chapter seventeen

seven kinds of sin

this chapter's kind of spicy y'all...

Sleep was a foreign concept that night as I lay, never more awake, in the guest bedroom, eyes fixed on the stucco ceiling. Steve glared at me from his perch near my clothing rack, his beady (literal beads!) little eyes glaring at me from his stuffed pink exterior.

"What are you looking at?" I mumbled before rolling over and burying my head between the pillow on the mattress, and another that I slammed onto my head.

I was a literal train wreck.

What had I done that was so bad that the universe decided it needed to keep me and Tetsu apart?

That's TWICE now we'd almost kissed and something had gotten in the way. Of course, the second time I was allowed to blame my mother. The first was probably just really bad planning.

The notebook we found in the shipping container was lying on the beside table next to Angels And Demons, a keepsake I couldn't even think of traveling halfway across the world without. Dad had gone through many books during his final hospital stay, but Angels and Demons meant the most. While he was sitting alone in that bed, he had written me a message on the last blank page. I could never bring myself to read it, but it was comforting to know it was there, even if he had never finished the book.

The mere thought of what could be in that notebook scared me. There were lots of things about my dad that I wasn't too sure I was ready to know, like his time with the Iemura group and, even though it was the reason I came to Sannoh, why he left Japan.

But in the end, my mind kept coming back to one person.

Tetsu.

I literally couldn't get him off my mind. Hanging out with him and his idiot friends was the most alive that I had felt in months. I felt at home, a feeling I never felt like I had when we moved to Canada. It was still strange saying 'back home' and meaning Toronto, because I always considered New Mexico my home. But Sannoh had real potential. Sannoh was a place I could see myself calling home, a place I could settle down.

People I could settle down with.

"Fuck this." I mumbled under my breath, casting aside the rust-colored coverlet and sinking my bare feet into the soft carpet next to the bed.

I wasn't going to let my relationship with Tetsu be just another uncertainty in my life. I was going to do something about it.

I slipped out of the room and made my way across the landing before I stopped, fist raised above Tetsu's door, mind running through all the possible outcomes. I had no idea how relationships even worked in Asia, all my knowledge coming from TV, but I knew they were more private and cordial about things over here. I was pretty sure barging into tetsu's room at midnight wasn't considered 'private' or 'cordial'.

I was considering retreating back to the judging eyes of my stuffed animal and the warm cocoon of my bed sheets when the door creaked open, and I was staring straight-on at Tetsu.

"Uh, hi." I managed to get out, my brain distracted by his messy hair and defined ab muscles, and therefore unable to string together a coherent sentence.

"Hi." He breathed out. "You couldn't sleep either?"

I shook my head. "Not a wink."

Everything happened in a single breath from there. Our lips crashed together, my bottom lip cradled passionately between both of his. We stumbled sideways, the back of my hips bumping into a side table as neither of us broke away for air, his hands tangling in my hair, mine running over his tanned skin.

His fingertips teased the hemline of my shirt, and I almost whined in desperation when I separated our faces long enough for the thinning fabric of my tourist-trap t-shirt to go over my head, screwing up my hair before hitting the carpeted floor.

"You're not wearing a bra." Tetsu stated, his eyes widening as his soft, warm hands trailed along my cool skin.

"Well, I was about to go to bed."

"Point taken." He said simply before diving in to kiss me again.

One of his hands snaked down past my waist, gently cupping my butt as I jumped, wrapping my legs around his waist. Tetsu wobbled on his feet for a moment before practically stumbling backwards, using one hand to steady himself against the wall as he ducked back into his room, the other one wrapped firmly around me before he dropped me on the unmade bed, vanishing only for a second to pull the sliding door shut before planting his lips on mine once again.

Now that we were behind closed doors, the level of sensuality seemed to increase, our hands practically glued to each other. I seemed to sink into the mattress with each kiss to the jawline making me melt like chocolate left in a hot car.

A moan escaped my lips as I arched my back, trying to be as close to the Japanese boy as possible before he propped up on his elbows, tearing himself away from me and moving to rifle through his bedside drawer for something shiny.

The cool metal dusted my stomach, and my eyes widened.

"Wait, Tetsu, are those handcuffs?" I grinned. "I'm surprised." I laughed as his cheeks reddened slightly. "I'm also totally into it."

He smiled, before diving in to kiss me again, breathy words coming out between each kiss. "You're incredible, Gillian Wagner."

___

Tetsu and Gillian weren't the only people in Sannoh Rengokai to get laid that night. In fact, it was just after two in the morning when a certain someone found himself in Naomi's bed.

Again.

"So, when are you gonna tell the guys?" Naomi asked tiredly, her hair messy and her eyes half closed as she nuzzled into Yamato's side

Yamato hummed softly, one hand moving to run through Naomi's tangled hair.

"Soon." He said simply, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "But that's nothing compared to the conversations I'm going to need to have with Kohaku and Tsukomo."

Naomi grimaced. "Yeah, maybe wait a bit on that one. Kohaku's probably guessed though. He's been waiting for you to man up since we were in high school."

Yamato groaned, remembering his early Mugen days. "Yeah, let's not tell him. Ever."

"I think they're going to figure it out. In fact, I doubt they'd be surprised if you told them." Naomi said thoughtfully, looking fondly at her lover, pure adoration in her eyes.

After pining over each other since their teenage years, she had given up on waiting for Yamato to make the first move. One night, when they were the only people left in Itokan after hours, she'd pulled the Asahina boy aside and told him how she felt.

Well, it was more like slapping the mop out of his hands and planting her lips on his, but Yamato got the message.

"Midori knows." She said softly, a grin on her face as she remembered how happy her friend was for her when the news was broken a mere three weeks prior, a month after the two had been seeing each other. "She's over the moon, you know. I think spending time at Oya has been really good for her, socially and mentally."

Yamato smiled softly. One of his favorite things about Naomi Tatsuya was her heart, the way she cared about people. He knew that there would always be a plate of hot food out at Itokan for him, or Cobra, or Dan, or anybody else in Sannoh who needed one, regardless of if they could foot the bill or not. He knew that when Sannoh Rengokai came back bruised and bloodied from a throw down with Daruma Ikka, or Oyakou, that Namoi would be there to help them fix themselves back up.

"I love you, Naomi." He said softly, kissing along her hairline. "I love you so freaking much."

NOTES!!

they're finally together after seventeen chapters of pining, and I am all here for it