Inui whistled as he left practice extra early that day, slipping a package in Fuji's locker. Setting a miniature cactus on top of it along with a folded card, he turned and headed in the direction towards home.

Because the challenge of cramming all their Valentine chocolates into tennis lockers always proved too much, club practice had been cut short that day so the boys could collect their haul and be on their way. Fuji lingered in the shower, unsurprised to find Inui already gone when he finished. Drying off, he opened his locker, grin beginning at the corners of his mouth. Ah, Inui~. Of course, his own Valentine present had been just as unique...the wrapping, at least. Scanning the note, he dressed quickly, sweeping all of the various chocolates into his schoolbag, and with the cactus pot in one hand he quickly headed home. Today, he didn't want to go home first, but the weight of the chocolates demanded it.

Shortly thereafter, he knocked on Inui's door, sucking on a piece of bittersweet chocolate and still holding the cactus.

The door opened after a few moments, Inui standing at the entrance with a wry grin in place. "I almost thought your Valentine might have been lost in the pile, though there was no missing your gift in my locker." Inui said, tugging lightly at Fuji's choice of wrapping, the item wrapped loosely about his shoulders.

Fuji stuck his tongue out at Inui, the smallest bud of chocolate still on the tip, and then smiled, something of a mischievous bend to it. "I thought you'd be able to identify it. Seeing how it was the only black wrapping." One hand snuck out to play with the silk end of the scarf. "It looks good on you~."

Inui smirked, stepping aside to let Fuji in the house. "Don't expect me to wear it often."

The prodigy crossed the threshold, depositing his new cactus on the floor and slipping off his shoes. "But I like the color on you. To say nothing of the fabric..."

"I'll make use of it somehow, it would be a waste not to." Inui handed Fuji a pair of slippers.

"Somehow I suspected you would." Fuji slid them on his feet. "I try to always incorporate a hint of practicality, even when the surface interpretation suggests otherwise. It makes people think, and that's fun."

Inui removed the scarf and wrapped it around Fuji's shoulders, tugging the ends, and the other boy, closer. "I had a few ideas." he grinned.

"Indeed?" Fuji raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Then you must show me what wicked suggestions your mind has fabricated." He stood on tiptoe and placed a bitter-chocolate kiss on Inui's lips.

"Hmm..." Letting the kiss linger, Inui drew Fuji's tongue into his mouth, savoring the taste of the chocolate combined with the cherries he had eaten earlier.

Why did sweet taste...good...when it came from Inui? Probably because he was a terrible tease, Fuji decided, though the interplay of the kiss gave Fuji plenty of opportunity to do some teasing, too. "Is this what they call a Valentine kiss?" he murmured softly, amused by his own joke. "I can't help it, Neesan sings that song every year."

"Hmm, cute." Inui chuckled. "If that is what a Valentine's kiss is, I would not mind more of them."

"We will need to get them in soon. Valentine's Day comes only once a year, you know." Fuji looked quite pleased by this idea. "Though, I must admit that we will have to take time out for you to feed me. Fuji cannot live long on sugar alone."

Inui kissed Fuji once more. "Pork tonkatsu is waiting in the kitchen. Mom insisted I make it for you. She left chocolates for you as well."

"Mmm. Have I mentioned lately how much you spoil me...and how much I like it?" Being in good with Inui's mom definitely helped. She was someone Fuji could easily relate to.

"Not lately, though once is enough to encourage me to keep doing it." Inui chuckled, making his way into the kitchen. "However if any adverse effects were to occur..."

"Then by all means, let me encourage you, for I think any potential side effects are worth it for the benefits of spoiling." With a laugh, Fuji followed in Inui's wake, collecting the chocolates on the kitchen table with the 'Syuusuke-kun' tag. "Your mother has good taste," he commented, flipping the small box of truffles over in his hand. "Wasabi and ginger."

"I let it slip your particular eccentric taste for wasabi and ginger." Inui smirked, returning from the kitchen with two acrylic trays.

"There's nothing eccentric about these." Slitting the plastic with a fingernail, Fuji removed a truffle, neatly biting it in half. "Here, try." He held the other half out to Inui.

Inui lowered his head to try the offered chocolate, brushing his lips against the tips of Fuji's fingers. "Mm, it is good."

"You sound surprised." The prodigy drew back his fingers and deftly cleaned the melted chocolate from them with his tongue, savoring the taste. "While my tastes are 'eccentric', I don't think they could be labeled 'bad', do you?"

"Not bad in the least." Inui grinned, setting the trays on the dining room table. The tonkatsu was already precut, the sauce set in a small bowl set beside it. In a separate compartment, a salad had been neatly prepared.

"Wise choice of words," Fuji added, deciding to save the rest of the truffles for after their meal. "I'll go get chopsticks, and you put the tea server on, right?"

"I did, your coffee is saved for dessert." Inui said, moving back into the kitchen for rice and their tea.

"What was it I said about spoiling?" Fuji took two teacups out of the cabinet and poured the green tea. He snatched up two sets of chopsticks and waved off Inui's offer to carry the tea, breezing back into the dining room with it. "I'm going to get too accustomed to it."

"I am growing accustomed to it as well." Inui said, setting out the rice before taking his seat. "Besides, such spoiling is to be encouraged, yes?"

"It is," Fuji agreed with a smile. Sometimes it bothered him, the itch in the center of his back he could never quite reach, just how comfortable their relationship felt, how...reliant upon it he could become. More than a bit unnerving, he thought as he sipped his tea, but a challenge. Fuji Syuusuke never walked away from a challenge. "Did your fanclub drown you in chocolates, by the way?"

"They did, though more than one attempted their own form of juices. I believe I'll analyze them before I attempt to drink any." Inui said, reaching for his chopsticks.

"You are very popular. Itadakimasu~." Fuji picked up a piece of tonkatsu, dunking it in the sauce. "Should I be jealous, hm?" he asked, poking the cutlet into his mouth and chewing.

Inui attempted a fair impersonation of a female classmate. "Not as popular as Fuji-sempai." he bemoaned, starting in on his own dish. "Perhaps I'm the one to be jealous, ne?"

"Maa...only if you genuinely feel my interest in them is returned..." Fuji picked up the sauce, pouring some of it over the rice and adding tonkatsu slices on top. "This is very good. If you're not careful I'm going to tie you up in the kitchen and never let you leave."

"I know my cooking is decent, but must you tie me up in the kitchen?" Inui tsked, dipping the tonkatsu into his sauce.

"Can you think of some place you'd rather me tie you up?" Fuji sculpted his rice-and-sauce into the shape of a Buddha statue before lifting the head off and devouring it.

"Depends on how long I would be detained."

"Which depends on your ability to undo knots." The counter came neatly from the baseline, an innocent look on Fuji's face, the tips of the chopsticks in his mouth.

"Which depends on the knot." Inui grinned with a bemused expression.

"I have smaller hands, which usually means I can tie things tighter. This should be fun." Buddha's torso disappeared into Fuji's mouth behind the Cheshire Cat smile.

"I suppose that means I should allow you to test your knowledge of tying knots." Inui challenged.

"Perhaps you should. If you don't mind being at my mercy while you attempt to free yourself..." Oh, if Inui was going to challenge, Fuji was going to make the stakes worthwhile.

A smirk. "I believe if I were to be tied that would happen irregardless, ne?"

"If you're lucky."

"Mm, I would like to test those odds."

"I'll bet you would. All data, though, is strictly off the record." Fuji picked up his bowl, finishing off the rest of the rice.

"As long as any data gathered on me stays that off record as well." Inui set down his chopsticks.

"Your secrets are safe with me." Fuji's throat contracted and flexed as he drank the rest of his tea, a single droplet lingering at the corner of his mouth. Slowly, unselfconsciously, he caught it with a wrist, dragging across his entire lower lip. "I'm not sure whether to say 'Gochisousama' or 'Itadakimasu'~."

"Whichever feels appropriate," Inui said, finishing his tea. "Itadakimasu."

Fuji raised an eyebrow, gleefully accepting the challenge. "So be it. Do you have a preferred venue for this competition?"

Inui gave a silent nod to upstairs. "Ready whenever you are."

"You can still back out, you know." Fuji folded his hands on top of the table; despite his closed eyes the best description for his expression was 'predatory'.

"Do I look the type to back out of anything?"

"Saa..." Fuji rose out of his chair with a boneless grace, all slender limbs and delicate hands and blue, blue eyes. "It would be unfair of me not to offer, despite knowing the answer." He reached up to play with the scarf Inui had placed around his neck earlier, the material scandalously thin and strong against his fingers. "Upstairs, then? And no quarter given," he added, a delighted bounce to his step as he slid like a shadow from the room.

"Hai hai." Inui said under his breath, standing from the table to follow Fuji up the stairs.

Fuji liked Inui's room very much, it possessed some of the organized chaos he preferred. He sat down on the bed, crossing his legs underneath him, mind several moves ahead in this new chess game. While he plotted, Fuji threaded the scarf back and forth against his neck, enjoying the feel of silk. He'd picked this particular 'wrapping paper' for Inui's gift out specially; the shop in Ginza had fancier ones, but Fuji enjoyed black on Inui. Very, very much.

When Inui entered the room, Fuji crooked a silk-shrouded finger at him, the wicked smile an invitation to all sorts of things.

Inui walked over to the bed, crouching over the sitting form upon it, resting his forehead against the other's. "Where do you want me?" He murmured, kissing Fuji's nose.

"Right here." Two fistfuls of Inui's shirt, a sharp tug and roll, and Seigaku's data specialist found himself lying on his back on the bed with a genius seated atop him, looking rather self-satisfied.

Inui propped himself up on his elbows, kissing Fuji deeply, his hands slipping beneath the other boy's shirt.

Fuji's skin tingled, the calluses of long tennis practice exploring under his shirt. Hey, wasn't this supposed to be his moment of dominance? Time to up the stakes a little. He snared Inui's lower lip with his teeth, sucking on it fiercely, as he unbuttoned Inui's shirt, raising from his perch just enough to tug the fabric free of Inui's pants and part it to fully open.

Inui growled low in his throat, pulling away from Fuji to lift the garment over Fuji's shoulders. "Keep that up and you may never get that knot tied," he warned, lowering his head to nuzzle the bare skin of Fuji's neck. It took him a long while to identify the fragrance the other boy was prone to wearing, ginger with a hint of citrus he concluded finally as he nipped at Fuji's skin.

"Don't underestimate me," Fuji purred, tugging Inui's shirt all the way off and snagging his wrists above his head with one hand. Fuji's hands were smaller, and if Inui had pressed the matter he likely could have broken free; however, his current absorption in marking Fuji's neck meant little in the way of struggling.

It took effort, as Inui's tongue and teeth were very distracting, but a slide and dart of silk whispered its way around Inui's wrists, knotting firm in tiny, tightly tied fashion. "You were saying?" Fuji drawled, tugging on the silk meaningfully.

Inui smiled against Fuji's neck. "Now to only get out of it."

"Are you so sure you want to do that?" Stretching, Fuji wound the trailing end of silk over the top of Inui's headboard, equally precise knots binding him there. "Wouldn't you much rather be at my mercy?" The grin on Fuji's face was remorseless, unashamed as he tugged Inui's glasses free and lazily deposited them on the bedside table.

"It depends on which mercy you intend to deal." Inui smirked, glancing up at his bound hands through the fuzzy distortion that came without his glasses. Tugging at the scarf experimentally, Inui cast a wry glance in Fuji's direction.

Perched upon Inui, knees on either side of his waist and arms neatly folded across bare chest, Fuji most strongly resembled a satisfied kitten that had pounced on and pinned a particularly nimble bug and was now pondering just how to eat it. "I've been called cruel at times, that is true, but I try to always be fair. Shall I give you a sample of what to expect?" Hot breath and hotter teeth nipped at the juncture of Inui's neck and shoulder.

Inui arched his back faintly, a low hiss escaping his lips before he attempted words. "I'm not sure I am entirely convinced."

Fuji's only reply was the caress of his tongue in the hollow of Inui's collarbone.

Pulling at the silk and grumbling at its inability to touch Fuji in the way he wanted, Inui tugged at his bindings with more effort.

"Impatient, aren't we?" The words and breath fell intimately against the shell of Inui's ear, Fuji's teeth tracing the lobe before suckling it gently. He reached one hand up, twining fingers with Inui's, enjoying the strength in those hands being completely in his thrall. It was addicting and exciting, the game stimulating mind and body both. Savoring his perch atop Inui, Fuji moved in for an actual kiss, deep as the ocean, his hand tightening in Inui's.

Inui tightened his hold on Fuji's fingers, the granted touch calming his protests, allowing him to settle back against his pillow and let himself be absorbed by the kiss.

The prodigy chuckled, low in his throat, the mirth spilling into the kiss like champagne, crisp and bubbly as he successfully stole each of Inui's breaths for his own. Skin against skin as Fuji skillfully explored every bit of Inui's mouth, tracing the flats and edges of teeth with his tongue, flirting shamelessly while their mouths were entangled. The cool silver of Fuji's necklace was the lone temperate spot between them, rapidly warming to the heat of their bodies pressing around it.

Inui broke the kiss, his breathing rapid and uneven. "If that is what I get for surrendering myself to your mercy..." He allowed his voice to trail off, kissing underneath Fuji's jaw.

Compared to Fuji, Mona Lisa looked positively dour. "That's just the beginning, I~nu~i." Fuji elongated each syllable, the pink tip of his tongue visible as it wrapped around them. "Are you brave enough to go farther?"

Inui lifted his head from the bed, brushing his lips across Fuji's. "It depends, are you?" He challenged blithely.

Dangerous, Inui, to challenge fire when it has oxygen enough to burn you. "Maa, it's sort of in my hands, isn't it?" Fuji asked, his hips slithering downwards to press against Inui's.

"Literal and figurative." Inui answered, shifting his hips to meet the other's.

A quirky smiled twisted up one corner of Fuji's mouth. "Careful, that sounds almost like a request." A request the rest of him echoed in full stereo surround sound.

Inui quirked an eyebrow. "Almost?"

"Mmm." Fuji's hips wiggled back and forth, tucking himself securely in against Inui while two fingers of his left hand absently walked across Inui's chest. "You see, it's a common theme in Victorian-era literature, especially, shall we say, that of the romantic flavor? By putting the decision in someone else's hands, moral turpitude is avoided and regardless of the outcome one's conscience may remain pure and unblemished."

"In theory, though it this is not the Victorian era." Inui countered, his mind finding it difficult to process more than the basic wants that drummed through his body. "Still there are ways to take control from the others hand, thus in turn share the culpability."

Fuji thought about this for a moment, his fingers tapping softly on Inui's chest in time with the arrhythmic, syncopated workings of his mind. "Well..." he said, that enigmatic smile touching his face again, "it is your house~."

Inui nodded with a wry grin. "That is true."

"Moral turpitude just gets more attractive all the time..." Fuji mused, laying his hand flat against Inui's chest and resting his chin atop it. "So do you, by the way. There's something about you half-naked and no glasses with a silk scarf tied around your wrists that really turns me on."

"Oh?" Inui said playfully, tugging on the scarves lightly. "There is an odd turn on being unable to touch you...and watching you enjoy that fact."

"Part of the inherent power struggle between us, do you think?" It was not that this subject fascinated Fuji more than half-naked and vulnerable Inui, but once the mental wheels began turning they were often difficult to halt, even when the body insisted far more adamantly on "Whee! Inappropriate and rather pleasurable touching!"

"I believe so, of which I do think will always be a driving force in our relationship." Inui answered, his mind torn between investing in the conversation and other more pressing needs.

"Neither of us yields easily or without some motivation." For himself, at least, this was certainly true. Of course, Fuji had long learned that one could rule simply by appearing to acquiesce. "Our relationship..." Fuji mused. "I really didn't think I would ever apply that word to something I was involved in..."

"It's something I'm getting acquainted with...it's nice."

"Is it what you thought it would be?" It was no plea for reassurance, but in Fuji's quirky habit an inquiry of frank curiosity, a seeking of honest opinion with no ego to be bruised by the answer. "It grows harder not to use it as part of my own definition of self."

"In a way it is completely different from what I expected, but I'm not disappointed." Inui brushed his nose against Fuji's arm.

Ah, and curiosity takes game, set and match over hormones, though the latter flails fists and demands a rematch. "What did you expect?" Fuji asked, a dry kiss whispering against Inui's cheek. "And just what is different?"

"I expected...I'm not sure what I expected, probably not a rehashing of other romances I have witnessed." Inui said thoughtfully. "I didn't think it would feel as...mundane, comfortable in a way. Though, there are those moments that are far from that." He glanced at his arms, his fingers starting to tingle in an "I'm falling asleep on you" sort of way.

"That's not the most...complimentary phrasing, but I think I may have to agree." A wry smile lifted his lips as his mind wandered over their history together. "It bothered me, a great deal, that the things you kept seeing of me were less than my best. I will kill you if the incident with the elevator is ever mentioned to anyone, you know?" Ironically, Fuji did not sound as if he was joking about that. "And yet, despite those things, I feel relaxed and at ease in your company. I've never been with anyone I've been friends with before you. It's an interesting change."

"I hate to interrupt this discussion abruptly for a moment, but my arms are going numb." Inui laughed, wiggling his fingers experimentally.

Fuji's smile turned incredibly wicked once more and he cupped his chin in one hand, lying flopped across Inui. "Weren't you supposed to untie yourself, smart boy?"

"Hmm, I believe that was to be before the decreased circulation set in." Inui commented wryly.

Butter would not have melted in Fuji's mouth. "I don't recall such stipulations."

"Technically there weren't, though is the game still in play?"

"Mm-hmm. I've seen nothing yet to warrant calling it." The prodigy seemed rather reluctant to leave his perch. "Or are you giving up~?"

Inui raised an eyebrow. "When have I ever given up on anything?"

Well, there was the point when I turned you down. Fuji kept that thought to himself; after all, it wasn't the right sort of thought when one has his boyfriend tied up and shirtless on Valentine's Day. "First time for everything," he quipped, content to watch and see if Inui could indeed escape.

Inui twisted his wrists within their bindings, trying to loosen one or both. "Perhaps if I were to wrap my thumbs and fold my palms..."

"Perhaps..." Fuji absently drew circles around Inui's navel with his forefinger, watching the abdominal muscles tense in response.

By instinct, Inui's hand went to slap Fuji's finger away, yet the knots of the scarf restrained him. He shifted his body, trying to hold back the laugh that rose up to his throat.

Curiosity and dark mischief lit up Fuji's face. "Ohoho? Have I perchance found your legendary nonexistent ticklish spot?" He traced another circle, watching for reaction.

Inui laughed, unable to suppress the reaction. "It feels weird," he muttered, trying in vain to return his attention to dislodging his wrists.

"Tickling usually doesn't feel good. Unless...it tickles in different ways?" Fuji kept his slow motions going, rather enjoying all of this.

"In...different ways." Inui shifted uncomfortably, his attention shot.

"I think I like these different ways~." Fuji licked the tip of his finger, swirling it around Inui's navel.

Inui arched his back, grumbling faintly. "I'm not sure if I can disagree." He increased his efforts on the scarf; he had to be free of them, to reciprocate somehow.

"You're so cute when you're totally at my mercy." Fuji laughed, low and rich, the consistency of melted chocolate.

"Cute?" Inui laughed, a moan audible through his laughter.

"Cute: attractive, adorable, especially in a diminutive connotation. Need I use it in a sentence, Professor~?" Oh, Fuji was enjoying this way too much...

"If you would? I'm needing more inspiration." Inui grinned at Fuji.

"All right, then...Puppies and fluffy bunnies and half-naked Inui are all cute." The wattage on Fuji's smile could have powered all of Shibuya overnight.

"Evil."

"You're only now figuring that out? Slow on the uptake today, I believe."

"I believe I can be forgiven."

"Hmm, let's see about that." Fuji moved, reaching an arm down the side of the bed, stretching underneath, until he triumphantly held up a round black and white piece of plastic. He shook it vigorously, then turned it over to the flat side. "The Magic 8 Ball, predictor of all things in the universe, says 'signs point to yes'." A wry grin as Fuji tossed the 8 Ball into the air, catching it with the same hand. "So...this is how you calculate all your predictions, hm?"

"Only when my module's give me a fifty percent outcome..." Inui laughed. "Off the record, of course."

"This secret, among many others, is safe with me." Fuji set the 8 Ball on Inui's chest, once more folding his hands flat and resting them on Inui's stomach. "Do you give yet? I'd be surprised if you have any blood flow to your fingers by now."

Inui gave Fuji a resigned look. "I suppose asking you to untie me is a way that I can get out of the knots, though technically that means again, you win."

Seigaku's genius gave this some thought, chewing his lower lip as he did so. "That's true, though...I'm always willing to negotiate a better deal. What will you give me if I untie you?"

"I lost, so by rights your choice." Inui's woeful expression was replaced with a grin.

"Let's see...you still owe me slave for a day from our first date, so...I think I will claim a private dinner, cooked here. Is that an agreeable settlement?" More of that tonkatsu, for example, Fuji thought. I could get very used to that.

"Fair enough. I agree to those terms."

"Mmm. It's a satisfying feeling, having bested you." Fuji carefully scrambled up to the head of the bed, a few tugs and creative word usements later he flicked the silk scarf in one hand.

"Enjoy it, you may not know when you will have that happen again." Inui smirked, forgoing his initial thought of rubbing at his wrists to drape his arms around the small of Fuji's back.

"I'll see what the 8 Ball says, but my personal prediction is that you should watch your back." Sprawled across bare chest and held fast by Inui's arms, Fuji fingered one collarbone, enjoying his perch. "Are your hands all right?"

Inui shrugged, burying his neck in the junction between Fuji's neck and shoulder. "I will not be surprised if I have marks tomorrow."

"Give them over," Fuji said, reaching behind him in an attempt to grab Inui's hands. "Silk is strong but it should also be gentle if you don't fight it too much." He successfully seized one wrist, bringing it around to where he could inspect it. "Think a kiss would make it go away?"

"It would not hurt to try."

With a wry smirk, Fuji pressed his lips to the inside of Inui's wrist, tasting in a slow kiss the pulse that flickered beneath the skin.

"An improvement." Inui smiled, combing his fingers in Fuji's hair.

A soft, warm, contented sigh brushed over Inui's chest. "In more ways that one," Fuji said, turning his head slightly into the touch. "Still, you have to admit it was a little exciting..."

"Mm, something to attempt again?"

"I'm game if you are." The smile bloomed on his face, a private, genuine expression reserved only for the most intimate moments. "Happy Valentine's Day, Inui. Here's to more attempts in the future." Pause. "We're calling this one a date, right?"

Sitting up, Inui brushed his lips against Fuji's. "I believe it would be safe to call it such. Now to make plans for White Day."

"How about...a white chocolate cappuccino?"

"That can be arranged. No reciprocal scarves?"

Fuji raised an eyebrow, grin turning shameless. "You think you can wrap my cappuccino in a scarf?"

Inui smirked. "I think I could...or find another item to wrap with."

"Ohoho, now this I've got to see." Fuji tapped Inui's chin with one finger. "Consider the challenge thrown down."

"So..." Inui trailed for a moment, his free hand tracing the outline of Fuji's spine. "...what next?"

"Hmmm." Fuji's features assumed a thoughtful, pensive set. "Bondage makes me hungry. Snacks?"

"There's still dessert waiting downstairs." Inui reminded Fuji, lightly bringing the flat of his hand on the other boy's backside with a devious smirk.

Fuji's sound was impossible to represent phonetically as he nearly leaped off of Inui. "Hey, I said bondage, not spanking, Professor! Get the kinks straight." Nevertheless, he smiled when he said it.

"Had to make note of the limits." Inui laughed, standing from the bed to wrap his arms around the shorter boy's waist. "A cappuccino ice cream with whipped topping downstairs."

"Limits. Riiiight," Fuji shot back, though he leaned into Inui's embrace, catching his thumbs in the waist of Inui's pants. "Is that real whipped cream?"

"Nothing artificial." Inui pulled Fuji closer than logically possible, swaying on his heels languidly.

I think I love you.

Fuji froze for the barest of seconds, thinking he had actually said the words aloud, even in the context of a flip connotation over whipped cream....that might not be so flip after all.

"And coffee?" he finally queried against Inui's chest, feeling very constrained and claustrophobic and clutching every bit of willpower not to push away.

A low chuckle could be felt against Fuji's ear before it could be heard. "There is always coffee, I'm growing a tolerance...at least to the smell."

"Small favors," Fuji replied, concentrating on the rumbling sensation near his ear. It was tangible, and far easier to hold onto than the ephemeral, misty, traitorous things inside his mind. "For someone who doesn't partake, you make a rather impressive cup of coffee."

"I try, I'm glad to hear my barista skills are sufficient." Inui continued to rock slowly on his heels, enjoying the warm body pressed against his, words trapped at the tip of his tongue.

"You're worth keeping," Fuji said softly, clearing his throat. "Now, speaking of keeping...I think that ice cream may not keep much longer without someone to eat it."

"That would be a tragedy indeed." Inui said, his mind processing the word quietly uttered before. Had it been in playful jest, yet it did not register in his mind as such. The way Fuji spoke, no matter the implications, was enough to make him smile. On a brief whim, he reluctantly stepped away from Fuji to retrieve his glasses, speaking with slight awkwardness but determination in his attempt. "Well, I suppose we should go to retrieve them, ne, Syuusuke?" And he winced, even for him that was too forward.

First time for everything, huh? Fuji's name was not a word widely used by anyone outside of family; hearing it on Inui's lips felt foreign, nearly unrecognizable, less a name and more a collection of semi-related syllables. It...bothered him, itched somewhere deep under his skin with startling persistence. "We should," he agreed, watching Inui carefully.

"So..." Inui trailed as he turned abruptly and walked out of the room. Ice cream sounded good, anything to get the flush that had risen to his cheeks.

Fuji watched him go, pondering in silence the conflicting signals Inui was sending. Using his first name while lacking confidence. Coming closer...and then turning away. In a detached sense, Fuji knew his own reaction was not helping, but it had happened too quickly and his facade had become too unguarded when they were alone to instantly portray his normal blithe indifference.

Hurriedly, he found his discarded shirt, tugging it on, that same uncomfortable feeling of being too exposed needing some literal if not metaphorical covering. His fingers lingered on the buttons, so recently undone by hands larger and surer on their round, plastic surfaces than his. Dammit, he didn't like this part of relationships, things smacking of (his own) uncertainty especially distasteful. You're such a genius, Syuusuke, that you flip out when your boyfriend...

Breath rushed out of Fuji in an irritated huff, and his feet padded softly from the room. Boyfriend, huh? Accepting that word had been a significant milestone, taking Inui from the layer of 'you're hot and I'd gladly have sex with you' to 'you are someone I can let into me, a little at a time'. Maybe even to the 'there are times that your happiness and your needs edge out my own' layer.

"Professor?" Fuji's voice echoed down the stairs, the thump of feet playing counterpoint as he descended them. "Wait for me?" It wasn't just indulgence over ice cream's timing he asked for. I'm not quite ready for that; can you be patient with me, please?

"In the kitchen." Inui replied, his voice lacking the confident luster but low and terse. He was furious with himself, and to expedite his mood he could not think of the next course of action or what could be said or done to remedy. He grumbled inwardly as he jostled the freezer door open to remove Fuji's dessert. He couldn't fault Fuji really for that reaction, Inui wasn't sure he would have responded any differently. Which irritated him more. Nothing angered him faster than the unexplained, even moreso when the actions were made by himself.

Quietly, Fuji stole into the kitchen, eyes fastened on the shift of muscle and bone beneath Inui's skin as he tugged open the freezer. Aesthetics alone were hardly enough to set him at ease, but they gave his body something to do to stop his mind from overthinking things.

Trepidatious, he approached, coming almost within touching distance before closing the gap, the tips of fingers slipping around Inui's hipbone.

Funny, how such a simple touch could calm him into inaction. "I'm sorry." Inui muttered. "I should have asked, I just..."

The soft breath of a sigh fluttered down the valley of Inui's spine as Fuji's forehead came to rest between his shoulder blades, slim arms threading around Inui's waist. "You'd know I was lying if I said it was all right. It will be, and I want to hear you say my name, just...not yet."

It was unseen, but Inui could feel Fuji's face curve into a smile. "That you did it, seemingly without conscious thought...part of me likes very much. The rest of me just needs to catch up."

Inui smiled at this, reaching into the freezer to grab Fuji's dessert. "Do not expect a repeat of that anytime soon, I think you are not the only one who needs to adapt. Just be aware that I feel familiar enough with you to attempt it."

"Mm. And be aware that I feel familiar enough to attempt this," Fuji countered, making a quick lick down the channel of Inui's back.

An uncomely yelp was Inui's response to that, followed by a curse as what once was in his hand made its way to the floor. "Again, we must reevaluate timing." Inui shuddered as the after effects still made its way through his system.

The ice cream landed on the tile with a respectable splat, popping the lid off and spraying white splatters in several directions. The prodigy paused, blinked, watching the dessert slowly coagulate out onto the floor. "Well...shit." Burying his forehead in Inui's back again, Fuji laughed, chest-deep. "This seems to be becoming a habit, doesn't it?"

"It does appear so." Inui laughed, closing the refrigerator door and turning around to wrap his arms around Fuji's waist. "I must also note that ice cream saturated socks is an interesting sensation."

"Cold feet, warm heart?" Fuji quipped, laying an ear against Inui's chest.

"Mm, something to that effect."

"You do know what warms feet up the quickest?"

"There are many, though what is your answer?"

A wry, wry smile. "What else? Coffee."

"...I was going to say dry socks."

"I'll find socks, you make coffee?" Fuji's voice was infinitely hopeful.

"Deal." Inui said with a resigned sigh, lowering his head to kiss Fuji lightly on the lips. "Don't forget to grab the mop from the hallway."

"You say the sexiest things, Professor," Fuji returned before disappearing from the kitchen. He reappeared shortly afterwards with a mop and bucket in one hand and a pair of red argyle socks in the other.

Inui was sitting at the dinning room table, rubbing in between his toes with a paper towel. Sitting next to him on the table was a full mug of coffee. "I believe I got all of it but I can still feel it." He muttered in a combination of awe and exasperation.

"Ice cream is persistent." Setting the mop down and placing the socks beside the coffee, Fuji crossed to the sink, turning on the hot water and running a dishrag under it. He wrung it out and crossed to the table, taking the chair next to Inui and holding out one hand in silent demand for the offended foot.

Inui lifted up his leg and set his heel in Fuji's hand, his expression turning smug at the absurdity of it all. "We're rather pathetic, I hope you do realize that."

"Par for the course, it seems." With brisk efficiency, Fuji scrubbed the ice cream first off one foot and then the other. "I think it's some sort of karmic check on our natural arrogance." He flicked the arch of Inui's foot with one finger.

Inui flexed his foot. "Nature's way of keeping a semi-balance."

"You could say that. Karma has been less than a friend to us thusfar." He frowned, suddenly, the expression darkening slightly. "Speaking of bad karma, I can't believe Saeki went back to Chiba." Coincidence that Fuji didn't say 'went home'? Hardly, considering his view that Saeki's real home was with Fuji's family. "They won't take care of him."

"Even still, that is his family." Inui said thoughtfully. "He would want to be with them on occasion."

Fuji was giving Inui the 'fourth head' look; suddenly growing a second or third was not grounds for Fuji's skepticism, but the fourth was a different story. "Biologically speaking, that's his family," Fuji corrected. "But I don't think an occasion that requires their help and care should warrant him being with them." Wiping off his hands, Fuji stood, taking a chair and retrieving his coffee at last.

"I have never inquired about his family, are they as awful as you make them out to be?" Inui asked, standing from his seat to grab the mop and bucket to tend to the mess in the kitchen.

Fuji snorted, drifting after Inui like a caffeinated shadow and choosing his words carefully. "His father is completely apathetic--not without some reason, but no matter what your personal trauma is, you have to put that aside if you're a parent and...well, parent. Be an example of some sort, show a little attention or care." The biting, bitter sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable, clearly delineated rather than Fuji's normal ambiguity. "His mother is a flake who is always more concerned with the things that Yuuta or I are doing than anything about her own son. His sister is all right, she seems to fill in the parent role when it's convenient for her but otherwise...it's more like he's the family pet and packmule than their son."

He paused for breath and to refill his coffee cup. "It wouldn't be nearly so detrimental if he didn't care what they thought, or want their approval and acknowledgment so badly."

Inui listened to Fuji's tirade as he wiped at the floor with his mop. "You can suggest but what is there to be done until he realizes this fact on his own?"

"Besides make sure he has someplace that he'll never finish last or be discounted altogether? Not a lot," Fuji admitted, hopping up onto the counter so Inui could mop where he had been standing. Slippered feet swung in abstract motions, the coffee cup clutched between laced fingers and balanced in the space between Fuji's knees.

"There's very little difference between Saeki and Yuuta in my mind." Part of his mind wondered just why he was telling Inui any of this; it wasn't his business, and Fuji's thoughts and feelings were usually guarded with fierce vigilance. The other, though, wanted to share a little bit of who Fuji Syuusuke was; perhaps giving a tiny shard of information at a time would diminish the discomfort of hearing his first name in Inui's voice. "They're both my brothers; only one of them was fortunate enough to be born that way. Unfortunate, if you ask Yuuta, but...even when he doesn't understand us--and that's most every day--I don't think Yuuta has ever lacked for love or people willing to do anything for him."

"Hmm, Yuuta is very fortunate then, though I've read he has a common affliction of most youngest siblings." Inui commented as he made a final sweep of the kitchen floor. Sibling dynamics never ceased to interest him, even though the closest thing to one was Renji. He let the mop rest against the counter before standing in front of where Fuji sat, resting his palms on Fuji's knees. "Though being a Fuji sibling, well, it could be a curse as well as a blessing."

"Yuuta is Yuuta," Fuji replied, not dismissing Inui's comment but simply acknowledging that his younger brother would be the way he was and it didn't change Fuji's feelings. "Most everything has his up sides and down sides. I just think the good would outweigh the bad." He smiled and covered Inui's hands with his own. "I was rambling, wasn't I? That's so unlike me."

"You were, that is more my area of inclinations." Inui smirked. "Though it is nice to hear someone else ramble on occasion."

"You're so indulgent of my whims." Fuji smiled, leaning in to brush Inui's lips with his own. "Thanks, Professor."

"You're welcome, Fuji."

If there was ever a time to slip and say 'Syuusuke', that was it. Maa...your timing is one of the things I like most about you. Brilliant and wretched in turn. Fuji smiled, beckoning Inui down with a finger for another Valentine kiss.