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Part 3
By Ladyglen
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"Wish I hadn't had to park *miles* from the theater. You wanna wait here while I go get the car?"
"No, Kento, I'm fine."
"'Kay."
As far as Sai was concerned, the night had been a success that sparkled as brightly as the blanket of stars that lay overhead. The air was as crisp and dry as the sky, the type that energized him and reminded him of joyous holidays.
Taking a deep breath, Sai smiled happily to himself. A complete success for two very important reasons! In his more honest moments, Sai had to admit the physical constraints his surgery had forced on him, his body usually forced him to. Dinner and a movie *wasn't* exactly strenuous, however it *was* more activity than he'd seen in weeks. He'd half feared that this excursion would be too much for him, yet he hardly felt tired or sore at all. It proved his point. He was getting better, but more important than even that, Kento was back! Well, all right, perhaps Kento was still *slightly* too polite and solicitous, thus the concern over how far away they'd had to park, but his behavior had vastly improved, as illustrated when Kento had actually accepted Sai's reassurance that he felt fine.
Kento had brooded the entire drive to the city, frowning so intensely that by the time they'd arrived, Sai, regretting his impulsive plan, nearly told him to just turn around and return home. He was glad that he had remained silent. They had eaten dinner at a tiny, family-run restaurant near the theater district that reminded Sai of home, crowded, loud, and with wonderful food. Kento had ever so slowly relaxed throughout the course of the meal, his silences shorter and occurring with less frequency, until by the end, he was actually joking and fooling around a little. After dinner, they'd continued on to the theater for their movie, and by the time the show was over, the changeling had been nowhere to be seen.
As they'd left their seats, Kento had been loudly declaring that the movie had been a cheesy waste of money with one breath, and with the next, had been claiming that Sai wouldn't know whether or not to agree, since he'd made so many trips to the bathroom during it. Kento loud and teasing? The thought still brought a smile to his lips as he and his love dispersed with the rest of the crowd. Loud and teasing was normal for Kento!
"Oh, sure, *now* there's plenty of parking!"
Sai just had to smile and shake his head at the sarcasm in his love's deep voice. Saying that Kento's behavior had vastly improved may actually have been an understatement, he decided contentedly as his love's long fingers groped for his own. Hmmm, if the night continued in the same vein, then perhaps their bed would be witness to more than just snores when they finally got home.
Sai stepped closer as he and Kento turned down a side street and headed further away from the movie theater. Definitely more than snores! Celebrating, he leaned into Kento's warmth as his love dropped his hand to drape an arm over his shoulder, tucking him into his side. Kento was so much more relaxed, there was little doubt in Sai's mind that he'd be anything but amenable to the suggestion of some lovemaking before they went to sleep.
"Hey, whatta we got here, guys?"
"Looks like a couple a fags t' me."
"Disgustin'!"
"Oi, couple a fags, got any money for us?"
"Oh!" Startled, Sai pushed out of Kento's arms, whirling and dropping into a defensive crouch. Stupid! He'd been so distracted that he'd never noticed that the number of street lights had diminished, that they were the only pedestrians in sight, that no traffic moved on the darkened streets. He'd never even heard the four men approach.
"Oooo, lookit that!"
"Couple a fags gonna fight us?"
"I'm sooo scared!"
"Heh, why doncha make it easy on yaselfs? Just give us your money, and we won' hafta hurt'cha!"
All four of the group facing them looked as if they'd been cloned from the same sleazy source. All were of medium height, that is to say, taller than Sai, but shorter than Kento. All had a lanky, lean build; all wore long-sleeved, white shirts beneath brown, leather vests; all either wore, or had hanging from the neckline of their shirts, a pair of black plastic sunglasses; all possessed mustaches and wore their slicked back, black hair tied back in a ponytail. After facing the untold dangers of their myriad foes over the years, all looked more ridiculous than threatening.
Straightening, Sai decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to laugh in the four's faces, for there was no telling what stupid creatures would attempt if angered, and these guys must be either stupid, desperate, or deluded. He might not appear intimidating, but Kento, with his height, broad shoulders, and solidly muscled build, certainly did. Definitely stupid and deluded. Apparently, they automatically assumed that two men with their arms about each other were easy pickings. Sai began to smile slightly. They could take these jerks easily, and teach them a little lesson in respect and tolerance in the process!
"Sai, why don'cha just stand aside and let me deal with this?"
Or, maybe not! At the sound of that low growl, Sai slowly turned to face Kento, who was staring at the wanna-be muggers with eyes narrowed in uncharacteristic, intensely icy anger. Hoping he'd heard wrong, Sai tried to keep one eye on the thugs and one on Kento as he incredulously asked, "Excuse me?"
"I said to back off and let me handle this!"
"Kento, I can-,"
"You shouldn't strain, Sai. I can take these bozos for ya!"
DING! Round umpteen gazillion and one! So much for the happy date, the over-protective, over-bearing... Turning his full attention on Kento, Sai very quietly and carefully stated, "I certainly do *not* need you to take care of these bozos for me, Kento."
"Yes, ya do! You're still sick, Sai."
<
"You're *not* fine! Not yet!"
"Uh, 'scuse us, fags, but 'member us? Ya know... give us you money, we don' hurt ya?"
"SHUT UP!!!"
Sai turned away again, Kento mirroring his movement, leaving the thug spokesman temporarily stunned and/or deafened by their joint screech. As if they'd never been interrupted, he snarled, "I can't *believe* you, Kento! I get sick and you act like I'm an invalid!"
"You didn't *just* get sick, Sai! You almost died!"
"I *didn't* die! I'm all right. I'm better, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Why can't you just accept that?"
"'Cause if you could take care of yourself, you wouldn't have come so close to dyin' on me! You would've gone straight back to the doctor! You would've *said* something when you got sick!"
"What? You think I wanted to be so sick?"
"You scared me, Sai!"
"You think I did it on purpose? That I just woke up one day and said, gee, I bet I could really scare the living daylights out of Kento if I have a near death experience! What *fun*!" Sai ignored the thugs, who were staring at them with their mouths hanging open; ignored the fact that he was now shouting even louder than Kento. "I thought it was the stupid stomach virus again! I didn't know my freakin' appendix burst! What do you want me to say, Kento? I'm sorry! I do my best, but sometimes, shit happens!"
"Oi! We wan' your money, an' we're gonna get it."
"Guess we hafta hurt 'em!"
"Yeah! Fuckin' fags must be into pain!"
"That is *it*! I have *had* it! I do *not* need to deal with you assholes right now!" Even as sleazy number one stepped towards them, Sai whirled and swung. Putting all his weight behind the punch, he connected with the thug spokesman's jaw, snapping his head back and promptly dropping him like a stone. With no hesitation, he flowed smoothly into a flying roundhouse kick, which connected with the side of sleazy number two's head, dropping him as quickly as his leader. He landed gracefully, took one step forward, then kicked again, straight up into sleazy number three's chin. As the man staggered back, Sai pivoted to face the last of their would be attackers, but found the man already prone, Kento standing over him. As that sleazy didn't require his attention, Sai spun back to the third thug, just in time to see him drop to his hands and knees to spit out blood and bits of broken teeth.
Slowly straightening from his defensive crouch, and ignoring the ominous twinge from the vicinity of his incision, Sai stalked over to the gagging mugger. He reached down and twisted his fingers into the front of the thug's shirt and jerked the man up off his hands. As Kento silently stepped up to his side, the fingers of his other hand fisted, then drew back. Without looking at his lover, he quietly said, "Kento, I don't understand. Why are you treating me like this now?"
"I don't ever want anything to happen to you, Sai."
"And you think treating me like an invalid is going to keep anything from happening to me?" Voice rising again, Sai glanced down at the wide-eyed, frightened, failed mugger he was still holding upright, and, giving the man a shake for added emphasis, he asked, "Do I look like an invalid to you?" Sai upped his estimation of the man's intelligence when the thug frantically shook his head no, obviously not daring to contradict him.
"There, you see?" It's night-night time! Sai released the mugger's shirt, then brought his knee up under the man's chin as he sagged, snapping his head back and sending him to join his fellows in slumberland.
After the thug hit the ground with a satisfying thump, Sai finally turned to face his lover, fastidiously wiping his hands together. Voice now as calm as it had previously been furious, he stated, "Kento, I am *not* an invalid."
"I know that, Sai."
"You can't continue to treat me like one."
"I want to."
"You can't, Kento, not unless you lock me up in some room somewhere and throw away the key. I won't stand for that."
"I know."
Sai stepped closer to Kento, close enough so that they were nearly touching, drawn by the aching sadness that shimmered in the depths of those deep blue eyes. Reaching up and gently cupping his lover's chin, he softly asked, "Then, why? Why do you refuse to accept that I'm better?"
"If I can take care of you, I can make sure you're safe, Sai. I love you, and I want you with me for a long time."
"Safe? How many times have I *not* been safe since you've known me? Up 'til now, you've always treated me like a partner, an equal, even if our lives have been threatened. Why change that now?"
"Sai... Do you know how helpless I felt? You're life was slipping away, being taken by something I couldn't see and couldn't fight!
"Kento..."
"Don't ya see? If I'd been taking care of you, it never would've happened! Some partner I am! I didn't even notice that you were sick again!"
"Kento, you can't blame yourself for any of this-,"
"Bullsh-,"
"You *can't*!" Sai drew breath, about to say more, when a groan sounded from the first mugger he'd dropped. Aching at the self-damnation that radiated from his love's wide eyes, he laid a finger over Kento's lips when they opened to continue his denial. Jerking his head to indicate the thugs they'd taken down, he quietly repeated, "You can't, but we're going to have to continue this elsewhere."
"Wakin' up, huh?"
"Yeah, and we've got to get out of here before they do."
"Should we just leave 'em like this?"
"Definitely! Why?"
"Well, shouldn't we call the cops or something? They did try to mug us."
"Nah, in this day and age, they'd probably have *us* arrested for assaulting *them*."
"Think they're smart enough for that?"
Sai smiled slightly, then reached out for Kento's hand, drawing his lover after him as he replied, "Probably not, but why take the risk? Come on, we're not through, Kento."
"No, not by a long shot."
Sai waited patiently as Kento unlocked the driver's side door of their car, slid behind the wheel, then leaned over to unlock his door. Getting in, he sank gratefully back into the plush upholstery. He may not have felt weary before, but he did now. He heard Kento draw breath as if he were about to speak, but forestalled his lover by murmuring, "Let's just head home, okay? We can talk on the way."
"Hai."
As Kento turned the key, Sai relaxed against the headrest, closing his eyes and trying to will away the dull throb in the right side of his abdomen.
"Are you all right, Sai?"
Again? Why can't we just go home? Tiredly, Sai affirmed, "*Yes*! How many times-,"
"Then why are you rubbing your incision like that?"
"Like what?" Sai asked, confused, until he realized that one of his hands was, indeed, rubbing at his side as if that motion could soothe away the ache. "Oh," he muttered, even as he deliberately placed his hand on the seat beside him.
"Oh? Is that all you have to say?"
Kento's expression was accusatory when Sai mustered the energy to turn his head. Closing his eyes with a sigh, he asked, "What else do you want me to say?"
"I want you to admit that you should've let me take care of those idiots. You're not well, not yet."
"All right, you win. I'm not 100% yet, and taking on those jerks was probably *not* the brightest thing I've ever done. Happy?"
"No. I'd be happy if you weren't hurting."
"Just drive, Kento. I want to go home." When Sai felt Kento put the car in gear and pull away from the curb, he dared to crack an eyelid. Kento was glaring straight ahead, and by the light of the passing street lamps, he could see his love's big hands holding the wheel in a white-knuckled grip. Sighing again, he softly said, "I'm sorry, Kento, but I was just trying to prove a point back there."
"What point?"
"That I am *better*, and I *will* be okay."
"Sai-,"
"Kento, the way you were treating me was humiliating and stifling. It made me feel as if you no longer trusted me, as if you thought less of me for becoming sick."
"No! Sai, I was just trying-,"
"I know, Kento, I know what you were trying to do, but that doesn't change the way it made me feel."
"I-,"
"Look, I understand your fear and your feeling of helplessness. I was scared as well. I understand how you could be driven to react the way you did in such a situation, at least initially."
"Then-,"
"But, what *you* have to understand now, is that I got sick. It happened and neither one of us are at fault or could have done anything to prevent it. If you had tried to get me to the doctor before finals were over, you'd have probably had to tie me up and carry me there, for I didn't realize how serious it was. You can't blame yourself for my stubbornness. Now, it's over. Death may have been close, but he didn't claim me this time, and we have to move on. We just have to live, thank god that we have each other, and pray that we will be granted a long life together. There's nothing more we can do. You've got to accept that wrapping me in cotton and trying to protect me is no guarantee of keeping death at bay. Can you do that?"
Kento may have remained silent, but Sai was reassured when one large hand left the wheel to seek out his own. It was going to be all right, the squeeze on his fingers practically assured that. Smiling to himself, he relaxed even further, allowing the hum of the tires on the pavement to lull him. It was just as he drifted off that he heard Kento murmur, "Yes."
A wash of chill air penetrated the sleep haze that shrouded Sai's mind. Vaguely, he felt himself lifted, cradled securely in strong arms. The heat radiating against his left side contrasted sharply with the cold bite on his right, and Sai, seeking to escape, curled himself closer to Kento's chest, right arm creeping up to loosely clasp his love's neck. Groggily, he mumbled, "Is col', Ken."
"I know, Sai, but you'll be warm again soon."
Sai vaguely identified amused affection in Kento's voice, but was too disconnected to respond to it. Though still mostly asleep, he was aware of being carried across the drive, of the front door opening, of the welcome rush of the promised warmth, of Kento teetering as he attempted to kick off his sneakers. Sai remained limp, too comfortable to move and secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't be dropped.
"Oi! Thought I heard the door, you guys... Uh oh, Kento, is Sai all right?"
"Don't worry, Ryo, he's fine. Just fell asleep in the car on the way home."
"Good! Scared me to see you carrying him like that."
"Yeah, tell me 'bout it. Listen, I'm just gonna take him upstairs. Say hi to everyone for us?"
"Sure, Ken. 'Night."
"'Night, Ryo. See ya in the mornin'."
There was the sensation of movement accompanied by the flex and relax of the body Sai rested against. There was the closing of a door... There was the uncomfortable sensation of being cold again. Cold all over. It was enough to drag Sai finally, completely awake, and he opened his eyes to see Kento's body extended over him in a stretch as his love reached for the blankets to cover his naked body.
Hmmmm, naked body? That had possibilities. Hadn't he been thinking along those very lines earlier that evening? Reaching up, Sai ran a finger down the center of Kento's sweatshirt, only to have his lover recoil from his touch, dropping down to sit on the mattress next to him, clutching his chest. Voice low and still fuzzy from sleep, Sai murmured, "So, now that you've got me naked, what are you gonna do with me?"
"God, Sai, give me a cardiac why don'cha! You're supposed to be asleep!"
"I'm awake now." Sai put his arms over his head, stretched as far as his incision would allow, and had the satisfaction of seeing Kento's eyes widen perceptibly. Smiling lazily at his lover, he repeated, "So, what'cha gonna do?"
"Tuck you in."
Sai intercepted the hand that again reached for the blankets and twined his fingers with Kento's larger ones. "And are you joining me?"
"Well, yeah, but only to sleep, dude."
Sai turned his head and nipped at the fingers Kento let rest on his cheek, smiling at the nearly inaudible gasp that escaped his love. "I don't wanna go back to sleep. I want you."
"Sai, you're tired."
"Not that tired."
"You stretched your incision. You didn't tear it, but I can tell it's sore. Look how red it is!"
"It's not *that* sore," Sai denied. When Kento just looked down and away, Sai sat up. With gentle fingers beneath Kento's chin, he urged his lover to look at him. Softly, he said, "I thought we reached an understanding here, Kento. I am getting better. I'm not fragile, and I'm not going to break." He watched Kento's slow nod, then carefully asked, "So, what is the problem? We don't have to perform any acrobatics, Kento. I just want you to touch me." His voice lowered, and this time it was Sai who dropped his gaze. "It's been so long since you touched me."
Kento was silent and motionless for so long that Sai began to turn away, dropping his hand to sadly reach for the blankets himself. His surprise was complete when long arms wrapped around him suddenly, pulling him close to a broad, warm, sweatshirt-clad chest in an awkward, sideways embrace.
"Ah, Sai."
The words were muffled, spoken into the side of his head, yet Sai could clearly hear the fear, mixed with a kind of desperate longing, that clouded Kento's gruff voice.
"I want you so much, Sai. It'll be all right?"
With growing elation and anticipation, Sai whispered, "It'll be fine. Just-, Ah!" He broke off with a low cry as Kento nuzzled deeper into his hair, brushing it aside with his nose so that he could begin to nibble on the ear hidden beneath.
"Then, slow and easy. Just let me."
Sai's eyes flew open in shock when he suddenly lost Kento's solid warmth, but he was immediately reassured as he saw that his love had simply stood so that he could remove his own clothing. He scooted over towards the center of their bed and relaxed back on one elbow, appreciatively eyeing the flex of the defined muscles in Kento's chest and abdomen as his love slipped his sweatshirt over his head. Jeans slid down long legs, and then Kento was back on the bed, kneeling at his side.
Kento's kiss a gently coaxing pressure, Sai allowed himself to be pushed flat onto the mattress. As his lover leaned over him, planting large hands on either side of his shoulders, he reached up to tangle his fingers in Kento's smoky locks. "God, Kento," he gasped as his lover's lips left him, "Been so long!"
"Too long!"
Sai trailed his fingers over broad shoulders and down strong arms as Kento sat back on his heels. He experienced no sensation of loss, though, for his lover's long fingers immediately began to stroke over his chest, pausing every now and then to pluck at his nipples.
"Ah, feels so-,"
"Hai, but what about this?"
"Ai!" Sai cried out, hands falling off Kento's forearms to clench on the sheets as he arched up into the agile lips and tongue that replaced the fingers that had been toying at his chest. The gentle suckling and nipping soon made the weeks' long pain of being denied his love's touch nothing more than a faded memory.
"Even better?"
"H-, hai," Sai managed to acknowledge as Kento switched over to attend to the other side of his chest.
Kento's motions were slow and relaxed, somehow soothing and arousing all at the same time. Sai closed his eyes and simply rode the wave of his excitement as it climbed higher. It was enough, but only for a time. He needed more, but before he could articulate his desire, a large hand slid down his belly to wrap around his penis. The stroking touch was firm, but still gentle, mirroring the lips which still played with his nipples.
As if inexorably drawn, Kento's lips slowly followed the path his hand had taken down Sai's torso. Tongue dipping into his navel, the lightest feather of a lick over the tender redness that was his incision, brushing back over then down the flatness of his stomach until they were nuzzling the auburn fuzz at the base of his penis, slowly rising...
"Ah! Kento!" The throaty cry was torn from deep within his chest as Sai arched into the moist heat that had encased his exquisitely sensitized flesh. Breathing deepening and quickening beyond his control, Sai splayed his legs wider, opening and exposing himself completely, shamelessly begging for even more attention from his lover's talented mouth.
Sai's awareness of his surroundings narrowed, centered on the wet inferno of Kento's mouth. Each sweep of his lover's tongue, each sensation of pressure as Kento's teeth were occasionally brought into play, each time the slit in the crown of his cock was penetrated by that tongue; it was all that was left in Sai's world, and meant everything, yet still, it wasn't quite enough.
Reduced to helpless, whimpering moans, Sai was unable to convey his wishes, yet before his frustration grew more overpowering than his arousal, Kento once again anticipated him. Satisfaction spread and mixed into the flames that ran through his veins as his lover opened his mouth wide and took his cock deep into his throat. Crying out again, Sai instinctively lifted his hips, seeking to drive himself deeper, but was forced to stillness as large hands fell onto his hips, and gently, yet irresistibly, pushed him back into the mattress.
"Let me."
Sai's frustration at finding himself immobile was short-lived; Kento's whispered words were soon explained. His head repeatedly rising and falling, Kento began to move for him. His lover's movements were deliberate and assured, calculated to bring about his orgasm quickly and with a minimum amount of strain on his part. The snug fit of his cock in Kento's throat on each downward stroke and the slick slide upwards that ended with his lover's tongue twisting about the crown were a delicious combination that all too quickly had Sai crying out one final time as he spasmed, spilling his release into his lover's mouth.
Slowly, his hazy satisfaction faded, along with Kento's lazy lapping at his spent penis, and Sai roused himself enough to raise himself back onto one elbow. As Kento straightened back to a kneeling position, he reached for his lover, intending to share his completion, only to have his fingers brush over damp, slippery thighs and an unexpected softness. Bewildered, he looked up and was surprised by the lazy smile that crept over his lover's strong features. Wiggling his fingers in a brief caress over Kento's limp penis, so as to leave no doubt as to the nature or direction of his inquiry, he softly asked, "Kento?" His love for the man at his side surged when Kento dropped his gaze with a shrug, an endearing red tide flowing from his face down over his torso.
"Same time as you."
Kento was off the bed, reaching for the box of tissues on the nightstand and cleaning up the evidence of his release before Sai could reply. He wasn't disappointed that his lover had orgasmed without his aid - precisely, but he *had* wanted to lavish the same attention on Kento that his love had just shown him. The taste of his lover was just one thing among many that he had missed terribly over the last weeks.
Studying the creamy wetness that had evidently ran down Kento's thighs to pool on the sheets next to his left hip, the faintest arousal again stirred deep within Sai driving back the heavy tiredness that weighted his limbs. Idly running a finger through it he smiled indolently, considering renewed possibilities; Kento accepted he was basically recovered, and they had the rest of forever together. Soon, he would taste his lover once again.
Sai's languorous musings were suddenly broken by the softest of gasps, and he raised his eyes to find Kento frozen, staring at him through wide, blue eyes, mouth slightly parted, a wad of tissues held out, and apparently forgotten, in one hand. Possibilities indeed! His arousal gaining ground against his weariness, he trailed his finger again through the cooling wetness next to his hip, then, never taking his eyes off his lover's face, he slowly smiled and raised the finger to his lips. Kento's eyes closing was expected, Kento's soft groan was expected, what was unexpected was suddenly finding himself flat on his back with his much larger lover straddling his thighs. To hell with the rest of forever, they had right now! Taking advantage of the moment, Sai raised his head to eagerly meet Kento's hungry mouth when it descended.
Sai only opened his eyes when Kento sat up straight again, puzzled when his love made no move to join their lips again, or do anything else, but instead only shook his head and smiled.
"No way, dude."
"No way? Kento..." Brows furrowing, Sai made as if to sit up, but found himself pinned when Kento leaned forward and rested his hands on his shoulders. He could sense desire emanating from his lover, but it seemed to be tempered by caution and stubborn determination.
"You're better, Sai, but you're not well enough to be so insatiable."
"But, Kento, it's been so long." Sai tried out his most convincing pout.
"Not gonna work, dude!"
"Aw, Kento..." His love held his legs immobile, but Sai could still move his hips, so he thrust his burgeoning hardness upward, hoping to brush against Kento's and bring about a change of heart, but abruptly fell limp at the warning twinge that dully spread out from his incision to flow over his stomach and side.
"There, ya see? Ya did too much tonight, Sai."
"Okay, okay, I admit you're right, but you don't have to look so smug about it," Sai grumbled, annoyed at his body's seeming betrayal. When Kento simply continued to frown down at him, Sai tried one last time, smiling softly and running his hands slowly up his lover's thighs.
"Nuh uh, dude. No more."
"Then, will you at least hold me as we fall asleep?" He smiled lovingly as Kento's expression softened, as one large hand left his shoulder to caress his cheek.
"I think that's definitely do-able, Sai."
Sai gathered up their blankets as Kento extended in a stretch to turn off the light on the bedside nightstand, then drew them up and over both of them as his lover settled himself beside him on his back. The cool winter moonlight reflecting off the snow lit their bedroom far better than any nightlight, and by its light, Sai curled himself around his love's large, warm body.
Raising his head for one last kiss, Sai could see the glint of Kento's eyes, the curl of his lover's lips. "Good night, love." With a sigh of sheerest contentment, Sai yielded to the arms that gathered him close, pillowing his head on Kento's shoulder. After seeing nothing but Kento's back for far too long, it was pure heaven to be cuddled.
Strong fingers stroking through his hair lulled Sai to the edge of slumber in next to no time. Lord, he'd missed this! Feeling his world, his life, clicking back into normality, he sleepily mumbled, "Glad you're back, love."
"Huh? Back? Sai, I didn't go-,"
"Th' elves musta changed their minds. Guess they jus' cou'dn' take ya."
fini
