Hell Maybe It Actually Worked

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Hell, Kesu had decided, was being stuck in a small room with a Koorime who did not handle breaks well at all. Their fifteen minute breaks were bad enough, but the half hour they were given for dinner was impossible! Well, at least the store’s backroom had never been cleaner.

Lane was arranging the layaway inventory, nibbling idly on a piece of bread. Kesu lounged in the folding chair and watched, shaking his head. Lane never much brought more than bread and water, never spoke very much, and never ever sat still.

“You do know the definition of a break, don’t you?”

“It is a time required by the company for employees to rest and eat, because being hungry or tired lowers morale and productivity,” Lane answered, tucking the piece of bread into his mouth halfway as nimble fingers of both hands discovered the tags of a dress.

“Yes, rest and eat, not just nibble on bread and clean the break room,” Kesu sighed, blinking at the clock. Good grief, only five minutes and already the Koorime was bothering him.

“I'm not cleaning, I’m sorting holds from layaways,” Lane excused.

“Have some of my salad, I hate to see something as skinny as you just eat bread.”

“The sauce you put on there hurts my chest.”

“It’s dressing, and it’s not that bad,” Kesu frowned down at his salad like it had done something wrong. “Why don’t you sit and talk with me? I shudder to think what you did with your day off yesterday.”

“Why should I sit still when there are things to be done?”

“Because you’re not getting paid right now, you’re supposed to be resting, remember? Raise your morale and productivity?” Kesu slouched, setting his salad on the table.

“Sitting idle does not increase my morale,” Lane shifted a pantsuit to the back of the rack, tucking his bread back into his mouth as he folded the pants properly.

“Then talk anyway. What did you do yesterday?”

Kesu liked to talk, he always tried to engage Lane in these meaningless conversations. Lane didn’t find it all that unpleasant, really, the kitsune wasn’t that bad most of the time. There were times though when the silver-haired boy got much too chatty for Lane’s taste, even as social as Lane was himself.

“I looked at couches and I bought one for my apartment,” Lane nibbled the last of his bread away and reached for his water bottle for a drink.

“I’d like to come by and see sometime if you’d let me. Lemme guess, the couch is blue?” Kesu giggled.

Lane smiled softly and nodded, “Yes it’s blue, matches the drapery.”

“Everything with you is blue,” Kesu leaned forward and poked at Lane’s outfit, dark navy dress pants, white shirt, and a lovely patterned velvet vest.

“I enjoy consistency,” Lane excused.

“Then why are you attracted to Tyger?” Kesu nearly purred the question.

Lane blanched, completely taken by surprise. He should have known Kesu would bring that up, it was a topic that emerged every now and again, but not often enough for it not to surprise Lane. Kesu only did it to be devious, to keep him on his toes, remind him that he was indeed a kitsune and a plotting trickster by nature.

“You should know better. How long have we been telling you she’s gonna break your heart? You need to move on,” Kesu turned his head to the side and sighed as if he were bored and exasperated with the topic, but he was just teasing.

“And how long have I told you that it is nothing serious?” Lane shot back, perhaps a little bitterness in his tone.

“Of course the two of you put on this show of dating others, but it is those relationships that aren’t serious, a mere screen to hide the two of you.”

Lane glowered at blouse hanging there with a hold tag on it, knowing full well it wasn’t sold as a separate, but couldn’t place at the moment which outfit it belonged to, which he normally could have done in an instant. Kesu was annoying him on purpose. “There is nothing serious between myself and Tyger, we are friends and nothing more.”

“Ty doesn’t have males that are just friends.”

“What about you?” Lane quirked an eyebrow at the kitsune.

Kesu shrugged casually, “I don’t think she considers me male,” he flicked a strand of silver back over his shoulder.

“I have this tendency to agree,” Lane went back to sorting clothes.

Kesu made some quiet, discontented noise and got up from his chair. He perched himself on the end of the table closest to Lane, about halfway down the rack of clothes hanging there, angling his legs like that on purpose. Kesu was unfailingly faithful to his lover, straight as a circle, but devoted, he just loved using the fact he was gay as a weapon against Lane. It was something of a game to the kitsune, even though he knew Lane would never budge the slightest bit from his heterosexuality.

“You’re in my way,” Lane dropped his lilting voice a note lower, as if trying to sound more dominating. Kesu thought it was hilarious, but kept a straight face.

“Do you realize how many people are interested in you? And you waste yourself chasing after something you’ll never catch,” Kesu’s eyes slitted to something Lane recognized without a doubt, the eyes of a kitsune.

“One cannot catch that which does not wish to be caught, thus I do not chase,” Lane tried nudging Kesu out of the way, but he wasn’t moving.

“But if she wished to be caught?”

“Then I would be there, if she chose,” Lane answered truthfully, hoping that would get the annoying kitsune away.

Kesu smiled and slid just a little bit down the table, letting Lane continue. “What if someone else caught her?”

“If she allowed herself to be caught by someone else,” he corrected, “and she was happy, then I would be pleased. Such is her choice,” Lane sighed, really not enjoying this conversation in the least bit. Just five more minutes until their break was over, good..

“It would break your heart,” Kesu’s voice turned soft.

Lane turned and gazed at the kitsune, “Hearts mend, youko, you should know that.”

Kesu flinched visibly, lowering his jade eyes in silent admission. Kesu had told Lane of those times, three times in five hundred years when the pain of his own broken heart had nearly been more lethal than that of a Hunter’s blade. The kitsune sighed.

“I’d hate to see anyone waste their time recovering what could have been avoided.”

“Such is a lesson that cannot be learned by listening, only by experience.”

Kesu slid back into his chair, glaring at the clock almost as hatefully as the Koorime now, “How can you recover so easily from the pain you endured? It took me decades.”

“You spent decades with those you loved. I knew my beloved only briefly, barely had the time to truly know her for who she was. And if Fate or Love brought me here for a certain someone, then I will not shut my eyes using the excuse of grief.”

“It’s an honest excuse,” Kesu busied himself with putting things back into the little snack refrigerator on the table.

“I do not bow to grief,” Lane said firmly, slipping his water into the fridge as well.

“Sometimes,” Kesu stood up, looking just barely down at the Koorime, “it’s healthy if you do now and then,” the kitsune strode back out into the store, Lane following.

The two boys nodded to the shift manager and the other associate, who vanished back into the room to take their lunch breaks. Kesu settled down at the register where he discretely as his homework perched just beyond the view of any customer that might need checked out. The other associate went to school too, and their manager was really understanding about it as long as they weren’t busy. Nearing closing hours during the week, they usually weren’t busy.

Lane’s icy gaze took notice of every customer in the store, two young ladies at the front sweater table who were blushing and giggling and glancing at him. Kesu noticed them too and snickered to himself. Lane spotted another older lady in the dress section, the ‘just looking’ type. The Koorime sighed and snatched up the case keys to change the jewelry arrangement.

“What was the next plan?” Lane debated between backdrop scarves.

“Mauve and taupe with gold, but the morning people tomorrow can change those.”

“I have time now and I enjoy it,” Lane muttered back at the kitsune. “Besides, they usually don’t have time until I get here and I end up doing it anyway,” he decided on a scarf and settled it down into the mirrored glass case.

Both Lane and Kesu looked up as the door opened, the two girls exiting. Their gazes then flickered together to the other occupant in the store. They were trained to watch for stealing and they’d caught quite a few attempted thefts. Sure they chatted, Kesu busying himself with homework, Lane most often with arranging displays or layering, but they also did their jobs.

“Laney,” Kesu hissed, catching the Koorime’s eyes and flickering his to the back corner.

“I saw,” Lane had been watching from beneath his cascade of white bangs. The unmistakable sight of dark hair streaked purple, for only a moment, then it had been gone, as if allowing them to see her for only that instant.

“Looks like the Tyger is circling the cage, Laney-chan,” Kesu smirked, ducking his head to continue his homework.

“You’re delusional,” Lane excused, setting a necklace into the jewelry case and nudging it into the proper place. By the gods, that was not going to help with Kesu’s incessant torturing. Oh well, at least they’d already had their dinner break.

~*~*~*~*~

Lane returned to his apartment to find it dark and empty, as he’d expected it. Of course Tyger wouldn’t hang around the place if he wasn’t there. Still, having seen that barest glimpse of her at work was a little… exhilarating. She had never come to his work before, and it certainly wasn’t the kind of store that suited her tastes.

The Koorime boy made dinner like always, eating alone like he often did. He spent the evening cleaning the already clean apartment, a ritual performed every night Tyger did not show up. He wasn’t exactly a clean freak, there just wasn’t much else to do in that little place to keep himself from going insane with boredom. Lane really needed to find some sort of Ningen hobby that suited him, because no matter how hard he tried there was only so much apartment there.

He removed all his clothes except his white shorts, slipping into bed and trying to force himself to sleep. It was not an easy task on that night, what little sleep he forced upon himself was fitful at best, and certainly not restful.

Morning gave way to work, and work to another evening of boredom and cleaning. It repeated itself over and over again until more than a week had passed. Indeed, it had been eleven days since he’d last seen Tyger. Kesu saw her at school every morning, and got a rather abrupt ‘it’s none of your business’ when Lane had him ask the Jujin what she did with her evenings. From what Kesu told him, she’d been rather touchier than even normal.

Lane veritably trudged up the stairs to the landing that he shared with another apartment, digging his keys from his pocket just as he noticed the door to his apartment was open a crack. He blinked wide eyes at the slit of light, breath catching in his throat. He’d had all the warnings about living in this ningen city, always lock the door, always know where you are, avoid walking alone at night, etc. He wasn’t sure if he should go in. If there was someone in there, was it safe? He wasn’t given the time to think about it as the door was flung open.

Tyger greeted him with a catty grin, “Gonna stand out here all night?” of course she’d heard him.

The Jujin grabbed his wrist and tugged him into his own apartment, shutting the door behind him, “Somethin matter with you icicle?” she asked coyly.

“Just… didn’t expect…” Lane let it trail off, looking about the small place. Her things were there, her stereo set up in a sort of orderly arrangement in the corner with CD’s mostly stacked, some scattered. There was one playing, something lively he didn’t recognize.

Tyger had darted into the hallway, snatching up clothes that were scattered about. Lane canted his head and followed, blinking, watching as she tossed an armload of clothes into his closet. She stopped and blinked back at him, as if suddenly realizing something. “It ‘is’ okay if I put my stuff here, right?” it was said more like a statement than a question.

“You should hang these up so they don’t wrinkle,” Lane hid his smile by bending to snatch up a shirt, shaking it out and shoving his clothes out of the way to find a hanger for it.

“Hey hey, you work with clothes all damn day, don’t needta come home and do it,” Ty pouted just the slightest bit, as if hanging up her own clothes was some sort of torture. “Ooh hey, where’d you get somethin like this?” Ty snickered, holding up a shimmering blue gossamer top, admiring. “This really yours?”

“Yes, that’s mine,” Lane blushed slightly.

“Kinda nice… never see you wear it,” Tyger smirked as she hung it back up.

“It doesn’t precisely fit my work’s dress code.”

Ty giggled, “Hey, you made a joke, not bad. I’m fairly impressed. I should give you an occasion to wear some of this stuff - par-tay, I know some really great places ‘round here.”

“I’d like that, “ Lane replied honestly, carefully folding and hanging a pair of jeans.

“Not like you ever go out or nuttin… or do you?” she raised an eyebrow at him, smiling as Lane shook his head. “So you’re basically a hermit who does nothing?”

“I clean,” Lane argued weakly, barely paying attention to what he was hanging up.

“If this place was any cleaner it’d be a freakin hospital,” Ty just kept being amused, abandoning the horrible chore of hanging clothes to plop on the bed. She watched him, imagining some of his clothes in the closet on him. Interesting mental picture to be sure. She’d definitely have to drag him out club hopping, or to a rave or something. Couldn’t let those clothes go to waste.

Besides, had to acclimate the poor little hermit Koorime to all the perks of Ningen. Lane had spent almost a year in the human world and what had he done? The boy had figured out he was better off not trying school and just get out on his own, learning just enough to do so and not much else. Well hells, probably considered by most to be more worthwhile than what she’d done, pattered around at the temple and for some reason putting up with the horror of school. No sense quitting now, senior year and all, and it had its own perks.

She had no idea why she’d done this, just went back to the temple after school and packed up all her stuff. The temple had been rather empty since Tanji and Kino had moved out, well not empty, just a little bit… boring. Besides, Lane’s apartment wasn’t all that far from Kino’s, so Ty could easily go bother the little squirt. She’d never really liked living at the temple, it was just a convenient place to stay, and so was this place, no big deal.

Dammit why didn’t he say something? This silence was awkward.

Tyger growled softly to herself and flounced back out to the living room, snatching up one of the posters she’d brought and finding a decent place for it on the wall. This deciding to stay here, in his apartment, it was unsettling. Not that staying itself was unsettling, but the fact she actually felt comfortable with staying. Good grief, comfortable? Giving up her independence? Staying with another person in the same dwelling? It was like… a nibble off something horrible that was called commitment.

UGH!

“Here,” Lane’s soft voice from behind her after she’d listened to him rattle shortly in a kitchen drawer.

Ty turned from inspecting the poster she’d hung up to blink at him, then at his outstretched hand. In his palm there was a key, a duplicate of the one he had for the door. She snatched it and grinned as she put it on her “Life’s a bitch and it learned that from me” key chain (among various others with choice phrases).

“If you lose that one I keep a spare outside on top of the door frame,” Lane nodded toward the front door.

“Any rules in your house?” Tyger asked with a touch of coyness.

Lane half-turned away from her, inspecting the poster with approval. “It’s your house now… make rules you see fit.”

“I’ll try ta remember to lock the door when I go out,” she answered casually, going back to the posters. “Hey… I don’t havta like… pay bills or anything?”

“Of course not… this is merely a place for you to put your things, sleep when you wish… play when you wish,” he smirked over his shoulder.

Ty caught that insinuating look. Damn, the boy did know how to get her relaxed, well maybe not relaxed, just less uncomfortable. He’d always had that calming way about him, that laid back manner, the whole taking it easy atmosphere. He made it easy to leave… and in so doing he was really making it hard for her to leave him alone. Damn damn damn, naughty koorime boy beating her at her own game… well no, never beating, just putting up really strong competition.

Tyger closed the distance between them, not even bothering to turn him around, but catching hold of him in sort of an awkward sideways stance, crushing her lips to his and leaving no room to be denied. Going more than a week without feeling that coolness against her… gods he was like an addiction. She’d tried to break herself of that craving too, staying away for as long as she could… and look what happened as a result.

He'd taken off his vest and changed into jeans, leaving his silk shirt untucked and easily accessible to her nimble fingers. She barely parted the fabric before slipping her hand inside to feather touches over his stomach and chest, finally pulling back from the kiss, letting him go enough to turn to face her completely.

"You miss playing with me?" Ty purred seductively.

"Very much so," Lane answered honestly, softly.

"Good," she left it at that, deciding to tease him some more and finish putting up those posters, slipping from his embrace.

Abruptly Ty felt herself being shoved against the wall, the poster she'd barely picked up rolling back up and thumping softly to the floor at her feet. She had hardly uttered a growl when Lane's lips at her neck strangled the noise into a half-moan. His slender body had her pressed harshly against the wall, the kisses ravaging at her neck in the most pleasurable ways, his hands roughly claiming her body. It was so rare and so fun when Lane got bold and decided to go dominating.

Ty laughed and got a grip on his shoulders, trying to push him back. The Koorime refused to be moved, viciously sliding one hand between her thighs despite any attempts at her fighting him, grinding denim against flesh. Tyger arched between Lane and the wall, writhing from the intense pleasure before even realizing it.

She could have put more force into her pushing, send him to the floor easily, but she couldn't think of a single reason why as her heart began racing. To have Lane just decide to dominate, without even being asked let alone ordered or forced… it was thrilling. Yes he'd definitely missed her.

Ty tried to force a coherent thought, "If I don't want to… are you going to rape me?" she finally purred the question.

"Yes," he answered simply, and said not a thing more.

He'd already snapped her bra undone, shoving it and her shirt upwards to be able to lay claim to her breasts with his mouth. She couldn't help but arch in an offering to him, even if she was being "forced", and still somehow managed to wriggle out of the useless shirt and undergarment.

Lane had her completely off the floor, supporting her between himself and the wall, placing her legs around his slender waist as he ravaged at the sweet skin of her chest, gripping her by the hips and rocking his denim-sheathed erection against her heat. Ty groaned, unable to handle the torture, fighting incoherently against him to try and get her jeans off. Gods she was burning, needing that cool skin against her, aching for it.

"Lane… please…"

"How can I rape you if you're begging?" Lane almost smirked, nipping at her neck.

"Oh do I care!?" she writhed, trying to push him away at the same time gripping him closer with her strong legs.

Lane forced himself to calm a bit, but stayed sucking and kissing at her neck, leaving the chore of getting her pants off to her since she was so insistent. Somehow she managed, purring when she was finally rid of all those constraining clothes, going after the closure of his jeans. She was desperate to feel his skin instead of that horrible friction of denim.

He kicked away his jeans as they fell easily from his hips with just a little shove from Ty, then his shorts when she somehow managed those. It really was amazing what Tyger could do when she was determined enough.

Ty arched her hips against him, shivering at an instant's bliss before he pulled away, making her growl in frustration. She was almost ready to shove him to the floor so she could have what she wanted.

"Now," she demanded with a husky growl, digging her less than blunt nails into his shoulders, piercing the silk of his shirt.

"Not yet," he whispered, nuzzling against her ear and making her shiver again.

"Yes… now!" Ty fought off the incoherency in one last desperate effort, clenching her legs tighter to try and capture the Koorime's slender body closer against her.

"Nuh uh," he replied playfully, reaching between her thighs, fingers sliding against her sex, slick and hot with desire.

Ty threw her head back and moaned, satisfied for the moment by that. His fingers slipped within her, tantalizing, hardly satisfying, merely a hint at what was to come. Oh but he curled his fingers just right, rubbing against that place that made her just nearly scream, barely holding back her orgasm even at the first touch. A few expert strokes and she lost it, shuddering violently, muscles clenching at the invasion and dousing him with more fluids.

Before those shivers had even subsided, Lane withdrew his hand from her sex, grasping at her hips with both hands and slamming up into her, lifting her a few inches up the wall. Tyger absolutely screamed, beyond control, another orgasm overwhelming the previous one in a wave of pleasure.

Lane held her there, watching her pant for breath, calming her heart. When she'd recovered sufficiently he knelt slowly, cradling her and taking her down with him, never once losing his position deep inside her. The instant her knees braced themselves on the floor she rocked her body, jarring his hard length, eliciting a torn gasp from his lungs. She was demanding the control now, and he wasn't about to fight.

Lane leaned back a little, letting Ty ride him, her hair tickling at his knees as she arched back. Her hands gripped at his hips, claws playing over his flesh, stimulating his most sensitive area and making him shiver. Ice shot through his veins and he had to close his eyes to get a hold of his own control before he lost it.

Tyger forced herself to bend forward, crawling up along Lane's chest, licking and sucking at his neck, continuing to rock her hips harshly down upon him. She knew he was fighting himself and she wanted to make him cry out like he'd done to her, a twisted sort of revenge. He'd made her all but beg, at his mercy and unsatisfied, and now she'd made him beg. Trained sex slave or not, she could break him.

"Ahh! Ty," he gasped as her fingers pinched at both his nipples at the same time, her mouth ravaging his neck skillfully.

Lane shuddered uncontrollably, his fingers pressing hard into her back, trying to center himself. Tyger didn't let him, sliding up along his length until he slipped out of her. The poor Koorime boy tried to thrust back up into her, but she spared one of his nipples to slam her hand down on his hip, pinning him to the floor, a bit more harshly than she'd intended.

She shrugged off that wisp of guilt, grinning down at him, watching him writhe. Ty teased the head of his erection around her entrance, throttling a groan from his chest. Lane couldn't take it, his hands pawing at her in a desperate attempt at moving her downwards.

"Hmmm… what do you want?" she purred.

"Ty… please," he begged, breathlessly, trying to wriggle his hip out from under her strong hold.

"Please what?" Ty smirked, loving that little blush to his pale skin.

"I want you… please Ty…"

"Seeking your own pleasure now are you?" the Jujin rocked her hips, letting Lane within her a mere inch before pulling back.

"Gods… yes… yes Ty… please," Lane was without reservations now, trembling, aching for release.

"Well… only because it pleases me too," Ty granted smugly, sliding back down onto him.

Lane's eyes were closed, so he couldn't see just how blissful and relieving the movement was to her as well. The pleasure wrapped itself around him the way her sex did, burning hot and pushing him over the edge. Tyger's heat shuddered around him, drawing out his excitement to its fullest.

Ty threw her head back, her cries drowning out Lane's as another orgasm overcame her, this time joined by his, his cool seed shooting up into her and pleasantly soothing her burning. She shivered, slowly lowering herself down onto his body, rubbing against his wonderfully cool skin. Lane wrapped his arms around her, slender form still shaking from his orgasm, heartbeat thudding in her ears in time with hers.

She laid there a long moment, just laying there resting, letting his lower temperature cool her down. She smiled to herself, this could certainly prove fun if nothing else, staying here with him. And, she told herself, she could always leave at any time, she was free to leave if something didn't suit her.

Lane sighed, breaking her from her thoughts, shifting beneath her and trying to get up. She sat up, blinking when he kissed her sweetly, not sure how to react - it was just too loving. He smiled, almost apologetically, and stood up, taking her hand and hinting toward the bedroom.

"You can finish decorating tomorrow while I'm at work, I think it's time for bed."

The lethargy weighing down her body tended to agree and she nodded, taking the initiative and leading him toward the bedroom, playfully shoving him into bed and pouncing on him. She growled, nipping at his neck, then licked before falling onto her back and snuggling into the comfortable mattress, not bothering with a blanket, closing her eyes and intending on some really solid sleep.

Lane turned onto his side, pressing up against her. She allowed it, more annoyed at herself that she wasn't annoyed with him for bordering on cuddling. "Ty," Lane breathed gently against her ear. "If this doesn't work…"

"Heh, we'll get there when we get there, Lane… go to sleep. And until then, we'll have fun," Ty yawned and closed her eyes.

Lane nodded silently to himself and pulled her just a little bit closer. Yes, they'd definitely enjoy it for as long as it worked.



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