Kumagoro\'s New Shiny

**Typical fanfic warnings—we don’t own Gravi or it’s characters. Please be respectful to our originals and not use them without asking. This fic takes place near the end of Ryuichi’s time in America, shortly before the beginning of the anime.

Major angst warnings—if you’re hoping for a constantly bouncing Ryu-chan, this isn’t the fic to read. -_- This is angst angst angst, so read at your own risk!

//= Thoughts
*= emphasis
::= speaking in Japanese
**


Kumagoro’s New Shiny
Chapter Six


\"Hm?\" Jace frowned curiously over his shoulder, then smiled, rolling onto his back. \"You like being bottom?\" he teased.

Ryuichi laughed as he crawled between the other\'s legs. \"Not quite.\" Leaning in, he pressed their lips in a hard kiss, coaxing Jace\'s mouth open to distract him as he slid a pair of fingers into him. \"I want to see you,\" he hissed between them.

Jace squeaked between them; he shouldn\'t have been surprised, but he was touched by Ryuichi\'s tenderness. //He really is trying to take care of me. Not treat me like…just a ho.// Smiling,bentbent his knees so he could slip his legs over Ryuichi\'s shoulders.

Tilting his head, he nipped at the boy\'s knee. \"You\'re okay like this?\" he asked, just to be sure, adding another finger. He tried to reach even deeper as he leaned slightly forward--he wanted to be sure Jace would be comfortable.

\"Yeah. I\'m...mm, I\'m dandy.\" Jace murmured softly, rocking his legs against Ryuichi\'s back. \"Don\'t worry about me--I\'m ready. Come on already.”

Ryuichi nodded, freeing his hand and sitting back a moment. He tore open the small plastic package with his teeth and covered himself. Once he was properly prepared, he shifted closer. \"Okay,\" he said in way of warning before slowly, torturously entering his companion.

Jace whined softly, his toes curling as he moved his feet plaintively against Ryuichi\'s back. \"Come *on*,\" he groaned, wanting to feel Ryuichi moving against him.

Chuckling breathlessly, Ryuichi managed to stretch his neck enough for a kiss. \"Sorry--it\'s...been a while for me.\" He closed his eyes a moment to gather himself before pulling back. //I\'ll take care of him.// Ryuichi watched his new lover\'s face as he began to thrust into him, trembling as he began to set a firm rhythm.

//That\'s better....// Jace moaned thinly, his hands pawing over his head until he found and took hold of the headboard. He used it to push himself down into Ryuichi\'s next thrust, tightening around him. \"Shit....\"

Ryuichi gasped thickly. //He...is really good.// \"Jace....\" His hips quickened, unable to help himself, almost able to feel himself hardening further. His eyes were focused and sharp. \"L-look at me,\" he hissed softly.

Jace was used to hearing that, and he did so, his eyes narrowed and coy. But when he met Ryuichi\'s gaze, the intensity behind it captivated him. He panted softly as he continued to meet his firm lover. \"Ryu....\"

Grinning, Ryuichi stole another kiss. He groaned heavily as he continued to thrust hard into his partner, eyelids fluttering. //He feels amazing.// He caught Jace\'s hips, lifting them higher for a better angle.

Jace craned his neck, trying to get another kiss even after Ryuichi had pulled back. He was reaching his end sooner than he should have, but he held on. All of Ryuichi\'s intensity was still there, and it made him shudder and groan as his knuckles whitened around the headboard.

Ryuichi\'s voice rose higher as his end grew closer. Shuddering, he leaned forward to clumsily kiss at Jace\'s chest and neck, hips moving almost frantically. //Just...just a little--// He choked and groaned, his body tightening as he finally released.

Jace threw his head back, finally letting himself go; he cried out thickly as he climaxed. It had been a long time since he\'d felt anything like this, if ever, and he was gasping for breath long after they had both finished. \"Ryu....\"

He pulled back with a murmur, wavering on his knees for a moment as he let the remaining pleasure slowly drain from him. //God, that was good.// Smiling and fatigued, Ryuichi crawled higher up the bed to rub at Jace\'s stomach, kissing him gently. \"Hey. You okay?\"

\"Never better,\" Jace groaned as he stretched his legs. He wriggled closer. \"I\'m a little sore--you\'re pretty big.\" He giggled, giving Ryuichi a squeeze.

Ryuichi beamed, flopping onto his back. \"Damn straight.\" He slipped his arm beneath Jace\'s head to urge him closer, kissing his temple. \"You were great. You *are* great.\"

\"Well...practice....\" Jace smirked, but he pushed past that topic quickly, wriggling up against Ryuichi\'s side. \"Mm, now we get to cuddle, right?\" He laughed, drawing his fingers over Ryuichi\'s stomach as if threatening to tickle.

He squirmed without really intending to escape. \"Of course! It\'s still really early.\" Ryuichi glanced at the clock: 3:23. He happily buried his face in Jace\'s hair, breathing him in deeply and holding him close.

Jace fell still when it finally occurred to him that...Ryuichi was serious. With a tiny smile he pulled close against Ryuichi\'s chest and wrapped his arms around his ribs. \"Okay.\"

Ryuichi sighed happily. //Somehow, he feels really small right now.// He ran a hand along Jace\'s spine, just lightly at first, though he paused to rub at the small of his back. \"You okay? Sore?\"

\"Not really,\" Jace admitted, squirming a little. //I just want to be like this.// He closed his eyes, just for a while pretending that they could even be lovers, like this.

\"All right.\" He finally relaxed, still idly touching the other. Ryuichi hid his face in Jace\'s hair. It would have been nice to stay there all day, to simply waste away the evening in the boy\'s arms...but already he could feel his strength slowly beginning to return. \"Stay tonight,\" he said suddenly, tone low.

Jace didn\'t respond for a long time, staring blankly across Ryuichi\'s chest. His stomach twisted. \"I can\'t,\" he whispered at last.

\"Sure you can.\" Ryuichi tickled his back lightly, nuzzling him. \"We can have pizza, or even go out for some dinner later....\" He chuckled at the idea. \"Come back here after....\"

Jace cringed, trying to bury himself closer as if that would satisfy him into dropping the subject. \"No, really, I can\'t.\" He closed his eyes. \"I have to work.\"

\"Hmm....\" Staring at the ceiling a moment, Ryuichi finally turned onto his side to welcome the boy tight against him. \"Then maybe I better hire you,\" he said lightly. \"You can be my \'pretty woman,\' hmm?

Jace paused again, and then he struggled against Ryuichi\'s arms, trying to work free. \"Don\'t be stupid,\" he muttered, already regretting it.

Ryuichi immediately rolled over, trapping Jace beneath him, head tilted curiously. \"You don\'t want to leave,\" he pointed out. \"You need money, I\'m taking you from work.\" He brushed Jace\'s hair gently from his face. \"I\'m not buying you,\" he whispered. \"I want you here.\"

Jace turned his head away. \"I don\'t want your money,\" he muttered. The thought was making him ill. \"I...know you\'re trying to help, but it doesn\'t work that way.\"

\"What doesn\'t?\" he asked. \"Who says it doesn\'t?\" Ryuichi continued to touch him lightly, though he didn\'t try to force his gaze back. \"You want to stay, right?\"

\"It…it just doesn\'t!\" Jace pushed at Ryuichi\'s hands in sudden irritation. \"Besides, Ulrich will want to see me tonight--I haven\'t walked in a while.\" He managed to twist onto his side, trying to hide that his eyelids were fluttering, trying to hold back tears.

Ryuichi had no idea who Ulrich was, but.... He sighed. //I\'m not helping.// He sank down to lie atop the other, nuzzling against the back of Jace\'s neck. \"Sorry,\" he murmured, hugging close. //After all, it\'s not like I know anything about his life.//

\"It\'s not your fault.\" //I knew this was a bad idea.// Jace curled up, though he didn\'t try to push Ryuichi away again. He sighed. \"I\'m sorry. But it\'s...what I am, Ryu. I can\'t just disappear for a night, and I can\'t take your money.\"

He remained quiet, forcing himself to think through his reply before trying to make it--it was difficult. He didn\'t think it would be that big of a deal to just accept the money, to stay the night, but.... //There\'s more than I know. I just...have to trust him.// Ryuichi wiggled closer. \"You know I\'m here,\" he said quietly. \"If you...need anything.\"

Jace slumped into the mattress. //You can\'t do anything. This…was fun, but....// \"I\'m tired.\" Jace twisted until he was pressed up against Ryuichi\'s chest again. \"Can we just rest for a while? Like this?\"

\"Sure,\" he replied lightly, though his stomach was twisting. Ryuichi welcomed him close, sighing into his hair. He offered a kiss to the top of his head. //I\'ll just have to be content for now, I guess.//

Jace was still for a long time, just listening to Ryuichi\'s quiet breath around him. He\'d only had one client before who he\'d stayed with like this after sex--a boy no older than him, who had come to him in hopes of his first experience. At the time Jace didn\'t know what to make of the kid, why he had been so quiet, as if afraid. But now...he felt he understood, maybe a little, and he shivered against Ryuichi\'s body. \"I\'m sorry....\"

Ryuichi shook his head, reaching around to rub at the other\'s back. \"Shh. Don\'t worry about it.\" //I\'ll think of something. Eventually.// \"Just get some rest, okay?\"

//You don\'t understand.// Jace reached down, his fingers scraping the blankets--he managed to hook a finger and draw them up and over the pair. \"Thanks, Ryu.\" He hid his face in Ryuichi\'s neck. \"You were really trying to take care of me, right? I could tell.\"

He shrugged. \"It\'s not so much that as...I wanted us both to have fun,\" he replied. Ryuichi closed his eyes as he better settled against the mattress, pulling Jace slightly over him. He chuckled softly. \"Besides, I want to see you again, so I wanted it to be good. I like being with you.\"

\"I....\" Jace frowned against him. \"I like being with you, too. But....\" He took in a deep breath. \"This doesn\'t make us lovers, you know. It\'s just...fun, right?\"

Ryuichi was very still. He knew he should have denied that, as he fully intended to keep Jace around. Instead he only held the boy closer. \"It is fun,\" he replied. //I\'m not giving uat eat easily, you know. I don\'t give up that easily.// \"It\'s gonna stay fun, too.\"

//Damnit, Ryu.// \"Because I can\'t be your lover,\" Jace said firmly, not caring that his voice sounded suddenly cold. \"You know that, right?\"

Ryuichi shook his head. \"Nope. I don\'t.\" //You can\'t fool me, Jace.// \"I know you\'ll do what you have to do, same as me. But I\'m not about to let you sneak away like a stranger, either.\"

Jace felt his stomach twist nauseously, and abruptly he jerked out of Ryuichi\'s arms so he could sit up. \"Damn it, don\'t you understand?\" he said, glaring down at him. \"Tonight I\'m going out to blow half a dozen strangers--get fucked by a few, if I\'m lucky. That\'s what I \'have to do\'.\"

Ryuichi watchim aim a moment before sitting up as well, heat tilted. His chest was tight, but he wouldn\'t let it show in his face--he wasn\'t going to lose himself now. \"You don\'t have to,\" he replied, tone low. \"I said I\'d help.\"

Jace turned his head heatedly away. \"I don\'t want your money,\" he snapped. \"What\'s the point? To go from being everyone\'s whore to just yours.\"

//Jace....// He didn\'t move, just watching the boy. The tension in his chest had dropped to his stomach. \"You know that\'s not what I meant,\" he finally said. He pushed suddenly to his feet, finding and pulling on his boxers. \"If that\'s the only way you can think of it, then I wouldn\'t want to fuck you.\"

Jace lowered his head, blinking against a sudden welling of tears. \"How else am I supposed to think of it?\" he asked bitterly. His fingers curled in the sheets. \"If you\'re paying me to keep you company.\"

\"I\'m paying to keep you from being out there,\" he snapped, not meaning to but unable to stop his tone from rising. \"I\'m paying to keep you from getting sick, from getting hurt. I\'m paying to keep another idiotic bastard from trying to kill you.\" Ryuichi\'s voice caught faintly at that, and he paused, standing still as he tried to get himself back under control.

\"I don\'t want you to pay me at all!\" Jace tumbled off the bed and marched past him, into the next room. \"I don\'t need you take care of me!\" he shouted back assnatsnatched up his clothes and struggled into them. \"It\'s my job--I\'ve looked after myself all this time, it\'s not like you can just appear and make everything all right.\" He choked suddenly, and he swiped angrily at his watering eyes. //Don\'t you fucking cry!//

Ryuichi followed in just his boxers at a slower pace, watching the other. He didn\'t know when he\'d grabbed his pink rabbit, but when his fingers curled he found the stuffed toy clenched in his hands. \"Doesn\'t mean I can\'t try,\" he muttered, hugging Kumagoro closer. \"It\'s what friends do.\"

\"Well don\'t bother.\" Jace tugged his shirt on, and thought he heard the seams tear a little with his rough treatment of it. He cursed softly--by now his head was aching, especially around his still healing stitches. \"I\'ve been doing this since I was fifteen. I can take care of myself--and even if I took your money, what would that make me? What would I do when you move back to Japan, and I have to go back to fucking strangers anyway?\"

Ryuichi started forward, wanting to just pull the other close, to at least get him to calm down, but.... His eyes darted away. //What would I do...?// \"I don\'t know,\"saidsaid, shoulders curling.

\"I didn\'t think so.\" Jace finally struggled into his shoes, but when he turned toward the door he stopped. A deep breath calmed him somewhat, but he couldn\'t turn--not if it meant letting Ryuichi see him cry. \"I\'m sorry,\" he murmured. \"I do...like you. But I\'ve been on my own too long to just start taking pity money.\" He gulped. \"Do you understand?\"

Ryuichi finally got his feet to move, carrying him to the boy. He wrapped his arms around him from behind, Kumagoro pressed against his chest. \"I know,\" he replied softly, hugging him tightly. \"But even with that...you\'re not vanishing.\" Ryuichi turned his face into Jace\'s neck. \"I want to see you again.\"

Jace bit his lip, his shoulders creeping up as he tried not to cry in earnest. //Ryuichi....// He swallowed hard. \"Okay.\"

//Damnit, I know you\'re crying.// His eyes were tingling, just slightly, and he loosened his arms to gently turn Jace around. Ryuichi pulled him close again in a real embrace. \"Good,\" he whispered, his voice trembling faintly. \"Good....\"

Jace leaned into him, and was about to surrender and cry himself out, when he suddenly took a breath and tried to pull back. \"I have to go,\" he murmured, wiping his eyes. \"You\'ll...call me, right? If a few days....\"

Ryuichi nodded. \"I\'ll be busy the rest of the week,\" he said quietly. \"But I\'ll call once I get a break.\" He reached up, wiping away the few tears that had managed to get out. An idea struck him, and he straightened. \"Hold on. I have something for you.\" Turning, he hurried back to the bedroom.

Jace took a step back. He wanted to run--to slip through the door and tear through the building until he was far away and ou bre breath. He managed to twist the doorknob but the sound of the mechanism clicking made him jump, and he shut the door once more with a thud. He took a deep breath and waited for Ryuichi to return.

For a moment, he was afraid the boy had left. Ryuichi returned quickly and smiled in relief to see Jace still waiting for him. He came forward with his hands behind his back, and with a somewhat shaky smile pulled out a new pink rabbit. \"Ta-da! For yo

Jace stared down at the rabbit with a frown, his hand still on the door. \"For me?\" he echoed dumbly.

\"I just said that, didn\'t I?\" Ryuichi took the boy\'s free hand, curling his arm around the stuffed animal. \"Mr. K had to get me a bunch of them after I lost the first Kumagoro and I refused to sing.\" He shifted anxiously, wondering if, by the other\'s expression, that he\'d done something wrong again.

\"You mean...that\'s not your first Kumagoro?\" He was more baffled by that thought than that Ryuichi had just given him a stuffed rabbit; unconsciously he drew the doll tightly to his chest.

He shook his head. \"Nope. I can be really forgetful sometimes, so he got me a bunch.\" Ryuichi blushed. \"He\'ll keep an eye on you, okay?\"

\"Okay....\" Jace dropped his gaze, but he smiled, moving his fingers slightly over the fur. \"Thanks. I\'ll take care of him.\"

\"I know.\" Pleased, Ryuichi lightly touched Jace\'s cheek before leaning in for a light, quick kiss. \"I\'ll talk to you soon, okay? I\'ll call.\"

Jace nodded. \"Yeah, okay.\" He took a step back, and risked one last glance at Ryuichi\'s face. He smiled shakily. \"Later.\" He turned quickly and slipped outside before he could say anything else he might regret.

Ryuichi sighed as the door was finally shut, moving to lean against the wood a moment. His own Kumagoro was still in his hand, and he hugged it tightly as he moved to flop on the couch. //Jace...what am I going to do with you?//

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