nisacharakj (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nisacharakj) wrote2011-05-19 04:43 am
nisacharakj) wrote2011-05-19 04:43 am
Entry tags:
[FIC] Unprofessional (2/?)
I-I... I've never done this before D:
Title: Unprofessional - Chapter 2
Author: insomniacKJ
Type and Genre: Het/Yaoi (because it doesn’t have to be either/or); Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Kakuzu/Hidan/Terumi Mei and others
Summary: Kakuzu is manager of a successful modeling agency. The only legitimate relationship he has is with his work. But that soon begins to change when a new model is taken into the agency and more than one person attempts to modify his definition of the concept of ‘a relationship’.
Warnings: Explicit/heavy scenes as the story progresses; crack pairings; Het and yaoi; and lastly, this is an AU setting, so do expect some OOC-ness.
Tomorrow came blaring through the curtains in the form of intense sunlight. Kakuzu frowned in his sleep, the rays burning into his closed eyelids. In an attempt to buy more sleep time, he turned his face away from the heat, only to find it rather difficult to breathe. He frowned again, nose crinkling as he tried to hold back a sneeze.
Eventually, unable to contain himself any longer, he turned to face the sunlight streaming into the room and finally let out the irritation to his nose with a loud sneeze. Needless to say, this woke him up, and he lay on the bed squinting at the sun beams streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Apart from the spot on the bed that was illuminated, the rest of the room was still in darkness. Sniffling, Kakuzu glanced at the sun peeping over the cityscape. It looked orange, which meant it was probably around six thirty in the morning. He yawned, a little upset that he probably had only about half an hour left to sleep in.
Kakuzu felt something stir next to him under the covers.
Tearing his gaze from the glimpse of the early morning sun, he turned to stare up at the grey ceiling. It had been white last night when the lights were turned on… or maybe even a shade of green, he wasn’t too sure. For all he knew, it could have even been pink. But it looked grey now, and as boring as any other ceiling would have been. His eyes followed the floral pattern on the wallpaper that ran across the borders of the room, blending into the chiseled carvings on the edges of the ceiling. Everything looked unfamiliar…
He felt himself beginning to fall asleep once again.
That was when he felt a smooth leg snake up against his own. Turning his head to the right, he recognized the source of the obstruction to his breathing: Mei’s bountiful fiery red hair.
He turned to face the ceiling again, bringing a hand up to his face and frowning behind his fingers. So they’d hooked up last night. This explained the floral patterns on the ceiling. How come he didn’t remember a shred of it? Had he been so wasted last night or was he just too tired to remember right now? He didn’t know. He couldn’t recall a single event since after dinner, which they’d had with the rest of the crew at the hotel. He recalled he had a serving of pasta alla carbonara, and some wine… Had it been the wine? He groaned. Even thinking about it was giving him a headache. And he lay there thinking about it for quite some time…
He extended his left arm, blindly searching for the hint of wood that would tell him he had reached the bedside table. Once his fingers eventually gripped the hard edge, he rolled over halfway, reaching out further for his phone. Mei’s leg caught in his movement, and she stirred, humming softly as her perfect body closed the gap between them on the bed and fit snugly against his. She slipped her arm across his side, hand skimming his chest, fingers softly caressing the warm contours of his abs.
Kakuzu finally found his phone. Returning to his pillow, he pulled up the planner on his BlackBerry PlayBook and scrolled down the list of things to be done this week. Smack at the very top of his list of things to get done by today was ‘Meeting with Hidan – 9:00am’. Zooming out of the current screen, he looked to the numbers at the very top of the display. 6:55am. He didn’t really have much time, did he? And where were they? He hoped to high heavens that they were at Mei’s place or somewhere close by, or he would most definitely be late. Lack of punctuality, in his opinion, was very unprofessional. Kakuzu stuck his phone under his pillow and sighed. Perhaps it was time to get up.
…Or not.
“Mm… Is it morning already?” Her arm now held him in a tight embrace, her face pressed into his back, one perfectly sculpted leg intertwining in his. She moved her leg up slowly, dragging it against his skin like butter.
Kakuzu turned, letting her resettle on his chest, now halfway climbing onto him. Getting comfortable under her weight, he reached up to push the hair away from her pretty face and gave her a lazy smile. “Almost seven.”
Mei turned to face the window, squinting at the beams of sunlight that streamed in through the crack in the curtains, now a little more intense than when Kakuzu had first woken up. The sun had risen further since when Kakuzu had taken a look at it, and those beams now hit his bare chest full on, creating ripples of gold on his copper skin. Mei’s turquoise eyes drank in the sight beneath her, her lips curling into a genuine smile as she watched the light dance on him. “A little too early to be running away now, is it?”
He laughed. “Running away? I was only going to get to work. That reminds me…” He glanced at the room around him. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we are, would you?”
It was Mei’s turn to laugh now. She pulled herself up to straddle his waist, letting the comforter slide down her shoulders and pool on his legs. Kakuzu watched as the fabric slipped away and gracefully folded itself on his body. It amazed him how graceful she was in everything she did; she didn’t even have to try. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she was so good at what she did. She held a lot of class in her words and actions, Kakuzu noted. It was, he found, something that could not be taught. This he knew from watching Damian try and imbue this sense of class and elegance into their young recruits. The closest Damian had ever come was nowhere near Mei’s natural disposition.
Kakuzu registered the cold morning air at that moment when the comforter fell off them, immediately regretting his lack of clothing. “We’re at my friend’s house,” she said, smiling as usual. “Don’t you remember anything?”
Kakuzu frowned. A friend’s house? He tried his best to squeeze out any information from his memory about their current location but failed, closing his eyes and giving up as he let his head sink deeper into the pillows. He hoped Mei was right about this being a friend’s house. He didn’t want it to end like the last time: they had woken up on her ex-boyfriend’s couch, just in time to greet him when he’d stepped inside after a week’s holiday to Barbados. Needless to say, Kakuzu’s first meeting with the man had been quite awkward. “No, I don’t remember. You sure it’s a friend’s house?”
She brought her hands down to his stomach, pushing them forward and stretching out over him like a cat. As she moved forward, her breasts glided over his chest. At first they were just a brush of her nipples. But as she lowered herself over him, those full, yet soft, mounds of flesh pressed into his hardened muscle. He bit his lip softly at the feeling. “I am certain,” she said in response to his previous question. Angling her head just enough to be able to reach under his jaw, she nipped him. “Do you doubt me?”
He turned his head slightly away from her, giving her more access to his neck and jaw. “I have every reason to, after the last time you took me to ‘a friend’s place’…”
She feigned hurt at his remark and pouted against his neck. “That one time was a mistake. You can’t keep holding it against me.”
“No, Mei. That one time wasn’t just a mistake. It was a disaster.” He brought his hands up to her calves, following the toned muscle there and dragging his hands up to her thighs. He gripped her just below the curve of her ass. And she had the most perfect ass curve he’d seen on anyone to date…
“You’re not exactly making me feel so great this morning.” Letting her knees spread out on the mattress, wrinkling the sheets even more, Mei lowered herself straight on to Kakuzu’s groin, looking up at him through locks of red hair that partially covered her face. She still lay sprawled on his chest, turquoise now shimmering like a calm lagoon under the sunlight.
Kakuzu recognized that look. He knew full well what it meant. “Mei…” It meant she wanted to play. “I really have to get to work. You know how much I hate being late.”
“Mm.” She flexed her muscles as she stretched once more and then dragged her upper body down his chest. Her eyes locked gazes with his. As much as he wanted to tear his eyes away from her, there was just something about her expression that kept him there. He felt like a man imprisoned. Not by chains or within the confines of a cage, though, because it didn’t feel dreary at all. No, it was quite the opposite. He just felt as if he had stepped into the Hotel California the Eagles were singing about and just… couldn’t leave.
Kakuzu knew full well that an excess of anything was never good for you. Well, not counting money into the equation, of course. An excess of money was always a good thing to have. In fact, in his opinion, there was no such thing as an ‘excess of money’. It was the one thing in this world that you just couldn’t have too much of. It was also the only thing that could save you from a rut in today’s materialistic society.
However, it wasn’t money that was giving Kakuzu cause for concern. It was Mei. Lately, she seemed to be all over him, and they’d been at it twice a day sometimes. He wasn’t really complaining, but the pattern that seemed to be emerging had started to worry him. A relationship was the last thing on his mind, and he was sure he wouldn’t be entertaining such thoughts any time in the near future either. He had his work; that was more than enough for him. He had a great job, a great apartment, a sexy grey Rolls Royce Ghost, and all the freedom in the world to do as he pleased after hours. His life was perfect. Why invite complications?
Yet, despite all the red flags he seemed to take notice of, he still found himself unable to bring his gaze away from hers whenever she looked at him like that. It was the same look she was giving him right now. He swallowed thickly, feeling rather powerless under that gaze. Curse his hormones!
Maintaining the eye contact, Mei sent him an unwavering sultry smile as she watched his reaction to her breasts firmly pressing into him. She knew full well that under the thick blanket of self-discipline, he was just a man. And she had plenty of assets and charm to bring any man to his knees. Mei gave, but she would never give it all. She kept her heart locked away, safe from the world that would shatter it once again. It had taken her too long to pick up the pieces and put them together that there was no way she was going to let it happen once more.
“We have no shoots planned for until eleven. Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Kakuzu?” She slid back by an inch, ass now firmly positioned on his groin.
Kakuzu pushed his head back into the pillow, frowning in an attempt to maintain his self control. “I scheduled an appointment with the new model for nine today.”
“Oh? And you didn’t inform me?” She clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. He didn’t even have to look at her to know that she was smiling. “How unlike you, Kakuzu. Are you still mad at me for letting Damian do the talking?” She passed him a coy smile before pushing down on his groin and grinding slowly down on his manhood.
Kakuzu let out a sharp breath. “No, I just… I might have not been sober enough to remember. And I’m not mad at you…”
She could feel him harden against her flesh, his length pressed into and sliding in between her cheeks. His fingers dug into her thighs.
Spurred on by his reaction, she flexed her well toned gluteus muscles, squeezing him as she slid back and forth on him. Mei threw her head back, reveling in the feel of him against her, moving continuously, up and down, up and down… “Mmh…” At one point, she slid further back, pressing harder into him. Her gluteus muscles weren’t the only part of her body doing all the work now. In fact, she began to angle her hips, rolling them into him, a more sought after place rubbing comfortably against him. A little too comfortable perhaps, because she soon found herself moaning low, slicking him up with every movement.
Kakuzu groaned, feeling how outrageously wet she’d become, moving around like that, spreading it all over him as she did so. One hand left her thigh and went to cup her breast, squeezing, kneading. She moaned again, louder this time.
Soon, both his hands were occupied. She brought her arms back and placed them on his thighs, steadying herself as she continued to grind against him, now in figure eights. Finding the pleasure insufficient, she eventually brought her hand to herself, trailing those slender fingers down her perfect belly and until they finally passed her navel. She grew louder almost immediately, touching herself now as she moved against him.
There was no way he could contain himself after that particular display. He brought his hands down from her breasts and gripped her waist firmly, lifting her off him and throwing her down onto the mattress in one fluid motion. The next moment, he was on top of her.
Perhaps today was going to be one of those exceptions where he went to work late after all…
x.X.X.x
Damian paced the black and white chequered granite floor of the agency, phone in hand and contemplating whether or not to call up Kakuzu and tell him he was late. Irritated footsteps clicked in a straight line leading up to Mei’s office, and then turned around to follow the same course back to Kakuzu’s. The pattern repeated as he kept moving from office to office, face set in a scowl very uncharacteristic of him. He knew exactly what was keeping Kakuzu away from work, and he grit his teeth, powerless to do anything about it.
Had Kakuzu been oversleeping, he could have pestered him with incessant phone calls to all his numbers until he woke (and kept him company with name-calling on his answering machine to help him get dressed faster). Had Kakuzu been stuck in traffic somewhere, he could have persuaded him to leave the car in the middle of the road and jog to work. Had Kakuzu been caught in some never-ending conversation with another client or a member of the press, he would have sent a hit man to take the offending person down and let Kakuzu go. There really was no limit to what Damian could have done had Kakuzu been in a different situation. But he knew it would be pushing the limits if he called Kakuzu up to tell him to stop sleeping in with the boss and come down to work. The only thing he could do at the moment was to grip his phone tight and pace around the room, heels clacking and creases forming on his neatly ironed suit as he gripped the fabric in his frustration.
Unable to sit around and wait any longer, Damian plucked up all his courage and dialed Kakuzu’s number.
x.X.X.x
It took five rings before Kakuzu put his hand under his pillow and pulled out his phone. The caller ID said it was Damian and he groaned, moaning soon after as Mei rolled her hips particularly hard into him, driving him as deep inside her as possible. He pressed the call button.
“Damian… haah… haah… This is a bad time to be calling. It—haah… better be good.”
Damian scrunched up his nose at Kakuzu’s panting. “You’re late,” he said simply.
“Yeah yeah… I’m a little mmnh— busy at the moment.” Mei leaned down and tried to take the phone away from him. Kakuzu pushed her hand aside, rolling his hips into her. That was enough to distract her from stealing his phone.
“I can tell.” Damian sighed. “Well, you have an appointment with the new guy at 9.00.”
“I know, I know. I’ll get there in time, don’t worry. Nngh oh yeah, mmnh fuck~!”
Damian raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound like you will any time soon…”
“I will. Just tell him to wait for me haah… at the lounge till I get there if I’m late.”
Annoyed, Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, now sitting on the edge of Kakuzu’s desk. “How close are you?”
Kakuzu brought his phone in front of him and looked at it incredulously. “Fuck off, Damian!” And with that he ended the call, tossing his phone onto the mattress.
Damian listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before returning his phone to its resting display. This was going well. The time on the small screen read 8.25am. Kakuzu still wasn’t here.
x.X.X.x
Hidan pulled on a simple black t-shirt to go with his jeans. He reached into the neckline of the t-shirt and pulled out his necklace, letting the heavy pendant dangle and contrast with the solid black fabric of his t-shirt. After one last glance at the mirror to check if his hair was in place, he grabbed his keys and strode towards the door. A pat to his jeans pockets told him that his wallet and phone were with him. Resume and a half complete portfolio in hand, Hidan slammed his front door shut, turning the key in the lock. He pocketed the keys before turning to head downstairs and out of the apartment building.
There was no denying his excitement; it was written all over his face. Even his gait seemed to be a tad light-hearted than the usual lackadaisical pace. He wasn’t just excited about being called in for a formal interview with one of the most successful modeling agencies in the country. No, really, he was more interested in getting to meet the head manager, Kakuzu. Just thinking about the man made his head spin. And on his way down the stairs, Hidan felt the blood rush to his solar plexus once again at the memory of the little incident at the bathing station yesterday.
When he arrived at 34th Street, it was 8.55am. Just in time, he told himself, walking past the two large glass doors that were held open for him as he approached the building. Hidan took a moment to soak up his surroundings. The walls seemed pretty interesting, covered in photos and paintings, some related to the projects the company had completed in its history. To be honest, the agency wasn’t that old: it would be celebrating its sixth anniversary later this year. But its fame had risen since day one, and despite it still being a young company, it did have a proud history. That would explain the plaques and awards in the Hall of Fame, he figured, glancing to his left and noticing the engraved plaques. Hidan also noted how perfectly he could see his reflection on the floor of the building. It was so polished that it almost shone, distracting him for a bit.
Eventually, with directions, and a little bit of help from the employees, he navigated his way to a lounge that faced the conference rooms. He put down his resume and portfolio on the coffee table and sat down in one of the black leather couches, sinking into the cool material and making himself comfortable. Looking around him, he appreciated the simple and practical furnishing. Nothing looked too expensive.
Yes, but that wasn’t the point. Hidan pulled out his phone and glanced at the time: it was ten minutes past already. Kakuzu was officially late. Or was he busy interviewing someone else?
Hidan glanced towards the conference room again, noting how the room was still dark. The lights weren’t on, which most probably meant Kakuzu was not conducting an interview in there. Had he already picked someone else and was showing them around? Hidan panicked a little as this thought crossed his mind. He immediately stood up, turning every which way to try and discern an employee he could ask a few questions from.
“Looking for someone?”
Hidan spun around in the direction of the voice, finding himself face-to-face with Damian. He felt the butterflies in his stomach settle a bit. He’d half expected it to be Kakuzu.
“Yeah. I was supposed to meet Kakuzu at nine.”
“Ah, yes.” Damian gestured for Hidan to take a seat. “He missed breakfast this morning so he decided to go out and get some on the way. Got caught in rush hour traffic.”
Hidan sat down, sinking into the comforts of the couch again. He raised an eyebrow at Damian’s explanation for why Kakuzu was late, though. “Couldn’t he have ordered something instead of going out there himself?” He glanced suspiciously at one of the employees who presently came to them with a pot of coffee and some fresh croissants. “…Or stuck around to have breakfast at work…”
Damian felt his ears heat up. He was sure the excuse would have been more believable than telling Hidan Kakuzu had left to the hospital because his dear old grandmother had had a stroke. Damian knew for a fact that Kakuzu never even answered his grandmother’s calls! In fact, the only time he would ever consider going to see her would be when she passed away… and that too not because he was grieving, but because he would want to settle his cut in her will with her lawyer.
“Well, let’s just say Kakuzu felt like bacon and eggs today.” Damian sat down in an armchair opposite Hidan and reached out for one of the croissants.
“Way to kick start your day with a plate full of obesity.”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t call Kakuzu obese. He’s in good shape, I assure you.” Damian sent him a smile, biting into his croissant not soon after.
Hidan didn’t need anybody to tell him Kakuzu was in good shape. One glance at the man was enough to tell him that he was in great shape. Perfect, in his opinion. Just before the employee left them, Hidan stopped the girl with: “Hey, do you guys have bottled water?”
The girl flashed him a smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Mineral water, chilled,” he added.
The girl hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure if we have mineral water, but I will check.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not sure if this place has any mineral water? Hell yeah you better check if you do, and if you fucking don’t, I suggest you buy some. What do you feed your models? Pop?” Totally unhealthy.
The girl seemed obviously taken aback at the man’s attitude, straightening up and looking at Damian for back-up. Damian only cocked his head to a side by a bit and told her to find some mineral water for their guest. She nodded in his direction curtly and carried the tray back to the tea room, mumbling curses under her breath.
Hidan picked up a croissant and inspected it, breaking one of the ‘arms’ and watching how the soft inside broke apart and let fresh steam waft into the air. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that the croissant had quite a bit of butter in it. He took two bites out of the pastry, leaving exactly half uneaten on his plate. Damian, now reaching for a second, raised an eyebrow at him as he watched him place the half eaten pastry back on the plate.
Hidan noticed the look and smirked. “Gotta lay off the fat, maintain a strict diet.” To this, Damian nodded, picking up his second croissant and biting into it anyway. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Wiping his fingers on a paper towel, he dove right into his pocket and pulled out his phone, excusing himself and getting up immediately when he recognized the number on the caller ID.
Making his way to the hallway that led to their offices, he answered the call, croissant and plate in his other hand. “Where the hell are you?”
“I have no idea! Can you tell me how to get to 34th from 65th?”
Damian felt his eye twitch in annoyance. “How the fuck did you manage to get all the way to 65th?!”
“I told you, I don’t know! I woke up in somebody else’s house and had to find my way here. Wait…” Kakuzu peered out the window, looking for a landmark. “There’s a Target outlet to my right. And a school. St. Margaret’s. Where do I turn? Color lights up ahead.”
Damian sighed. “Keep to your left, turn into Bowie Street. That should get you to 45th.” Unable to resist, he added: “It was just a matter of taking Ashworth and getting on to 34th. Shouldn’t have taken you ten minutes, but look where you drove yourself to.”
“How was I supposed to know there was a way in to Ashworth?!” Kakuzu moved into the left most lane. “And how the hell did you know there was an Ashworth near where I woke up?”
“That’s because you stayed over at my place.”
There was an awkward silence on Kakuzu’s end that lasted for about four seconds before he said: “What?!” Good grief! Why did he ever let Mei lead him into this?! This was absolutely ridiculous. It was embarrassing and… Damian’s house?! Kakuzu just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. It just couldn’t be real.
It took him only two seconds since that last thought crossed his mind to crash his phone into the window as he swerved to prevent a collision with a truck.
Damian heard the tires screech in the background, and then had to listen to an awful crunch before the line went dead. “Kakuzu?!” There was obviously no answer. Needless to say, he panicked, running down the hallway, past Hidan in the lounge, and straight to Nigel’s office. Hidan stood up immediately, watching Damian run right past him, worry written all over his face. Shit, he thought. Had Kakuzu got into some kind of trouble? Did this mean he wasn’t going to get the job after all?
Damian barged right into Nigel’s office space, ignoring the sign that asked to knock before entering. Nigel swiveled around in his chair, not really expecting anyone to walk in on him in the middle of a WoW session. He quickly minimized the screen.
“Find Kakuzu,” the manager said, panting. Nigel raised an eyebrow. “Use the company tracking system, damnit!”
Shrugging, Nigel opened up the relevant program, typed in Kakuzu’s license plate number, and waited for a response. It didn’t take long before the software detected Kakuzu’s vehicle and a green light flashed at his location. It looked like Kakuzu wasn’t moving. Nigel leaned back in his seat, bored already. Damian wasn’t even going to tell him what was up.
Damian peered into the screen and memorized the coordinates, dialing 911 soon afterwards. “Yeah, hello. I need an ambulance up at the intersection between 65th and Bowie. My friend’s just met with an accident and he isn’t answering his phone.”
This information piqued Nigel’s interest. Ambulance, huh? This could only mean that Kakuzu had gone and met with some accident - a highly unlikely event, given that Kakuzu was a very careful driver.
x.X.X.x
Fifteen minutes later, Hidan rapped on Nigel’s door, peering into the room through the opening. “What the fuck just happened? Is everything alright?”
Both men turned: Nigel in his seat, and Damian sitting on the edge of Nigel’s table.
“Ah, I’m really sorry.” Damian got down from the table, closing the door behind him as he proceeded to walk Hidan back to the lounge. “Kakuzu’s had a small… accident. That’s all. Nothing to worry about, though. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Tch. And am I supposed to hang around here and wait for him to return? He isn’t dead, is he?”
“No, I hope not! Well, you could—“ Here Damian was interrupted by another phone call. Pulling his phone out of his pocket immediately, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was Kakuzu’s number. “Hey—“
“Why the hell is the ambulance here?! You should have called the insurance company instead!”
“How was I supposed to know you weren’t dead or injured?”
“I bet you secretly wish I was.”
Damian sighed, exasperated. “Look, are you getting here or not? We can’t keep him waiting here forever.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in half an hour. Keep him there, damnit. We don’t want to lose him.”
“Yes, but how…?”
“Let him read the contract until I get there.”
“Fine.”
Damian led Hidan to the conference room soon after he hung up. Pushing the thick contract towards the model, he said: “Kakuzu is alive and will be here shortly to see you. Make sure you go over every detail on that document until then.”
Hidan took a seat in one of the chairs at the long, black table in the middle of the room. He brought the document towards him. “What the hell is it?” It looked like a lot of reading…
“Your contract.”
Hidan’s eyes lit up. “Oh?” Wait, did that mean he had already landed the job? He turned to ask Damian, just to make sure, but the man cut him off just as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Congratulations.” He was at the door now. “Oh and make sure you read up on it thoroughly.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Damian, now outside the door and in the middle of shutting it behind him, flashed Hidan a smile. “He’s bound to test you on it.”
The soft click of the latch told Hidan that he was now alone. “Who tests you on a contract?” he mumbled, reading the first line of the first page out of thirty five pages.
Title: Unprofessional - Chapter 2
Author: insomniacKJ
Type and Genre: Het/Yaoi (because it doesn’t have to be either/or); Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Kakuzu/Hidan/Terumi Mei and others
Summary: Kakuzu is manager of a successful modeling agency. The only legitimate relationship he has is with his work. But that soon begins to change when a new model is taken into the agency and more than one person attempts to modify his definition of the concept of ‘a relationship’.
Warnings: Explicit/heavy scenes as the story progresses; crack pairings; Het and yaoi; and lastly, this is an AU setting, so do expect some OOC-ness.
Tomorrow came blaring through the curtains in the form of intense sunlight. Kakuzu frowned in his sleep, the rays burning into his closed eyelids. In an attempt to buy more sleep time, he turned his face away from the heat, only to find it rather difficult to breathe. He frowned again, nose crinkling as he tried to hold back a sneeze.
Eventually, unable to contain himself any longer, he turned to face the sunlight streaming into the room and finally let out the irritation to his nose with a loud sneeze. Needless to say, this woke him up, and he lay on the bed squinting at the sun beams streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Apart from the spot on the bed that was illuminated, the rest of the room was still in darkness. Sniffling, Kakuzu glanced at the sun peeping over the cityscape. It looked orange, which meant it was probably around six thirty in the morning. He yawned, a little upset that he probably had only about half an hour left to sleep in.
Kakuzu felt something stir next to him under the covers.
Tearing his gaze from the glimpse of the early morning sun, he turned to stare up at the grey ceiling. It had been white last night when the lights were turned on… or maybe even a shade of green, he wasn’t too sure. For all he knew, it could have even been pink. But it looked grey now, and as boring as any other ceiling would have been. His eyes followed the floral pattern on the wallpaper that ran across the borders of the room, blending into the chiseled carvings on the edges of the ceiling. Everything looked unfamiliar…
He felt himself beginning to fall asleep once again.
That was when he felt a smooth leg snake up against his own. Turning his head to the right, he recognized the source of the obstruction to his breathing: Mei’s bountiful fiery red hair.
He turned to face the ceiling again, bringing a hand up to his face and frowning behind his fingers. So they’d hooked up last night. This explained the floral patterns on the ceiling. How come he didn’t remember a shred of it? Had he been so wasted last night or was he just too tired to remember right now? He didn’t know. He couldn’t recall a single event since after dinner, which they’d had with the rest of the crew at the hotel. He recalled he had a serving of pasta alla carbonara, and some wine… Had it been the wine? He groaned. Even thinking about it was giving him a headache. And he lay there thinking about it for quite some time…
He extended his left arm, blindly searching for the hint of wood that would tell him he had reached the bedside table. Once his fingers eventually gripped the hard edge, he rolled over halfway, reaching out further for his phone. Mei’s leg caught in his movement, and she stirred, humming softly as her perfect body closed the gap between them on the bed and fit snugly against his. She slipped her arm across his side, hand skimming his chest, fingers softly caressing the warm contours of his abs.
Kakuzu finally found his phone. Returning to his pillow, he pulled up the planner on his BlackBerry PlayBook and scrolled down the list of things to be done this week. Smack at the very top of his list of things to get done by today was ‘Meeting with Hidan – 9:00am’. Zooming out of the current screen, he looked to the numbers at the very top of the display. 6:55am. He didn’t really have much time, did he? And where were they? He hoped to high heavens that they were at Mei’s place or somewhere close by, or he would most definitely be late. Lack of punctuality, in his opinion, was very unprofessional. Kakuzu stuck his phone under his pillow and sighed. Perhaps it was time to get up.
…Or not.
“Mm… Is it morning already?” Her arm now held him in a tight embrace, her face pressed into his back, one perfectly sculpted leg intertwining in his. She moved her leg up slowly, dragging it against his skin like butter.
Kakuzu turned, letting her resettle on his chest, now halfway climbing onto him. Getting comfortable under her weight, he reached up to push the hair away from her pretty face and gave her a lazy smile. “Almost seven.”
Mei turned to face the window, squinting at the beams of sunlight that streamed in through the crack in the curtains, now a little more intense than when Kakuzu had first woken up. The sun had risen further since when Kakuzu had taken a look at it, and those beams now hit his bare chest full on, creating ripples of gold on his copper skin. Mei’s turquoise eyes drank in the sight beneath her, her lips curling into a genuine smile as she watched the light dance on him. “A little too early to be running away now, is it?”
He laughed. “Running away? I was only going to get to work. That reminds me…” He glanced at the room around him. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we are, would you?”
It was Mei’s turn to laugh now. She pulled herself up to straddle his waist, letting the comforter slide down her shoulders and pool on his legs. Kakuzu watched as the fabric slipped away and gracefully folded itself on his body. It amazed him how graceful she was in everything she did; she didn’t even have to try. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she was so good at what she did. She held a lot of class in her words and actions, Kakuzu noted. It was, he found, something that could not be taught. This he knew from watching Damian try and imbue this sense of class and elegance into their young recruits. The closest Damian had ever come was nowhere near Mei’s natural disposition.
Kakuzu registered the cold morning air at that moment when the comforter fell off them, immediately regretting his lack of clothing. “We’re at my friend’s house,” she said, smiling as usual. “Don’t you remember anything?”
Kakuzu frowned. A friend’s house? He tried his best to squeeze out any information from his memory about their current location but failed, closing his eyes and giving up as he let his head sink deeper into the pillows. He hoped Mei was right about this being a friend’s house. He didn’t want it to end like the last time: they had woken up on her ex-boyfriend’s couch, just in time to greet him when he’d stepped inside after a week’s holiday to Barbados. Needless to say, Kakuzu’s first meeting with the man had been quite awkward. “No, I don’t remember. You sure it’s a friend’s house?”
She brought her hands down to his stomach, pushing them forward and stretching out over him like a cat. As she moved forward, her breasts glided over his chest. At first they were just a brush of her nipples. But as she lowered herself over him, those full, yet soft, mounds of flesh pressed into his hardened muscle. He bit his lip softly at the feeling. “I am certain,” she said in response to his previous question. Angling her head just enough to be able to reach under his jaw, she nipped him. “Do you doubt me?”
He turned his head slightly away from her, giving her more access to his neck and jaw. “I have every reason to, after the last time you took me to ‘a friend’s place’…”
She feigned hurt at his remark and pouted against his neck. “That one time was a mistake. You can’t keep holding it against me.”
“No, Mei. That one time wasn’t just a mistake. It was a disaster.” He brought his hands up to her calves, following the toned muscle there and dragging his hands up to her thighs. He gripped her just below the curve of her ass. And she had the most perfect ass curve he’d seen on anyone to date…
“You’re not exactly making me feel so great this morning.” Letting her knees spread out on the mattress, wrinkling the sheets even more, Mei lowered herself straight on to Kakuzu’s groin, looking up at him through locks of red hair that partially covered her face. She still lay sprawled on his chest, turquoise now shimmering like a calm lagoon under the sunlight.
Kakuzu recognized that look. He knew full well what it meant. “Mei…” It meant she wanted to play. “I really have to get to work. You know how much I hate being late.”
“Mm.” She flexed her muscles as she stretched once more and then dragged her upper body down his chest. Her eyes locked gazes with his. As much as he wanted to tear his eyes away from her, there was just something about her expression that kept him there. He felt like a man imprisoned. Not by chains or within the confines of a cage, though, because it didn’t feel dreary at all. No, it was quite the opposite. He just felt as if he had stepped into the Hotel California the Eagles were singing about and just… couldn’t leave.
Kakuzu knew full well that an excess of anything was never good for you. Well, not counting money into the equation, of course. An excess of money was always a good thing to have. In fact, in his opinion, there was no such thing as an ‘excess of money’. It was the one thing in this world that you just couldn’t have too much of. It was also the only thing that could save you from a rut in today’s materialistic society.
However, it wasn’t money that was giving Kakuzu cause for concern. It was Mei. Lately, she seemed to be all over him, and they’d been at it twice a day sometimes. He wasn’t really complaining, but the pattern that seemed to be emerging had started to worry him. A relationship was the last thing on his mind, and he was sure he wouldn’t be entertaining such thoughts any time in the near future either. He had his work; that was more than enough for him. He had a great job, a great apartment, a sexy grey Rolls Royce Ghost, and all the freedom in the world to do as he pleased after hours. His life was perfect. Why invite complications?
Yet, despite all the red flags he seemed to take notice of, he still found himself unable to bring his gaze away from hers whenever she looked at him like that. It was the same look she was giving him right now. He swallowed thickly, feeling rather powerless under that gaze. Curse his hormones!
Maintaining the eye contact, Mei sent him an unwavering sultry smile as she watched his reaction to her breasts firmly pressing into him. She knew full well that under the thick blanket of self-discipline, he was just a man. And she had plenty of assets and charm to bring any man to his knees. Mei gave, but she would never give it all. She kept her heart locked away, safe from the world that would shatter it once again. It had taken her too long to pick up the pieces and put them together that there was no way she was going to let it happen once more.
“We have no shoots planned for until eleven. Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Kakuzu?” She slid back by an inch, ass now firmly positioned on his groin.
Kakuzu pushed his head back into the pillow, frowning in an attempt to maintain his self control. “I scheduled an appointment with the new model for nine today.”
“Oh? And you didn’t inform me?” She clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. He didn’t even have to look at her to know that she was smiling. “How unlike you, Kakuzu. Are you still mad at me for letting Damian do the talking?” She passed him a coy smile before pushing down on his groin and grinding slowly down on his manhood.
Kakuzu let out a sharp breath. “No, I just… I might have not been sober enough to remember. And I’m not mad at you…”
She could feel him harden against her flesh, his length pressed into and sliding in between her cheeks. His fingers dug into her thighs.
Spurred on by his reaction, she flexed her well toned gluteus muscles, squeezing him as she slid back and forth on him. Mei threw her head back, reveling in the feel of him against her, moving continuously, up and down, up and down… “Mmh…” At one point, she slid further back, pressing harder into him. Her gluteus muscles weren’t the only part of her body doing all the work now. In fact, she began to angle her hips, rolling them into him, a more sought after place rubbing comfortably against him. A little too comfortable perhaps, because she soon found herself moaning low, slicking him up with every movement.
Kakuzu groaned, feeling how outrageously wet she’d become, moving around like that, spreading it all over him as she did so. One hand left her thigh and went to cup her breast, squeezing, kneading. She moaned again, louder this time.
Soon, both his hands were occupied. She brought her arms back and placed them on his thighs, steadying herself as she continued to grind against him, now in figure eights. Finding the pleasure insufficient, she eventually brought her hand to herself, trailing those slender fingers down her perfect belly and until they finally passed her navel. She grew louder almost immediately, touching herself now as she moved against him.
There was no way he could contain himself after that particular display. He brought his hands down from her breasts and gripped her waist firmly, lifting her off him and throwing her down onto the mattress in one fluid motion. The next moment, he was on top of her.
Perhaps today was going to be one of those exceptions where he went to work late after all…
x.X.X.x
Damian paced the black and white chequered granite floor of the agency, phone in hand and contemplating whether or not to call up Kakuzu and tell him he was late. Irritated footsteps clicked in a straight line leading up to Mei’s office, and then turned around to follow the same course back to Kakuzu’s. The pattern repeated as he kept moving from office to office, face set in a scowl very uncharacteristic of him. He knew exactly what was keeping Kakuzu away from work, and he grit his teeth, powerless to do anything about it.
Had Kakuzu been oversleeping, he could have pestered him with incessant phone calls to all his numbers until he woke (and kept him company with name-calling on his answering machine to help him get dressed faster). Had Kakuzu been stuck in traffic somewhere, he could have persuaded him to leave the car in the middle of the road and jog to work. Had Kakuzu been caught in some never-ending conversation with another client or a member of the press, he would have sent a hit man to take the offending person down and let Kakuzu go. There really was no limit to what Damian could have done had Kakuzu been in a different situation. But he knew it would be pushing the limits if he called Kakuzu up to tell him to stop sleeping in with the boss and come down to work. The only thing he could do at the moment was to grip his phone tight and pace around the room, heels clacking and creases forming on his neatly ironed suit as he gripped the fabric in his frustration.
Unable to sit around and wait any longer, Damian plucked up all his courage and dialed Kakuzu’s number.
x.X.X.x
It took five rings before Kakuzu put his hand under his pillow and pulled out his phone. The caller ID said it was Damian and he groaned, moaning soon after as Mei rolled her hips particularly hard into him, driving him as deep inside her as possible. He pressed the call button.
“Damian… haah… haah… This is a bad time to be calling. It—haah… better be good.”
Damian scrunched up his nose at Kakuzu’s panting. “You’re late,” he said simply.
“Yeah yeah… I’m a little mmnh— busy at the moment.” Mei leaned down and tried to take the phone away from him. Kakuzu pushed her hand aside, rolling his hips into her. That was enough to distract her from stealing his phone.
“I can tell.” Damian sighed. “Well, you have an appointment with the new guy at 9.00.”
“I know, I know. I’ll get there in time, don’t worry. Nngh oh yeah, mmnh fuck~!”
Damian raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound like you will any time soon…”
“I will. Just tell him to wait for me haah… at the lounge till I get there if I’m late.”
Annoyed, Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, now sitting on the edge of Kakuzu’s desk. “How close are you?”
Kakuzu brought his phone in front of him and looked at it incredulously. “Fuck off, Damian!” And with that he ended the call, tossing his phone onto the mattress.
Damian listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before returning his phone to its resting display. This was going well. The time on the small screen read 8.25am. Kakuzu still wasn’t here.
x.X.X.x
Hidan pulled on a simple black t-shirt to go with his jeans. He reached into the neckline of the t-shirt and pulled out his necklace, letting the heavy pendant dangle and contrast with the solid black fabric of his t-shirt. After one last glance at the mirror to check if his hair was in place, he grabbed his keys and strode towards the door. A pat to his jeans pockets told him that his wallet and phone were with him. Resume and a half complete portfolio in hand, Hidan slammed his front door shut, turning the key in the lock. He pocketed the keys before turning to head downstairs and out of the apartment building.
There was no denying his excitement; it was written all over his face. Even his gait seemed to be a tad light-hearted than the usual lackadaisical pace. He wasn’t just excited about being called in for a formal interview with one of the most successful modeling agencies in the country. No, really, he was more interested in getting to meet the head manager, Kakuzu. Just thinking about the man made his head spin. And on his way down the stairs, Hidan felt the blood rush to his solar plexus once again at the memory of the little incident at the bathing station yesterday.
When he arrived at 34th Street, it was 8.55am. Just in time, he told himself, walking past the two large glass doors that were held open for him as he approached the building. Hidan took a moment to soak up his surroundings. The walls seemed pretty interesting, covered in photos and paintings, some related to the projects the company had completed in its history. To be honest, the agency wasn’t that old: it would be celebrating its sixth anniversary later this year. But its fame had risen since day one, and despite it still being a young company, it did have a proud history. That would explain the plaques and awards in the Hall of Fame, he figured, glancing to his left and noticing the engraved plaques. Hidan also noted how perfectly he could see his reflection on the floor of the building. It was so polished that it almost shone, distracting him for a bit.
Eventually, with directions, and a little bit of help from the employees, he navigated his way to a lounge that faced the conference rooms. He put down his resume and portfolio on the coffee table and sat down in one of the black leather couches, sinking into the cool material and making himself comfortable. Looking around him, he appreciated the simple and practical furnishing. Nothing looked too expensive.
Yes, but that wasn’t the point. Hidan pulled out his phone and glanced at the time: it was ten minutes past already. Kakuzu was officially late. Or was he busy interviewing someone else?
Hidan glanced towards the conference room again, noting how the room was still dark. The lights weren’t on, which most probably meant Kakuzu was not conducting an interview in there. Had he already picked someone else and was showing them around? Hidan panicked a little as this thought crossed his mind. He immediately stood up, turning every which way to try and discern an employee he could ask a few questions from.
“Looking for someone?”
Hidan spun around in the direction of the voice, finding himself face-to-face with Damian. He felt the butterflies in his stomach settle a bit. He’d half expected it to be Kakuzu.
“Yeah. I was supposed to meet Kakuzu at nine.”
“Ah, yes.” Damian gestured for Hidan to take a seat. “He missed breakfast this morning so he decided to go out and get some on the way. Got caught in rush hour traffic.”
Hidan sat down, sinking into the comforts of the couch again. He raised an eyebrow at Damian’s explanation for why Kakuzu was late, though. “Couldn’t he have ordered something instead of going out there himself?” He glanced suspiciously at one of the employees who presently came to them with a pot of coffee and some fresh croissants. “…Or stuck around to have breakfast at work…”
Damian felt his ears heat up. He was sure the excuse would have been more believable than telling Hidan Kakuzu had left to the hospital because his dear old grandmother had had a stroke. Damian knew for a fact that Kakuzu never even answered his grandmother’s calls! In fact, the only time he would ever consider going to see her would be when she passed away… and that too not because he was grieving, but because he would want to settle his cut in her will with her lawyer.
“Well, let’s just say Kakuzu felt like bacon and eggs today.” Damian sat down in an armchair opposite Hidan and reached out for one of the croissants.
“Way to kick start your day with a plate full of obesity.”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t call Kakuzu obese. He’s in good shape, I assure you.” Damian sent him a smile, biting into his croissant not soon after.
Hidan didn’t need anybody to tell him Kakuzu was in good shape. One glance at the man was enough to tell him that he was in great shape. Perfect, in his opinion. Just before the employee left them, Hidan stopped the girl with: “Hey, do you guys have bottled water?”
The girl flashed him a smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Mineral water, chilled,” he added.
The girl hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure if we have mineral water, but I will check.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not sure if this place has any mineral water? Hell yeah you better check if you do, and if you fucking don’t, I suggest you buy some. What do you feed your models? Pop?” Totally unhealthy.
The girl seemed obviously taken aback at the man’s attitude, straightening up and looking at Damian for back-up. Damian only cocked his head to a side by a bit and told her to find some mineral water for their guest. She nodded in his direction curtly and carried the tray back to the tea room, mumbling curses under her breath.
Hidan picked up a croissant and inspected it, breaking one of the ‘arms’ and watching how the soft inside broke apart and let fresh steam waft into the air. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that the croissant had quite a bit of butter in it. He took two bites out of the pastry, leaving exactly half uneaten on his plate. Damian, now reaching for a second, raised an eyebrow at him as he watched him place the half eaten pastry back on the plate.
Hidan noticed the look and smirked. “Gotta lay off the fat, maintain a strict diet.” To this, Damian nodded, picking up his second croissant and biting into it anyway. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Wiping his fingers on a paper towel, he dove right into his pocket and pulled out his phone, excusing himself and getting up immediately when he recognized the number on the caller ID.
Making his way to the hallway that led to their offices, he answered the call, croissant and plate in his other hand. “Where the hell are you?”
“I have no idea! Can you tell me how to get to 34th from 65th?”
Damian felt his eye twitch in annoyance. “How the fuck did you manage to get all the way to 65th?!”
“I told you, I don’t know! I woke up in somebody else’s house and had to find my way here. Wait…” Kakuzu peered out the window, looking for a landmark. “There’s a Target outlet to my right. And a school. St. Margaret’s. Where do I turn? Color lights up ahead.”
Damian sighed. “Keep to your left, turn into Bowie Street. That should get you to 45th.” Unable to resist, he added: “It was just a matter of taking Ashworth and getting on to 34th. Shouldn’t have taken you ten minutes, but look where you drove yourself to.”
“How was I supposed to know there was a way in to Ashworth?!” Kakuzu moved into the left most lane. “And how the hell did you know there was an Ashworth near where I woke up?”
“That’s because you stayed over at my place.”
There was an awkward silence on Kakuzu’s end that lasted for about four seconds before he said: “What?!” Good grief! Why did he ever let Mei lead him into this?! This was absolutely ridiculous. It was embarrassing and… Damian’s house?! Kakuzu just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. It just couldn’t be real.
It took him only two seconds since that last thought crossed his mind to crash his phone into the window as he swerved to prevent a collision with a truck.
Damian heard the tires screech in the background, and then had to listen to an awful crunch before the line went dead. “Kakuzu?!” There was obviously no answer. Needless to say, he panicked, running down the hallway, past Hidan in the lounge, and straight to Nigel’s office. Hidan stood up immediately, watching Damian run right past him, worry written all over his face. Shit, he thought. Had Kakuzu got into some kind of trouble? Did this mean he wasn’t going to get the job after all?
Damian barged right into Nigel’s office space, ignoring the sign that asked to knock before entering. Nigel swiveled around in his chair, not really expecting anyone to walk in on him in the middle of a WoW session. He quickly minimized the screen.
“Find Kakuzu,” the manager said, panting. Nigel raised an eyebrow. “Use the company tracking system, damnit!”
Shrugging, Nigel opened up the relevant program, typed in Kakuzu’s license plate number, and waited for a response. It didn’t take long before the software detected Kakuzu’s vehicle and a green light flashed at his location. It looked like Kakuzu wasn’t moving. Nigel leaned back in his seat, bored already. Damian wasn’t even going to tell him what was up.
Damian peered into the screen and memorized the coordinates, dialing 911 soon afterwards. “Yeah, hello. I need an ambulance up at the intersection between 65th and Bowie. My friend’s just met with an accident and he isn’t answering his phone.”
This information piqued Nigel’s interest. Ambulance, huh? This could only mean that Kakuzu had gone and met with some accident - a highly unlikely event, given that Kakuzu was a very careful driver.
x.X.X.x
Fifteen minutes later, Hidan rapped on Nigel’s door, peering into the room through the opening. “What the fuck just happened? Is everything alright?”
Both men turned: Nigel in his seat, and Damian sitting on the edge of Nigel’s table.
“Ah, I’m really sorry.” Damian got down from the table, closing the door behind him as he proceeded to walk Hidan back to the lounge. “Kakuzu’s had a small… accident. That’s all. Nothing to worry about, though. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Tch. And am I supposed to hang around here and wait for him to return? He isn’t dead, is he?”
“No, I hope not! Well, you could—“ Here Damian was interrupted by another phone call. Pulling his phone out of his pocket immediately, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was Kakuzu’s number. “Hey—“
“Why the hell is the ambulance here?! You should have called the insurance company instead!”
“How was I supposed to know you weren’t dead or injured?”
“I bet you secretly wish I was.”
Damian sighed, exasperated. “Look, are you getting here or not? We can’t keep him waiting here forever.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in half an hour. Keep him there, damnit. We don’t want to lose him.”
“Yes, but how…?”
“Let him read the contract until I get there.”
“Fine.”
Damian led Hidan to the conference room soon after he hung up. Pushing the thick contract towards the model, he said: “Kakuzu is alive and will be here shortly to see you. Make sure you go over every detail on that document until then.”
Hidan took a seat in one of the chairs at the long, black table in the middle of the room. He brought the document towards him. “What the hell is it?” It looked like a lot of reading…
“Your contract.”
Hidan’s eyes lit up. “Oh?” Wait, did that mean he had already landed the job? He turned to ask Damian, just to make sure, but the man cut him off just as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Congratulations.” He was at the door now. “Oh and make sure you read up on it thoroughly.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Damian, now outside the door and in the middle of shutting it behind him, flashed Hidan a smile. “He’s bound to test you on it.”
The soft click of the latch told Hidan that he was now alone. “Who tests you on a contract?” he mumbled, reading the first line of the first page out of thirty five pages.