"The car," Juri grunted, glaring at his health bar which beamed bright red. "I'm behind- no, the black one! North from the warehouse."
"Don't worry honey, I'll save your ass," Shintaro said, and the calmness in his voice aggravated Juri more than three dozens of soulless NPC characters or one losing-just-to-annoy-others asshole teammate ever could have.
"You weren't so chill last night," he sneered, loathing the idea of Shintaro getting the upper hand. Last night Shintaro had taken a proper beating from the last member of the opposing team.
"He was good," Shintaro snorted, but Juri could hear the tiniest strain in his voice even through the voice chat.
"He was thirteen!"
"Good is good."
There it was. The indignant tone, an unmistakable sign of Juri getting under Shintaro's skin. The game always got ever so much better whenever Shintaro got annoyed. Shintaro probably didn't notice it himself, but when the things on the screen weren't going as he liked, his voice got lower and quieter. It was freaking hot, and damn if it didn't make Juri's heart flutter and loins tingle every time.
He grinned, flipping through his gear menu in a new search of anything helpful while he waited for Shintaro. He was armed to the teeth but didn't have single health item left. It had been a tough run this time.
"Excuses. Just admit you suck," he teased and glanced around to check his surroundings for enemies. He had already stayed too long at one spot.
"You wish."
Which. Well. He did.
"Shut up and bring me the damn first aid kit," Juri grumbled, trying and failing to push the image out of his head; Shintaro on his knees at Juri's feet, looking up at him with serious, dark eyes.
It should be illegal to have such eyes.
"Juri?"
"Still here."
Right. He had a match to win. He could indulge in his fantasies later. Perhaps he should go to bed before midnight for once.
"There you are sweetheart," Shintaro said cheerfully as he dashed around the corner of the warehouse and used a first aid kit on Juri's character. "As good as new."
Sweetheart, honey, baby. Shintaro had a habit of casually dropping such endearments whenever they played together. In fact, he was a shameless flirt over voice chat, and it messed with Juri's head more than he cared to admit.
It was all good fun when there were other players around to hear it all, but Shintaro also flirted with Juri when it was just the two of them playing in the duo mode. Most days Juri waved it off as joking, but sometimes... Well, sometimes he just wasn't sure.
Sometimes Shintaro said sentimental shit like "what would I do without you" or "you're the best thing in my life", and it wasn't just the words but the tone of Shintaro's voice that sent a shiver down Juri's spine, because Shintaro said it like he meant it.
He took a deep breath and guided his character through the warehouse and over a meadow, just to get some distance between himself and Shintaro. There was less to chirp about if they couldn't see each other on the screen and he needed to concentrate.
It got more intense. The opposing players were good, shooting at them from all directions and reaping their teammates with a frightening accuracy. But so did Juri and Shintaro. Juri ran around, sniped enemies and looted buildings. He loved it: a good challenge and a well-fought victory that pretty much waited behind the next corner.
Suddenly, a burst of shots hit Juri, and his character fell to the ground dead.
"Oh fuck me," Juri snapped. They were so close, and he hated to have to watch the ending from aside.
"Anytime you like, darling," Shintaro murmured into his ear. "Couch or bed?"
Fucking hell.
"I gotta go," Juri choked and logged out without waiting for an answer. He switched off everything, ending up staring at his own reflection on the black screen.
Fucking hell.
Juri dragged a hand across his face and slouched back in his chair.
So. He totally panicked. For a joke. Worse than that, he panicked and left Shintaro hanging in the game alone. What a drama queen. Or a chicken. Queen chicken.
Couch or bed, asked Shintaro's voice in his head.
He wasn't getting aroused for a flirty joke. He wasn't.
Alright, he was.
And so what? Surely anyone with seeing eyes could notice how hot Shintaro was. Juri felt a familiar flip in his lower belly as he allowed his mind to wander to Shintaro's broad shoulders and muscular arms and big, warm hands that he yearned to feel around him.
He closed his eyes, thinking about how it felt to hug Shintaro. Shintaro gave such good hugs, firm and heartfelt. Juri swallowed, imagining what it would feel like if the hug turned into something else. If Shintaro slipped his hands under Juri's shirt and touched the bare skin of his back. Juri arched his back, wanting to get closer.
His eyes fluttered open. He met his own dull reflection on the empty screen again. A light pressure was starting to grow in his boxers, but he really wasn't comfortable enough to do anything about it yet. He needed a shower, and it had been way too many hours since he had last eaten anything. Juri sighed and wrenched himself up from the chair. His fantasies would have to wait until he got to bed. And Shintaro... He'd text him later.
The showering didn't help at all. He only found himself concocting even more vivid images of sharing the shower with Shintaro, naked bodies pressing together as hot water streamed on them both.
"Oh come on," he sighed aloud, decidedly refusing to touch himself even though his dick was definitely reacting to his imaginations. It was slow though, and he felt it flagging down again when he directed his mind to other things such as food.
There wasn't much in the cupboards of his kitchen. He didn't want to wait for ordered food and he definitely wasn't going to run down to the nearest konbini. Finally, after having idly stared at the cupboard for some time, he took a bag of instant miso soup and some leftover rice from the fridge. It was quite a plain meal but it would have to do. And he would definitely have to go shopping for groceries before his mother visited again and saw the pitiful state of his kitchen.
While he waited for the water to boil, he rubbed his wet hair with a towel and scrolled through his social media feeds. His favorite artist had dropped a teaser for a new single just a few days ago, and he hummed along the lyrics when a new clip appeared under his thumb. Now that was proper rapping. Fast, energetic, powerful. He only hoped to be that good one day.
In the members' LINE group Jesse had sent them a map link for a yakiniku restaurant that he insisted they had to try, either for work or privately, it didn't matter as long as they just went there.
"Sure," Kochi had said right away. "Let's check our schedules tomorrow?"
"I've heard of this place. Apparently it is good!" Taiga agreed just as Juri looked at the phone. Juri sent them a string of thumbs-up emojis.
After a moment, he checked the status of his message. Jesse and Taiga had already seen it, and soon Kochi did, too. Hokuto was at a drama shooting late tonight so he wouldn't be on his phone, but Shintaro should have been online. Yet, the message status stayed 'unread'.
He would really have to apologize to Shintaro later, for having ditched him mid-game. Maybe he could say his mum called. Or the mailman. Or...
Couch or bed?
Taking a deep breath, Juri sat at the kitchen table with his miso soup and microwave-heated rice, propped his phone against the empty coffee mug that he had left on the table in the morning, and put on a game stream that would keep his attention occupied for the next fifteen minutes while he ate.
Only after finishing the meal and putting the dishes into the dishwasher did he allow his thoughts to return where they so eagerly wanted to go.
In the darkness of his bedroom he threw himself on the bed and finally let his hand wander down, lightly stroking his crotch with his fingertips through the fabric of his sweatpants. He closed his eyes and rolled his hips up against his own touch, drawing a few long, deep breaths to help himself relax.
It was so easy to bring up the images of Shintaro again; how much he wanted Shintaro to push him down and kiss him senseless. It was his go-to fantasy these days, the one that got him off faster than any other.
He ran his tongue against his lower lip, dampening it before gently biting down, thinking about Shintaro's lips on his own, soft and demanding at the same time. Tilting his head to the side, he imagined how it would feel when Shintaro kissed his lips, cheek, ear, neck. How Shintaro would lie on top of him, and how Juri would grind up against Shintaro's body, making them both moan.
Unable to prolong it anymore, he shoved his hand into his sweatpants and boxers and wrapped his fingers around his rapidly hardening cock. He bucked into the touch, overwhelmed by the need of some relief. He lifted his other hand to his head, tangling his fingers into his hair and tugging gently.
If only they were Shintaro's hands on him. If he had weight pressing him into the mattress, calming and arousing at the same time. Shintaro's breath in his ear, Shintaro's lips on the tender skin of his neck, teeth nibbling his earlobe.
Juri whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut tighter and gripping his cock harder. He wanted to drag his own hands along Shintaro's shoulders and arms and back, feeling the firm smoothness of his skin. He wanted to get his mouth on Shintaro's cock as much as he wanted to have Shintaro on his. He wanted to look at Shintaro and see Shintaro's eyes go dark and hazy with lust and longing and-
The high-pitched ring of a doorbell jolted him out of his thoughts.
Alarmed and panting, he stared at the ceiling. It was white but the mellow glow of the city lights reflecting from the clouds behind his windows made it look warm gray. In the deep silence of the room he was somehow more aware of such things. He still had one hand in his pants but he let his other hand drop from his hair to his pillow, the sudden disturbance having left him hanging in a weird space between pleasurable daydreams and annoyed realism.
Had it even been his doorbell or someone else's? Somehow, he wasn't sure anymore. He knew the sound so well, he could hear it in his ears anytime, and now he wasn't sure if he had actually heard it or not.
The doorbell insistently rang again and Juri scrambled on his feet, rubbing his palm to the fabric of his sweatpants. He had no intention to open the door but he probably should at least see who stood behind it. Squinting in the harsh light of the living room, he tiptoed to the foyer, careful not to make any noise. Perhaps he could pretend he wasn't at home.
The doorbell rang for the third time, followed by a frustrated noise muffled by the door.
"Come on Juri, I know you're there."
Juri froze mid-movement, holding his breath. How had Shintaro gotten there? A neighbor must have let him in down in the first floor.
“Please, open the door,” Shintaro asked, “before someone throws me out for shouting in the hallway.”
Slowly, Juri reached to the door and opened it. Shintaro was frowning when their eyes met, but his eyes widened when he saw Juri properly. Juri realized with a blast of embarrassment how he must look, his cheeks flushed and hair a mess, and sporting a raging erection that Shintaro also immediately noticed.
“I wanted to… I thought maybe I went too far,” Shintaro stammered, eyes dancing around like he tried to look anywhere else but simply couldn't help his gaze returning to Juri’s tenting sweatpants. “When you left so suddenly after I-”
“The bed,” Juri blurted out, “I choose the bed.”
“You wha-“ Shintaro started, but then understanding seemed to dawn upon him and Juri got grim satisfaction from his sharp inhale.
“Are you coming in or not,” Juri hissed, at the end of his patience. He felt his cheeks burning and his dick throbbing and the last thing he wanted to do was to stand in the door frame, waiting for his neighbors to see him too.
Pulling the door shut behind him, Shintaro stepped in. Juri didn’t move aside, and for a few seconds they stood quietly chest to chest, staring into each other's eyes.
They leaned in at the same time.
It started rushed and messy. Juri didn’t know what sorcery had summoned Shintaro to his door at the very best moment, but he didn’t care. He kissed Shintaro hard, wanting, needing to taste him on his own lips. At the same time he pushed his hands under Shintaro’s both shirts, desperate to feel him under his fingertips like he had just imagined it. Shintaro gasped into his mouth at the first touch of cool hands on bare skin and wrapped his arms around Juri’s shoulders, sinking the fingers of one hand into Juri’s hair and letting the other hand travel down his back to feel his waist and grope his ass.
Too needy to act demure about it, Juri pressed his hips against Shintaro’s, rolling and grinding, chasing the pleasure from the friction.
“This is why I left,” he grunted, grinning against Shintaro’s lips when Shintaro made a breathy noise of arousal and tightened his hold around Juri. “It's your own fault. You fucking flirted with me the whole evening.”
“You could just have told me it worked,” Shintaro chuckled, kicking off his shoes without letting go of Juri even for a second. “Just so you know, I’ve been flirting with you for the whole year while we played.”
Oh. That…actually explained a lot.
“And you couldn’t just have told me this was what you wanted,” Juri said and pulled his head back so he could squint into Shintaro’s eyes. “We could have been doing this for months.”
Shintaro raised a brow. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. So bedroom. Now."
Watching Shintaro undress had never been more enjoyable - probably because it was the first time Juri actually had a permission to watch instead of only trying to sneak little glances at the dressing room. Even better: this time he was allowed to help. Standing in the middle of his bedroom, he pulled down the zipper of Shintaro'a hoodie and splayed his hands on Shintaro's chest, feeling the muscles under the t-shirt. The shirt was already untugged from earlier, and he easily slipped his fingers under the hem again. Shintaro shook the hoodie from his shoulders and arms to the floor, and every new bit of bare skin made Juri's heart beat faster. He wanted to touch all of it.
Finally, when Shintaro was left with his boxers only, he lightly slapped Juri's hands.
"Okay, paws off. I want you naked on that bed like, yesterday, he laughed, but there was an urgency in his voice that made Juri's lower belly flutter with excitement. He rushed to pull off his own sweatpants and shirt, and sat to the bed without a separate order.
"Better," Shintaro murmured and crawled after him. It was indeed so much better than any visions that Juri had imagined only a few minutes earlier. And when Shintaro pressed him into the mattress, even a long, heated kiss couldn't stop a mad grin from spreading on his face.
"What?" Shintaro chuckled.
"Nothing," Juri said. "I'm one lucky bastard, that's all."
Shintaro raised a questioning brow, but Juri didn't elaborate. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Shintaro's back, just because he could. He ran his hands on the warm skin, getting a proper feel on the firm muscles of Shintaro's arms, back, and sides. Shintaro hung his head on Juri's shoulder, his hair tickling Juri's cheek and neck, close enough for Juri to hear all the telltale hitches of Shintaro's breath whenever Juri's fingers found a sensitive spot.
One little gasp was accompanied by an involuntary buck of hips, and Juri lost his own breath. Shintaro was fully hard, his need pressing insistently against Juri's own erection and making Juri's mind race with how much he wanted this man.
"Roll around," Juri croaked and helped by pushing Shintaro first to the side, then to his back. "Wanna take these off," he continued, not sure himself whether it was a question or a statement. Either way, Shintaro helpfully lifted his hips when Juri grabbed the elastic of his boxers, helping Juri to pull them off.
Dropping the boxers on the floor, Juri straddled Shintaro's legs. He leaned into a new kiss and reached down to wrap his fingers around Shintaro's cock at the same time. Shintaro's eyes fluttered shut and he let out a moan that tickled Juri's ears just right. He wanted to hear more - much, much more.
It wasn't difficult at all. He would never had bid Shintaro for a noisy one, but a gentle nibble on an earlobe, a light, dull drag of nails across Shintaro's belly, or a surprising twist of hand on his cock were all enough to make Shintaro shudder and cry out, and Juri took full advantage of his discovery.
"Didn't think you'd be so-" Shintaro panted, his chest heaving and hands squeezing Juri's thighs near the knees.
"So what?" Juri asked, sitting up and tilting his head.
"So proactive?" Shintaro managed to sound amused even through his arousal, and Juri stifled a snort. So Shintaro thought he'd be lazy in bed? Sure, Juri liked to be efficient in his life, which often meant minimizing the energy spent. But that didn't mean he couldn't put up some effort where it was due.
Such a moment was at hand now, and for this specific task Juri would gladly put up all the effort, and them some more.
"Do you like it?" Juri murmured into Shintaro's ear before moving on to kiss his neck and collar bone. Shintaro nodded hastily, and Juri continued, moving on his hands and knees and leaving a trail of kisses on Shintaro's chest and belly as he proceeded lower.
Finally, face already so close to where he was going, he glanced up.
"Look at me," he said in a low voice, stroked the tender skin between Shintaro's thigh and crotch with his index finger, and waited for Shintaro to rise his upper body up and rest on his elbows. Once Shintaro was settled and had a perfect view, Juri leaned down to take his cock in his mouth.
Shintaro's gasp of pleasure was music for his ears. His heart hammered in his chest and his mind buzzed with the excitement, but he kept his eyes on Shintaro's eyes as he sucked lightly on the head and rubbed the tender underside with his tongue. Taking slow, shuddery breaths, Shintaro stared back at him, and Juri's stomach twisted again because it was that look: dark, glazed, aroused, amazed. Just like Juri had imagined.
Slowly, Juri moved his mouth up and down. Shintaro collapsed to his back again, gasping Juri's name and flexing his hands on the sheets like a kneading cat. Juri closed his eyes and concentrated on his other senses; the faint scent of his own laundry detergent, the damp sweat on Shintaro's skin, the sounds of Shintaro's pleasure filling his ears and the sharp taste of precum spreading on his tongue.
He could only hope that Shintaro would want to do this again. Preferably soon. He didn't know how he could ever go back to imagining all this alone anymore.
"Juri," Shintaro groaned, moving hand to Juri's shoulder like a wrestler tapping out, "I’m close."
"Uh-huh," Juri hummed, his whole body tingling with how much he wanted to see Shintaro come undone under his touch. He moved his hand and head faster, at the same time quickly dragging blunt nails across Shintaro’s inner thigh. Shintaro jolted, cried out, and spilled himself on Juri's tongue.
Juri swallowed quickly. The taste wasn't exactly his favorite. Instead, his new favorite thing might be the sight of Shintaro lying in his bed naked, spent, and fully relaxed, his eyes closed and his chest heaving with deep breaths.
Juri sat up, feeling rather breathless himself as he wiped saliva and jizz from his lips to the back of his hand. He stared down at Shintaro and vaguely noticed how heavily he was panting and shivering himself, his cock still aching with the lack of attention.
"Don't you dare touch yourself," Shintaro mumbled without even opening his eyes, like he had somehow read Juri's thoughts. "I wanna do it. Just need a moment."
Taking a few deliberately slow breaths, Juri crawled across Shintaro's leg and slumped down next to him, curling up to his side. He pressed his forehead against Shintaro's shoulder and closed his eyes. Shintaro hummed and raised a hand to lazily caress Juri's hair.
After a minute, maybe two, Shintaro stirred, and when Juri opened his eyes, Shintaro was already looking at him through half-closed lids.
"What are you staring at?" Juri murmured.
"You," Shintaro whispered and rolled to his side, leaning over Juri to give him a slow, lingering kiss. Juri let Shintaro set the pace this time, easily opening his mouth for Shintaro's tongue to get in.
"I've imagined this so many times," Shintaro sighed, his voice low and rough in a way that sent shivers down Juri's back. "You've got no idea."
Juri probably had some idea - if Shintaro had imagined this half as often as he had.
Shintaro's warm weight of him felt so good, he never wanted to let go. But he needed more still. He bucked his hips against Shintaro's, chasing the friction until Shintaro reached down to rub Juri's cock with his palm.
"Can I suck you too?"
Unable to speak, Juri just nodded quickly. The need felt like a crashing wave when Shintaro slowly sat up. Too slowly. Juri felt like he might explode if he had to wait even for a moment more. His skin was burning and he felt his muscles twitch, with nerves or anticipation or both, he wasn't sure. He just needed- he needed-
The sudden wet heat of Shintaro's mouth on him was almost too much right away. Shintaro alternated between intense suction and sloppier, gentler licking, and Juri's hands flew into Shintaro's hair as he tried not to buck up in a way that might surprise him.
It was real. It was fucking real, he thought wildly, utterly helpless with the sensations. It wasn't a fantasy anymore; Shintaro was actually twirling his tongue around his shaft and head, and humming in pleasure while he did it, as if he liked it just as much as Juri did.
Frantic with pleasure, Juri grabbed Shintaro's arms and yanked him up, needing to kiss him, needing to get closer. He tasted himself on Shintaro's tongue and felt Shintaro's hand on his cock again, big and warm and gripping him just right, and- Juri's whole body tensed up for a second before it started to shake, and Shintaro coaxed him through the high with firm, long strokes now lubricated by Juri's own cum.
It took a while for his breathing to even out. Shintaro wiped his hand to the sheets, lay down by Juri's side and pushed his other arm under Juri's neck, pulling him close. Eyes closed, Juri wrapped his own arm around Shintaro's waist, buried his nose into the dip between Shintaro's neck and collar bone, and let his body melt against Shintaro's.
Shintaro was warm. He was warm and strong and firm. Juri felt warm too, his body light and utterly relaxed. He was pretty sure he never wanted to move anywhere anymore.
He must have snoozed off for a while, because Shintaro's hand cupping his head made him twitch and blink fast.
"We should get under the duvet," Shintaro whispered, gently stroking Juri's cheek with his thumb. "Before we get cold."
Juri only reluctantly allowed Shintaro to drag them both up from the bed, but once they were on their feet though, it actually seemed sensible to do some basic maintenance before throwing themselves back down. Bathroom, the quickest of quick showers to rinse off the sweat and cum, and a glass of water. The task list seemed quite doable.
In the kitchen Juri stopped mid-movement to stare at Shintaro over his glass. It was nothing he hadn't seen a million times before: just Shintaro fresh out of the shower, his hair wet and fluffy, only wearing a bath towel around his waist and padding barefooted around the kitchen as he sipped water from another glass. But the thing was, it was Shintaro fresh out of Juri’s shower, wearing Juri’s bath towel, padding barefooted around Juri’s kitchen and sipping water from Juri’s glass. After having wonderful sex with him, Juri added in his mind, feeling his cheeks warming up.
Shintaro hummed questioningly when he noticed Juri looking at him, but Juri couldn’t have explained the abundance of messy emotions Shintaro caused in him, even if he tried. He wasn’t trying very hard, either. Instead, he crowded Shintaro against the kitchen counter and captured Shintaro’s lips in a new, long kiss.
Shintaro must have tasted the mint from the toothpaste Juri used earlier, because he made a face when they separated. “Sorry, I didn't bring a toothbrush. I didn’t expect to stay overnight.”
“I don’t care,” Juri rushed to promise, because hey. Priorities. He was ready to confront a terrible morning breath when it also meant he could wake up by Shintaro’s side in the morning.
“I should buy one to keep here,” Shintaro mused and grabbed his glass again, turning to fill it from the tap.
Juri perked his ears. “To keep here for…” he started slowly, kind of guessing what Shintaro might mean but wanting to be absolutely sure before jumping to any conclusions.
“For the next time?” Shintaro said, glancing at Juri from under his brows. “If, you know. If you’d like us to do this again?”
The messy emotions burst into a flutter of butterflies in Juri’s stomach and he couldn’t help a wide grin. “Are you kidding? I’d like us to keep doing this forever!”
It sounded way more like a proposal than he meant it to. They weren't there yet, and it wasn't even the time to think if they ever would. But that wasn't the point, and from Shintaro’s bright yet amused smile he knew Shintaro understood.