A Cup of Lust, Beauty and Affairs

Summary:Taichi, a photographer and artist fascinated by the beauty of the world, becomes captivated by the beauty of a customer at his parent's coffee shop. Innocent desires soon blaze into an unforgettable, insatiable affair. (Taito)

D-Angel: Well hello ;) Welcome to probably one of the most un-angst story I've ever written in such a long time! Seriously! I've had this story idea for a while, but only just developed it a few weeks ago so fingers crossed it will be good. I just felt like writing one of those epic affair type stories with a lot of fluff, but maybe a few tears. It will be in Tai's point of perspective because his character is fun to play around with ;). As for the story title, yeah I suppose it's rather random but it does fit in with the themes of the story which I'm sure you will find out :P

Ok, not much else for me to say, so…. Read on!

Rating: T (May raise in later chapters)

Warnings: None, apart from implied homosexuality naturally ;)

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Chapter 1 True Beauty

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'You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record'

It could have been described as love at first sight or perhaps even lust, whatever it was I didn't want that feeling to fade. I thought that I had witnessed true beauty when I'd been lucky enough to climb Mount Fuji with my family a few years ago. The views had been breathtaking, especially the view of the stunning orange and red sunset shining romantically down on the lake below. I had captured that moment with a painting and a few photographs.

Photography and painting were my two main passions in life. When I was younger I had masked out these more feminine interests of mine by attempting to become engrossed with football, like other boys my age. However, despite how good I turned out to be at the sport I was unable to bury my true desires for long. My younger sister, Hikari, caught me taking pictures with her digital camera of the view of the apartment blocks from our own apartment's balcony when I was fourteen. Instead of whining at me for stealing her camera, she was amazed by how great the pictures were.

" You've got the ability to emphasise the beauty of anything!" Hikari had cheerfully informed me after allowing me to take several more pictures with her camera. It was encouraging to hear a thing like that so soon after that I started to take up after school art classes instead of attending football practice. Painting came much more naturally to me than kicking a ball around the pitch.

I received my own digital camera from Hikari on my fifteenth birthday. I was touched because I knew that had been saving up for a more up-to-date camera herself, but she admitted that she thought I would make better use out of it than she ever would. And I did.

Anything I considered as being eye-catching I would take a photograph of, or if I had the time I would sit down in front of an easel with a palette of paints and make my own personal copy of the thing that had inspired me to paint it. I hoped to discover something truly beautiful one day and I thought I did as I looked down at the dazzling landscape below me while I stood in amazement on Mount Fuji, but a few years later I found something absolutely spectacular.

It was a Monday morning, and I had popped into my parent's coffee shop for a cappuccino and a chat to see how their business was going. I sat myself down on my usual seat right near the counter, facing towards the door, after I said hello to my mum, who had been having a quick smoke while my dad was at the back of the shop checking on the supplies. My mum made me a cappuccino as I spoke to her about some wedding photos I had taken over the weekend.

" It was a spectacular wedding," I admitted as I sprinkled plenty of sugar into my drink once my mum had placed it on my table, " One of the best I've been to, and the photographs turned out great! I'll be delivering them to the couple next week…" My voice abruptly trailed off when I heard the jingle of bells that only made a sound if someone was to open the shop door. As my eyes glanced over at the door my heart suddenly skipped a beat. In walked the most beautiful person I had ever happened to lay my eyes on.

At that moment, everything froze like a photo. People have said that when they see the person that they know they are destined to be with forever, everything - including time - stands still, apart from that particular person. They usually describe it as love at first sight. For me it was slightly different.

Everything around me did suddenly freeze, including the person that had just stepped into the shop. It was like I was gazing at a real life photograph, the most astounding photo I had ever seen. This guy had stunning bright blue sapphire eyes, which sparkled with intense emotion. Wavy golden strands dangled partly across his brow while the rest of his hair swayed to one side for a few moments in an imaginary breeze. I saw the small 'Come and get me' smile playing on his soft looking lips, and instantly felt my heartbeat increase at an unnaturally interesting rate.

Slowly but surely, time resumed to its usual pace but my heart was still lashing excitedly against my ribcage as I watched him, like an obsessed stalker, as he sat down by a table right next to the window. He casually picked up the menu with one of his amazingly slim and slender hands before he briefly glanced at the drink's list. I felt my cheeks burn red as he unexpectedly moved his gaze towards me (Obviously realising that I was gawping at him) before his lips curled into a playful smile, a smile that was just as perfect as the rest of him was.

I shyly broke our eye contact head away and stared down embarrassingly at my almost empty cappuccino, however I was unable to resist another peek of the masterpiece that was sitting by the window. My mum was now standing by his table asking him what he wanted to drink.

" Just a coffee," He said in the most stunningly beautiful voice I had ever heard- it was deep, yet soft, soothing and refreshing like a cool summer's breeze. There was no doubt about it after that; he had to be my model.

The mysterious beautiful stranger came to the coffee shop everyday weekday after that Monday, always at 8.10am. He sat on his usual window seat and ordered a simple cup of coffee as always. Sometimes, he had a little black notebook with him which he scribbled things into with a black pencil with purple stripes. At 8.40am he would pay for his coffee and then he would leave. Whenever he caught me looking over at him he would always smile in return then carry on writing things into that little black notebook of his.

It was turning into a game for the both of us, though neither of us knew what the rules were, and it soon struck me after a month that I did not even know his name. Not even my parents knew, so naturally my curiosity grew as well as my desire to capture his beauty in a painting and a few photographs. But how could I propose my yearning to a stranger who did not even know my name?

My friend Mimi answered that for me. Now, Mimi Tachikawa was not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was probably Japan's greatest fashion critic. She had written articles for many top-selling magazines and always seemed to know when magazine editors needed particular photos for a particular article.

" Oh! 'FRUiTS' are actually looking for hot piccies of hot men for some 'Hot Guys Living Among You' article!" Mimi shrieked down the phone excitedly in a voice that was high enough to reawaken the dead. Once I had calmed her down I soon learnt 'FRUiTS' were basically after pictures of handsome young men (Aged between nineteen and twenty-eight) just to show girls in Japan that pretty guys did actually exist in this world. Not only would each model be paid but also so would the photographers that took their pictures.

So the following Monday, instead of staring over longingly at the guy by the window, I slipped down in the seat opposite him soon after my mum had given him his coffee. He immediately looked up from his notebook with a small confused glimmer in his eyes at first, but then his usual beckoning grin appeared across his face. He ran a couple of his slim fingers through a few strands of his blond hair before he had a sip of his coffee.

" Yagami Taichi," I introduced extending my hand out as if I was making some sort of business deal with him (Which I guess I was). Electricity rushed through my body as he grabbed my hand with his own, I saw the smile on his gorgeous face widen.

" Ishida Yamato," He softly replied before letting go off my hand. My cheeks instantly flushed with mild embarrassment as he winked at me in a teasing manner. Yamato; it was such a beautiful name - a tall mountain covered from head to toe in wisteria (1)- a name full of stunning imagery.

" Yagami?" Yamato said curiously as he studied my blushing face for a few moments as if he was searching for an answer to a question I was unaware of, "Are you of any relation to this coffee shop?"

I looked mildly bemused before I remembered that the name of my parent's coffee shop was simply 'Yagami's Coffee Shop'. And I thought Mimi could be dense!

" Oh yeah, my parent's run this old place but I've got nothing to do with it, I mean I'll help out now and again to earn a bit of extra money, but actually I'm a photographer," I found myself saying. That was one bad thing about me; once I started to speak I found it hard to shut the hell up.

However, Yamato hardly seemed bothered by the fact that I talked way too much. He just listened intently, as if he had interest in what I had to say, while occasionally taking a sip of his coffee. Obviously I ended up telling him all about the magazine deal, though I had convinced myself that a handsome guy, such as himself, probably had something better to do with his time, such as admiring how beautiful he was in front of a mirror.

"Sure, sounds like fun," Yamato playfully said in a cute voice after placing his empty cup of coffee onto the table surface, then he looked at my half-shocked, half-pleased facial expression with an amused expression fixed on his own face. I was surprised because he wasn't even blushing, and I was sure that I had made it pretty clear that I found him amazingly attractive. Still, I was overjoyed that he had accepted to be my model.

But the, a small pang of disappointment lashed lightly against my chest when Yamato glanced briefly at his watch, his mouth forming into a surprised 'o' shape when he saw the time. 8.45am flashed dauntingly on the display screen.

" Shit, I've gotta jet!" Yamato exclaimed panicking as he quickly stood up before reaching into his jeans pocket to fish out his wallet.

As he threw some money down onto the table, I caught a glimpse of something that should have been beautiful, but to me it was just plain ugly and it was an object that I had unconsciously feared to see. I knew that it was an engagement ring; I mean not many guys wore an expensive looking gold 24-carat diamond ring on their 'ring' finger for the sheer hell of things.

" Erm… Mr. Yagami?" Yamato politely said, causing me to blush (yet again) as he interrupted me from my train of thoughts. He was sharp to notice that I was staring at the single ring on his finger, which ironically was a symbol that he was not single. I was confused when a glimmer of shame appeared in his sky blue eyes before he quickly shoved his hand into his pocket, as if trying to hide the fact that he was engaged.

" Err… I'll see you tomorrow morning, ok?" Yamato uneasily muttered as slowly started to edge away from the table, still managing to maintain his eye contact with me, like a camera fixed primly on its subject.

" Yeah, I'll give you more details about the photos," I said, trying to prevent my voice from sounding bemused. He nodded then eased my confusion by flashing a heat-warming smile at me before he hurried out the building.

The engagement ring on Yamato's finger haunted my mind for the rest of the day, as did his supernatural beauty.

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Author Notes

(1) (Also wistaria) climbing plant with blue, purple, or white hanging flowers.

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Song lyrics (Randomly placed at the beginning of the chapter)

"You Spin Me" by Dead or Alive

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D-Angel: Yeah I realize that the style in this story is different from what I usually write, but to be honest I just wanted a change :P. Hope that the first chapter wasn't too bad / I worked my ass off perfecting it while I was in Devon a week or two ago, lol. Well yes, Tai as a photographer… Should be interesting ;) Heh. Well anyways, I have no idea on when chapter 2 will be up, most probably at the end of the month or at the beginning of October. Reason being because I have so much work to do and University things to sort out! Oh and I have retakes to revise for which I have in January :( Tis a hard knock life for me.

Thanks for reading anyways and please review ;) E-mail me if you have any queries and I'll try and get back to you (Apologizing to any people that I haven't got round to replying yet!).

See ya next chapter

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-D-Angel-

13/09/05