A/N: Yeah, ok.
Right, so.
Uhmm... This is a short fic I wrote for my best friend Kitten-chan [Kitten-chan (dot) deviantart (dot) com ] for Sweetest Day, which was yesterday. It's a fic off of one of her favorite short mangas, Sugar Milk. I highly suggest reading it because it's really adorable. A nice quick read too, so saying you don't have the time is no excuse XD
Anyway.. for some crazy reason, she wants me to post it on ffnet, so.. Here I am, kinda petrified to do so but being unable to deny my dear Kitten-chan DX
If you haven't read Sugar Milk, please do. And I guess ...ifyou'reinthemood... read this.
Disclaimer: characters are Shinta Yamada and Aki Yamabe. Oh, and Cerberus. And don't belong to me.
Warnings: uhh none, really.
Where to read: There are two short stories for them, whic can be found here: (remove the spaces)
"Sugar Milk" (one-shot - What's Your Name pages 1 - 18) - www(dot)mangafox(dot)com /manga /sugar_milk /v01 /c001/
"Call My Name" - www(dot)mangafox(dot)com /manga /call_my_name_jaryuu_dokuro /v01 /c001/
If the links don't work just go to MangaFox and type in those titles.
Oh! And! For some cute artwork of them, You can check out Kitten-chan's page, which is again: Kitten-chan (dot) deviantart (dot) com. lol if you're reading this story much after it's been posted, just do a search on her gallery, aha.
Title pertains to getting even, in the most innocent of ways, of course.
I think that's it.
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Sugar Milk
a fiction by Crimson Vixen
Equilibrium
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Shinta…
Shinta…
…Shinta.
Shin…ta.
No matter how Yamabe says his name, regardless of tone or inflection, emphasis or lack thereof, Shinta likes the way it sounds. He likes the way Yamabe says it. He likes the way his tongue rolls. He likes that Yamabe had no qualms about saying 'Shinta' instantly after the request. He likes that even though Yamabe looks like the stubborn type, he's rather agreeable. So Shinta is fairly certain that asking the older man to call him by his name is the second smartest thing he's ever asked anyone, or at the very least, asked Yamabe. Next to what's your name, of course.
He can't seem to get the image out of his head; of Yamabe dozing on the sofa earlier that day, and the way he looked when he doubled back from leaving, and dared to remove the man's glasses simply because curiosity left him dying to know.
He loves that simple yet versatile expression and gentle, intrigued half lidded gaze, like he's always trying to figure Shinta out for a moment before plainly asking. He loves the guy's dog as much as Cerberus loves him back and he loves how Yamabe's kindness shines through in the way he doesn't smile. And, Shinta can't help but love how good he thinks they look together.
Cerberus' fur is soft to the touch when Shinta strokes the animal fondly, idly rolling his fingers under her collar and rotating it. The dog doesn't seem to mind, but Shinta can't tell by looking at her, because his eyes have been stuck on Yamabe for the past however-long it's been, trying to imaging him without his glasses again because Shinta likes the way it looks. And every now and again he has to stop himself from imagining him without his clothes either, because he's just met the man, really.
But that didn't mean Yamabe doesn't look nice.
"Is there something wrong?"
Shinta blinks once, then numerous times to bring himself back into awareness. When he does so, Yamabe is still wearing his glasses over that bored, concerned look in his eyes. And his clothes.
For a brief moment Shinta wonders if Yamabe knows how good he looks without them. But then again, he reminds himself, there must be a reason for wearing them in the first place. …Which is a real shame because he looks really… really good without them.
So one would think that Shinta wouldn't be so surprised when Yamabe makes a mention that he likes the way Shinta's hair is shaped, the way it frames his face and slips down the back of his neck, and that he should leave the headband off more often. Because it's 'cute.' Not only does Shinta find this statement to be that of a rather ridiculous nature (he had been planning to cut it and now was conflicted with the notion that Yamabe preferred it as it was), he also finds it embarrassing. He looks to the side and presses a palm to his temple, as if trying to keep the fabric in question in place.
Naturally, Shinta's first reaction is to gasp when Yamabe's fingers slip around it and slowly slip it from his head. His hair falls predictably into place and he can only bring himself to blink at the older man, feeling his cheeks flush hot because he knows that he can't look good enough for Yamabe to be staring at him like he is right now.
But the hand that had removed his headband comes back with gentle fingers, pressing into his cheek and sliding back towards his ear in a message Shinta doesn't catch. He can feel the dog's tail wagging and brutally thrashing against his thigh, nearly matching the rhythm and way his heart is pounding against his ribcage. What was it about Yamabe that made it beat so erratically, and why is it that it returns to normal after something as simple of Yamabe opening his mouth?
"So now we're even."
Even, he says.
But you were sleeping when I did it, Shinta wants to say, but never does. He chooses a different route instead.
"…What?"
"I wanted to see," Yamabe answers simply, folding the headband neatly in his lap and setting it aside on the coffee table, then brings his attention fully back onto Shinta and stares and stares and just keeps staring. Because Shinta's hair is apparently nice, and his skin is somehow smooth enough for Yamabe to want to keep touching. Shinta's eyes fall sinfully onto Yamabe's lips, and a new but not so new curiosity emerges from his thoughts; what would it be like to kiss this man?
The hand at his cheek cups his jaw and lifts his head slightly, like Yamabe is trying to memorize his features. Shinta feels his eyes shift to the side and then back again, finding that no matter what he does they always want to land back on those lips.
There is something different and intricate about the touch of an older man. Something tame and unreachable, like he's not that much younger but is still too young to fully understand. Too young and inexperienced to feel someone like that. Shinta lets himself be handled because he trusts Yamabe with everything, fears nothing but the things he's yet to find worth fearing. So much trust that Shinta finds his eyes are now closing, even while he's still at least thinking of Yamabe's lips.
And maybe Yamabe was right a little while ago when he said he was expressive, because maybe it's obvious on his face what his mind is latched onto, because he swears, oh he swears that he feels something soft and wonderful press against his mouth, and all Shinta can do is think about what a considerate guy Yamabe is. And he can hardly believe that someone like Yamabe would want to kiss someone like him, but then again, he also hadn't believed in love at first sight until he met…
"Aki…"