Infinite Infatuation

TLC


Jin woke with a groan. The slightest movement set off an explosion of agony in his side. Fortunately he was too stiff to move much, so he just lay there as his hip throbbed. Even more fortuitous, he was alone in the futon. No one to bump into him and send the fire in his side soaring to even more excruciating heights.

Where was Mugen?

With a sigh, Jin began to roll from his back onto his good side. He pushed up onto all fours, before having to stop and catch his breath. This was worse than he had thought it would be. The wound has stiffened up significantly overnight. He was going to have to work it loose slowly.

He pushed into a kneeling position as Mugen entered the room. He tried to hide the pain as he made eye contact with him. He could tell that he was unsuccessful by the answering grimace in his partner’s eyes.

Mugen strode over to him and reached down. Knowing better than say anything, he just stood there as Jin used his arm to pull himself slowly upright. The marks where he had bitten his lip to keep from making any sound easily visible. Once more, he slowed his breathing as he stood gripping Mugen’s arm, head hanging limply.

“Let’s get some food into you, then a hot bath.”

At the word bath, Jin’s head came up with the first sign of interest he had been able to muster since he woke.

“Yeah, thought that would get your attention. Now let’s go.”

He began the shambling journey from Mugen’s room to the common room. Jin didn’t have enough energy to concern himself with appearances or pride. He continued to cling to Mugen and with one hand on the other wall, made his way at a distressing crawl to the common room.

Early patrons and the inn workers looked up at their approach. There was a pause in conversations that quickly resumed. Jin sank onto a seat and leaned forward to brace himself with his elbows on the table. He noticed several of the patrons taking surreptitious glances his way.

In contrast, the tavern’s women were staring at Mugen with a knowing look in their eyes. The expression they shared amongst themselves spoke of a shared secret. One of the saucy young things gave Jin a glance filled with speculation.

A plate of dumplings and a cup of sake were placed in front of him. He looked up questioningly at the man seating himself next to him with a similar meal. The smirk that met his gaze said that Mugen knew exactly what he was thinking and had been expecting that reaction. In fact, knowing him, he had done it with the express intention of getting that very response.

Mugen held a small vial between his fingers. “The apothecary said that a drop of this in sake would take a lot of the pain away. Two drops will make you sleepy, and three will make you sleep.”

“What is it?”

“Poppy extract,” he said as he carefully measured one drop into Jin’s sake.

Locking eyes with his companion, a small look of concern on his face, Jin emptied his cup. He watched the play of emotions over Mugen’s face; relief, concern and something even softer that Jin had a hard time interpreting before they both turned to their meal.

“They found the bodies of those three this morning.” That would explain the looks he was getting from the patrons. “They were bandits with a reward posted on them. The rest of the band is still out there. In a few days, we should go collect the rest of the bounty.”

He made a small sound of dissension, but before he could say anything, Mugen was bulling right ahead.

“When you can move again, the two of us will be more than a match for them. There can’t be more than a half dozen left. That’s nothing after what we did the day of our execution.” A wolfish grin spread across his face. “We can’t leave them; they will be coming for you.”

Jin had to admit that he couldn’t argue with any of the points Mugen had made. The dead bandit had promised to welcome him to the afterlife. The unseen observer would be able to describe him to the rest of the band. And really, how many ronin could there be in this area?

He nodded his assent and began to rise. To his immense relief the pain was diminished.

“I believe you said something about a hot bath?”

“Trust you to remember that,” he chuckled.

The trip to the bath was much less arduous than the one to the common room. The poppy provided a much needed respite from the pain. Even so, after first divesting himself of his clothing, Mugen had to help him undress and clean himself before he could sink into the tub with a sigh. Mugen was the perfect gentleman throughout.

After settling Jin in the tub, the other man bathed himself. When Mugen reached for a towel, Jin got a view of the rogue’s neck for the first time. The livid bite mark stood out in stark relief against the tanned skin. Jin could not pull his eyes from the mark. He could feel the heat mounting in his face. He had done that last night. He had not seen it earlier because it had been on the side away from him. With a profound sense of shock, he realized what the women had been looking at and speculating on.

“Ah, you saw it. Everyone else already has. No way to hide it.”

How could he be so calm about it? Everyone had to have realized by now who had delivered that mark. It wasn’t that much of a surprise for a samurai to engage in that kind of activity, bushido almost encouraged it, but to make such a vulgar display of it… What had he been thinking? Next time he would just shout Mugen’s name.

The mark didn’t seem to bother the ruffian, he acted almost proud of it. But Jin was ashamed of himself. All the resentment he had been harboring over a couple of hickeys melted away in the face of what he had done.

Mugen eased into the tub alongside him, draping an arm on the edge of the tub behind Jin’s back. Almost as if drawn by a will of their own, his finger tips traced the mark on his lover’s neck. The indentations of his teeth could still be felt.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

“Don’t be. I kinda liked it.”

Thinking back, Jin realized with a start that he was telling the truth. He had seemed to enjoy it and other minor painful experiences. He didn’t feel so contrite now, but he was still embarrassed at his own behavior. He would do his best to see that he never truly hurt his lover.

For a while they just soaked in companionable silence. Jin leaned back into Mugen’s shoulder, encircled by his arm, and treasured their time together. His fingers traced lazy circles on Mugen’s thigh as his shoulder was stroked by an equally languid hand.

When the rogue became restless, they got out of the tub. Mugen helped him out, but it wasn’t as necessary as it had been before their soak. The hot water had done its job and loosened the abused muscles. They dried off quickly and put on yukatas. They would wash their clothing later.

This time on their return through the common room, everyone stared at them. The smirks and even some disapproving looks made the color rise in Jin’s cheeks. Mugen just smirked back and grabbed some more sake as he urged the ronin towards his room. The ruffian even had the audacity to throw a toothy leer back over his shoulder at the watching crowd.

Mugen closed the door to his room, then turned and carefully measured another drop of the poppy extract into a cup of sake. Wordlessly he handed it to Jin. Knowing what to expect this time and welcoming the relief from pain, he drained the cup.

“Help me with my stretches. I won’t be able to do them by myself.”

They spent their time doing every stretch as slowly and thoroughly as they could. He grunted and groaned from the pain of muscles once again stretching to their proper places. Jin feared that the others would mistake what they were doing as something more strenuous. Finally he could move easily in all directions. He didn’t want to think about how much of that was due to the poppy extract. This was going to be a daily occurrence until he could awaken without the pain.

“I need to practice my kata. Are there any bamboo swords?” Jin asked as he walked to the door.

“I’ll get some bamboo.”

Mugen walked into the courtyard with two lengths of bamboo in his hands. He tossed one to Jin and then seated himself to watch him warm up. The movements of the kata were smoother than he thought they were going to be. One form flowing almost seamlessly into the next. He could see the frustration on the ronin’s face at his inability to perform them as he normally did. Once he had finished all the forms, Mugen rose and approached him with the bamboo in hand.

“Think that’s wise? You don’t know the meaning of holding back.”

“You might be right about that. Figure I can learn.”

And true to his word, the swordsman danced with great care through the forms. Jin suspected that he had never done this before and used the excuse of holding back to learn the kata. He didn’t really care. It felt good to practice with someone not intent upon killing him. When they stepped back to wipe the sweat from their faces, they became aware of the patrons watching them.

“Time for more poppy and hot water.”

After another long soak in a hot tub, Jin was feeling almost like new. Mugen had cleaned himself, muttering about bad habits he was picking up from too much association with fussy ronin. He had even done their laundry while Jin watched and wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

He even ignored the glances they got while eating in the common room. He thought that there was more respect in those eyes now that they had seen him practicing in the courtyard. Even the women weren’t as eager to pry as they had been previously.
When Mugen put three drops of the extract into his sake, he started to protest.

“You need to sleep tonight. I don’t want pain keeping you up.”

Jin was surprised when Mugen joined him on the futon, burrowing in close. The warmth of a second body under the cover added to the lassitude brought on by the poppy. He could feel himself sinking into sleep within his lover’s arms. He had never felt this safe and relaxed in his life. It felt so good that he wasn’t even disappointed that nothing more was forthcoming.

The next two days passed in much the same fashion. Long leisurely soaks in hot water, stretches, kata practice, and sleeping in his lover’s arms. Only to wake and start all over again. Who could have known that the ruffian could be such a gentleman? It was really starting to frustrate him. Things were going to be different tonight!

That night when Mugen brought out the vial of poppy extract, Jin took it from him and only used one drop.

“If necessary, I will use more later,” he informed a puzzled rogue archly.

He pulled Mugen down to the futon, pushed him onto his back, and began kissing him frantically. He was already hard. He half crawled onto him and began tugging on one of his earrings.

“Easy… You’re not ready for this.”

“I’m not ready…?!” Purposely choosing to misunderstand, Jin began rubbing his erection against the thigh under him, just in case the other had somehow missed the state his was in.

“I see I wasn’t the only one getting frustrated,” his amusement tinged with longing came through loud and clear. And not to be outdone, he gently reversed their positions.

“You aren’t ready for anything too energetic. Let me take care of everything.”

“Anything you want, as long as I get what I want!” He was not going to be gainsaid on this.

Tangling his fingers tightly in Mugen’s hair, he pulled him back down for another urgent kiss. His aggression was seriously turning Mugen on. They kissed one another with burning hunger. Tongues once more doing battle, in a dance that only they could perform. They were too desperate to be gentle. When they finally came up for air, both of them were breathing in great ragged gasps.

When he could focus on something other than catching his breath, he pulled the yukata from his lover’s shoulders and pushed it open displaying Mugen to his view. He drew his fingers over the exposed muscles, reveling in the firm contours covered with warm skin. He found the nipples and tugged them firmly one after another. Mugen’s groans made his cock twitch. He loved being able to drag those sounds from the man above him.

Meanwhile the other man had not been idle. He had opened Jin’s yukata and was running his hand down his stomach. Ever lower his fingers traced the light downy hairs from his navel to the slightly thicker growth at the base of his shaft. His fingers trailed ever so softly over the shaft before drawing up its length to trace the edge of the crown. The pearly beads welling up made the head wet with his desire.

“Now!”

The malicious smirk returned to Mugen’s face along with the sense of power he got from denying Jin’s demand. “Oh, I’m still not sure you’re ready. Maybe we should wait?”

“Do you have a death wish?”

An evil chuckle was all the answer he got. Mugen’s hand kept teasing his cock, the fingers dipping into the slit and smearing the precum over the head. The slick glide was heaven, but he needed more. It was time to use what he knew about his lover to get what he needed.

He leaned into Mugen and started nibbling on his collar bone. He then moved to biting his shoulder. When he did not get the response he was expecting, he bit down harder. Mugen groaned and his hand faltered. Got you!

He kept biting that shoulder, the chest and finally the nipples until Mugen pushed him down and stripped off his yukata. A naked Mugen straddled his thighs with his cock jutting up towards his belly and leaking glistening beads down its length. “This what you want?”

Jin could only nod his head and reach for the vial he had gotten from the granny in the farmers’ village. Mugen half dismounted to get the vial for him. “This what I think it is?” Jin was still reduced to just nodding.

Mugen settled back on the other man’s thighs and poured some of the oil into his hand. First he applied some to his own cock before anointing Jin’s. The ronin looked a little unsure at this. But when Mugen crawled up his body on all fours until the tips of their cocks were rubbing he decided that there was nothing to be unsure about. He was going to get what he wanted regardless of who was topping.

When his lover stretched up to kiss him, his cock slipped into the furrow of Mugen’s ass. That seemed to have been his goal, for he kept moving back and forth, brushing his cock over Jin’s belly while Jin’s shaft slid over his tightly furled bud. His need could not be put off any longer. It was imperative that he bury himself in his lover.

Seeming to sense this, Mugen reached back and grasped Jin’s swollen shaft, positioning it at his entrance and slowly pushed back onto his partner. Jin’s breath caught in his throat as the head of his cock slid into the glorious heat of his lover. Mugen pushed back and up until he was sitting in Jin’s lap with his ass against the other man’s hips, fully seated. He rested like that while they both caught their breath again.

“Oh… Yeah…” Jin breathed.

Mugen grunted as he began to move. He rose until he could feel the edge of Jin’s crown catch on the tight ring of his muscles. Jin forgot to breathe until Mugen pushed back down. He put his hands on Jin’s chest as he rose up and sank back down. He could feel the heart beating wildly within. And with a mischievous grin, he set a quicker pace. His own heart beating just as rapidly.

It rapidly became apparent that he was in control of their pleasure. He could alter the depth and angle to suit himself, which is exactly what he set about. Searching for that spot inside himself that did such amazing things. By the time he found what he was looking for, he was half lying on Jin with his forearms braced along his shoulders. This gave him the added benefit of thrusting his cock between their bellies.

He rocked slowly back and forth on Jin, savoring the dual sensations of riding his lover and the friction of their joined bodies on his cock. The oil made everything move more easily. The friction was still there, but tempered. He could go like this all night and only feel mild discomfort. Not that that had ever been a problem for him.

Jin pulled him down for another kiss. But that hot mouth soon wandered to his neck and then his ear. His panting breaths caressing both the neck and ear. His tongue curled around the stone earring, pulling it gently into his mouth. He tugged on it, the slight pain spurring Mugen on.

“Oh yeah…!”

All too soon, Jin could feel his balls drawing up and his cock growing even more engorged. On Mugen’s next downward motion, he came pulsing deep within his lover, the name of his beloved on his lips.

“Yeah… Fuck yeah!”

However, it wasn’t over yet. Mugen kept moving, even after he came on his partner’s belly. His slow erratic movements kept them both from softening, much to Jin’s surprise. In fact, he was starting to feel the fire building in him again. But it was building too fast. He wouldn’t last long. The sensation was intense, almost painful, driving deep drawn-out groans from him. Mugen was grunting with every frantic thrust. The orgasm barreling through them caught them both by surprise.

“Mugen…!”

“Jin…!”

This time there was no thought of prolonging it. They both panted and gasped as Mugen dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. For long minutes they rested thus, drawing air into their lungs in an effort to calm their breathing.

Mugen made one abortive attempt to move, but his muscles would not do as he wanted.

“What was that?” Jin demanded breathily.

“Oh, that? Just a little trick I picked up somewhere,” Mugen replied dismissively. “No way was once going to do it.”

Finally he was able to slide off and lay on Jin’s good side. He reached for the towel discarded earlier in the day and wiped them both clean before stretching out alongside Jin.

Jin wrapped his arms around the man he loved and pulled him close. Mugen let his head rest on his shoulder with a quite sigh. His fingers drew random patterns on his chest. The bruise was much less noticeable now that it had a few days to heal. It no longer marred the beauty of Jin’s body.

As Mugen was drifting off into sleep, he thought he hear the other whisper “I like you…”