Fic: Bubblegum Fish
Bubblegum Fish
The kid had platinum blond hair and a round face and looked more like Kuma but when the boy sneered and insolently asked, “What took you so long?” as soon as Ryu stepped inside the interrogation room, he couldn't help but be reminded of someone else. He quickly put a lid on his wayward thoughts. He jut got back to work and he needed all the patience he could muster because it chafed enough that he'd been taken out of field temporarily.
“Why? You got homework?” Ryu retorted as he settled himself on the chair across the delinquent.
“Date,” the kid said.
Ryu grunted and perfunctorily opened the folder he had been holding though he had mostly memorized everything on the dossier. “Let's cut to the chase, Ikeda. We'd work something out for you since this is your first arrest. Just give us names.”
Ikeda snorted. “You got nothin' on me.”
“You sure about that?”
Ikeda sneered some more. “You wouldn't waste time on me if you did.” His sneer turned to leer as he leaned forward. “Unless you're personally interested in me. In which case, I won't mind spending the night here.”
Ryu leaned away and took a deep breath to rein in the inexplicable anger simmering inside him. “You aren't my type,” he said.
“Yeah? So what's your type? Pretty boys?”
Ryu didn't know exactly what happened - or why he lost it - except that there was this sinking sensation in his guts and the next thing he knew he was on his feet beating the daylights out of the blond delinquent.
~♥~
The long stretch of the highway mesmerized Hayato and it wasn't until he was cut off by an over-speeding red convertible that he snapped out and realized he was about to go beyond a hundred himself.
Hayato shook his head and eased up on the accelerator. Sometimes, he wondered if he would one day go off the deep end. And how that would turn out.
He could possibly just step on it while driving at a steep bend until the truck careens off the road and topple. Or maybe he'd end up picking up seemingly aloof guys then killing them after he jerked them off. He chuckled at the thought despite how his chest constricted at the painful memory.
“What's funny?”
Hayato had almost forgotten the young man he had picked up from the diner in his last stop. “Nothing,” he said. “Where'd you say you were heading?”
“I didn't,” the young man said with a grin. “Yokohama, actually.”
“I'm heading that way. It must be your lucky day. ”
“Yeah. It sure is.”
Hayato quickly glanced over and caught his passenger's gaze sweeping down his length, briefly settling on his crotch. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
The boy didn't look older than 20 but Hayato chose to believe the lie because he liked the way the kid's hair glinted reddish against the rays of the setting sun.
~♥~
Ryu looked at the small man with sparse graying hair, face blank of any expression. He didn't know why, despite the glaring difference, the doctor reminded him of Sawatari. Like he expected the man to sneer at him and tell him that the police force would be better off if he just quit. He was tempted to snort but he figured that wouldn't help his case.
“I don't have anger management issues. I got shot a month ago. Anyone would be a little fu... out of sorts.”
The doctor smiled. Or something akin to it because his dry chapped lips just kind of moved sideways. “That is true. A close brush with death is a traumatic experience even for those whose jobs put their lives on the line on a regular basis. Sometimes though, a traumatic experience serves as a catalyst to bring to fore long repressed personal issues. Perhaps, the suspect reminded you of someone.”
Ryu snorted. “Ikeda doesn't look anything like him.”
“Like who?”
“Haya--” Ryu froze up. He stamped down with a cluck and a smirk memories wanting to surface in his mind.
“Haya...” the doctor said, head slightly tilted. “Who is Haya?”
“No one,” Ryu said, dismissive even if could feel the throbbing in his temple as much as the coiling in his guts as the thought of the last time he was with Hayato refused to be quelled.
“Why are you angry?”
“I'm not!” His vehemence belied his protest. He knew there was no point holding back yet he went on and snarled, “I'm not mad at him. I'm not mad at myself. I have no repressed personal issues.”
Even as he said that the memories came flooding back - of how acutely intimate it was the way Hayato kissed his scar and whispered his name that it only seemed natural for Hayato to touch him some more and for him to let Hayato. It was as if they needed the sexual connection to make physical the need for their souls to touch.
They held on to each other and to that profound moment long after Ryu came. Until Hayato stepped back and Ryu raised his head to find Hayato grinning like he always did. Like he got one over Ryu. That was when it all crashed.
~♥~
“Fuck, man. I'm too old for this!”
Ryu didn't move from his bed. He was having drunken delusions and it wasn't real that Hayato just stepped inside his room from the balcony and was standing there brushing with his hands the sleeves of his army surplus jacket.
Or he must be dreaming again. He had been dreaming a lot of those times back when they were in high school. From somewhere below outside he could hear familiar voices.
“You got in okay?” a voice that sounded a lot like Tsucchi shouted. The next one sounded like Hyuuga who shouted, “Did he shoot you?”, followed by the kind of sniggering only Take could make.
“I'm fine,” Hayato shouted back and to Ryu he said, “Fuckers made me climb up first and now they remind me you're a gun-wielding cop.”
Convinced he was conjuring up everything, Ryu dropped the bottle of beer he was holding to join the empty others that littered the floor below his bed. He slid down on his bed and turned his back to banish the the apparition.
A few seconds later, the bed dipped and there was no mistaking the realness of the human warmth against his back. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting. But just as it was the last time Hayato laid down beside him, no arm eased around him and no hand tried to sneak inside his shirt.
Unlike that last time though, Ryu was now fully aware how Hayato being so near yet not touching him made him feel bereft. He kept his eyes closed, waiting for sleep to take over so he'd stop thinking. Except he felt an elbow prod his back instead.
“Snap out of it, Odagiri. Or I'd poke you with some other part of my body.”
That made Ryu snap open his eyes. He jerked around to look over his shoulder.
Hayato was sitting up, hands clasped behind his head, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. He was looking down at Ryu, leering and Ryu opened his mouth to snarl about the old dusty boots dirtying his bed but that close and despite his state of mind he could see clearly Hayato's eyes. Something finally broke through and everything fell into place.
Ten years. He had been looking at Hayato for ten years yet failed to see that behind the leer and the shit-eating grin and the sexual taunts, Hayato had been looking at him that way - dark brown eyes soft yet somehow searing right from Hayato's soul to his.
“Get your shit together, man. You, too, are too old for this,” Hayato said.
“Yeah,” Ryu finally said. “We're too old for this.”
~♥~
“What did I tell you about picking up strangers?”
“He's not a stranger, Dad. That's Ryu.” Hayato shot a glance at Ryu who had settled himself on the passenger seat and was looking around like he's a kid on a first truck ride.
His attention snapped back to his father when the old man said, “I thought he isn't gay. Why's he hanging with you?”
Hayato sighed. He really didn't have the energy for this right now. He just got back from a week-long drive when he got a call from Tsucchi saying that Ryu's been suspended and had been holing himself inside his apartment for days.
“Because we're friends,” Hayato said. That they were because despite his misgivings about what happened that night in his kitchen, he couldn't find it in his heart to let Ryu wallow in his darkness.
“Bullshit,” the older Yabuki said with a snort. “If I were him, I'd stay away from you as far as possible.”
Hayato really didn't need that. “That's because you're a bigot, Dad,” he said with the wryest smile he could muster. He found great satisfaction when his father's eyes narrowed at him and looked like he wanted to strangle him then and there.
“That may be so,” his father said. “But I am still your father and I don't take kindly to anyone messin' with you.”
“He's not- “ Hayato started to say before his father's meaning sank in. His chest constricted and he didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry because, hell, he really needed that. He took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Thanks,” was all he could say.
His father grunted and shoved the cargo documents towards Hayato. He shot a quick glare towards Ryu before turning around and stalking off, muttering curses under his breath.
~♥~
“So why's your father pissed at me?”
“Yeah, well, some things never change. Like you getting suspended,” Hayato said. Ryu laughed and Hayato thought Yankumi would have been pleased to hear Ryu laugh. And the laughter no longer sounded hollow.
“I guess, all that's missing is Yankumi,” Ryu said as if picking up on Hayato's thought.
“Yeah, I half expect Yankumi to show up, kick your captain's ass and tell him to reinstate her precious student.”
“That's unlikely. She's busy protecting her precious students in Africa. The only ass she's probably kicking is Shin's.”
That made Hayato laugh. “Funny how they worked out, huh? Who would have thought? Yankumi and Sawada.”
Grinning, he threw a quick glance at Ryu then quickly turned away because, god, he missed him something fierce. Yeah, some things never change and he fucking hated that. He took a deep breath then belatedly realized he missed hearing what Ryu just said. “Huh?”
A few seconds of silence passed before Ryu spoke up again. “Why can't we?”
“Why can't we what?”
“Why can't we work out?”
Hayato stole another glance towards Ryu because what Ryu said didn't make sense. His heart clenched seeing Ryu looking at him like everything made sense. He snapped his attention back on the road because fuck if he was playing that game again. “I don't know what you mean.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No. I don't know what you mean.”
“You know what I mean,” Ryu repeated with finality and conviction.
Hayato felt blood rushing up his head. Ten years of deluding himself that maybe there was something more between him and Ryu - because Ryu stayed by his side all these years despite knowing how he felt - only to crash and burn when Ryu brushed off his advances. Ten years was enough. “What the fuck, Odagiri!” he exclaimed.
“What?” Ryu dead-panned which only made Hayato all the more pissed off.
“For years you're all cold shoulder and grunts and now that we're in a middle of a busy highway and I'm trying to keep within the speed limit because I'm driving this huge-ass truck containing megatons of gasoline, you decide it's a good time to talk about...” Hayato gritted his teeth. “Fuck!” he spat out.
A minute of heavy silence bore down inside the truck cab before Ryu broke out laughing then said, “'Cause you're driving this huge-ass truck and I figured you wouldn't be able to strangle me.”
~♥~
When Ryu stepped out from a quick shower after Hayato had his, he found Hayato had put back on his clothes including his jacket and boots and was sitting on the lone chair inside the small motel room. “You going out?” he asked when Hayato didn't even spare him a glance and kept staring at the door.
“Where?” Hayato snarled, still not looking at Ryu. “I can't even get a drink because that's rule number one. Don't drink and drive.”
Ryu understood where Hayato's rage was coming from. He would have felt the same had it been the other way around between them. He sat down on one of the two single beds and surreptitiously took a deep breath. The ball was on his court. “Is there a rule about not having sex before you drive?”
Hayato finally turned to look at Ryu, his eyes narrowed into slits, jaws clenched. “Look, Ryu. I know you got shot and that probably got you to thinking about doing stuff in your bucket list like...like getting jacked off by your gay best friend. You're probably still fucked up in the head or something but, for chrissakes, don't...” He trailed off, sighed deeply and angrily brushed his face with a hand. “Just don't fuck with me,” he added wearily.
Ryu tried not to but he couldn't help getting amused at how Hayato had resorted to ranting since he brought up the matter about them. He tried not to show it though. “I'm not messing with you, Hayato. I'm just saying I'm willing to give us a shot if you're still interested.”
“Well, fuck, Odagiri, that's precisely what's messing with me means!”
Ryu got what Hayato was feeling. Hell, his world was knocked off-kilter as well but he was tired. He was tired from the day-long drive they'd spent mostly in silence, tired from a long week spent mostly drunk and in despair and tired from the ten years of dancing around the shit that was going on between them. It was time for both of them to man up. “Jesus god, Yabuki! Stop being such a girl. Do you wanna fuck me or not?”
There was a brief moment of tension-filled silence before Hayato shot up from his seat and lunged.
Ryu hadn't had time to brace himself and his breath whooshed out of his lungs when his back hit the bed and Hayato landed heavy on top of him.
“Fine,” Hayato snapped. “How do you wanna do this?”
Ryu stared right back at the ferocity in Hayato's eyes. “I don't know. How do want to have me?” This time, Ryu braced himself for the punch that would come because he had seen that look in Hayato's eyes before. It was the same look he got when he went back to Kurogin High to finish high school.
But the hard fist didn't come and instead Hayato growled, “I wanna have you in every possible way.”
~♥~
The fucker had the gall to smirk and said, “Yeah, I can feel that.”
Hayato tried to kindle the anger, calling forth every painful memory of being shunned by Ryu, but his whore of a cock betrayed him and he knew there was no way his old jeans and, certainly not the flimsy towel wrapped around Ryu, could hide his fast growing hard on. “Don't be smug,” he barked out.
“Can't help it. Do you want to fuck me?”
Ryu's entreaty disguised as a braggadocio broke through Hayato. “Yeah, that would fall under every possible way.” And finally, finally he leaned down and closed the gap between them.
Hayato forwent the usual soft gentle nibbling and went right to hard desperate crushing of one strong mouth against another. His tongue needn't have coaxed because Ryu parted his lips voluntarily and allowed him unrestrained access inside Ryu's hot mouth. Hayato could only imagine how it would feel to have his cock inside that fiery mouth.
He didn't think it was possible but the thought made him harder and it felt like his skin would burn through his clothes. “Fuck,” Hayato said when he was forced to break their kiss to take off his clothes.
He shucked off his jacket and shirt in quick jerky motions but he stopped when he stood up to take off his jeans. Hayato's most vivid fantasy was nothing compared to the sight before him - Ryu flat on his back, feet still touching the floor and the towel undone, barely covering a half-hard cock, and he was breathing hard through swollen lips.
“Fuck,” Hayato muttered once more before he took off the rest of his clothes. Ryu's lips quirked up in a lop-sided smile when Hayato almost toppled when he tried to pull off his jeans only to realize he still had his boots on.
When finally Hayato stood in all his naked glory he found Ryu had propped himself up on his elbows and was sweeping his gaze down and up with a brow arched up obviously sizing up Hayato.
Hayato suddenly felt self-conscious over his full erection almost touching his navel. He fought the urge to cover himself or turn around. He mustered back some if his swagger. “Well?”
Ryu pressed his lips together then said, “Nice.”
Hayato snorted. “Lemme me see you say that when this breaks through you.” He wasn't sure if he was trying to scare off Ryu or caution him over the possible, no, the definite pain.
Ryu merely laid flat back down, pulled up his legs and placed his heels on the edge of the bed. “Well, then, go get your stuff, tiger.”
~♥~
It burned when the bullets bore into his skin and tore his flesh but Hayato's first thrust was a searing pain and Ryu felt like his whole body was being ripped apart from the inside. Tears built up in the corners of his eyes and he had to squeeze them shut.
“Sorry,” Hayato muttered, voice rough and shaky.
Ryu forced his eyes to open, found Hayato looming above him, jaw clenched. There was no mistaking Hayato was warring inside over the consuming desire against the need to not hurt Ryu. “It's...good. It's good,” Ryu said. It was. It hurt. It was good that it hurt. “Go ahead and move.”
Hayato's shoulders and arms grew more taut, his fingers dug deeper into Ryu's hips and he started to slowly pull away. Much slower he pushed back in. His tempo increased as he did the same again and again.
The burning subsided. The pain mellowed into a muted sting. Ryu was no longer being torn apart. It felt wrong being filled that way but wrong in a good way because it was Hayato filling him up and that can only be right. As long as it was with Hayato, nothing Ryu had done or would ever do was wrong.
~ ♥ ~
“It was that good, huh?”
Ryu chuckled.
Hayato figured Ryu's head hadn't cleared yet from the orgasm because there was no way asking him to move in with him was a sane thought right after a blow job. Though Hayato felt kind of a smug that he could do that to Ryu. But he knew how it was.
Many times since their friendship veered towards something more three months ago, especially right after having fierce sex, Hayato fought hard not to blurt out his feelings for Ryu. He should have said something, he knew but ten years of holding everything in didn't make it easy for Hayato to own up to his feelings and because, hell, he's Yabuki Hayato, former leader of Kurogin High class 3-D.
“Why not?” Ryu asked, sitting up straighter on the couch but not bothering to pull back up his jeans still pooled around his ankle. “You're on the road most of the time and you're only back for a few days. It's impractical to keep your own apartment.”
Hayato placed a chaste kiss on the inside of Ryu's left thigh before he stood up and tuck back inside his sweatpants his already spent cock. He stared down at Ryu and said, “And I get to suck you every week or so. Awesome deal.”
Ryu smirked and finally pulled up his jeans but left it open. “You make it sound as if I'm not in love with you and all I'm after is your tits and ass.”
Hayato stilled. “What did you say?”
“I meant, cock and ass,” Ryu corrected with a sheepish smile.
“No. Before that,” Hayato calmly asked though he was finding it hard to breathe and his heart was threatening to jump right out of his rib cage because, Jesus, Ryu didn't just say...
Ryu's slight frown dissipated and his lips turned up askew in that annoying way. “Well, I guess I said it first, Yabuki. And that's for the record.”
His heart seemed about to burst with joy and he couldn't help laughing out loud because ten fucking years. “Yeah, well, I felt it first,” he countered.
“So you claim,” Ryu said with a grunt. “Now that we finally got that out of the way, let's get properly naked and have proper sex on a bed.” He stood up, grabbed Hayato's hand and led him inside the bedroom.
Hayato let himself be led by Ryu because he had always anyway.
The End
A/N: In case you're wondering, I temporarily entitled this fic Bubblegum Fish 'cause I couldn't think of one. Still can't. So, yeah, it doesn't mean anything. And third scene was right out of an actual scene from Gokusen The Movie