[LOG] Marui & Niou - meeting

[maruibuns]

Who: Nioy Masaharu, Marui Bunta
Where: Showers
When: 2rd September, morning.
Rating: PG - sexual innuendos
Summary: Cuteness(in their own weird way) and more UST

All fun and games until someone gets caught. It was impossible to compare punishments at home - which were most often some form of Sanada’s love - to anything that happened on this island and this questionable institute. The kidnappers were a mystery, and a truly dangerous one at that, seeing how students had already disappeared or been eaten by snakes.

It was a beautiful sunny morning but Niou had a rather uncharacteristic grim aura to him as he made his way to the kitchen. Solitary confinement cells weren't fun things to think about, especially when they held two of his dearest friends. He believed that they would return, but in what kind of condition?

Upon entering the kitchen, Niou immediately spotted one of the friends in question. Namely, Marui. "Low on sugar, huh,” he muttered and let out a sigh of relief. It felt good to see the redhead after days of worrying, although in Marui’s case, low on sugar meant half-dead. No, as Marui was now, he looked like he had actually died and crawled back from his grave, more desperate for cake than he’d ever been in his life.

That morning, no matter how beautiful it looked, Marui saw nothing. He had raised from his bed, and like the undead, dragged his bare feet towards the kitchen. The clothes he was wearing were the same as what he had on the Friday before. Not the girl disguise, but his own clothes he had changed into before he got caught. His hair was messy, he hadn’t properly showered for three days and while to most people that was a priority, for the redhead, cake, pastries, candy, any sort of sugar won against all else.

When Niou walked in, the tensai was crouched in front of the open fridge, snatching whatever he could find, like some sugar goblin. “Low… very low,” he muttered taking a bite of a delicious looking chocolate tart.

Niou walked up to Marui with a small smile. "Akaya's fine, right?" There were lots of other questions, too, but they had suddenly lost their relevance now that Marui was in front him. Safe, albeit still in the middle of garnering lost life energy. Niou crouched behind Marui, extended his arm over the redhead's shoulder and grabbed a yogurt - which would suffice for breakfast. "Ya stink, by the way," he said and straightened.

"I don't know," he said first, then took a bite off something else, he didn't even know what he was eating anymore. "I was alone the whole time. I didn't see or hear anyone. They'd just leave some food and that was it." And it wasn't enough food, not for the redhead anyway, but maybe the main problem was the lack of shower. They had water and a bucket, but without something other than that all he could was get wet and wait for his body to dry.

"It was hot," he added, "and humid. The forest, that's where I was." Pulling his top towards his nose, Marui sniffed and stood up with a plate of something that looked like an apple pie. "Urgh, you're right... This sucks."

Niou picked up a spoon and leaned on a counter. "The forest, of course," he groaned, opening his yogurt. "I feel so bad for our cute kouhai." He ate a spoonful. "An' you, too." He tilted his head to the side and looked at Marui with what must have been the most obvious I won't spare you from the sex joke I just thought of expression ever. "Say, why don't we shower together? It's been way too long since I last saw your naked body. I've been yearnin'."

Whomever that pie belonged to, it looked delicious. Marui didn’t even bother reading the name, he just ripped the cleanfilm off and placed it down on the counter. Then, as if he had developed some unbelievable speed in his solitary cell, reached out to snatch the spoon off Niou’s hand. With the stolen item in his hand, he looked at his friend’s expression- his own hair all shaggy over his eyes- and hit him in the forehead with it. “Shut up, arsehole.”

That said, and in spite of the sex joke, Marui was happy to see that face. Second best sight after cake, he thought in his tiredness. Now that sugar level was coming back to his normal and he was feeling more like himself and less like a food zombie, the redhead could even appreciate the pie. He pulled a chair, sat down at the counter and leaned over his food, possessively. “I do need a real shower though,” he stated, “I do need to check on Akaya too. That little stupid brat. Setting fire to shit and getting caught. What the hell was he thinking? If he is well, then I’m going to beat him up until he is not. I swear,” he broke a piece off the pie with the spoon and shoved it into his mouth then continued, with his mouth full, “and Yukimura is going to kill me for getting the brat involved in the first place,” he thought for a moment, “might as well shower with you, since it will probably be your last chance to see this awesome, but starved, body of mine. I wouldn't want to deprive you of the pleasure of my nakedness.”

Niou rubbed his forehead. He really needed to start getting out of melee range before he said something that warranted violent attacks. Or perhaps he had a masochistic streak. He stopped to think for a while and decided that next time one of his friends attacked him, he'd let out a satisfied moan.

"Doubt Akaya turned into a zombie, so he's probably doin' better than ya," he said while looking for a new spoon. He settled on a teaspoon that was left in the sink and resumed his breakfast. "If ya wanted to kiss me, ya didn't need to do it indirectly, y'know," he said, pointing at the spoon Marui had taken from him. He leaned closer to Marui. "Especially since it could be our last kiss." He then patted Marui on the shoulder, moving away. "Well, it was nice knowin' ya. Had some good times. I'll show you a good time in the shower, too."

“Trust me, you don’t wanna kiss me right now,” they didn’t lock him up with a toothbrush after all, the tensai thought as he licked the apple sauce from the spoon, “after I brush my teeth,” he added absently, not paying too much attention to what was coming out of his mouth, since he was more concerned with what was going in. Besides, part of him was just happy someone was there to answer.

“You can show me good times, like…. a back massage.”

Marui was joking, or so he had intended, but as he pictured in his head, he realised a good back rub would be more than welcome. That bed he had been in for the last 3 nights was dreadful and there was very little room to stretch. With that thought his mind, the redhead crooked his head to the side, letting a quiet moan escape his lips. Another couple of bites off the pie and he was done. It was enough sugar for the morning and after so many small meals, he felt like his stomach had shrunk. With a satisfied sigh, he looked at Niou. If he wasn’t in need of a shower, he would have leaned against him for comfort.

“You don’t seem very worried that I was gone for … how many days?... 3 days?” How could he not even be sure? Maybe the sugar intake was yet enough. “Did they say something?”

"Said ya were in confinement thinkin' 'bout your evil deeds. Oh, an' I was a wanted criminal. They promised a reward for any information." He threw the now empty yogurt carton to the trash. "Course I was worried," and dying of guilt, he added in his mind, "but 'least you're fine now. Jus' need to take that shower an' brush your teeth." He looked into Marui’s eyes. "I'll give ya whatever ya want," he said, referring to the back massage.

Ah, those blue eyes again. Sometimes, Marui did feel as if they were searching for something more, other than just looking at the exterior shell he dragged around called body. With his own pair, he stared back into Niou’s, and for a moment he was quiet. He knew what he meant with that offer, but a little thing in his mind, wished there was more to that statement.

“You know…” he started in a pensive tone, “...they didn’t say how long I was going to be there. I really thought I was done for.” Being there, made Marui realise something he still wasn’t ready to put into words, but he felt it alright. Pushing himself off the counter and turned away, then dropped the spoon into the sink, leaving to someone else to deal with it. “Thought I’d never see that silly white head of yours,” he reached for the cleanfilm, wrapped the rest of the pie and put it back in the fridge. “Kinda stupid, isn’t it? Instead of my brothers, I thought of you. Was probably mad cos I got caught and you didn’t,” it wasn’t it. His last few words had no heart in them, added just to mask whatever he was trying not to say.

"I did wish that..." Niou began in a serious tone, thinking about how he had wished that he’d been captured instead of his friends. "...I wasn't too cunning to get captured." He shrugged and attempted a cocky smile. "Seriously, though, I would've gone crazy if they kept ya longer."

There was something about Marui's words that made Niou's heart flutter. He wanted to kiss him, really, but this wasn't the time to be a total idiot. So he pulled Marui into a hug instead. "I don't care how bad ya smell or how sweaty an' disgustin' this is for ya," he muttered, fully aware of his selfishness.

Maybe his brain was still a little slow, because Marui really didn’t see that hug coming. When he noticed, it was too late. His face was already buried into Niou’s chest and then arms went around him, keeping him there. His own were just lifeless, hanging at his sides, uncertain of what to do. There was nothing for him to say either, even as his eyes went from wide and surprised to mellow and, eventually, shut. Even when he could hear Niou’s heart beating against his ear. And when his friend’s scent made him feel comfortable, and safe. Even after those words, sometimes, Marui thought, silence was better left unbroken and words unspoken. So there he lingered for a moment, until the lifeless hands grabbed at Niou’s top, close to the hem, and slowly, uncertain and hesitant, made around his body as well.

Niou wondered if Marui was able to hear what he was doing to his heart.

He was conflicted, really, as he tended to be nowadays when it came to the redhead. He wanted to pull him closer yet he wanted to pull away before it became impossible. It was a friendly hug, after all. Then again, under these circumstances, it should have been okay to show a little extra affection. He nuzzled the top of Marui's head as he pulled him closer, tightening the embrace. He then unwrapped his arms and started pulling away, despite wanting to stay close a little longer.

Marui could hear it perfectly. Yet, he wasn’t sure what it meant. The heart belonged to Niou after all.

It was peculiar that, despite the comfort of being pressed against his friend’s chest, he slowly began to feel nervous. The stomach, full of cake and pie, now also had butterflies he was certain he hadn’t eaten. And, his own heart - which he hardly ever understood - changed pace to beat just as fast as the trickster’s once he was pulled even closer towards him. The redhead wanted to stay like that, but for what reason he wasn’t sure either. The more he wanted, however, the less he felt that he should linger. A decision had to be made, and he was glad when he wasn’t the one who made it. He just didn’t trust himself.

“Shower…” his arms quickly let go the moment he felt Niou pulling away, an action the redhead concluded by stepping backwards, “... right? I feel disgusting,” he hit the other’s chest with the back of his hand, “and now you are disgusting too.”

Niou remembered his decision earlier and moaned when Marui hit him. There wasn't a notable delay or anything, but Niou did have some trouble keeping himself from laughing. "Kay," he said as he started to walk out of the kitchen, "Let's shower."

It was all good, apart from the fact that Marui was still standing on the same stop, staring at Niou with an expression of shock and horror. "What the heck was that?" he said before making a move to follow the other out of the kitchen. "Oi oi oi, don't pretend you didn't do that!" As a test, the tensai punched him in the arm playfully.

Niou was quick to let out a moan more lewd than the previous one. He covered his mouth with his hand. "I can't help it," he said as if shamefully admitting that he enjoyed being roughed up.

“Liar!” Marui accused and pulled Niou’s hand off his mouth. “Since when?” The challenge question came with a smile though, that was hiding a laugh soon to come. It had only been 3 nights, but the tensai felt like it had been ages since he last laughed. “You gonna do that everytime I touch you or something?”

"Since forever," he sighed, "it's jus' that I've been startin' to lose control more an' more." He felt like he was suddenly talking about his true feelings. He painted a mischievous grin on his face. "Since it's you, I might. You’ll have to test me, I guess."

“You, losing control?” Marui raised an eyebrow. The sugar was finally taking effect and he could feel his energy returning to him. “Didn’t think that was possible. It will suck for you if you lose completely and go moaning at anyone who bumps into you.” The redhead chuckled at the thought of that happening. “Nah,” he added, shaking his head, “I’m gonna test you when there is potential embarrassment. ‘sides, not like I wanna see you having an orgarm just cos I poked you.”

Well, he hadn't thought that last line through.

Niou hummed. "So if the showers happened to be crowded, you'd wanna make me come." He adjusted his imaginary glasses. "That's some good data right there."

He wished he wouldn’t blush, but it was inevitable, even if he wasn’t taking that seriously. “How do you get to the most ludicrous conclusions.” Marui touched Niou’s arm, not teasingly, but to tug to have him follow into the bedroom so the redhead to get his towel and his toiletries. “That would also be pretty pointless data. If I wanted to have you come in a crowded shower room, which I don’t by the way, what purpose would that serve as data? ”

Marui was too damn cute, Niou could hardly take it.

"That would be tellin'." He smirked. "I don't see how any data that includes you and orgasms could be pointless, though."

The redhead halted, just as he put his toothbrush, with toothpaste, into his mouth. That was his second most important thing after sweet consumption. If you wanted to eat sugar as much as he did, you had to take care of your teeth or, soon enough, you would end up with fake ones and there was nothing less genius than dentures in your teens.

“You, Masa,” he said with the toothbrush poking out of the left side of his mouth, “You and orgasms.” It was rare for Marui to use Niou’s first name - but if he did, it would always be ‘Masa’ - even though they’d known each other for a long time, but he judged that if they were on about orgasms, might as well allow more intimacy in. “How did I get involved in that?”

Looking very hurt, he clutched the material of his shirt around his heart. "Weren't you s'posed to be the one makin' me come, Bunta? 'Sides, if ya want me to come then I, as a true gentleman," he said as he bowed, hand on his chest, like a butler or something, "would naturally make ya come, too. So instead of my orgasm or your orgasm, it'd be our orgasm..." He had his hands together and he was looking up dreamily as if he was talking about the most romantic thing he knew.

Despite the topic of the conversation being at that incredible level of maturity, Marui couldn’t help a chuckle, but he felt tempted to throw his towel at the other teen for saying yet another thing that make his cheeks slightly blushed.

“Difference is,” he took the toothbrush off his mouth and pointed it at him, “I need more than a poke to have one.”

He bit back a laughter and smirked instead. "I'd jus' concentrate on pleasurin' ya,” he said huskily. “I'm a real selfless, considerate lover like that."

The redhead stared at him for a moment, deeply. Or at least he made a face that looked like he was trying to look deep, but it was an exaggerated one. It was all got good banter, however, Marui’s cheeks still felt a little warm. It was mostly due to the topic of the conversation, he assumed, rather than him feeling uncomfortable or shy around Niou.

“Nah,” he put the toothbrush back in the mouth, “you look pretty selfish and demanding to me,” the redhead then walk past him towards the door. They couldn’t lose focus, the next mission was a well deserved and much needed shower.

Niou shook his head. "You've been fooled by my bad boy image." He followed Marui out of the room and closed the door behind them. "Wanna bet which one we'll get first, Yukimura's Rikkai party or Sanada's strategy meeting?"

Oh yeah! They had a party and Marui was supposed to organize the food. Yukimura didn’t mention it again. Maybe it was time to do it now, that he and Akaya probably need some team comfort. “Will get first?” he looked back at the trickster mildly confused, wondering why the subject had suddenly changed. “Get what first?”

"Hey, there's nothin' that can't be turned into a bet." He shrugged. "So, with everythin' that's been goin' on, which get-together will happen first?" Although, really, whatever Yukimura wanted to happen would happen, at least sort of. The most likely scenario was a party with more serious talk about their situation than what was originally intended. "Party turned into a strategy session counts as a strategy session, by the way."

"It will be a party" he said with determination, "because, first, Yukimura said so," which should have sufficed, "Second, I want a party and so I'll have a party and, third, Sanada's plans always seem to turn out badly. I just wanna be quiet and survive for a while." Even if the redhead was putting a brave face, those three days were really scary and made him think his life through every day he was in that little room with nothing to do.

"They really scared ya good," Niou said, blunter than he meant to. Few things really fazed Marui, but solitary confinement was certainly something that would understandably affect even the toughest. Really, Niou would've loved to have been able to promise that he'd make sure nothing scary would happen again. "Well, s'pose everyone wants to take a break from risky operations, 'specially with all the missing students. You an' Akaya need to be spoiled with some Rikkai love, too."

It wasn't easy to admit something like that, but he had been really scared after the first night, and when the next night came and he was still there, Marui really believed he would never get out. That fear was now gone but he could still remember it. He decided not to comment on Niou's first statement.

"I sure need some spoiling" he said and looked at Niou as they walked into the shower's changing area. "You having a shower too?"

"Yeah, 'course. Ya thought I wasn't serious 'bout wantin' to shower together?" He pretended to be confused.

To be honest, Marui didn’t think he wasn’t being serious, even if Niou masked it with sex jokes and inappropriate suggestions. “No, but where’s your stuff? You gonna share my towel or something?”

"There's always a towel," Niou whispered conspiratorially. "Really, it's the same as takin' whichever umbrella ya like when ya exit the supermarket on a rainy day,” he said and shrugged. After forgetting his towel once he'd found out that it was one of those little things that didn't need to be worried about.

The redhead laughed and shook his head. “It’s so not the same! I doubt people go rubbing their genitals on their umbrellas,” he hoped, “and even if someone did, the likelihood of having it rubbed on your face would be slim. Something that is pretty likely to happen if you use someone else’s towel.” It could also happen if you used your own towel though, if you weren’t careful.

“So you’ll probably be nicking my shampoo and body wash, is it?” It was more of a rhetorical question, since he left Niou not much time to answer before he entered the showers’ changing area, and he was sure that would be the case anyway. “You really steal other people’s umbrella at the supermarket? That’s evil.”

Niou couldn't help feeling all warm and fuzzy whenever Marui laughed.

"Evil, me?” He tried to look innocent. “Nah, everyone does it," he said, loosening his tie.

“I don’t!” Marui insisted as he dropped his towel and the rest of the toiletries on the nearest bench and began to take off his clothes. The top was the first to go, abandoned on the floor. “I’m so glad to be out of these,” then the rest joined it.

"Mhmm, I'm glad you're out of those, too," Niou said while taking off his own shirt. He wasn't even looking at Marui as he spoke, but it was the thought that counted. He threw his shirt and tie on a bench and started unbuttoning his pants, now looking at Marui. "You're either a weirdo or a liar. Leavin' with a stranger's umbrella is totally a part of the supermarket culture." As far as Niou was concerned, umbrellas became nobody's and everybody's property when they were left in public stands.

While Niou wasn’t looking, Marui was, and he even blushed some after the comment, even though he knew the other’s eyes were elsewhere. They had changed, showered, went to onsen so many times, being naked around each other wasn’t a big deal. Then why the hell… were his cheeks hot, he thought.

Luckily, he turned his eyes away before Niou saw him staring. “I think you made that a ‘culture’ so you won’t feel bad for leaving an old lady umbrellaless on a rainy day, as the poor woman walks out with her little trolley full of heavy things and desperately looks for that nice gift her deceased sister gave to her before she passed away tragically, one sad day she had her umbrella stolen and soaked herself to a hospital where she died of common cold,” he snorted some.

Niou smiled and shook his head. "Let me tell ya, grannies are the ones who always take their time to pick the best umbrella instead of their own." Finally fully naked, he walked past Marui and brushed his fingers on the redhead's collarbone. "Don't really need to make stuff up to make myself feel better." He walked to the shower room entrance and waited for Marui to pick up his toiletries. He wondered if he should avoid looking at the redhead as much as he wanted to when it was just the two of them. It wouldn’t be as easy to steal glances as it was when they were with the tennis team, for instance.

It was a good thing that Marui wasn’t carrying his toiletries the moment Niou brushed against him or else they would have fallen off his hands and that how embarrassing would that be? Those fingers, as lightly as they touched, made the redhead freeze and he was sure he didn’t breath for as long as he stood there, heavy feeling in his stomach. It took him a few seconds to start moving again. He sighed, hoping Niou hadn’t noticed, then picked him things up and follower him.

“Either way,” he had to start speaking again before his mind trapped him in thoughts he was slowly coming into terms with, but not yet… not yet. “Stealing is bad,” said the teen who had just eaten a bunch of food that did not belong to him.

Marui seemed to lag behind a little, like there was something in his mind. Niou looked at him with curious eyes and decided to leave it at that.

"Hey, we're talkin' 'bout umbrella swappin'. An' don't cha always take whatever ya want from the fridge?" He grinned and pointed an accusing finger at Marui. "That's called stealin', ya filthy thief."

Marui hid a smile as he grabbed Niou’s finger and looked up and him, leaning a little closer, closing one eye which staring with the other. “That’s called necessity, my friend, necessity of the starved.”

It should have been illegal for Marui to get so close so suddenly when they were both naked. Niou kept his cool, though, and even shortened the gap further. "Excuses," he said softly, tapping Marui's bottom lip with the finger that wasn't being held captive.

He hadn’t realised how close they were until Niou moved forward and, yet again, touched him. Marui didn’t understand how was that the other’s fingers were always at a touchable distance from his body. How careless. Were they always invading each other’s space like that? Unconsciously, as that digit tapped over his bottom lip, the redhead retrieved it slowly, in a little nip, but his eyes - both now opened - continued to stare into Niou’s and the hand, which so far held the other’s, slid off it.

Niou dropped his gaze to Marui's lips. Which was bad, because now the urge to kiss those lips only got stronger. He quickly fixed his gaze elsewhere and motioned towards the showers with his head. "Right, then," he managed without his voice sounding too hoarse. He considered taking a cold shower, even though it wouldn't be of much help for the kind of heat he was dealing with.

Not long after Niou’s eyes moved to his lips, Marui’s moved down as well. He knew they were both staring at each other’s lips. His heartbeat became so fast so soon, he could feel it in his throat. Part of him just wanted to stretch a little bit and have their lips meet. It was his heart, it was beating towards the trickster. Just a little more, it said, but Marui’s body didn’t move.

It felt as if they had been like that for ages when Niou’s head moved and the tensai came to and closed his fist, bumping the bottom of it against the other’s chest. “Shower..” he added and stepped back, “standing here naked won’t clean anyone,” then made it to one of the showers as quickly as he could.

Niou felt like he was acting in slow motion, but in reality, there wasn't a noticeable delay. After letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he went for the shower to Marui's right and quickly turned it on, letting the water hit his face. It felt refreshing, although his mind was a bit of a mess.

He turned to face Marui and stretched his arm towards him, palm open. "Shampoo, body wash, whichever you're not gonna use first."

Marui held both and debated for a moment. Maybe he wanted to wash his body first, since three days without washing his hair wasn’t as bad as no shower. He passed the shampoo over and turn the water on, stepping under it. “Aaaahhhhhh” he closed his eyes, “this feels so good,” but despite his relaxed tone, the redhead was asking himself if Niou was looking at him now that he wasn’t paying attention.

They weren't the only people there, so Niou was extra sneaky with the glances he took at Marui while applying the shampoo. He wondered if he would end up seeing some sweet dreams about the redhead that night. With great difficulty, he steered his gaze away, then closed his eyes. "Tell me when ya want me to wash your back," he joked when he was done washing his hair.

“Yeah?” Marui turned to with big purple eyes, “Now then, you can add that massage too!” He was almost too excited about it, not thinking for a moment… but only for a short moment. As soon as the words parted from his lips he realised what were the implications of it. It was too late though, if he suddenly said he was joking, it would be even more suspicious.

"You're makin' some indecent requests," Niou whispered, looking dead serious, "with all these random guys around..."

“Hn? It’s not...” Marui turned to looked around, not recognising a single soul, which meant he didn’t care what they thought. However, when he turned to Niou, his cheeks went a little red. Maybe it wasn’t the most natural thing to ask a friend so openly to do something like that. “I was joking, you idiot,” he splashed some of the water towards him.

Niou sighed, visibly amused. "No need to act coy now." He started to move closer to Marui, smirking. "I've already said that I'll give ya whatever ya want, so..." He held the redhead's gaze, then splashed some water towards him. "...don't try to trick me. Puri."

“I didn’t realise there were people,” and clearly if the two of them had been alone, Marui would've been just as fine with having his back scrubbed. In many ways, the redhead, in spite of his genius, was a little on the lazy side and if someone was willing to make his life easier, he wouldn’t complain. Besides, he really wanted that massage, and maybe little bit more because it was Niou who was supposed to be giving it. "And I'm not being coy, you are." He splashed water towards the other again, as he approached. “So you don’t have to, you know, I can reach my back just fine.”

"I understand completely." He rubbed one of his eyes where water had been splashed. "The rest of the world jus' disappears when you're with me," he said, nodding empathetically. "Okay, I won't be coy anymore." He snatched the body wash. "Don't worry, I'll give ya some good service."
“Oi, you don’t have to!” Marui turned and held on to the body wash, his cheeks going a little red again, but he was going to blame that on the warm shower. “Seriously,” he tugged lightly. He was conflicted and that was a little annoying, yet, he was making much of an effort to stop his friend.

"Tch, mixed messages." He let Marui have the body wash. "Afraid you'd enjoy it a bit too much, that must be it," he mused, then moved away and resumed his shower. "Gimme the body wash when you're done, then."

Marui almost looked sad when he won the battle over the body wash, but he was, at least consciously, revealed. Yes, his fast beating heart said otherwise. “No, I’m afraid you will.” He held the body watch to him. “Shampoo.”

They exchanged the bottles. Niou applied some body wash on his palm and started to smooth it across his skin, laughing. "What, afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself when we're real close an' you're all wet an' moanin' in pleasure," he said in his bedroom voice.

The tensai shot him a side glance as he massaged his scalp, shampooing that redhead of his. “I don’t know,” he shrugged, “would you? I can be quite irresistable in the circumstances you just mentioned,” and he did moan when getting back massages because he would easily get knots on his neck and shoulders.

"Lemme think 'bout it for a sec..." He looked like he was deep in thought for a moment. "Yeah, ya cocky bastard, I agree you'd be quite irresistible." He let out a sigh of defeat. "What can I do but dream, though." He washed his feet. He would be done with the shower soon. "We'll see how strong my self-control is some other day.”

Marui laughed and looked at him with a knowing grin, as if to say I know I’m sexy, but he did think Niou was making a joke again. It was typical of him to go for the more explicit answer. Rinsing his hair, he frowned at his friend’s last line then turned off the water. “Oi… I still want that massage, you know, just when I’m dry and dressed. But like,” he rubbed his own neck and shoulder, “it’s stiff.”

"Dry an' dressed?" He gasped, looking majorly disappointed. "Let me tell ya, it'd be so much better if ya laid down naked..." He paused and looked blankly ahead as if picturing the scenario in his mind. "Yeah, an' don't forget 'bout massage oil."

"Don't need to be naked, Niou," the redhead took his towel, something the other didn't have. "Can just be top naked, nothing down there that need to be touched." He didn't mean to sound sexual, but he realised he did, so he shot a glance at the other, briefly, hoping he didn't see it that way, but knowing he wouldn't let that pass either.

"You should find yourself a towel, or are you going to run until you dry?"

Niou turned off the shower and nodded. "I could run around naked. It's part of the dorm culture." He looked like he was seriously considering it. "But I think I'll jus' take the poor towel that must be layin' on the changing room floor right now, all lonely and abandoned," he said compassionately and started moving towards the changing room.

He turned to Marui with an expression that said No, not gonna let it slide. "Tell me when ya start to notice some changes in your body an' I'll gladly touch ya down there, too."

The redhead finished drying himself by the time they were back in the changing room. He still believed that just grabbing someone's towel was one of the most hideous things to do, so he sighed and handed his. "It's a little wet but should be just fine," he didn't mind at all, "not ideal, but it's at least from someone you know. And I'm pretty clean."

That comment, however, made Marui feel like hitting him with the towel instead but he refrained from it. Part of him wanted to brag that he had a pretty decent self-control, but in reality, the tensai wasn't that sexual and it annoyed him how everyone seemed so hormonal. It was not because he was a prude, but maybe some envy that some, if not most, would just get turned on so easily. He did have problems in that area, and he blamed it on sugar. Their science teacher pointed out in the 1st year of high school, and since he had no reason to have a sex drive he never cared. Now, things were different.

"In your dreams, Niou. It's more likely that you will need the hands for yourself."

With a shrug, Niou took Marui's towel and dried himself. He was used to sharing stuff, especially with people he was close to.

"Yeah, might need my hands for that when I wake up from a dream 'bout ya," he said, seemingly absent-minded.

In a way, Marui didn’t really mind sharing, not with Niou anyway. After all, he would have to use that towel again before sunday - laundry day - and he didn’t seem that worried about it. He glanced toward the trickster though and raised an eyebrow. “What kinda genius stuff I’m doing in your dream that would get you all worked up like that, uh?”

It was easy to joke when he thought Niou was just being playful.

Niou looked like he was really picturing dreams he'd had. "Don't think you're that bendy," he mumbled, then shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Actually, I'll protect your innocence by not tellin' ya."

“Shut up!” Marui laughed and punched him playfully in the arm. “I can bend pretty good, just so you know,” he pointed matter of factly, “but not in your mind, so quit those thoughts, even as a joke,” he walked past him towards his clean clothes, “especially as a joke.”

"Not in my mind... Especially as a joke..." Niou mused, half-dressed, and picked up his shirt. "I see, I see. Should go for a more direct approach. I'll remember that for the future," he said with a grin and a cheesy wink.

The redhead put on his underwear, then his top. That’s how he usually started. Fixing his bottoms, he walked closer to Niou and reached for his cheek, pinching it. “Maybe you should remember more useful things, yes?” he let go and took the towel back. “C’mon, I need more sugar,” oddly enough, he had forgotten the chewing gum back in the room.

"Don't underestimate the extent of my memory," Niou said pompously, waving his finger. "Sides, I only take note of useful stuff. Not my fault if ya can't understand." He pinched Marui's cheek in revenge.

"Sure you're not gonna turn into a cake monster one of these days," he asked while putting his shirt on.

Marui closed the eye right above the pinched cheek and once Niou’s hand was gone he rubbed the spot, almost pouty, with a frown. “I’m not! I just need a little top up. Three days, Niou,” he held up his fingers, “three, without any sweets. You have no idea how terrible that was. Just one tiny little sweet.”

"It's never one tiny lil' sweet, though, ya sugar addict." He looked amused but he still felt really bad for Marui. He pinched the redhead's other cheek, just because he found the reaction cute. He then turned for the entrance, tying his tie. "You'll be spoiled with sweets an' Rikkai love soon. Everyone's been worried. Bet Sanada feels guilty, too."

The reaction was the same, but this time he moaned a complaint, batting Niou’s hand off. “I promise, one sweet this time,” he was determined to keep that promise too. “I hope he’s not feeling too guilty, it wasn’t anyone’s fault.” Marui paused, as if he was considering his next line as he reached out a hand and pulled his friend so they would move faster. “Not even yours. See, I’m being nice, it’s your early birthday present.”

"I didn't feel guilty anyway, so I'll expect a better gift from ya," Niou said as they exited into the hallway.

“Well, you should have,” Marui returned, “so you’ll get half a gift instead,”