Title: The Camera Eye: No More What Ifs
Chapter: Twenty-third in The Camera Eye series. Links to previous installments can be found
hereAuthor: Boots
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Porn industry AU, drama, smut, romance
Warnings: Male/male sex, polyamory, exhibition/voyeurism (since the characters work in the porn industry), rimming
Pairing: Yo-ka (Diaura) X Subaru (Royz), Yo-ka X Yuuki (Lycaon), mentions of Yo-ka X Byou X Jin (SCREW)
Disclaimer: GazettE/SCREW/D=OUT/BORN characters belong to PS Company, Alice Nine characters are now free agents, Lycaon belongs to Vogue Entertainment, Royz belongs to B.P. Records and Diaura belongs to Ains. I own the story only.
Summary: Yo-ka was all set to have Subaru as his co-star in his latest video - until a bizarre last-minute co-star switch. He’s left wondering “What if?” - until a chance meeting that may answer his question.
Notes: The whole thing about Yo-ka not liking “sparkly” boys like Subaru came from
this video, when Yo-ka and Subaru talk about their first impressions of each other - and Yo-ka’s opinion of Royz was “They had a bright and sparkly style that I don’t like.”
Yo-ka was beginning to think it was just his fate to have bizarre things happen to him on porn sets.
First there was the incident on the set of Datenshi Blue, where Ruki had damn near collapsed from the taste of strawberries on Yo-ka’s lips. Well, at least that one had a happy ending - he’d ended up with Byou as his co-star instead, which led to explosive chemistry both on- and off-screen.
Then, there was what happened on the set of his most recent video, Casting Couch - he’d waited, and waited, and waited for his new co-star Subaru to show up. The boy arrived nearly an hour later, with a dead cell phone and the head of Eros Films in tow. The former explained why nobody had heard from him; the latter announced he was pulling Subaru out of the video and putting him in one with Yuuki (where he’d have a bigger part).
Okay, that had a happy ending as well. Manabu knew the part (since it had been written for him originally), and he raced over to the set. He and Yo-ka had a very good time in front of the cameras. But still . . .
Yo-ka couldn’t help but wonder “What if?” Especially since his curiosity about Subaru had been piqued in advance.
* * *
He’d heard all about the boy from Yuuki, since his lover had taken the fledgling star under his wing and made him his protégée. “I just don't want him steamrolled by the industry, that’s all,” Yuuki said. “And boys like him are good candidates to be steamrolled.”
“Cute and sparkly?” Yo-ka said.
“Something like that. But . . . there’s more to him than that. There’s . . . a depth. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about him that’s just plain fascinating.”
Yo-ka wasn’t quite sure what to think after he heard that. “Cute and sparkly” was usually a put-off for him. As far as he was concerned, porn boys should not be sparkly. Cutesy-wootsy super-ukes showed up in indie porn almost as often as tattooed and pierced boys, and Yo-ka avoided them whenever possible.
But if Yuuki was intrigued by him, and Yuuki’s tolerance for cutesiness was typically as low as his . . .
When Uruha suggested Yo-ka have lunch with Subaru the day before the ill-fated shoot - in an effort to get the two comfortable with each other first - he was all for the idea. The two agreed to meet up at a ramen place around the corner from where Yo-ka and Yuuki lived.
“It’s become our regular hangout,” Yo-ka told the boy over the phone. “We’re in there at least once a week. The guy behind the counter knows us by now.”
“I’ll be there!” said the voice on the other end. “I’m blond, so you know what I look like. And I’ll be wearing a Sexpot Revenge T-shirt.”
Well, that really narrowed it down - he’d just described roughly half the Japanese gay porn industry. Yo-ka just hoped there were no videos shooting in the region that day, or the place would be filled with more potential Subarus than an auto dealership.
Fortunately, only one blond in a Sexpot Revenge shirt entered the shop that day. Cute and sparkly was definitely the word. He was flat-out adorable. “Hi!” he called, walking up to the table where Yo-ka was sitting. “I recognize you - you’re Yo-ka!”
“So you must be Subaru,” he said. “Sit down. What kind of ramen do you want?”
“Miso,” the boy said. “I’m very glad to meet you! Yuuki told me about you.”
“Only good things?”
“Lots of good things. And then I watched Datenshi Blue last night. I had to make sure none of my roommates were around - I didn’t know how they’d react to it!”
“You have roommates?” Yo-ka said.
“Four of them. We came from Osaka together. Hold on a second . . .”
Yo-ka went to place their order. When he came back, the boy was holding up his phone with a picture of five guys, all beaming and holding beer cans up in a toast. Subaru himself was in the middle. “See, that’s us, back at Kuina’s parents’ place. That’s Kuina, Koudai, me, Tomoya and Kazuki.”
“Five of you in one apartment?” Yo-ka said. And he thought the place he’d originally lived in with Yuuki was cramped.
“Just till we all get settled into our careers,” Subaru said. “We just got out of college. That’s what I’m trying to do now - pay my college off.”
And he began to talk about his plans to design video game characters for a living (with an ultimate goal of working at Square Enix), and what his roommates were like, and his initial impressions of Tokyo compared to Osaka.
“I think I want to stay here,” he said. “I still love Osaka, but Tokyo is . . . well, it’s a whole universe, isn’t it? I mean, everything you want is here.”
“It’s a hell of a lot different from where I come from, that’s for sure.” Yo-ka said, picking up a big chopstick full of noodles.
“Where is that?”
“Fukushima. Saga - he’s one of our writers - he comes from there, too.”
“So how did you end up in Tokyo?”
“Just drawn here,” Yo-ka said. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I just wanted to be in the city. So I came here, and I got pulled into the industry pretty quickly.”
Subaru looked thoughtful for a moment. “Why do you like it?” he said.
“Why do I like being in porn?”
Subaru nodded.
“I like sex. I like the idea of performing - whether it’s sex or acting. I like costumes and makeup and getting into character. I like the people and the lifestyle - you know, the open relationships.”
Subaru looked thoughtful again. Yo-ka remembered what Yuuki said - that he seemed all cuteness and fluff on the surface, but there was some depth there.
“Would you say,” the younger man said, “that there’s some people who are born for it? That the porn industry can be, well . . . a home?”
“I don’t know about anyone else,” Yo-ka said, “but it’s a home for me. And a family.”
The two men talked about the video they were about to make as they finished their ramen. Subaru seemed very interested in the whole process - as if he were trying to learn the industry from the inside.
“What do you want to take away from this?” he asked the younger man. “Besides a paycheck, I know.”
Subaru looked thoughtful again. “Maybe some new ideas,” he said.
“About the industry?”
“About everything.”
When they were getting ready to leave, Yo-ka told him, “Subaru . . . I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I mean it.” The boy had his attention - and his interest. Yuuki was right - he was so much more than cute.
Yo-ka didn’t like sparkly. But he liked Subaru.
“I’m looking forward to it, too!” Subaru said. “I’ll see you!”
But then, the next day arrived, and with it the bizarre on-set incident, and suddenly, Subaru wasn’t Yo-ka’s co-star at all . . .
And Yo-ka was left wondering, “What if?”
* * *
Yo-ka had just finished shooting the box cover for Casting Couch. Rather than put just one guy on the cover - which was the norm for the industry - the company decided that he and Kouki would pose together. They’d spent most of their time back-to-back, looking alternately confrontational and seductive (and sometimes both at the same time).
By the time they were done, Yo-ka needed a cigarette, a beer and ramen. He had the first as soon as he left the studio, right outside the building. He had the second immediately afterward, as he crushed out the spent butt and went right into a conbini.
And now, he was finishing the beer as he approached his favorite ramen place. He walked in the door . . . and saw a familiar angelic blond settled at a table, the same one where they’d sat last time.
Subaru looked up from his bowl - which he’d just started on - and waved. “Yo-ka-sempai! Come sit with me!”
“Just Yo-ka,” he said. “I don’t believe in the whole sempai and kohai thing. As far as I’m concerned, everyone working in the industry is equal, whether they’ve done one video or a hundred. How did your shoot go?”
“Terrific,” Subaru said. “I just wrapped my part in it. Yuuki-semp - Yuuki is still shooting.”
“I’ll be right back.” Yo-ka went to the counter to place his order and sat across from the other man. “So you’re officially part of the industry now.”
“I’ve made my debut, at least!” Subaru said. “For awhile . . . I didn’t think I was going to.”
“You mean, because of what happened on my set?” Yo-ka took a pair of chopsticks and snapped them cleanly in half.
Subaru hung his head. “I’m really sorry about that mess,” he said. “It wasn’t really my idea, but the boss said he wanted me in a video with a bigger part. And then, we got lost . . .”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Yo-ka said.
“No, I kept you waiting and you had to switch actors at the last minute. Were you at least with someone you liked?”
“Oh, yes,” Yo-ka said, pausing as the server brought his bowl of steaming ramen. He bowed and thanked the person, then continued. “Manabu is really cute. I had no problems doing the scene with him at all. But . . . what did you mean before about almost not doing the video?”
“I did a lot of thinking beforehand,” Subaru said. “Yuuki-san and I went out - you might know about it.”
Yo-ka nodded. “He told me.”
“He talked about how the industry is a way of life, not just something you do now and then. And I started thinking about, well, my own life.”
He shifted a little in his seat. “See, I’ve always known I liked other guys, ever since I was a kid. My family knew it, too. I have a twin brother - did I tell you about that?”
Yo-ka shook his head. “You didn’t,” he said.
“Well, my twin brother is straight, and my family always joked about how we’re a matched set - one straight twin and one gay twin. But I knew there was something else, over and above being gay. It has to do with how I see relationships.”
Yo-ka had a feeling he knew what was coming. It was something he’d heard over and over from people in the industry - a common thread that united them. Maybe one of the things that drew them into it in the first place.
“I always wondered, well, why you only had to have one person to love. It just didn’t seem natural to me. If we have the capacity to love a lot of people, then why can’t we do that? If the person you love is okay with you sleeping with other people, then why can’t you?” He picked up some more ramen with his chopsticks, bringing it to his lush lips.
“You’re telling me something I’ve thought since I was a kid,” Yo-ka said with a broad smile. “It’s no news to me.”
“But, see, I thought I was the only person in the world who felt like that. I kept quiet about it most of the time, and I didn’t do anything about it. I had a boyfriend though most of college, but I was always attracted to other guys.” He added, quickly, “We didn’t break up because of that, by the way. We broke up because I wanted to move to Tokyo and he didn’t.”
“And when you talked to Yuuki, he was speaking your language?”
Subaru nodded enthusiastically. “For the first time. And he said that other people in the industry felt that way, too. And, well, I began thinking, if it’s a lifestyle . . . if there really is no way out once you’re in . . . maybe it’s the lifestyle I belong in.” He looked up at Yo-ka. “Am I making sense?”
“Perfect sense. Because it was that way for me, too. And it was Yuuki who helped me realize it. When he came into my life, it was like everything made sense for the first time.”
“You love him a lot, don’t you?” Subaru knew very well what Yo-ka and Yuuki’s relationship was. Very open, but very strong.
“With everything I have,” Yo-ka said. “If I believed in soul mates, I’d say that he was mine.”
And this boy is falling in love with Yuuki too, Yo-ka thought. He could tell it from the way Subaru looked whenever he talked about his mentor. If he was sparkly in normal life, he was flat-out incandescent then.
“It’s all right if you have feelings for him, Subaru,” Yo-ka said. “I support it, in fact.”
“You do?” Subaru looked a little surprised.
“There’s someone else that I love - Byou, my costar in Datenshi Blue. There’s other guys I like, and sleep with. Same thing with him. I think that if you want a relationship with him, and he wants it, too? It might be a good thing for both of you.”
“What about you?”
Well, that question caught him off-guard entirely. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean . . .” He looked down. “I like you. I liked you when we went out to lunch. I know that I’m starting to feel something for Yuuki, but . . .” He looked up at Yo-ka. “Do you like me?”
And that threw him off-guard a little more. If Subaru kept up like this, he’d be so off-balance that he’d be face-first on the floor. “Of course I do,” he said.
“Because the way I feel . .” He seemed to be analyzing patterns in his ramen bowl. “I was so glad to be working with Yuuki, that he’d be the first guy I’d be with on camera. And I’m happy that I had that experience with him. But part of me . . .” He swallowed hard, then suddenly went back to eating, as if it were an excuse to not continue.
“Part of you wonders what doing the scene with me would have been like?”
“I feel so weird about it, even after all the things I’ve talked about with Yuuki, and with you. I mean, if you and Yuuki love each other . . .”
Yo-ka put his hand over Subaru’s. “Weren’t you just saying yourself that you’ve always believed love should be open and freely shared?”
“Yes . . . but it feels kind of funny to be actually doing it. Especially with both members of a couple.”
“In a way, that makes it even more special.” Yo-ka squeezed his hand. “I felt that way when Uruha sent me to have a meeting with Jin about a screenplay. I knew I was in love with Byou, and Jin was Byou’s boyfriend. But . . . as it turned out, we not only made a lot of progress in getting a screenplay together, we ended up in bed. It just seemed natural. And when Byou came home . . . he joined us.”
Subaru looked at him, eyes wide open. “Really?” he said.
“Really. Now, the big question: Are you free this afternoon?”
“Yes. I’m done shooting.”
“Good. So am I. Because if you want, we can go back to my place, and I can show you what that scene would have been like.”
Subaru’s eyes lit up. Yo-ka could have sworn he saw little sparkles dancing in them.
“I’d like that! Yes!”
Yo-ka let go of his hand, slowly. “Finish your ramen, then,” he said. “You’re going to need the strength for later.” He normally wasn’t one to brag about his sexual prowess - in fact, he hated the braggarts who went around talking about what they could do for a potential partner on- and off-camera.
But he couldn’t resist teasing this boy a little. Because he was just that cute.
If he keeps this up, Yo-ka thought, he might actually get me to like “sparkly.”
* * *
They walked casually back to Yuuki and Yo-ka’s place from the ramen restaurant. Subaru seemed a little bit tense - no, more like filled with nervous excitement - but they weren’t in a particular hurry.
The men chatted about the cover shoot that Yo-ka had just done and about the fact that Subaru had his first major interview coming up - with Sparxxx. Uruha had given the blogger an exclusive with the potential Next Big Thing as payment for all the favors Sparxxx had done for PSC Productions.
As they got off the elevator and walked in, taking off shoes in the entranceway, the mood remained casual. “I told Yuuki how much I love this place,” Subaru said. “It really does feel like a home.”
“You can come visit it whenever you want, you know,” Yo-ka said. “As long as one of us is home.”
“And as long as you don’t have any other guests?”
“That depends on how open-minded the guests are,” Yo-ka said, and they both laughed. Subaru suddenly leaned his head on the other man’s shoulder. “I’m glad I met you,” he said. “Both of you. I really do feel like I can be myself around you, and you both are so kind.”
“Kind isn’t a word people use very often for Suicide Boys,” Yo-ka said, teasingly, wrapping his arms around Subaru.
“I know,” he said. “But it fits you.” He leaned his head in the crook of the other man’s shoulder. “And being here with you like this . . . it feels good, and right.”
Yo-ka tipped Subaru’s chin up with his fingers. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment . . . and finally, their lips met.
It was a soft, ramen-flavored kiss that grew intense quickly. Their lips parted with a soft gasp on Subaru’s part, and he clung tightly to Yo-ka as their tongues brushed against each other.
They leaned back, and Yo-ka said, “I guess I don’t have to tell you where the bedroom is.”
“I know the way,” Subaru said, a bright smile crossing his face. And he turned and headed straight for the room - no hesitation, no shyness.
And that, Yo-ka thought, was what was most fascinating about the newcomer. He seemed so sweet and innocent most of the time . . . but then, he’d do one thing, just one, that was definitely not innocent.
No wonder he already seemed like a full-blown porn star, even though he was just a novice.
He followed Subaru to the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, because it was going to end up on the floor soon enough anyway. He arrived to find the younger man stripping off the last of his garments - his pants and underwear.
“You’re fast,” Yo-ka said as he made fast work of his own outfit, because hey, he couldn’t let this newbie best him, could he?
“It’s because I can’t wait to have you,” Subaru said, sitting on the mattress and holding his arms up toward his new lover, giving him a smile that was just so damn sweet and beautiful . . .
Yo-ka took the invitation eagerly, sitting next to Subaru, pulling him into his arms and tumbling them both to the mattress as they kissed hungrily. He plundered the younger man’s mouth with his tongue, pushing it in hard, rubbing it everywhere, exploring every bit of the velvety cavern he could reach.
He rolled the younger boy over on his back, stroking his hands down his neck and over his torso, running over his shoulders, down to his chest, brushing back and forth over the nipples. Yo-ka watched his partner’s face, the way his eyes closed as he gave a small shiver of bliss.
Subaru reached up, fingers brushing over his partner’s face, and Yo-ks turned his head, kissing the palm, then taking the first two fingers in his mouth and sucking them. The younger man let out a little moan.
“What do you like to think about?” Yo-ka said, kissing the fingertips, his own hands continuing to run up and down Subaru’s torso.
Subaru shuddered. “What do you mean?”
“Fantasies. What turns you on? What have you always wanted someone to do to you that nobody has done?”
“Any kind of fantasy?” The younger boy raised his head.
“Any.”
Subaru glanced away for a moment, still keeping his fingers in the vicinity of Yo-ka’s lips. “I want to know what it feels like . . .” He paused, as if wondering whether to say it.
“Whatever it is,” Yo-ka said, kissing his fingertips again, encouraging him to share. He was open-minded. He was willing do to just about anything - as long as it involved no excrement and nobody getting seriously hurt.
And he was definitely loving the idea of helping this boy explore the limits of desire, of reaching heights of passion he only dared dream of until now.
“I want to feel a tongue inside me,” he said, quickly, looking up at Yo-ka, trying to gauge his reaction - it was obvious this was something he’d been shy about sharing with boyfriends.
Yo-ka leaned over and put his forehead against Subaru’s. “I like the sound of that.”
“You do?” Subaru sounded genuinely surprised.
“I’m going to love burying my face in that pretty ass.” He stroked the younger man’s hair. “That’s called rimming - you’re going to get to do it a lot on-camera.”
“I saw Byou do it to you in Datenshi Blue,” Subaru said, sounding a little more confident. “It just looked like it felt so good . . .”
Oh, yes, Yo-ka remembered that scene. He’d been so lost in passion, in sensation, that he’d forgotten that the cameras were there. He’d just pushed his ass toward Byou, moaning loudly, his whole world reduced to the talented tongue wriggling inside him, pushing in and out of his body . . .
It was the first time he’d come just from being rimmed. It was also probably the moment when he realized he was in love with Byou.
“Turn over,” he told the younger man. “I’ll show you what it can feel like.”
He went into the drawer where condoms, lube and dental dams were kept. By the time he turned back around with a little bottle and a sheet of latex, a view of a very lovely bottom indeed was being presented to him.
Subaru was on all fours, his head resting on his folded arms - to make his lovely ass stand out more. He looked back over his shoulder at Yo-ka. “Is this good?” he said.
Good? It was spectacular. Yo-ka ran his fingertips over the curve slowly. His skin was so smooth, the flesh underneath so firm and shapely. “It couldn’t be better,” he said.
Yo-ka bent over and rubbed his cheek against the wonderful thing, kissing it, squeezing it with one hand. Subaru responded by moaning, moving his legs apart a little, opening himself up . . .
Quickly, Yo-ka took the bottle and poured lube into the cleft, stretching the dental dam over it. When he pressed his tongue against the puckered opening, he felt a shudder.
He wasn’t going to be quite as good at this as Byou - his co-star was an award-winning oral specialist, after all. But he was sure as hell going to try.
Yo-ka began to run his tongue around the perimeter of the opening, flicking it around, teasing it, feeling the other man tense in anticipation. He pushed the cheeks apart with his hands, feeling Subaru shift his legs as well, making himself as accessible as possible.
Then, he pushed forward, little by little, feeling tightness all around his tongue, and softness . . . and the way his new lover shuddered. The moan he let out was a wanton sound of unbridled passion.
Yo-ka pushed in further, wriggling his tongue around as Byou had done to him, trying to stimulate different bundles of nerves, to give him layers of sensation . . . he was rewarded with a long, low moan, with Subaru moving back against him . . .
He began to thrust his tongue as deep within the younger man as he could before pulling it back, right to the rim, where he wriggled around some more, drawing more deep groans . . .
Yo-ka began to flat-out tongue-fuck the younger man, a hard, rapid thrust, curving and twisting it on the instroke, stiffening it, wriggling around inside him, making Subaru cry out, “Oh . . . oh, my God, oh, my God . . . .”
The younger man thrust back against Yo-ka, and Yo-ka held on, grabbing that ass with his hands as his tongue continued to work, burying his face in the firmness, moaning softly in his throat as Subaru let out animal cries. Fuck, he was enjoying this almost as much as the newbie was.
“Yo-ka . . .” Subaru gasped. “I . . . I want to . . .”
Yo-ka raised his head. “What is it?” He rubbed his fingers lightly over the entrance, letting Subaru feel a bit more stimulation through the dental damn.
“I want to ride you . . . I want your cock in me . . .”
Coming from a boy who looked like Subaru, those words sounded ten times dirtier than they would coming from just about anyone else. They went straight to Yo-ka’s cock and made it rock-hard. “God, yes,” he murmured, reaching for the lube again, pulling away the dental dam and slicking his fingers.
Just the idea of that pretty thing above him, moving up and down on his erection . . .
He slid a finger into Subaru’s opening easily, since he’d been opened up by his tongue already. He tried not to be too eager, not to do this too fast, making sure he’d be stretched-out enough and comfortable.
With every finger, every thrust inside him, Subaru let out sounds of hunger, of feeling pleasure and wanting, needing more. Yo-ka was really hot now, feeling like his whole body had become one huge erection, one big mass of need for this innocent-not-innocent creature.
He couldn’t wipe his fingers off, put on a condom and slick it fast enough. He lay on his back, looking up at the younger man . . .
Subaru straddled Yo-ka’s hips, leaning over so he could kiss him, then tilting back, reaching back with his hand to help him find the proper angle . . .
Yo-ka felt the tip of his cock pressing against the hole his tongue had just been pleasuring. Oh, yes, he knew how tight and hot it was, how good it would feel . . .
But even that didn’t prepare him for Subaru sliding down on him, enveloping him with sensation bit by bit . . . coupled with the visual of that sweet face furrowed in concentration as he struggled to do it just fast and hard enough to please both of them.
“You’re so damn gorgeous,” Yo-ka told him. “You’re going to be so loved by everyone who sees you . . .”
But for now, that beauty was on display only for him as Subaru moved further down on him, seeming to envelop all of him at once . . .
There was a pause as Subaru opened his eyes, gazing down at Yo-ka, and Yo-ka smiled up at him, reaching their hands toward each other, clasping them . . .
With hands still joined, Subaru started a slow thrust, and Yo-ka just enjoyed the visual, the gorgeous blond’s whole body looking slightly flushed, his lovely nipples standing out from his chest, darkened with passion . . .
Subaru let go of one hand, and Yo-ka brought it to one of those nipples, stroking it up and down as the younger man started to move faster, harder . . . he squeezed it gently, watching his lover’s face, the way Subaru tipped his head back, tongue flicking lightly at his lips as he moaned.
The thrusting sped up, and Yo-ka started to raise his hips with every downward movement, his eyes fastened to the vision in front of him, atop him . . . the torso becoming more and more slick with sweat, the blond hair starting to stick to forehead and shoulders, the lush lips parted as heavy breathing and moans grew louder and louder . . .
He ran his hand along his lover’s chest, feeling damp heat, hard nipples, the thudding of his heart . . . and then that hand slid down, down, until it was wrapping around Subaru’s cock.
He stroked it quickly, in rhythm to their churning hips, fingers running up and down and around the shaft, thumb rubbing over the tip . . . They moved together in perfect sync, as if they’d been doing this for years, the moans of both of them filling the room, Subaru murmuring his lover’s name as his movements became jerkier, more erratic, his breathing rougher.
“Yo-ka . . . oh, oh, Yo-ka, I’m . . .”
Subaru suddenly let out a wail, his body stiffening, arcing upward as his come ran over Yo-ka’s fingers . . . and the sight of him alone was so erotic that Yo-ka cried out as well, raising his hips, thrusting deeply into Subaru as he came in fiery, intense waves.
Subaru crashed down atop him, panting, wrapping his arms around him, burying his face in his shoulder. “Yo-ka,” he whispered. “You were so good . . .”
“You were amazing,” Yo-ka said, holding Subaru tightly, knowing he was probably smearing come on him, not really caring. “You are just so damn gorgeous, and hot, and you feel so good . . .”
“I’m glad I came here,” Subaru said. “So glad . . .”
The two just clung to each other, backing in the afterglow, knowing damn well this wasn’t the last time for them - onscreen or off. In fact, Yo-ka was deliberately going to tell the writers at both PSC and Eros to put parts for Subaru in their next screenplays for him.
“Can I stay?” Subaru murmured, snuggling closer to Yo-ka. “Just for the afternoon, I mean?”
“Of course you can.” Yo-ka’s arms tightened around him. “You can stay for dinner too, if you want. We’ll probably get takeout if Yuuki is working late.”
“Mmm.” Subaru closed his eyes - he was in need of a nap. Well, Yo-ka didn’t blame him. He’d come damn hard. They both had.
“Just let me clean us up,” Yo-ka whispered, kissing his forehead. He slid away from him, disposing of the condom and reaching for their package of baby wipes. Subaru didn’t notice, as he was mostly asleep already - though when Yo-ka finished and lay next to him, Subaru rolled over and snuggled against him.
Yo-ka snuggled back, and pulled the covers over them both. Subaru could stay as long as he wanted, as far as Yo-ka was concerned.
He may have missed out on doing that one scene with him, but he had today in return - and that was more than enough.
* * *
Yuuki stumbled into the apartment around 7. He’d had a long day of shooting, most of it involving a long fantasy orgy sequence involving his old friends from Eros. By the time it was over, they were jokingly making offerings to the God of Stamina. Yuuki got his second wind back for the final sequence involving himself and Hiyuu, which had earned them a sustained round of applause from the crew.
But that meant he’d have nothing left for his love tonight. One of the hazards of the industry.
Fortunately, he saw the bedroom door ajar, someone still sleeping in it, and Yo-ka in the kitchen, wearing only a pair of sweatpants and looking through their pile of takeout menus. Good, he had a playmate.
“Oh, hi, love,” Yo-ka said. “Long day?”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Yuuki walked over to Yo-ka, pulled him into his arms and kissed him. “I see you have company.”
“Oh, God, yes. I’m letting him sleep - it was pretty intense.”
“Anyone I know?” Yuuki went into the living room, sat on the couch and held out his arms, waiting for the cat to jump into his lap.
“Yes.” Yo-ka walked into the room, carrying a glass of melon soda and a small stack of the menus. “Subaru.”
“Oh?” Yuuki looked interested. “So I’m guessing you were impressed?”
Yo-ka took a drink and gave Yuuki a sly smile. “You’re not getting him back,” he said.
“Now, now, it’s nice to share,” Yuuki said. “But seriously - I’m glad. He needs as many people he feels comfortable with on-camera as he can get at this stage.”
“I’ve already texted Jin about writing him into my next video,” Yo-ka said. “He said Eros is so high on him that they’re having a contest to find the script for his starring debut. They asked him and Saga to judge it.”
Yuuki nodded. “It’s happening really fast for him. Maybe too fast. We’re going to have to be there to make sure he stays grounded.”
“Gladly,” Yo-ka said. “I like him. I really do. Not just for the sex.”
“But that was pretty damn good?” Yuuki said, teasingly.
“Oh, my God,” Yo-ka said. “I’m just now able to move. We came back here after lunch.” He took another drink. “He looks so sweet and innocent, but when he gets going . . .”
“I know well.” Yuuki said. “You need to get your energy back right now almost as much as I do.” He held out his hand. “Can I see those menus?”
Yo-ka handed them over. “We had ramen this afternoon, so we probably don’t want anything noodle-ly.”
“I’m glad he ran into you, though,” Yuuki said. “We’ll just tell him he can come back to us whenever he wants, and we’ll make sure he meets the right people.” He took a menu for a pizza place and started looking through it. “But do you know what I want most of all for him?”
“That he keeps his head when he becomes a star and doesn’t turn into Aoi?”
“Well, that, too. But I want him to meet somebody who makes him the center of his universe . . . the way that you’re the center of mine.”
Yo-ka nodded. “We talked about how he feels about love. He sees things the way we do - he wants to have a central love of his life and a lot of satellite lovers. He’s felt like that all his life.”
Yuuki nodded. “Love like a wheel,” he said. “A central hub and a lot of spokes. That’s how I’ve always seen it. The spokes look nice, but it’s the hub that holds the whole thing together.”
“Are you calling me a hub?” Yo-ka said, teasingly.
“Well, you DO hold me together,” Yuuki said.
Yo-ka put his soda down, moved to the couch and embraced Yuuki - menus, cat and all. “You keep reminding me of how much I love you,” he said.
At that moment, there was a loud yawn from the bedroom doorway. Subaru stumbled into the living room, wearing only his underwear, eyes bleary and blond hair in disarray. He blinked when he saw the couple on the couch. “Oh - Yuuki,” he said, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Hi,” Yuuki said. “Come over here - we’re picking out something to eat. Do you need to text your roommates or anything?”
“I already did,” he said, stumbling over toward the couch. “Um, Yo-ka ran into me at the ramen shop, and . . .”
“Subaru.” Yuuki gently handed the cat to his lover, put the menus on the table and stood up, putting an arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “It’s okay. Really. It comes with the lifestyle - we talked about that. Did you have a good time?”
Subaru nodded, enthusiastically.
“Then that’s what matters. Now, help us pick out something to eat before we all pass out.” He held up the menus. “Pizza, Indian or Chinese?”
Subaru immediately relaxed. “Let me look at them,” he said.
Yo-ka smiled at the sight of those two together. He was going to like being Subaru’s co-mentor - on several different levels. Inevitably, the three of them were all going to end up in bed together - both on-camera and off.
But that was just part of it. He had someone new in his life that he genuinely liked - even if he was cute and sparkly.
And when Subaru inevitably found his “hub,” Yo-ka knew he’d be just a little bit jealous.