Gift Fic for mikunicchi

[stormymood]

A piece of rainbow for mikunicchi 

Title: One hell of a room-mate
Pairing: Matsumiya
Rating/Warnings: NC-17
Summary: Jun is looking for an apartment room near his dance academy and ends up getting caught up in much more than he ever could have imagined. Does the devil truly reside in Tokyo? And does he really actually try to appeal to a possible room-mate? No. Or, does he?
Notes: I really hope that you will like this story. It’s an interpretation of your prompt that had my thoughts going instantly and this is what it came to be. Please enjoy.




Room available
wooden floor, furnished, single bed (sorry)
shared kitchen, bathroom, living room with TV, netflix available
rent: 100.000, negotiation possible



Jun looked at the rather fancy looking house he was standing in front of, wondering how a room in there would be rented out for less than 200.000. He was standing within eye-sight of the metro station he had just left and was pretty much in the heart of the city. The building had about 50 stores, he guessed and it was quite fancy looking. Not that this kind of things mattered to Jun. The neighborhood was perfect, especially considering that the dance academy was even within walking distance if he cared to leave about twenty minutes early. There was a supermarket near by as well and from the corner of his eye he had spotted a Ralph Lauren store – not that he could buy anything there, but he liked to walk by the shop window and look at all the wonderful things he couldn’t afford.


At the moment, though, Jun had other issues to think about. He didn’t live in the apartment yet, after all. He had gotten an appointment very quickly, which was good, because after moving out of the apartment he had shared with his ex-lover, he had been staying at an internet café for lack of alternatives and he felt that he was starting to become “a part of that world” and the development was worrying. He had found another object of interest as well, but just upon sight this place was definitely his dream come true. So, the mission was clear: Make a good impression and get the free room.


Upon ringing the bell that was placed next to the name “Ninomiya”, the front door buzzed immediately, without any conversation via the intercom. Jun wondered about that for a moment, but swiftly opened the door and made his way to the fourteenth floor, the first three on foot (every staircase is an exercise opportunity), the rest of the way with the elevator. When the door of the elevator opened, Jun almost jumped as he stood almost directly in the face of a young man, who had apparently been waiting for him there.


“You took a while,” the guy analyzed. “Are you disoriented and didn’t find the elevator, or stupid and didn’t know how to work it?”


Jun flushed red at the suggestions. “Neither,” he demanded. “I’m in training, so I took the first three stores on foot. I didn’t know you’d be waiting for me out here.”


“Oh,” the guy made. “I’m sorry, my bad. So, you’re in training. What for?”


Without waiting for an answer, the guy turned around and walked away from the elevator. Jun assumed he meant to lead the way to the apartment, so he followed.


“I’m a student and the Dance Academy, so I’m in training for dancing classes and rehearsals,” Jun related readily.


“A sport’s man,” the guy mused. “Now that’s uncommon. Do you have regular earnings?”


Jun cringed at that. “Do you do this because if people disqualify early, you won’t even let them in?” he asked, feeling interrogated.


“Oh my,” the guy burst out, suddenly turning around again, so Jun almost ran into him. “My apologies. I’ll admit, I’m quite excited about finding a room-mate. Please, let me introduce myself first. Ninomiya Kazunari is the name. Please call me Nino. Everybody does, really. I’ve been living here for many years now and I take in one lucky person every year to live with me through the summer.” He bowed very vaguely, before turning around again and resuming his walk. “Now, your lack of an answer really means that you have no regular earnings, am I right?”


“Pretty much,” Jun admitted in a low voice.


“How do you earn right now?” Nino wanted to know.


“Jobs that I get from rehearsals,” Jun explained.


“Right, dancing,” Nino mused.


They had arrived at a door and Nino held the door knob in hand, looking at Jun in unshielded interest.


“Are you any good?” he asked.


“I’m capable,” Jun said evenly. “It’ll be sufficient for the rent – at least, if this was not a mistake,” he stated, pointing at the rent suggestion.


Nino grinned at him. “It’s not a mistake,” he assured. “I’m looking for people who… think big.”


Jun blinked at that, not knowing what Nino meant. But in that moment Nino opened the door and the thought drifted away as Jun took a first look inside his possible future home. He blinked again, taking in the interior and gaped. There wasn’t a genkan by the door, what he was looking at was more of an entry hall, it was so big. The ceiling height was almost 3,5 meters, he guessed and by the far end he could already make out three door frames, suggesting that there was a lot of space yet to be discovered.


“I assume you like it?” Nino asked, still grinning.


“Oh my… this is huge,” Jun burst out.


“It’s… comfortable,” Nino said, his voice dripping with pride. “Please, do come in and have a look.”


Jun took off his shoes and ventured right through the door on the left, finding a big, well-equipped and clean(!) kitchen and his heart began beating just a bit faster, because, damn, what amazing meals he could cook in there. His euphoria followed him to the room in the center, which was the living room. It was a huge room that was kind of divided into three sections, one with a huge screen on the wall and a smaller couch in front of it, one with a huge couch combined with an armchair and couch table and one that had a rather big table that almost looked like a dining table with a number of chairs around it. All the furniture was in neutral colors, the couch combination in white leather, the small couch a black fabric, the big cupboard along the wall a deep dark wooden color, same as the big table and the chairs around in.


“Unbelievable,” Jun breathed out.


“Still like it, I see,” Nino commented. He seated himself in the armchair. “Good. Feel free to check out your room,” he encouraged Jun, pointing at one door that let away from the living room.


Jun didn’t have to be told twice. He quickly opened the door to find a very reasonably sized room for sleeping and private activities. It was furnished with one double-bed, a small desk and a wardrobe that Jun thought might actually be big enough for his clothing collection. The room had a lot of light coming in through a huge window and even a small plant sitting on the desk.


“It’s absolutely lovely,” Jun said as he went back to find Nino in his armchair.


“Will you believe me if I tell you that the shower and bathroom are equally high standard?” Nino asked.


“Certainly,” Jun nodded.


“Without checking?” Nino asked.


At that Jun frowned. “You won’t let me see the bathroom?”


“I’m not keeping you,” Nino assured him. “I’m asking you if you’d seal the deal without taking a look.”


Jun bit his lip. He assumed that Nino was checking his trust in him, but really, his bathroom standards were high.


“I’m sorry,” Jun said, “but that’s a no-go. It’s not that I don’t trust you, or anything. But I have to see what I’ll be living with. My ideas might still be different from yours. So I can’t sign anything without having seen all of the apartment.”


“You’re… interesting,” Nino told him. “I have a few more questions, if you don’t mind.”


“I don’t,” Jun said readily. “But can I see the bathroom first?”


“Of course,” Nino offered.


The bathroom was to the right from the entry and it was, as pretty much expected, everything Jun could have dreamed of. Upon getting back into the living room, Jun approached Nino.


“I have to ask you now,” he said, “how’s the rest about 1.000.000. That’s insane. You could get about 3.000.000 without a problem.”


“I’m not interested in money,” Nino told him. “Well, not that interested in money. I’m interested in people. Who would come to see an apartment in this area for this rent. Why did you come here today?” he asked Jun.


“You mean why I chose this apartment?” Jun asked. “Well, it’s close to the academy. I could get there on foot if need be. There are shopping facilities, public transportation… and it’s affordable. Affordable enough for me at least.”


“What do you like to shop?” Nino wanted to know.


“Oh, no, I meant groceries,” Jun explained. And, well, he didn’t mention stupid Ralph Lauren. “I like to cook, you see, so I often buy fresh food and this is very accommodating.”


“You cook?” Nino asked, seeming a hundred percent more interested all of a sudden.


“Well, yeah,” Jun shrugged. “Always eating out is so expensive. Plus, it’s not good for your health. I need to stay in shape, obviously, so I cook.”


“Congratulations,” Nino said with a grin on his face. “You live here now.”


Jun looked a bit taken aback. “What – all of a sudden?”


“You answered all my questions satisfactorily,” Nino explained. “And I like you upon first sight. So, no need for any further delays.”


Jun smiled. “It’s nice to hear that you would appreciate me. I really like this place too. I have another location to look at too, though. It’s a bit more affordable, so I should have a look, at least. So, I can get back to you…”


“No, J,” Nino chirped almost sweetly. “This is my place and I say who lives here and who doesn’t.”


Jun was irritated with the suddenly so informal addressing of his person and took a step back.


“Well, of course, you can decide who will live here…” Jun muttered. “But…”


“No buts,” Nino told him. “The decision has been made. You will live here from now on.”


Jun frowned at that. “I do get a say in this too, you know. You cannot decide this solely by yourself.”


“Oh, I beg to differ,” Nino said easily. “I do decide this by myself.”


“Okay, this is getting way too creepy,” Jun decided. “I don’t think that we can find common ground, after all, sad as that might be. Goodbye.”


When Jun made for the door, he found it locked. He swished back around to glare at Nino.


“Open. That. Door. Now.”


Nino merely grinned again. “I don’t think so, no.”


Jun actually felt distressed now. “What the fuck?! What do you think you’re doing? Let me out!!”


“Aw, come on,” Nino crooned. “We’ll be super good roomies. We can play games together, you can cook, I can give you post-workout massages…”


“What…?! No!!!” Jun burst out. “None of that is happening. Ever. Go to hell.”


Nino’s grin turned lopsided. “And there,” he said cheerfully, “is already a bit of a problem, because, you see, hell… well, I don’t go to hell. Hell is wherever I happen to be.”


Jun’s eyes narrowed, even as his guts began to twist.


“What’s that supposed to mean?” he wanted to know.


“You know it already,” Nino told him. “You know the truth, but you don’t want to believe it.”


Jun felt a chill running through his body, making him feel cold and scared. “What…??”


“It might not be what you have imagined,” Nino said calmly, “but it’s a good room. And I’m nice company, I promise.”


“I don’t want your company, though,” Jun bit out. “I don’t want you anywhere near me… whatever you are.”


“Oh, but you thought I was nice enough,” Nino opposed. “Or were you just saying that so you’ll get the room?”


“I did think you were a nice guy,” Jun gave him, “before you locked me in here.”


“How relevant is the status of the apartment door, really?” Nino asked.


“Very,” Jun stated firmly. “Living here is one thing, being trapped here another.”


“If I open the door now,” Nino said carefully, “and promise that it will never be closed for you again, will you then live here?”


“No, thanks,” Jun retorted. “That’s not how it works. You can’t try to force people like that.”


“Can’t I?” Nino asked, his eyes narrowing. “We shall see about that. If you refuse to live here, the door will remain closed. You’ll just stay here, but not live here.”


“You cannot keep me here,” Jun demanded.


“We shall see about that too,” Nino told him.


“Oh, okay,” Jun bit out sarcastically. “Let’s see how you like the police at your place.”


He pulled out his phone, making to dial.


“J, now don’t get the big drama going,” Nino said annoyed. “It’s not like there’s a point anyway.”


“Well,” Jun retorted, his phone already at his ear, “we’ll see about that in a second. I will report you for stalking AND for falsely keeping me here. You will be…”


Jun stopped, checking his phone and finding that he had no signal. He stared. How was that happening? They were as central as you could get and Jun had never had any connectivity problems before.


“I’m sorry,” Nino stated, not sounding sorry at all. “I don’t like people poisoning my place with all that radiation. It kills you, you know. So, no mobile signal in here. I do have a very accommodating wifi connection,” he offered.


“That would be the same radiation,” Jun argued.


“But it’s only one device,” Nino explained. “Thus, very little compared to what’s out there. I can keep you safe from all of that too. I’ll even allow you to use the wifi connection as well.”


“You’re mad,” Jun accused Nino. “Let me go already.”


Nino’s eyes glinted dangerously.


“You will stay here, the door locked for you at all times until the day comes that you will readily live here.”


Before Jun could even fully open his mouth to tell Nino what he thought of his rude demands, he was struck by the flare in Nino’s eyes, unable to move, or resist whatever might happen next. Nino merely held him captive with his gaze, though, as he spoke again, his voice deep and powerful, resonating through the room.


“From this day forth though art sealed to this place, until the day should come that though acknowledges this as your new home. From that moment forth the door shall always be open for though to come and go as though pleases.”


Before Jun could even spit at Nino how on earth he could ever call a place that that home, Nino had grabbed him by the shoulder and Jun gasped, feeling his body being pressed heavily into the floor. The sensation lasted for no more than two seconds, then it was gone again. When Jun turned his head to glare at Nino, he found the latter staring back at him in shock.


“What… what are you?” Nino asked, gasping.


Jun then aimed that glare he had prepared at Nino.


“What are you talking about now?” he demanded. “I’m just an art student.”


Nino’s eyes showed confusion. “But… that… I mean…”


Jun looked skeptically at the other man. “Say, did you… did you do something to me?”


Nino looked at him, looking rather defeated.


“I sealed you to this place,” he stated simply, as though Jun had ought to know what that meant.


“What do you mean?” Jun asked.


“I mean, I sealed you,” Nino bit out. He seemed a lot more distressed all of a sudden. “It means you cannot leave until you meet the requirements of the seal.”


“Yeah, well, that’s not gonna happen,” Jun told him.


“Well, that’s going to be a problem, then,” Nino declared.


He was still eyeing Jun carefully, as though he might jump at Nino at any moment.


“I don’t get it,” Jun sighed exasperatedly. “I don’t get you. You… you did this.”


“I did indeed,” Nino admitted. “I might have acted rashly, though…”


“Well, if you don’t like it, just un-seal me,” Jun shrugged. “Then I can open that door, I’ll be on my way and we’ll never see each other again.”


Nino looked at Jun as if he’d just suggested Nino wrap the moon with a lasso and rope climb to it.


“That’s not how it works,” Nino said, shaking his head. “A seal once placed will hold. Until its requirements are met, as I explained before.”


Jun stared at that. Then his face hardened again, though.


“I don’t know what you’re playing at,” he told Nino, “but I’m not gonna keep playing. Open that door now and let me leave.”


Nino laughed at that. “I would love to do that. In fact, right now there’s nothing else I’d want to be able to do more than that, but it’s out of my hands now. A seal comes right from the sixth cycle, its powers come from all of the watchmen that serve there. It’s not possible and there’s a reason why a seal can’t be undone without meeting its requirements. This might well be my undoing,” he mused, looking so lost that Jun didn’t for a second doubt that he was being genuine.


Even so, Jun would not be locked up in that three-room apartment for the rest of his life. He refused to simply give in. There had to be a way – but with how defeated Nino looked…


Jun groaned, unwilling to just accept his fate. He stormed towards Nino, grabbed him by the arms, shook him, demanding his release.


“What have you done to me?! Get me out of here!”


Nino jumped back forcefully, breaking free from Jun’s grasp. He held one of his arms as though Jun’s touch had burnt him somehow.


“Don’t touch me,” Nino demanded. “I can’t undo it. That’s final. This is where you live now and the only one who can get you out is yourself. The moment you consider this home, the seal will wear off and we both will be released from it.”


“I’m trapped here,” Jun demanded. “How could this ever be home?!”


Nino sighed. “I know. It was admittedly not a very good plan to begin with. But in my defense… your face is just too cute.”


Jun blushed at that. He hadn’t expected such a confession. So he had appealed to Nino? That’s why the man had refused to let him leave again? Jun still didn’t understand why Nino had been so aggressive. Jun might have well been back anyway. He had liked Nino and the apartment. Apparently Nino wasn’t a man who liked to be put on hold. And with that thought suddenly millions of questions about Nino exploded in Jun’s head. Nino was right, Jun had some idea of what he was dealing with, a feeling deep down, that somehow worked itself through all the reasoning of the world.


“What… are you?” Jun echoed Nino’s earlier question towards him.


Nino gave a weak grin. “What do you think I am?”


Jun huffed, annoyed. “Still playing games, huh? I don’t know. Some kind of… demon?”


Nino’s eyes flashed with the glint Jun had already seen in them earlier.


“Not just some demon,” he explained. “I’m… the real deal.”


“So, you…” Jun muttered, but he could not bring himself to actually voice his fears.


“I cannot say it out loud,” Nino told him. “If I reveal myself to this world, I will be… well, let’s say punished.”


“The… devil,” Jun blurted out quietly.


He felt a chill going through his body as he said the word. He also felt Nino’s eyes on him still, trying to place him somehow, it seemed.


“At your service,” Nino finally answered.


“You’re lying,” Jun said instantly. “That’s not… How would you even be here? I mean he. I mean it. Or, whatever. And why would you… it… why would the devil come to live in an apartment in Akiba? It doesn’t make any sense.”


“Spring break?” Nino said with a shrug. “The thing is, getting business done is easier when I’m here. I also like the personal touch, you know. With my clients.”


“Your… clients…?” Jun asked skeptically.


“I have six offices placed all over the world,” Nino explained. “All of them serve a certain purpose.”


“So what’s the purpose of this office?” Jun wanted to know.


“This is for getting a bit of a break, actually. There’s a huge number of people here, but only a very small percentage would consider making a deal with me. It’s easy life, pretty much.”


“But then why were you looking for a room-mate?” Jun wanted to know.


“I still need to think of my expenses,” Nino told him. “Plus, a little fun on the side is always nice. And I really am a good room-mate. Never had complaints in all the 386 years of being here now once every year. The only thing I really can’t to is cook. Thus, my interest in you.”


“Did you really not have some other kind of interest in me?” Jun wanted to know.


“Well, with your looks and face and all,” Nino grinned, “I might have had some other things in mind as well.”


“But the core of the issue is, I am now stuck here in this apartment with the devil himself and even he cannot do anything to get me out of here again.”


“Well, I can try,” Nino suggested.


Jun lit up at that. “Try what?” he wanted to know.


“Try to make this… a home.”


~*~


It had been two weeks already and Jun had somehow stupidly given into his cruel fate. Nino was, he had to give him that, making one hell of an effort (pun intended) to make Jun feel comfortable. He prepared breakfast every day and Jun’s feedback was always taken into consideration the following day. Jun would get hot baths prepared and talked to very appreciatively. Nino would serve Jun whatever he wished for, from a new weekly magazine to a limited edition watch he’d been yearning to have. (It might or might not have been a Ralph Lauren.) All of that just so Jun would make himself at home. But still, Jun couldn’t. He felt that all of what Nino was doing was done in big effort, but it was not heartfelt. If anything, a lot of it seemed to come from Nino’s heartfelt wish that Jun would just open that door and be gone.


It was a rather casual afternoon, Jun lying on the couch and reading a book and Nino sitting on the floor in front of his couch, playing a game he’d been obsessed with. He wouldn’t have imagined the devil would be into video games – but he could imagine a tribe of concerned parents using this fact very affectively for campaigning. It was almost funny hos distressed Nino looked faced with a rather large number of enemies while trying to climb a wall to win his level.


“Say,” Jun spoke up, “what happened when you placed that seal on me?”


“What do you mean?” Nino asked, not looking at Jun, but still smashing buttons. “I told you already.”


“Well, you told me what happened afterwards,” Jun mused. “That the seal is in place now and how it can be lifted and all of that. But I mean… you put this seal on me to keep me here.”


“So?”


“So… why is it that it seems that you wanted me to leave just a second after you had placed it?”


Nino actually paused his game to look at Jun. “Why do you think that?” he asked stupidly.


“Buying time, huh?” Jun asked with a grin. “I think so because the moment you touched me you seemed almost… scared. Like I was some kind of force, or something?”


“Are you?” Nino asked immediately.


“Not that I would know,” Jun shrugged. “But see? Again, so driven when it’s about that. What is it about me that’s freaking you out so?”


“There’s a number of things,” Nino retorted. “Like the number of bottles that are now occupying the bathroom rack. Or how particular you are with where all the kitchen utensils go. That one song that you keep having on repeat like it’s the only song in the world. Then your…”


“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Jun finally cut in. “None of that applied on the day you set the seal and yet you were… disturbed, it seemed.”


Nino bit his lip, considering Jun.


“I don’t know,” he finally stated. “I just… when I touched you… I felt something… strong… I still can’t place it. It also happened when you touched me. But I don’t know what it is, okay? Hence, the freaking out.”


“You looked like I had hurt you with my touch,” Jun remembered.


“It’s not a hurtful sensation,” Nino explained. “It’s different. It is… demanding… like, if you had kept a hold of me, my body would have grown weak, or something like that. That’s how it felt. Very… odd.”


“And that had never happened before?” Jun asked.


Nino shook his head. “Never.”


Jun fell silent, trying to sort the information he had gotten. Then he jumped when suddenly there was a deep buzzing sounding through the room.


“Oh,” Nino said, perking up. He picked up his phone, checking it. “I have a request coming in.”


Jun blinked at that. “Sorry, what?”


Nino grinned at him. “Work. I have work,” he announced.


Jun made a face. “Can you… work somewhere else?”


“Why do you think I have this office, silly?” Nino asked. “It’s for making business.”


“I don’t think I want to see any of it,” Jun muttered.


“Then you can cook dinner,” Nino suggested. “I’m getting a contract signed.”


Jun felt slightly disgusted, especially with how gleeful Nino was. Everybody knew what the devil did and to think Nino would be taking a person’s soul and consume it practically in front of him… He got up wordlessly to busy himself in the kitchen. Nino sure was a good room-mate. The only thing he asked of Jun was to cook and prepare meals for them both. It wasn’t much of a demand and Jun really enjoyed both the cooking and Nino’s compliments on his food. But actually taking his business to the place they shared, that was a different matter. Jun wondered if the poor soul even knew what it was in for…


~*~


Laughter. Coming straight from the living room, Jun heard laughter. How could you laugh when you were giving away your soul? Weren’t you supposed to be so desperate you didn’t know where else to turn? What was Nino doing with his client? Jun bit his lip, wondering if he should try to take a look. Just a tiny peek. Maybe he could learn something more about Nino that way too, he thought. Carefully, slowly, he pushed the door towards the living room open. On the couch in a bright red button down and black jeans was Nino. He actually looked rather good in that attire, Jun found. Quite like a man doing business. Jun couldn’t see much of the other man in the room, since he had his back to Jun. He could see that it was a guy, though. His voice suggested that he was about Jun’s age.


“J, do you want to say hello?”


Jun jumped at being addressed so suddenly, pushing the door open and thus revealing himself.


“I’m sorry,” he stuttered out. “I just… I wanted… dinner’s almost ready. Would you… prefer sweet potato or rice as a side dish?”


“Awww,” Nino crooned. “Isn’t he so cute? Always so considerate. Sakurai-san, please meet my assistant, Matsumoto Jun. J, this is Sakurai Sho.”


As the other man turned to face Jun, he could see that he was indeed in somewhat his thirties. He was clad in an expensive suite and had a rather handsome, if a bit roundish, face.


“Very pleased to meet you,” Sho said enthusiastically, holding his hand out to Jun.


Jun took the hand and shook it awkwardly. “Nice to meet you too. Er… so, is this your first time… making business here?”


“It is,” Sho confirmed. “Mind you I’ve done a lot of business in my life already, but getting to this sure made me nervous. Nino’s a real gem, though. He’s so keen on making you feel comfortable.”


Yeah, so he can tackle you when you don’t expect it,” Jun wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut.


“A happy customer is a returning customer,” Nino chimed in. “But we should not discuss this in front of Jun. It is your private business, after all.”


“Well, since he’s your assistant,” Sho shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him hearing anything. How did you get this position, if you don’t mind me asking. I’m just curious. I mean, it doesn’t seem like your first career choice. But then again, it must be so interesting.”


“It is,” Jun stated vaguely. “I… I actually came here first because Nino had an announcement out that he was looking for a room-mate. And well… things kind of developed from there…”


Sho laughed at that. “Will you believe it? Life’s so funny, isn’t it? You come to apply for a room and end up being an assistant in ancient forces. Way to go.”


“Y-yeah, I… I guess…”


“You guys are so cool,” Sho almost cheered.


“Well, since the fulfilling of your wish will take some time, why don’t you stay and have dinner with us?” Nino suggested. “J, we can eat as three people, right?”


Jun blinked at that, taken aback. “Well… yeah, I suppose.”


“Excellent,” Nino cheered. “Then Sakurai-san, what would you prefer as tonight’s side dish?”


“What – I get to decide?” Sho asked.


“Please,” Nino offered. “As a compensation for your waiting time.”


“Well, in that case, I will gladly accept your offer. And I would love to have sweet potato.”


“Then sweet potato it is, right, J?”


“Of course,” Jun nodded. He then carefully addressed Sho. “Sorry… can I ask – what is your wish?”


“J, that is not…”


“It’s fine,” Sho assured. “I’m getting married next week. I’m getting married to one of the loveliest girls walking this earth. I love her to death. Truly. However, there is… a problem. My… bodily desires are not for women. And even though it’s not like either of us has any chance to get out of this again we could have it so much worse. But still… she deserves better and in a way I think that I do too. So, I came here to wish for desiring women. So I can be the best possible husband to her.”


Jun felt appalled by the proposal. “You can here to get your gay turned into straight?” he demanded.


“Pretty much,” Sho confirmed. “You seem displeased by the request.”


“You’re right, I’m displeased,” Jun shot out. “How do you think that this will make you a better husband? More importantly, even, if it is men you desire, why not go for that instead?”


“J, people come here with demanding wishes,” Nino explained. “It takes quite a lot, it’s why people bring their business here, because we can do many things that other people can’t.”


“Yeah, well, you can’t even rid yourself of your probing assistant,” Jun blurted out, before shifting his attention back to Sho. “And as for you, if that is what you wish, why don’t you take it to… you know, the other side? They’re responsible for this kind of thing, aren’t they?”


“The light side, you mean,” Sho nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too. I was there, but had no luck. Turns out, nobody working alongside the powers of heaven will meddle with God’s creation. And so, here I am, ready for a deal.”


“I still can’t believe…” Jun said, shaking his head. “You would give away your soul for straight desires? I don’t get it.”


“Woah, woah, now hold it there,” Sho said carefully. “Nobody said anything about giving away my soul. Who in their right mind would trade their soul for a change of gender interest?”


“Certainly, nobody,” Nino cut in. “Which is why we agreed on different terms, Sakurai-san. I promise, you will be fully satisfied with the result. J hasn’t been here long, he doesn’t know yet how my business works. Actually,” he said shifting his attention to Jun, “what about those sweet potatoes?”


Jun was a bit shaken by everything he had just been confronted with, but found the information that Nino was not simply sucking souls from living people so relieving, that he simply nodded his head.


“Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.”


~*~


Dinner with Sho had actually been fun. The man ate enthusiastically and Jun couldn’t help thinking that if Nino had managed to awaken an equal desire for his wife in the man, that woman was one lucky girl. Sho had repeatedly complimented Jun on his cooking skills, had seconds and thirds and was almost beside himself with joy when Nino invited him to come back any time.


After Sho had left Nino insisted that he do the dishes and cleaning up and Jun relaxed and took some time for himself. Jun, really feeling tired, agreed and sat in the hot tub for a good thirty minutes. The day had ben demanding, but in the end he found that he’d had fun. For the first time since he’d set foot into Nino’s apartment he felt like he was actually living and not just sitting around miserably. Even so, the thought of his friends, who were currently training in dance classes for sure, popped up in his mind almost cruelly, making him miss the outside world again.


When Jun was done bathing he clad himself in comfortable home wear, snuggled himself into the huge couch in the living room, a fluffy blanket wrapped around his form, and picked up his book. Just a few minutes later Nino came in, looking rather spent. Jun noticed his presence, but didn’t bother looking up. He had somehow grown accustomed to Nino’s presence. The powerful aura that surrounded the man had also come to fill Jun with warmth rather than fear or that nagging feeling of discomfort he’d had around the man in the beginning. Being able to truly relax was nice and Jun didn’t feel like he’d had to watch out when being around Nino anymore.


“You were brilliant,” Nino said.


There was a tenderness in his voice that made Jun actually look up. Nino was sitting in his armchair, looking at Jun with the warmest smile on his face.


“I just cooked dinner,” Jun shrugged.


“The way you entertained Sakurai-san was brilliant,” Nino clarified. “I could really use an assistant like you.”


Jun chuckled at that. “Is that a job offer?”


“You already have the job,” Nino told him. “I just wanted to let you know that you can keep it, if you wish to.” He averted his gaze slightly. “I mean, I know I haven’t been very… considerate of you and your feelings. And I understand I’m hardly trustworthy and most probably all you want is to just get out that door and never look back. But just in case… in case you can… forgive me… I’d be happy to have you at any time.”


Jun couldn’t help smiling. “Thank you,” he said honestly. “I never thought of demanding an apology from you. But hearing you say that… it really does mend me a bit.”


“I’m glad to hear that,” Nino told him. “I… I’m not used to… well, people just refusing me so easily. I don’t even know how you do it. Most of the time people find it hard to resist me. But you did it with such ease… I was irritated. Like, really. And well… you might have noticed that I have quite a temper…”


Jun laughed at that, thinking of how Nino had burnt a puzzle game Jun had already finished after being unable to solve it in five minutes.


“That much would be true,” Jun agreed. “But… you have traits as well.”


Nino looked at him in interest. “I do?”


Jun nodded. He placed his book on the table in front of him, concentrating fully on Nino.


“You’re very… determined,” Jun explained. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about it. You could have simply dismissed me as a miserable slop somewhere in the corner of my room. Instead you’re doing everything to help. You want to make me feel comfortable, you want to help me lift this seal…”


“It’s the seal that I wrongly placed on you,” Nino stated. “I wronged you and over nothing but hurt pride. Of course I need to try to make things right.”


“You wouldn’t think that the devil would think he’d have to meet anyone’s standards,” Jun teased.


“I need to meet my own standards,” Nino said evenly. “And I am better than that. I have to be better than that. I have a business going, after all, and I have to make sure that customers keep coming.”


“Right,” Jun mused. “Say, how exactly did you do business with Sho in the end? I mean, he said he wasn’t trading his soul. I thought that’s how it worked, but obviously I had it wrong. Sho definitely looked very “souled” when he left after dinner.”


Nino chuckled. “Basically, I do trait trading. I receive certain things from people and find them what they’re looking for with someone else. Sho-san wished for a desire for women. I currently happen to have just that in my collection from a man, who wanted to trade his sexual interest for being able to have a child. So I traded with that guy and kept his gender interest.”


“So there was a man here who thought it would be okay to… switch to having homosexual interests after having a child?!” Jun demanded.


“I always ask my customers if they think they can continue living normally and why. The guy did very easily explain how after having a child the sexual interest will ebb off altogether soon enough and it wouldn’t make much of a difference to him.”


“But… he can’t know that,” Jun argued.


At that Nino grinned. “Yeah, well, then there’s also one other thing. I am the devil and casting shadow onto this world is part of my job as well. It might get to be a bit… unbecoming for him in certain situations, but he’ll be fine, ultimately.”


“What did you take from Sho?” Jun asked, suddenly feeling uneasy again.


“Did you watch the guy eating away?” Nino asked.


“Sure did,” Jun nodded.


“And did you notice his pleasant appearance?” Nino continued. “He has an overly good metabolism. He decided that it’s okay to trade it. Once his wife is pregnant he wants to get a different position. His body will change, but he decided that he’s gonna be fine with it.”


“Is that a fair trade?” Jun asked.


“Well,” Nino admitted, “he does have a very charming nature. He might have… sweet-talked me a bit.”


“My,” Jun teased with a grin, “you’re easy.”


Nino flushed a bit, bust still smiled at Jun. “Maybe I need a capable assistant,” he suggested.


“Nah, I don’t think so,” Jun said dismissively. He picked up his book again, starting to read again. “You already have one, after all,” he added gleefully.


He saw Nino grinning from the corner of his eye. The man stood up, wondering about the room for a bit, only to end up standing behind Jun. When his fingers began to dance over Jun’s shoulders, Jun jumped a bit, but did not pull away. He received a very soothing shoulder-massage, letting himself enjoy the treat, even humming appreciatively when Nino rubbed a very nice spot. After a few minutes of the treatment, Nino’s fingers slipped under the hem of the sweatshirt. Jun enjoyed the skin on skin sensation, but just a moment later he heard Nino gasping and pulling away quickly. Jun made to crane his neck and look back at Nino, but found that the man had already fled the room, leaving him alone. Jun sighed. He still didn’t know what it was about him that bothered Nino so. He had explained once that Jun made him feel weak somehow and that scared him, but Jun couldn’t think of how or why he could possibly cause something like that in a creature that ruled ancient forces. There was nothing to be done, though. Nino still freaked over that sensation, so Jun let him be, hoping the man would come around again soon.


~*~


There were days on which Jun thought that being trapped in the apartment with Nino wasn’t really such a bad thing. So, on these days, Jun would randomly venture to the front door to try opening it. It never surprised him when the door didn’t move as much as an inch. Not feeling devastated over being in a place and feeling that it’s home were two different things, after all. But then, nobody could blame him for checking. He did miss his friends and buying food for himself and he missed his dance classes. At one point Jun wondered if his place at the academy had been given to someone else already, but he did not think on it too much. There was no point in making plans of applying again, or maybe finding an excuse that would hold, if there was no knowing when or if he was going to be free again.


Nino was still being helpful, still being supportive and still being distant. Jun could feel how careful Nino still was when it came to getting physically close. It made him feel uncomfortable at times, thinking he caused Nino discomfort in his own home. Most of the time they got along pretty well, though. Jun had picked up on his task as Nino’s assistant. Customers did not come in regularly, but they provided a welcome change to his unspectacular routine when they did. It had been more than a month already, when a woman announced herself, wishing for a child. Nino made an appointment and they both met her, however, the meeting did not go as planned.


Nino did his best to explain that he had no such thing as fertility at hand at the moment, but that he would very happily look around for it. Before he could even get started about what a worthy trade would look like, the woman freaked.


“What am I coming here for?” she shrieked. “I mean, I am putting myself under the spell of evil and you tell me that you cannot provide? Is this a joke?”


“I am sorry,” Nino tried to explain, “but, you know…”


“Forget the trade,” the woman demanded. “Just take my soul, I don’t care. Make the contract, I’ll sign it.”


Jun’s guts twisted painfully. He could see the woman’s pain, her desperation. So that was how people would consider trading their soul.


“It would be a worthy trade,” Nino agreed. “A soul for a soul. But as much as I’d love to just send you on your way with this deal… I cannot make fertility. I am not a force that provides life. I have to be offered something of the sort in order to give it away again later.”


“So you’re telling me that you’re just sending me back to my husband like this?” the woman bit out. “With nothing accomplished. If I don’t get impregnated within the next two months, he will dismiss me from his house and life and I will have nothing. I gave everything for him,” she raged, fear and anger in her voice and tears glistening in her eyes. “Everything. My parents broke bonds with me after I decided to marry him. His and my father have a harsh fight going on. He will be welcomed back if he dismisses me. I am shunned, no matter what happens. When he said he wanted to have kids, I quite my job to accommodate him. It’s been more than a year now. I can’t get pregnant, though. Two months, now. If it doesn’t happen, he will throw me out into nothing.”


“I truly am sorry about your situation,” Jun offered. “It is very unfair.”


“If that’s of any value,” Nino chimed in, “I could hex that guy. Without a problem, really.”


“I. Want. My. Life,” the woman told him coldly. “And if you won’t give it to me, then I’ll get it somewhere else.”


“I’m sorry we can’t find an agreement,” Nino said earnestly. “I understand the situation you’re in, of course. If you want me to call in case…”


“Don’t bother,” the woman said dismissively. “I should have known that this would not be working. How could a single man be capable of handling a woman’s fate?”


With that and without even saying good-bye she turned around and left. When the front door fell closed behind her, a sting went trough Jun’s heart as well. He could understand her very well, actually. He wouldn’t have imagined that the devil himself had so many restrictions in how he could work. But he had learned a lot about how the ancient forces came together and while he certainly did not like it, he knew he had to accept the rules. Thinking that it was unfair wouldn’t help at all and he refused to be bitter about something he could not change. He would try to change his fate every day and somehow he hoped that the woman would too.


As he looked over at Nino, he found the man rather shaken.


“Ridiculous,” he chuckled bitterly. “All of my powers, all of the forces that I command. Useless still, when the requirements aren’t met.”


“There are good reasons,” Jun offered kindly. When Nino turned his head to blink at him in confusion, Jun smiled at him. “You told me that,” he reminded Nino. “There are good reasons why a seal cannot be lifted without meeting its requirements. I’m sure there are good reasons for all the restrictions of the ancient forces. This can be unfortunate… but it doesn’t mean your uncapable. It just means that there are rules for you. Lines that you cannot cross. And in all honesty, knowing that puts my mind at ease, really.”


Nino still looked drained, but he offered Jun a weak smile.


“Thanks,” Nino said. “Sometimes I wonder if the ancient forces aren’t outdated. Maybe we’ve exceeded our right of existence…”


“Hardly,” Jun argued. “Without the balance of light and shadow humanity would get extinct in no more than two generations.”


“Maybe that too would do the world some good,” Nino said bitterly. “Maybe we should just…”


“Enough of that already,” Jun demanded. “You’re… you’re doing a good job. And an important one. After watching you here for weeks now I can tell that it’s important. Humans aren’t perfect. But we want to be better every day. Humanity is worth balancing.”


“Would your answer be the same if I offered you a place with me in another dimension, with no fear or pain or sorrow” Nino asked.


Jun looked straight at the other. “Of course,” he said firmly. “It’s not just about me. Life is valuable. It needs to be appreciated.”


“Maybe I should resign and let you take over for good,” Nino said. His tone suggested that he had meant it as a joke, but his eyes did not catch up and still showed his resignation. The sight was incredibly disturbing, it roused feelings of huge discomfort in Jun. What to say to Nino? What to do? Suddenly, there was an impulse. Jun wordlessly walked over to Nino and considered him thoughtfully. Then, without a warning, he hugged him to his body. Nino freaked almost instantly, jumping back. He looked highly disturbed when he looked at Jun again.


“Do you actually wish to kill me?” he bit out.


Jun blinked at him fake-innocently. “Kill the devil… I don’t know, is that a good thing?”


Nino tried to shake off the weird feeling Jun had caused him.


“Make no mistake,” he stated. “You cannot erase the dark just by being cute. If I surrender to the shadows, my place will be taken over by the next appropriate subject.”


Jun looked equal parts unsettled and relieved. “Well, if there’s no point…” he said with a shrug, “then I suppose you might as well live.”


“Why, thank you very much,” Nino said grumpily.


“Do you want a snack?” Jun offered. “French toast? Crepe? A Sandwich?”


Nino thought about that for a moment. “French toast would actually be nice,” he then stated.


“French toast it is, then,” Jun said cheerfully. “And coffee with a shot?”


At that Nino smiled thankfully. “That would be awesome. You know just what I need, really.”


“Well, if I want to be a good assistant, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?” Jun said with a wink and with that made to busy himself in the kitchen.


He felt Nino’s eyes on him as he went and wondered once again what kind of feelings Nino actually had towards him.


~*~


Time practically flew by. Jun had stopped counting the days, but he still had track of the time the world was running with. He knew that he had been in Nino’s apartment for more than two months already and he had come to enjoy himself more and more. On some days he would still go and check the door, but not as often anymore. It still remained locked. Not that Jun had a lot of time to complain about it. He kept helping Nino and learning about his job and the ancient forces. He busied himself around the house more, even though Nino protested repeatedly. It made Jun feel more at ease, though, being able to roam the rooms more freely and getting to know all the cupboard and corners.


Every now and then Jun helped Nino with his clients too. Nino had shown him to the traits room some time ago. Jun had found it weirdly unspectacular. He had somehow expected it to be magically huge and filled with lights and sparks – instead it was basically a basement with just a wall full of drawers and the only unusual thing you could find about it was the labeling on them. From “huge charisma” to “competitive running skill” there were more than a hundred incredible traits stored in there. IN every drawer there was a marble, that actually held the trait. When they needed one, Jun would give the marble to Nino and he would then somehow exchange them. Jun didn’t really know how it worked. The change wasn’t very spectacularly looking either. There was just a tiny flash indicating that something had just happened, but that was basically it. Sometimes even the customers couldn’t tell the difference right away, but Nino always assure them that their trait would be ready when needed. There were never any complaints.


Jun had also learned, though, that things did not always go according to plan. Still, nothing had prepared him for the picture of Nino suddenly writhing on the ground in pain as something that looked like a glibbery spider of pure light wrapped its legs around his form forcefully. Jun had to shield his eyes, the light was so bright. Nino screamed in pain.


“That’s what you get for messing with the fourth cycle,” the guy who had come to get a new empathy said coldly.


There had been no indication that he had ill intentions. Well, he had come in as a person with no empathy, so certain things were to be expected. But not this. Nino was rolling around on the floor, trying to shield his face from the spidery legs.


“What have you done?” Jun demanded.


The guy merely grinned. “Pure empathy. If he cannot channel it to someone, it’s gonna burn him alive.”


Jun’s eyes widened in shock. “No,” he breathed out. “No! Nino!”


He knelt by Nino’s side on the floor, trying to free him of the light creature that still held him in a vice grip, not even caring when the guy who had caused this simply swept out the door. There were more important things at hand.


“Take me,” he told the light creature. “You can live in my body. Just leave him be.”


It was to no avail, though. The creature would not even consider him. Nino was still writhing and screaming, but his fighting was growing weak.


“NO!” Jun screamed out. “No, this is not happening. I won’t allow it.”


Jun grasped Nino’s hand desperately, needing his strength. “Nino,” he sobbed out.


“Don’t touch me,” Nino demanded harshly. “Stop it!”


“No,” Jun insisted. “No, I will save you.”


“It’s too late,” Nino croaked out. “The light has attached itself, there’s no untangling it.”


Jun’s face hardened. “If that’s the case, then I’m asking for a trade now.”


“Jun, what…”


“I want to trade this empathy for the ancient forces.”


Nino’s eyes flew open at that suggestion. “Jun, no,” he rasped.


“I demand the trade,” Jun insisted. “You said you wanted to do everything to make me feel at home here. How am I supposed to feel that way all by myself… - without you,” he amended.


Then there was a flash of light and with that, just as suddenly as it had begun, the torment ended again. There was dead silence in the room with only the sound of Nino’s heavy breathing being heard. Jun felt… weird. Different. Weirdly not as different as he had thought he would. He looked at Nino, who seemed to slowly recover from the pain.


“So,” Jun asked carefully, “am I now…?”


“Master of the ancient forces,” Nino gasped out, still heaving. “Remember, never say the name out loud while in this world. The shadows will come and take you.”


Jun looked confused. “Why?”


“You cannot speak about the forces like that to the world,” Nino said, still short-breathed. “The doubt of the matter needs to be held up. It’s part of the rules. You will learn. I’ll help you.” He finally sat up. There were ugly bruises all over his body that made Jun wince just looking at them. Even so, Nino grinned. “Damn that bastard,” Nino bit out. “Thought he could get rid of me like that so his master could take the powers.”


Jun gaped at that. “This was an assault?”


“Does it surprise you that the power to hold the fate of the living world is in demand?” Nino asked him. “Well, there’s more than one way to become the master of the ancient forces. As a matter of fact, you might actually have found an entirely new one today.”


“The assault was still successful,” Jun said bitterly. “The power had been taken from you.”


“But it is not with a dangerous creature now,” Nino countered. “We still win.”


“But… what are you gonna do now?” Jun asked.


“Not sure,” Nino shrugged, then winced with the movement.


“Wait, let me help you,” Jun offered.


He grasped Nino’s hand and pulled him into a standing position. Through their bodily connection he felt a strong tingling sensation going from his fingertips, right up his arm and basically through his entire body and he gasped in surprise.


“You feel it now, don’t you?” Nino asked. “That… sensation. How you grow… weak when you touch me. I’m sorry. Just let go.”


Jun merely shook his head, chuckling lowly. “Horny,” he said easily.


Nino blinked at that. “Sorry, what?”


“Later,” Jun decided. “First we patch you up.”


With that he seated Nino on his armchair and went to the bathroom to get patches, liquid disinfect and salve. With an ease he did not feel he cleaned Nino’s wounds, which, now that they did not glow like mad didn’t look that drastic anymore, but still needed attention. Jun took care of even the small cuts with distinct care, made sure that the bigger ones were covered properly and double-checked to make sure he didn’t miss one. Nino wordlessly let Jun handle him, take care of him and make him feel better with just the attention he gave him already.


“There,” Jun said when he finally felt satisfied with his work. “All done. Are you okay?”


“I think so,” Nino said in a silent voice.


He still looked a bit shaken and Jun could sympathize. It must have been a horrid experience.


“I’m sorry this happened,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just… wanted to save you.”


Nino smiled at him. “Thanks. It’s appreciated, really.”


Jun offered his hand to Nino and Nino took it, being pulled to his feet again. The strong sensation washed through Jun’s body again with a force he still had trouble working through.


“It’s happening again, isn’t it?” Nino asked, pulling his hand back.


He gave Jun a confused look when Jun did not let go of his hand.


“When I touch you,” Jun explained, “I feel my body going weak indeed. But not in a bad way. You do things to me… it makes me want you.”


“Horny?” Nino asked, looking baffled, as he remembered Jun’s earlier words. “So… that’s what I was feeling all this time?”


“It would seem so,” Jun grinned. “And to think… I’ve already grown to desire you pretty bad. This is indeed almost unbearable.” He looked at Nino intensely, but also in interest. “Have you never had the hots for anyone before?”


“It might surprise you, but we who hold the ancient forces are not supposed to be sexual creatures,” Nino said evenly. “I don’t know what it was about you that made me feel… like that. It must be an incredibly strong trait. But no, I had never experienced it before I met you.”


Jun nodded his understanding. He then wrapped his arms around Nino firmly.


“And… is the sensation gone now?” he asked.


Nino looked at him for a moment, seeming lost. He still brought his hands up to hold onto Jun’s shoulders for support.


“It’s… a bit more distant now,” Nino explained carefully. “But it’s still there. Tingling through my body. Just…”


“Good,” Jun whispered.


And with that he brought their lips together, kissing Nino and meaning it. He knew it was too forceful for a first kiss, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, his desire for Nino was almost eating him up. If Nino had really felt that way about him all that time and without knowing what that feeling meant, Jun could not blame him for being careful around Jun. His desire for the man in his arms made his knees go weak from nothing more than a good French kiss. Jun knew that he could not rush Nino the way he would have liked to and the kiss was meant to compensate some of his aching need for the man. Jun had never experienced such strong desire for anyone, or anything – his fingertips kept firing little sparks whenever they touched Nino’s skin, his lips were prickling, it was all so incredibly arousing, he could hardly hold back enough to give Nino the time to take a breath.


“Wow,” Nino stated simply when they finally detached.


“Nino,” Jun said and his voice was full of affection. Unable to help himself Jun nuzzled against Nino’s face and jaw, even as he spoke. “I cannot even begin to tell you how much I want you. I don’t really know what’s happening with me right now, this is not like anything I have ever felt before, but fuck, you just make me so…”


“Horny?” Nino ended the sentence for him.


Jun chuckled at that. “Yes, horny.”


“Is that good?” Nino asked.


He looked quite lost, not really knowing what to do with the situation. The look on his face made Jun come back to the there and then a bit more. He cupped Nino’s face in his palm, looking at his lovely face.


“It depends,” Jun said in a low voice. “Do you feel like it’s good?”


Nino bit his lip, obviously torn. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s not as scary as before, but… you make me feel… weird.”


“You’re feeling aroused,” Jun explained. “Or starting to feel that anyway. It’s weird at first, I know. But it can make you feel incredibly good, if you agree to let yourself experience it.”


“So… you will make me feel incredibly good?” Nino asked.


“I’d be most happy to try,” Jun offered.


The calm of his voice was in stark contrast to the passionate want raging inside his body, but he knew that rushing Nino would only result in both of them being disappointed in the end. He needed to do this right.


“I don’t think I’ve ever felt truly good in the way you mean it,” Nino told him and Jun understood that it was his way of voicing that he was scared. “But I think I’d love it if your tried.”


Jun felt extremely relieved, but he merely smiled at Nino and nodded his head.


“So, my room, or your room?” Jun asked teasingly.


“Seeing how it is your office now,” Nino mused, “it’s your choice.”


Not having to be told twice, Jun pulled Nino into his bedroom with him. They kissed again and Nino contributed a good part of the passion of their kiss, making Jun happy with the feeling of Nino wanting him too. Jun was beside himself with need, clutching at Nino at first, his movements almost helpless, his kisses not always aimed accurately, but Nino didn’t seem to care at all. He held onto Jun just as hard, kissed him almost as heatedly and sighed his name with equal need.


As clothes were discarded and more skin touched other skin, Jun slowly began to feel more at ease, each inch of revealed skin a promise of fulfillment to come. Burning lust turned into glowing passion, making their movements slower and their kisses more intense.


When their desire for each other took them to Jun’s bed, Nino seemed to start glowing again – in a good way. When they touched and kissed their ways across each other’s bodies, they got to know each other in such an intimate new way Jun couldn’t help thinking that he needed to do this every single day. When Nino’s lips graced Jun’s neck, Jun mewled, demanding “More, more, more” until Nino was sucking so heard he left a mark that would be visible for a week.


When Nino’s legs wrapped around Jun’s waist in a motion Jun could call nothing but instinctively, Jun grabbed his thigh tightly, showing his enthusiasm. When Jun’s fingers worked inside Nino’s body, making him loose, Nino gasped and sighed and Jun guessed that it wasn’t all from the most pleasurable sensations, but Nino did not complain or make Jun wait, he took everything happily, wanting all of the man he had found desire for. When Jun positioned himself, he looked straight at Nino, gave a loving peck first on his nose, then to his lips and Nino opened for him just that much further, showing his readiness.


When Jun moved inside of Nino, he felt the closest to something he would consider home he had ever known, the rhythm taking him, taking them both, further, further, deeper,


“Faster,” Nino gasped out.


And Jun heard him and Jun gave him everything, all of him and only moments later he could feel the tell-tale signs – Nino was going to fall apart.


“You feel it, don’t you?” Jun whispered into Nino’s ear. “You’re almost there. Let go, baby. Just let it happen. I’m here, I’ll hold you.”


“Jun,” Nino breathed. “I… I…”


“I know,” Jun crooned, picking up the pace of his fucking yet another notch and Nino keened, holding onto him as if for dear life. “Just come,” Jun urged, already gasping himself. “Come for me.”


And then Jun could see it happening. Nino’s eyes grew wide, his mouth gaped open, as if he could not believe what was happening with his body. He gasped in short breaths, his voice squeaking weekly in the back of his throat and then he began to shake, head to toe, spasming, coming hard onto his stomach and Jun kept his promise, holding him through it and even finding the muse to kiss him once more before he got to seeing to his own needs. He changed his angle, didn’t really care to really pull out anymore, but just rutted against Nino’s hole again and again and again.


“Fuck, Nino,” he gasped. “Almost. Almost there. You feel so goo-goooood, good… Oh, Nino!”


Jun burst out both verbally and physically. His dick twitched deliciously in Nino’s hole, filling it, making the slide slightly sticky. Jun groaned with the sensation, riding out his orgasm in hard, slow strokes. Nino waited patiently for him to finish, stroking up and down his arms encouragingly.


When Jun came down again, he smiled blissfully at Nino. “You’re wonderful,” he said. “Thank you.”


“So,” Nino said carefully, “did I make you feel this incredibly good?”


“You did indeed,” Jun said happily, kissing Nino’s cheek to show him how much he appreciated the gift Nino had made him. “And did you.. did you get to feel good too?”


Nino grinned at him. “Better than ever before. I mean, it was… intense – but in a way I really, really enjoyed.


Jun chuckled happily at that. They kept lying together for a while, snuggling and enjoying each other’s warmth. After a while, though, Jun pulled out carefully and cleaned both Nino and himself enough so they could lie and sleep together. When they were both cuddled up under the sheets Jun caressed Nino’s face lovingly, looking at his new lover’s handsome face.


“You’re quite the catch, you know,” Jun told him.


“You’re not so bad yourself,” Nino answered, placing his arms around Jun’s form, holding on and with the rush of feelings of joy and satisfaction and ease and loving, they kept lying together and ultimately, as the rush wore off, fell asleep in each other’s arms.
~*~


Jun took a deep breath as he grabbed the door knob and turned it to open the door. Or rather, tried to, because the knob would not move as much as an inch.


“You have got to be fucking kidding me?” Jun burst out. “Nino!”


“What?” Nino grumbled out, sticking his head into the entry hall.


“That stupid seal of yours is broken,” Jun complained. “And I don’t mean that as in lifted, I mean broken, as in dysfunctional. This is ridiculous – what could make a place more of a home than having sex there?! I can’t thing of one such thing. And yet…”


Nino tilted his head to the side slightly, considering first Jun, then the door, then Jun again. A lopsided grin came to his face as he pulled out a small key with a key-chain. Jun gaped at the other in disbelief.


“Wha- you…?!”


“Sorry,” Nino said, not sounding sorry at all, “I just couldn’t resist.”


Jun actually had to chuckle lightly. “You know,” he said, as he grabbed the key from Nino’s fingers, “I might be the one holding the power over the ancient forces now, but clearly you are still the devil in here.”


“Consistency makes a good home,” Nino said easily.


He watched as Jun placed the key in the hole, turned it and made the door spring open. It felt like the entire world had opened up to Jun with that simple move. And in a way it really had. After all, he had a new, very important responsibility to do justice. But in that moment, he had dance classes.


“You will be the first devil mankind has known to have an everyday job,” Nino told him.


“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Jun shrugged. “It’s part of the creative work, you know,” Jun said with a wink.


“Have a nice day, love,” Nino chirped as he waved after Jun.


He would stay in and take care of the office work. Basically he and Jun had switched positions. For the time being, Nino had told Jun. There were always people trying to get a hold of the ancient forces and get back at whoever was holding them currently,


“…and that includes me too now, my love,” Nino had said, in good humor, but with a glint in his eyes.


It wasn’t like Jun minded much. He wasn’t unhappy with his responsibility, but if Nino found a way to get the power back, Jun would probably happily give it back to him again. After all, Jun had found something that was definitely worth trading the ancient forces for – a home.