Underneath It All [Ch. 5]
Title: Underneath It All
Author: natsuaisu
Word Count: 4,909
Pairing: DaiNoo (main), YabuHika, TakaYama
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Warning: Excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes I make! I do not have a beta! C:
After 5 hours of flipping through scandal magazines, local newspapers, and what seemed like hundreds of interviews Daiki was done.
He looked around him and eyed the stacks and stacks of paper he’d just read, his head hurting just by looking at them. The whole task had been exhausting.
But definitely rewarding.
What his streneous quest for answers on Inoo’s sex scandal had given him was a lot. And almost all of his questions had been answered.
It seemed like when Inoo first began his ‘philandering ways’, he had to pay for his first few women when he was only 16 years of age. From there on he’d frequent several risque bars that catered mainly to special ‘services’ where a lot physical contact was involved. There he’d pick up girls and spend the night with them, a few of them having shared their experiences with the boy in some of the gossip magazines, just like Hikaru had said. Daiki also read about how Inoo’s father refused to speak a word regarding his son’s activities, and how the magazines would capture every moment Inoo spoke to a woman, be it a classmate in school or a random cashier at a café, and exaggerate the details and twist it all into some terrible love story. He read about how Inoo’s indifference to the leakage of his scandals caused his father to interfere, and Daiki noticed that after that issue of the magazine, any further information of Inoo’s scandals seemed to suddenly disappear into thin air.
And that was all the information he had gathered. He was satisfied with getting this much information after spending five straight hours doing nothing but reading and flipping pages.
But still. As it was previously stated, it answered almost all of his questions; there were still a few he was wondering about.
Dragging himself up Daiki placed all of the magazines and newspapers that were scattered around his feet on top of any random stack and left the storage room. Once he’s inside the store again he smiles as he sees Hikaru happily working the cashier job, his toothy grin greeting the customers who in return were kind and polite towards him. Daiki browsed the small shop but didn’t find any traces of Takaki, so he walked up behind Hikaru and into the room behind the cashier stand. Inside he found the man he was looking for writing down official orders of items he wanted for the store.
Patting his friend on the shoulder Daiki let himself fall into a chair at the table. “Thanks a lot for letting me read those papers.” Takaki looked up and nodded his head with a smile.
“No problem! Though you were in there for a long time...” Daiki chuckled. Turning in his seat Takaki turned his attention to Daiki. “Hey, how long does your ‘day off’ last?” The smaller boy raised a curious eyebrow.
“They tend to last the whole... day, Yuuyan.” The boy received a playful punch as Takaki muttered something under his breathe.
“What I was trying to say is, that since you’re here y’know, this being very rare nowadays,” he finished writing down the order for the page and flipped the page to the sweets section. “How about we all have dinner together?”
Before Daiki could respond to Takaki’s offer, there was a cheer and Hikaru shouting ‘Take-out!’ from the other room. The two in the small room burst into sudden laughter before they begin to argue over what restaurant to order from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the shop closed down, the three friends found themselves heading up to Takaki’s apartment, crashing onto the floor and ordering many dishes from several different restaurants instead of just one. Somewhere between the random talks they had about anything and thoughts on the future, the alcohol was brought out, and soon enough the trio were cracking perverted jokes and playing dirty games that were only every funny when you were drunk. As Takaki tried to take back the bottle of beer Hikaru had stolen from him (who by the way, was chugging down as much of it as he could) he asked Daiki how things went with his ‘scandal hunt’.
Taking a sip of his own bottle of beer Daiki squeezed his eyes shut as the alcohol worked wonders on his mind and body.
“Sorta... I need more info.” Having gotten his beer back Takaki took a chug only to find it empty. Annoyed, he slammed the bottle down and began searching for the case that held more beverages.
“You didn’t get it all?” he asked, his head turning as he searched for the case.
“I didn’t get enough.” Daiki stressed. “I still need a bit more... personal... information.” Daiki downed his drink as Takaki began attacking Hikaru, once again trying to retrieve his beer.
“Hikaru! Stop hogging all the alcohol!” the oldest male yelled. Hikaru took a beer from the case and opened it as Takaki finally received his beloved case and alcohol.
“Is it Inoo you need information from?” Hikaru wondered as he tasted his beer. The smaller boy feverishly dropped his head, the drunkard’s lazy-ass way of saying ‘yes’. “Then why not just ask him?” Immediately Daiki’s head snapped up and he shook it rapidly from side to side.
“Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible! He’ll definitely not talk!"
“Or probably fire you.” Takaki contributed as he gulped down his beer.
“At best.” Hikaru added.
“But you were blackmailed into that job. Isn’t it fine if you get fired?” Takaki looked over at Daiki who was staring down on the floor and tapping the neck of his bottle.
“Well, I...” The boy began. Takaki leaned forward a bit and saw that Daiki’s face had turned a little pink. Probably side-effects of all the drinking. Him and Hikaru had similar shades on their faces, though it wasn’t as obvious since their skin was more tanned than the shorter boy’s. Daiki looked up and bit his thumbnail. His eyes were half-lidded and tired. “I kinda like my job, y’know.”
Beer spillt everywhere when Takaki dropped his bottle on the floor.
“Really!?” he yelled out in shock. Never had he thought that his friend would come to like the job he was forced into. He certainly hadn’t liked it when that Inoo guy had suddenly stolen his best friend and most devoted worker, so why the hell would Daiki?
“I know.” Hikaru spoke up. Takaki instantly turned to face the boy.
“You knew!?” Picking his beer up off of the floor he began mumbling. “Shit man, you guys don’t tell me anything anymore.”
“No, you dumbass.” Hikaru flicked Takaki’s forehead who winced at the pain. Hikaru began again. “I know... how you can get your personal information, brah.” Giggles escaped from the speaker as he sat upright.
“Mm?” Daiki had let his hand fall to his side, still clutching onto his bottle.
“You just sneak into Inoo’s room,” Hikaru rubbed his cheek as he felt himself getting warmer due to the drinking. “and look around till you’ve found what you need! Simple!” he finished as he chugged his beer, falling backwards.
“...”
“...”
“Oh my God. That. Is. Genius.” Daiki widened his eyes in realization.
“Yeah...!” Hikaru chimmed in, grinning at the brilliance of his master plan. The short boy facepalmed himself as he began laughing.
“It’s so easy, why didn’t I think of it before?”
“’Cus you’re slow as fuck.” Takaki answered before emptying his bottle.
“You’re drunk as fuck.”
“You’re drunk as fuck!” A pause. “Dammit Hikaru, would you fucking share!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day Daiki found himself overcome with guilt as he sat in the Inoo’s living room couch, hungover, as Toda walking up and down with her arms crossed wearing a mad expression.
“I can’t say I’m not disappointed.” She said and continued walking.
“I’m so, so sorry.” Daiki began before wincing. His hand found its way up to his forehead as he clenches his teeth, the hangover being more intense than he’d anticipated. “It’s ahh... I met up with some friends that I hadn’t met in a long time yesterday, and we decided to have guys’ night out to celebrate. I completely forgot that I was working today...” he finished, all of it being mostly true. It had been a while since he’d seen Hikaru and Takaki, but it wasn’t so long ago.
“I’m sorry...” he uttered as he gazed down at the floor. He really did feel horrible for being such a burden to Toda.
“It’s fine. As long as it doesn’t happen again.” Her tone was harsh. Cold. Daiki shut his eyes as he tried to focus on what to say.
“I promise. I’ll check my working schedule next time.” But then added. “If, there is a next time, of course.”
Toda came to a halt in front of Daiki, her body weight leaning on her left leg which was propped out. She stared down at the person in front of her before shaking her head.
“Well... I guess you can go home for today.” She reached down for Daiki’s hand and slowly helped him stand. ”Be sure to get a good sleep and rest well, because I certainly do expect you to be present tomorrow morning.” Daiki nodded his head as he clutched his head, his other hand being held up by Toda.
“Of course. I’ll definitely be there.” His voice was low and quiet, not at all enthusiastic like he used to be. Toda offered to follow him to the door, but he declined the offer and insisted that he was fine. When he exited the living room he turned away from the door and isntead headed towards the staircase. He’d remembered Hikaru’s idea (even though he’d been drunk off his arse) and had decided to put his plan into play today, though he regretted it for every step he took towards Inoo’s office, his headache growing stronger.
Inoo was suprised to open his office door and see the short Daiki Arioka leaning on the doorframe. He raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“What do you want?” Inoo inquired. Instead of answering his question Daiki gentley shoved his way past Inoo and into the room, all the while rubbing his temples.
“Do you have any medication for headaches?” he turned to Inoo who had a confused look on his face as he approached.
“N-not here... but I can send Yamada to fetch some.” He began making his way towards the phone on his desk before Daiki grabbed his arm.
“No!” Inoo looked down at the grip on his arms and a small blush formed on his cheeks, though it went unnoticed by Daiki who shut his eyes. “I don’t wanna bother him. He’s busy helping out in the kitchen, the good guy...”
He didn’t know why, but having Daiki compliment his servant using such a sincere voice sparked a kind of jealousy in Inoo. The younger boy had been affectionate towards him as well, true, but only to the extent of a friendship. Which was as much as he was allowed...
A groan brought Inoo out of his thoughts and he began to worry as he saw Daiki stroking his forehead with a pained expression.
“I’ll go fetch some for you.” He quickly stated before heading for the door. However, he stopped just before heading out. “What happened to you?” he asked. Daiki gazed at Inoo through half-lidded eyes which caused the boy’s heartbeat to increase. Such a smoldering look...
“Hm? Ahh... Guys’ night out is all.” Daiki laughed.
Silence ensued after Daiki had spoken, but then Inoo let out a light laugh.
“What did you think of?” Daiki asked out of interest. Threading his fingers through his hair Inoo just sighed with a soft smile.
“Just realized I need a bachelor’s party.”
Daiki snorted at his boss’ thought but immediately covered it up with his hand. After a few seconds Inoo nodded.
“Yabu.” Then he left Daiki in the room to laugh.
“Yabu? Seriously... that guy’s such a sadist.” Daiki chuckled a bit more, then realized that he should get to work now that Inoo was out of the office. He began by browsing the shelves to see if he found anything, but all there was were literature books, files for accounting and several portfolios with employees work wages. Working his way through the bookshelf Daiki came to an end and immediately jumped to Inoo’s desk and continued his search. He saw nothing on top that interested him, it all just seemed to be documents that Inoo was filling out.
He opened the first drawer of the desk and was met by nothing more than a few pens, staplers, erasers and sticky notes. He did however find a calender and quickly flipped through the pages in hopes of finding something of value, but there was nothing. The second drawer revealed nothing but books on how the company sales were going, the production rate, and blahblahblah, so much more Daiki didn’t understand. His headache suddenly decided to interfere as Daiki grasped his head in pain and gritted his teeth. He placed the books back into the drawer and shuts it before shakily opening the third one which reveals something that catches his attention. Ignoring his headache he looked inside the drawer and found a fairly thick, navy-coloured file resting peacefully. Daiki picked up the file and carefully flipped it open, reading a few lines which definitely caught his interest. He concluded that the file could be helpful in answering some of his questions. Just then he hears footsteps approaching from outside and hastily stuffs the inside his shirt and in a state of panic shuts the drawer before running into the bathroom and locking the door.
Daiki can hear Inoo enter the room and stop, carefully calling his name. Damn, his voice sounded bothered and he gulped as guilt once again overcame him. Inoo was someone who had a tough exterior and dominant posture, usually assertive and strict. But that was his exterior, and Daiki knew that the older boy was probably very worried about his absence, especially after he’d specifically asked for some medication which Inoo so kindly went and got himself. He could just imagine the upset eyes Inoo would be sporting, his anxious eyebrows furrowed; the image itself was enough to strike a chord in Daiki’s heart.
He softly knocked on the bathroom door, a bit glad when he hears Inoo approaching. From outside Inoo talks to him.
“A-are you alright?” Daiki replied by quietly tip-toed over to the toilet and flushing, followed by him turning on the tap and washing his hand to make it sound like he’d just used the bathroom. After he exited the bathroom Daiki felt his body heating up as he was greeted with the actual look of worry Inoo had on; one with genuine worry and distress hidden behind his eyes. Somehow, that submissive look... turned Daiki on.
Motioning towards his mouth Daiki simply smiled and leaned back to close the bathroom door. “Just... threw up a little.”
Daiki’s heart fluttered as Inoo looked down at his hands and up again, looking absolutely adorable.
Yes. He said it.
Adorable.
Because it was true.
“I-I though that might happen so,” Inoo was holding a number of things in his hands which Daiki eyed. “I brought a pill for that too.” Inoo began, handing Daiki a small white pill. “...though it seems I was too late.” Inoo had whispered the last part, but Daiki was close enough to hear him.
“No, don’t worry about it. It happens. Thanks for thinking of that though, I really appreciate it.” He smiled and mentally cooed at the way Inoo kept looking down in hopes of trying to hide the small blush that was forming.
“And here’s for your headache,” he gave Daiki a small orange bottle of white pills, though different from the first one. “and a glass of water.” He held out the glass which Daiki accepted with a warm smile. “And, um... if you still feel like you’re ill you can lay down on the couch here, or I could get you one of the guest rooms so you can have some privacy.” Daiki looked up at the older boy and gingerly waved the glass of water in front of him.
“Ah, no no, don’t worry about it, Toda already told me to go h-“ Daiki stopped. Did he really wanna go home? Did he really wanna go home now? Now that Inoo had offered his own couch, in his own office as a place of rest for him.
“Go home?” Inoo asked with a raised eyebrow. The short boy just shook his head and gave another one of his smiles.
“Nah. I think I might just crash on your couch.” He began walking over to the couch before turning. “If that’s okay with you, of course.” Inoo hastily nodded his head.
“Y-yeah, no problem! Go ahead! I’ll fetch you some blankets!” He scurried towards but Daiki shouted at him.
“You don’t have to! I sleep well without blankets too, so it’s fine.” Daiki sat down on the couch and began un-tieing his shoes. He then realized something. “Are you uhh... gonna be working in here?”
Inoo blinked at him.
“Yes.” He stated, and then added. “Unfortunately.” Daiki mentally wooed at the reply. He’d enjoy being in the same room as Inoo, just being in the presence of the older boy actually calmed him.
“You don’t mind me being here?” he asked beaming, though it was difficult since he could feel his headache coming back.
“Not really.” Nodding in approval Daiki asked which pill he should take first and followed Inoo’s instructions as he told the younger boy in what order he’d have to swallow them in. After taking the medication and finishing the water, Daiki propped his feet up on the couch and stretched out, making himself comfortable.
“I’ll just quickly fall asleep and hope this hangover gets cured. I’ll try to get out of your business as fast as possible.” Daiki’s eyes were slowly falling shut when he heard Inoo murmur something.
“No, don’t...” The short boy turned his head slightly on the couch.
“What’s that?” he asked. Inoo shook his head and headed towards his desk.
“I said ‘don’t worry about it.’” Inoo gracefully slid into his chair and picked up his pen. Daiki sleepily nodded his head.
“Alright...” he droned before drifting off into a deep slumber.
The entire room was quiet except for Inoo’s pen which was scratching itself across the sheets of papers that was spread in front of Inoo. There wasn’t even any light snoring on Daiki’s part, only Inoo who was working on filling out his documents.
Yet, Inoo’s heart was thumping like mad. Ever since Daiki had entered the room his heartbeat had steadily increased, and now that the boy was asleep on his couch with such an angelic expression on his face, completley defenseless and unprepared... Inoo’s heartbeat had increased rapidly. He had trouble concentrating at his work and became mildly frustrated with himself for not being able to properly focus. He wanted so badly to leave his work, walk over to the sleeping boy and plant a butterfly kiss on his lips.
And that was it.
Just a kiss.
Trembling a bit Inoo continued to write. Lately, he’d come to realize that his infatuation with the boy may have died out a little. Or it was more like that his original motive of getting the boy into bed were no longer his main motive, he was no longer fueled by lust and dreams of having the younger one buried deep within him (though to be honest, he still had these fantasies). However, these dreams differed from the previous ones he’d had several months earlier. Earlier, all he’d wanted was for Daiki to mindlessly fuck him into his bed as he screamed at the top of lungs until his voice became hoarse, but now, he would rather indulge in romantic love-making, one where all of the senses played a role in the act. He didn’t want as much to just fool around once and then never approach the boy again, but he wanted it to last for a long time, be intimate with each other several times, and- Oh God. Snuggle.
His feelings for Daiki were no longer ones that were charged by lust, but it had instead turned into... dare he say... affection?
Inoo dropped his pen and stared ahead, his eyes falling on Daiki’s peaceful face.
These past weeks he’d grown more and more fond of the boy, so much that he knew now for sure that he fancied the other. But he knew that he had to restrain himself. If he voiced his feelings he knew that not only would Yamada be on his back for being such a fool for having gone and fallen for a boy, but also Toda, his father, everybody... they’d all frown upon the fact that Daiki was a commoner.
Ridding his head of all those thoughs Inoo decided to collect all his papers and finish off his work in one of the guest rooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daiki awoke two hours later, his body still tired from his recent sleep. He began pulling himself up into a sitting position while attempting to supress a yawn, when suddenly he heard a crinkle. Confused the boy looked around him and noticed his surroundings. The crumbling was heard again and Daiki remembered what happened before he fell asleep. He quickly patted down his torso and felt the filed that he’d hidden from Inoo underneath. Relieved by the fact that the files were still in tact Daiki took to scanning the room, no sign of Inoo anywhere. He lazily got off the couch and re-arranged the files under his shirt so that they wouldn’t fall out, placing a bit of them into his trousers to hold them in place. Daiki yawned once more and folded his arms across his chest before making his way out of the room.
Outside he ran into Yamada who was carrying an empty tea-tray and told the young butler that he should give Inoo his thanks for the medicine and tell him that he’d be heading home now so the study is all his. Yamada was stunned into silence as he processed the words, not unsure of how he should handle the recent information. As Daiki left Yamada forcefully began heading towards kitchen to drop off the tea-tray, all the while cursing himself for not keeping a better eye on Inoo.
Once at home Daiki pulled out the files from under his shirt and dropped it onto the living room table. He seated himself on the couch and opened up the file, his eyes falling to the first sentence of the page and his heart racing as he read the information he’d just got his hands on.
It was safe to say that the information certainly shocked Daiki.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deciding to take a break from his work Inoo had decided to pay a visit to the mansion’s library, browsing his favourite shelf before picking out a thick book with an olive cover. He had in reality wanted to visit Daiki to see how he was doing, but Inoo didn’t trust himself around the boy anymore. His mind seemed to wander to more indecent thoughts that didn’t involve any clothes and a very large double-bed whenever he was around Daiki, and even though he’d usually go for it despite any obstacled, it just seemed impossible with the boy. In fact, Inoo didn’t want to hurt the boy. He’d never had this feeling before, he’d always go for his prey without any interest and indulge himself in the physical activities with no strings attached. Though somehow Daiki was different...
Was it perhaps because they’d spent a lot of time together? Daiki had a tendency to bring out the most spoilt and brattiest side of Inoo, but the younger boy didn’t seem to dislike Inoo at all for it. Quite the contrary, he kept edging him on, always with a smile on his face. Or that’s what Inoo noticed.
Maybe it was because they had a lot of things in common. But really, they didn’t have that many things in common. Daiki just enjoyed talking about anything that came to mind, and somehow he was able to make it sound interesting even though Inoo didn’t like it. Actually, he’d noticed... that he didn’t use formal speech anymore when talking to Daiki. No. It was casual speech. Very casual.
Sure, Daiki looked adorable and vulnerable whenever he whined, but he was actually very dominant. He wasn’t exactly a gentleman either, but he always treated women with the same respect he treated anyone else, if not kinder and more talkative. However, when it came to Inoo he’d pull pranks and bully him just the tiniest bit, something that Inoo would never admit he actually enjoyed, especially not when Daiki would try to cheer him up and put his arm around Inoo’s neck as an act of affection. Blushing, Kei placed his book on his knees.
He brought his hands up to his cheeks and wondered, if Daiki would be kind to him as well. Well, he was already kind, but would he treat Inoo with the same respect he did a woman. Inoo could pull off being a woman, he had the face of one... almost. And his body wasn’t exactly the most manliest one, not very strong-built... Face-palming himself Inoo groaned at his thoughts. Was he really imagining he was a woman? Did he want to be a woman? His face became hot as he thought back to Daiki, the boy who had recently confused him, made him wonder about strange things and ask himself ridiculous questions. He felt comforted by his prescence, the soothing sound of his voice and his child-like jokes.
“Does Daiki wonder the same things...” he whispered to himself.
Suddenly a knock brought him out of his train of thought. Looking up Inoo saw Yamada standing beside a bookshelf, smiling.
“Yamada.” Inoo straightened his back. “What is it?”
“Daiki asked me to thank you for the medicine you gave him, and he said he’d be heading home now so the study is yours for the taking.” Letting out a sigh of relief Inoo began to stand up. He placed the book back in its place and the two of them walked out of the library.
“Your speech seems to have gotten more casual lately, Yamada.” Inoo spoke. Yamada smiled and softly nodded his head.
“I do apologize. I have been conversing a lot with Daiki lately. He makes you feel very relaxed when speaking to him.” Turning to Yamada Inoo nodded his head and gave a small smile.
“Well he has that effect upon people, doesn’t he?”
Parting ways Yamada returned to his duties and Inoo went to fetch his unfinished work from one of the guest rooms before making his way into his study. Crossing to his desk Inoo steals a glance of the couch Daiki had previously been sleeping in, a strange warmth spreading through his chest. Inoo took a seat in his usual chair behind his desk and began finishing off the rest of his dreaded work.
It was around 7 P.M. when Inoo finally dropped his pencil onto the desk and stretched his arms over his head, groaning at the stiffness of his neck. He gathered up the paperwork and organized it into a file before opening his first drawer and placing the pile inside. As he shut the drawer his eyes fell to the last drawer of his desk. Inoo peered above his desk to the door before pulling the drawer open. To his surprise the file wasn’t there. Immediately Inoo opened the 2nd drawer and 1st drawer, but it wasn’t in either of them. A small lump dropped in his stomach and he began panicking a bit, calling Yamada on the phone whilst checking under his desk and all around it. From the intercom monitor Yamada’s was echoed.
‘Yes?’
“Yamada. Were you in my room earlier?” Inoo asked sternly as he tried to hold back the worry in his voice.
‘Yes. Why?’ Yamada asked. Inoo stopped dead in his tracks and stared down at the intercom on his desk.
“Did you take anything on your way out?” he questioned.
‘No, sir. I just cleaned your room this morning.’ Confusion was obvious in Yamada’s tone. ‘Why?’
He received no reply though as Inoo had begun to frantically search the files and papers on his bookshelf, rummaging once more through his drawers, pulling out stationary, paper, anything he could find in hopes of finding his file. Not finding it anywhere Inoo hurriedly ran back to the intercom and called on Yamada.
“Yamada!” He had taken to shouting, not caring that now his butler would definitely understand that something was wrong. “Who has been in my room today?” Suspicious of the whole ordeal Yamada barely managed to think back to the people who had been in the study that day.
‘Uhm, myself, you, Mr. Arioka, the cleaner for the bathroom and the window cleaner, but he did his work from the outside. W-why do you ask? Did something happen?’ But he was only greeted with silence.
‘Mr. Inoo?’
Still nothing.
‘Are you still there?’
Absolutely nothing.
‘Mr. Inoo!’
A/N: What up bros? ;D
So, uh, it's been a while? I think? Haven't really kept up with time on LJ to be honest... but I'll definitely catch up on it during autumn break! And hopefully I'll be able to get up another one-shot or another chapter for 'Underneath It All', still not sure which.
I hope you're all doing well and enjoy this chapter. As usual I have no idea what to write here... 8'D
OH. You must listen to the song LEZ BE FRIENDZ by The Midnight Beast! Fucking. Hysterical. <3