Shadows of the Zaibatsu

Thump.

"Ouch! Damnit!"

Pain sent the figure stumbling forward in the dark. Who left that door open there for him to stub his toe on? After shoving it closed and yanking on the blinds to let some light into the room, he was startled by a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He spun around, swinging his fist to hit the bastard sneaking up on him, and froze with his knuckles barely a millimeter away from smashing his bedroom mirror.

Hwoarang blinked and let his hand drop to his side. Must have had a little too much to drink last night if he was getting frightened by his own reflection. He chuckled with relief and headed toward the closet. Had to get dressed before his sensei caught him like that. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only mess he had to take care of.

"Hey, wake up. You gotta leave." He pulled out a pair of jeans and clumsily climbed into them. The closest thing he got to a response was a tired groan and the sound of a pillow falling off the bed. "Alright, babe, if you're not dressed and heading out the door in five minutes, I'm going to have to get physical."

Another groan. "Ugh... Don't talk so loud, fucking punk." Paul Phoenix pushed the blanket down off his face, and reluctantly made himself sit up. "Goddamnit my ass hurts! How am I supposed to work out like this?"

"Quit acting like you didn't ask for it, slut." Hwoarang exaggerated a loud laugh. It would have been nice if they got a little more time that morning, but he suspected their relationship depended on his master Baek not knowing. There was no telling what their future would be like if he found out. Well, maybe it wouldn't be that bad – he doubted Baek Doo San even really knew Phoenix existed – it just would have been respectful to let his master find out that he wasn't completely straight.

After grabbing the blond's clothes off the floor, Hwoarang tossed them to his drowsy lover and then headed out of the room. Had to make sure there wasn't any other mess around the apartment, and that meant hunting down that condom they used last night. Couldn't trust that it was properly disposed of if he was drunk and tired. It was rare enough that he got visits in his own home like that, so he wanted everything to be perfect. Nothing could go wrong.

He shuffled through his home, opening windows as he went, and picking up beer bottles off the floor. Tidying up was such a pain, but it was better than having to kneel through another lecture. The bottles were dropped into a recycling box on his way toward the couch. Maybe that elusive rubber was somewhere around there – at least he thought that was where they finished.

Nope. Just some spilled potato chips under the coffee table. The sight made him consider forcing his companion to help him clean up, but it was probably hopeless. That slob would only get in the way, so Hwoarang sighed and went to grab the hand-held vacuum out of a nearby cabinet. He got down on all fours in front of the couch, and switched it on, making it suck up every last crumb.

A pair of big hands grasped ahold of his hips and he felt the strong body behind him grind against his backside. "Whaddaya say you call your daddy, take a rain check on that little get-together you've got planned, and we go back to bed. Do you know how jealous my buddies back home will be when I tell them what a hot piece of Asian ass I bagged?"

Hwoarang got up to his feet, putting a hand on Paul's shoulder to force the man to stay on his knees. "Even if I was stupid enough to cancel on Master Baek, it doesn't matter. The day you get a piece of my ass, will be the day you die."

"Yeah, but I'll die happy."

The Korean snorted a snicker and leaned over to claim the other man's lips. "Pig." He moved away and headed to the front door. "Come on, you're leaving now."

Seeing that annoyed grimace only amused the redhead further. He watched his lover walk out without another word and disappear around the corner of the hallway. No doubt he would be a little pissy later, but that wasn't difficult to fix.

Hwoarang wandered back into the apartment, leaving the door open to air the suite out, then surveyed the room. That damn thing had to be somewhere.

A whole half hour of searching for a rubber was not a fun way to spend a morning. Finally showered and fully clothed – it wasn't easy washing off the smell of that damn Phoenix – Hwoarang was laying sprawled across the couch, watching a Japanese game show. The condom was still lost, so he could only assume that meant he had disposed of it right last night.

Footsteps was heard in the entrance area. Fully expecting that to be Baek, Hwoarang quickly slid his feet down off the couch and straightened up. Moments later, the older man appeared in the doorway, his red eyes indicating a lack of sleep. "Good morning," he greeted in a firm voice.

"Morning." Hwoarang flashed his most innocent smile and turned down the volume of the TV. Another successful night with Paul that no one would have to know about. It was almost exciting to know he was getting away with that little secret. "How was your flight?"

"Terrible." Baek sighed, taking a few steps in his direction. "The breakfast they served was a dry cookie and a cup of coffee," he added with a grimace of distaste, "I trust you'll provide something better."

That was all it took to get the redhead up and rushing toward the kitchen. He nearly tripped over his own feet, but quickly gained his balance again. "Yes sir. Uh... How does rice and a rolled omelet sound? There's some left over miso soup too. I could heat that up."

His teacher smiled. "Thank you." Walking casually over to the couch, the black-haired man sat down where Hwoarang had been less than a minute ago, making a show of getting comfortable.

Maybe it wasn't so much fun waiting on the man like that, but it was better than not having him around at all. Hwoarang grinned to himself as he tossed the pan on the burner and got the ingredients out to prepare the meal. Might as well make a better breakfast for himself as well; he only ate a handful of chips so far that morning.

He plugged in the rice cooker and poured in a generous amount in case master Baek wanted seconds after. Had to be careful not to be wasteful though. Considering so many things at once was making him confused so he decidedly stopped thinking and just cooked.

A cough was heard. When Hwoarang's eyes drifted to the doorway, he spotted the older man standing there, the used condom pinched between two of his fingers. "I trust you have an explanation?" The man said in a scornful voice, eyebrows lowered to a near-scowl.

"Shi-" Hwoarang clamped his mouth shut before he could complete that word. He cleared his throat and quietly took the condom from the older man. Had to get rid of it properly now that it already got him in trouble. Had to think up some sort of tangible lie that his master wouldn't see through. If he was lucky, he'd get off with only that scowl of disapproval. "I'm sorry, I meant to clean that up earlier, but I couldn't find it. My ... girlfriend came over last night."

No such luck, it appeared. Master Baek pushed the pan off the burner, then insistently pointed at the floor. As Hwoarang silently lowered to his knees, the older man rammed his fiery eyes into the redhead's. "Did I teach you to be this sloppy?" He asked angrily.

"No, Master Baek."

"Do you understand how dangerous sloppiness is?"

"Yes, Master Baek."

~~~~

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