Twisted Affair

Returning from his search, the young Japanese was a bit early for the time they had arranged. He didn't really mind; he had shut the Korean out of his thoughts for the last two hours to search more efficiently, and figured he should try to make sense of the situation before they met. So he finished tidying up his belongings into the tent and then walked casually back along the path.

His suspicions had calmed down considerably not long after the redhead had left. It was probably the unfamiliarity, he concluded. He'd had a lot of lovers over a few years before the third tournament, but they all just wanted to show him off. Nobody cared, but considering that was mutual, he hadn't really thought much about it. Until now. For some reason, it appeared Hwoarang did care. Quite a bit too, in some way or another.

Jin almost stopped himself. Someone care about another person? No, this world was a dark place. People only cared about themselves. They were all selfish! There had only been one caring person, and that was his mother. And Ogre had taken her away from him... he felt his anger boil momentarily just by thinking about it.

For a while, he had hope that his grandfather could fill that role. Heihachi had been a dedicated and reliable teacher, willingly making the necessary sacrifices to make Jin the best there was. But as that hope was finally growing, the Iron Fist Tournament 3 took place. Jin had beat everyone, but then what did his grandfather do? He shot him.

After that, Jin had never expected anything good from anyone. His mother had told him to seek out Heihachi and train with him, and apart from these two people, he'd never been given a reason to trust another person. He had promised himself not to ever give anyone power over him again. Those who tried, he would punish. In fact, one day, he'd punish them all for being such evil, selfish creatures.

It had been quite a stretch to follow Hwoarang home two days earlier, but simple risk evaluation told him he'd be better off being attacked by the Korean than the Tekken Force. Still, he'd never put his guard down further than sleeping next to the guy, so Hwoarang wasn't waiting for an opening. The redhead was involved with Jin because he wanted to be. Why would he want that? The Japanese didn't know. All he knew was that he'd make sure to watch his back. He had a dominant position in the relationship now, and he'd never, ever, give that away. Jin learned from his mistakes. He had learned not to trust.

The initial plan of getting the Korean out of the way was scrapped by now. That would never work, except by doing something he wouldn't do. He couldn't punish someone who obeyed; that went directly against his nature. If only Hwoarang had kept behaving like the night before...

Now was really bad timing for this confusing relationship, because he needed to focus on finding the amulet, and then move on to search for the incense holder he had seen in his visions. Being around him was markedly more dangerous than usual too. Perhaps it could all be turned around. Maybe he could use the help? After all, Hwoarang had already shown he knew who was in charge.

With that thought, he smirked lightly, watching the road with squinted eyes. The redhead could appear any time now.

~~~~~

"What the Hell is with you?"

Hwoarang had just started getting the ingredients ready to get working on the tempura shrimp. The shrimp was nice and fresh, and the batter he was going to use was a personal recipe he had perfected over the past couple of years. All he could do to get his mind off Kazuya Mishima was to get his mind on making a nice good supper for his rival. It scared him that Kazuya's interference could affect his situation with Jin all too easily. What was that man planning?

His friend was sitting at the table, watching him with what looked like pity and concern, but he didn't want to bother figuring out what it was about. After a minute, Ha Neul had seemingly figured out that he was being ignored, so he explained without prompt. "First you bend over for him, and when you ask him to compromise, he takes off and you chase after him like a little bitch to shower him with gifts and a well cooked lunch. Now, after who knows what kind of groveling at his feet you did, you've come home to cook him a nice supper too?"

"I didn't grovel. I bent over again." Hwoarang set up the frying pan as he reluctantly spared his friend some of his attention. "How is what I do any of your business? What would you suggest I do differently? If I don't work hard, I won't get him at all. Jin has no interest in me normally and would much rather be spending his time here by himself."

Frowning at Ha Neul drawing another deep breath, he wondered what could be so hard to understand. After all those evenings drunk talking about how this was the one thing he wanted, why was he criticised for playing it safe? The blue-tipped man treated him to a roll of his eyes before he continued. "But your strategy is to display yourself to him as a whore and a servant? With that strategy you'll get yourself a job, not a relationship. He's not going to have any respect for you if you keep bending over to his command!"

Hwoarang scowled angrily and tossed the shrimp into the pan. He turned around to glare at his friend. "Not all connections are as easy as you and Jae Sun! If I don't bend over to his command, he'll go away and I'll have blown the one fucking chance I have! Now shut the fuck up and chop some carrots for me." He grabbed a big knife and went to the table to quickly hack at a stock of celery.

Ha Neul sighed and sat down to start chopping up a carrot as he was ordered. "Maybe he's not as shallow as you think."

"Maybe not shallow, but he's a Mishima. I've never heard of a Mishima willingly getting involved with someone, and I don't expect him to be different." Hwoarang got up and went to work on the frying again. Nothing was burnt. It was making him very angry that the bastard was actually bringing it up when he was so wrapped up in it already.

"Look, Hwoarang. I'm just saying that being a dog at his feet isn't going to make him like you." He prayed that was a fluke - there was no way his friend could know what happened, right? Before he could get his mind around a response, the unwelcome lecture went on. "Lust, maybe, but you won't get what you really want from him this way. If you want him to return your feelings, you have to give him a chance to accept the real you. The clean-freak, back-talking Korean rocker, not Blood Talon the obedient house-wife. I don't want you wandering around miserable while he's here and then have to watch you fall apart when he gets bored and casts you aside. Lust won't last."

"Ok, I've had enough. Get the fuck out of my face."

~~~~~

An hour after sunset had been the scheduled time. With someone who cooked and cleaned, one would expect them to at least be punctual, but it had taken at least 15 minutes of waiting before the Korean had finally shown up. Not that it was the end of the world; when Jin had finished his thinking, he had a quick training session, which he had neglected the last day. The ride back had been a quiet one, with the exception of the deafening motor; Hwoarang had seemed to be lost in thought the entire time.

It was hard to say whether something was bothering the redhead. Normally, he was quite verbose, but given the events of the evening before, perhaps he was being careful on purpose? That was probably a bit much of a stretch, but Jin made a mental note to be slightly forbearing. If the guy went out of his way to give him attitude, he wouldn't take it, but given what the redhead had done for him earlier, the benefit of the doubt was earned.

When they had finally arrived at the duplex, Hwoarang unmounted the bike without waiting for his guest, and started toward the house. Halfway to the door, he stopped suddenly and turned around to face Jin as if he just snapped out of whatever trance he was in. "Oh! Right..." He blinked absently before resuming his walk toward the door. "I hope you like tempura shrimp."

Alright, that removed any doubt. Something had curbed the enthusiasm from earlier. The guy had been in a good mood when he left, but a couple of hours had passed. Maybe his friends were in a particularly vicious mood? The Japanese shrugged as he increased his pace to keep up with his companion. "Tempura shrimp sounds good." He tried to sound sincerely enthusiastic, but he didn't know how well it worked - the food did sound tempting, but there were too many thoughts roaming his mind, and it was obvious he wasn't alone when it came to that.

"Good." Hwoarang walked inside, moving right through the first room toward the kitchen and only sparing the smaller of his friends a brief wave before he went straight to the food that was being kept warm on low heat. "I set a little table up in my room to try and keep the mess to a minimum. What do you want to drink, Kazama?"

He smirked at the question. "Water would be fine, really, but if you've got something non-alcoholic you think fits better, I'll go for that." Wondering to himself if his hosts would actually care enough about their health to have anything but beer in the fridge, he thought back to his mother's insistence that his body was a temple. Nothing harmful should ever enter it. Probably that contributed to the effect of his training - along with the rest of his lifestyle - so he had no intention of changing his approach.

"Um... Coolers are hardly alcoholic." The Korean laughed lightly as he poured a glass of water with crushed ice and then fetched a beer out of the fridge for himself. Without much effort, he sloppily prepared two plates with tempura shrimp and steamed vegetables. He passed one plate over to Jin and took his own as he headed toward the stairs. "There's some left for you, Jae-chan. Ha Neul can starve."

As Jin followed Hwoarang towards the stairs, he heard the other Korean call out behind him. "Thanks, Cheonyeo. If you run out of lube, let me know, alright?" Watching the short-haired guy disappear into the kitchen, he breathed in the pleasant smell rising from his plate. Apparently, the redhead really knew how to cook. The Japanese didn't mind that at all... his life had taught him to appreciate good food.

Hwoarang went quiet again as he made his way up the stairs and to his room. As soon as he placed his plate on the table, he sat down on the bed with his beer and finally looked straight at Jin. There was something about his expression that made it obvious something was bothering him. "Well, you sure are awfully quiet. Find what you're looking for yet?"

The Japanese scratched his head with an index finger as he lowered himself onto the chair. "No..." he said idly as his unwavering gaze met the redhead's. Taking a moment to assess the mood of his companion, he decided he wouldn't be able to let his curiosity be anyway. "Me quiet? Funny, I was about to tell you the same thing. What's on your mind?" He would have added 'bitch' to that for a laugh, but something in the brown eyes across the table told him that fun wasn't the goal right now, so he resisted.

"Nothing really. Ha Neul's an ass, that's all." Hwoarang shrugged and leaned forward over the table to take a bite out of his tempura shrimp. "Hmm... Maybe I should have brought up some plum sauce or something." He flashed what had to be a forced grin, and added playfully, "What do you want for dessert?"

Munching on his own food, Jin gave that a brief consideration before nodding. "I'm all good as is, really. No need to strain yourself." These Koreans were a strange bunch. Apparently, something had really gotten to the redhead, and judging by the conversations he had overheard so far, he supposed that was bound to happen now and then. He gave Hwoarang a considerate look, before asking what came to mind. "Why do you let them treat you that way if it gets to you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. How they treat me isn't what gets to me." He jumped on the defensive. "I can take a few insults and condescending remarks. That's what friends do, and I'm not so weak that I can't handle that. What bothers me is that how I decide to respond to situations and how I decide to go about accomplishing what I set out to do is none of his goddamn business."

Taking a break from the chewing, the Japanese decided to drop it. "Makes sense", he mumbled, before resuming what he was doing. The food was rather delicious, and he smiled appreciatively. "This is tasty. Thanks for treating me to it." He watched the redhead's face for a moment before letting his attention drift. If the guy didn't want to talk about it, then he'd just let it be. Seeing the Korean on the defensive made him feel two things; concern and a touch of that destructive urge that came with any sign of conflict. Neither was welcome in his mind, so he hoped it'd pass soon after changing the subject.

"Oh that reminds me!" Hwoarang got up, leaving his beer on the table and then rushing out of the room. That enthusiasm - whatever could have caused it - helped Jin relax again. There was the sound of a faucet turning on and then water running for a few seconds. When the Korean came back, it was obvious by the ends of his sleeves being wet that he had washed his hands. The redhead rushed across the room and opened the closet to pull out a very familiar leather outfit.

Jin smirked broadly for a moment before he could catch himself, and then playfully switched to the correct response; a polite decline of the offer. "You know, Hwoarang, that's too much... I've already forgiven and forgotten. That outfit costs too much money."

Hwoarang tilted his head and walked toward Jin, carrying the suit along, and stopped far enough away from the food to be safe. "Trust me, Kazama, giving you this outfit is really a gift to myself. It's not about money or forgiveness. It's about you looking sexy in leather."

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://games.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260

~~~~~

MMishima: No need to apologise! Can see you're paying attention to what you're reading in that comment. And yes, Hwoarang is indeed determined enough to be obedient when that's what it takes - at least when whoever he obeys (Baek or Jin? :) ) is in sight. As we all know, once he's to himself... ;-)

Hwoarang also got his way with telling Jin not to spank him; this version is not a fan of being physically "punished" during sex, although I certainly see where you are going with that. Some of my favourite Tekken fanfics has Hwoarang as a more or less bondage-obsessed masochist. It suits him greatly when done well.

We're sorry it took us almost four months to update this time. Next one should be quicker than that, at least...