Will you walk into my parlor?" said a spider to a fly;
'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to show when you are there."
"Oh, no, no!" said the little fly, "to ask me is in vain;
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

"I'm sure you must be weary with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the spider to the fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin;
And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in."
"Oh, no, no!" said the little fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again who sleep upon your bed."

Said the cunning spider to the fly, "Dear friend, what shall I do
To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome; will you please to take a slice?"
"Oh, no, no!" said the little fly, "kind sir, that cannot be;
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see."

"Sweet creature," said the spider, "You're witty and you're wise;
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes.
I 'have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf;
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,
And bidding you good-morning, now, I'll call another day."

The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again;
So he wove a subtle web. in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple, there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead."

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew-
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue;
Thinking only of her crested head - poor foolish thing! At last
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den
Within his little parlor-but she ne'er came out again!

And now, dear little children who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you, ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor close heart, and ear, and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.

Mary Howitt, 'The Spider and the Fly'

Illusions of Grandeur

[Notes and Disclaimers]

"Rajura! Dammit, you'll never get away with this!"

Arrayed in the armor of the Gen MaShou, the white-haired man looked up at the cry and chuckled. Shuu was firmly caught in his web now, the sticky strands wrapped around his thrashing arms and legs to hold him, pale against his dusky skin. The continuing shouts and protestations boomed in the cavernous room, dimly lit by a number of large candles. Flickering light touched on Shuu's face, defining the contours of his round cheeks, glinting in his flashing eyes.

"Do stop fighting, Kongo," Rajura taunted, tossing his hair back over his shoulders with a graceful shift of his neck. "One would almost think that you don't want to be here."

"Bastard! Let me go!"

Rajura released an exasperated sigh and dispelled his armor. "So soon?" With a smirk curving his lips, he moved forward to catch the young man's chin, the darkness of his sub-armor standing out in stark relief against Shuu's skin. "Come now, Kongo, don't you want to play?"

His eyes widening as he attempted to jerk his chin from the other man's hand, Shuu struggled fruitlessly against the web. "No! Let me down!"

"No fun, Kongo." Patting his cheek, Rajura stepped away and contemplated him for a moment. "Perhaps... we can have fun after all." He turned as a shape flickered into view in the circle of candlelight, an oddly familiar shape in orange armor. Rajura moved to join the new figure and embraced him from behind, his chin resting on the shorter man's shoulder as he chuckled softly. "Meet Kongo, Kongo. Does he look accurate enough?"

Shuu's wide blue eyes fixed in horror on the smiling figure as feeble protests escaped his lips. "That's impossible! What the Hell do you want?"

"Oh..." The absent ejaculation escaped Rajura's lips as his fingers moved across Shuu's double's side, "I don't know. Illusions are so very unsatisfying. Would you be interested in making this more than that?"

"No!"

It was with a laugh that Rajura trailed his fingers over the double's chest, the armor melting away beneath them to reveal the sub-armor, which melted away in turn to reveal dark flesh. "No... Then we'll have to settle for what we can get."

Shuu could only stare as his nude double turned and enfolded Rajura in his arms. He swallowed as the illusion's chin tipped up and Rajura's mouth went down, crushing over that of the man before him. Forcing himself to avert his eyes, he wished that he could close his ears to the soft sounds of their breathing, to the faint sigh of skin against skin as one moved against the other. A breathless moan split the relative silence and his eyes snapped back to the scene, meeting the laughing blue gaze of Rajura.

"Do you suppose that he's true to life, Kongo?"

Shuu stared uncomprehendingly at him until Rajura's gaze traveled down his double's body. It was with a feeling of dread that his eyes followed Rajura's line of sight, a feeling that he deemed well-founded when he got an eyeful of the erection arching proudly from the illusion's body. "No..."

A husky laugh bubbled up from Rajura's throat. "Are you a virgin? Is that why you're so negative?" He trailed a finger down the illusion's chest and caught a nipple, teasing a moan from the double's throat. "It's not as bad as you think, Kongo."

"No!" Shuu swallowed again, trying in vain to tear his eyes away from the strangely erotic sight. "I mean, I'm not a virgin... Dammit, Rajura, let me go!" He growled a wordless sound as the white-haired man's mouth closed over his double's nipple, repeating it when his double slid his hands onto Rajura's sub-armored shoulders, gripping tightly. "Just stop it!"

"Why do you want me to stop, Kongo?" A leer touched Rajura's as he flicked his tongue over the illusion's nipple, toying with the taut bit of flesh. "Is it... bothering you?"

Shuu could feel his face flaming red; he was sure that it was a beacon even in the dim light. "No!" He shifted uncomfortably against the web that held him, making another half-hearted attempt to escape. "Of course not!"

"Good." A feral grin curved Rajura's pale lips as he dispelled his sub-armor to reveal his skin, as fair as a woman's, as smooth as fine silk. Leaning back against Shuu's double, he folded his arms across his belly and drawled lazily, "I wouldn't want to bother you. At least... not yet." He chuckled at Shuu's outraged gasp and pressed his hips back against the illusion's as he was embraced, the other's dark skin standing out starkly against his own.

Shuu swallowed thickly, fighting the lump in his throat to whisper, "What do you want from me?"

Rajura looked up at him, his uncovered eye sparkling wickedly. "Why, a bit of entertainment, of course." He raised his arms over his head and looped them around the neck of the illusion behind him, curving his body into a taut arc. "Some fresh meat, as it were. You are fresh, aren't you?"

Shuu clamped his mouth firmly shut as he glared at the MaShou, shifting again at the uncomfortable tightness in his loins. He forced his eyes to the ceiling, only to have his gaze snapped back to Rajura as the other laughed, the smooth sound amplified by the large chamber.

"Do play along, Kongo. Perhaps you may even get something out of it." Rajura laughed again, only to release a small, surprised cry as he was shoved roughly forward onto his hands and knees by the illusion. He glanced over his shoulder to see Shuu's double kneeling behind him and released a delighted cry. "Pay attention now, this is my favorite part."

Rajura's groan as he was penetrated filled Shuu's ears as he watched, unable to look away. He licked suddenly dry lips as his double rode the white-haired man, their bodies meeting and parting only to meet again. Finding himself staring at the quiver of Rajura's flesh as he was thrust into, he licked his lips again and jerked his eyes away in desperation. They settled instead on Rajura's face and left him wishing that he'd kept his gaze where it was; Rajura's mouth was drawn into an animalistic snarl of pleasure, his visible eye was clenched shut beneath drawn brows, and his head was dropped back, spilling his flowing white hair over his back and shoulders.

"Please..."

Shuu was unaware of it when the soft plea dropped from his lips, but it did not go unnoticed by Rajura. The illusion dissipated into a spray of tiny light molecules, giving Rajura's pale body an unearthly luminance before they faded into the darkness like a swarm of dying fireflies. A translucent kimono settled around Rajura's form as he rose and ranged over to Shuu, his body shining pale through the sheer folds. His fingertips brushing lightly against the bound man's lips, Rajura smiled faintly and intimately breathed a whisper into his ear, "Are you flustered, Kongo?"

"Rajura..." Shuu closed his eyes and sighed softly, slumping farther into the web. "I give up."

Rajura laughed delightedly and hooked a finger under the neck of Shuu's sub-armor. "Put the clothes away, Kongo. We wouldn't want to get them... dirty." He watched as the dazed-looking man dispelled his sub-armor, then trailed his fingers along the breadth of Shuu's bared shoulders. "Now... this is nice, much better in the flesh."

A guilty flush stained Shuu's cheeks as he looked away from Rajura, clearing his throat before he spoke, "Do you have to?"

One pale eyebrow rose, accompanied by the tap of elegant fingers against Shuu's broad chest. "Yes, Kongo. You don't... want me to stop, do you?"

"Yes."

"Yes?" Rajura chuckled, "Yes, you want me to stop, or yes, you don't want me to stop?" As he spoke, his fingers moved slowly down Shuu's chest to tweak one of the dark nipples, his lips following to pamper the abused flesh with a kiss.

"Yes."

Shuu's softly moaned word sent a grin flashing across Rajura's mouth before he pressed his lips against the firm flesh of the bound man's chest. "You need to make up your mind, Kongo, or I won't stop." His pale fingers drifted over Shuu's abs, pressing into the hard muscles there, followed by his mouth to taste the salt of his skin. He grinned to himself and circled his tongue around Shuu's navel, the low moan that resulted filling his ears. With one hand cupping around Shuu's sleekly-muscled hip, Rajura's mouth moved back up Shuu's torso to nibble across his jaw. "Say you want me," he whispered, "say you want me and I'll let you go."

Shuu forced his eyes open to look into the single laughing one in front of him. His jaw worked silently to produce intelligible words even as his skin tingled from Rajura's continued nibbles. "Never," he finally hissed. "Stop that. I'll never say it." With a valiant attempt to ignore the pleasant tingling running through his body, he glared at Rajura and struggled against the restricting web once again.

Any further protests were cut off when Rajura settled his mouth over Shuu's, his warm tongue probing lightly against his closed lips. Rajura's hand slid around Shuu's neck to cup the tender skin at his nape as his other kneaded his hip, fingers pressing expertly into the taut flesh. "Say it," he murmured, lips caressing Shuu's as he mouthed the words, "say you want me." Without pausing for an answer, he closed his mouth over Shuu's again, taking advantage of the younger man's surprise and slipping his tongue between his slackened lips to explore the moist cavern beyond them.

Shuu's faint gasp of surprise was muffled by Rajura's mouth, as was his following moan. His bound hands strained to be free of the sticky web as he pressed towards Rajura's mouth, his mind rebelling when the other man pulled back to keep the contact teasingly light. He bit off a curse when Rajura pulled away completely and stared at his malicious grin. "Bastard."

"And you love me for it. Rather you wish I would love you, don't you, Kongo?" His sparkling blue eye traveled down Shuu's body to the rather obvious proof of his enjoyment, followed by the brief touch of his fingers. "You wish I would touch you again, don't you? Or maybe... take you in my mouth and taste you?"

Shuu swallowed, excruciatingly aware of Rajura's fingers stroking the length of his erection, rousing it to further hardness. He swallowed again in an attempt to clear the thickness from his throat and parted his lips to speak, only to find no words. Watching Rajura with a sense of frustrated helplessness, he sagged against the web. "Just do whatever," he managed weakly, "I know you will anyway."

Rajura's light chuckle drifted up from the vicinity of Shuu's belly as the white-haired warlord knelt in front of him, brushing his lips lightly over the sweat-sheened skin. "Such a generous offer, Kongo. Do you like my hands on you?" His head tilted back to treat Shuu to a smug smile as his hands ran over his body, thumbs rubbing over his scrotum before moving to tease his inner thighs. "Do they... excite you?" A light caress over the crease at the junction of torso and leg punctuated the question, followed by the brush of Rajura's lips against his protruding hipbone. "Do they turn you on?"

Rajura's curious glance up when Shuu refused to answer revealed that the bound man had closed his eyes and clamped his lower lip between his teeth, holding tightly to prevent a response. The warlord chuckled and circled his hands slowly around Shuu to knead his firm buttocks, slender fingers manipulating them with a practiced confidence. He blew lightly across Shuu's skin, his warm breath flooding over the sweat-dampened flesh to chill the moisture and raise goosebumps. Delighted with the reaction, he laughed with a childish joy and repeated the motion, again and again until a soft groan broke through Shuu's lips.

At the strangled sound, Rajura's gaze moved slowly up, lingering on his pulsing erection before continuing the slow journey to his face. "Something, Kongo?" He watched with an innocent expression until Shuu shook his head violently, then chuckled and returned his gaze to Shuu's groin. One hand slid away from Shuu's backside to circle the base of his cock, twisting slowly as his mouth descended, pausing only a hairs-breadth away. "Is this for me? How very... gourmet."

Shuu could only groan again when Rajura's mouth brushed over the bobbing tip of his erection, collecting the drops of pre-come that had already gathered there. He strained against the web once again, longing to thrust his hands into the tumbling white hair covering the head of the man before him, to press his mouth around his cock and hold him there until he came, spilling his seed down his pale, slender throat. The erotic images, combined with the sensations of Rajura's lips running down the length of his shaft, forced a soft whimper from his throat.

Rajura grinned to himself at the faint sound and closed his mouth around the bulging head of Shuu's cock, sucking smoothly as he worked his way farther down the shaft. Shuu's sharp breathing reached his ears as though through a tunnel as he paused, pulling back until his lips contained only the head again, and setting his tongue to work, probing the small opening that marked the tip. With teeth and lips teasing lightly over the surrounding skin, Rajura bent his attentions to the movements of his tongue, collecting the salty-sweet liquid before moving to lick over the gland hidden underneath.

Plunged into a torment-filled void, Shuu was only half-aware when Rajura's hands stroked over his rear again, parting the firm cheeks to explore within. It wasn't until one slender finger pressed against the tight hole hidden between them that he became shockingly aware of his hands. A low grown escaped his lips as he bucked, driving himself further into Rajura's mouth as he attempted to escape the alien probing of his finger.

Rajura recoiled in surprise when Shuu pressed completely into his mouth, stilling a moment to deal with the sudden gag reflex. He closed his teeth sharply around Shuu in an admonishment, only to be surprised again at Shuu's loud yelp, filled with overtones of pleasure. Experimentally biting again, he nearly laughed out loud at Shuu's second yell, and did it again, closing his teeth around the hardness of Shuu's cock harshly enough to leave marks. His fingers pressed their advantage again, probing once more beyond Shuu's snug opening.

"A... ra..."

Rajura chuckled grimly, withdrawing his finger as he moved his mouth away, closing his hand in turn around Shuu's shaft and pumping vigorously. "Something, Kongo? Why don't you tell me... later." His free hand moved to trace Shuu's hipbones before stopping with a single finger extended, flicking that against the glistening head of his cock.

"Bas... A... Wa..." Shuu's softly moaned syllables, largely ignored by the white-haired man in front of him, melded into a single harsh sound as the friction of Rajura's hand drove him over the edge. Frothy white liquid erupted from his cock in short spurts, coating Rajura's hand as he continued to pump. A few breaths later, Shuu slumped back, drained, only barely aware of it when Rajura's hand was removed.

"Look at me, Kongo."

Shuu's eyes remained closed until the soft command was repeated, then they slid slowly open and fixed on Rajura's upturned face. He stared at him as the other's gaze drew his own to his hand, and he wondered distractedly why it was wet. Realization came in a flash, tinged red by a heated flush as Rajura's hand moved down his own slim body to spread the dampness over his own erection, jutting defiantly from its dense nest of white hair.

"You aren't ready to be done yet, are you? There's so much yet left to learn."

Shuu was unprepared when Rajura rose lithely and caught his face between his palms, closing his mouth over his in a seeking kiss. He shuddered away from the rapidly-cooling feel of Rajura's hand and pressed back against the web that still held him upright, all too aware of the feel of Rajura's erection pressing against his belly. He could feel the web moving, rising almost, lifting his feet from the ground and spreading them. He whimpered into Rajura's mouth, a sound rife with trepidation and an unexpected anticipation. Feeling Rajura's hands move from his cheeks to grip his rear and shift him, he gasped at the alien sensation of something larger than a finger probing against his anus.

It took him only a moment to realize that it was Rajura's cock that was penetrating him, a moment awash with a sharp pain tinged with great waves of pleasure. A strange feeling swelled in his chest when he realized that it was his own come that was easing him, sharpening the edge of pleasure. Suddenly aware of every inch of his body, he gasped at the conflicting sensations, of the warmth of Rajura's body against his, the cool of the air of the chamber against his bared skin, the unfamiliar stretching of his body to accommodate Rajura's slow thrust, of the gentle caress of Rajura's hands over his lower back, the light touch of the warlord's lips against his throat, the brush of his hair against his shoulder. He exhaled slowly, afraid that any sudden gasp would shatter the glass shell that he had become.

The touch of Rajura's fingers against his taut nipples was what conquered him, sending him crumbling into a tiny heap within himself. He moaned wordlessly, his lips forming the syllables that wouldn't come as he writhed against the other's pale body. The world became everything and nothing, all overlaid by the sweet burning of Rajura's thrusts into him, by the unfamiliar and yet delicious sensations spawned by the contact.

"Ara..." The whisper escaped from his tight throat, the throat that was being covered with kisses by Rajura's lips, the throat where Rajura's tongue was tracing the pounding pulse point. He swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he attempted again. With his hands fisting against the web with the effort, he forced the scream past his resisting lips, "Arago-sama!"

Rajura stilled immediately, letting a moment pass before he pulled his face away from Shuu's throat, turning a single concerned eye on the bound man. "Shuu, you have the worst timing." He laughed, a strange, strained sound, and brought one hand up to stroke the sweaty hair from Shuu's forehead. "You want me to stop?"

"No, no..." Shuu's faint whimpers spilled forth into slurred words, "Down... Let... let me down... Please, Raj'-chan..."

Rajura's head fell against Shuu's shoulder as he fought for the control to withdraw, wrapping his arms tightly around Shuu's broad chest as he did so. The web was dispelled with a brief thought, sending both men tumbling with it to land in a sprawl of limbs, dark overlaid by pale, tangled together until they seemed to be merged into one body.

Shuu was the first to move, stretching cramped arms over his head with a soft moan of delight, then snagging them tightly around Rajura. One hand tangled in the long white hair, resulting in a luxurious shudder at the feel of the silken strands wrapping around his blunt fingers. His legs came up to wrap around Rajura's lithe waist and he arched his body against the lighter one covering him. "Go ahead, Raj'-chan... We're not done yet."

Rajura's face hovered over Shuu's for some long moments, his deep blue eye searching before his mouth lowered to close over Shuu's again. His tongue probed gently even as he shifted to sheath himself in the younger man once more. He could feel Shuu's hand tangling almost painfully in his hair as he thrust as far as he wished into his body and reveled in the sensation, in the responses that he'd been denied by their earlier game. He drove himself into Shuu, again and again feeling the friction from the meeting of their bodies, the tightness of Shuu around him, oddly contrasted by the smooth wet of their merged mouths. The sudden aggression as Shuu thrust his tongue into his mouth, mimicking his own thrusts into Shuu's body, exploded his desperate control, sending him into orgasm with a muffled shout, his hips driving mindlessly against Shuu's even as he poured himself into the eagerly accepting body under his.

Shuu caught him when Rajura slumped over his body, his elbows having gelled in the post-coital haze. He grinned at the white-haired man and brushed a hand tenderly down his back, tracing the line of his spine with light touches. His grin broadened when Rajura's head rose with a sheepish expression, and leaned up a bit to kiss his nose. "Done?"

Unable to answer with more than a weak nod, Rajura slid from Shuu's body and dropped off to the side, dispelling the image of the cavern with a weak wave as he did so. He pressed a light kiss against the side of Shuu's gleaming chest and flopped onto his back on the revealed mattress. A breathless laugh escaped his throat even as his eyes drifted closed, and he murmured sleepily, "Maybe you'd better unlock your door now... I'll go as soon as I can move... old man that I am..."

Shuu turned onto his side, grinning contentedly as he pulled the blankets over Rajura's nude body. "I'll let you sleep here if you'll make me a deal."

"Won't your roommate complain?"

"No," Shuu chuckled, touching Rajura's drowsily parted lips, "Touma can sleep with Seiji tonight. Don't you want to know the deal?" He waited patiently until Rajura nodded, his uncovered eye cracking open to meet Shuu's. "I'll let you spend the night if I get to play the spider next time... and you fill the part of the fly." His lips curved as he pressed his cheek against Rajura's, murmuring into the shell of his ear, "'He dragged him up his winding stair, into the dismal den, within his little parlor - but he ne'er came out again!'"

The others would wonder later why Shuu had missed supper, and why peals of laughter had drifted from his room, laughter that hadn't sounded like his usual hearty chuckles. But, they'd decided later, as they'd collapsed into their own sweaty tangle of spent limbs, anything that kept Shuu from finding out about their after-dinner activities was a good thing. Poor straight Shuu, he didn't know what he was missing.

- fin -

Notes and Disclaimers

Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers is © Sunrise and Nagoya TV.

Illusions of Grandeur was my first completed Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers fic, and possibly my first completed male/male fic - it's been so long that I can't remember if this or Shadow Dancers came first. I've revised it a bit, but may go back and do another one if I'm ever feeling ambitious enough.