Initial D Fan Fiction ❯ Unlimited ❯ Make believin' we're together ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Initial D and the following characters belong to Shigeno Shuichi and anyone

else who might have a better right then me. Because, boy are these characters not

my own creation

When Keisuke had gone down for his usual bowl of cereal, still laughing his head off at the idea of Takumi having sex period, much less with his brother, he had been surprised to see the younger man sitting on the couch wearing an over-sized blue t-shirt that was definitely Ryosuke's. Keisuke noticed that Takumi was also wearing a pair of Ryosuke's jeans, the legs rolled up so he wouldn't trip over the hem. Takumi had yet to say a word to him, even though Keisuke had been sitting across the coffee table with his cereal for over an hour. He had offered food, but all he got was a mumble that he couldn't really make out. It sounded along the lines of `shut up.'

Takumi was the picture of misery, his head in his hands, gripping at his hair every now and then, hunched over his knees like he was going to be violently ill at any moment. Keisuke couldn't help but smile down at the guest on the couch. Ryosuke had certainly never had a one-night stand react this badly. It was only nine thirty and Takumi was ready to commit suicide.

Not that there wasn't just reason. Takumi would either kill himself or Keisuke right now. He was certainly royally pissed at Keisuke for telling everyone on the team and their mothers that Ryosuke and Takumi had sex last night in his brother's room. The only reason Takumi was still in the house was that Ryosuke had hidden his keys, not trusting the man to drive right now. Keisuke didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Takumi got behind the wheel of a car right now.

Ryosuke had showed his face once, just to glance at Takumi with a disappointed look before going into the kitchen. Takumi growled something definitely not complimentary at Ryosuke's back before trailing off again into silence, not able to stay angry for long. Keisuke had followed with an empty bowl and spoon to the kitchen, setting them in the sink as Ryosuke started some coffee.

"So, what happened?" Keisuke drawled, more then a bit curious. Ryosuke looked up from the coffee machine with one brow crocked. Being his brother for his whole life, Keisuke knew that his face meant `Don't ask me one more question.' Of course, Keisuke was good at ignoring that look, merely leaning on the counter to get comfortable. Ryosuke's explanation was going to be a long one, he could already tell.

"Nothing," Ryosuke said very briskly, opening up a cabinet with enough force to tear it off the hinges. Fortunately it only banged against wall and bounced back, making Ryosuke shove a hand against it to keep the door from hitting him in the face. Not that he didn't deserve it with the way Takumi was ready to bash his head open their coffee table. Keisuke was kind of hoping Ryosuke felt like shit, or at least guilty. Ryosuke had definitely slept around with enough of the general population, and he should feel bad about somehow managing to get Takumi into bed with him as well.

"Come on now, details," Keisuke lisped, doing a fair imitation of a girlfriend. Ryosuke froze with a coffee mug in hand, his face emotionless as usual, even though he looked like he was going to throw the mug at Keisuke's head. Keisuke kept on smiling, winking once at his brother before smiling as wide as his mouth would allow, knowing that he had the upper hand. Keisuke wasn't the one who screwed the best driver on the team last night, after all.

"You are irritating," Ryosuke stated like it was meant to hurt. Keisuke let the comment roll off his back, very at ease. Ryosuke was in a pile of shit that he had made himself, not Keisuke. Anything he said right now wasn't particularly offensive. Certainly not from Ryosuke's current position.

Keisuke kept on staring at his brother, knowing that it bugged the absolute crap out of Ryosuke to have someone just gawk at him. It was almost funny for the guy to be uncomfortable with people watching him when he was the center of attention for any race. Ryosuke turned onto Keisuke, ignoring the ding of the coffee machine, his teeth grinding together audibly.

"What are you looking at?" Ryosuke demanded, pushed past being civil. Keisuke had the gift of being able to make Ryosuke loose his calm in under a few seconds. He didn't think there was anyone else who could get Ryosuke angry faster then him. Keisuke smiled again and made an indicative noise, jerking his head toward the living room.

"Takumi?" Ryosuke asked out loud. For being as smart as a rocket scientist, Ryosuke sure didn't catch onto things quickly. Of course he meant Takumi. What other person had been both literally and figuratively fucked last night? Keisuke nodded very slowly for Ryosuke's sake, just in case he might misunderstand.

"Keisuke, what the hell makes you think it's any of your business?" Oh, we are touchy this morning, Keisuke mused. Ryosuke was definitely on edge right now, with anger or guilt, Keisuke couldn't figure out right now. Hell, Keisuke couldn't even figure out how Ryosuke had gotten Takumi into bed with him. Keisuke had thought Takumi was smarter then that, seeing all the women walk out of the house in the morning. If nothing else, he was sure Takumi didn't really have a clue about sex anyway.

"I had sex with him, all right? We went out to dinner, Takumi got sick so we went home, and we had sex," Ryosuke snapped out, pouring himself a cup of coffee with a not so steady hand. Keisuke blinked. He hadn't expected Ryosuke to tell him in rapid-fire succession. And with that much lack of detail. Well, it wasn't like Ryosuke was the most descriptive person in the world, especially when it was anything outside the world of cars.

"So, why is he still here?" Keisuke asked, a bit confused. Takumi hadn't been sent off like all the other sex partners Ryosuke had. In fact, Keisuke was pretty sure that Takumi was one of the first men, if not number one, that Ryosuke had ever had. Ryosuke stared into the mug of coffee like it would answer Keisuke for him. Keisuke crossed his arms, ready for the explanation.

"He was, uh, pretty upset last night…after you- interrupted us," Ryosuke hesitated, trying to find the words. Keisuke wondered just how upset Takumi really had been, if it was enough to make Ryosuke stutter in the explanation of it. Keisuke could almost feel bad about walking in, but it was Ryosuke's fault for not locking the door. Besides, it was too good to be true, that his ultra-serious and aggressive brother had hooked up with quiet, shy Takumi. Keisuke couldn't help but tell someone. Who could ever have kept it a secret?

"I got that," Keisuke admitted. After he had hollered up and down the hall to the guys that Ryosuke had deflowered Takumi, the team and him had been waiting excitedly in the kitchen for someone to come downstairs and face the music. However, neither of the two had come down. In fact, Keisuke and the boys had fallen very quiet as they heard the slams and thumps of objects being thrown or pushed over and very loud yelling from both. Keisuke hadn't looked in Ryosuke's room to see the damage yet, quite frankly scared of getting the focus of their anger. He had been very surprised to see that neither Ryosuke nor Takumi had any kind of black eyes or bruises. It had sounded like the best bar room brawl had taken place upstairs last night. Keisuke and the boys had, of course, left very quickly, so he wasn't quite sure how the fight had ended. When he got home extremely late, there wasn't a single sound, not even the chirping of an insect.

"He thinks his father is going to find out," Ryosuke elaborated after a painfully long silence. Getting these important little details out of Ryosuke was as fun as being run over by him. Keisuke thought about all he knew of Takumi's father. Old man. He ran a tofu shop. He was the fastest thing on four wheels. Keisuke pursed his lips. That was the end of his knowledge. It was the most anybody probably knew of Takumi's family.

"It's going to be bad?" Keisuke asked, a bit curious. He didn't think that word would get around to Takumi's dad. It wasn't like anyone on the team talked to Takumi's dad on a friendly basis. Nobody would recognize his dad if they walked past him on the street. There wasn't much danger of discovery.

"Apparently Takumi is in for the beating of his life if it gets around to his dad," Ryosuke explained into the coffee mug, taking a deep sip to sooth his nerves. Keisuke waited the usual two seconds before Ryosuke cursed and opened his mouth, huffing around his burned tongue and mouth.

"You never wait for it to cool long enough. Its still steaming, dumb ass," Keisuke pointed out, not at all surprised that Ryosuke had taken a huge swig from burning hot liquid. It was almost a morning tradition for Ryosuke to burn his mouth. The man just didn't want to wait for anything, just like how he drove. As soon as Ryosuke had stopped sucking in air to try and cool off his mouth, Keisuke sighed and stretched his arms back around his head.

"I don't think there's much to worry about. It's not like we're going to call him up and tell his dad `Hey, guess what your son did last night?'" Keisuke joked. Ryosuke glared at him, obviously not appreciating the humor at the moment. Keisuke shrugged. Either way, the situation didn't really matter to him, as long as Takumi didn't quit the team because of Ryosuke. He liked Takumi a lot, drawn to that severally easygoing attitude. Also Takumi laughed at most of his jokes. Not a lot of people found Keisuke funny, but Takumi seemed to think he was hilarious, in his own quiet way.

"That apparently doesn't matter. Takumi is really mad that we ever did anything in the first place," Ryosuke said quietly. If Keisuke didn't know any better, he would almost say Ryosuke felt bad. But, that was out of the question, because when it came to sex, Ryosuke had the morals of a rock. Keisuke had never seen the same woman come back twice. He had gained a jaded sentiment toward Ryosuke's one nightstands, seeing too many of them come and go to feel sorry for them anymore. This one was a little bit different though, mainly because Ryosuke and Takumi were going to have to see each other every day if Takumi stayed on the team.

"It was really stupid of you," Keisuke agreed, even though Ryosuke had said nothing of the sort. Ryosuke would never use that adjective and his own name in the same sentence. Ryosuke thought things through so much that he just ignored the possibility he might be wrong, because he was the White Comet of Akagi. Keisuke admitted that some of the popularity had gone to his head, while Ryosuke danced around pretending to not care, just like how he was trying to stay emotionless and detached from the grave he had dug for himself.

"What are you talking about?" Ryosuke demanded, like he didn't have a clue. Keisuke pressed his tongue into the side of his mouth, a habit he did when he was irritated. Just like right now.

"Listen, I don't care about what happens between you two, that's your business," Keisuke conceded. Ryosuke opened his mouth but Keisuke started up again before Ryosuke could argue. "But, if you hurt him, I swear to God, I'll kick your ass."

"Why are you getting so worked up about this?" Ryosuke growled, irritated that he was in the wrong and that he couldn't gain back his usual position of being correct.

"Why aren't you getting worked up?" Keisuke returned right back. He couldn't believe that Ryosuke was just going to screw Takumi and leave him without a reason why. Takumi sure wasn't going to be a quickie for Ryosuke, not if he had anything to do about it. Keisuke knew that Takumi was very sensitive toward people and what they thought of him, onto the point of having a social disorder. Takumi wouldn't be able to deal with being a `just this once' with Ryosuke. He had a weak point when it came to people caring about him. Takumi craved for friendship, even though he wouldn't speak a word. Takumi was just too scared to speak, because he didn't want to irritate anyone. It almost worked to the reverse for Takumi, being too quiet for most people to deal with.

"Keisuke, I don't see what point you're trying to make," Ryosuke started, putting a hand on his hip. Keisuke could have strangled him, just reached out and choked the self-confident bastard to death. Just because he was his brother didn't mean that Keisuke wouldn't take him outside and beat the shit out of him like a five year old. Being his brother meant Keisuke had more right then anyone else.

"God, could you even try, just once, just one single time, to understand someone? Ryosuke, you just took his virginity, for Christ's sake!" Keisuke yelled out. His fists were clenching together, ready to punch Ryosuke in the face if he said something that Keisuke didn't like. Ryosuke wasn't the bit flustered by Keisuke's outburst. He wasn't even looking at Keisuke, just gazing to the doorway of the kitchen, calmly sipping his coffee.

"He didn't take my virginity," someone said very darkly to Keisuke's immediate right. Keisuke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Please, let it be . . . Oh, God, let it be anyone except him. Keisuke turned to face in the direction of Ryosuke's gaze. Standing in the middle of the kitchen was Takumi, not looking nearly as miserable as he had only moment before. Instead, he looked very calm. Keisuke didn't like the expressionless look on Takumi's face. It meant bad things were going to happen.

"It's okay, Takumi, I'm going to beat some sense into Ryosuke here. Hell, I'll hold him down for you if you want," Keisuke offered, laughing as he grabbed Ryosuke in a brotherly headlock. Ryosuke didn't budge, just kept on sipping his coffee like it was the only thing left in life. Takumi wasn't saying anything either. Keisuke felt like the only person who had ever talked in their presence before. It was not comfortable anymore.

Keisuke lamely dropped his arms, hitting Ryosuke on the upper arm warningly. Ryosuke glared at him out of the corner of his eye, not because he was upset or angry with Keisuke yelling at him, but because coffee had almost splashed out on the floor. Takumi was looking at Keisuke's bare feet like they were a nude woman, focusing in with an intensity that Keisuke knew was just to ignore the world. Keisuke's toes started to fidget, nervous under Takumi's intense gaze.

"Takumi, don't feel like you have to lie or something. Just tell me and I'll take care of it fo. . ." Keisuke started. Takumi's head snapped up. Keisuke froze at the look on Takumi's face. Takumi's brows were brought together, his eyes narrowed into small, fierce slits. Keisuke wondered if he should be worrying about his life at the moment. Keisuke heard the garage door open and started to tell Takumi to take a time out for the moment. The team was coming over early for a Saturday practice match with the Takahashi household as a meeting ground.

"He didn't take my virginity!" Takumi roared out, his voice raised louder then Keisuke had ever heard before. At that moment, two of the guys stepped into the kitchen, frozen halfway through greeting Keisuke and Ryosuke, both staring at Takumi in shock. Takumi stared back, looking just as stunned, his face reddening so fast that Keisuke worried he might faint from the rush of blood to the head.

"Uh . . ." Keisuke started, trying to salvage the situation. Nothing came to mind, except that Reiji and Sora had the best bloody timing possible. Reiji blinked for a moment, and then started laughing so hard he had to hunch over, slapping his knees. Sora started to howl with amusement, hitting the refrigerator with a fist. Takumi looked stricken, his face going from beet red to a sickly white before he looked down at his feet.

"Oh, God, Takumi, that's classic," Reiji gasped out, wiping at his eyes between the laughs. Takumi's shoulders sagged a bit, like he was trying to fall in on himself. Keisuke felt awful for Takumi, knowing that he was dying of embarrassment. Takumi didn't exactly take things well, like people laughing at him.

"Shut it, you two," Ryosuke ordered, his voice very quiet and icy. Keisuke could see them freeze up again. Ryosuke glared at them, so fierce that Keisuke wondered if their balls were shrinking reflexively. Takumi didn't say one word, didn't thank Ryosuke for telling them to stop being bastards, and didn't walk out of the room in embarrassment, just stood there like he was waiting to melt into the floor.

*Oh, the tiger's feisty," Sora murmured, raking his hand like a paw at Takumi when Ryosuke turned back to the coffee pot. Keisuke groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. Takumi shifted, definitely wanting to die, or at least disappear. Ryosuke turned around very slowly and walked over to their fellow teammate. Sora choked on his laughter, realizing just whom he had catcalled when Ryosuke loomed over him.

"So, the rest of the guys here?" Keisuke asked Reiji as Ryosuke grabbed the front of Sora's shirt and dragged him out into the garage. Reiji turned back to Keisuke, his attention drifting as the sound of someone being hit shot into the hallway before the door closed. Takumi dug the ball of his foot into the floor, making an uncomfortable circular motion.

"Uh, yeah, they're outside," Reiji said nervously, looking at Takumi with something that bordered on a glare. Probably thought that it was Takumi's fault that Sora was a fucking idiot. People needed to learn where boundaries were, and if Ryosuke wanted to teach Sora with a fist, that was fine with Keisuke. Takumi didn't deserve any kind of teasing, mainly because he was the type that couldn't just ignore it.

As if to prove Reiji right, there was the sound of several voices being raised and a loud metal crash. The yelling didn't bother Keisuke as much as the sound of small pieces of metal hitting the cement of the garage. That meant not everything was good and fine. If something had happened to his car, Keisuke would kill someone.

He was already at the door before he realized it, Reiji following behind with Takumi just coming out from the kitchen, his feet dragging. Keisuke didn't have time to think about Takumi being uncomfortable facing the team this morning. All that mattered was his car. If his baby was scratched so much as the length of a pencil point, Keisuke would get the paint job done in blood.

Keisuke jumped out into the garage with bare feet, not having time to worry about little things like shoes. The car. He saw his baby, parked at the far end of the garage, just where he had left it last night. The crowd of the team was gathered around the door, a good, safe distance from his car. Letting out a sigh, Keisuke finally started to pay attention to the other people in the garage.

The crash had been the sound of Sora falling against a portable toolbox, sending all of the equipment across the floor. He was still picking himself off of the ground, the corner of his mouth splattered with blood. Ryosuke was standing in the center of the team, all of them yelling questions at him. Ryosuke was ignoring them, looking very content as he cracked the knuckles of his right hand.

"Why'd you hit him?"

"Shit, Ryosuke, you made him bleed!"

"What are you thinking?"

Various questions were being yelled out at Ryosuke, who was ignoring them all. He looked up at Keisuke, then past him, right over his shoulder. Keisuke blinked, turning around to look at Reiji. Okay, there was nothing on his face. Then, Keisuke kept looking past Reiji to see Takumi standing on the three steps that went from the garage to the raised floor of the house, looking at the doorframe like he had never seen it before.

"You don't need to worry about my personal life," Ryosuke suggested as Sora wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. Reiji walked around Keisuke and helped his friend up, examining the split skin on the corner of his mouth. Ryosuke stood there for a bit longer, making a threat with his mere presence. Sora nodded jerkily before hissing and slapping Reiji away as he tried to poke at the wound.

"Are we still on for today?" Another driver asked. Keisuke blinked, unable to figure out who had just spoken. He looked at Ryosuke. If anyone was going to have a say-so, it would be his brother. Ryosuke rubbed at the bridge of his nose and sighed before turning around to face the several other drivers in his garage.

"We're still doing practice matches today," Ryosuke announced. The Initial D team all cheered like maniacs, calling out challenges to each other in excitement. Keisuke smiled at everyone's enthusiasm before glancing back to check on Takumi. Takumi had closed the house door, probably thinking of the expensive air conditioning being wasted, and was leaning back against the door, his head tilted slightly up. Confused, Keisuke looked up at the ceiling as well. The rafters were still there. Keisuke sighed, realizing that Takumi had a tendency to stare at things when he was uncomfortable.

*However," Ryosuke stated, making everyone moan at what he might be saying next. Ryosuke waited until he had everyone's attention, glancing once at Takumi, his eyes looking a bit uncomfortable when the driver didn't look back at him. Keisuke crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. He hoped Ryosuke felt like shit on the sidewalk for making Takumi uncomfortable like this.

"We're going to breakfast first," Ryosuke announced. The other drivers all did various cries along the lines of `Yes!' and `He's paying, right?' Ryosuke was known for treating the team to meals every now and then. It was like PMS, unpredictable and out of the blue, except that it meant good things. If there was one thing in life to be appreciated, it was free food. The heavy feeling of cereal resting in his stomach was already starting to fade as the prospect of a real breakfast was suddenly visible on the horizon.

"Where are we going?" Keisuke asked excitedly, forgetting that he was supposed to be pissed off at his over-sexed brother. Ryosuke turned to him, no emotion on his face, as the other drivers began to quiet down, eager to know where they were going to eat as well. Everyone in the garage was hanging onto Ryosuke's every word, except for Takumi, who was staring down at the knocked over tool box.

"Just follow me," Ryosuke said mysteriously. A few groaned at that. The last time they had followed Ryosuke to a diner, three of their drivers had gotten hopelessly lost and wound up an hour late. Ryosuke seemed to get some kind of pleasure out of leaving everyone in the dust. Keisuke sniffed, remembering something else about his brother that irritated him. Ryosuke only thought with his balls and the stick shift.

The team began to disperse, going to their precious cars, a few of them honking as they were unlocked by remote. Ryosuke walked toward Keisuke, obviously wanting to continue their conversation. Ryosuke always had to get the last word. Keisuke opened his mouth, ready to verbally tear his brother apart, but was only walked around and past. Ryosuke walked right up to Takumi, definitely going past the personal space boundary to stare down at the slightly shorter driver.

"Give me my keys," Takumi ordered, glancing over to the hachi-roku parked in the driveway through the open garage door. Keisuke nodded approval. Takumi needed to assert himself and tell Ryosuke to fuck off. Ryosuke looked steadily down at Takumi, like he was dealing with a small child.

"Are you still angry?" It was a good point. Nobody wanted to see Takumi drive when he was mad. The last time he did, he almost killed someone. Mainly himself. At least Ryosuke was slightly concerned about Takumi's welfare. Still, it wasn't quite the effort Keisuke wanted to see. He wanted Ryosuke on his knees apologizing to Takumi.

Takumi didn't answer, but the silence was as much of a `yes' if he had written it out. Ryosuke's face didn't change one bit, as emotionless and calculating as it ever came. Takumi glared right back, not shy about showing his anger. Takumi was like that, once provoked he never backed down. Takumi wasn't once easily infuriated, but when he finally got pissed, all one could do was duck and cover your head.

"Then you're not getting your keys back," Ryosuke set out a rule like he still had the place to do it. Ryosuke was the one caught following his dick around, not Takumi. Takumi was the victim here, seduced by Ryosuke's clever way with words and attitude. That much was clear to Keisuke, because it sure wasn't love between them.

"You can ride with me," Keisuke offered before he could even think about it. Ryosuke's head snapped to him like a hawk, his whole attention suddenly focused on his brother. Keisuke just smiled at him, putting an arm over Takumi's shoulders. Takumi grunted and shrugged his arm off, though without any anger.

"That's fine," Takumi snapped, though he was looking at Ryosuke when he agreed. Whatever. Keisuke already had his keys out and hit the button. His baby honked immediately, the lights flashing as it unlocked. Ryosuke didn't say a word as Keisuke breezed past, Takumi following after a second's hesitation.

Keisuke opened up the door and landed in the driver's seat, settling in like he was easing on a favorite shoe. He put his hands on the wheel, feeling the familiar grooves beneath his fingers. There was nothing like getting into your own car, knowing that you could push it to the limit on a whim. Keisuke already had the engine on and revving it as Takumi reluctantly got in on the passenger side.

"Thanks," Takumi said gratefully as he pulled the seatbelt across his body. Keisuke heard Ryosuke's FC start up and looked out the window. Sure enough, his brother peeled out so fast that it would have been reckless if Ryosuke weren't such a goddamn good driver.

"It's alright. I wouldn't let you ride with that asshole anyway," Keisuke assure Takumi, glancing over his shoulder as he tore out of the garage. Ryosuke hit the door remote and it started to close after the hood of Keisuke's car cleared the sensor. Ryosuke's white car was already turned in the driveway, facing the street.

Ryosuke looked at them from the side, just an expressionless glance that gave away nothing. Keisuke's fingers brushed the stick shift and he waited, his feet resting on the pedals. Takumi slowly reached up and grabbed the door handle, putting his other hand in the cushion of the seat. He was preparing himself to try and stay in the seat.

The white FC shined in the early morning sun, the other cars unimportant as Ryosuke waited for everyone to get in the cars. When the last driver had started the engine, Ryosuke looked down, compulsively putting a cigarette between his lips. Keisuke waited impatiently, tapping his finger on the wheel while Takumi glared as Ryosuke lit up in his car.

The Zippo lighter closed and Ryosuke was already drifting into the street, speeding away. Takumi yelped as he was thrown back in the seat by Keisuke's acceleration. Keisuke ignored him, the screaming fading as he concentrated on launching his own vehicle into the city traffic. Keisuke played with the clutch, the engine growling as he released it after his brother.

The brake lights of the FC were only centimeters away by the next turn, Keisuke catching up with ease. Both brothers let the tires go around the busy intersection corner, plowing through the red light like it was nothing. Pedestrians jumped out of the way as the tires skidded, Keisuke throwing the steering wheel the other way to straighten out the car. Takumi yelled in fright as they almost grazed the rear fender of Ryosuke's car, Ryosuke's car jumping away and pulling ahead.

"So, Takumi," Keisuke started as they got on a straightaway. Takumi looked over, his eyes wide with fear as they went down the main street, far faster then the speed limit. Keisuke glanced in the rear view, checking as he saw a fellow team member's car skid around the corner. If one of them saw the next turn, Keisuke could be sure the whole team would be following.

"You said that Ryosuke didn't take your virginity," Keisuke made it more of a question. Takumi nodded weakly, distracted by having to throw his hands on the dashboard as Keisuke slammed on the brakes to follow Ryosuke's abrupt turn. Metal and rubber squealed in unison, drowning out Takumi's panicked yells as they darted across the left lane to turn down another road.

"Then, Ryosuke wasn't your first," Keisuke deduced out loud. The road had turned into a one-way street, climbing up a slanted residential zone. Apartments and parked cars flashed by out of the corner of his eye, Keisuke dropping it down a gear to soar up the hill. Ryosuke wasn't more then a yard away, both of them confident and used to driving so close together. Except this time, Ryosuke was trying to lose Keisuke on purpose. He could tell that by watching the rear tires skid out on the FC as Ryosuke took another sudden detour without signaling.

"No," Takumi agreed, leaning into the door as they took on the turn. Other drivers honked as Keisuke flew through the intersection, hot on his brother's back bumper. Keisuke checked over his shoulder before he switched lanes, moving up on Ryosuke's side. Takumi's grip on the dashboard tightened as they almost became even with the car, flying down the two lanes like the road laws didn't apply for them.

"Then, who was the first?" Keisuke asked. He would never be called tactful or sensitive. Keisuke was brutal honest and crude when it came to dealing with people, but that was because he liked to cut the crap and get straight to the point. Takumi looked at him with wild eyes, Ryosuke's profile visible behind him in the close car.

Ryosuke shifted up and was accelerating with such ease Keisuke had to admire it. His brother was one of the best street drivers out there, period. No matter what kind of people person he was, Ryosuke was definitely a god when it came to driving. But, Keisuke was related to him, darting back into his own lane and around a slower car to follow Ryosuke.

"The first? I guess, oh shit," Takumi cursed empathically as Ryosuke cut around one car and turned in front of it to make the corner. The older Cadillac slammed on the brakes, the driver not about to react well to having a street racer run in front of his bumper. Keisuke teased the brake, letting the car start to drift to make it around the obstacle. He cleared it with no space to spare, the intersection thrown into chaos by the brother's chase.

"It was Natsuki," Takumi informed him, leaving the details out. Keisuke didn't have much time to think about it as Ryosuke pulled away. A slow, safe driver wasn't pulling over to the side of the road in panic, instead keeping in the lane and in the way. Keisuke didn't have time to brake. He passed, ignoring Takumi's scream as a truck going the opposite lane honked, slamming on its brakes in desperation.

"That Mogi girl?" Keisuke asked, cutting in front of the oncoming traffic and shooting back into his own proper lane. Takumi nodded jerkily, wiping at the sweat covering his face. The FC was back in sight, the white rear reflecting the yellow of Keisuke's own car as he ran up Ryosuke's ass.

"Yeah," Takumi confirmed in a shaky voice, yelling and pointing down the road. Keisuke saw something flash out of the corner of his eye on the passenger side. Ryosuke was already blowing through a light, ignoring the yellow to red color transition. Keisuke slammed on the brakes, yanking the emergency brake as well. The car almost spun out, Keisuke throwing the wheel the opposite way of the tires. Metal screeched and both men were thrown hard against the seatbelts, the sudden gravity tossing their bodies forward.

The car stopped with a large amount of rubber, going over the white lines of the pedestrian walk. Takumi wasn't even breathing in the seat, one foot up on the dashboard in an attempt to prepare for a crash. Keisuke saw a man in a wheelchair roll out from the sidewalk. One second later and he could have hit the man.

"We're gonna lose him," Keisuke growled, tightening the leather of the wheel. The FC was already gone in a blur of white around the next block. Takumi swallowed loudly, slowly putting his feet back on the floor of the car. He put one hand on his chest, letting out a whoosh of air.

"I'm alive," he said softly. Keisuke wasn't sure if he was joking or really shocked that he had survived the first part of their drive. Keisuke looked back down the road. When did lights get so fucking long? It irritated him, pissed him off to no ends that Ryosuke had made the light. Just by a bare fraction of a second and Ryosuke had won again, though in all rights he shouldn't.

Keisuke fished his cell phone out of his pants pocket, glaring at the light the whole time. Takumi didn't say anything, but yanked once on the seatbelt to check that it was still working. Keisuke glanced over, just to make sure that Takumi wasn't trying to jump out of the car. He tossed the cell phone to Takumi, who caught it awkwardly, unsure what he should do with it.

"Call Ryosuke. Ask him where the fuck he's headed to," Keisuke requested, sparing a quick look into the rearview mirror. The light turned green just as a teammate gunned around the furthest corner, too far away to be any threat. The light would be red again by the time he caught up.

Takumi pressed the speed dial reluctantly, lifting the phone up to his face as it dialed. There was a moment silence, filled by the sound of the engine lifting off again. Keisuke jumped ahead of the rest of the traffic, the other drivers nothing more then a good joke as he sped in front. He would catch Ryosuke.

"Hi," Takumi said slowly, like he regretting ever agreeing to dial in the first place. Keisuke only gave him half an ear, looking forward onto the oncoming traffic. He zipped past the parked car, going down the street that his brother had been only moments ago. He wouldn't let Ryosuke beat him.

"Yeah. Where are you going?" Takumi asked softly, shyly avoiding any kind of embarrassing questions. *Why did you have sex with me yesterday?" was one of the last questions Takumi would ask when anyone else was in earshot. Whatever Ryosuke was asking on the other end was unknown as Keisuke launched down the straight road, unsure where he should turn. Takumi listened to Ryosuke's voice, his eyes drifting to the surrounding as Ryosuke gave him an answer.

"Okay," Takumi said. He listened longer, Keisuke going down the street with a speed that would be dangerous to anyone else. Then, Takumi blushed bright red for no apparent reason, just because of something Ryosuke had said. Takumi pulled the phone away from his ear, suddenly ending the connection. Keisuke only spared a moment's attention, teasing the clutch as he continued down the street.

"Something about Fifth and Vine," Takumi said weakly, obviously embarrassed about something Keisuke could very well guess at. The street names passed through his mind, Keisuke checking off the location and side passes. There was a café on the corner, a small little breakfast joint that he had gone to with Ryosuke more then once. He knew a short cut.

Takumi killed the connection as Keisuke suddenly shifted into a drift, rocketing down an alleyway. Takumi had enough time to shove the cell phone into his own pants as they flew down the narrow, littered stretch. Keisuke knew now where Ryosuke was headed, and damned if he let his brother beat him, even if he was one light ahead of them. Takumi grabbed at the handle on the top of the door, trying to remain in his seat as Keisuke swirled around the corner and back onto a main street. A trashcan flew up over the hood of the car, rocketing over the roof as his car bowled through.

"Anyone else?" Keisuke asked casually as he shot out into the usual traffic. Takumi yelped as he nearly grazed another car, the fender barely missing a small luxury car. Keisuke continued down the road, determined to beat Ryosuke there even if he had a traffic light on his side. Now that he knew where his brother was going, Keisuke could cut through traffic as he pleased.

"Itsuki and I did it once," Takumi admitted, scrabbling for some kind of support as Keisuke suddenly jerked the car down another alley, ignoring the honking of other drivers. Keisuke looked at Takumi out of the corner of his eye. Takumi was terrified; one hand wrapped around the seatbelt like it was a lifesaver. Did Takumi have that little faith in his driving skills?

"Itsuki?! No way!" Keisuke denied as they drifted, the tires skidding nearly out of control as they made it around another corner. Takumi fell against Keisuke's shoulder, helpless against the natural force of the car moving. He pulled himself back up, even though the warmth had left an imprint on Keisuke's shoulder.

"We were just messing around and it happened! Look out!" Takumi screamed as Keisuke grazed another sidewalk. A poor, elderly woman jumped back, flipping them off as Keisuke continued down the street. Screw anyone else. He wouldn't allow Ryosuke to beat him. Even though he couldn't see his brother's car, they were still in a race. Now, it was about who knew the streets better, who had the best skill to make a short cut.

"Who else?" Keisuke demanded as they rocketed down the street, passing a young girl in a Honda. What a joke. The light turned red as they zoomed underneath. Keisuke was a street racer, pure and simple. He wouldn't allow anyone to beat him, not even his own charismatic brother. More cars flew by, nothing more then flashes in his eye as Keisuke turned the corner.

"Damn it, slow down!" Takumi roared as they made the next turn. He was thrown against Keisuke again, and he couldn't say that it was necessarily a bad thing to have Takumi pressed against his body. Only a few more kilometers to go before it came to the finish line. The café was now a prize, something to be reached before his brother.

"Iketani-sempai and I did it a few times, please, slow down!" Takumi demanded, trying to appease Keisuke with the personal history of his sex life. Keisuke though back on what little he knew of the other driver. Never really clean-shaven but a likeable guy nonetheless. He had a confidence and determination about him, even if the skills weren't up to par. Keisuke hadn't even expected there to be more then one partner, not the list Takumi was suddenly revealing.

Keisuke slammed on the brakes, shift at the same time to control the spin of the tires as they cornered hard. Takumi screamed as they slid toward a car on the other side of the road, the wheels screeching in protest. His face was slammed against the window, Takumi helpless against the force of gravity. The double straps on Keisuke's on seatbelts kept him much steadier then his passenger. He also knew what he was going to do next, so Keisuke could prepare his body for it.

"There was also that time with Nakazato," Takumi admitted, like it would make Keisuke slow down. Keisuke almost lost it around the exit, his eyes going wide with the words. He accelerated down Fifth, street signs going by too fast to read. Keisuke didn't need to see the names to know where he was going.

"You're making shit up now," Keisuke accused, his teeth already set on edge at the mention of the jerk's name. He didn't like that hot shot from the Night Kids. Those narrow eyes made Keisuke want to knock him out. He couldn't image Takumi spending more then five minutes with that guy without getting pissed off. Everyone got angry around that son of a bitch.

"I don't lie," Takumi said with a little bit of heat. Even Takumi could have a temper, and when someone finally made him angry it was shocking in its ferociousness. Especially since Takumi was usually such a nice, timid guy the rest of the time. That little hint of anger that he was showing at being called a liar made Keisuke believe him.

"Fuck, you and Takeshi? How could you stand that guy?" Keisuke growled. He wasn't as nice and patient as other people. Keisuke would punch that shifty-eyed loser out if Nakazato even thought of looking at him wrong. Keisuke changed gears to third, playing with the clutch as they rocketed down the street. There was nothing better then the sound of a performance engine overpowering the rest of the cars in the street.

"He took me out drinking after I beat him racing. We both got really drunk and it happened," Takumi defended angrily. Keisuke wondered if he jaw would ever go back into its socket after dropping open so hard. Takeshi got Takumi so drunk that he couldn't even say no? Oh, fuck. Night Kids were going to get a visit, soon, and Keisuke would make it as unpleasant as possible.

"He raped you!" Keisuke cursed, stomping on the gas pedal until it hit the floor. Takumi couldn't say anything immediately, slammed back into the seat as he was. Keisuke heard his knuckles pop around the grip he had on the steering wheel. He'd put sugar in the Night Kid's gas tank. He'd pop all their tires. He'd kill Takeshi Nakazato.

"I was not!" Takumi roared back, screaming for the first time in anger and not fear since he got into the car. Keisuke didn't answer him. Takumi had some fucked up ideas when it cam to sex. Ryosuke had screwed Takumi and now was going to make it into a one-night stand. Takumi had multiple partners, none of them who he really sounded like he was in love with. `It just happened' wasn't an excuse when it came to sex.

"Will you just back off?! I wasn't raped. Nobody took my virginity. It's my life!" Takumi snarled. The warning lost a bit of its edge when Keisuke cut across traffic, flying into a parking lot. Takumi screamed his head off as they hit the speed bump, sending the FD up in the air like a bird.

Keisuke already had the brakes on as they landed heavily, the front dipping with the weight of the car. The tires squealed; trying to spin out from under the axles as Keisuke forced the FD to stop. Smoke shot up from behind the car, the muffler sending out flames in protest. Takumi was thrown entirely out of the seat, the safety belt barely keeping him off of the stick shift.

"Is that it? Any others?" Keisuke snapped coldly. Takumi glared back at him, angry that Keisuke would still ask him. The yellow car hummed as the engine began to cool, finally allowed a moment's peace. There was silence between them, awkward and final. Keisuke wished he had the radio on to try and take away a bit of the edge.

"It's not your business anyways," Takumi sniped, unbuckling the seatbelt. He opened the door even though they hadn't parked yet. Keisuke reached out and grabbed Takumi's wrist, forcing him back into the seat. Takumi tried to shake him off, twisting his arm in attempt to break Keisuke's hold.

"Wait till we park, hot stuff," Keisuke teased him without any kind of humor. God, he couldn't believe that he had totally missed Takumi having a sex life. Any kind of social life, in fact. It was too bizarre to think of Takumi being outgoing enough to even have a make-out session, much less actually getting it right up the ass.

Takumi jerked his wrist out of Keisuke's hand violently and slammed the door shut, Keisuke stopped from growling by throwing the car into a hard reverse. Just what the hell was the guy thinking, banging doors around like that?! It served him right when Takumi pitched forward in the seat, no longer held in by the seatbelt. He spread his hands out on the dashboard, trying to stay upright as Keisuke ripped the wheel around.

He looked over his shoulder to find a parking spot, not asking Takumi to help out like he usually did whenever the hachi-roku driver rode with him. Not this time. Things had changed, and Keisuke had a feeling he was going to find out that it wasn't for the better. Finally, he spotted a spot, two cars behind from where he had finally managed to stop. Keisuke let the FC burn a petite amount of rubber to make it into the straight, painted parking spots. He backed right over the divider line, taking up two spaces with only one car. Keisuke wasn't about to allow his precious car to get dented.

Takumi waited impatiently for Keisuke to turn off the car before he threw his door open again. The door closed so hard that the entire car rocked with it. Keisuke threw off his own seatbelt, tearing at the handle as he swung open his own door. Keisuke took enough time to lock it and close the door with not quite as much force as Takumi had.

"What the fuck? Be careful of the ride!" Keisuke snapped. Usually Takumi had more respect for a car. He could have chipped paint with how hard the door closed. Takumi was already stomping away from the car, kicking a crumpled soda can that had been dumped in the parking lot. It rattled away, disappearing under the wheels of the other parked cars, Takumi following behind Keisuke in a fury.

Keisuke decided to let the guy go and cool off. Anything he said now wasn't going to be taken in the right light. Keisuke looked up and down the lot. It was the right place, the café in the center of the pavement. The traffic zoomed by on Vine, one of the busier main drags in the city. He didn't see Ryosuke's car anywhere.

The phone rang in the back of Takumi's pants. He looked up at Keisuke from the stairs leading to the raised building, already far ahead. Keisuke jogged up as Takumi took his cell phone back out and handed it to Keisuke without a word. Keisuke smiled sardonically at Takumi, knowing just how much the other wanted to even be in the same country as him.

"Keisuke," he greeted as Takumi crossed his arms impatiently, leaning back against the brick rise of the building.

"Where the hell did you go? Some of us aren't crazy enough to go that fast, you know!" Hirofumi roared into the earpiece. Keisuke winced away from the screeching voice. How loud could someone be on a phone? Takumi sighed, looking away as Keisuke had to listen to Hirofumi continue to yell about the Takahashi's daredevil driving.

"We're at Zenny's," Keisuke answered. He heard a long silence, the sound of a heavy engine pulling out on to a street through on the cell phone. Keisuke waited, hearing the curse when Hirofumi realized where he was.

"We're coming. Shit, that's about fifteen minutes away! You guys didn't even stop at a single light, did you?" Hirofumi accused. Keisuke sniffed. Some of them had stopped. He wondered where his brother was. Takumi was up on the deck, looking around at the parking lot.

"I see him," Takumi pointed, toward the corner of the street. Sure enough, there was Ryosuke standing on the sidewalk in front of his car. A policeman was next to him, shaking a pen in Ryosuke's face and yelling something about excessive speeding. Keisuke laughed out loud, punching Takumi in the shoulder.

"He's getting a speeding ticket! Ha, ha, look at his face," Keisuke laughed, pointing down the parking lot. Takumi wasn't saying anything, leaning over the railing. The younger man rested on his elbows, bending to get close to Ryosuke in a lazy, relaxed sort of way, even though a parking lot separated them.

"I wonder if we should get a table?" Takumi asked slowly, looking into the restaurant. Keisuke glanced over his shoulder, checking out the diner. It didn't seem very busy at all; most of the booths empty from the late morning breakfast crowd. Keisuke pulled out the pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of the vest he had thrown over the loose, worn black t-shirt.

"No, we'll wait for the guys to get here. Let me finish off this smoke first," Keisuke insisted as he packed down the cigarettes and pulled one out, offering it to the other guy. Takumi looked down at the stick Keisuke raised to his mouth with as much distaste as he would look upon five-day-old road kill. Not even a `thank you' for trying to be nice. Keisuke lit up, half-considering yelling out a greeting to his brother just to see if he could make things worse.

Ryosuke glanced over to them, ignoring the policeman for a moment and picking out Keisuke and Takumi like a hawk would. Keisuke finished lighting the end of his cigarette and waved to his brother merrily. It was the by far one of the best things to see the White Comet of Akagi get a speeding ticket. Ryosuke was going to have a fucking seizure over this one.

When Keisuke finally lowered his hand, he realized that his brother had never even been looking at him. Instead, Ryosuke's eyes had settled on Takumi like a predator would look on a small bunny. Those dark, emotionless and calculating eyes were studying Takumi all the way across a parking lot, clearly assessing him. It was so intense that Keisuke wanted to put his body in front of Takumi and hide the younger man from his brother's gaze.

He would have done so too, if Takumi weren't staring back in his usual bored, careless manner. He didn't seem affected by Ryosuke's hard gaze. In fact, the hachi-roku driver seemed to be unable to care less if Ryosuke got hauled off for reckless driving. Even after sex, not much had changed.

Keisuke grinned around his cigarette, supposing that sex didn't really matter to Takumi. He couldn't believe that the quiet, shy man had at least five partners under his belt. Keisuke wondered how many had been left out. It still galled him that Takeshi had sex with Takumi. Sleeping with the enemy. It just wasn't right.

Ryosuke turned away from Takumi, forced to pay attention to the officer trying to scare the shit out of him. The policeman was obviously trying to make an impression on such a reckless driver so that it would never happen again. If only the man knew who he was trying to give a ticket to.

"How much do you think the ticket is going to cost?" Keisuke asked Takumi as he took a drag from the cigarette. Takumi shook his head, not wanting to get into betting over how much trouble Ryosuke was in. Takumi could be absolutely no fun like that sometimes. The quiet guy just didn't like to anything that could possibly be mean to another person. He didn't want to draw attention to himself like that. Unless he was pissed, of course, Keisuke added with a grimace. Takumi's temper was definitely something to be feared.

"Not enough," Takumi bit out in a surprising amount of resentment, but Keisuke didn't begrudge the guy one bit. He wondered just what his brother had said to Takumi over the phone to make the guy so pissed. Well, not that Takumi didn't already have full reason to want to beat the living shit out of Ryosuke. His dear older brother had really managed to fuck things up royally last night. Keisuke probably shouldn't have been so prompt in telling everyone what was happening upstairs; but he had also figured that it was more than a one-night stand from the way the two were so comfortable being naked in front of each other- at least from what Keisuke had seen…

Stop thinking like that! Keisuke snapped at himself, trying desperate to imagine hot women, his dream engine, a lifetime supply of his favorite cigarettes; anything else besides his brother and Takumi doing it. Wrong-wrong-wrong. He was most certainly not jealous, not about to stick his nose any further into their business when he was s clearly not wanted. Keisuke didn't know if he would be able to stand it. The situation had changed a lot…and just when had Takumi found the time to screw all those people?

Or had Takumi been the one screwed?

"AAARGH!" Keisuke roared out loud, shaking his head violently to get rid of the thought. Takumi looked over at him in confusion, taking one cautionary step back as Keisuke freaked out. It even drew the attention of Ryosuke and the policeman just as he was finishing up handing the ticket over to the collected driver.

"Uh, Keisuke? Are you…okay?" Takumi asked slowly, obviously wondering if he should try running away or not depending on the answer. It made him pissed. Angry at Ryosuke for suddenly making everything so awkward, angry at Reiji and Sora walking in on the argument this morning, and angry at himself for only making things worse too. He sucked on his cig like candy; damn sure there was no way to salvage this one.

"Yeah, fine. I just need some breakfast," Keisuke answered back grudgingly, more because he knew if he didn't answer- like he much rather do at the moment- Takumi would take it offensively. No need to add more shit to this blue Monday. The poor guy already looked like he had been through enough with the sleep bruises under his eyes and the even deep hunch to his shoulders than usual as Takumi leaned up against the side of the restaurant like it was the only thing supporting him. Keisuke could say that Takumi was a depressing guy, but he actually was rarely ever depressed. Leave it to Ryosuke to make Takumi look as if his life was going to end in the next several hours.

"You feel up to it? Ryosuke told me you were feeling sick last night," Keisuke asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Takumi turned toward him with a definitely sour look on his bored face, anger starting to coming from all sides. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up `last night.'

"What else did he tell you?" Takumi snapped out in what was nothing other than bitter sarcasm. Keisuke felt his jaw drop, wondering just how much their boy actually aware of. He might try to pull the `dumb and numb' act all the time, but temper was getting the better of the hachi-roku driver as he fixed on Keisuke with an unpleased frown.

"Well, he didn't need to tell me much else after what I saw," Keisuke returned as he tapped out some of the ashes at the end of his cigarette. Takumi visibly blanched at that one, all the quiet fury gone in a second as he remembered just who had walked in on them last night. Then, the guy was staring down at his shoes like they were going to tell him what to do next, embarrassed and fidgeting. He shoved his hands into his pockets and scrapped the toe of his beaten tennis shoes into the outside deck, sullen as all hell-even more so than usual.

Conversation was pretty much dead after that.

Keisuke finished his cigarette, his own breath sounding too loud and awkward as he exhaled next to his silent friend. Takumi didn't even bother to watch Ryosuke grudgingly take the ticket and frown down at it, obviously insulted even from this far away. Keisuke had to watch as the policeman snarled something else at his older brother before stalking back to his motorcycle. He stabbed out the end of his cig on the side of the building and let it drop down to the deck next to Takumi.

He could have cried with relief when Hirofumi finally pulled up in his own blue car, several minutes too late to see Ryosuke get a ticket. He was just in time to save Keisuke from the unbearable silence he had caused. Keisuke watched impatiently while the man slowly found his own place to park while Ryosuke climbed back into his own vehicle and pulled up slowly as well. Keisuke knew it was because of the policeman still glaring at his brother while he waited on the motorcycle for Ryosuke to get out of sight.

Keisuke pulled out another cigarette while he waited for someone- except Ryosuke- to join them outside the restaurant. He couldn't stand the quietness, suddenly no longer the usual idiot mute, but very, very, very pissed off. Takumi was allowed every bit of it, but Keisuke just wish that it wasn't directed at him. He lit up and was so nervous he didn't even realize he had sucked down half of it before Hirofumi finally jogged up the stairs to meet them.

"Everyone else is a couple minutes or so behind me. I had to call them all to tell them where we were since you lost us," the man grumbled as he came to a stop in front of Keisuke, looking quite angry. Not another one. Keisuke had already had his fill of pissed-off people for today. His brother and his good friend being at odds was enough for one fucking day, thank you very much.

"Ryosuke got a speeding ticket," Takumi mumbled out before Keisuke could even try and redirect Hirofumi's attention; mainly with that exact story. Keisuke glanced over at the driver, who was trying to look fort all the world like he didn't care and hadn't just said anything at all, but even Hirofumi had a confused look on his face. Not about Ryosuke getting pulled over by the police; but why Takumi would be speaking up like this.

Keisuke wondered if Sora and Reiji had said anything to Hirofumi when he had called them about directions. Things were already weird enough; the much was for sure the second anyone looked at them. Hirofumi simply kept glancing back and forth between the two of them, a wrinkle in the middle of his brow deepening each time. Keisuke winced and laughed nervously at the older man around his cigarette, trying to save the situation despite the impossibility of the task.

"Are you still laughing at my expense?" Ryosuke's voice asked irritably behind Keisuke's back, scaring the utter and complete shit out of him as he yelped like a girl and jumped out of his skin. His brother must have come up from the other side of the porch after he had parked. Keisuke hadn't even been paying attention anymore. Hirofumi barked out a few deep laughs at that, and even Takumi had half a grin creeping up on his face before he remembered to frown again. Keisuke took a few shuffling steps to get orientated in their little makeshift circle so he could face his brother.

"It's not every day on of the Red Suns gets a speeding ticket," Keisuke shrugged and shook his head, trying to cover up his previous display. He wasn't sure how well it was working with all three other men giving him a mixture of confused, irritated, and aggravated glares. Since when had he become the bad guy? Keisuke wasn't walking around half-cocked all the time like his brother- why did I have to think `cock' right now? Keisuke moaned in his head, the nicotine not working its magic like usual to soothe his overworked brain.

"Reckless driving," Ryosuke corrected coldly, still managing to sound smarter and superior despite the fact it was his ticket. Keisuke opened his mouth to argue when he spotted Sora and Reiji coming up at the worst time for the second time today. He glared at them as the two took in the seen with stupid, assuming grins despite the swelling starting on the side of Sora's jaw.

"…oks like a lover's quarrel, man," Reiji whispered, Keisuke barely able to catch the last of the sentence whispered behind his upraised hand. Ryosuke and Takumi's heads both snapped up and over on the two like hunting dogs, a double set of very cold and unforgiving gazes fixed on Sora and Reiji. Sora had the piece of mind to put a hand to the bruise on the side of his mouth and stare down at the floor of the porch without another word. Reiji just gulped and looked like he wished he could swallow his words.

"Where are the rest? I'm starting to get disappointed if this is the best they can do on the street," Ryosuke stated out loud, making it clear that his mood was the most important thing right now; at least it should be for them. Since Keisuke wasn't particularly keen on the idea of having to pay for his own meal, he dug into his back pocket and pulled out the beaten pack of cigarettes again to hold it out to his brother in peace treaty. Ryosuke took one without really looking, still concentrating his discontentment on Reiji. He lit it up with his own lighter and started tapping his foot impatiently, a sure sign that he was getting ruffled.

Keisuke supposed it might be because of the burning, painful, death glare Takumi was directing at the back of Ryosuke's head. At least his brother was no longer angry with Keisuke, since he had taken the cigarette in the end. It was a small gesture of forgiveness between them, neither of them about to say `sorry,' but working it out in their own quiet way.

Ryosuke and Takumi both had this magical way of making any kind of discussion impossible, tension so clear between the two of them that Keisuke and Hirofumi could only glance at each other in similar discomfort. Keisuke passed the poor guy a cigarette as well; feeling like it was a necessity more than pity from the stricken look on Hirofumi's face. It was a bad day when the top two drivers of the team were at odds ends. How were they ever supposed to talk after this?

`Fujiwara. Sorry I screwed you and everyone found out.'

`Oh. Um, me too.'

Yeah. Fucking. Right. Of course, the both of them were too proud to admit that someone had wronged the other. Even if Takumi was usually the silent type, he held grudges and could be downright dangerous if he ever got actually pissed off. He certainly had been last night, from the sounds of the fighting that had been going on last night. Keisuke didn't want to get caught in the middle of this fight, but it looked like he was already there. Damn Ryosuke for following around his dick instead of using his oh-so-reknowned intelligence.

* * *

Takumi gritted his teeth, not quite sure if he would be able to stand Ryosuke's presence a second longer, doing his best to not look at the man standing across from him. It was much too close, especially since Ryosuke made it very clear that last night had all been one big mistake. To top it all off, the man had the fucking nerve to hold his keys like a child that couldn't be trusted behind the well. Takumi couldn't understand why Ryosuke wouldn't just give him the keys back, obviously just as ready to get rid of his presence as he felt right now.

Even Keisuke seemed angry now, pissed off at Takumi for getting drunk and caught up in the moment before he even realized that Ryosuke had been screwing him into next week. He was supposed to be the victim here, getting tortured with dangerous driving until he told Keisuke everything. It was his business anyway, but he deserved sympathy instead of the annoyance Keisuke was shooting at him. Everything could have been fine if Keisuke hadn't walked in without knocking. He could have possibly covered it up like all the others, instead of getting this new, weirder glares from the rest of the team.

It made Takumi wonder just how much of last night they had heard; at least the fighting part of it. Takumi couldn't ever bear the thought of them hearing Ryosuke and him when they had been in the middle of the act. Having Keisuke see him naked was bad enough, no matter how short it had been. Everything was already so messed up that Takumi didn't know how they were ever going to get back on normal terms again.

That didn't mean that he regretted anything that he had said last night. Ryosuke had deserved it all for trying to calmly order him around after Keisuke finally had shut the door. The asshole had even tried to get Takumi back to the bed for another go. As if he was trying to think of ways to insult him. Takumi had accused the man of such, knowing damn well that it wasn't really him that Ryosuke wanted, but the driver that could beat him even in an old Hachi-Roku.

Takumi guessed he deserved it for expecting more out of Ryosuke. It had seemed like he had a bigger interest than simply getting into his pants, like Ryosuke might have actually wanted something that could have lasted longer than a couple hours. Stupid him. Takumi should have been expecting it from the beginning, should have seen it coming after all the other times. Sex had ruined his relationship with Mogi, Itsuki could barely talk to him anymore, and everyone else had either left or lived in another district. Even if Ryosuke had been nice to him before, flowers with none-too discrete notes attached showing up practically every other week. It was hell to explain to the old man.

In the time he had been thinking about the pointlessness of trying to get Ryosuke to notice a boring guy like him, it seemed like everyone else from the team had managed to pull up and start a small circus of car talk and cigarette smoke. Takumi felt like one of the wood railings around the porch: unnoticeable, blending into everything else until he wasn't even noticeable as a single person. He started to dig the toe of his old, worn out tennis shoes on the deck outside the restaurant, just wishing that there was a way he could melt away between the cracks in the separate panels of wood.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Takumi just followed blindly after a waitress came out and gave them menus, sitting down on the bench before he even thought about the placement. Sora and Reiji slammed down on either side of him while Ryosuke and Keisuke sat opposite of him. Hirofumi and the others slowly filled out the rest of the long bench table outside the restaurant, everyone else enjoying a cigarette as they joked amongst themselves. It didn't seem like much had changed, but Takumi already knew from the looks being passed around the table that everyone knew.

"Here you go, champ," Sora offered a menu to him in a way that clearly meant he wasn't talking about it, but what had happened last night. Takumi stared back at him, determined not to blush or glare, not even care. Nobody else gave a damn about him; eagerly watching for the return. Ryosuke and Keisuke certainly looked like brothers at that point, staring like he had suddenly become the anti-Christ as Takumi torpidly accepted the plastic menu with what he hoped was minimal disgust. No point in letting everyone know how much he hated them at the moment.

Takumi opened up the menu and stared down without reading anything, just trying to hide his face from everyone else right now. Just what had he managed to make everything so fucked up in only one night? Ryosuke had deserved each bit of the angry words and insults Takumi had flung around last night. No one should be able to be that cold and still call themselves human. Ryosuke had clearly been ready to cut off any personal relation with him now that he had gotten in his pants. Takumi couldn't have felt more stupid in his entire life.

He should have been anticipating this by now. Takumi couldn't help but shot another glare over the menu at Ryosuke; while he was turned to speak to his brother. Then, the older man kinda…twitched, before snapping his eyes over to meet Takumi's. He looked back down at the menu before he had a chance to say anything. Reiji and Sora snickered on both sides of him, the orange-haired man elbowing another driver in the side to draw attention to the uncomfortable silence. Takumi started to seriously consider walking home, car or not. He wouldn't be able to stand this much longer.

But, damn it; he still didn't have his keys! Why would Ryosuke even be holding on to them if the asshole clearly wanted him out and on his way, probably even off the team? Takumi wouldn't doubt it with the irritation he was feeling from the other man that had nothing to do with his ticket. The dick deserved that too, but it still wasn't enough to make Takumi feel satisfied. He was going to be enough trouble already trying to come up with a story for where he had been with the car for several days.

Damn the Takahashi brothers for messing up his life. The second he got comfortable and thought he was really starting to fit in, everything had to go to hell in a hand bag. In only one night. It just wasn't fair. Not with Sora and Reiji bother starting to inch in closer to him on the bench, two sets of elbows digging into his side. Takumi shifted, staring harder at his menu in one vain attempt to ignore them before they both became more insistent, hard enough to bruise.

"What?" Takumi hissed irritably, glancing up once to see if Ryosuke and Keisuke were looking. Thankfully, both brothers were currently engaged in separate conversations, smoking and ignoring him completely. Sora grinned at the small action, obviously reading too much into it. Reiji snickered on the other side of him, neither of them learning their lesson. Takumi wasn't so nice as to be satisfied with one good punch.

"So, was it good?" Sora asked with a snide look on his face, making a motion with his hand that made Takumi uncomfortable, even if he wasn't sure what the man was talking about. Reiji laughed outright at that one, making Nakamura look over his back to spy Takumi trying to crawl into his magazine. He wasn't sure what he was on the spot for, but the attention was too much.

"What?" Takumi echoed again, actually confused to what the man might be talking about. Reiji's laughter died down at that, into nothing at all as Sora stared at him in pure shock. That `how can you possibly be that stupid' look was plastered all over both their faces, Takumi somehow effectively killing the joke. Reiji and Sora shot looks to each other over his head, which for Takumi didn't even care to try and guess at. He just wanted a nice, dark place to curl up and die in.

"So Ryosuke wasn't that good?" Reiji asked in such a way that made Takumi want to implode on himself and disappear into nothing. He might as well of dropped a book in the middle of the library for the way everyone's head suddenly swiveled over to them. Keisuke's cigarette dropped from his open mouth and into his lap, smoking for a moment before the man cursed and shook his legs out. Nobody laughed; no one even glanced over at Keisuke.

Not even Ryosuke, who was staring at him with those same cold, unaffected black eyes. The emotionless control made Takumi hate the man so much more. How could he have ever fooled himself into seeing something in Ryosuke…who had clearly been playing with him the whole time? Takumi clenched his teeth, remembering how last night Ryosuke had been going on about how nothing was supposed to change between them, no one else would know but Keisuke and those few others that had heard his brother, and that he wasn't going be treated any differently on the Initial D team.

"I've had better," Takumi returned coolly, glaring at Ryosuke the whole time. That made Reiji's jaw drop, and everyone else on the table looked like Takumi had announced he was expecting twins. Hadn't this morning already cleared up any questions about his virginity? It mad Takumi only angrier that everyone kept on prodding at him and bringing it up again. Like what happened between Ryosuke and him was going to become the joke of the week.

"You've had better?" Hirofumi echoed back, the man that Takumi had respected before going down a few notches in his opinion. Takumi frowned, finding it hard not to just get up and walk home without another word, no matter how far away it was. At least he would get some time alone to figure out just what the hell was going on. Takumi glared at the man, nodding brusquely for an answer before shoving his face into the menu once again.

Assholes, the whole lot of them. He heard snickering murmurs at the other side of the table, and his face suddenly flooded with heat even if he was trying to be pissed right now. He still felt embarrassed, rubbing his feet together nervously under the table as everyone else started drawing their own conclusions and thinking their own thoughts about him. Takumi hated it, knowing he was being judged and coming up quite short.

"We're not going to talk about this any more," Ryosuke announced in a calm, icy manner that cut through the slight conversation buzzing around. His expression betrayed no emotions, not a single clue to what he was thinking right now. Just like it had last night. Takumi refused to feel thankful that Ryosuke had finally decided that enough teasing had gone on; sure it was just because his own pride was being called into question. Ryosuke didn't care about him, wasn't even looking at him as he cast a dark, serious look around the whole table to make sure his point was getting through. Keisuke shrugged at his brother's side, lighting up another cigarette calmly like it all had nothing to do with him, even though his words last night had made everyone aware of his and Ryosuke's relationship. He didn't care either, just like his brother.

"Come on, Ryosuke, it's not like you called dibs on him or anything. Maybe some of us wanna see what's good enough for a Takahashi," Sora drawled, his arm dropping over Takumi's shoulder in a way that wasn't very friendly anymore. Takumi really did want to die at that moment, more so than he could ever remember wanting to before. He shrugged the limb off angrily, too pissed to even think of something to say, shifting around as he considered leaving in full seriousness. This was quite unbearable.

"Shut your fucking mouth, Sora, before I do it for you," Keisuke snapped as he suddenly sat up and stretched across the table to point the burning end of his cigarette between the man's eyes. The table went silent at that, nobody expecting Keisuke to get involved, most of Takumi. He gawked up at the brunette's enraged face, wondering just what the hell he had done to make Keisuke actually be…protective? Takumi wasn't very sure, because it was the first time someone had stood up for him like this.

"You got it, shit head?" Keisuke asked coldly, a little bit of ash sparkling down on Sora's nose. The man flinched, cursed, and started nodding vigorously while Keisuke slowly sunk back down into his seat. There wasn't so much as a first glance in Takumi's direction, like the man had just felt like cursing out his friend at that moment. Takumi supposed Keisuke was like Ryosuke in that sense, since neither of them seemed like they really gave a rat's ass about him. Takumi was confused by the cold disregard both brothers seemed to have for him, and then the completely opposite little shows of affection or friendship, or…or something and goddamnit he was sick of it.

"So, Takumi, does that mean we can or can't hit up on you?" Reiji asked; a perfectly innocent look on his face as if he was asking about the weather. That was it. That was the last fucking thin he could bear. He stood up so fast that the heavy patio table nearly flipped over, stepping out from over the bench before someone else said a single damn word. Nobody even bothered to stop him. Takumi was already stomping down the stairs to the parking lot as was walking out to the street before he heard someone running up behind him.

"…amn it Takumi, wait a fucking second," Keisuke yelled, trotting up to him as Takumi came to a reluctant stop. There was no point in trying to out run Keisuke, who would probably catch up and beat his ass for it at the end. Takumi wasn't sure if he was disappointed or not, wondering if Ryosuke even cared if he lived or not. He couldn't even see the table from here, thankfully.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Keisuke demanded when he finally reached Takumi's side, panting and coughing. Maybe Takumi could still outrun the smoker, remembering that Keisuke was pretty much completely non-athletic unless he hadn't smoked that day.

"Home," Takumi snapped back coldly. There was no point in trying to get his Hachi-Roku back right now, not if he wanted to avoid Ryosuke. Amazing how that tentative but fun relationship they had could be completely destroyed after one night.

"You're walking?"

"You care?" The words came out before he could even stop it, full of hurt and what Takumi thought was the honest truth. The Takahashi brothers were a selfish set of people that Takumi didn't even want to bother with anymore. Not if he was going to be treated like some kind of object to be passed around after use. Ryosuke hadn't even said a word in his defense, just stared at the whole thing like it was an entertaining show before breakfast.

"Shit, Takumi, don't get all pissed off at me. I'm on your side, okay?" Keisuke explained like he was speaking to the village idiot. Takumi tried to keep glaring at the man, angry and hurt and having no one else to take it out on- but Keisuke was the only one that still seemed to be treating him exactly the same even after he'd spent the night with Ryosuke.

"Sorry," Takumi mumbled, all of the rage just draining out as it was quickly replaced by guilt. He looked down at his feet, staring at the shoe laces of his old, worn-out tennis shoes instead of meeting Keisuke's gaze. That would be a little too painful right now, not after the way Takumi had treated him. Keisuke had stood up for him when Ryosuke ignored him. He didn't deserve to be hated just because he was that big fucking jerk's brother.

"Aw, it's alright. I get pissed too and the last place I want to be is with those dicks," Keisuke made an excuse for him, pointing back at the restaurant with his thumb. Takumi smiled weakly, even though he was concentrating on the pavement beneath his feet. At least someone else understood how he felt, even if Keisuke was responsible for this mess in the first place. Takumi wasn't even certain if it would have remained a secret if Keisuke hadn't walked in on them and then proceeded to tell everyone else within earshot. For all he knew, Ryosuke might have planned on bragging about it to everyone else on the team over breakfast.

Oh, please, don't let that be the case.

"Hey, how about I take you home? I'll go back to my place and look for your keys and come back later. That sound okay?" Keisuke tried to coax him into some sort of reasonable action, like offering a kid a soda if he'd stop crying. Except, Takumi couldn't really muster up enough care to be offended, his temper already spent on this morning. It actually didn't sound like too bad of an idea now; so, he nodded and followed behind as Keisuke went back to his car so they could leave the Initial D team to their breakfast and spare themselves any more embarrassing situations. Takumi didn't want Keisuke to have to feel like he needed to be defended, again.

Takumi found himself wishing very much not to be any sort of burden on the brunette and frowned…wondering just when he had started to care so much more about Keisuke. Maybe it was because Takumi had finally realized he had a very good friend right in front of him. He quickened his pace to catch up to Keisuke, smiling and managing to met the other man's eyes again while Keisuke shook his head and made some sort of quiet comment about `ignorance's bliss.'

Takumi didn't really so much as care, more comfortable in the other's presence than he could remember being with anyone else. And he didn't have to worry about sex with Keisuke, certain that others boys were the last thing on the driver's mind. Maybe today wasn't turning out so bad after all, Takumi thought to himself with a contented grin.

"What the fuck are you so happy about? Stop spacing out and get in the car," Keisuke ordered, the doors already unlocked as the man slid into the driver's seat. Takumi shook himself out of his daze and quickly got in on his own side, for once actually looking forward to the drive even though someone else was in control of the car.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ye who bitch shall receive. This chapter is dedicated to:

Amaniblue

CyberHell

Dalphin crage

Illya

In1

JJ Kal

Karen

Kumi

Little Isa

Noel

Rei Eien

Sakura Miko

Taylor T

Queen Momoko

This is my list for why there will be more, and faster than last chapter. Though that gives me like a year plus window…while writing this chapter, I realized how I could finish it- but we all like a good pause instead of a cliffhanger, right? And there is a huge lack of beta-readers these days, so sorry about the grammar too. If it bugs you, help me out! <Sniff. Embarrassed this is on the internet, but I was severely poked until I posted>