and failing miserably.

"If the test results come in," Kikuchi replied. "Didn't Sasaki-san say that they would probably be ready by tomorrow?"

"They will be," Onozuka said determinedly, "even if I have to go down to the lab and get them myself!" Kikuchi laughed again, and Onozuka left the apartment, slamming the door in his smug, smiling face.

It was going to be a very long night.

Part 5
Part 6

***

Afterword: It may be a little out-of-character to have Kikuchi be so squeamish, but I wasn't really sure what types of foods are commonly disliked in Japan, so I went with one that really grossed me out.

I read this article in Nipponia magazine about loaches, and in the print version, there was a picture of a bowl of either loach nabe (stew) or soup (I think it was soup, since the loaches would probably have difficulty swimming through the vegetables), and a caption that explained that for those who aren't too squeamish, the loaches form an aesthetically pleasing pattern if you cook them alive, because they'll swim away from the center of the bowl or pot to the rim, to try and escape the heat. (The picture showed the loaches arranged in a neat ring at the rim of the bowl, as if they had indeed been swimming outwards.) The online article doesn't show the same picture, and makes no references to fishies being cooked alive, but I know that I'm not imagining it, because I remember how horrified I was when I read it.

I love to watch Japanese travel and cooking shows, but they have a tendency to show the chef preparing some very fresh seafood--a little too fresh for my tastes, as the fish or eel is often still alive when it's being filleted, and I always have to close my eyes or look away during those parts.

So the thought of my dinner still being alive and kicking when it goes on my plate or into the pot squicks me more than the taste of any particular food. Natto seems to be the dish that grosses most foreigners out--it's fermented soybeans, and it's very sticky and stringy and smelly; definitely an acquired taste. I actually used to eat it when I was a kid, but I haven't eaten it in years, and I'm not sure that I can still stomach it.

Kyoko-chan's dislike for bananas came from the author's notes of a manga I was reading recently. I was reading several at the same time, so I forgot which one it was, but I think it was D-Gray Man vol. 11. Anyway, whichever manga-ka it was, he said that he couldn't stand bananas, and I thought that was a fun and odd quirk so I stole borrowed it for my story.

Kyoko-chan herself was modeled loosely on the very popular real-life actress Fukada Kyoko, but I left off her last name so that she could be an OC. Basically, I just needed another character to be on the TV show with Kikuchi, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time building up a character history for a brief mention.

And I picked "Connoisseur Report" as Kikuchi's game show, since we had already seen it in the manga (Book 8, "Film Paddock"). I also considered "Muscle Ranking," the athletic competition show that Miyasaka and Katou compete in, also in Book 8 ("Waterproof"), but when I double-checked, it's stated that it airs on Sundays, and the way that I set up the fic, Kikuchi had to film on a Monday. Although now that I think about it, I don't think it's stated that the show airs live, so I could have said that they film earlier in the week to give the staff time to edit and prepare it. Oh well, maybe some other time. It might be fun to have Kikuchi competing against some younger actor, determined for pride's sake not to lose, and to have Onozuka massage his sore muscles afterwards! ^_^

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, "ikura" is salmon roe, a popular sushi topping.