Vermllion (pt 2)

Vermillion (pt 2)

Scene 5 – Endgame


But I won't let this build up inside of me,
(Won't let this build up inside of me)
I won't let this build up inside of me,
(Won't let this build up inside of me)
I won't let this build up - inside of me,
(Won't let this build up inside of me)
(side of me!),
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)
(side of me!),
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)
(side of me!),

She (she) ~ isn't real
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)
I can't make her real
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)
She (she) ~ isn't real
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)
I can't make her real
(Won't let this build up, [build up] inside of me)


Ban felt nervous, there was a tightening in his gut and the feeling of a knife being aimed right between his shoulder blades. His palms were sweaty and his pulse raced. A dry throat and shallow breathing accompanied this feeling of dread and apprehension. He felt like he was going into the biggest battle of his life and wondered if he was up to it. How had it all come down to this?

“Ban-chan,” called Gingi. “Are you ready for your date with Shido? We need to leave soon to meet him.”

Gingi was so excited. Shido wanted to get to know Ban-chan better, to be friends with Ban-chan. How awesome was that? At first they were enemies, then merely adversaries. Now they were lovers. Wouldn’t it be great if they could be friends? And Shido wanted this. Had actually been the one to suggest it.

A date! How absurd. He and Shido on a date! Couldn’t just sex be enough? What was Shido thinking? Wasn’t it bad enough that the beast master made him cry out and cling to him like a girl? Now he wanted to go out in public on a date! Ban could just see it now. It had all the potential for disaster, especially if Shido got horny.

When Shido was horny… Ah, when Shido was horny, Ban’s ass didn’t stand a chance, and every Thursday night Shido was horny. As soon as he walked in, he started to strip and Ban had better be ready for him. By now Ban was used to having Shido’s hard cock up his ass, but it was still tight the first time and that was when Shido liked him the best. He would take Ban from behind so that he could penetrate as deeply as he could, and when he first entered, so slowly after careful preparation, he would pull Ban tightly against himself, then run a hand over Ban’s taunt stomach, almost as if he was feeling for his cock inside of Ban. This was usually accompanied by a hard bite on the back of the neck, right in the place where Shido had first marked him. This was their mating ritual. Then the sex would start, and from that point on it would be almost non-stop. Shido was almost insatiable, taking Ban in every position imaginable and as many times as he could.

But Ban always liked the first time the best. There was something about the initial entry that really drove Ban crazy, the slow burning feel of Shido’s hard, massive cock sliding deep into his tight ass, the touch of his hands on his stomach, his hot mouth biting down on his neck… The aching from his groin made Ban realize what he was doing to himself. Damn Shido. Now Ban was hard and aching, and there was no time to relieve himself. Shit. And Gingi was calling impatiently.

“Hold on, Gingi,” Ban called back. “I’ve got to take care of a little problem first.”

“What problem?” asked Gingi from the doorway, then sighed in exasperation at the sight. “Oh, Ban-chan! How did you get like that?”

“Gingi!” exclaimed Ban, mortified.

“Oh, Ban-chan,” said Gingi, softly, moving closer, one hand held out. “Let me. I’ll take care of you, Ban-chan.”

Ban leaned against Gingi, his head on the blonde’s shoulder, while Gingi’s gentle hand quickly took care of Ban’s little problem, receiving the results in his helping hand as Ban came with a shuddering sigh. Ban moaned softly against his neck.

“There, all taken care of now, Ban-chan,” said Gingi, smiling. “Now, let me clean us up so we can go.”

Gingi quickly took care of the mess with a damp cloth, then kissed Ban as he zipped up his pants.

“Thanks, Gingi,” said Ban, just a little embarrassed. “Gingi?”

“What, Ban-chan?” asked Gingi.

“Gingi,” said Ban swallowing nervously, “what happens tonight, after this date, when I really, really want Shido to fuck me?”

“Well, Ban-chan,” Gingi answered slowly, looking into the troubled blue eyes, “I guess… I guess you do what you have to do.”

“Heh. That’s not much of an answer,” said Ban.

“What do you want me to say?” asked Gingi. “I don’t have an answer to that question. I don’t know what to tell you. You just have to do whatever it is you have to do.”

“Thanks, Gingi.” Ban smiled and kissed his lover. “I know now. Let’s go. We’ll be late.”

Ban embraced Gingi tightly, kissed him once more, then took his hand as they walked to the door. For the first time in a long time, his eyes seemed bright, his step seemed jaunty and his heart seemed light, as if something had finally fallen into place. Ban’s lightened mood was infectious and soon Gingi was smiling and laughing with his partner just like old times. The afternoon felt grand.

The two burst happily into the Honky Tonk where Shido and Kazu-chan waited, sitting at the table where the retrievers usually sat. They sat across from each other chatting quietly, looking up at the noisy entrance of Ban and Gingi.

Ban slid in next to Shido, snuggled next to him and gave him a playful kiss. Shido looked quite startled at the open display of affection from the younger man and Ban laughed at the look on his face. Kazu-chan just chuckled softly and slid under the arm Gingi proffered, accepting a warm hug.

“So, monkey tamer, where are you taking me on our date?” asked Ban, catching his hand and holding it.

“Ah, well, I thought I’d let you tell me where you’d like to go eat, Ban,” Shido answered, still a little taken aback at Ban’s exuberance.

“Let’s just go get some soba from one of the kiosks in the park. We can sit under the trees and eat. And after, I want a chocolate and banana crepe,” said Ban.

“Alright. That sounds fine to me. Gingi, Kazuki?” Shido asked.

“That’s great. I love eating in the park, just as long as the leaves stay out of the soba, said Gingi.

That agreed on, the four left for the near by park. They found a nice shady place to sit and Shido and Gingi went for the food while Ban and Kazu-chan waited.

“So, Ban, it’s going good with Shido?” asked Kazuki. “I’ve never seen him look so happy. You must really have a special place in his heart.”

“Yeah, well, monkey tamer took me by surprise, literally, and kind of battered down all of my walls. He didn’t give me a lot of choice, at first, but, yeah, it’s good,” replied Ban, his eyes seeking out the beast master. “He’s really done something to me, but it’s okay, I’ve learned to live with it. And you and Gingi? Or is it Raitei?”

“It’s Gingi, now, but it’s always been Raitei, for me. I loved him from the first, but not enough, it seems,” said Kazuki. “Not like you. You brought Gingi out of Raitei, and you made Gingi happy. We all hated you for taking Raitei away from us, for making the Infinite Fortress crumble, but, in fact, we were really killing Gingi, slowly. If not for you, there wouldn’t have been any Gingi left. Raitei would have complete consumed him, eventually.

“It was hard, but seeing him happy makes me happy, and knowing that he comes to me when he needs protection from Raitei, well, I’m honored. I care deeply for Gingi, and I am glad that he loves you.”

“Thanks, Kazuki. That means a lot to me, you know,” said Ban, simply.

Then Shido and Gingi were back and the foursome split into couples. After eating soba and getting his crepes, Ban sat with his back against a tree and Shido laid his head in the jagan master’s lap. Ban stroked his dark hair gently, gazing down at Shido fondly.

For a very long time they talked softly, Shido asking Ban about his childhood and his teachers and training and Ban tried to explain about the snake demon, Asclepius, and the witch and the Jagan eye. It was rather complicated and gave Shido new respect for the retriever, knowing now some of the grueling hardships he had endured, and seeing some of the shadows that haunted him.

It was starting to get dark by then and Shido sat up. He only nodded, then reached out to tenderly stroke his lover’s cheek. Later he could tell Ban about his childhood, about the Maruido and what that entailed. Maybe, slowly, they could begin to understand each other better.
Shido smiled. He liked that thought. He had been alone for such a long time. This was the first time he could remember not feeling lonely. Ban seemed to be filling an emptiness in him that he just now was realizing that he had.

Perhaps that was why he had hated the snake bastard so bitterly at first, because he was happy with Gingi and Gingi seemed so alive with him, almost as if he had regained some of the childhood he had lost in the Infinite Fortress when he became Raitei.

They walked home slowly in the dark, holding hands and Shido stealing kisses every now and then. It all felt warm and comfortable. At the apartment, Gingi went in while Kazuki waited at the curb. Shido walked Ban to the door.

“Thank you, Ban,” he said sincerely. “I had a wonderful time. I’d like to see you again.”

“Yes. That would be nice,” Ban answered.

“May I kiss you good night?” Shido asked.

“Yes,” Ban whispered.

Shido put his arms around Ban and pulled him gently into his embrace, kissing him long and lovingly, standing there on the front porch. Then he let him go and walked away. Ban stood watching as Shido and Kazuki walked off into the darkness, the last walls of reserve about the beast master crumbling to dust. Then he went inside.

Gingi was already in bed and Ban joined him, holding out an arm for Gingi to cuddle up next to him. It felt really nice. They started to kiss and slowly moved so that Ban could enter Gingi and make love to him.

They both had reached completion and Ban was laying against Gingi’s back, his arms holding Gingi close to him when he felt the weight of a body behind him and warm, strong arms reaching around him. A soft mouth kissed the back of his neck tenderly and Ban sighed, relaxing in the embrace.

“Shido,” he whispered softly.

“I’ve decided,” said Shido softly, “this is where I want to be, with you, always. With both of you, if you will have me.”

“Yes, Shido, we’ll have you,” answered Gingi, turning in Ban’s arms.

Gingi’s arms reached out across Ban to pull Shido close, and Ban found himself very closely embrace by two people who loved him very much. He had come a long way from the scared, lonely boy, possessed by a demon, who had walked into the Infinite Fortress wanting only to die. Now he had everything to live for.

And the scared boy filled the voids in two very lonely people and gave them reasons to feel joy in their lives. Between the three, they were finally starting to heal the deep wounds that none had thought would ever heal.

It was real.

They could make it real.

*~*

Thanks for reading, hope your visit was a good one.

The next part of The Tangeled Web will be Learning to Live with It. Ban, Gingi and Shido have to learn to how live with each other.