Title: Jellyfish Love - Prologue: Secrets Author: Matrim Email: matrim _ no_ aijin @ yahoo . com (hotmail isn't working so use that one) Comments: (I was also tempted to call it Chicken Soup for The Yaoi Soul but...I was talked out of it quickly. ^^;) Okay, I was asking people on the AMA ML who to kill and what-not and this fic is what happened when I decided Shinya looked like a mob boss and so I made Kyo one too. (And I needed victims which is why I asked for people to kill and no one kills Shinya, dammit, not on my time.) And I was talking to a friend about it all and I was making up some silly story and then this popped up out of nowhere. And it's not silly and it's definitely not in my usual style. It's also not beta'd but none of my stuff ever is and no one ever complained. (Except for once and since they did complain, I offered them beta status 'cept they only know one email address and when the hell did I start talking as much as Alex?! O_o; *runs away from her XD*) The Katsura I'm using is recent Katsura--boyish Katsura. The Izam I'm using comes from the movie Chinese Dinner where he proves that not only is he a man in makeup--he is more man than anyone can stand. But in a good way. ++ Izam comes home late at night sometimes but it's not like Katsura waits up for him. He doesn't make dinner and arrange the table and wait until the wee hours for the other man to come home like some sort of housewife. He doesn't do it because he comes home late too. He also doesn't do it because he can't cook. But there are nights where Katsura lies in bed and worries and keeps himself at the brink of exhaustion. He wants to hear the tinkle of the keys in the lock and the door opening before he can allow himself to sleep. Katsura doesn't bother calling Izam's cell phone to see if he's okay. He's afraid that the man might get distracted at work and upset with him. But Izam doesn't have that sort of personality... Izam is the picture of happiness, perfect for Katsura. He's got a beautiful smile and wonderful lips. He's got strange hair, blue and black, something that can't decide whether it wants to be dreadlocks one day or braids the next. He works as a computer technician for a big company, he says, which is why he can look the way he does and Katsura accepts this. Izam says he works in a dangerous part of the city which accounts for the scars that Katsura finds on Izam's body and sometimes traces with his tongue. They're long healed and white, no pinkness to suggest they're new and Katsura is relieved. He's relieved because as a bartender working for a boss that dabbles in things not-very-legal, he's seen plenty of things and all he wants is a simple life. Izam knows about his work even if he doesn't know who he works for. He encourages Katsura to quit and find another job, but Katsura can't find another job until he's finished with school. Tonight is one of those nights where Katsura comes home earlier then Izam. He turns on the lights in the small apartment and closes the door behind him. He locks it because when he comes home from work, it'll take an hour before he can feel safe again. He takes off his coat and hangs it in the closet, removes his shoes and sets bag down on the couch in the small living room. He feeds the guppies in the little tank in the kitchen. He glances at the digital clock of the microwave. 2:33. He sighs, stretches his neck. He rubs his hand across the back of it and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. No real baths tonight. He's afraid he might fall asleep and drown himself in the water. It's silly considering the fact that it may be one of those nights where he waits up for Izam. Katsura closes the door behind him, removes his clothes and tosses them in the small laundry basket. He steps into the shower and turns the faucet on. He only turns the spray on when the ice cold water turns into something that could instantly turn his skin pink. When he's done, he emerges scrubbed and pink and smelling faintly like soap and too-expensive hair shampoo. His hair drips and he towels it into a damp submission before he runs to the bedroom for some clean underwear and clean pajamas. It's cold but when he's covered up in his clothes and sitting in front of the heater in the living room, it's not so bad. Now Katsura glances at the clock that rests on top of the television set. 3:05. When had Izam said he'd be home? He can't remember. He just remembered the words 'late' and 'sorry' between hasty kisses when Izam left for work in the morning. Perhaps Izam'd be staying overnight then? Sometimes he called to tell Katsura he couldn't make it home because he was too tired and he had to be back to work in 2 hours so what would it matter? Normalcy. Simple life. He was getting lonely. ++ "Did you kill him?" "Yes." Kyo simply nods. He never gives out compliments or praise to his people. When he told someone to do something, he expected the best out of them. When they did it, he simply nodded as if he'd foreseen it all within a dream. When he did give out praise, it meant he wanted to kill you. Izam showers in Kyo's penthouse because it's closer to home and because if he came home reeking of blood, Katsura would leave him and never look back. He doesn't mind that Kyo comes to watch him and thank him. That's how Kyo is. Kyo saw Izam, triumphant and full of gunshot wounds so why should Izam bother feeling self-conscious about being naked? The water runs clear now because most of the blood had been in Izam's hair but with that bit taken care of, it was all about finding something better to wear home. But Kyo's taken care of that. Kyo takes care of everything. "Tatsurou's going to order some new clothes for you. You go through them like toilet paper." Kyo says in a bland blunt voice, as if he were commenting on weather. For a second, he's quiet and it's only when Izam steps out of the shower does he speak again. "He's worth it, isn't he?" Izam dries himself off and doesn't smile to Kyo. Smiles aren't shared between employee and boss. He wasn't related to the man. Only Nene and Atsushi could smile at Kyo and expect a mild or pleasant reaction. "He is." Izam replied firmly. Kyo's head tilts, dark eyes trying to pin Izam to the bathroom walls like some sort of overgrown insect he's collected. "Is it hard to be two people?" "Considering the fact that I'm only one person, no. What he sees is the side that you don't see, sir, because it's not proper." Izam grabs the blow dryer and begins to dry his hair off. It takes ten or twenty minutes, he isn't sure but when he's done, Kyo is still there. He's leaning against the door jam. "And the side I do see? I doubt he sees that." "Only when I'm killing roaches." Kyo's mouth quirks as if he's thinking of smiling and can't quite decide if he should or not. "It's late. You should get home soon. Tell him you have tomorrow off." Kyo lights a cigarette and turns away from the door. What he says goes and Izam is tempted to ask him if he's sure about that. He doesn't, though, because Izam isn't his only tool even if he's one of the best. When Izam is dressed and everything is in order, he takes up his briefcase filled with official documents and lets Tatsurou drive him home. He drops him off a block away and Izam walks the rest of the way. He walks fast because even though the adrenaline rush from the night has somewhat abated, it's coming back again when he thinks of Katsura. Katsie wants a simple life and Izam wants nothing better than to give it to him. Katsie wants a house with grass and a dog and a car that doesn't break down every few miles. Katsie wants to not have to worry about train rides. So Izam works hard at what he does to be able to afford all that. Kyo pays well and now that Izam has someone to spend it on, he takes every single job that Kyo gives him. Izam reaches the stairs of the apartment building and takes the steps two at a time. Katsie wants a normal life. Izam pulls open the door, dropping the briefcase on the ground and getting rid of his shoes. He pounces on Katsura as soon as he sees him emerge from the bedroom with joy and relief on his face. It's 4:00 and it's definitely not normal but Katsura adjusts better than anyone else could. And Katsie will have his simple life--a mediocre life--even if there are strange nights where his boyfriend comes home wanting to ravish him on sight. Nights where Izam wants to celebrate the fact that he's still alive by giving his boyfriend orgasm after orgasm. It's like washing his soul clean. It's like a promise. But it's a secret Izam will take to the grave. He'd do anything for Katsura, even if it meant lying to him. ++ To Chapter One Jelly Home Fics Home