A Game to Play Again

They were in Shuichi’s room when Oma came up with the idea for the next game they should play.

‘I know,’ he said, ‘let’s say you’ve captured me and now you want to run an interrogation.’

‘Why am I interrogating you?’

‘Because I’ve planted a bomb somewhere, and you need to know where before it goes boom.’

Oma looked excited by the idea. Shuichi wasn’t so sure. But if this was how Oma wanted to play ...

‘I guess if I’ve captured you ... I better tie you up.’

‘Good idea,’ Oma said. ‘You wouldn’t want me to escape.’

What did they have that Shuichi could use? His eyes caught on the scarf that Oma habitually wore around his neck.

‘Give me your scarf.’

‘This? Gee, Saihara-chan, don’t you know that this was a gift from my dear departed granny –’

Shuichi held his hand out. ‘Give it to me,’ he said, ‘or I’ll be forced to, uh, get rough.’

‘Hm.’ Oma ran his fingers along the folds of the scarf. ‘Maybe I want you to get rough.’

Shuichi crossed his arms. He wasn’t sure why he was going along with this. ‘Don’t you want to save that for the interrogation?’

‘Oh, right!’ Oma said. ‘Yes, you should interrogate me very harshly.’ He handed Shuichi the scarf with a smile. ‘So, where do you want me? On the bed?’

‘On the chair,’ Shuichi said. ‘You’re not here to have fun.’

‘Aww.’ But Oma sat down as he was directed. He put his hands obediently behind the chair, and Shuichi did the best job he could of binding them. The scarf was a bit short for their purposes, and Oma would have no trouble pulling his hands free. But that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?

‘Alright.’ Shuichi leaned against the desk, facing Oma. ‘Are you gonna tell me where the bomb is? Or ... do I have to make this harder on you?’

‘I’m not telling you nothing!’

‘You know those people are innocent, right? They don’t deserve to die just for your amusement.’

‘But Saihara-chan,’ Oma said in a whine, ‘I left you those clues, didn’t I? You should be able to work it out. It’s not my fault if you can’t get it together in time.’

‘Dammit, Oma!’ Shuichi said, getting into character. ‘Cut me some slack. You know I can’t read your terrible handwriting. Just tell me where the bomb is, and we can forget we ever had this conversation.’

‘But where’s the fun in that?’

‘You could be a normal criminal, and just ask for money or something.’

‘Anyone can ask for money,’ Oma said. ‘I want something much, much more precious than that.’

His words made Shuichi nervous, the game too close to something else. ‘Tell me,’ he said anyway. ‘Maybe no-one has to die over this.’

‘Hm, okay. But I’ll have to whisper it. Don’t want us being overheard.’

Dutifully, Shuichi leaned in.

‘I want,’ Oma said, ‘Saihara-chan to give himself to me.’

Shuichi jerked his head back, his heart going into overdrive. ‘Stop messing around.’

Oma pouted. ‘I’m not messing around. Don’t you know why I do all this? It’s for you, Saihara-chan.’

‘You think I want this? All this crime...’

‘Yeah, but it’s exciting, isn’t it? Think how boring your life would be, if us criminals weren’t here to make it interesting. Admit it, Saihara-chan, you need us.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Shuichi said. ‘I think you’re the one who needs me. You just wanna be chased.’

‘Ah, bingo. So how about it, Saihara-chan?’

‘What?’

‘I’ll tell you where the bomb is.’ Oma’s voice turned silky. ‘But in return, you have to stay the night here, with me. And you have to do what I tell you to.’

‘I”ll stay the night,’ Shuichi said. ‘But I won’t agree to the rest.’

‘Deal! The bomb’s in the music room. I left it in the piano. Just needs Akamatsu-chan to press down one key, and boom, it’s bye-bye high school!’

‘That’s terrible.’

‘Isn’t it? So are you gonna set me free now?’

‘Ah, I never agreed to that. I just said I’d stay the night. I never said I’d untie you.’

‘So you’re just gonna leave me like this? You’re crueler than I thought ...’

‘Well. Maybe that’s what you need. You have to learn you can’t always get your own way.’

‘So this is a lesson?’ Oma said. ‘I gotta say, it doesn’t sound like much fun.’

‘Lessons aren’t meant to be fun.’

‘I mean for you, Saihara-chan. Coz I’m definitely gonna keep you awake, and if I have to talk all night to do it, I will.’

‘Telling me stories about your granny?’ It might almost be worth it, Shuichi thought, if he could believe the things Oma would tell him would be true.

‘Sure,’ Oma said. ‘I said she gave me this scarf, didn’t I? And you know what?’

‘What?’

‘She also taught me to get out of it!’ Oma leapt off the chair, to knock Shuichi back against the bed. He held him down by the wrists. ‘You’re never disarming that bomb now.’

‘I guess you’ve got the better of me.’ Shuichi’s voice was hoarser than it should have been.

‘Sure did,’ Oma said. ‘Now I get to rough you up and have my way with you. Ain’t nothing you can do to stop me.’

‘But the bomb ...’

‘What’s that to me?’ Oma said. ‘I’ve got you where I want you.’ He pursed his lips consideringly. ‘Maybe if you beg ...’

‘I’ll never.’

‘But think of poor Akamatsu-chan,’ Oma said, leaning in closer. ‘All gone explode-y.’

‘You wouldn’t,’ Shuichi said. ‘I know you’re fond of her.’

‘Not as much as you,’ Oma said. ‘So how ’bout it? You ask nicely, and I let you be the hero. I’m sure she’ll be grateful.’

‘Dammit, Oma, this isn’t about her!’

‘No?’

‘This is about you and me. It always has been.’

It was strange, but Oma’s face lost some of its amusement when he said that.

‘Why don’t we stop pretending?’ Shuichi said. It came out desperate.

‘You and me?’ Oma said. ‘Ah, but it will never work. You’re on the side of good, and I’m a criminal. A leopard can’t change its spots.’

‘Who’s asking you to?’ Shuichi reached up to take hold of Oma and pull him back down on top of him. Shuichi could feel his own heart beating in his chest; he thought if he could hold Oma tight enough, he would feel his too.

Oma kept still, like he was in shock. But then he said into Shuichi’s ear, ‘I think you’re trying to bamboozle me.’

‘Didn’t you say you wanted to have your way with me?’ At any moment, Shuichi thought, Oma would wriggle out of his grasp. ‘I won’t beg.’

Oma shifted himself so that he could look down at Shuichi. And Shuichi thought, if he was ever going to do this, he may as well do it now.

He leaned up to press his lips against Oma’s. Oma’s eyes went wide and startled, and when Shuichi dropped back down against the bedsheets, Oma stared at him for a moment like he’d forgotten this was a game. Quickly though, he gathered himself.

‘You’d really go this far,’ he said, ‘just to save those people?’

‘If that’s what it takes.’ It would have been better if Shuichi could have sounded gruff. That was the role he was meant to be playing, wasn’t it? And Oma ...

‘I’m warning you now,’ Oma said, ‘I won’t go easy on you.’ To prove it, he licked a stripe along Shuichi’s neck. Shuichi yelped, and Oma gave him a smug look.

‘Whatever you come up with, I can take it,’ Shuichi said, as if the licking hadn’t thrown him. As if he wasn’t running on bravado.

Oma licked him again, and the sensation made Shuichi shudder.

‘You’re really not gonna run away,’ Oma said. Shuichi wasn’t sure if it was a question or an observation.

‘Aren’t you the one who’s meant to be trying to escape?’

‘Mm. That would be the clever thing to do.’ When Oma didn’t move, Shuichi put his hand round the back of Oma’s neck and leaned up to kiss him. A longer kiss, full of tongue and teeth. Mostly Oma’s teeth, when he bit Shuichi’s lip. Shuichi found he didn’t mind at all.

When at last they pulled apart to catch their breath, Oma said, ‘I think that bomb must’ve gone off by now.’

Shuichi wasn’t sure if he was breaking character or not, when he said, ‘I don’t care.’

‘Oh no, Saihara-chan,’ Oma said. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve come over to the dark side.’

‘It’s your fault,’ Shuichi said. ‘You did all this to distract me, didn’t you?’

‘Would I really do all this just to distract you?’ Oma said. He bit Shuichi’s earlobe delicately. Shuichi was aware they were both getting hard; Oma must know it too.

‘I think you’re capable of anything.’

Oma hmmed, and he crept his fingers up under Shuichi’s shirt. ‘And what about you, Saihara-chan?’

‘Me?’

‘What are you capable of?’

Shuichi could hardly think – he only kept talking because he was afraid Oma might back off if he didn’t.

‘If you mean what crimes,’ he said, ‘isn’t this bad enough? I’m here with you, when I should be – oh –’ Oma had grabbed his cock directly through his clothes – ‘I should be helping those people.’

‘That is bad,’ Oma agreed. He rubbed himself against Shuichi’s thigh. ‘But is that all?’

‘I’m not a thief like you.’

‘No?’ Oma said. There was a strange light in his eyes, and then he said, ‘But Saihara-chan, you stole my heart.’ He said it with a straight face, but Shuichi’s horror must have shown, because he burst into giggles.

‘You,’ Shuichi said, ‘are really the worst.’

‘It’s coz you didn’t arrest me yet.’ Oma sat back on top of Shuichi and offered his wrists up. ‘Saihara-chan.’

‘I’m not handcuffing you now.’

‘Maybe another time, huh?’

‘Sure,’ Shuichi said. ‘Another time.’ He sat up to kiss Oma again, pulling Oma over his lap properly. Oma ground against him, but drew back from the kiss to keep talking.

‘You can put me in jail,’ he said. ‘I won’t mind if it’s you who catches me, Saihara-chan.’

Shuichi mouthed at the skin on Oma’s neck instead of responding. He thought Oma could probably keep up the conversation by himself, at this point.

‘Although then I’d just have to escape again.’

Shuichi grabbed his ass and made him squeak; his hips rocked forward satisfyingly. It didn’t Oma from talking.

‘Maybe they’ll throw you in jail too though,’ Oma went on, ‘when they find out you were doing this with me, instead of doing your job.’

‘I guess I’m not a very good detective,’ Sahara mumbled against Oma’s neck.

‘Aw, it’s not your fault, if I ... if I got ... Saihara-chan.’

Oma did stop talking then, but only as he came. He looked momentarily surprised, and a little bit grossed out. But then he moved his hand back between them, rubbing Shuichi’s cock through his trousers. They were both going to come in their pants, Shuichi thought. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. 

‘It’s not your fault if I got the better of you,’ Oma concluded. ‘You just got carried away.’

It probably was Shuichi’s fault. He was the one who’d kissed Oma first, who’d taken their game too seriously.

Got carried away.

When Shuichi did come, Oma looked very smug indeed.

‘I suppose that’s your cue to leave,’ Shuichi said, after he’d caught his breath.

Oma smiled at him. ‘What do you mean? You promised to stay with me all night, remember?’ He collapsed down on the bed, pulling Shuichi into a loose embrace beside him. ‘You’re not very good at keeping the story straight, Saihara-chan.’

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay, I don’t really mind.’ Oma patted his head. ‘You’ll just have to try harder next time.’

Next time. Even if all this was a game, Shuichi wanted that to be a promise.