[LOG] Marui & Niou - plotting

[maruibuns]

Who: Marui Bunta, Niou Masaharu
Where: Dorms - Marui's bedroom
When: 20th August, evening.
Rating: PG
Summary: Niou comes to Marui's bedrooms to plot things. Lots of gossiping about Rikkai people, lies, lots of denials and some UST.


"Idiot.' The Rikkaidai tensai complained out loud before closing his laptop lid and pushing it away to give room for his head. He had been lying on his stomach, staring at that team shuffle and working why the hell his kouhai was made vice-captain and not him. After all, he was the genius. Then again, he knew it was all but pride. Besides, what sort of crap would he have to put up with having Sanada as captain. The amount of time they would have to spend together discussing boring club business. No. It wasn't for him, no matter how much he disliked the idea of Akaya having any sort of authority over him.

The 'idiot' part, however, was directed to Niou rather than the team shuffle. They had been friends for a long time but, for some reason, poking at the idea that he had feelings for the trickster really annoyed him. In the end, he never allowed himself much thought on the matter as, despite all those years being in the same homeroom from time to time and same club, Marui had no idea what went on in Niou's head and why he said some of the things he did. A change of subject was always the best way out.

"I need cake..." he said to himself, closing his eyes and resting his head over his crossed arms.

Niou had sort of decided that he wouldn't tease Marui too much, because it would be more fun to spend the last year of high school on Marui's good side. Then the team shuffle happened, giving Niou an opportunity too good to pass by. Soon enough, he received a death threat from Marui - alongside a promise that he'd fulfill Niou's dying wish of having kinky sex with him. In other words, nothing serious. Still, Niou didn't want to go to Marui's room empty-handed.

The school either didn't have a baking club or it was a hidden organization, with secret handshakes and all. There were easier ways to get hand-made desserts. Such as, being confessed to by someone who liked expressing her feelings with pastries. Sure, the person that the girl wanted to confess to was someone from her original school, but Niou's impersonation had her completely fooled.

The girl had gone all out on her basket of sugary love. Everything was nicely decorated, some even said things like I love you. Marui would appreciate them. Niou snickered to himself as he made his way to Marui's door.

"Tarundoru. 50 laps," Niou said as Sanada, opening the door. He then let the illusion fade away. "Or you're not gonna get the stuff I made for ya with love. Puri."

The redhead didn’t even bother opening his eyes when he hear ‘Sanada’s voice’. He knew it was Niou, but just in case it was Sanada, he rather pretend he was asleep. When the door opened, Marui peeked with one eye from under the red strands to see Niou standing with something that looked like dessert.

“What’s that?” he hesitantly rolled on his back before sitting up. “Cake?” It was so suspicious, he was reluctant to get too excited about it, yet, he stood up and made his way to the other. “You so didn’t make this…” but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to eat. “I love you,” he read then looked at the trickster playfully, “how romantic, Niou.”

Niou gasped and held his hand to his heart in mock hurt. " 'Course I made ‘em, otherwise the meaning behind those words wouldn't be genuine.” He closed the door and stepped further into the room.

“Course…” Marui curled his lips in a little smile and kicked his friend gently on the foot, “... give me those,” he took whatever Niou had in his hands and walked back to his bed already stuffing his face with one of the pastries. “These are nice, but not enough for kinky sex.”

"Hey, they'd be plenty for us to eat off each other's bodies if ya didn't gobble 'em all before we even got to the sex." Niou managed to sound completely serious while pretending to misinterpret Marui's words.

He licked the cream off his lips and turned to Niou almost choking because, for a split second, he actually believed him. “I’m not having kinky sex with you, idiot,” he explained once again, just in case, “or any kinda sex, for that matter.” Marui knew Niou was joking, he was always joking, but there was always that tiny little doubt hidden in the back of his mind. How could he still not be able to read that white headed freak yet?

Niou smirked. It looked like there might have been a bit of doubt in Marui's mind, which was always nice. After all, it would spoil the fun if it was too obvious that Niou was just joking. He sat on the bed beside Marui and leaned closer, wiping cream off the corner of Marui's mouth.

"And here ya got me all excited," he said with his best husky voice, "Gotta make it up to me later." He finally decided to be good and moved away from Marui.

"Well, 'spose we could come up with some grand scheme to help Sanada, since you're not up for anything more sensual." He just had to add the last part.

But by the time Niou moved away, the pastry inside Marui’s stomach was twist and turning. What a bastard, getting him all worked up over a sex joke!

Looking down at the pastries that were still left, the redhead gave himself a little moment to recover from that bizarre little moment as he contemplated what to eat next. “Yeah, that. What do you have in mind anyway,” he said, deciding to ignore the ‘sensual’ part. If he knew Niou well, he would eventually get back to that line of thought anyway, no reason to indulge him now. “Maybe we should mess up the girls toilet… or a locker room. But I don’t wanna fuck up with anyone’s property, just school property.”

All they knew of their captors was that they were rich and powerful, meaning their resources for keeping everything in check had to be good. "How 'bout one distraction instead of one," Niou mused. "Opposite sides of the building, maybe. Better make sure that even if they figure out we wanna distract them, they won't know what we're distracting them from.

"Wasn't Sanada talkin' half an hour? Blowin' up toilets is easy but we need more commotion. Enough to distract ‘em but not so much that they evacuate the school or somethin’."

"Yeah, but we might need more people," Marui thought for a moment. What could cause a mess but not enough to have the school evacuated. "OH!" he turned to his friend with another pastry in his hand, "Flood!" he took a bite off it, "That's not too bad, is it? If we mess with the plumbing.... say, in the library."

Niou nodded. "We'll cause a flood in the library and let Akaya blow shit up a lil’ after that. Should keep 'em occupied. Kinda low-risk, too. The flood will look like an accident."

“Right!” Marui replied, happy with himself and his genius. He would later remind Niou that it was his idea, but now they had to plan. “How are we going to do that anyway? There is a toilet in the library, but how can we mess it up with no one noticing?” He thought for a while longer and took another bite off his pastry. “Girls toilet, it’s a lot less suspicious.”

"Lessee, gettin’ in and out of the girls’ toilet. Need to be real careful 'bout security cams.” There was some inspecting to do before the operation. "With my disguise, as long as I’m not caught transformin' I'll be an unidentifiable girl. But you..." He tilted his head and looked Marui up and down. "You'll pass, too. Leave it to me, I'll make ya even cuter.”

That assessment didn’t phase Marui at all. He was cute, he knew that much already. As long as he didn’t have to speak, because despite the cute face, and his height, he had a pretty manly voice. “Yeah, cool,” he nodded putting whatever was left of the pastries aside and licking his, now sweet, lips as he shifted on the bed to stare at his partner in crime. “So, that part is sorted, but how are we going to mess up with the plumbing enough that will make it hard for the to fix it. Cos, we have to go in, do what we have to do, then leave in time … and when it floods they need to struggle or it will be pointless.”

"Project Bunko, huh." Niou hummed. "Anyway, I wanna see those water pipes first. We can make it harder on 'em by messin' with the sinks, too. Take a tap apart an' do a lil' damage before puttin' it back together."

The redhead nodded in agreement. “That’s it then, we should go have a look at it on monday,” because sundays were his sugar free days and he didn’t like doing anything that required brain power then, “and we can look in the boy’s loo first. Bet the pipes are all the same anyway.” With that, Marui stretched his arms up lazily and dropped back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “This will be fun,” he smiled. He stayed maybe a week or so without Niou in that island, and he missed him more than he would admit.

"Course we'll have fun. My first real operation here." There would be many more, seeing as they weren't going to get off that island anytime soon.

Niou leaned in closer, resting his head on his hand. "How 'bout you? Haven't had much fun here, have ya?" He stroked Marui's chest. "Well, I'm the trick to your treat, aren't I." It was difficult but he said it without cracking up.

His odd coloured eyes closed briefly and when they opened again, they had moved from the ceiling to stare into Niou’s. “I can’t believe you just said that,” his lips curved a little into a small smile but then he sighed, ignoring the touch to his chest despite being very aware of it. “No. It’s been pretty boring,” without you, he kept the last part to himself. “without my brothers. I just don’t want to think about shit, you know?” But Marui didn’t like sounding negative, so he tried to make a joke out of it. “I have to point out tho, I arrived here before you and before Renji, so as long as you idiots know I’m better than you, I can survive just fine.”

Niou smiled back, then simply nodded, knowing very well that everyone missed their families. He did as well - sure he abruptly left them sometimes but those were all adventures that he planned for himself. This was an unwanted situation for everyone. 'Might as well have fun' was his motto, though.

"You've got some nerve, genius, callin' both me and Renji idiots." His fingers traveled from Marui's chest to his bottom lip. "Better than us? I oughta shut ya up." He paused. "Sensually," he said slowly with a smirk.

Marui did have some nerve, despite his height, he was ballsy even with his Rikkaidai members. Maybe because of his laid back nature, he never thought too much of the consequences of his jokes. He just wasn’t as calculating as Niou, maybe.

“Right,” was the redhead’s answer, tempted to bite that finger, but even if his mind wasn’t in place, his body decided to react by giving him a little light blush on the cheeks.

Niou bit back a self-satisfied grin and painted a serious expression on his face as he got even closer, moving his finger from Marui's lips to his cheek. The faint blush was very pleasing. "Ahh, now that's somethin' I'd love to see more from ya."

Marui noticed the warmth of his cheek once Niou’s finger brushed against it. It wasn’t supposed to feel like that in a normal situation. How annoying! He didn’t want to look stupid, blushing like a shy girl. “What are you talking about?” he dared to ask, simply because he wasn’t sure if Niou was talking about his cheeks or…. what else could it be anyway? Still, before making a fool of himself, he wanted to be sure. Being a genius also required good judgement.

He tilted his head with a mischievous smile. "Cute reactions." He caressed Marui's cheek, unable to stop touching him. "You're real cute, blushin' like that."

So he was indeed blushing. The fact that Niou bluntly pointed it out didn’t help his case at all. Marui felt like suddenly his whole face, up to the tip of his ear, were just as red as the t-shirt he was wearing. Despite that being his favourite colour, he certainly didn’t want it in his face.

“Don’t be a jerk, Niou..” he tried to sound as unphased by it as possible, as if he was just brushing off that silly and untrue comment, however, his heart was beating a tad faster than expected. Then, he rolled to his side, giving his friend his back and avoiding both the stare of those icy eyes and touch as a result. Niou wasn’t exactly being a jerk, at least not with his words, but still. “The blushing is just sugar rush…. and it’s hot here too.”

He snickered at Marui's back. "Sure it's not a different kinda rush?" He gave Marui's shoulder a light touch. "Hey, I'm feelin' the heat, too."

Well, it was the tensai’s own fault for simply choosing all the wrong words, which could be distorted so easily. And to think he was trying to be careful with those! How expected of Niou, Marui was almost proud. That said, the redhead had enough of that joke. He knew well his friend’s playful advances, but this time he was pushing, for whatever reason, a little too far compared to what they were both accustomed to.

Determined, he rolled onto his back again at stared into Niou’s eyes for a moment, quietly. The most annoying thing was that Marui did find him attractive and he wasn’t sure how much of that had extended to feelings, even if, only a few days prior to Niou’s arrival, he had said to Yukimura that no one in their right mind would have feelings for the trickster.

With his face still red, he closed his eyes and sighed briefly, but loudly. “Then I should open a window,” he was about to straighten up, deciding his previous position quite vulnerable.

As much as he liked to tease Sanada about being old-fashioned, Niou was rather old school when it came to dealing with infatuation. Basically, if Marui had pigtails, he'd pull them. Although he didn't like to tease Marui too much, preferring the redhead's smile to his frown.

He put his hand on Marui's shoulder in order to keep him from getting up. Perhaps he was going too far this time.

"I like ya better laying down." His words came out dirtier than he had intended.

Marui was about to sit up so when the hand came to keep him down, it almost felt like he was been pinned there. His eyes opened straight away and he stared. Surprised at first, to say the least, then the words sank in, and they did in that dirtier way Niou hadn’t intended.

“AH!” pointing at his friend’s face, almost poking the tip of his nose. “Pervert!” he added, as if he had caught a culprit in action.

Niou laughed and planted a kiss on Marui's fingertip. "Didn't mean anythin' weird by it, honest." He let go of Marui's shoulder. "I like it when you're feisty but I like you vulnerable, too. Layin' beside me," he paused with a smirk, "or under me."

Marui was still pointing at his face. The kiss to his finger was probably the most innocent thing Niou had done so far that evening. He did withdraw the hand when his friend did too, but not before hitting Niou gently on the chest with the back of his hand. “Oi,” he started, feeling that it was getting harder and harder to keep himself from taking any of that seriously. Was there any sincerity in those words at all? Would he want there to be?.....

NO! There was not and he did not, Marui decided. “You know, you silly bastard, one day someone will take that shit you say to heart and you’ll end up with a creepy stalker trying to find themselves under you somehow. Then you’ll come to me for help and that is not my area of expertise.”

"Don't worry." He stared at Marui with his piercing blue eyes. "I choose my conquests well." More like victims, especially when he chose to tease Sanada. "I've had to turn down some unwanted admirers, though. Jus' did it real gently."

His eyes were really pretty, the tensai always thought that from the first time they’ve met. How could people miss that about him? Ballsy, unlike some, Marui stared back with his purple eyes, which were pretty awesome too and he knew it. He snorted though, not doubting that Niou had to turn down many over the years.

“Yeah?” the redhead smirked playfully. “Then how do you do it?” he pointed at his own face, “Pretend I’m one of those, and I’m all like Niou-san Niou-san, please go on a date with me, I’m in love with your fashionable hair… and the rest of you of course” he tried a girl’s voice but sounded more like an old lady.

Marui loved poking fun at his hair. "Can't imagine wantin' to turn down a confession like that," Niou joked. He took Marui's hands in his own and continued to hold his gaze, expression earnest. "I'm flattered. You're an amazing lady but I'm afraid I'm not the one for you. Thank you for your thoughtful confession, I'll cherish your words." He soothed Marui's thumb with his own.

The tensai mocked the hair but in reality he thought it was pretty cool and he was sure he had mentioned it before. So, the joke was all but meaningless tease.

Their eyes met and Marui didn’t want to turn away from it straight away for whatever reason, maybe he was just taking his time finding the right words. Could also be that he was in character. “Niou-san… but I … I… “ he snorted and then composed himself again, ”...how can you say you are not the one? I know you are, my heart say so, give me a chaaaaaaance!”

He was proud of his acting.

It was getting more and more difficult to keep a straight face. "Listen." He took Marui's hand to his heart and his own hand to Marui's heart. "Our hearts don't beat the same way. I can only wish that I was in love with someone as amazing as you."

“I DON’T CARE!” Marui said in the lady’s voice but overly dramatic, “I have low standards! I’ll bake and clean and braid your hair… I’ll wash your dog and give your friends cake! Pleeeeeaaaaseeeee Niouuu love me for just one night at least!” He hugged him and threw a leg over his body, chuckling but trying to make that sound like he was crying desperately.

Niou raised an eyebrow at Marui's leg, then grabbed it and threw the redhead on the bed under him. "Yeah, I can love ya for a night," he whispered in his ear.

Marui was laughing, even when he found himself under his friend. But then Niou leaned in. Then he whispered. The tensai’s heart skipped a beat, the laughter was gone and all that was left was him... breathing a little heavily. “Niou…” he said quietly, “...don’t take advantage of ladies in love.”

He moved to face Marui. "Be careful what ya promise. Don't lead a fella on," he said, caressing Marui's thigh. His touch was soft - rather uncharacteristic of him but he'd never touched Marui in such a sensitive spot before.

It took Marui a little moment to realise that his position now was even more vulnerable and that Niou’s wandering hand was venturing in areas it had never ventured before. Why the latter, the redhead was puzzled.

It felt to him as if something heavy had fallen into his stomach. That’s how nervous he suddenly found himself. His heart was beating too fast for him to be able to have a quick reaction but eventually he did. He reached down and held that hand still, tightly.

“So….” he look at him reluctantly, “... feeling inspired by Sanada and Yukimura love shenanigans?”

It was always better to joke than make things like that serious when the other person was Niou.

"Would be more exciting if Sanada took some cues for me. Think I should counsel him?" Niou gave an easy laugh and moved away. "Gimme an update," he said when he was laying beside Marui. "Like, any other lovebirds this island brought together? Yagyuu seems like he's been romanticizing with someone."

“I only know what Yukimura told me,” Marui turned his head to the side, towards Niou. He was glad his friend stopped touching without persistence. Niou had only just arrived, sort of, and he didn’t want to have a fight, or that things turned weird…. well, weirder than usual. “He said Yagies hooked up with Oshitari. You know?” he gestured, bringing his hands to his eyes, “The Hyoutei with glasses? And…”

The redhead paused and wondered if he could add just one little lie, a tiny one of his own. Niou wouldn’t be affected by it directly, but it would still be quite hilarious.

“And Akaya’s been sleeping around. That innocent look, is just a facade,” he paused and added a truth, just to make his lie more believable, “That brat Echizen is super tall now, and I’ve heard he’s been sleeping around too… and kinda taking that big Hyoutei dude. Ah yeah, and Hyoutei D1 is dating from what I’ve gathered.” The redhead turned the ceiling, “Something in the Hyoutei water. Kinda glad Jirou’s not here.”

Niou stared at Marui with a quizzical frown. "I wanted to hear the latest gossip, not your latest dream." He wasn't convinced that it was all lies, though. Hell, there might have been something in the island's drinking water to cause all that to happen. "'Gyuu and that Oshitari, I’ll buy." He really had to talk with Yagyuu. He absolutely didn't want to miss something like this. "But Yukimura told ya that other stuff, too?" His lips started curving into an impish smile. "If ya want me to believe somethin' like that 'bout our Akaya, then us sempais should have a nice talk with him."

“Yeah, you should totally have a talk with him. The boy lost his way, I’m telling you. Who knows what he’s getting himself into,” Marui shook his head, showing that he did not condone such behaviour, “I’m sure he would appreciate sex advice from you.”

"I know he would." His smile only widened. "I'll talk to the lil' devil 'bout your concerns."

“MINE?” Marui’s eyes widened and he laughed. “I have no concerns about anyone's sex life, I’m sure you are much more concerned. Or maybe Yanagi is.” With a playful nudge, the redhead rolled to his side. “Hey” he stared again but in a more serious tone, “do you think Yanagi is jealous? You know, Sanada and Yukimura being together and all.”

Niou took a moment to think. "Nah, he must be happy that his best friends are together after all this time. I think he's been rootin' for 'em, y'know, in silence." He nodded as if to assure himself. "No way there's some love triangle goin' on there. And Yanagi's actually been focusin' on Akaya lately." He let out a dramatic sigh. "Really, that kid... Now I know who's the first on this island to have an appointment with Dr. Niou."

Marui smiled, followed by a chuckle and a yawn. “Dr. Niou’s Appointment sounds like a porn film title.” Not that he had seen many. Most his friends at school, and even those who lived around his neighborhood, were all going through this horny phase, it was a little annoying because he wasn’t. “I noticed that. Yanagi is no time waster. But as long as he isn’t hitting on me, it’s all gpp”

"Sounds like a great flick, doesn't it? Think Akaya will love bein' the star." He was already planning his counseling session, wondering if there was an ounce of truth to what Marui had said. Perhaps Akaya was crushing on someone. There was no way Niou would voluntarily miss out on anything like that. “Be careful with Yanagi, he’s got all the data he needs of ya.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Marui shrugged then switched his position, rolling back to his back. But as he did, he moved to use Niou’s stomach as his pillow. “Besides, what do you mean by all the data he needs. Needs for what?”

Leaning on his arms, Niou lifted himself up a bit. “Hey,” he said softer than he intended. He had mixed feelings about being used as a pillow but he always lost in the end. This time he decided to be good and enjoy the proximity.

"Come on, he has the power to control ya like a puppet." The impish grin was back. "Didn't ya know? Data guys are real scary when it comes to the matters of the love muscles."

Marui didn’t care if Niou-pillow enjoyed his head on him or not, and it was pretty clear since all he did was bat his lashes at the weak protest.

“Love muscles?” the redhead chuckled then laughed, “I really doubt Yanagi can control mine or anyone’s love muscle,” he thought for a short moment, “I mean, not like he has much data, not on mine anyway. You haven’t given him any data on yours have you? You sly dog.”

"I'm not that kinda guy,” Niou exclaimed after a dramatic gasp. "Seriously, though, shouldn't ya know better? Yanagi doesn't need ya to give him the data he needs." Slandering Yanagi was quickly becoming one of his main hobbies.

Slandering was fun, as long as they weren’t caught in the act.

The tensai made a thinking sound. Obviously, he didn’t want to agree with Niou because, firstly, he didn’t like being wrong, and second, he was sure Yanagi didn’t have that kind of data on him. “True for certain things, but not anything related to love or its related muscles. That would be way creepy.” He stared at Niou, “Cos like… how would he get that right? Mm,” okay, maybe he was little worried now.

"Ya might be easier to read than ya think. If he wanted to, he'd easily gather all the necessary data 'bout what's goin' on right there," he said while rubbing Marui's heart.

For a split second, Marui felt as if his heart had leaped at the touch. His eyes followed from that hand to Niou’s and there it lingered for a moment until he shrugged lightly . “Pff…” he dismissed, “not even I know what goes on there.”

Niou was taken aback but recovered fast. "Ya don't even know yourself, huh?" He poked at Marui's chest. "Think you'll be the first star of Dr. Niou's Appointment instead of Akaya."

Marui twisted his lips slightly, into a soft but doubtful smirk. “I’ll be glad to see Dr. Niou fail.” The smirk faded as the redhead inhaled deeply then sighed. “Not the kinda muscle I pay much attention to, Niou. Pretty neglected, really.”

It seemed that a lot of people his age, and even younger, had great interest in romantic matters, or plain sexual matters, but Marui just wasn’t that impressed. At least, he assumed he was fairly content with what and whom he had in his life. Maybe now, on that island, things were different, but back home, his team, his brothers, his friends,... that whitehead trickster. He was happy with having them the way they were. They were a few months from university entrance exams, why would he want to complicate life?

“What about yours?” He asked curiously, reaching to poke at Niou’s heart in the same manner his friend did to his.

"How cheeky! Dr. Niou never fails." He truly believed that he was a great love doctor even though he was more proficient at teasing and trickery than actual good advice. He was pretty great at playing Cupid, though. Not that he wanted to get Marui together with anyone, but then again, Marui didn't seem too interested either. "Don't neglect your heart, that's just sad. Makes me feel bad for both of your love muscles."

Niou held the hand Marui used to poke his heart. "Mine? It's an enigma that only I can understand." The closest thing to the truth that he was able to admit. "Since ya obviously want our souls to connect," he said, holding onto Marui's hand, "The first appointment is now in session. Even though I don't have my sexy white coat or anythin'." And they were still sprawled out on the bed like two slobs.

Marui’s philosophy in life was summed up by that scene. Eat, sleep, play. It wouldn’t be too hard to stay the whole day there, being lazy, in bed, being playful with Niou. Why would he want anything else? What else was there, anyway?

“I want that?” the redhead raised an eyebrow, letting Niou hold his hand without any attempts of taking it back. “That coat would definitely complete the magic, but I have a good imagination, so I’m totally seeing a coat now. What do you wanna know?”

"I know exactly what ya want. You've been achin' for this heart-to-heart." He gripped Marui's hand. "What I wanna know is what lead to ya bein' so cold 'bout this stuff. Had a bad experience, didn't ya? Somethin' was so sweet but then it was gone." He imagined Marui crying over a cake that was too small, something like that.

It was very hard to keep a straight face. “Really?” he said then snorted, “I’m not cold. Why do you say I’m cold? And no, never had a bad experience per se.” Or enough experience to have a heartbreak or anything of that sort.

With a sigh, he let go of Marui's hand. "Course you're cold if ya don't give your heart the attention it needs. How can ya not care 'bout love 'n all that shit?" He frowned as if in disbelief. "Ya must be goin' through somethin' right now." He looked deep into Marui's eyes. "Let Dr. Niou help ya open up."

That. Marui again wasn’t sure if Niou was being serious or not. He stared back either way, with his rare purple eyes. ”You have very intense eyes, you know that?” he muttered but soon changed the subject back to his heart. “What sort of thing would I be going through, then,” he hesitated, “Doctor…?”

Niou knew his eyes were intense but he had never been aware of how much it perhaps affected Marui. He made a mental note about taking more chances to stare into those killer purple eyes.

"A lil' bit of this, maybe a lil' bit of that," he said while playing with the hem of Marui's shirt. "The way ya said 'doctor' sent shivers down my spine." Which was true. "Think you'll be a cuter patient than Akaya. Now all ya need to do is trust me."

His lips curved in a smile, soft one. The tensai was amused, but also glad Niou wasn’t touching his heart anymore because he was sure that would've lead to weird things happening again. “You really do have a doctor fetish, then.”

It was daring of Marui to continue to stare. He knew how that made him feel but he was determined to brush it off as nothing of importance. “Looking cuter is really not an issue,” he then noticed Niou’s hand playing at his shirt, “now trusting…as a doctor… mm.” The older teen mused and as risky as it was, decided to play. He brought a hand to his own lip and tapped at it, thoughtfully, “I’ll trust you, doctor, if you tell me one little secret of your love muscle.”

Niou stopped playing with the hem and moved his fingers underneath Marui's shirt, just a little bit. "Wanna know one of my secrets? I can't make it too easy, y'know." He really did like to guard his secrets well. "Secrets are like mysteries," he said in a low voice, "they need to be uncovered."

His fingers brushed circles on Marui's skin. "I can help ya uncover a big secret. See, there's someone who makes me go crazy. With no warnings, my heart skips a beat, my body heats up, my thoughts are a total mess..." He sighed, then painted a grin on his face. "I can't jus' tell ya who it is, though. Got any idea?" It was a challenge to seem confident when in reality if Marui did have an idea, Niou wouldn't know what to do.

Why, the tensai wasn’t sure- he would never be sure- but he let Niou touch him. It was a light touch but Marui felt as if those fingers were scratching the inside of his soul. The low voice made the redhead’s heart skip a beat. Then circling of his friend’s fingers over his skin brought heat to his body, his cheeks warmed up slightly, and his eyes showed more confusion than anything else.

“Ah….” he managed, once his thoughts returned to him. Truth be told, all he could remember was something about mysteries. The whole monologue was lost somewhere between his ear and his brain. “Mm… I’m not… I..” He closed his eyes hoping to recover. “I won’t speculate.”

Niou lifted himself up, leaning on one arm. Slowly he moved his other hand from under Marui's shirt to his collarbone and chin, then cupped his face and looked hesitantly into his purple eyes. Was there something there after all, were they going through something similar? In a way, he really didn't want to know about Marui's feelings for someone else. Yet, not finding out something like this about his friend would never be due to his lack of trying.

"Now it's like I never told ya anythin'. I tried, though, so shouldn't ya give me your trust?" He brought their faces closer. "If ya don't wanna play then let me counsel ya."

The problem was that Marui had spent a long time, maybe years even, shoving whatever feelings he noticed about his friend back in the dark corners of his heart and mind. It was easier that way, less complicated and, also, less dangerous. But the reality was that he had never been sure of his feelings. Since Niou was, after all, the trickster, getting the truth out of him was nearly impossible and even if it was actually the truth, Marui would still doubt it.

His heart, on the other hand, didn’t lie. It was beating loudly in his chest, louder as Niou shortened the distance between them. What should he say? Part of him wanted to roll off and hide under the bed with the rest of the pastries.

“Fine…” he said in an almost inaudible tone, his hands suddenly landing over Niou’s.

This day had to come sooner or later. It's just that Niou always thought it would be later, and certainly not on this day. To say he was unprepared would have been the understatement of the century. "Bein' close like this will help ya relax." His throat suddenly felt dry and his hands felt like they were burning up from Marui's touch. "So, ya can jus' talk to me."

Relax? That was clearly not the case. Any day, Marui would take Niou's hug or touch for relaxation, but that closeness, the way he was staring and talking. It caught the redhead by surprise. Why now? Why there? They were about to flood the school's library and be extremely mischievous for the sake of finding the truth behind their kidnappings. That wasn't the time or place to show each other's cards. But maybe the fear that something bad would happen to them made some of them, like Sanada and Yukimura, accept what they had been hiding in their hearts for so long.

"I know but I don't know what to say." And that was as honest as he could be at that moment. "It's complicated, stuff like that. I just don't think about it, you know?" And with that, his thumb stroked Niou's wrist unconsciously.

Niou tried to not look relieved. He wanted Marui to be able to talk to him, after all. It was difficult enough as it was - he loved being not just a trickster but a master trickster, however, he also had a serious side that his close friends were supposed to be able to lean on anytime.

He would just have to deal with his inevitable jealousy.

He nodded, genuinely understanding, and gave Marui a small smile. "Start dividin' your attention from your stomach to your love muscles. Then get a new appointment."

There was a soft side to Niou, Marui knew it, he never doubted that he could count on his friend whenever he needed. Niou didn't even have to say it. He feared losing control of his own emotions, however. It was indeed easier to stuff his face with cake when he was feeling drawn to the trickster and blame it on the lack of stamina too.

"Oi," he closed one eye and stared fiercely with the other, "you telling me to go on a diet so I can pay more attention to my heart?" He said playfully, "I'll bite you, you know. I said I would."

Niou’s mind was still a mess but he was good at hiding things. Plus, being playful was his forte. He brought one of his fingers to Marui's mouth. "Bite me like one of your pastries, Bunta."

Marui couldn’t help but laugh at that. It came at a great timing, too. His mind was also a mess, but they both seemed to be good at hiding and joking it off. Without hesitation, he held Niou’s hand and parted his lips, biting the side of his finger. “Too hard… pastries are soft,” he said then turned to bite the soft side of the palm, under the pinky.

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