aya_magic | [Fic] Untitled (uni!au) chapter 2 (Reply)

Title: Untitled (Until further notice)
Author:

iris_aya (me ^^)
Beta:

sweetpaopuwind
Rating: PG- 13 (because of the f-bomb used more than once) subject to change in later chapters
Genre: Romance, fluff, crack
Word Count: This Chapter: about 2,700~ words (9,200 total so far)
Warnings: boyxboy pairing, my general crackiness, the standards. AU
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with JE, and obviously I cannot "own" these people. I also, in no way, make monetary profit off this.
Summary: Their relationship consisted of glances shot over coffee cups and piles of textbooks from across a room. They had never spoken, never even truly met, but for a few hours every week their world consisted of coffee, books, jazz, and treasured glances.
Author’s Note: Yeah so... an update! Sorry for the massive gaps between my updates school is ridiculous. So these 10 pages have been sitting in my files for almost a full year now and I figured I'd post it up for fun. As always, thanks to Tori who beta'd this submission and made it readable. I'm in the middle of

kizuna_exchange (though let's not think about that ;;) so I have no idea when my next update will be. Here's hoping I get my muse back soon. And just a special note, when I wrote this Lady Gaga's Bad Romance had JUST come out, so it was totally relevant at the time. I'm just too lazy to change it now. Oh, and I guess this finally introduces my new fic comm

aya_magic (namign rights to lilkraftykat) I made it ages ago but haven't updated since so here's the first some of you have probably heard of it ^^;. Also, think of this as an early b-day post. My b-day (and Kame's) is in 4 days but I probably won't have time in the foreseeable future to do any fic posts.

--

Chapter 2:

[Week Four]

[Tuesday]

Jin double-checked his book bag to make sure he had the papers he needed to hand back.

“Going to your lab?” Pi looked up from where he was curled up on the couch with Dead Souls.

“Yeah, then I’m tutoring Kame after class,” Jin said, checking his watch.

“Oh,” Pi murmured, “you’re already tutoring someone?”

Jin blushed lightly. “Uhh yeah, one of my students. Why?”

“Ah, well, my friend is going to tell me tonight if he thinks he needs a tutor for chemistry,” Pi explained.

“Oh, well just go ahead and tell me tonight, then? I’m sure I can probably tutor both of them. If he decides he needs it, just ask him which days are good for him,” Jin explained with a smile.

“Thanks, Jin. Good luck with the class,” Pi called as Jin left the apartment.

Kame stayed back after class, waving at Koki to go ahead and leave. Turning to Jin, he asked, “Do you want any help?”

Jin nearly dropped the beaker in the sink. “Oh no, I’m almost done. This is the last one,” he said, smiling happily.

“All right… I’ll wait for you, then.” Kame hopped on top of one of the desks to wait.

“You don’t have to,” Jin murmured as he turned around briefly, his lab coat rustling in the quiet room.

Kame blinked, finally taking in the scene in front of him. Why does he have to look so great in a lab coat?

Kame shook his head to clear his thoughts and shrugged to show he didn't mind waiting. Jin shrugged back and turned his attention back to the beakers, a small smile playing on his lips.

They walked quietly, side by side, to the café. Jin waved at quite a few people along the way.

“So do you know just about everyone around here or something?” Kame joked.

Jin stumbled at the sudden question and a few books tumbled from his overstuffed bag.

Kame immediately picked up the books before Jin could react and blinked at the titles. In his hands were English versions of Cat Among the Pigeons and Death in the Clouds.

“Are these yours?” He stood back up, still staring at the books.

“N-No, they’re my roommate's. I must have grabbed them by accident.” He made a quick grab for the books, but Kame skipped out of his reach.

Kame flipped through the first book and smiled at all the post-its within it. They were covered with word definitions, comments, and translations, all written in a distinctive, untidy scrawl. He recognized the handwriting from the notes all over the chalkboards in the lab room earlier.

“Then why are all these notes in your handwriting?” Kame smiled, feeling his mind soar. This meant the other was interested in English novels to an extent. He couldn’t help but think the red tint to Jin’s cheeks at this discovery was adorable.

Jin puffed out his cheeks, the heat in them a contrast to the cold air. “Fine. They’re mine, but don’t tell anyone! My friends would give me hell. They seem to think I can barely read, let alone read English novels…”

“So this has been going on for a while?” Kame questioned, still flipping through the books out of curiosity.

“My mum…” Jin started, “My mum really loves English literature. My dad is a chemist and has little interest in it other than his usual science journals and research. So she kept trying to get me to try it when I was younger, and I found I really loved foreign detective and mystery novels.”

Kame stared at him with a raised eyebrow and Jin's cheeks turned even more red.

“That’s cute,” Kame chuckled. “Do you ever read anything but English ones? How about Japanese books?”

“Not too often,” Jin admitted while rubbing his head.

Kame smiled dazedly. New images were already forming in his head.

On cold days, they could just curl up on a couch together, reading English novels and classics to each other. He paused in that thought. From the notes alone, he didn’t know if Jin spoke English or if he just knew how to read it, so if they were going to read out loud to each other, he himself would have to do it. Kame frowned. His spoken English wasn’t exactly the best… His frown turned into more of a pout the longer he thought about his struggles with the difficult language. Well, he could at least imagine Jin speaking in English. His voice was pleasant enough to listen to in Japanese, but thinking about hearing him pronounce the foreign sounds with just a hint of an accent was even better. They could have cups of steaming cocoa and listen to the rain hitting the windows in the background.

“Okay?” Jin waved his hand in front of Kame’s face.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I got distracted.” Kame laughed nervously, trying to shake the image from his head.

“All right…” Jin took the books back and shoved them into his bag. “Can we concentrate on chemistry now?”

Kame smiled at the embarrassed pout on Jin’s face.

Kame paused in the middle of some work when Jin’s cell phone rang. He looked at his own phone and saw that the café was about to close.

♪ Rah-rah-ah-ah-a’, Roma, Roma-ma; Gaga, ooh la la; Want your bad romance♪

Kame smiled at the ringtone before Jin picked up his phone.

“Hey, Pi.” Jin yawned and stretched lightly. “Eh? Oh shoot, it is pretty late, isn’t it? Yeah, I’ll be home soon. See you in a few.”

“We should get going,” Kame said, already starting to organize his things and put them into his bag.

“Yeah,” Jin replied, putting his own things away, “I’ll walk you to your apartment again.”

Kame smiled and followed Jin out of the café.

[Pin Apartment]

Jin dropped his keys in their usual spot and pulled off his boots. “Pi?”

“In here!” Pi popped his head out of the kitchen, holding a plate with a giant sandwich.

Jin eyes widened. “You’re going to eat that at nearly two-thirty in the morning?”

“Of course,” Pi said, just before taking a giant bite of the sandwich.

Jin sighed and walked further into the apartment. “So did you friend call you?”

“Oh yeah! He said he’d be glad if you would tutor him. Tuesdays are the best days, right after class. He’s in your class, you know,” Pi answered between bites.

“All right, I’ll tell Kame on Thursday then, or if I see him tomorrow,” Jin mumbled. “I’m going to bed. Go sleep soon, because you know I won’t wake you up.”

“So mean,” Pi sighed.

“You threw your alarm clock at me this morning,” Jin countered, glaring one last time before shutting his door.

[KoKame Apartment]

Kame walked through the door and instantly went to his room. He started looking through all the books on his bookshelves. One of the books that had fallen from Jin's bag was completely filled with post-its, and it looked like the older man was almost done with the second one as well.

“What are you doing?” Koki asked, squinting into the room.

“Just looking for a few books,” Kame mumbled.

“How was tutoring?” Koki yawned and sat down next to Kame, looking at a few books himself. “Can I borrow one of these?”

“Mm go, ahead,” Kame started. “Ah! Oh, tutoring went well. Things really make more sense when he explains them. I just don’t understand the book that well.”

Koki patted Kame’s shoulder. “That’s good then.”

Kame grinned when he found the book he was looking for. “Perfect. I’m going to bed, so…”

“Get out, I know.” Koki grabbed the book he’d glanced at and left the room.

[Thursday]

Jin ran into the café and spotted Kame already seated and sipping a drink.

“Sorry, I was a bit late leaving my research,” he apologized at he took his seat.

“It’s fine,” Kame sat up a bit straighter in his seat, but paused when he remembered what he had brought with him. “Oh, right!” He pulled two books out of his bag. “I thought you might enjoy something you can actually read. You know, because they're in Japanese.”

Jin smiled and took the books to flip through them.

Kame had picked out a small collection of Tanizaki Junichiro’s stories as well as one by Edogawa Ranpo.

“Yazaki Junnichirō…” Jin read from the first book.

Kame puzzled over the words for a moment before a horrified look crossed his face. “You’re…joking, right?”

Jin blinked. “About what?”

“I… what? You can read Japanese, right? I didn’t just give you books you can’t read, RIGHT?” He paused. “Not even that. You… You don’t know who this author is? How can that be? I don’t even...”

Kame stopped and sighed when Jin blinked adorably. “Tanizaki Junnichirō. That’s what it says.”

Kame watched realization cross Jin’s face. “OH! Of course I’ve heard of him. Don’t look at me like that, Kame! I know who he is, I swear! I-I just...I’m not exactly brilliant with kanji. I never really concentrated on learning it and…”

Kame hit his own forehead but smiled sweetly. “I believe you, Jin. I just hope you enjoy the books… and can read them.”

Jin pouted but decided to ignore that final part. “Thanks.” Jin grinned and happily flipped through the two books again before putting them away. “I’ll definitely start reading these right away. I just finished those two books I had with me on Tuesday, and I was going to head to the bookstore again tomorrow, so thank you.”

Kame blushed at the bright smile sent his way. In his mind he was doing a highly embarrassing dance for making Jin so happy.

Jin recalled his and Pi's conversation as he pulled out the chemistry textbook. “Oh, right! I wanted to ask, would it be okay if another student joined us on Tuesdays? My roommate asked me as a favor. Apparently his friend is an English major and is totally lost when it comes to chemistry. Tuesday is the best day in his schedule, but I figured I’d ask you first before confirming with him…”

Kame frowned. On one hand he wanted to say no; he didn’t want to share any of his limited time with Jin with someone else. But Jin’s kindness was endearing, as was his asking him for permission first. He sighed. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

“He’s actually in our section--Kusano Hironori,” Jin explained. “Well, I’ll call him tomorrow and tell him. I think I saved his number.”

Kame's frown deepened. First he was getting his Jin time invaded, and now Jin had the other person’s number. “Ah! Can I get your number? I mean, just in case I need to contact you to tell you I can’t make it to tutoring or something…”

Jin smiled. “Of course. Give me your phone.”

Jin quickly tapped his number into Kame’s phone and sent himself a message, “All set. Now let’s begin here today…”

While Jin was distracted briefly by the textbook, Kame smiled at his phone before putting it away.

Jin inwardly celebrated getting Kame’s number in his phone book, even though the other had only given it to him for study purposes. He unconsciously started to lean closer to Kame as he explained a particularly difficult concept. He turned bright red when he shifted lightly and felt the brush of Kame’s knee against his own. His hair fell forward and covered his face, preventing him from seeing the matching red glow on his study partner’s face.

He ignored Maru’s almost constant staring. It was a fairly slow hour in the café and Maru had nothing better to do but chuckle at Jin’s embarrassing moments. Jin's frequent glares did little to deter the barista, so eventually he had to give up and pretend Maru wasn't watching them by focusing all of his attention on Kame. Which wasn't too hard, really, all things considered.

Upon closing, Jin quickly put all of his books away, smiling again at the two novels now pushed to the side. He couldn’t wait to see what they were about and maybe discuss them with Kame if he understood them well enough.

“Ah, it’s raining again,” Kame murmured across from him.

He frowned. Today he hadn’t brought his umbrella. “Shit…”

Kame held up his umbrella. “Looks like I’m walking you home tonight.”

Jin smiled widely. “Thanks. Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kame asked. “As long as you promise to give those two books a try, though.”

“I would do that even if it didn’t mean not getting stuck in the rain so late,” he laughed.

[Week Five]

[Monday: Pin Apartment]

Pi looked around the living room, trying to find his latest book. He frowned when he couldn’t find it and wondered if Jin had accidentally taken it to his room when he came home late. He took another bite of the apple he held and walked to the other side of the room.

He opened the door and spotted a peculiar book sitting out on Jin’s desk. “This doesn't look like chemistry…”

He flipped through it and glanced at the author's name. “Tanizaki Junichiro…” He flipped through a few more pages. “'The Gourmet Club,' huh? That sounds like my type of story!”

He forgot all thoughts about finding his own book and immediately sat down on the couch to read. It seemed to be about food, and if it was about food, he’d probably enjoy it.

When Jin returned home an hour later, he found Pi sitting at the counter, staring in horror at his half-eaten apple.

“What’s wrong?” Jin sighed. It wasn’t like his roommate to have perfectly fine food in front of him and not eat it.

“I have no appetite. Every time I think of food, all I can think of is bok choi and how I want to puke,” Pi groaned as he hit his head on the counter.

“Bok choi? Why would you…” Jin stopped as he saw Kame’s book sitting on the counter. “You read that, didn’t you?”

“Why would you have something like this in your room?!” Pi demanded, throwing the book at his roommate.

Jin caught it. “Hey, be careful! Someone lent me a couple of books, and this was one of them.”

“Does that person hate you? That’s the only reason I could think for someone to give you that to read,” Pi replied mournfully.

Jin frowned and waved a banana in front of Pi’s face, hoping to force his appetite back. He put it away when Pi visibly leaned back.

Jin’s eyebrows rose and he fished his phone out of his pocket. After a moment the line picked up, “Ryo, we have a problem. Pi won’t eat,” Jin sighed into his phone.

“What do you mean he won’t eat? He’ll eat almost anything, anywhere, any time,” Ryo drawled. “Why are you calling me for such a useless joke?”

“I’m not joking. Just get over here! He read one of my books and is now staring at all food in horror.” Jin tested a few more items from their pantry in front of Pi but received the same reaction.

“Dammit, I’m coming over.” Ryo abruptly hung up.

[KoKame Apartment]

He thumbed another page, quickly scanning the last lines before flipping it. This book would be perfect to supplement his thesis. His mind wandered a bit as he began the next page.

He couldn’t wait to discuss those two books with Jin, even if that other person was going to be there. It’s not like he had to put their conversations on hold just because that Kusano guy would be there.

“I wonder what he thinks of Ranpo… and Tanizaki…” he paused lightly, “'The Gourmet Club' is really some…thing. Holy shit…”

“What’s up?” Koki glanced up from his laptop across the living room.

“Koki… you’ve read 'The Gourmet Club,' right?” Kame bit his lip.

Koki made a pained face. “Yeah, completely lost my appetite for days, too. The sight of anything remotely like bok choi made me feel ill. Not to mention the S and M themes... Why?”

Kame groaned and hit himself with his book. “I can’t believe I gave him that to read! He’s going to think I'm positively insane!”

“You gave someone 'The Gourmet Club' to read without thinking it through?” Koki sounded horrified. “He’s going to lose his lunch.”

Kame chewed on his lip nervously.

Chapter 3