Chapter Text
"A fox is a wolf that sends flowers"- Ruth Brown
Akihito first learned that his older brother was gay when he was twelve. Though he was too young and sheltered to know what that meant, Akihito always wanted to be just like his older brother and so of course, he decided he was gay too.
He announced it at the dinner table, just minutes after his fifteen year-old brother, Mikhail, made his own announcement. Both his parents and his brother looked over at him like he was insane, before everyone broke out into laughter. It turned what had been an awkward and serious moment into a happy one. Akihito smiled, because now everyone was gay. The twelve year-old wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but it sounded nice.
His brother took him aside and explained later and while Akihito was mortified, he stood by his decision. Mikhail was his hero. His big brother was tall and strong and smart and the most popular guy in their tiny town. He was incredibly handsome, the captain of the football team, Prom King and valedictorian. Tiny, cute little Aki-chan could never quite live up to him, but he never resented his brother for any of his accomplishments. It only made Akihito work that much harder to catch up to him.
They only spent two years in high school together. When Akihito was a freshman, Mikhail was a junior and when Akihito was a sophomore, Mikhail was a senior. It was enough time to earn them the nicknames; the Sun and his Shadow. The names were only meant affectionately, for everyone adored both Mikhail and Akihito. Any other older brother might have lorded over the younger, but Mikhail was ever affectionate and always kind to his baby brother.
They remained close even after Mikhail graduated. He went to the University of Tennessee and of course, no one was at all surprised when two years later, Akihito applied and was accepted to the very same school.
Mikhail immediately moved out of the dorms, saying it was no place for his little brother, and got a two room apartment just across the street from the university. Akihito worried and fretted about the cost, but Mikhail said not to worry about it- he had a very good job as a bartender at a local club, and once Akihito moved in and got a part-time job of his own, they would be sitting pretty.
So one bright sunny morning in August, Akihito kissed his parents goodbye and boarded a Greyhound bus that would take him from the foothills of Appalachians to the big city of Knoxville. The young farmboy’s eyes grew wider and wider as the buildings grew taller and taller. He had never been outside of the tiny farming town where he grew up.
The bus dropped him off on a street corner with his two small suitcases. It was a short walk to the apartment building and up the stairs and almost before he knocked, his older brother threw open the door and wrapped his arms around the younger, lifting him easily up into the air and twirling him around and around.
“Mikhail!! I’m going to be sick all over you!” Akihito exclaimed. Mikhail was hugging him so hard he felt like a ketchup packet about to be squished.
Laughing, his older brother put him down on his feet. Akihito boggled up at him. It seemed his time at the university had served him well. His dirty blond hair had turned sandy gold and he was tanner, taller and broader than Akihito had ever seen him before.
He pinched his brother’s muscled bicep. “What have they been feeding you?”
Mikhail grinned and flexed like a bodybuilder. “Lots and lots of protein shakes.”
“But why?”
“Gotta look good for my job.”
“Bartending?”
“Shirtless bartending,” Mikhail corrected him as he effortlessly lifted the suitcases Akihito had struggled all the way up the stairs with.
“Oh,” Akihito said, and then with realization, “OH!”
Mikhail smirked over his massive shoulder at him. Akihito raced to catch up with him.
“It’s not a big place, just the kitchen there and the living room in there. There’s a tiny balcony too. We share a bathroom, my bedroom is on this side and yours is on that. So what do you think?”
His suitcases thumped down in the middle of a tiny, practically closet-sized bedroom. The mattress was sagging, the desk looked like it was made of plywood and there was a brown stain on the ceiling. It was small, squalid and it was his to share with his brother. It was AWESOME.
Akihito sat down heavily in the desk chair. “It’s perfect,” he breathed shakily.
Mikhail smiled, “So glad you’re here kid. My little baby brother, all grown up and going to college!”
“Well, not quite yet. Still hoping for a last minute growth spurt.”
He was still only five feet five inches- a whopping nine inches under Mikhail’s towering six foot two. He had bright blond hair and big blue eyes and soft, pretty features. He looked far younger than his actual age and it was intensely frustrating to be constantly mistaken for a child.
His older brother smiled wryly and ruffled his hair, “Maybe kid, maybe. You might always be my cute little baby brother, but they do say the best things come in small packages.”
Akihito shoved Mikhail’s big hand off his head, but his smile was bright, “Oh, get out of here and let me unpack.”
“Sure, sure. Hey, you hungry?”
The younger boy looked up at him incredulously, “Do you even know me?”
“Yeah, yeah, stupid question, I’ll order pizza,” his voice drifted off as he moved down the hall.
It didn’t take Akihito long to unpack his suitcases. He had all of his clothes and his toiletries crammed in one case. In the other, he had his dearest possessions; his books and his camera and his photographs. He put the books and the camera on the desk and on the shelves he arranged his photographs. Akihito loved to be surrounded by pictures of friends and family. A house was not a home until you filled it with memories.
He paused with one in his hand. It was a picture of him pushing Mikhail in the pool. His mother had taken it, and she couldn’t have timed it better. It perfectly captured Mikhail’s shocked face in the midst of his arms flailing as he cartwheeled into the water and Akihito’s gleeful mischievous expression as he shoved his unsuspecting brother forward. It was a hysterical family classic that had hung on the refrigerator forever, until Akihito had swiped it and put it in a frame. He wondered if Mikhail had his own copy tucked away somewhere.
“Hey Mikhail,” Akihito called out, “Remember this?”
He heard footsteps behind him and, expecting his brother, he turned around to face a stranger. A tall, dark and very handsome stranger.
“Oh… hello,” he said shyly.
“Well hello yourself,” said the handsome stranger, looking him over head to toe.
“My name is Akihito,” he introduced with a smile, holding out his hand in welcome. A friend of Mikhail’s was a friend of his. He must have been on the balcony when they came in.
The man walked forward. No, not walked- stalked. His lean hips rolled forward with intent until he fairly loomed over the short teen. To his surprise, whoever he was, he was even taller than his brother. There weren’t many men taller than Mikhail.
He took Akihito’s small hand into his warm, strong grasp and smiled wolfishly down at him. “My name is Asami Ryuichi.”
“Are you Mikhail’s boyfriend?” Akihito asked curiously. The dark-haired man still had not let go of Akihito's hand. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to do so either. His thumb began tracing gentle circles on the soft skin of the back of it, just below the wrist. It was very distracting.
He laughed. “Me and Mikhail? There’s a horrifying thought. Ha! No, just good friends. Your brother is not quite my type.”
Akihito couldn’t imagine his dashing, debonair brother not being anyone’s type and was almost insulted, but then Asami leaned forward as if to kiss him. He was shocked and would have stepped back except Asami kept a tight hold of his hand and used it to pull him in close.
His breath purred in Akihito's ear, “You, on the other hand, are just exactly-”
“Off-limits,” Mikhail said loudly, pushing Asami back and pointedly taking Akihito's hand away from his friend. The taller man smirked. He folded his arms across his broad chest, but his predatory gaze never left Akihito. The little blond blushed under the intense scrutiny.
Mikhail looked at Asami with narrowed eyes. “Asami, meet my baby brother. I am very protective of him,” he said pointedly.
Asami laughed, “Alright Mikhail, alright, relax. I’ll watch over him like he was my own pretty little brother.” He winked at Akihito and then sat down on Akihito’s tiny desk chair. He wore a nice business suit and Akihito felt terribly aware of his own attire; a pair of skinny jeans and a ratty T-shirt.
“So Akihito, you’re a freshman right? Where at?”
“I’m going to the University of Tennessee, just like my brother,” the younger boy said with a proud smile. Mikhail smiled back at him.
“And I presume you are going for a business degree, just like Mikhail?”
“Yep.”
“And you’ll be needing a job also, I suppose?”
Akihito nodded; their parents could help them a bit, but not a lot. They needed to be able to cover most of their expenses on their own. “Yes, I’m going to start looking tomorrow.”
“And you’re gay just like your brother, aren’t you?”
Akihito nodded again. Asami smiled like a shark.
Mikhail scowled darkly at both of them.
Asami stood up and brushed off his slacks, “Well then it's settled. You’ll start tomorrow at the same nightclub as Mikhail.”
Mikhail grew angry, “Now Asami, he’s too young to be working at Club Sion!”
A dark eyebrow rose skeptically, “You were the same age when you started.”
“Yes, but that was different. Akihito is different than I was at his age, he’s more vulnerable and-”
Suddenly he stopped. Both men caught Akihito looking at them with a questioning look on his innocent face.
Mikhail smiled, “Akihito, if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Asami, alone.”
“Oh, ok,” he shrugged good-humoredly, “It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Asami. I look forward to working for you.”
“As do I,” the older man said with a suave smile. He reached for Akihito’s hand, grasped it and then raised it to his mouth as if to kiss it again. Before he could, Mikhail grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him backwards. The older man grinned rakishly at Akihito as he was bodily removed from Akihito’s bedroom.
The door slammed behind them. Akihito could hear them arguing from the other side and he pressed his ear to it to hear better.
“-too innocent, too trusting!”
“That’s why it’s the perfect job for him. You’ll be there to keep him out of trouble.”
“Asami, I have a job to do. I can’t be bartending and trying to baby-sit my little brother!”
“My security team will also be instructed to watch out for him, and I’ll have my eye on him as well.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” Mikhail groused.
“As you said, he’s young and naive; he’s just as likely to be taken advantage of in another club or bar, or even at a bookstore or coffee shop for that matter. He’d be better off where he can be protected by people who have his best interests at heart.”
“I suppose…”
“And I could really use the help. You are always going on about what a great kid he is. Trustworthy. The last thing I need is another bartender cleaning out the cash registers behind my back.”
“True. My little brother would never steal from anyone. He’s probably never so much as told a lie in his entire life.”
There was a long pause and then a deep sigh, “Alright. I’m not thrilled about it, but if it helps you out, then okay. It would definitely ease my mind to be able to keep an eye on him. You can understand how I worry about him. With the way he looks and the utter cluelessness? In a gay bar? It’ll be like chumming for sharks!”
Akihito’s eyes scowled at the insinuation that he was utterly clueless. Sheltered maybe, but not clueless. He quickly forgot his irritation as he realized - he was going to work in a gay bar! He rubbed his hands together gleefully. Why, this was perfect! He was finally going to lose his V-card and utter nerd status. He couldn’t wait! Just think of all the eligible guys he would meet!
Mikhail and Asami talked for a while longer, but Akihito was too excited to sit still and listen. He needed to figure out what he was going to wear. Mikhail was always so well-dressed and Akihito didn’t want to embarrass him.
He rooted around in his drawers, bypassing all of his favorite cartoon T-shirts in favor of a simple black V-neck. It was a little too small and clung to his arms and waist, but it looked really good with a pair of tight black skinny jeans and dress shoes. He supposed he looked passable. He shrugged it off and hung it up so it would be less wrinkled for tomorrow night.
When he heard the sound of the apartment door shutting, Akihito poked his head out of the room and went to investigate. He found his brother sitting on the couch drinking a beer and watching a soccer match. Mikhail looked up at him and lifted the bottle in his hand. “There’s more in the fridge,” he offered.
Akihito’s eyes went wide, “You’re okay with me having a beer?”
“Well yeah, here at home. I don’t want you getting tempted at the club.”
The younger boy twisted his hands nervously, “You sure you’re okay with me working with you? I really want to, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can always find another job.”
Mikhail sighed and patted the sofa next to him, “No it’s okay. I just want you to promise me you will keep your eyes open and be smart. You’re too trusting, so don’t let anyone take advantage of you ok? And that includes that wily fox, Asami Ryuichi. He is slippery as an eel and he might be my friend, but you still be careful around him.”
Akihito sat next to him. “What’s the story with Asami? Why do you called him a wily fox? Isn’t he your boss?”
“Yes, but we were friends first. He gave me the job later.”
“Where’d you meet him?”
“In my business classes. We were study partners. Still are.”
“Isn’t he kind of… old to be in college?”
Mikhail laughed, “He’s only twenty-eight!”
Because of his height and size, and the way he dressed and carried himself, Asami seemed much older than that to Akihito. He was so polished and professional. He had never met anyone quite like him before.
“Oh. Well then how does he already own a nightclub?”
“Several nightclubs actually. He owns a bunch around town now, the rich dog. Sion was his first though. He’s kind of a local legend. He started from scratch. Instead of going to school, when he was eighteen, he bought an old burned-out building, fixed it up and turned it into one of the most exclusive nightclubs in town. He saw the demand for a gay bar near the university and capitalized on it big time. He leveraged the first club to build the second and the second to build the third. He’s kind of a business mastermind. Probably should be teaching most of the classes, not taking them, but I think he just wants the degree. Aces all the tests without even studying. He’s the smartest guy I know.”
The admiration in his brother’s voice was patently obvious. Akihito was still curious about their relationship. “So you and he… you never dated or anything? Asami said you aren’t his type? What did he mean?”
Mikhail shifted uncomfortably on the couch, “Well, he’s a very attractive man, there’s no denying that. But he and I aren’t compatible, sexually.”
Akihito frowned, “But, you’re both guys, and you’re both gay. I don’t understand.”
“Well, we’re uh, different types of gay.”
“Different types of gay?”
“Yeah, you know; bottoms and tops? Well, Asami and I are both tops.”
“What’s a top?”
“It’s when you are on top, you know, during sex; it’s when you-” Mikhail stopped, his cheeks red with embarrassment. He looked incredulously at Akihito, “Didn’t mom or dad ever talk to you about this? Or your friends?”
Akihito shook his head.
Mikhail ran his fingers through his hair, “Oh boy.”
They sat there in silence for a bit.
“How do you know?” Akihito asked.
“Know what?”
“What type of gay you are? If you’re a top or a bottom?”
Mikhail shook his head, “Oh lord, Akihito, I don’t know, you just know.”
“Well you’re a top, so I’m probably a top too right?”
Mikhail just looked seriously at him. It seemed as if he were contemplating something. He took a long swig of his beer and then confirmed, “Yep. Yes. You are definitely a top, just like me. In fact, I’m sure of it.”
Akihito nodded, “Cool!”
Mikhail smiled wryly. He squared up with his tiny younger brother and looked him right in the eye, “So, this is important, and I need you to trust me on this; when you get hit on at the bar, and you will get hit on, you need to be honest and upfront about which kind of gay you are. You know, so you don’t lead anybody on. If another guy asks you out, or wants to take you home, the first thing you need to say to them is ‘I only top’. Understand?”
“I only top,” Akihito said slowly.
Mikhail nodded, “Yes, exactly right, and say it just like that. And if they lose interest, well then, they aren’t worth your time anyway. Okay?”
“Okay. But if someone is fine with it, that's good with you?”
His brother smiled widely, “If someone is willing to let you top them, then yeah, they are good in my book.”
“Great! Man, I can’t wait to go to the club tomorrow. It is going to be so fun to work with you.”
Mikhail ruffled his little brother’s hair. Akihito had always believed everything he told him, and he was just as gullible as ever. He didn’t like lying to the trusting boy, but this was for his own good. He walked away utterly confident in his plan to protect his baby brother’s innocence and certain that no one would ever be man enough to let a tiny, pretty little twink like Akihito top them.