Work Text:
The only sound that filled the office of Sky Finance was the occasional rustle of paper as Akiyama thumbed through a magazine, his eyes lazily scanning the pictures and barely paying attention to the words. He wasn’t even quite positive what kind of magazine it was, though a quick glance at the cover told him it was travel. He thought Hana might have brought it in, a not so subtle hint that she thought they both deserved some time off. Akiyama had been working uncharacteristically hard. Not that he didn’t work hard, but there was more effort involved than usual that didn’t include Hana dropping a stack of papers on his desk and a loud throat cough. He’d recently been expanding his business dealings, dipping his toes in the water of other things. One of them, a hostess club called Elise, had panned out really well, so he decided to snatch up a massage parlor on Pink Street.
That one, uh, wasn’t going as well. The owner hadn’t exactly been truthful in the state of things when he gratefully dumped it in Akiyama’s lap and although he’d been suspicious, he also wasn’t too pressed into checking it out more than he needed to. Unfortunately, the place had been in the red with the staff having the most absurd turnover rate he’d seen. He cleaned house and kept staff who he thought would work hard and hired a new manager as well as a few other employees. It still left them fairly short staffed, but they’d managed so far with the luck of having nobody call in on their shifts. Still, he was making it work and with any luck, it’d turn out like Elise.
Just as Akiyama dropped the magazine on his desk, letting out a loud yawn, his office phone started to trill. He cringed ever so slightly at the intrusive noise, not exactly relaxation material especially since the office had closed up an hour ago. He wasn’t obligated to answer the phone, but…
“Sky Finance,” he answered, no evidence of an attempt to use his customer service voice.
“Hey boss, it’s Ito,” a nasally voice came from the other side. “I’m sorry to bother you, but we’ve got problems over here at Magic Hands.”
Crap.
“Ito-san, what’s going on? Don’t tell me you’re quitting,” he joked.
“No, but that new girl I hired called out and so did two other people. We don’t have anyone for tonight.”
He groaned, running a hand up and down his face in a scrubbing motion. This was totally his worst nightmare. It was easy to scout a couple girls off the street for Elise if things got too rough, but a massage place? Those people needed to be trained, couldn’t just yank anybody off the street.
“Boss?”
“Uh, yeah, no people,” he mumbled. “You got any suggestions?”
“You know anything about massages--”
“Absolutely not,” he immediately replied. His free hand went from his face to his desk drawer, fishing through it to find a crushed pack of cigarettes. He managed to locate the pack under a baggie of rubber bands. “I’ll definitely break someone’s spine or something. Don’t you know how to do massages?”
A high pitched laugh was his answer. “You kidding me? I tried to give my girlfriend one once and she refused to even talk to me for a week I hurt her so bad.”
The idea of closing the place for even a single evening when they were struggling to break even was enough to get Akiyama to crush his already crumpled pack even more. He really didn’t have much of a choice, did he? He released his grip on the pack and sighed.
“Fine, I’ll be there in like an hour.”
“You’re a lifesaver, boss! See ya then!”
Shit, he could not believe he agreed to this. He didn’t know anything about massages, what if he hurt somebody?
He let out another groan and fumbled through his misshapen cigarette pack to find one that hadn’t been totally destroyed. He had no luck and instead had to settle for a bent smoke, the thing wobbling in his mouth as he lit it. The end went cherry red and he took a giant inhale, hoping the acrid smoke would take the edge off. He had smoked it to a stub, smashed the remainder in the ashtray on his desk, and found that although the edge had dulled, it was still poking him persistently with the reminder that he had to get a move on.
Limbs moved heavily and slowly as he finally gathered himself and left Sky Finance and made his way to Pink Street. He briefly thought about calling Hana, maybe she knew something about this, she probably got massages all the time, but decided against it. He wasn’t so much of a jerk that he was going to bother her after work and before her day off. A familiar voice though...that would be nice.
He dialed the number, ignoring all the irritated grunts of those he brushed shoulders with in the street, and only counted three rings before he was greeted by a smooth voice.
“Hey Mine-kun,” he said, a slight perk in his voice.
“Akiyama-san, what’s going on?” came the slightly stiff, but amicable voice on the other end.
“What, I have to have a reason to call you? I thought you’d wanna hear from me,” he teased. He let out a low hum, pleased to get a chance to hear Mine’s voice. He always enjoyed the steadiness of it. It was calming. It was one of the first things he ever noticed about him. Well, that and how hot he was, but you know, that was neither here nor there.
“Not necessarily, but I am working,” Mine murmured. As if to punctuate his point, there was a shuffle of papers heard in the background.
Akiyama rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling a slight twinge of guilt for interrupting him. He knew Mine had been busy ever since he got his own family in the Tojo Clan, but it wouldn’t kill him to take a five minute break either.
A soft sigh came from Mine and another shuffle of papers. “What’s wrong? I can tell there’s something going on.”
The other man let out a chuckle slightly tinged with nervousness. “You know that massage place I bought?”
“The one I told you would be a terrible business investment?”
“Yep, that’s the one. My, uh, bread and butter,” Akiyama let out a light snort as he said that. “Owner called me and told me they’re short-staffed. Asked me to fill in--”
“Are you serious?” Mine interrupted, the eye roll practically heard. “It’s your business, you can’t possibly be expected to do that. Just tell the staff they have to come in.”
Now Akiyama is rolling his eyes. “This isn’t some office job. Most of these people have other jobs or other things going on. I can’t force them to come in.”
“Hmm,” was all Mine said. Akiyama could picture him behind a desk, leaning back against the chair, his shrewd eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Then I suppose you’re filling in then?”
“You know anything about massages?” Akiyama asked with a smile. He noticed he was only a few minutes away from the place now. “I could use all the advice I could get.”
Mine let out a soft laugh. “You’re nervous? I didn’t realize you get nervous.”
“Aw, c’mon, don’t tease me,” the other man huffed out. “I could really use the help--”
“You’ll be fine,” Mine interrupted him. “I need to go, I have a meeting I need to get to. I’ll speak with you later.”
And just like that the call was over. Akiyama shook his head, then pocketed his phone. Not that he counted on any life-changing advice from Mine, but a little something would’ve been nice. Still, it helped to hear his voice, soothed him enough just as he arrived at the business.
Akiyama headed inside and was immediately descended upon by both the manager and the receptionist. They were quick to fill him in -- he had a client already, they had upper shoulder tension, but don’t touch their legs. Were people always this picky? He promised them he understood and after shedding his coat and rolling up his sleeves. One last deep breath and he headed into the room.
From the get-go, the client was already short with him -- the guy snapping at him that he was late, that he’d been waiting for hours (it had been ten minutes), and would Akiyama please just get on with it before he walked out? He only stopped bitching for a whole five minutes after Akiyama began the massage before a verbal onslaught began.
Too hard. Too soft. Wrong spot. Not enough lotion. Hands too cold. Hands too hot.
This went on for what felt like an eternity but in reality only lasted half an hour before time was up. Akiyama gave the client a strained smile and thank you before leaving the room and allowing him to get dressed again.
The next several clients went similarly and it left Akiyama completely drained. Was it because he was so bad at this that they were being such assholes or was it just always like this? He let out a sigh and was about to collapse in a chair when the receptionist poked her head in the employee break room.
“Boss, you have another client. This one actually requested you by name.”
“By name?” Akiyama blinked, confused. Even if a client he just had had told someone about him, they’ve all hated his massages so far.
“Mm, yeah. He’s a good looking guy. I wouldn’t mind doing it--”
“Alright, alright, I’m going,” he interrupted. He gave a small stretch of his back before heading back to the room.
He entered the room quietly, the scent of the incense that had been lit at the beginning of the shift tapering off as the night winded down. The woodsy smell would have been pleasant if Akiyama hadn’t just spent the past few hours being verbally abused by a bunch of businessmen and old women who probably wouldn’t know a good massage if it hit them in the face.
The next client was already laying face down on the table, face hidden in his arms. Akiyama’s gaze trailed from the man’s well-built arms to a muscular back that boasted the outline of a large back tattoo.
Ah, a yakuza. Just the perfect way to end his night. The outline looked familiar though…
“Mine-kun? Is that you?” Akiyama said, eyes going wide. “What are you doing here?”
The man lifted his head from his arms and revealed a handsome face with a strong nose. Dark, slicked back hair only punctuated his sharp cheekbones.
“I needed a massage,” he answered. A small smirk played at his lips. “Isn’t this a place to get one?”
“Well, yeah--”
“Then, I’m here for a massage,” he interrupted, burying his head face down in his arms again.
Akiyama stared, still recovering from the fact that Mine was here. He couldn’t ever picture Mine in a place like this. He was so refined, giving Akiyama not-so-hidden disgusted looks at dinner whenever he shoved too much food into his mouth or drank some low-shelf liquor. The fact that he was here though, it brought a pleased smile to Akiyama’s face.
“Alright, well don’t say I didn’t warn you that I’m no good,” Akiyama said as he drizzled plenty of the massage lotion on his hands. He warmed it up by rubbing it between his hands knowing that Mine would give him a look if it was too cold. Satisfied with the lotion temperature, Akiyama began to press his hands into his boyfriend’s muscular back, the tight muscles like rock beneath his hands.
Mine didn’t instantly jump, an indication that the temperature was fine, so Akiyama continued working. Long fingers pressed into wound muscles circling his shoulder blades and leading into broader shoulders. There were one or two shuddering breaths from Mine before he finally spoke.
“Shun, try using your thumbs and applying the pressure equally with each hand.”
“R-right.”
He followed the instructions and almost instantly, the hard muscle turned softer each time Akiyama pressed into them. A content sigh escaped from Mine and Akiyama worked his way down his back. His fingers lingered for a brief moment along his spine, loving the way they looked along the taut definition of the muscles, before settling on the lower back. He repeated the same movements again that Mine had advised him, thumbs pressing harder than the rest of his fingers.
“A little less pressure here. I’m a bit more sensitive in this area.”
Akiyama let out a hum in acknowledgment and let up, earning him another gentle sigh from his boyfriend. After another few moments of the repeated motions, Mine lifted his head and glanced backwards to Akiyama.
“You know, you’re actually quite good at this if you work at it. Maybe I’ll become a regular.”
He laughed. “Yeah? Better request me or I might get jealous.”
“You? Jealous? Hard to imagine,” Mine mused, leaning on his elbows now and a slow smile spreading across his face. “Perhaps I’ll check to see if you can get jealous though.”
“Ouch, my heart,” Akiyama joked. His fingers tenderly pressed into Mine’s back for a few more moments as if to tease him before walking up the length of the table and leaning down ever so slightly so that he hovered above Mine’s face. He gently gripped Mine’s chin, who winced from the lotion greased fingers, but otherwise didn’t say anything. “You’re really gonna hurt my feelings if you do something like that. I might have to do something drastic.”
“Oh? Like what--”
Mine’s teasing was interrupted by the press of Akiyama’s mouth along his. Call Akiyama old-fashioned or a horn dog, but this was one of his favorite things to do with Mine. His lips always felt so soft against his and the way there was no hesitation into the transition of the kiss was enough to get him to press it further.
Tongues slipped softly against each other, the exploration of each other’s mouth always a tenuous thing for them. As if either of them couldn’t believe that they were doing this. The comfort was quick to settle into them though and the kiss pressed deeper until Akiyama felt elegant fingers clench his hair. He broke the kiss with a surprised gasp, shooting Mine a look that read really?
“I’m good at surprises too,” Mine hummed.
“Devilish,” murmured Akiyama before resuming their kiss, both his hands caressing Mine’s face. He made no hesitation to press his way back into Mine’s mouth, earning him a pleased groan from Mine as he did so. Another gentle press of tongues along each other’s mouths pulled a moan from Akiyama.
Hands began to wander, Akiyama’s slid from Mine’s face down to his shoulders and perhaps even further if the sudden opening of the door and rush of cold air didn’t blast both of them in the face. Akiyama immediately popped up to a standing position and held his hands up as if to show they were where they belonged and Mine’s pale face turned a gentle shade of pink before he hurriedly buried it between his arms so that he was face down on the massage table.
The receptionist stood in the doorway and stared at the two of them for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as if she were trying to work out the words she wanted to say. After a moment, she finally swallowed hard and said, “His time is up.”
“R-right! Thanks!” Akiyama said with a strained grin. He turned to Mine. “I’ll step outside and let you get dressed, sir.”
He didn’t even wait for a reply before stepping outside with the receptionist and slamming the door behind him. He stood awkwardly outside the room, refusing to make eye contact with the receptionist. If this had been Hana who walked in on him, it would’ve been a funny joke, but instead it was someone he just met that night and she was giving him a hard stare.
“Did he at least pay extra for that?” she finally broke the silence, her voice dull as she raised an eyebrow.
“What? No! That’s my boyfriend--”
“Hey, I didn’t ask for details,” she interrupted with a wave of her hand. “I’ll let you walk him out.”
She left Akiyama on his own which was almost more painful than her stare, but he still let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. Last thing he needed was giving his employees a bad impression of him. The thought was fleeting though as the door to the room opened once more and revealed a more put together Mine.
“Walk you out?” he offered, grinning wide.
Mine gave him a curt nod. They walked through the small building in silence, maybe thirty seconds before they reached the entrance of the place and stood in the doorway.
“So, thanks for coming by!” Akiyama said a little too cheerfully. It earned him a slight eye roll from Mine.
“Well, it wasn’t so bad,” he murmured in reply. “Perhaps you can show me more of your acquired skills later tonight when you’re off?”
A grin split open Akiyama’s face. “Yeah? I think I can do that. Maybe even give you a happy ending.”
Another eye roll, but he said nothing. Instead he gave a quick glance around and when satisfied, he leaned close to Akiyama and gave a small peck on the cheek like a dainty promise of what tonight could hold.
As he watched Mine briskly leave the building and walk down Pink Street, Akiyama had a feeling tonight could actually be a pretty good learning experience if he got to apply it a little further with a certain someone.