Descent into Darkness

Disclaimer: I don’t own the GetBackers, (manga or anime) I just like to imagine them in my own little world (which is totally of my imagining). No profits are made from this story, just gratuitous pleasure.

Summary: Ban is running from the shadow that chases him thru his dreams, Shido is trying to hold on to him, and Gingi is torn by his feelings for Kazuki. (Pt 7 of The Tangled Web)

Rating: NC-17

Warning Codes: Angst, anal, oral, language m/m, WIP, yaoi

Pairings: SxB GxK

Author’s note: This is part 7 of the Tangled Web series.

Although each story can stand alone, they will make more sense if they are read as a series.

Feedback is appreciated. Your feedback is your gift to me. My gift to you is the story.

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My thanks to HumanInfiltrator, Llonella and XxXheartofyaoiXxX for the reviews. I hope you like this next installment.
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Descent into Darkness

It had been over a week since Shido had returned from the disaster at the Paradise Theater in the Munjuku district, but things still hadn’t gotten back to normal. Ban clung to Shido like a child to his mother, afraid to let Shido out of his reach for more then a few minutes. And the nightmares that had haunted him while Shido had been missing seemed to be getting worse, not better, even though the beast master had returned from the dead against all odds.

Just now, for example, Gingi had come in from paying a visit to the Honky Tonk where he was making sure their tab had been settled. The payment from that job had been substantial, and the retrievers would be set for several months, if they didn’t get too extravagant. When he walked in Shido and Ban were out on the couch, Ban practically in Shido’s lap, and they were having a full on make out session, quite inappropriate for the living room at this time of day, in Gingi’s opinion. But it didn’t seem to bother the two on the couch in the least.

They were always making out lately, and Ban didn’t seem in the least embarrassed by the displays of affection that previously he had resisted. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of the beast master. Gingi just sighed to himself, rolled his eyes and went back to their bed room. At least they were out of bed today, and dressed for a change. It was worse when they were half naked. They just seemed oblivious to everything these days.

At night, when they all went to bed, things were almost like they always were, Ban having mind-blowing sex with Gingi, Gingi going to sleep, then Shido expressing his built up passion for Ban for quite long into the night before Ban would finally sleep restlessly until morning. But he never looked like he was rested when he awoke. He still looked haunted.

But it was when Ban and Shido had started having sex in the late mornings and early afternoons that things got a little distressing for Gingi, because Ban was so loud, and they spent such a long time at it. Then Ban would sleep again for a few hours afterwards, only to wake up still looking tired and worn, and start the cycle all over again. It was getting to be just a little embarrassing, and from the looks of it, they were quickly on the way to some more loud afternoon sex.

Gingi decided he would go see Kazuki. Kazu-chan had asked if he wanted to talk when thy were at the Paradise, but at the time things were going good. Now, after Ban’s near break down when he thought he had lost Shido, Gingi felt the need to talk and Ban and Shido were still too glued to each other to let the outside world in yet.

Ban and Shido had come up for air when Gingi came back out into the living room, Ban just lying back in Shido’s arms, while Shido ran his hand through the damp mass of his hair. Ban was smiling softly.

“Gingi, what’s up? Where did you get off to?” asked Ban.

“I told you I was going to see Paul about our tab,” said Gingi, a little exasperated.

“Oh, I guess I didn’t hear you,” answered Ban, a little contritely. “Shido was distracting me.”

“Shido always seems to be distracting you, lately,” said Gingi, a little tartly.

“Hey,” said Shido, a little stung by the last remark. “I’m just sitting here, minding my own business. It’s Ban’s own fault if he’s so flighty he can’t remember from one minute to the next what’s going on.”

“Hey, monkey tamer,” exclaimed Ban, indignantly. “It’s part your fault, too.”

“Is not,” laughed Shido as Ban bit him playfully on the arm.

“It’s both of your faults,” said Gingi. “Lately, if you don’t have your tongues down each other’s throats, you’re in each other’s pants. You two don’t pay attention to anything anymore. I’m gong out. I’ll be back later.”

Gingi stomped out the door in a slight huff, just a little more then pissed off at the two love birds on the couch. Romeo and Juliet indeed. They were acting like two teenagers with their hormones in maximum overdrive. They needed a wake up call to let them know that the world was moving on without them.

“Wow! What was that all about?” asked Shido.

“Don’t know. Never seen Gingi go off like that before,” replied Ban. “It almost seemed like he was jealous, but Gingi’s not the jealous type. Maybe he just needs to blow off a little steam. Now, were we? Oh, yeah…”

And the two went back to the serious contemplation of each other, trying to drown one another in excess, not realizing that they were concentrating on just the two of themselves to the exclusion of the rest of the world. They only had eyes for each other, at this moment in time, and were content to let the rest of the world pass them by as long as they had each other to chase away the black shadows. In this moment, Ban was happy and free.

*~*

And in this moment Gingi hurt. How could Ban shut him out like this? Weren’t they best friends? Hadn’t they vowed their love for each other long before Shido had shaken up their lives? How had Shido managed to sneak in and steal so much of his Ban-chan away? Gingi walked on, not paying attention but before he knew it, he was at Kazuki’s door.

He knocked, waiting impatiently for his angel to let him in. It was a shock, therefore, to have the door opened by Juubie, and a Juubie with his shirt carelessly unbuttoned. Juubie just stared at him coldly for a moment.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Who is it, Juubie?” called Kazuki from the back of his apartment.

“I stopped by to talk to Kazu-chan,” replied Gingi.

“Well, he’s busy,” said Juubie, starting to shut the door in Gingi’s face.

“Juubie, who… oh Gingi, hi,” said Kazuki, a soft smile brightening his pretty face. “Juubie, don’t be so rude. Let Gingi in. Come on, Gingi. I’ve been expecting to see you.”

Kazuki stepped around Juubie to bring Gingi in. Juubie just glared at him, anger undisguised. Gingi looked from Juubie to Kazuki, but Kazuki seemed oblivious to the fact that Juubie was resentful of Gingi’s presence. Kazuki escorted Gingi in and settled him on the couch, then noticed Juubie lounging against the wall.

“Juubie, please button your shirt,” Kazuki requested.

“Sure,” Juubie shrugged. “Is he staying long? I thought we were going to spend the evening together, alone.”

Juubie gave Gingi a glancing glare as he buttoned part of the buttons on his shirt in a casual way, as if saying he belonged here and Gingi did not.

Kazuki flushed at what Juubie was implying in his words. Kazuki had let him spend a few nights, but Juubie was starting to act as if he owned the string master. Suddenly Kazuki found that just a little annoying.

“No, Juubie. You’ll have to go now. I promised Gingi quite a while ago that we would get together and talk any time he wanted. And Gingi is welcome to stop by at any time,” said Kazuki, just a little tartly. “So, I’ll see you later on Juubie. You can call me.”

The Kazuki swirled away to the kitchen to start tea. The look Juubie shot Gingi was murderous, but Juubie of the flying needles knew he never was and never would be a match for the former Volts Lord. He glared once more, stomped to the door and slammed it on the way out.

Kazuki came back, still a little flushed and sat next to Gingi on the couch. Gingi took the sweet tasting string master in his arms and kissed him long and slowly, feeling a tension flow out of him that he didn’t know he was holding in.

“Do you want to talk now, or would you rather make love first?” asked Kazuki.

“Love first, please,” requested Gingi. “I need you. I didn’t know how much I’ve been missing you until this very minute. Oh, Kazu-chan, I love you so much.”

Gingi stood, picked up his lover in his arms, claiming his mouth again as he carried Kazuki into the familiar bedroom, then laid him gently down on the bed.

Kazuki’s arms wrapped around him, pulling him down on top of his slender body, eager for the feel of the lover he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Gingi undressed the two of them between kisses, then lay down on the bed next to his angel, letting his hands run over all of the well known places that he hadn’t realized that he had missed so much.

They kissed and touched for a very long time, and Gingi started to understand the comfort that Ban was drawing out of Shido’s body right now. Gingi knew there was a lot of blackness in Ban’s past and Shido was like a brilliant light that had come to shine in Ban’s darkness, much brighter then even his own glowing sun was for Ban, and when that light had been extinguished so abruptly, the pit of despair that Ban had tumbled into had been so deep, he’d seen no hope at all for climbing out. He’d been ready to give up.

Gingi was his best friend and his lover, but Shido had come to represent more. Shido was a kindred spirit, alone and lonely, and the two had discovered they were two sides of the same coin. Ban, unlike Gingi, had no one else but Shido.

Gingi, however, had Kazuki who he loved so much and Natsumi, who, given just a little encouragement, would be more that willing to rush headlong into love with Gingi. Gingi was warm, sweet, out going, a completely loveable person, quite the opposite of Ban’s cold, standoffish, don’t fuck with me attitude that didn’t encourage friendship easily.

As Gingi gently made love to his angel, he realized just how much Shido and Ban needed each other, how well suited they were for each other, the two strong, independent men who saw reflections of themselves in each other. And, although Ban had his light back to shine for him, still the shadows that haunted him once more needed to be driven back. It couldn’t happen in a single day.

Gingi sighed, then turned his complete attention to Kazuki. He pulled away from Kazuki, rolled him to his stomach, then pulled his hips into the air to reenter him from behind, feeling the need for hard, driving sex, which Kazuki was most willing to oblige. He started to move harder and deeper in his lover, his hand going under Kazuki to grasp his erection and to stroke in counterpoint to his thrusting, all the while kissing and licking the back of Kazuki’s neck. From this position he managed to hit Kazuki’s sweet spot with almost every stroke, causing Kazuki to gasp and cry out in pleasure.

Stopping for a moment, Gingi quickly brought Kazuki to climax with his hand, then went back to his determined lovemaking as Kazuki’s warm channel closed convulsively around him, stroking his pulsing cock and teasing him towards nirvana. Although he could only make short thrusts in that tightness, he had Kazuki screaming and writhing as he managed to hit is sweet spot time and again, and when he finally spent his passion in Kazuki’s highly aroused body, arching his back and emptying his seed deeply in his lovers body, Kazuki screamed his pleasure again. The two collapsed in a heap of groaning, panting, sated flesh.

Gingi mustered enough energy to roll off of Kazuki then pulled him into his arms, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. They kissed long and slow, holding each other close, then, after cleaning up somewhat, they settled in to sleep, pulling a sheet over their sweat glistening, naked bodies.

~*~

Gingi awoke to find Kazuki gone, but as soon as he started to stir, Kazuki reappeared with coffee and crawled back into bed with him, cuddling close in his arms.

“Ah, Kazu-chan, you are the best,” said Gingi, kissing his forehead. “Thank you for last night. I was very confused when I came over here, but I feel a lot better now. Ban-chan and Shido were starting to drive me crazy with their constant kissing and hanging on each other. I just couldn’t see how someone like Ban-chan could fall apart the way he did, but now I know. I understand.”

“Do you? Really? Tell me,” said Kazuki, handing Gingi a coffee and settling in with his own.

“Well, Ban-chan and Shido, they’re not like us. They’re not the type to love easy or often or casually, so if they give their love to someone, it’s real, not some shadow seen against the wall or some fleeting thing, gone in the light of morning,” said Gingi. “With them, it’s all or it’s nothing. Me, I got Ban-chan, I’ve got you, I’ve got Natsumi, I’ve got Paul, I’ve got Hevn, I’ve got lots of people. Ban-chan, he has Shido and me. And more Shido, ‘cos Shido only has Ban-chan. So they really need each other, especially now, with Ban-chan’s shadows chasing him. Ban-chan, he needs someone real strong to be there with him that he can hold on to, so the shadows don’t drag him away. And Shido’s real strong. Stronger then me. Shido is what Ban-chan needs right now.”

“You did a lot of thinking, didn’t you?” asked Kazuki, turning his face up to kiss Gingi.

“Yeah, and I need to ask you something, and I swear, if you say no, I’ll understand. I know you’ve been seeing Juubie and all, and I don’t want to interfere in your life,” Gingi said, hesitating, his face screwed up with determination. “I don’t want to be a bother to you.”
“Ask me, and don’t worry about Juubie. I’ve let him stay a few times, and he’s started to act like he owns me,” Kazuki told him. “Juubie doesn’t run my life.”

“Thanks,” said Gingi, kissing him in return. “What I’d like to ask you is this. Would it be alright if I move in with you for a while? Ban-chan and Shido need the time to work things out for themselves and they don’t need me to be in the way. It’s better for them this way.”

“Of course, for as long as you need, Gingi,” Kazuki told him, “but don’t you think Ban will feel hurt and betrayed by you leaving him?”

“No, because I’m not leaving him, really, I’m just giving him some space that he needs,” replied Gingi.

“Of course, I’ll do what ever you need me to do,” Kazuki, moving to kiss Gingi again.

The one kiss led to more, the kisses led to touching and soon Gingi was making love to his beloved angel again. He felt so peaceful, so calm. Kazuki was such a comforting presence. Even more then Ban, Kazuki was the angle who ultimately tamed Raitei.

They finally got out of bed around noon and, after a long and wonderful shower, Gingi called the apartment to ask Ban and Shido to meet them at the Honky Tonk in about an hour, then he and Kazuki strolled slowly along to the meeting, not talking, not touching, just enjoying each others company.

*~*

When they entered the Honky Tonk, they saw that Ban and Shido were already there, sitting in the booth that Ban and Gingi had always occupied. Shido had his arm across Ban’s shoulder, they sat very close to each other and Shido was murmuring things into Bans ear, occasionally sneaking in a kiss or two. They looked very lover-like and very happy together. At the sound of the approaching footsteps, Shido had tried to remove his arm and slide over, but Ban grabbed his hand, keeping him close. He seemed almost frightened to lose contact with the beast master.

Kazuki slid into the booth, followed by Gingi. Ban paled a little at seeing Gingi and his grasp on Shido’s fingers tightened just a little bit. He knew that the way he’d been treating Gingi lately was wrong, but he just couldn’t seem to deviate from the path he was on, the one that was still descending into darkness. He felt guilty, but helpless to change the way things were.

“Ban-chan, how are you doing today?” Gingi asked softly.

Suddenly the dam of Ban’s emotions started to crack and tears formed. His mouth opened, but he couldn’t seem to get any words to come out. A single tear rolled down his face as all of his fears came crashing down on his head.

“Ban-chan, please don’t cry. It’s alright,” said Gingi gently. “I understand, and it’s alright.”

Suddenly, Ban buried his face in Shido’s shoulder and sobs started to rack his thin body. Shido’s arm tightened around him protectively, holding him close for a moment.

“Hey, Juliet,” Shido whispered softly, tipping his face up, kissing his tear filled eyes. “Don’t cry, baby. It’s gonna be alright.”

Ban smiled a tremulous smile as Shido wiped away the tears, then he lifted Ban’s hand to his mouth, kissing his fingertips softly.

“That’s my sweet baby,” he said, very softly. “I love you, my sweet Juliet.”

“Shido, you’re probably the only person I know who can call Ban-chan ‘Juliet’ and ‘baby’ in the same sentence and live to tell about it,” joked Gingi, shaking his head in wonder.

“And so many people get to call him ‘Ban-chan’, don’t they?” Shido retorted.

“Well, now that the ice is broken,” said Kazuki, “let’s work this all out. Gingi, do you want me to spell it all out for everyone?”

“Yeah, you’ll probably say it better then me,” Gingi laughed, his hand reaching across the table towards Ban’s, and his lover clasped his hand tightly as Gingi smiled reassuringly at him.

“Alright, then. Ban, Gingi realizes that there are a lot of shadows from your past that still chase you and he knows that Shido is the bright light in your life right now that keeps these shadows at bay. And Shido, Gingi knows the loneliness that you’ve lived with most of your life, because he’s lived with it, too. Ban, Gingi loves you very, very much, and so he is doing this for you.” Kazuki stopped for a moment to glance at Gingi, who just smile and nodded for him to continue. “Gingi is going to move in with me for a while, so you and Shido can do what ever it is that you two need to do to banish these shadows that haunt you. He feels that he’ll just be in the way of your healing process and he really wants to see you both whole and happy again.”

“You… you’re leaving me?” asked Ban, a choke in his voice.

“No, not leaving you. Not forever. Just for now, just to give you and Shido space. You need each other right now and you don’t need me,” said Gingi. “I don’t love you any less, Ban-chan. I really love you more. I just want you to get better, okay? And if Shido is what you need to get better, then I’m not going to stand in the way of that. Do you understand?”

“Okay,” answered Ban, a little shaken by the sudden turn of events.

“Shido, please, take good care of Ban-chan for me,” said Gingi, “and remember, all you need to do is call. Kazu-chan and I will be right here for you.”

“What about work?” asked Shido. “You two are still the GetBackers. I don’t want to see that team broken up.”

“We can still work together,” said Gingi. “It’s not our work life that’s suffering, it’s the rest of our lives. So, can we make this work?”

“Yeah, Gingi,” said Ban with a small sigh. “We can make it work. And thanks for understanding. Anybody else wouldn’t have wanted to try to make things work out, they would have just kicked my sorry ass to the curb.”

“Well, I happen to like your ass, it’s cute, and I don’t plan on kicking it to the curb anytime soon,” said Gingi rather primly.

Everyone laughed at that statement, and the four seemed to relax a little with each other, becoming two couples together.
“Well, baby, shall we go home, then? You look tired,” said Shido.

“Yeah, let’s go home, lover,” replied Ban, leaning against him.

They all stood up and Ban embraced Gingi tightly for a moment, whispering something in his ear that Gingi smiled and nodded to. Then, surprisingly, Ban kissed Kazuki very lightly on the cheek. Shido merely shook Gingi’s hand, then took Ban’s hand in his own and the two walked out together.

“Well,” said Paul to Gingi and Kazuki as they prepared to leave as well. “I never thought I’d see the day that those two independent cusses would actually walk out of here hand in hand. It really must be love.”

“No, Paul, it’s more then just love. It’s a miracle. Those two sad, lonely people have found a bright spot of happiness in their otherwise dark and meaningless existence. They’ve found it in each other’s heart. They have something to live for, now.” Kazuki smiled after the vanishing couple, then turned to Gingi. “Let’s go home, Gingi. You get to break the news to Juubie that there’s no place in my life for him now.”

“What?” squawked Gingi, following obediently after Kazuki.

They argued about it all the way home and in the end, it was Gingi who broke the news to Juubie that the free sex was over and Kazuki was now off limits to him, much to Juubie’s disgust.

*~*

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

The next part of The Tangled Web will be Ascent into Light. The shadow is chasing him, but Ban is still running and fighting. And Shido has a surprise for Ban.