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Alternate Tracks 2nd Story in Rivalry Series	By : kurahieiritrJIO Category: +G to L > Initial D Views: 2493 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Initial D, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Author Note: In the two years at ff net, nobody warned me that I shifted into God P.O.V. Keisuke and Takumi skirted each other's dialog. Made the reading seem like they were talking at each other, instead of listening and responding.

CHAPTER 17

Keisuke glanced at his watch as they left the restaurant. It was eight-twenty-four as he stepped outside behind Takumi. They arrived around six P.M. Their joint assumption was that they would be gone within fifteen minutes. All Keisuke had planned on, was making his announcement, shutting down any overt opposition and getting out. He had counted on consoling Takumi over losing his friends since Takumi had been so certain they would never accept them as a couple. However, nothing had gone as Takumi had thought. Keisuke had been concerned about Takumi losing his friends. Therefore, getting accepted by the two older Speed Stars was a pleasant surprise.

The debate Kenji started lasted for two hours. Their table kept the waitress busy after the customer crush vanished. Their group ate dinner as everyone came to terms with his and Takumi's relationship. They drained many drinks as Iketani, Kenji, and Ryosuke dominated the conversation. Overall, Keisuke was relieved that Takumi's fears had proven unfounded with one exception. Takeuchi alone was very upset with their romantic involvement. Takeuchi had sulked throughout their discussion. The few thoughts he contributed were waspish.

Keisuke had a gut feeling that if Takeuchi failed to accept their relationship before long, Takumi would suffer. He hoped that the chubby teenager would accept Takumi's romantic involvement with him. The dark-haired teenager had toyed with his meal more than ate any of it. Watching the pair all evening, Keisuke feared they would drift far apart. He had urged Takeuchi to consider Takumi's attachment to him before abandoning his best friend. However, the blond wondered if Takeuchi was mature enough to take his advice.

Takumi was also abnormally quiet all evening. His younger lover had only spoken whenever addressed directly. His beloved's abnormal quiet frightened Keisuke. Takumi's taciturn behavior could mean he was building up enough steam to trigger an explosive emotional time bomb. Mellow, and calm as Takumi acted, he was hiding a mercurial, and very passionate nature beneath the surface. Keisuke had seen glimpses of Takumi's deeper levels. His quiet conduct concealed great strength, and a formidable character depth that he could never take lightly. Keisuke tried to decide how to diffuse Takumi's annoyance as his younger lover simmered beside him in the restaurant.

Ryosuke caught his shoulder and whispered, "Keisuke, take your time. Fujiwara still needs you. I'll calm Okāsan down, and buy you extra time to work things out with your significant other."

"Eh, . . . ?"

"Don't let Fujiwara slip away from you, Keisuke."

Ryosuke let go of his shoulder and moved toward his FC. His talent for reading subtle signs amazed Keisuke. His brother read every subtle nuance in any situation, and came up with the correct answer every time. Keisuke had not asked his older brother to do anything over the last few hours. Ryosuke had decided to act for them. He was noticing that his brother was developing an equally protective side over Fujiwara. It was another sign that Ryosuke was pleased with their relationship.

Takumi's shoulders were no longer slumping forward as he walked to his AE hachi roku. His facial features had lost the tight, hunted look of the afternoon. Takumi's stride had returned to normal. Takumi's eyes shifted from stormier blues and gray flecked with green, toward tans with green and chocolate at the restaurant. When the younger man was angry, those orbs took on heavy green flakes. When Takumi was at peace, his eyes turned golden hues with chocolate spokes. Keisuke had the impression that stormy grays meant his younger lover was hurting, as green indicated anger. All were good signs that his darling was moving past the worst of the day's emotional upheaval.

Keisuke saw Takeuchi Itsuke, the main source of Takumi's foul mood, driving away. Having caught up with Takumi, Keisuke leaned against the hachi roku's driver side door as a subtle block to his beloved leaving. He needed to insure that he spoke to Takumi. Iketani and Kenji waved and got into their cars further down the line. The two men pulled out, one after the other as Keisuke's watch chimed eight-thirty.

"I should get home, Keisuke san. Oyaji's going to wonder where I am soon." Takumi's voice was stiff.

Keisuke pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Takumi, I'm not letting you go before I know you're all right."

"I'm pissed, but I'll get over it, Keisuke."

"I hope you understood that my look was an offer to keep quiet tonight. I thought you gave me permission when you nodded. If I was wrong, I'll apologize." He kept his voice soft.

Takumi stood with his arms locked over his chest. "We had to tell them once you said Itsuke lied. We didn't have any choice. You've already apologized a thousand times for our mistake! So, just drop it, and give me time to cool off, will you?" Takumi moved to the front of his car and flopped against its fender with a rebellious expression.

Keisuke had seen that look several times during the day. He took a drag off his cigarette as he spoke to his sweetheart. "Takumi, I can't leave you alone while you're this upset. You know I didn't want our love life to come out like this! You've been under too much pressure recently. The last thing I wanted was to add to your burdens. I wanted you comfortable with our relationship before telling anyone about us."

"I honestly thought Itsuke would blab the minute he saw Iketani, and Kenji sempais. Had we known he could keep his mouth shut, we might've been able to come up with another plan."

"We talked over our options, all of which you rejected, Takumi."

"Letting you look like a jerk when you aren't, lying to my friends, or running away from my problems aren't options, Keisuke!"

"Most people would have protected themselves in your situation, Takumi. You chose to protect me as much as you could. You amaze me at times."

"How can you say that? Tonight was a disaster, and I really let you down!" Takumi sounded disgusted.

"When? You didn't hide our relationship from your friends, even when you had the chance. You even admitted that you've been seeing me for two months. Stop being so harsh with yourself!"

"I can't." The younger man ran a hand through his dark amber hair, and across the back of his neck.

Keisuke felt his eyebrows dip as his concern grew. "Today was the worst case scenario imaginable. You had your back against a wall. You were sure your friends were going to turn on you, Takumi. I could see that you were afraid of discussing your feelings because of that worry. Yet, you never backed down, despite being afraid of the hostility you were expecting."

"I should've had the guts to tell minasan that I love you. If I'd told them that, they wouldn't have room for misunderstandings."

"You showed plenty of balls today, Takumi. You said you chose to give me a chance because of the good things that have happened since we met. That doesn't give your friends room to say I forced you into this relationship. You didn't give Takeuchi a chance to blame debts on dating me either. That took serious chops."

"Saying things that way was stupid, Keisuke. I didn't say things properly. My friends could decide I'm using you now." Takumi looked away, pain resonating in his voice.

Keisuke answered in a soft voice. "You've told me your true feelings, Takumi. That's the only thing that matters. So stop being paranoid about small stuff. You admitted we're together, and that's enough."

"At least you're happy with the way things turned out. You've said you wished we would be open about dating. I don't like knowing that we were forced into the open because I blew it one bit!" Takumi gave him a sullen, sideways look.

"Wrong, Takumi. Everything I warned you about when I said we needed to tell the people that matter to us happened today. You refused to tell your friends about us so Takeuchi got shocked out of his wits. Had he known we were dating, he wouldn't have reacted so badly. He would have been prepared for the possibility of finding us making out if he had known beforehand."

"Fine, I get it that I screwed up! . . . Didn't Ryosuke san tell you he wanted to stay out of our relationship? Then he demanded to get involved in our problems. His interference makes today harder for me to swallow."

"When Aniki called, you agreed I could explain everything, Takumi."

"Your onīsan badgered me into letting him take over. Where the hell did Ryosuke san get the idea that he has any right to interfere in our problems?" An explosive breath followed Takumi's angry words.

"Aniki excels at damage control, and he knows it. He's decided he won't let anything split us up, if he can prevent it. Get used to the fact that Ryosuke's determined that you're going to be his brother-in-law." Keisuke tossed out the loaded term on purpose.

Takumi looked startled as he turned to face him. Keisuke's use of a formal family position to describe his brother's views of where Takumi belonged seemed to have the right impact. His younger lover's temper was visibly cooling. However, he was far from calmed. Takumi was going to be resentful for several days if he failed to diffuse the situation completely.

"I still hate the fact Rysouke san dropped everything to help us out. Does our relationship have to be other people's business, Keisuke?"

"Takumi, after things calm down, we won't be newsworthy. Your friends wanted ideas of how to show you that they support you. Ryosuke gave them suggestions so they can show their acceptance and support for your decision to be with me. Their questions don't mean they want to know major details about our life. They wanted reassurance that you chose to accept me, and that I'm seriously in love with you."

Takumi fidgeted, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground. "I was wrong about Kenji, and Iketani sempai. I never expected them to accept us. I was sure they'd hate me."

"I'm relieved that you misjudged them. Thinking you were losing all of your friends because we love each other was worrying me, my own."

"Pisses me off that you took so much heat tonight. You did most of the talking, and I let you." The teen kicked his front tire with his heel while berating himself.

"They asked those questions because your friends want to protect you. They wanted to make sure I wasn't forcing you to see me, or going to break your heart. They honestly care about you. I understood that really quick, my own. I didn't mind answering because they were concerned about insuring your happiness."

"Naze the hell did I have problems saying things correctly? I love you, and yet, I couldn't tell my friends the truth. Every time I tried to make myself tell them, I choked."

"You've had one hell of a day. You finally admitted to me that you love me this morning. A few hours later your closest friend, who's homophobic, finds out about us in the worst possible way. I'd probably have done, or said things similarly in your place."

Takumi placed a hand over his eyes as he shook his head. "You'd say something like, hell yeah, I'm in love, and if you don't like it, I'll beat the crap out of you."

"You seem to forget the ride I gave you after the isha san discharged you from the hospital. Remember when we were waiting at that toll booth? I choked when I tried to tell you that it's you that I love."

Takumi raised his head and looked at him. "True. I'll admit I really thought you had someone like the girl in the black FD in mind. I didn't know you're bisexual, so it never entered my head you might like men. Should have noticed your hints when you patted me on the knee. That should have been a dead-give-away. Guess I was so relieved you were finally talking to me that I ignored the hints you were dropping, Keisuke."

"Takumi, thinking that you'd hate me if you knew I loved you petrified me. So I wasted time competing against you, instead of talking to you. You felt the same way I did a couple months ago when Takeuchi found out about us this afternoon."

"Hai. You still don't let things lock you down the way I did tonight, Keisuke. This is way too important for me to be screwing up so much."

"The main difference is that I get nasty to people around me when I'm afraid. Staying angry is the only way I can continue moving forward. Taking my anger out on all of our teammates was my way of coping with my fear that you were completely unreachable. I love you so much that I couldn't handle my own feelings, Takumi. You and Aniki suffered through hell because I took my fear out on you."

Takumi huffed, closing his eyes and tilting his head away. "Ryosuke san isn't interested in me that way, and we both know it. I've never though of him as anything but a mentor. So, drop it already!"

"I'm not worried about that anymore. Everything you dealt with was my version of panic reaction. Most of all, I doubted you could ever return my feelings which terrified me. Before I confessed to you at the lookout, I was miserable."

"Fine. You freak out when you don't know the truth. Still, you didn't even flinch when you said you were in love with me to my friends tonight." Takumi's sharp tone contained resentment he had yet to release.

"Long as we're together, I don't care if the rest of the world hates my guts. Telling your friends the truth was easy because you were beside me."

Keisuke put his hands on the hood on either side of his boyfriend, without touching him. "Takumi, did you know that when you wrapped your arms around my waist that morning, it's the first time I've ever been truly happy?"

"I knew I would regret things if I didn't try, Keisuke. You showed me that I was living a lie when you kissed me."

"Living a lie?" Keisuke tilted his head, trying to get Takumi to look at him.

"If you hadn't kissed me, I still wouldn't know how empty my life was, Keisuke."

"How was your life empty, Takumi?"

Takumi finally looked at him. "I didn't know the difference between real love, and lukewarm affection before you kissed me. Plus, I believed dreams, or goals were normally reserved for special people, and way out of my class, . . . until you made me decide to make a few of my own."

"You've mentioned that you didn't have any dreams before I got you thinking about going pro, Takumi. When you were little, you probably wanted to be something specific when you grew up. We all do that."

Takumi shook his head vehemently. "I never dared before you changed my life, Keisuke! I can't take any steps unless I can see outcomes Dreams are things that I can't see the steps needed to get outcomes. I couldn't make dreams real so I never let myself consider any dreams. Itsuke did all the dreaming about our futures. I listened to his dreams instead of having my own."

"It seems I'm luckier than I realized. Things I take for granted recommend me as a good boyfriend." The blond teased.

Takumi's head shook in denial as Keisuke spoke. "iie. I'm the one that got lucky when I met you, Keisuke. You show me how to do things that I never thought I could."

"Despite having to deal with a boyfriend who gets impatient and pushy?" Keisuke tried to sidetrack his beloved from his self abuse.

"You don't doubt everything you think, or feel, like I do. You make a decision and set out to get results. That's the reason you get pushy."

"Takumi, I doubt myself even when I don't show it. When I didn't know if you could love me, I even doubted my sanity. My doubts kept me taking my frustration out on you."

Takumi closed his eyes and flinched as if struck. "Don't you dare berate yourself! Despite your fears, doubts, and a damned ex-girlfriend from hell, you haven't faltered in keeping your word to me. Your determination to overcome everything to make our relationship work is remarkable, Takumi."

"We're together so I shouldn't give you reasons to feel insecure, Keisuke."

"Takumi, I had to show you that you're bisexual also. You don't have anywhere near the same level of interest in other men that I've always had."

"So, . . ."

Keisuke cut him off, voice steely. "Answer me honestly. Did you ever notice men on the street, or think they were cute the same way you noticed onnas before I pushed you to notice me, Takumi?"

"iie." Takumi looked up at him as he shifted in the space he had against the car's fender as Keisuke kept him trapped between his arms braced against hachi roku.

"Exactly! I had to push you hard until you really noticed me. So, you've needed to adjust to a pretty drastic change in your own belief system. You never had any clue that you could even love a man."

"Matte. I did notice you, even before Project D started. It wasn't strong, so I didn't have any idea it could lead to something like loving you. You're the only man that has ever managed to grab my attention and hold it, Keisuke!"

"Huh? Matte. You mean you thought I was cute all along?!"

"Not so much cute, since I didn't really notice you that way." Takumi ran a finger from cheek to chin for several seconds. "For me it was like you were a super strong magnet I couldn't ignore. You blew my mind with everything you said and did. I wanted to be around you because I really admire your focus and determination. Those qualities got my attention and kept me focused on you."

". . . . . ."

Again, Takumi fidgeted while speaking. "When you kissed me I knew I had to try and make things work. Before I knew it, I got caught up in a stupid argument with myself because you're a man. When you're with me, I know that I'm where I belong. And yet, I've had a hard time thinking words like, . . . boyfriend, since I wonder if I deserve to be with you. My memories always remind me of all the trouble that I've caused you. I can't help wondering how long until you get tired of my panic attacks."

"Che! . . ." Keisuke felt a second wave of white-hot irritation rising. He started to pace to contain his desire to shake Takumi's teeth loose. Nothing seemed to get through to Takumi without a hard-fought battle.

Anger tainted his voice with chest deep growls when he responded. "Knock it off with your self destructive and irritating bull-shit already! I swear I want to kick your ass every time you say such negative things about yourself to me. Can't you see that everything you've done all along makes you perfect for me, Takumi? How often do I have to spell it out before you'll believe I'm not going to leave you? When will you realize that your past has nothing to do with my feelings for you?"

Takumi reclined on his car hood and windshield. "Keisuke, I'm not doing a very good job of keeping my promises."

"We're together, and you've even admitted that you love and need me in your life, Takumi. You promised to give me a fair chance, and you always have."

"Not that promise, Keisuke. I made myself a promise that I've blown repeatedly."

"Whatever this promise is that you made yourself, everything's fine as far as I'm concerned. Give yourself a break already, my own. Nobody can handle the kind of stress you keep putting on yourself."

The youth looked at the neon sign that flashed the restaurant's name for a few moments as the silence stretched between them. "Kenta told me that your ex girlfriend made your life so miserable that you regretted falling for her. I promised myself I would make sure you didn't regret loving me when I agreed to date you. But, I always screw up when it matters most, . . . like I did tonight by saying things wrong to my sempais."

Keisuke whirled to face Takumi. His boyfriend had a melancholy air surrounding him as he watched his pacing. Takumi's confession staggered him. Keisuke felt tongue-tied, and dumbfounded. His darling was the only person who managed to outmaneuver him without being aware of doing so. The tug of heady emotions was swelling up from the pit of Keisuke's stomach and settling into a pulsing rhythm that centered within his heart. He knew how much of a gem he had gained in the younger man stretched out on his car's hood.

Had anyone told Keisuke a year before that injured pride would bring him the greatest treasure he could ever hope to have, he would have beaten on them, and denied it. In hind sight, Keisuke was grateful for the driving losses he'd suffered at Takumi's hands. Wounded pride had made him challenge Takumi time and again on mount Akina at four A.M. Ryosuke's defeat spurred the choice to bring the teenager into Project D. Both factors granted him necessary time to understand his emotions and win Takumi's heart.

His silence prompted Takumi to continue speaking. "Since I've started having panic attacks, things have gotten harder for you. You tell me to stop apologizing, but that's not easy for me. Even when I know I'm making you angry, I'll always apologize for accidentally hurting you."

"Takumi, I can't even comprehend you some days. Somehow you've put me on a pedestal in your own head. You don't owe me any apologies when you have a panic attack because those aren't intentional."

"All I've done for two months is freak out on you when we're together. Last night I was scared that I'd panic with you and blow everything again." Takumi rolled onto his back and looked at the stars. One hand came up to cup part of his face.

"Believe me, you haven't blown anything with me, Takumi. You've fought one hell of a personal battle. You're beating your fear of getting hurt again. It's time you understand that you've given me several incredible gifts in the last two days."

"Keisuke, choking all the time is a huge failure on my part. You're so important to me that I can't handle the idea of you being unhappy. Every panic where I yanked away from you, I saw how much it hurt you before you hid it." Takumi mumbled into his palm.

Keisuke stopped next to Takumi, tugging his hand from his face and snarling, "Damn it! Whenever I look like that it's because I've hurt you. Getting too impatient and pushing you into a panic like that means that I've hurt you, Takumi. You're the best part of my life, and every time you panic, I worry that I'm going to lose you because I'm giving you a reason to feel blind fear around me."

"Gomen nasai for making you feel like I'm not really with you, Keisuke."

"Don't you dare twist my words! To me, you're incredible, and I'm lucky to have you! My impatience comes down to having moments where I can't believe that I have you in my life, Takumi. In you, I've found my perfect match so hurting you makes me mad at myself. When you're hurting and scared witless, I get upset since it's usually my fault."

Keisuke grabbed the younger man's chin with his free hand to force him to face him. "I wouldn't change a moment with you, except the panic attacks and the fight between you and Takeuchi. I'd change those things in a heart beat, Takumi. Those are things that I've done which hurt you. I'm at fault for getting pushy and impatient with you."

"I'll find a way to get past my stupid problem, Keisuke. Wish I had done a better job of making you feel secure about us from day one."

"I know that you love me now. That does wonders for my out of control insecurity, and explains your panic attacks. Maybe when we get a place together, you'll settle down and stop second guessing me and yourself. If I'm with you every night, you can get over your fears of abandonment faster." He let go of the teen's chin as he remembered they were in a public place.

"It's who I am, Keisuke. Doubt I'll ever stop second guessing myself."

"Takumi, I won't let you second guess yourself when it comes to our relationship anymore. You're stuck with me. I'll find a way to make you accept that fact in spite of your hardcore stubborn streak."

Keisuke watched the man he treasured with a sense of frustration. Takumi looked back at him with his spaced-out facade in place. Takumi's eyes regained their focus and darted back and forth as he looked at him.

"You do know that I never could take Mogi up on her offers because I couldn't feel that we belonged together. With you, I know that we belong together. The main reason I can see myself with you is that I believe in you, Keisuke."

"I can't blame your ex girlfriend for trying to get in your bed. The biggest surprise is that you didn't take Mogi up on her offer to get experience. Then again, if you had taken her up on her offer, I wouldn't get to be your only lover."

"I considered accepting Mogi's invitations, but it felt wrong in my gut. Feeling that something wasn't right between Mogi and me meant if we did sleep together, I'd have regrets later."

Smirking at his frowning lover, Keisuke shifted back to teasing. "Domo arigato, Kami sama, for sending me such an adorable prude."

"Matte! . . . I'm a prude, now?" Takumi frowned with obvious confusion.

"Hai, Takumi. I'm glad you are, too. I got lucky enough to pass the love, respect, and future together tests." Keisuke grinned as he baited his lover with a tap on the younger man's nose. "Now, you're my sexy prude."

"Nan da? Since when are prudes sexy?" The teen blushed to his toes with a scandalized expression. It appeared he was trying to reconcile the two extremes.

Keisuke's grin got wider as he winked. "I just can't resist teasing you. I adore it when you get embarrassed. Your face really is addictive whenever you blush."

"Whatever! Look, I didn't feel that accepting something that I had doubts about would mean anything which isn't the same as being a prude." His amber-haired beloved grumbled while flashing an offended look.

"That attitude means you're an adorable prude, my own. Trust me, I'm not complaining. I'm honored that you feel I'm worth taking chances with when it comes to your heart, and sexy body."

"Look, I couldn't understand you wanting to keep me in your life until you told me your thoughts. It finally clicked that you literally want me for myself, screw ups and all. I never understood how Mogi saw me so I wasn't going to cross lines I might regret. That doesn't make me a prude. Just means I like knowing I'm not getting misunderstood."

"Takumi, being a prude simply means you think things through before you act. Caring about the outcome is a virtue of yours that makes me happy."

"I want you to be happy, so if thinking I'm a prude works, I won't argue." Takumi exhaled hard. If they had been anywhere else, Keisuke would have pulled him into his arms and kissed him senseless.

"Takumi, I know you want me to be happy. Sometimes, it's so obvious that I wonder how I came to deserve you."

"Wish I was better at giving you reasons to be happy."

"I am happy, Takumi. Trust me. Okay?" Keisuke wanted to hold him until the doubtful tone and concern mirrored on Takumi's face subsided.

"Keisuke." Takumi's voice shifted toward a tone that signaled his beloved was about to relent.

Keisuke leaned closer to Takumi. "Hm?"

"You know you're going to spoil me."

"How so?"

"You make it easy for me to love you."

"About time you realized I'm working hard to make sure you stay in love with me for the rest of your life. Now, if I can convince you to live with me, I'll really give you reasons to think you're being spoiled."

"You're being impatient again. It isn't a surprise that Ryosuke san keeps giving you patience lectures." Takumi chuckled. "However, I don't think I want you to be any other way, Keisuke."

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Alternate Tracks 2nd Story in Rivalry Series