Love Stays Strong - Chapter 15
Title: Love Stays Strong
Pairing: Akame
Genre: Angst
Rating: PG 13
Summary: They told him he had an accident, and had been in coma for two weeks. But he couldn't remember the fateful event at all, he didn't know what and how it happened. Kame just couldn't recall the accident but the thing that hurt him the most was Jin had disappeared during the times he needed him the most.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Akame don't belong to me!~ Then who?? ^.~
Special Note: I seriously love you, Taka-chan!! This chapter is much better beta-ed!~ Thank you!!! *Glomps you*
A\N: The rest of the chapter can be found on my Fanfic List @ my LJ. ^^
----- ` -----
Why must my heart hurt so much?
Kame clutched his heart as he wobbled down the corridor slowly. As though it was meant to be a deliberate prank, the elevator was taking its own sweet time to arrive. As he stood before the steel doors, the desire of wanting to escape overwhelmed him. When this desire finally overpowered rationality, Kame chose to run down the stairways instead.
Eventually, he slowed down, not because he was tired, but because he was too emotionally drained out to continue. He forced himself to continue, but he finally gave up when he reached the fifth floor.
Kame’s knees gave way as in he sat down despondently on one of the steps. Gripping onto the handle tightly as fresh tears began to blur his vision, Kame recalled the stinging words that came from the set of lips that he loved so much.
“I should never have accepted him back …”
Although Jin had explained the reason to his brothers after he said that, Kame’s mind had lost their ability to listen to anything right from the moment he heard the line before. That sentence went straight to his heart, and ripped out a part of his heart.
“So it was all a mistake, Jin? After all, you’re just toying with my feelings. Why am I so stupid?!” Kame laughed bitterly as tears kept flowing down his cheeks.
I am nothing but your mistake.
Kame could do nothing, other than to lean his head against the railing and cry to his heart’s content.
----- ` -----
Yamapi stared at the slightly ajar door of Jin’s hospital room. He remembered that he had closed it properly when he entered the room earlier on. Curiosity took control of him as he walked towards the door and opened it wide, only to find that there was no one outside the ward.
“…. Kame…?” His heart sank when this name popped up in his brain. He hoped that his suspicion was a mere false alarm…
Imagine Kame standing outside the room, overhearing their conversation…
Yamapi snapped back to his thoughts when a nurse on duty walked past him. Instinctively, he stopped her, and asked, “Do you happen to see Kamenashi-san around?”
“Oh, I did see him just now. He was just standing outside Akanishi-san’s room ten minutes ago.” The nurse replied as she scanned along the corridor for Kame, but of course, the latter was nowhere to be found.
“Thank you.” Yamapi bowed as he rushed back into the room. His heart sank even further when he realised that Kame has indeed overheard their conversation. He began to worry for the younger man.
“J…” Yamapi stopped himself from confronting Jin when he saw his best friend sleeping peacefully on the bed. He wanted to shout at Jin and let him know that Kame had disappeared, but he realized it was more important to find the latter first. He could only heave out a deep sigh in defeat. Placing his hands into his jeans pocket, he gestured for Reo, who was sitting at the couch, to move out of the room.
With a raised eyebrow, Reo reluctantly followed. He knew that something unpleasant must have happened.
----- ` -----
“I have no time for your dilly-dallying now. Get out of this room immediately.” Yamapi said as he pulled Reo out of the room hastily and closed the door behind them.
“Yamapi, what…” Before Reo had a chance to finish his sentence, he was cut short by Yamapi. “Kame heard everything from our conversation earlier on!”
“….?”
Now, Reo was getting confused. How did Kame overhear their conversation?
“He was just outside the room, Reo. We were too careless. We must have been too agitated about Jin’s words to notice that there was somebody outside the door! He must have heard everything we said. Most importantly, he must have heard what Jin had said. ….And now, he’s nowhere to be found.” Yamapi explained, a frown appearing on his face as he thought of what Kame might do.
Eyes widened in surprise, Reo exclaimed, “What? Where do you think Kazuya-kun went? He shouldn’t wander around aimlessly! The hospital and the holiday house are very far away! Furthermore, he’s not used being around Kyoto.”
“Reo, calm down. I’ll try to look for Kazuya now, ok? By the way, make sure that you don’t tell Jin about this. I don’t want his condition to worsen.” Yamapi reminded Reo.
Receiving a nod from the latter, he then continued, “Alright then, I’m going to search for Kame now! He shouldn’t be that far away from where we are.” With that, he waved and ran towards the elevator, hoping to find his friend somewhere in the hospital.
Kame is going through the pain, yet all over again. He thought worriedly.
----- ` -----
After ten minutes of searching for Kame without any luck at all, Yamapi tried calling the latter’s hand phone again for the countless time, and this time he was really hoping that his friend would answer his call. He was getting more worried as time passed; he didn’t want Kame to be lost in this country side, what’s more in that emotional state he was in after overhearing that conversation.
Yamapi’s prayers were answered as his call got picked up.
“Kame, are you there? Where are you now?” he quickly asked, waiting anxiously for a reply. But after several seconds, he couldn’t hear anything, other than the soft breathing from Kame.
“Why? Why is he doing this to me?” Kame whispered, his tone cracked with hurt. Yamapi realized that it was true that Kame had listened in to the conversation they had earlier in the ward.
“Kame, I promise that I’d listen to you! But first, please tell me where you are now!” Yamapi emphasized, worried for his friend.
“Staircase … 5th level … Hospital …”
“Stay there. I’ll come to you.” Yamapi immediately hung up as he rushed towards the staircase next to the elevators and quickly climbed up to the fifth level.
True enough, Kame was there, sitted down, leaning weakly against the railings.
Yamapi was glad that Kame was still in the hospital otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to find him in this country side. However, his heart shattered when he realized the terrible condition Kame was in. It was almost the same as that fateful day along the cliffs, when Kame became nothing but a very vulnerable man in front of him.
Kame probably wouldn’t listen to what he had to say right at this moment, but Yamapi knew he had to clear the misunderstanding. Jin was just afraid of losing his precious lover, knowing that he would not be able to let go of him once his vacation is over. Jin was insecure and was too afraid of losing Kame, that’s why he ended saying those words.
Yamapi knew that Jin didn’t meant to hurt Kame; Jin was fully well aware that he had already hurt Kame way too much to even think of causing him more pain. However, hurt was inflicted unknowingly. Nonetheless, Yamapi promised himself that he would do his best to help salvage that relationship.
He didn’t know that things would turn out the opposite from what he had intended, as he was being dragged to the temptation of listening to his heart instead of doing the right thing.
At that moment, he too would get hurt.
----- ` -----
The cab journey from the hospital to the holiday house took nearly half an hour. Both Kame and Yamapi spent the time in silence as they were both not in the mood to converse. Yamapi kept stealing worried glances at the vulnerable man beside him; the latter kept looking outside the window through the entire journey and did not even breathe out a word to him.
Yamapi, however, did not expect Kame to quickly open the door to the cab when they’ve arrived to their destination. The smaller frame merely sprinted off into the house, unlocking the door himself with the spare key he had and disappeared into the house.
Taking out his wallet, Yamapi quickly took out a note and handed it to the driver, muttering that he should keep the change. He got out of the cab too and made a dash into the house as well.
----- ` -----
“Kame, what are you doing?” Yamapi mouthed out; he was shocked when he entered the room and saw Kame hastily grabbing all his hanged clothes from the wardrobe and placed them on top of his carrier bag.
As if he did not hear Yamapi’s words, Kame merely carried on with his packing. He swiftly removed the hanger from each item, and quickly packed his clothes into his bag. Yamapi knew that the conversation hit a raw nerve on his best friend, and he was sad that the latter reacted this way.
“Kame, listen … what Jin said … you knew he did not mean it. You don’t understand. He was just…”
“I don’t want to hear anything about it, okay?” Kame cut in, looking at Yamapi in anger. “What part of what he said do I not understand? He clearly wants me out, so I would gladly do that for him! I want to return to Tokyo! Now!” Kame returned to his task, only to be grabbed firmly by the shoulder by Yamapi, forcing him to face him.
“Kame, you can’t do that! At least, please wait till Jin recovers. You have to stay by his side during this critical period.” Yamapi tried to convince him.
“For what? To wait till he dumps me again, Pi?” Kame whispered sadly, knowing in his heart that it was Jin’s true agenda… To hold him tight before finally setting him free, and hurting him over and over again.
“I don’t think I can take anymore hurt. I don’t want to hear that two hurtful words from Jin.”
Break up.
Kame’s eyes cluttered with tears as he looked up to his friend bitterly, suddenly stopping whatever he was doing; he was too caught up with his emotion to do anything at that moment. He was too heartbroken.
That particular image of Kame made Yamapi rushed towards him and held him in an comforting embrace, coaxing him with soothing words.
“This time Jin won’t. He loves you too much to let you go. Every human being has their own insecurities, same for Jin too. Even though sometimes his words may hurt for us, we should know that he didn’t mean it.” He paused to look at Kame in the eye before he continued, “Jin, that idiot, is actually afraid of the loneliness he’d feel again when it’s time for you to return back to Tokyo. His one greatest fear is to lose you.”
When Kame heard that from Yamapi, he stunned for a moment. Following that, fresh tears began to flow freely as Kame gripped his friend’s shirt tightly, sobbing loudly. His mind was in a mess now. Should he believe what Yamapi said? Could he believe? Yamapi has never lied to him before… which meant that he was wrong about a lot of things…
Should he stay in Kyoto? For Jin’s sake? Could he really believe that Jin wanted to let him go because he was afraid to go through losing him again?
Nonetheless, Kame knew that his heart has already drifted back to the hospital, and he missed Jin. For once, he decided to go against his rationality, and just follow his heart. He will stay.
“Can we go back to the hospital, Yamapi? I want to see Jin. I really want to meet him.” Kame pleaded, shaking Yamapi’s arms, hoping that the latter would agree to his request, even though they had just gotten back from the hospital.
He really wanted to see Jin.
“Take your bath first.” Yamapi replied calmly. With a speed of lightning, Kame grabbed his towel from the cabinet and entered the bathroom almost immediately.
Heaving out a sigh, Yamapi was glad that he managed to convince his friend to stay for his best friend. It hurt him to see Kame in that vulnerable situation. He wanted Kame to be happy… but he didn’t know if he could continue supporting him anymore.
It stung him right in his heart whenever he saw the two of them together…
Yamapi hated to admit it, but he knew he had fallen for Kame hard.
Love has two sides, the good and the evil … he was afraid he would eventually succumb to his temptations and snatch Kame away from Jin. When that happens, he would not be able to back out from his decision, and even if he could only have Kame for a short while, it didn’t matter at all. Though he knew he would end up hurting not only himself, but three hearts as well.
Shaking his head, Yamapi pushed those frustrating thoughts away as he walked out of Kame’s bedroom.
He needed a bath too.
----- ` -----
“What? Kazuya overheard everything that we said earlier?” Receiving a nod from his younger brother, Jin tried to get up from the bed as he lifted the blanket off him.
“Where is he now? Don’t tell me he went back to Tokyo? He couldn’t have left me alone here.” Jin muttered in panic as he struggled to get out of the bed despite his weak condition.
“Onii-chan, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be moving about!” Reo went straight to his brother, forcing him to lie down back to his bed. However, Jin was not in the mood to continue lying on the bed; he continued to struggle to get out of it.
“No, I shouldn’t be lying here! I want to get Kazuya back! I don’t want to lose him, not now … not when I’m still not prepared for it! I want to se him.” Jin shouted as he fought off Reo’s tight hold on him, “Let go! I want to see Kazuya!”
“Onii-chan, look at me!” Reo shouted in hope to catch Jin’s attention. When his brother’s eyes met his, Reo said calmly, “Yamapi managed to make Kazuya-kun stay. They’re on their way back here.”
“You’re lying …” Jin muttered in disbelief.
That moment, the door opened as Kame ran towards Jin and embrace him in a hug. Jin was totally surprised by the sudden appearance of his lover, but did not hesitate to return the hug. Once again, he was overflowing with emotions that he couldn’t explain in words. He wasn’t ready to face to the loneliness again without his beloved Kame. And now that Kame was here with him again, Jin was really grateful about that.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Jin whispered as he held Kame tightly, afraid to lose him.
“You’re not going to lose me. We’ll talk about that matter when you’re discharged, okay?” Kame brushed his lover’s fringe from his face as he flashed him an assuring smile; his gaze was filled with so much love.
It was as if their roles were reversed.
In this point of time, Jin was in fact in a more vulnerable position than Kame. He had the chance to let Kame go, but he did not … And as a result, Jin really couldn’t bear losing Kame again after the beautiful moments spent with him in this country side.
Jin needed Kame as much as Kame needed him; he couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from his love anymore.
With a nod, Jin pulled Kame back into an embrace, hugging him real close as he closed his eyes and cherished the special moment. Whatever happens in the future, he knew that they would be together. He trusted Kame so much that he believed that they will be able to face everything together in the future.
But other than the extreme happiness shared within this room … there stood someone with a pained expression. Someone hated himself for having these newly sparked feelings for his own best friend’s lover.
Yes, Yamapi hated himself more than anything else right at this moment.
----- ` -----
“So when can Jin be released from the hospital?” Kame asked Reo as they both sat on the sofa in the hospital room.
Jin apparently had gone back to sleep due to the medicines he was given. He had actually refused to take them for fear of losing Kame. Jin had held on to Kame’s fingers tightly as he shook his head frantically when he saw the injection needle the nurse was holding. There were even tears in his eyes as he pleaded for her to not give him that medication.
“Don’t worry. I promise I will be here when you wake up. I promise.” Kame reassured with a smile, and that was enough to convince the teary-eyed Jin as he nodded.
“It would be best if onii-chan stays for another two days but knowing him, he would want to leave as soon as possible. I’ll talk to the doctor later to let him be discharged early. I wouldn’t worry now since onii-chan has your company. At least he won’t be lonely.” Reo grinned at Kame.
Kame nodded and smiled sweetly for a brief second, before suddenly turning serious.
“I don’t want to leave Jin but I know that I still have to go back to Japan when my leave is over.” He sighed, looking at Reo sadly.
“Don’t you worry about that, I have a plan in mind that onii-chan would be gladly to follow, just that it needs a little persuasion from our parents.” Reo smiled, stressing the word ‘little’ to Kame. He fully knew that his parents would disagree at first, but they would eventually relent to that request.
“I’ll leave that to you then, Reo.” Kame simply said in response; he trusted the younger man completely.
Reo did a soldier’s hand sign and saluted to Kame, and the latter burst into laughter, brightening up the room with light-hearted mood.
----- ` -----
“Eh, where is Yamapi?” Kame looked around the room in search for his best friend but found no sign of him anywhere. Raising his eyebrows, Kame faced Reo again as he murmured, “Weird, I swear he was standing by the window a few minutes ago.”
“Kazuya-kun!” Reo chuckled and shook his head, “Have you forgotten that Yamapi left …” he glanced at his wrist watch to check the time, then continued, “… almost 20 minutes ago to get your clothes so that you could stay here overnight?” He was amused at the latter’s reaction afterwards; Kame pretty much looked dumbfounded.
“Did he? I did not remember Yamapi leaving this room.” Kame whispered, but at the same time he felt thankful for him to do such things for them. “I troubled him a lot recently, to come back and forth to the hospital, and now … he’s getting the clothes for me. I really feel grateful.”
“Yamapi is really a great guy, doing unconditional favors for his friends without expecting any return … that is him. I actually wanted to help you get the clothes, but he insisted that I should spend some time catching up with you.” Reo smiled.
Kame nodded, suddenly recalling the sad look on his friend’s face when he was standing by the window earlier on. Out of curiousity, he decided to ask Reo about it.
“Is Yamapi in love with someone?” he asked directly, causing Reo to look at him in total surprise, clearly taken aback by that question.
“Why … Why do you ask that?”
“Well he looks sad and kind of love sick earlier.” Kame answered, recalling that image of Yamapi in his mind again. “So do you know of anyone that he might be in love with? Maybe we could help him so that he won’t look so sad anymore!!” He exclaimed excitedly, moving closer to Reo.
Looking up at Kame, Reo flashed out a reluctant smile, “Maybe he’s not in love with anyone. It might be over something else.” Reo let out a whisper; his face glanced towards Jin, and sighed.
“… Over something else?” Kame finally understood when he followed Reo’s gaze. Convinced, he merely nodded. “Guess that was just my imagination then. Well, Reo, I’m kind of tired. I’ll take a short nap. Wake me up when Jin stirs in his sleep.” Kame let out a smile as he moved towards the longer sofa, and lied down.
Reo nodded.
Recalling Kame’s words, Reo knew that the possibility of Yamapi falling in love could be true.
His eyes darted towards the lying form of Kame; he knew that it was Kame whom Yamapi loves.
Why must this have to happen?
Trapped by the feelings of love, all happened because of the plan that Yamapi had planned with the intention of helping his two best friends. It had caused him to fall deeper in love with Kame. It wasn’t wrong to fall in love, but the fact that this beautiful feeling would cause him pain was what that worried Reo the most.
Yamapi was like a brother to him. To see him get hurt was the same as seeing his elder brother getting hurt. Even so, Reo hoped that Yamapi wouldn’t try to destroy the beautiful relationship which Kame and his brother shared.
Love can be beautiful, but it could also break the next second.
----- ` -----
Kame was alone with Jin in the private hospital room. It was already night and the door was locked. Reo, along with Yamapi, had gone back to the holiday house. Jumping around the sofa, Kame checked whether there were cameras around. He heaved out a sigh of relief when he had found none, slumping back onto the comfy sofa.
“Kazu … ya …” a soft voice mouthed his name, causing him to leap up from the sofa as he rushed towards his lover immediately.
“Jin?” He whispered out that name, sitting on the edge of the bed, as his arm reached towards his lover’s shoulders. His eyes met with that of Jin’s and he smiled brightly at the man he truly loves, “You’re awake.”
“You didn’t break your promise. You’re still here.” Jin’s eyes glassed with tears as he straightened up his posture and pulled Kame into a hug.
“Are you going to leave me for the night? It’s so lonely staying alone.” He murmured.
“No, at least I don’t intend to.” Kame said teasingly.
Jin broke away from the hug, his arms still intact on Kame’s waist as he looked at him in confusion, “You don’t intend to…?” He found himself asking.
“Hmm.” Kame nodded his head, as he continued, “But you have to move to your right a little.” With his right hand, he signaled Jin to do so as he asked only to meet with Jin’s dumbfounded look.
The I-don’t-understand-what-you-are-trying-to-tell-me-to-do look was clearly written on Jin’s expression, Therefore, Kame could not resist a chuckle as he hit his boyfriend lightly on the head.
“Baka Jin.” He murmured, causing a pout to appear on Jin’s face, “Move a bit to your right… so we could share the bed.”
“Oh … Ohhhh!!!” Jin suddenly exclaimed in realization. He finally understood what Kame meant, “You’re staying with me for the night?” Jin asked excitedly.
“I’ll stay with you for eternity.” Kame teased him, “There’s no way I’m going to sleep on the couch when you’re so near.” This time, he pouted like a baby.
Jin immediately moved to the right using his upper body support, giving his lover enough space. He smiled when Kame naturally curled his body against that of his, and he placed his arm comfortably on the younger man’s slim waist.
How I wish we could stay like this forever.
“Jin …”
“Hmmm?” He brushes his lover’s hair gently, listening intently.
“Can you please stop doubting our relationship?” Kame asked, gazing at him with mixed feelings.
Jin froze. He stopped brushing Kame’s hair as he looked at him in the eye. He couldn’t find the right words to say. He knew that in Kame’s words, there was some truth.
He doubted their love.
“I can’t stay here with you forever. I still have responsibilities waiting for me back in Tokyo, but we could make it work still. Why should we part for that very reason?” Kame whispered, his voice breaking as a single tear fell down his cheeks.
“You’re right.” Jin wiped the tear away for his lover, “We could make it work, as long as we have our love. Hit me on the head if I ever doubt our relationship again.” He joked, hoping for Kame to feel much better.
“Hmm! I will hit you hard!!” Kame smiled brightly at Jin as he snuggled closer to him, letting out one final murmur, “Oyasumi, Jin.”
“Oyasumi.” Jin kissed Kame’s forehead, “May you have sweet dreams of me.”
“Ne, I would prefer naughty dreams …” the smaller frame murmured in his sleep.
Letting out a laugh, Jin held the sleeping beauty close to him, as he fell back to a deep slumber.
----- ` -----
Author’s note: Though this chapter is fluff, I’m warning you that the following chapters would definitely be angst. I’ve already have the plot in mind so before you guys kill me for the unexpected angst after the fluff, better tell you in advance. It will hurt even more so be prepared, okay!!~
Pairing: Akame
Genre: Angst
Rating: PG 13
Summary: They told him he had an accident, and had been in coma for two weeks. But he couldn't remember the fateful event at all, he didn't know what and how it happened. Kame just couldn't recall the accident but the thing that hurt him the most was Jin had disappeared during the times he needed him the most.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Akame don't belong to me!~ Then who?? ^.~
Special Note: I seriously love you, Taka-chan!! This chapter is much better beta-ed!~ Thank you!!! *Glomps you*
A\N: The rest of the chapter can be found on my Fanfic List @ my LJ. ^^
----- ` -----
Why must my heart hurt so much?
Kame clutched his heart as he wobbled down the corridor slowly. As though it was meant to be a deliberate prank, the elevator was taking its own sweet time to arrive. As he stood before the steel doors, the desire of wanting to escape overwhelmed him. When this desire finally overpowered rationality, Kame chose to run down the stairways instead.
Eventually, he slowed down, not because he was tired, but because he was too emotionally drained out to continue. He forced himself to continue, but he finally gave up when he reached the fifth floor.
Kame’s knees gave way as in he sat down despondently on one of the steps. Gripping onto the handle tightly as fresh tears began to blur his vision, Kame recalled the stinging words that came from the set of lips that he loved so much.
“I should never have accepted him back …”
Although Jin had explained the reason to his brothers after he said that, Kame’s mind had lost their ability to listen to anything right from the moment he heard the line before. That sentence went straight to his heart, and ripped out a part of his heart.
“So it was all a mistake, Jin? After all, you’re just toying with my feelings. Why am I so stupid?!” Kame laughed bitterly as tears kept flowing down his cheeks.
I am nothing but your mistake.
Kame could do nothing, other than to lean his head against the railing and cry to his heart’s content.
----- ` -----
Yamapi stared at the slightly ajar door of Jin’s hospital room. He remembered that he had closed it properly when he entered the room earlier on. Curiosity took control of him as he walked towards the door and opened it wide, only to find that there was no one outside the ward.
“…. Kame…?” His heart sank when this name popped up in his brain. He hoped that his suspicion was a mere false alarm…
Imagine Kame standing outside the room, overhearing their conversation…
Yamapi snapped back to his thoughts when a nurse on duty walked past him. Instinctively, he stopped her, and asked, “Do you happen to see Kamenashi-san around?”
“Oh, I did see him just now. He was just standing outside Akanishi-san’s room ten minutes ago.” The nurse replied as she scanned along the corridor for Kame, but of course, the latter was nowhere to be found.
“Thank you.” Yamapi bowed as he rushed back into the room. His heart sank even further when he realised that Kame has indeed overheard their conversation. He began to worry for the younger man.
“J…” Yamapi stopped himself from confronting Jin when he saw his best friend sleeping peacefully on the bed. He wanted to shout at Jin and let him know that Kame had disappeared, but he realized it was more important to find the latter first. He could only heave out a deep sigh in defeat. Placing his hands into his jeans pocket, he gestured for Reo, who was sitting at the couch, to move out of the room.
With a raised eyebrow, Reo reluctantly followed. He knew that something unpleasant must have happened.
----- ` -----
“I have no time for your dilly-dallying now. Get out of this room immediately.” Yamapi said as he pulled Reo out of the room hastily and closed the door behind them.
“Yamapi, what…” Before Reo had a chance to finish his sentence, he was cut short by Yamapi. “Kame heard everything from our conversation earlier on!”
“….?”
Now, Reo was getting confused. How did Kame overhear their conversation?
“He was just outside the room, Reo. We were too careless. We must have been too agitated about Jin’s words to notice that there was somebody outside the door! He must have heard everything we said. Most importantly, he must have heard what Jin had said. ….And now, he’s nowhere to be found.” Yamapi explained, a frown appearing on his face as he thought of what Kame might do.
Eyes widened in surprise, Reo exclaimed, “What? Where do you think Kazuya-kun went? He shouldn’t wander around aimlessly! The hospital and the holiday house are very far away! Furthermore, he’s not used being around Kyoto.”
“Reo, calm down. I’ll try to look for Kazuya now, ok? By the way, make sure that you don’t tell Jin about this. I don’t want his condition to worsen.” Yamapi reminded Reo.
Receiving a nod from the latter, he then continued, “Alright then, I’m going to search for Kame now! He shouldn’t be that far away from where we are.” With that, he waved and ran towards the elevator, hoping to find his friend somewhere in the hospital.
Kame is going through the pain, yet all over again. He thought worriedly.
----- ` -----
After ten minutes of searching for Kame without any luck at all, Yamapi tried calling the latter’s hand phone again for the countless time, and this time he was really hoping that his friend would answer his call. He was getting more worried as time passed; he didn’t want Kame to be lost in this country side, what’s more in that emotional state he was in after overhearing that conversation.
Yamapi’s prayers were answered as his call got picked up.
“Kame, are you there? Where are you now?” he quickly asked, waiting anxiously for a reply. But after several seconds, he couldn’t hear anything, other than the soft breathing from Kame.
“Why? Why is he doing this to me?” Kame whispered, his tone cracked with hurt. Yamapi realized that it was true that Kame had listened in to the conversation they had earlier in the ward.
“Kame, I promise that I’d listen to you! But first, please tell me where you are now!” Yamapi emphasized, worried for his friend.
“Staircase … 5th level … Hospital …”
“Stay there. I’ll come to you.” Yamapi immediately hung up as he rushed towards the staircase next to the elevators and quickly climbed up to the fifth level.
True enough, Kame was there, sitted down, leaning weakly against the railings.
Yamapi was glad that Kame was still in the hospital otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to find him in this country side. However, his heart shattered when he realized the terrible condition Kame was in. It was almost the same as that fateful day along the cliffs, when Kame became nothing but a very vulnerable man in front of him.
Kame probably wouldn’t listen to what he had to say right at this moment, but Yamapi knew he had to clear the misunderstanding. Jin was just afraid of losing his precious lover, knowing that he would not be able to let go of him once his vacation is over. Jin was insecure and was too afraid of losing Kame, that’s why he ended saying those words.
Yamapi knew that Jin didn’t meant to hurt Kame; Jin was fully well aware that he had already hurt Kame way too much to even think of causing him more pain. However, hurt was inflicted unknowingly. Nonetheless, Yamapi promised himself that he would do his best to help salvage that relationship.
He didn’t know that things would turn out the opposite from what he had intended, as he was being dragged to the temptation of listening to his heart instead of doing the right thing.
At that moment, he too would get hurt.
----- ` -----
The cab journey from the hospital to the holiday house took nearly half an hour. Both Kame and Yamapi spent the time in silence as they were both not in the mood to converse. Yamapi kept stealing worried glances at the vulnerable man beside him; the latter kept looking outside the window through the entire journey and did not even breathe out a word to him.
Yamapi, however, did not expect Kame to quickly open the door to the cab when they’ve arrived to their destination. The smaller frame merely sprinted off into the house, unlocking the door himself with the spare key he had and disappeared into the house.
Taking out his wallet, Yamapi quickly took out a note and handed it to the driver, muttering that he should keep the change. He got out of the cab too and made a dash into the house as well.
----- ` -----
“Kame, what are you doing?” Yamapi mouthed out; he was shocked when he entered the room and saw Kame hastily grabbing all his hanged clothes from the wardrobe and placed them on top of his carrier bag.
As if he did not hear Yamapi’s words, Kame merely carried on with his packing. He swiftly removed the hanger from each item, and quickly packed his clothes into his bag. Yamapi knew that the conversation hit a raw nerve on his best friend, and he was sad that the latter reacted this way.
“Kame, listen … what Jin said … you knew he did not mean it. You don’t understand. He was just…”
“I don’t want to hear anything about it, okay?” Kame cut in, looking at Yamapi in anger. “What part of what he said do I not understand? He clearly wants me out, so I would gladly do that for him! I want to return to Tokyo! Now!” Kame returned to his task, only to be grabbed firmly by the shoulder by Yamapi, forcing him to face him.
“Kame, you can’t do that! At least, please wait till Jin recovers. You have to stay by his side during this critical period.” Yamapi tried to convince him.
“For what? To wait till he dumps me again, Pi?” Kame whispered sadly, knowing in his heart that it was Jin’s true agenda… To hold him tight before finally setting him free, and hurting him over and over again.
“I don’t think I can take anymore hurt. I don’t want to hear that two hurtful words from Jin.”
Break up.
Kame’s eyes cluttered with tears as he looked up to his friend bitterly, suddenly stopping whatever he was doing; he was too caught up with his emotion to do anything at that moment. He was too heartbroken.
That particular image of Kame made Yamapi rushed towards him and held him in an comforting embrace, coaxing him with soothing words.
“This time Jin won’t. He loves you too much to let you go. Every human being has their own insecurities, same for Jin too. Even though sometimes his words may hurt for us, we should know that he didn’t mean it.” He paused to look at Kame in the eye before he continued, “Jin, that idiot, is actually afraid of the loneliness he’d feel again when it’s time for you to return back to Tokyo. His one greatest fear is to lose you.”
When Kame heard that from Yamapi, he stunned for a moment. Following that, fresh tears began to flow freely as Kame gripped his friend’s shirt tightly, sobbing loudly. His mind was in a mess now. Should he believe what Yamapi said? Could he believe? Yamapi has never lied to him before… which meant that he was wrong about a lot of things…
Should he stay in Kyoto? For Jin’s sake? Could he really believe that Jin wanted to let him go because he was afraid to go through losing him again?
Nonetheless, Kame knew that his heart has already drifted back to the hospital, and he missed Jin. For once, he decided to go against his rationality, and just follow his heart. He will stay.
“Can we go back to the hospital, Yamapi? I want to see Jin. I really want to meet him.” Kame pleaded, shaking Yamapi’s arms, hoping that the latter would agree to his request, even though they had just gotten back from the hospital.
He really wanted to see Jin.
“Take your bath first.” Yamapi replied calmly. With a speed of lightning, Kame grabbed his towel from the cabinet and entered the bathroom almost immediately.
Heaving out a sigh, Yamapi was glad that he managed to convince his friend to stay for his best friend. It hurt him to see Kame in that vulnerable situation. He wanted Kame to be happy… but he didn’t know if he could continue supporting him anymore.
It stung him right in his heart whenever he saw the two of them together…
Yamapi hated to admit it, but he knew he had fallen for Kame hard.
Love has two sides, the good and the evil … he was afraid he would eventually succumb to his temptations and snatch Kame away from Jin. When that happens, he would not be able to back out from his decision, and even if he could only have Kame for a short while, it didn’t matter at all. Though he knew he would end up hurting not only himself, but three hearts as well.
Shaking his head, Yamapi pushed those frustrating thoughts away as he walked out of Kame’s bedroom.
He needed a bath too.
----- ` -----
“What? Kazuya overheard everything that we said earlier?” Receiving a nod from his younger brother, Jin tried to get up from the bed as he lifted the blanket off him.
“Where is he now? Don’t tell me he went back to Tokyo? He couldn’t have left me alone here.” Jin muttered in panic as he struggled to get out of the bed despite his weak condition.
“Onii-chan, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be moving about!” Reo went straight to his brother, forcing him to lie down back to his bed. However, Jin was not in the mood to continue lying on the bed; he continued to struggle to get out of it.
“No, I shouldn’t be lying here! I want to get Kazuya back! I don’t want to lose him, not now … not when I’m still not prepared for it! I want to se him.” Jin shouted as he fought off Reo’s tight hold on him, “Let go! I want to see Kazuya!”
“Onii-chan, look at me!” Reo shouted in hope to catch Jin’s attention. When his brother’s eyes met his, Reo said calmly, “Yamapi managed to make Kazuya-kun stay. They’re on their way back here.”
“You’re lying …” Jin muttered in disbelief.
That moment, the door opened as Kame ran towards Jin and embrace him in a hug. Jin was totally surprised by the sudden appearance of his lover, but did not hesitate to return the hug. Once again, he was overflowing with emotions that he couldn’t explain in words. He wasn’t ready to face to the loneliness again without his beloved Kame. And now that Kame was here with him again, Jin was really grateful about that.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Jin whispered as he held Kame tightly, afraid to lose him.
“You’re not going to lose me. We’ll talk about that matter when you’re discharged, okay?” Kame brushed his lover’s fringe from his face as he flashed him an assuring smile; his gaze was filled with so much love.
It was as if their roles were reversed.
In this point of time, Jin was in fact in a more vulnerable position than Kame. He had the chance to let Kame go, but he did not … And as a result, Jin really couldn’t bear losing Kame again after the beautiful moments spent with him in this country side.
Jin needed Kame as much as Kame needed him; he couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from his love anymore.
With a nod, Jin pulled Kame back into an embrace, hugging him real close as he closed his eyes and cherished the special moment. Whatever happens in the future, he knew that they would be together. He trusted Kame so much that he believed that they will be able to face everything together in the future.
But other than the extreme happiness shared within this room … there stood someone with a pained expression. Someone hated himself for having these newly sparked feelings for his own best friend’s lover.
Yes, Yamapi hated himself more than anything else right at this moment.
----- ` -----
“So when can Jin be released from the hospital?” Kame asked Reo as they both sat on the sofa in the hospital room.
Jin apparently had gone back to sleep due to the medicines he was given. He had actually refused to take them for fear of losing Kame. Jin had held on to Kame’s fingers tightly as he shook his head frantically when he saw the injection needle the nurse was holding. There were even tears in his eyes as he pleaded for her to not give him that medication.
“Don’t worry. I promise I will be here when you wake up. I promise.” Kame reassured with a smile, and that was enough to convince the teary-eyed Jin as he nodded.
“It would be best if onii-chan stays for another two days but knowing him, he would want to leave as soon as possible. I’ll talk to the doctor later to let him be discharged early. I wouldn’t worry now since onii-chan has your company. At least he won’t be lonely.” Reo grinned at Kame.
Kame nodded and smiled sweetly for a brief second, before suddenly turning serious.
“I don’t want to leave Jin but I know that I still have to go back to Japan when my leave is over.” He sighed, looking at Reo sadly.
“Don’t you worry about that, I have a plan in mind that onii-chan would be gladly to follow, just that it needs a little persuasion from our parents.” Reo smiled, stressing the word ‘little’ to Kame. He fully knew that his parents would disagree at first, but they would eventually relent to that request.
“I’ll leave that to you then, Reo.” Kame simply said in response; he trusted the younger man completely.
Reo did a soldier’s hand sign and saluted to Kame, and the latter burst into laughter, brightening up the room with light-hearted mood.
----- ` -----
“Eh, where is Yamapi?” Kame looked around the room in search for his best friend but found no sign of him anywhere. Raising his eyebrows, Kame faced Reo again as he murmured, “Weird, I swear he was standing by the window a few minutes ago.”
“Kazuya-kun!” Reo chuckled and shook his head, “Have you forgotten that Yamapi left …” he glanced at his wrist watch to check the time, then continued, “… almost 20 minutes ago to get your clothes so that you could stay here overnight?” He was amused at the latter’s reaction afterwards; Kame pretty much looked dumbfounded.
“Did he? I did not remember Yamapi leaving this room.” Kame whispered, but at the same time he felt thankful for him to do such things for them. “I troubled him a lot recently, to come back and forth to the hospital, and now … he’s getting the clothes for me. I really feel grateful.”
“Yamapi is really a great guy, doing unconditional favors for his friends without expecting any return … that is him. I actually wanted to help you get the clothes, but he insisted that I should spend some time catching up with you.” Reo smiled.
Kame nodded, suddenly recalling the sad look on his friend’s face when he was standing by the window earlier on. Out of curiousity, he decided to ask Reo about it.
“Is Yamapi in love with someone?” he asked directly, causing Reo to look at him in total surprise, clearly taken aback by that question.
“Why … Why do you ask that?”
“Well he looks sad and kind of love sick earlier.” Kame answered, recalling that image of Yamapi in his mind again. “So do you know of anyone that he might be in love with? Maybe we could help him so that he won’t look so sad anymore!!” He exclaimed excitedly, moving closer to Reo.
Looking up at Kame, Reo flashed out a reluctant smile, “Maybe he’s not in love with anyone. It might be over something else.” Reo let out a whisper; his face glanced towards Jin, and sighed.
“… Over something else?” Kame finally understood when he followed Reo’s gaze. Convinced, he merely nodded. “Guess that was just my imagination then. Well, Reo, I’m kind of tired. I’ll take a short nap. Wake me up when Jin stirs in his sleep.” Kame let out a smile as he moved towards the longer sofa, and lied down.
Reo nodded.
Recalling Kame’s words, Reo knew that the possibility of Yamapi falling in love could be true.
His eyes darted towards the lying form of Kame; he knew that it was Kame whom Yamapi loves.
Why must this have to happen?
Trapped by the feelings of love, all happened because of the plan that Yamapi had planned with the intention of helping his two best friends. It had caused him to fall deeper in love with Kame. It wasn’t wrong to fall in love, but the fact that this beautiful feeling would cause him pain was what that worried Reo the most.
Yamapi was like a brother to him. To see him get hurt was the same as seeing his elder brother getting hurt. Even so, Reo hoped that Yamapi wouldn’t try to destroy the beautiful relationship which Kame and his brother shared.
Love can be beautiful, but it could also break the next second.
----- ` -----
Kame was alone with Jin in the private hospital room. It was already night and the door was locked. Reo, along with Yamapi, had gone back to the holiday house. Jumping around the sofa, Kame checked whether there were cameras around. He heaved out a sigh of relief when he had found none, slumping back onto the comfy sofa.
“Kazu … ya …” a soft voice mouthed his name, causing him to leap up from the sofa as he rushed towards his lover immediately.
“Jin?” He whispered out that name, sitting on the edge of the bed, as his arm reached towards his lover’s shoulders. His eyes met with that of Jin’s and he smiled brightly at the man he truly loves, “You’re awake.”
“You didn’t break your promise. You’re still here.” Jin’s eyes glassed with tears as he straightened up his posture and pulled Kame into a hug.
“Are you going to leave me for the night? It’s so lonely staying alone.” He murmured.
“No, at least I don’t intend to.” Kame said teasingly.
Jin broke away from the hug, his arms still intact on Kame’s waist as he looked at him in confusion, “You don’t intend to…?” He found himself asking.
“Hmm.” Kame nodded his head, as he continued, “But you have to move to your right a little.” With his right hand, he signaled Jin to do so as he asked only to meet with Jin’s dumbfounded look.
The I-don’t-understand-what-you-are-trying-to-tell-me-to-do look was clearly written on Jin’s expression, Therefore, Kame could not resist a chuckle as he hit his boyfriend lightly on the head.
“Baka Jin.” He murmured, causing a pout to appear on Jin’s face, “Move a bit to your right… so we could share the bed.”
“Oh … Ohhhh!!!” Jin suddenly exclaimed in realization. He finally understood what Kame meant, “You’re staying with me for the night?” Jin asked excitedly.
“I’ll stay with you for eternity.” Kame teased him, “There’s no way I’m going to sleep on the couch when you’re so near.” This time, he pouted like a baby.
Jin immediately moved to the right using his upper body support, giving his lover enough space. He smiled when Kame naturally curled his body against that of his, and he placed his arm comfortably on the younger man’s slim waist.
How I wish we could stay like this forever.
“Jin …”
“Hmmm?” He brushes his lover’s hair gently, listening intently.
“Can you please stop doubting our relationship?” Kame asked, gazing at him with mixed feelings.
Jin froze. He stopped brushing Kame’s hair as he looked at him in the eye. He couldn’t find the right words to say. He knew that in Kame’s words, there was some truth.
He doubted their love.
“I can’t stay here with you forever. I still have responsibilities waiting for me back in Tokyo, but we could make it work still. Why should we part for that very reason?” Kame whispered, his voice breaking as a single tear fell down his cheeks.
“You’re right.” Jin wiped the tear away for his lover, “We could make it work, as long as we have our love. Hit me on the head if I ever doubt our relationship again.” He joked, hoping for Kame to feel much better.
“Hmm! I will hit you hard!!” Kame smiled brightly at Jin as he snuggled closer to him, letting out one final murmur, “Oyasumi, Jin.”
“Oyasumi.” Jin kissed Kame’s forehead, “May you have sweet dreams of me.”
“Ne, I would prefer naughty dreams …” the smaller frame murmured in his sleep.
Letting out a laugh, Jin held the sleeping beauty close to him, as he fell back to a deep slumber.
----- ` -----
Author’s note: Though this chapter is fluff, I’m warning you that the following chapters would definitely be angst. I’ve already have the plot in mind so before you guys kill me for the unexpected angst after the fluff, better tell you in advance. It will hurt even more so be prepared, okay!!~