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Blackmail, Cats and Pineapple



‘Lucky people. Today, I’m one of those lucky people too,’ Takki almost cried as he voiced to himself over and over again.



Admiring the architectural brilliance that would soon be his, he felt his heart swell with pride.



But watching his girlfriend walk towards him, his heart fell a little. Nonetheless, he smiled more brightly than ever.



‘Thank you. I’ll never forget this.’



As they walked out of the house that would soon bear his name, Takki held onto her hand and finally said the words she had longed to hear.

‘I love you.’



But she knew better. Thankfully, while the restraint in his voice was apparent, so was the resolve. Yes, he would love her. If not now, then one day. One day, he would grow to really love her.



‘If only I were poor, then it won’t be about the money. Then it would be real deal,’ she thought to herself.



But knowing full well that he might never have looked her way if she weren’t the heiress of a luxury goods empire, she decided to settle for what she got and learn to be content with it.



Smilingly, she clasped his hand tightly.



‘What do you want to eat? I’ll make dinner,’ Takki suddenly asked, as if to break the awkwardness.



‘But you can’t cook,’ Yukiko corrected.



‘Since today’s so special, I’ll let you in on a secret. I can cook. But only for the people I really like.’



‘So will you let me cook you something, at my place?’ Takki asked, with a little blush.



Yukiko was so touched that she could only shyly nod in agreement. She had never been to his place. They had only ever met up outside, in love hotels or at her place. Today was very special indeed. Not only did she just put their names down on the title deed of a prime real estate, she was also going to visit his home for the first time and he was going to cook for her too. Happiness beamed from her face. Witnessing that, Takki, despite his sly and conniving ways, was genuinely happy.



Unlike all the other women in his lives, Yukiko was different. She kept her word and lived up to her promise. She said, ‘I’ll take care of you.’ And she did, unlike the others before her. They had all promised him a good life but dropped him like a hot potato the moment their affair was discovered. And like always he would watch women abandon him as they crawled back to their unloving husbands.



When a similar fate befell so many of his fellow hosts at the club he worked at, Takki learnt to distrust women. But Yukiko was like a breath of fresh air.



One birthday, she was tricked into the club by her friends and Takki happened to be her host. She was young and single, without the excess emotional baggage that comes along with the married ones. Although not much of a looker, she was very much in love with him. And best of all she was obscenely rich and readily gave in to his every whim and fancy.



‘Is it too much to ask, to do it on your bed tonight?’ Yukiko whispered into his ear as he went about busying in the kitchen.



‘Of course not. Anything to make you happy,’ Takki replied with a tense smile.



It was time to return the favour.



Turning a blind eye to his masked reluctance, Yukiko pecked him on his cheek and prepared to set the table.



It pained Takki to have to share his life with someone else. He had been alone so long he felt scared to let anyone else in. With himself, he could feel safe. But thinking of his new home, a place he could finally call his own, he once again convinced himself, ‘I love her.’



…….



The path to true love was never easy. But it seemed so even for Takki’s make-believe love.



One slow business night, a striking gentleman strutted into their club. Although they mainly catered to female customers, male customers were equally warmly welcomed. And it didn’t take long for the handsome stranger to be swarmed with offers of service. But he asked only for, ‘Takizawa-san, please.’



‘Do you have a private room?’ The gentleman asked in a very business-like manner.



‘You don’t waste any time, do you?’ Takki smirked.



Holding his hand, he took the gentleman to one of the backrooms. Tsubasa didn’t know what overcame him. He flinched inwardly but he didn’t push Takki’s hand away.



Takki was very good with females and males alike, still it didn’t prepare him for what followed.



‘How much to leave my sister?’



It finally dawned on him that this now not-so-gentlemanly stranger was Yukiko’s brother, Imai Tsubasa. He knew she had a protective brother but she never told him that he was so good-looking too. Tearing himself away from those sparkling eyes, Takki realized that Tsubasa was very serious.



‘It’s not about the money.’ Takki’s pride would not allow for a lesser answer.



‘Not money? Then what else could people like you want? Love?’ Tsubasa almost laughed at that thought.



Seeing the contempt in Tsubasa’s eyes, Takki almost wanted to rip them out of their proud, conceited and arrogant sockets.



‘Yes, love! Even hosts are capable of love too. Even hosts want to love and be loved too!’ Takki shouted, loud enough to be heard from outside.



After his eloquent and impassioned defence, Takki promptly left the room. It seemed that he too was not quite himself that night. Love was usually the last thing on his mind. It was bad for business.



As they were closing for the night, Hina came up to him and winked.

‘Be a sweetheart and take out the garbage will ya? It’s in the backroom from just now.’



If Takki was troubled by the episode earlier, things were about to get worse. A drugged Tsubasa was lying bare-chested sprawled across the couch in front of him. But seeing the words, ‘Revenge’ scribbled in crimson lipstick on his chest, Takki knew what Hina meant.



After wiping away the lipstick with Tsubasa’s Armani suit and positioning their naked bodies in the most incriminating yet still fairly comfortable position, Takki took out his trusty keitai and snapped away. Every now and then he would change their position, elicting soft moans from the semi-conscious Tsubasa. Just when Takki was about satisfied with his loot, Tsubasa unknowingly pulled him in and started to kiss him. Thinking that snapshots were great but videos were even better, Takki allowed the light kisses to develop into heavy petting then to laboured exchange of bodily fluid.



Waking up in a nearby hotel the next morning, Tsubasa had no memory of the night before but the tell-tale signs (the bitter sensation in his mouth, his sore overworked member, the love bites on his shoulders, etc.) all pointed to something he was too fearful to face.



It was almost lunchtime when his phone rang. But it wasn't a lunch date from his fiancée, Gabrielle. Although it was an arranged marriage, Tsubasa was confident that he could make their relationship a resounding success, like everything else in his life.

But the photo message in his phone painted a very different picture. It was a picture of him kissing the host, Takizawa-san, from last night. More pictures followed, one more scandalous than the next. Then came the videos. Distinctly hearing himself beg for more, Tsubasa felt his whole world crumble around him. His perfect life and squeaky clean reputation dragged through the mud. Fighting back the flood of tears welling up in his eyes, he read the last message.



‘Meet me at Hotel Paradiso now. Room 283.’



…….



‘What do you want from me?’



‘Leave your sister and I alone.’



‘Is that all? That's it? But the money. Are you sure you won’t prefer the money instead? You can just name your price.’



Tsubasa had been taught that money solved all problems. Hence, he couldn’t accept that this was any different. He obstinately believed that he could buy him and his sister a way out of Takki’s clutches.



‘You may be very pretty, but you’re not very bright, eh? I want your sister. Not the money.’ Takki insisted.



Tsubasa’s denial was beginning to eat away at Takki.



‘Damn rich people. Think they can trample all over your pride and your heart just because they can afford to. Like there’s a price tag on pain,’ he silently cursed.



‘And I know what you want.’



Tsubasa was surprised by the sudden turn of the table. Even he didn’t know what he wanted sometimes. What more a stranger?



‘You want me, in your mouth and up your ass.’



Tsubasa paled then coloured.



Disrobing, Takki stretched comfortably on a nearby armchair and asked, ‘Shall I call Gabrielle while I wait?’



……..



Lunchtime for Tsubasa was soon synonymous with forced sex, quick showers and cold sandwiches. Although he convinced himself that he was coerced into it, Tsubasa always found his ‘chin chin ii’ growing in anticipation as he drove to the hotel.



One steamy afternoon, as blindfolded Tsubasa was being tortured and pleasured at the same time by a very hentai Takki, he was rudely interrupted by a call.



Flustered, he had wanted to turn it off but ended picking up the call instead.



‘I’m sorry. I’ve been very busy lately. Can we talk later?’



‘Busy with stuff. It’s nothing important. We’ll talk later.’



‘What?! But you know I do.’



“I can’t now. No, I’m not with anyone.’



‘Ok, alright. I love you too.’ Tsubasa finally whispered.



On one hand, he was immensely relieved that Takki had not snatched the phone from him and announce to Gabrielle that she was in the way of incredible, mind-blowing sex; on the other, Tsubasa felt faintly disappointed that Takki was already in the shower.



……..



Sitting alone in his posh living room of imported Italian marble and designer furniture, Tsubasa couldn’t help but wonder what Takki was doing. It was the weekend and they didn’t meet on weekends, probably so that Takki could have time for his 'special' customers and clients. But his question was soon answered.



‘What are you doing here?’



‘It was rather rude of me to leave chin chin ii hanging there yesterday. So I thought I’d come back and finish the job,’ Takki grinned and handed Tsubasa the grocery.



‘I hope you cook. I’m thinking of pasta tonight.’



‘Tonight? How long are you planning on staying?’ Tsubasa asked nervously.



‘Piss me off enough and I’ll never leave.’ Takki sniggered.



……….



Although Takki only dropped by on weekends, he certainly made his presence felt. Tsubasa’s silk curtains were beginning to smell of tobacco; his kitchen had been invaded by senbei, sake and natto; his toilet was overrun with Takki’s cosmetics and toiletries; and his wardrobe was losing its cool to the sparkly bags and shoes that had wheedled their way in.



All these Tsubasa pretended not to notice, perhaps afraid that if he acknowledged them, then he would have to acknowledge the fact that Takki was becoming a growing part of his life, a life that was becoming less and less perfect by the minute.



……….



‘Let’s go for a walk instead.’ Takki suggested as he looked at the increasingly grave and sullen Tsubasa.



He had received intel from Yukiko that Tsubasa was currently stressed over clinching a deal with China’s leading retail mall operator. He had heard that the decision-maker he was to meet was rather anti-Japanese, very difficult to please, and a woman. Now he could handle difficult-to-please anti-Japanese. But women were hardly his forte.



Takki picked a quiet spot in a secluded park so that Tsubasa wouldn't have to worry about being seen. Resting on the bench, Takki reached over to Tsubasa’s hand and stroke it idly as he watched some kittens play. When the kittens happily skipped their way to the couple, Takki gently scooped them up and lovingly placed them on his lap.



‘Aren’t they just the cutest things alive? Aside from you, of course.’



Seeing Tsubasa freeze as one of them crawled onto his lap, Takki almost flipped over laughing. The cool Tsubasa was afraid of cats. Ever determined to tease him, Takki brought one close to Tsubasa’s face and said, ‘They’re not scary. Look this one even wants to kiss you.’



But when the little kitten was about to stretch out its neck and really reach for those plump juicy lips, Takki hurriedly returned it onto his lap.



‘He's mine! Get your own!’ He childishly chided.



To prove his point, he kissed Tsubasa fully on his lips.



Tsubasa had heard of hearts missing a beat, but he never felt it, until that moment. That moment, in which they locked lips. Takki had kissed him everywhere imaginable and unimaginable before, but never on his lips. But today in that balmy, shady park, they kissed.



It was a kiss that didn’t go unnoticed by others either.



‘Are you kissing? A little boy innocently asked.



‘Yes,’ Takki bragged.



‘But boys don’t kiss each other.’



‘Why not?'


‘Then do you love-?’



‘Taro, let’s go. Hurry!’ Taro’s mother came running to pull her child away.



‘You guys should get a room.’ She hissed before indignantly trotting away with her confused child.



Being fairly used to this treatment, Takki lost none of his cheerfulness and said, ‘She did tell us to get a room. But do you want sex first or dinner?’



Tsubasa didn’t answer. Like always, he kept his silence and his cool, accepting whatever Takki fancied. Besides he had far more pressing matters weighing on his mind than sex and dinner.



‘Does he love me? Do I love him?’



Unbeknownst to him, Takki was also asking himself those very same questions.



‘It’s supposed to be revenge, only revenge and purely revenge,’ he reminded himself.



Whilst the two went about solving the puzzles of their hearts, their hands had instinctively interlocked themselves as they strolled into the sunset.



………



Feeling guilty about neglecting Yukiko, Takki decided to spend more time with her and less with her brother. It had gotten so bad to the point that Tsubasa was lighting cigarettes from Takki’s favourite brand. Although he abhorred the smell of tobacco, he wanted to pretend that Takki was there, that he wasn’t alone.



………..



At the dinner meeting in a fancy hotel, Tsubasa thought he had finally worked up enough confidence to face the dragon lady. But as luck would have it, he saw Takki. The latter was entertaining some female foreigners nearby. Watching him engrossed in an animated account of probably something silly, Tsubasa felt jealous of those females. He shuttered to think what he would feel if they were guys.



Male or female, he was sufficiently distracted and disturbed to reflect badly in the grand dame’s books. Although Takki’s presence was unsettling, when Tsubasa saw that he had left, his heart sank.



………..



‘I’m sorry. But please allow me to intrude with this cup of tea. It’s our finest Japanese green tea.’ Takki flashed his most dazzling smile, knocking the wind out of the sulky dragon lady.



‘My pleasure,’ dragon lady swooned.



As Takki worked his magic, Ms Dragon quickly melted into Ms Pussy and was eating out of his hands in no time. Tsubasa could only sit at the sidelines and awe. Though he hardly did anything, anyone aware of his internal struggle to not let his jaw drop in amazement, would have congratulated him on a job well done.



That night, Takki suggested that they celebrate in the hotel’s presidential suite. Thinking that Tsubasa was probably exhausted by the events of that evening, he didn’t push for sex. He only silently watched Tsubasa’s silhouette as the older man sat on the floor pensively looking out of the full-length window into Tokyo’s glittery nightscape. Joining him on the soft carpeted floor, Takki leaned his bare torso onto Tsubasa’s broad back and let his hands absentmindedly caress his taunt abs.



‘Isn’t it beautiful? It's like we’re looking down onto the stars.



‘If you could wish on them and get anything you want, what would you want?’



Tsubasa was as resolutely silent as usual, so Takki answered for him.



Feigning excitement, he declared, ‘I know, I know! You want to have nothing to do with me!’



‘Am I right? I’m not an airhead you know.’



Eventually tired of an unresponsive Tsubasa, Takki dropped to his side and was soon fast asleep.



Seeing him safely asleep, Tsubasa lied down in front of him and embraced him.



‘I don’t know... I don’t know what I want,’ he truthfully answered.



‘But right now, I just want to hold you and keep you warm.’



When Takki tried to nestle more snugly into Tsubasa, he chuckled.



‘We must be the craziest people around; to book a presidential suite only to sleep on the floor!’



But with Takki in his arms, it was the best sleep Tsubasa had in days.



……..



The next morning, he found himself on the bed, alone. He was about to despair when he heard the shower go off in the bathroom. He quickly readied his dreamy eyes and wispy look, the ones Takki seemed so fond of. He also made sure to show enough skin from his toned torso. He had been working out and didn’t want it to go unnoticed.



Seeing Tsubasa half-awake never failed to set off the morning sex alarm in Takki, but he restrained himself and only indulged in a light peck on Tsubasa’s waiting lips.



Then, Takki’s keitai rang and Tsubasa’s hope dived.



‘Your sister,’ Takki replied while browsing the content of the message. But before he could finish, his keitai was flying halfway across the room.



‘Ouch!’ he covered his lips more from surprise than pain.



Tsubasa had apparently flung his phone aside and lunged at him with a very forceful kiss. But showing none of his earlier bravura, the ‘attacker’ was now slowly sinking into the bed. Burying his head in his hands, Tsubasa prayed for either the bed to swallow him up very soon or to die of humiliation in the next instant.



‘I must be the world’s worst kisser,’ Tsubasa reproached himself.



But when he saw Takki’s shirt fall at his feet, he thought, ‘Maybe the plan worked?’



And when he saw Takki’s pants drop to the floor, he thought, ‘Maybe apart from almost knocking out his two front teeth, I’m not such a bad kisser after all?’



Nevertheless, on the next morning, the inevitable still happened. Tsubasa was once again alone on the king-sized bed. But all was not lost. He realised that Takki had left with the spare set of keys he had prepared for him.



However, despite the blatant hint, the keys didn't encourage Takki to visit more often.

But on one miraculous morning, Tsubasa awoke to see the bed on Takki’s side in a mess. And what he saw in the dining room made his heart leap - a table full of food. There were toast, pancakes, muffins, waffles, muesli, cereal, ham and eggs. Eggs in every style: poached, scrambled, fried, sunny-side up, hard boiled, half boiled, etc. There were also congee, oatmeal porridge, miso soup and bananas.



There was also a note accompanying the feast which read, ‘Since I’d always forced rice with natto on you, I don’t know what you like. So I made a bit of everything. But I do know that you like your coffee black. It’s in the espresso machine.’



Just as he was brimming with hope, it was extinguished as soon as he saw his spare keys and a farewell note beside the machine.



‘I’m returning you your keys and your perfect life. I’ve already deleted the photos and videos. Broke my heart to do it. They were really good. Despite the circumstances, I had fun. And you made me very happy. I hope, in some weird, sick, twisted way, I made you happy too. Thank you for the memories.’



Tsubasa cried. He didn’t know why. Maybe he was too happy, happy that he didn’t have to do those unspeakable things anymore; unspeakable things that he had grown to secretly desire. Maybe he was too happy, happy that his life was now back to normal; though he didn’t know what normal was anymore.



But he wasn’t, he wasn’t happy. Because the only thing he ever really wanted, was to love and be loved.



Picking up his spare keys, he left to look for Takki. Despite his countless calls, there was no answer. All day the nagging suspicion that Takki could be with his sister, had been eating away at his conscience and jealousy. But he didn’t want to break them up. He only wanted to know, to know if Takki had ever loved him.



When he arrived at the club, he was fortunate to find a tipsy Nagase-san who was still drunk enough to share otherwise confidential information. But not without a hefty fee, though. Drunk or not, money mattered.



Alarmed to learn that Takki had quit the trade, Tsubasa flew to his address worried that Takki could have already left to co-habit his newly renovated house with his sister. He didn’t want to break them up, he just wanted to know, to know that he was not alone in his feelings.



But Takki wasn't home. Lost and confused, Tsubasa dropped to the floor and just sat there, helpless.



‘Should I just call Yukiko and ask her about his whereabouts? But how could I explain it to her? No! How could I do this to her? I love her too. And she loves him too.’



Vaguely aware that the sky had darkened and that his thoughts had turned into a mash of incoherent ramblings, Tsubasa feared he was losing his sanity. He was hysterically laughing at the absurdity of his state of mind and heart, when he saw Takki.



‘Where were you?’ Tsubasa interrogated, suddenly recovering his sanity.



‘Answer me!’ He demanded.



Taken aback by his sudden assertion, Takki mumbled, ‘At a university entrance exam.’



‘What?! Why?’



‘Can’t a host want to better himself?’



‘But you’re not a host anymore. Nagase-san told me this morning.’



‘I needed more time to study.’



‘But why? Why all of a sudden?’



‘I just want to be a better man.'

'You make me want to be a better man,' Takki wanted to say, but he held back.

'Is there a time or season for such a thing?’



Takki was getting irritated by this line of questioning.



‘I may not be high and mighty like you. But I too want to be able to give, to give something to the person I love. Like… like a set of keys to my own home.’



‘I know I’ve got a long way to go, and I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to do that. But I want to.‘



‘And if I can’t, I could at least set him free.’



Takki stopped and turned away to swallow his tears. He didn’t want to show his weakness, not in front of Tsubasa.



Tsubasa, equally hopeless in situations like this, offered,’ You’re wrong, you know. About what you said that night. It’s not true that I want nothing to do with you.’



‘I… I want everything to do with you.’



Bracing himself, Tsuabasa continued, ‘I want to go to sleep with you. I want to wake up with you. I want to hold your hands and go for long walks with you. I want to make breakfast for you. I want to make-’



‘Make love or dinner?’ Takki teased.



‘Dinner… dinner first,’ came Tsubasa’s coy reply.



………



But later in the grocery store, the scene that followed was cloyingly mushy enough to ruin any appetite. It appeared as if Tsubasa had surgically attached himself to Takki for fear of losing him again. They were interlocking arms and holding hands at every opportunity. Whenever Takki stopped to decide on anything, Tsubasa would bear-hug him from behind, draping his lanky arms around those droopy shoulders and nuzzle their cheeks together.



‘Aren’t you worried?’ Takki asked, concerned that Tsubasa might get recognized.



‘Worried about what, baby?’ Tsubasa answered, oblivious to the curious glances, hushed snickering and rude finger-pointing.



‘Worried that your sister would catch you with her boyfriend?’



Tsubasa felt his blood chill the moment he saw his baby sister in front of him. He had expected her to be shocked, hurt and disgusted. But she wasn't. She was calm, collected and composed. Only her shifty eyes hinted that she couldn't yet bear to look at them - her brother and her lover, both of whom had betrayed her trust and love.



Finally breaking the ice, ‘So this is the reason Gabrielle came crying to me?’ Yukiko asked her brother.



‘And this is the reason you returned me the keys to our home?’ Yukiko queried Takki.



Seeing the earlier lovey-dovey couple turn into sorry-assed mutes, Yukiko felt a little better. It would've been easier to hate them. But she loved them too much.



In an attempt to lighten the deadly serious mood she'd created, Yukiko revealed.



‘I happened to see you both in the park that day. And I knew it was love. When you teased my brother with that cat and he didn’t fly across the field. And when you.. when you kissed him. You know, you've never really kissed me before.’



One could almost hear a suppressed sigh at the end of the statement, as Yukiko shrugged her shoulders slightly. And despite trying her best at concealing anymore underlying resentment and bitterness, she couldn't help but let one more slip.



‘In any case, my brother broke two girls' hearts to be with you. So if you’re not as crazy about him, I’ll… I’ll stuff this pineapple up your ass!’



It was an incredulous threat and definitely not one she was ever keen on fulfilling, but the pineapple just happened to be conveniently there.



Still, Takki took the threat seriously enough to turn ashen. Every bit the protective lover, Tsubasa quickly pulled Takki into a tight embrace and declared.



‘The only thing going up his ass... is me!’



Yukiko cringed at the thought.



‘Eww! Get a room you two!’



‘Yes, Madam, yes!’ Tsubasa threw himself into a mock salute. And he was all ready to speed off with Takki in tow, when Yukiko threw him a set of keys.



‘It’s Takki’s new place. And yours too. I've changed the name.’



But before Takki could register anything, he found himself being whizzed down the maze of aisles at blinding speed.



‘Wait… our dinner,’ he suddenly remembered.



‘Sex first! Dinner… tomorrow,’ Tsubasa ordered.



With that, two trolleys full of grocery shopping were deserted at the fruit section, including the pineapple.



~End~ More at http://avery-averette.livejournal.com. Enjoy!