Chapter Text
Jack is the last one to leave this time, it’s their ten year reunion. The twins are both much taller, much older, much more different. Rua’s still doing the pro-circuit, he’s a big name himself now. Ruka rarely enters tournaments or contests, but when she does her record is still undefeated. In fact, the only time she lost was when Rua posed as her, so many years ago at the Fortune Cup. They both drop by, but neither stays for the entire evening — Rua needs to get on a plane, the next tournament starts in a few days and it’s a qualifier for the world cup, Ruka is going with him as a favor; sometimes Rua is still a little hopeless without his sister.
Aki comes late and leaves early. She and Yuusei exchange touches — her thumb against the inside of his wrist, he cups her cheek, they both laugh and share a moment where it’s only them in the world and then they move to opposite sides of the room. Aki spends most of the night swapping stories with Sherry and Crow and they all promise to meet up more often. Then she and Sherry leave together — Sherry wants to take her on a ride out to the grounds of a new hospital in Domino, but everyone suspects there might be other motives, as well.
Crow stays the entire night, he’s missed them, and his kids are a handful. It’s amazing, how the world has changed, and now some of them are even going to college and since when did they go to college? How did these kids get so smart? Good thing they never ask him for homework help! But he’s so proud and he can’t help bragging and the best part of being rich is having nice wallets with too many pictures of kids — he doesn’t say that but, but they all guess that has to be a perk.
Then it’s just Yuusei and Jack. Yuusei who immediately says, “You’re still here?” With that little quirk of his head that Jack knows is the same as throwing down a challenge. He can’t help but react instinctively — even after all these years, or maybe especially so. He crosses the distance between them and towers over Yuusei, still.
“My flight doesn’t leave for another two days.” Jack thunders, the words are anticlimactic but the slow smile that starts on the left side of Yuusei’s face and travels across his eyes and ends with Yuusei saying is that so.
Yuusei’s always had the gift of being able to take the wind out of Jack’s sails with a word, a sentence, even with a gesture. It would have soothed Jack’s pride had Yuusei said something like — I missed you, stay a while longer, or even get out, but instead it’s that perfectly placed neutral comment that reminds Jack of how Yuusei used to build walls around himself. Aren’t they both too old for this?
It’s their first kiss since they were teenagers. It’s too awkward and there’s a thin wood table between them and it presses against Jack’s thighs and Yuusei’s waist. Somehow, somehow, Yuusei’s shoulders still fit perfectly in Jack’s hands, but their mouths have never been so compatible. Jack must be scowling, but Yuusei has laughed — a small, short laugh that has more joy in it than Jack thinks he’s heard in Yuusei’s voice in a long time.
Jack pushes his hand through Yuusei’s hair, catches his fingers in a tangle but ignores it until he can clasp the back of Yuusei’s head and pull him forward. He doesn’t miss the hitch in Yuusei’s breath or the way his eyes slide shut and then snap wide open again. There’s no mistaking the way — right? — Yuusei’s mouth opens more, to let him in further.
They stumble, have to work around the small table and Jack resist the urge to kick it when they round the corner. He wants to press Yuusei up against the wall, but it’s Yuusei who takes advantage of their lack of balance and steers him back, teeth suddenly present in the kiss and the laugh he gives is more in the back of his throat and not just joy.
“Yuusei,” Jack orders, he puts on his king’s voice and slams the name out and pushes away from the wall and steps forward. Yuusei stumbles back and the laugh, the teeth, the cocky jaunt of Yuusei’s posture, all melt away because he lets Jack push him up against the wall and when he looks up at Jack it’s like he’s baring his throat.
Then Yuusei waits, almost expectant. Jack isn’t a man of inaction, but he hears it again, a rumble through his memory. And the single tendril of thought that betrayed his pride — and betrayed something else — hadn’t it been just a little more exciting when Yuusei had forced him back?
(“Which do you prefer?” Kiryuu asks. He presses his thumb to Jack’s throat, just under his Adam’s apple and twists with his wrist. The gesture is uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Then he reaches over and grabs Jack’s hand, pulls his fingers over to repeat the gesture on himself. Jack lets his hand sit limp, even as Kiryuu grins over his wrist. “It’s kind of addicting either way, right? One single twitch — and I’d lose my neck, but it’s the same this way — “ Again, Kiryuu’s hand to Jack’s throat.
“It’s all about trust, isn’t it? I trust you guys so much. And it makes me happy that you trust me.”)
He paused for too long. Yuusei carefully reaches up between them, his motions slow and steady as they always have been and cups Jack’s face with both his hands. He’s no longer titling his head back, but tugs down gently so he can rest his forehead against Jack’s.
“It’s been a long night,” Yuusei says, he won’t say any more but he’s giving Jack a way out and it’s infuriating. Jack can’t abide by that, not when he knows — when he’s known for so many years — that this is exactly what he wants. His lip curls, not in disgust or maybe in a little disgust — and Yuusei’s thumb brushes against the corner of his mouth, carefully smoothing out the sneer.
Then he waits. Again.
Jack turns his face into Yuusei’s right hand, takes a deep breath and presses a kiss to Yuusei’s open palm. It’s a selectively nostalgic gesture — they both recognize what it’s like. A king has a duty to his subjects too, just as his subjects have duty to him, Jack said once, maybe.
“Shut up, Yuusei.” Jack says, even though Yuusei hasn’t said anything. Then he tangles their hands together, their fingers laced tightly together and kisses him again. It’s hard, it’s careless, it reminds them both of being teenagers again and the wordless groan that escapes Yuusei destroys the rest of Jack’s (stupid) swirling thoughts.
There’s nowhere further back to go, but there’s still too much distance between them. Clothes are only half-undone, because they’re in too much of a hurry to really undress. Jack curses every swear he knows when he can’t seem to overcome Yuusei’s belt, while Yuusei seems to have no difficulty with Jack’s own — mechanic’s hands, really, rough and always with dirt under the nails but far too capable.
Jack makes sure to scape his hands across the scar on Yuusei’s stomach, prefers to feel it with his nails instead of his palms and with only the wall behind him for balance, Yuusei uses Jack as an anchor. They’re messy, clumsy, Yuusei’s head keeps getting knocked back against the brick and Jack regrets not forcing them both to strip properly. It’s over far too quickly because they’re both too eager to provide friction with hands and hips and Jack leaves a line of bites down Yuusei’s neck and shoulder and Yuusei leaves just one on Jack’s collarbone but the skin is so sensitive that it burns in the air. Yuusei doesn’t unwrap his arms from Jack, ignoring the mess between them that sticks to their clothes and skin and he’s still breathing a little too fast.
“Where are you going, after this?”
“My schedule might be clear for a while,” Jack admits and doesn’t even try to untwine from Yuusei, not yet, anyway.