Last Night - Ruka x Sakito - #14, First Kiss
Title: Last Night
Author: jibunnohana
Band: Nightmare
Pairing: Ruka x Sakito
Theme: memories, #14 first kiss
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Nightmare is beginning to find their footing and Ruka is in need of a roommate.
Wanted: male roommate. Must smoke and not mind the mess or the noise. Otherwise, don’t care. Sakito read and toyed with the crinkled paper he’d pulled off a public bulletin board. All the numbers were torn off already, but that didn’t matter because he already had it. Impatiently, he waited while the line rang, pushing unruly hair out of his face with the back of his hand.
Finally, an answer. “Hello…” The voice was wary yet dull. Sakito wasn’t one to call without reason, and there were more than enough reasons with two lives coming up.
“Uhm…you didn’t mention you needed a roommate.” Straight to the point - Ruka already knew who was calling.
Caught off guard, the drummer was silent, thoughtful perhaps of how to proceed answering such a loaded question. “Uhh…I guess I didn’t think it was a big deal. Why?”
“Well…” Was it even fair to impose his band authority on poor Ruka twenty-four/seven? Still, Sakito had a strong desire to escape the oppressive atmosphere of his disconcertingly flawless family home. Ruka was a few years older and they didn’t know each other very well, but they got on well enough at practice. “Have you found someone yet?”
“Naw, no serious calls.”
Ruka was obviously not going to ask as Sakito hoped. His hint had been too subtle or the drummer was being stubborn. “I could…I could move in with you. That is, if you want,” he added quickly. “No pressure.”
To his relief, Ruka laughed. “Didn’t know you were looking for a place, but sure. If you can pay, it’s fine.”
A slow tentative smile spread across Sakito’s face and they agreed to talk about the contract the next day at practice.
** * *
Much to Sakito’s excitement, with the pay from the part time job he had recently landed, splitting the rent of a ‘small’ apartment with Ruka was affordable. His parents hadn’t really approved, though there was nothing in the world that was going to stop him from moving out into the adult world. At twenty, he felt now was his time.
He was not prepared, though, for Ruka’s definition of ‘small apartment’. The living area was a crate, the one bedroom a broom closet. One bedroom. He hoped in horror that Ruka didn’t snore. (He was wrong.) When he saw a mouse run across from the garbage to the couch one early afternoon after a week of near sleeplessness, Sakito resolved to scrub everything from floor to ceiling. He ground his teeth and searched for a sponge.
Ruka was still asleep, luckily, while he cleaned. For such a tiny place, it took a long time, but curiously Sakito was finding out more about Ruka by sorting his miscellaneous junk than he had in casual conversation. And for that reason, he started to enjoy the task. The photo of him disgruntled and putting Mickey Mouse ears on Jui was particularly endearing. There were others in a similar vein, and a special edition Totoro DVD and about sixteen half-empty Coke cans lying around.
Exhausted from his effort, and unable to continue into the bedroom until Ruka woke up, Sakito collapsed on the couch and admired his work. Without the all the debris the room looked larger, lighter and more pleasing.
Half conscious, Ruka shuffled into the kitchenette and pulled a fresh Coke from the tiny fridge before turning to figure out what monster had eaten his apartment while he slept. “Hn?”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I cleaned. There was a mouse.” Sakito’s words came in a rush of apology, praying Ruka wasn’t mad. He inhaled and waited for criticism.
“Looks nice,” his roommate said, nonplussed by the fact that his stuff was not where it normally resided, but not hateful of the idea either.
Sakito breathed out. “I’d like to do the bedroom too, if that’s alright.”
Ruka shrugged and joined him on the couch. “I’m not complaining. Haven’t seen the top of that table in months. You’re pretty useful.” Apparently ‘not minding the mess’ in his ad only referred to complaints.
And then Ruka’s fingers brushed against Sakito’s cheek before he realized he had moved. The touch was too gentle and lingering to be what Ruka said it was. “…You had some dirt on your face.” He got up and entered the bathroom, leaving Sakito bewildered.
** * *
Alcohol was not involved, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise.
Fighting games on Ruka’s Playstation were a point of common interest between the roommates, and they often played on nights when they both had nothing better to do. Once they had tried to have a tournament with friends, but there was barely room for two in the tiny living space already and Ruka and Sakito both beat everyone easily after so much practice. Now, Sakito was even starting to defeat Ruka most rounds.
“I will destroy you this time, you little snot,” the older man grumbled, gripping his controller with newfound determination as they started a fresh round. Both of them were tired, as it was well after midnight, but with only a late practice the next day they weren’t interested in quitting.
“Wanna bet?” Sakito answered with a gleeful laugh as he pummeled Ruka’s character with low blows.
For the first time that night, he got a few hits in, and started to gain the upper hand. “Yes. Best of three, loser gets tickled to death.” Money was never involved in their increasingly strange bets; they had none to spare.
“…Fine.” If Sakito wasn’t already concentrating so hard on the TV screen, he might have given Ruka an unsettled stare. That was a new penalty, but the other didn’t seem to be either laughing or serious. He didn’t know what to think.
Ruka beat him and gloated. Sakito won the next round, but lost the final. He was descended upon mercilessly, until he was beginning to become hoarse from squealing. This had to be worse than the time he lost and Ruka insisted on sticking a humiliating broccoli stalk in his ear for two hours during practice the next day. Sakito was beginning to question his sanity after going along with so many of Ruka’s ridiculous bets.
Panting, he lay on the floor when the drummer stopped to lord over his victory, but when Sakito turned to glare up at him, he found Ruka’s face only inches away. His heart only had time to skip one beat before Ruka closed the gap, taking advantage of his parted lips. Sakito was suffocating, stifled, drowning. Too shocked to push him away. Ruka moved on his own, leaning back with a contemplative ‘hm’ against the table behind him.
Sakito didn’t wait for an explanation, though it took a moment for him to find his limbs again. His hand covered his mouth loosely as he got up, still feeling Ruka’s spontaneity and hot tongue on his lips. Escaping to the bedroom, he closed the door and got into bed without undressing, mind elsewhere. He pretended to be asleep when his roommate came in later, but Sakito didn’t sleep until morning.
** * *
Practice was awkward. As if he had expected otherwise. Sakito was near hysterics by the end, nervously giggling at every stupid thing his bandmates did, and receiving skeptical glances from Ruka and bemused glances from the rest in return. He might have been overreacting, but he called an end to the day after dropping and scratching the finish on his guitar.
Ruka shrugged and left immediately, probably to smoke, but it seemed to Sakito that he was trying to avoid talking about it. He’d done the same thing earlier in the day. He considered the possibility that it would be better to let it slide and to let the drummer work out his own answers, but Sakito was hurrying after him on instinct rather than logic. “Ruka…wait.”
He turned with a raised eyebrow, cigarette indeed stuck between his lips. Sakito’s mouth tingled, the memory still fresh.
“Before you start bitching at me, it didn’t mean a thing,” Ruka said guardedly.
“I’m not mad and I don’t want last night to mean nothing.”
“...Oh.” Ruka rolled the cigarette between his fingertips, thinking. Sakito didn’t really believe that’s what he meant, and he was right. “In that case, I lied.”
Still, he didn’t know how exactly how to voice his feelings, and stood dumb until the drummer answered for him, placing a broad gentle hand on the top of his head. “Think it over, okay?”
Author: jibunnohana
Band: Nightmare
Pairing: Ruka x Sakito
Theme: memories, #14 first kiss
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Nightmare is beginning to find their footing and Ruka is in need of a roommate.
Wanted: male roommate. Must smoke and not mind the mess or the noise. Otherwise, don’t care. Sakito read and toyed with the crinkled paper he’d pulled off a public bulletin board. All the numbers were torn off already, but that didn’t matter because he already had it. Impatiently, he waited while the line rang, pushing unruly hair out of his face with the back of his hand.
Finally, an answer. “Hello…” The voice was wary yet dull. Sakito wasn’t one to call without reason, and there were more than enough reasons with two lives coming up.
“Uhm…you didn’t mention you needed a roommate.” Straight to the point - Ruka already knew who was calling.
Caught off guard, the drummer was silent, thoughtful perhaps of how to proceed answering such a loaded question. “Uhh…I guess I didn’t think it was a big deal. Why?”
“Well…” Was it even fair to impose his band authority on poor Ruka twenty-four/seven? Still, Sakito had a strong desire to escape the oppressive atmosphere of his disconcertingly flawless family home. Ruka was a few years older and they didn’t know each other very well, but they got on well enough at practice. “Have you found someone yet?”
“Naw, no serious calls.”
Ruka was obviously not going to ask as Sakito hoped. His hint had been too subtle or the drummer was being stubborn. “I could…I could move in with you. That is, if you want,” he added quickly. “No pressure.”
To his relief, Ruka laughed. “Didn’t know you were looking for a place, but sure. If you can pay, it’s fine.”
A slow tentative smile spread across Sakito’s face and they agreed to talk about the contract the next day at practice.
** * *
Much to Sakito’s excitement, with the pay from the part time job he had recently landed, splitting the rent of a ‘small’ apartment with Ruka was affordable. His parents hadn’t really approved, though there was nothing in the world that was going to stop him from moving out into the adult world. At twenty, he felt now was his time.
He was not prepared, though, for Ruka’s definition of ‘small apartment’. The living area was a crate, the one bedroom a broom closet. One bedroom. He hoped in horror that Ruka didn’t snore. (He was wrong.) When he saw a mouse run across from the garbage to the couch one early afternoon after a week of near sleeplessness, Sakito resolved to scrub everything from floor to ceiling. He ground his teeth and searched for a sponge.
Ruka was still asleep, luckily, while he cleaned. For such a tiny place, it took a long time, but curiously Sakito was finding out more about Ruka by sorting his miscellaneous junk than he had in casual conversation. And for that reason, he started to enjoy the task. The photo of him disgruntled and putting Mickey Mouse ears on Jui was particularly endearing. There were others in a similar vein, and a special edition Totoro DVD and about sixteen half-empty Coke cans lying around.
Exhausted from his effort, and unable to continue into the bedroom until Ruka woke up, Sakito collapsed on the couch and admired his work. Without the all the debris the room looked larger, lighter and more pleasing.
Half conscious, Ruka shuffled into the kitchenette and pulled a fresh Coke from the tiny fridge before turning to figure out what monster had eaten his apartment while he slept. “Hn?”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I cleaned. There was a mouse.” Sakito’s words came in a rush of apology, praying Ruka wasn’t mad. He inhaled and waited for criticism.
“Looks nice,” his roommate said, nonplussed by the fact that his stuff was not where it normally resided, but not hateful of the idea either.
Sakito breathed out. “I’d like to do the bedroom too, if that’s alright.”
Ruka shrugged and joined him on the couch. “I’m not complaining. Haven’t seen the top of that table in months. You’re pretty useful.” Apparently ‘not minding the mess’ in his ad only referred to complaints.
And then Ruka’s fingers brushed against Sakito’s cheek before he realized he had moved. The touch was too gentle and lingering to be what Ruka said it was. “…You had some dirt on your face.” He got up and entered the bathroom, leaving Sakito bewildered.
** * *
Alcohol was not involved, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise.
Fighting games on Ruka’s Playstation were a point of common interest between the roommates, and they often played on nights when they both had nothing better to do. Once they had tried to have a tournament with friends, but there was barely room for two in the tiny living space already and Ruka and Sakito both beat everyone easily after so much practice. Now, Sakito was even starting to defeat Ruka most rounds.
“I will destroy you this time, you little snot,” the older man grumbled, gripping his controller with newfound determination as they started a fresh round. Both of them were tired, as it was well after midnight, but with only a late practice the next day they weren’t interested in quitting.
“Wanna bet?” Sakito answered with a gleeful laugh as he pummeled Ruka’s character with low blows.
For the first time that night, he got a few hits in, and started to gain the upper hand. “Yes. Best of three, loser gets tickled to death.” Money was never involved in their increasingly strange bets; they had none to spare.
“…Fine.” If Sakito wasn’t already concentrating so hard on the TV screen, he might have given Ruka an unsettled stare. That was a new penalty, but the other didn’t seem to be either laughing or serious. He didn’t know what to think.
Ruka beat him and gloated. Sakito won the next round, but lost the final. He was descended upon mercilessly, until he was beginning to become hoarse from squealing. This had to be worse than the time he lost and Ruka insisted on sticking a humiliating broccoli stalk in his ear for two hours during practice the next day. Sakito was beginning to question his sanity after going along with so many of Ruka’s ridiculous bets.
Panting, he lay on the floor when the drummer stopped to lord over his victory, but when Sakito turned to glare up at him, he found Ruka’s face only inches away. His heart only had time to skip one beat before Ruka closed the gap, taking advantage of his parted lips. Sakito was suffocating, stifled, drowning. Too shocked to push him away. Ruka moved on his own, leaning back with a contemplative ‘hm’ against the table behind him.
Sakito didn’t wait for an explanation, though it took a moment for him to find his limbs again. His hand covered his mouth loosely as he got up, still feeling Ruka’s spontaneity and hot tongue on his lips. Escaping to the bedroom, he closed the door and got into bed without undressing, mind elsewhere. He pretended to be asleep when his roommate came in later, but Sakito didn’t sleep until morning.
** * *
Practice was awkward. As if he had expected otherwise. Sakito was near hysterics by the end, nervously giggling at every stupid thing his bandmates did, and receiving skeptical glances from Ruka and bemused glances from the rest in return. He might have been overreacting, but he called an end to the day after dropping and scratching the finish on his guitar.
Ruka shrugged and left immediately, probably to smoke, but it seemed to Sakito that he was trying to avoid talking about it. He’d done the same thing earlier in the day. He considered the possibility that it would be better to let it slide and to let the drummer work out his own answers, but Sakito was hurrying after him on instinct rather than logic. “Ruka…wait.”
He turned with a raised eyebrow, cigarette indeed stuck between his lips. Sakito’s mouth tingled, the memory still fresh.
“Before you start bitching at me, it didn’t mean a thing,” Ruka said guardedly.
“I’m not mad and I don’t want last night to mean nothing.”
“...Oh.” Ruka rolled the cigarette between his fingertips, thinking. Sakito didn’t really believe that’s what he meant, and he was right. “In that case, I lied.”
Still, he didn’t know how exactly how to voice his feelings, and stood dumb until the drummer answered for him, placing a broad gentle hand on the top of his head. “Think it over, okay?”