[FIC] PAINTING FLOWERS - Reita x Ruki - 7 / ?
Title : PAINTING FLOWERS
Author : miyabi_is_dead
Pairing : Reita x Ruki , Tora x Ruki (one-sided)
Genre : Romance, Angst
Chapters : 7 / ?
Rating : PG-13
Warnings : Weird relationship, Unbeta-ed mistakes
Disclaimer : I bought Reita and Ruki yesterday in Narnia *is lying*
Summary : Reita was a famous writer. He once had a perfect beautiful life. But a tragedy, a merciless terror had taken them all away from him. What would happen when an energetic college student suddenly appeared in his life one day...and asked him to make some changes in his life...?
Comment : Um...not much... Well, let's get into the drama!!! \\(^___^)// *laughs*
As usual... You may read in peace~~
( Prologue)
( Chapter 1)
( Chapter 2)
( Chapter 3)
( Chapter 4)
( Chapter 5)
( Chapter 6)
Sorrow. Disappointment. Anger. Repentance. Loss. Rage. Sadness. Rejection.
Those feelings were all mixed and clashed inside Tora’s aching mind at the moment. His strong heart was beating in a fast and unsteady pace, mimicking his own distorted in-and-exhales. The synapses all over his slightly trembling body were nearly torn apart. And miraculously, despite all the destructive chaos going on inside his mind, the fake happy smile still hung on his dry lips. Having this secret feeling towards Ruki kept in his heart for years, it took only one blink of an eye to destroy it, in the cruelest way he had never imagined before.
There, just a couple of feet away from his seat, sat the love of his life, all smiling in that shy manner of his. His small fingers stayed idle on the wooden dining table, the fingers Tora longed so much to hold, to caress, to kiss. But those fingers were now intertwined with someone else’s. The other’s fingers were bigger, stronger…firmer. And those fingers belonged to the man who was now sitting next to the brunette, holding Ruki’s hand protectively. That lucky bastard was no other than the grumpy novelist he hated so much. The man who now had the title as Ruki’s lover was Suzuki Akira.
“I want both of you to be the first to hear this.” said Ruki in an obvious cheerful tone. His left hand slowly reached out and took a hold at one of Reita’s hand, the man who was now smiling sheepishly beside him. “We’re a couple now.”
The dark-haired man wanted to just skip that one part of his memory but he just couldn’t. How could he forget something that was just spoken barely a minute ago and the person who brought the news were still there right in front of his eyes? How could he forget when this memory was permanently carved on his brain? So he did what a best friend would do whenever they heard that their childhood friend finally found someone they loved. He smiled. It might look happy and genuine for Ruki, but for the girl sitting beside Tora who had been observing his brother since the very first minute Reita got inside the house, that smile looked obviously fake.
Honestly, Yume almost broke the glass in her hand when she heard Ruki delivering the shocking announcement. She felt disappointed, and somehow…betrayed. But she wasn’t all that blind. It was true that she was sad to see the devastation hidden behind Tora’s brown eyes, and knowing that the cause of it all was no other than Ruki himself made her feel so useless. But she could also see the gestures, the touches, the loving stares Reita kept sending to the younger man. She could also notice the way Ruki would glance shyly at his lover every once in a while. Everyone who witnessed their acts towards each other would definitely say that they were indeed in love.
“I’m happy for you, Taka…”
The words slipped out of Tora’s lips smoothly and Yume was beyond surprised. She glanced at her brother and her round eyes widened as she saw the bright happy smile on her brother’s face with no trace of sadness or anger, at all.
But truth was, Tora was devastated. He felt numb and emotionless. The smiles he put and the words he spoke were all automatically done. The one and only reason he didn’t break down right now was the beautiful presence in front of him who kept on smiling so brightly it put all the ancient goddess in shame.
Ruki stood up abruptly from his seat and walked fast towards the dark-haired man. All Tora could do was just closed his eyes and held all the tears inside when his best friend hugged him tightly from behind.
“Thank you, Shinji…thank you…”
As those grateful words were spoken softly, Tora wished he was somewhere else. He wished he could just vanish from his spot. He wished Ruki wasn’t there. And he wished…everything that just happened was just one of his darkest nightmares.
It took all the strength he had to just turn his head around and face that angelic face. The string in his heart was nearly tearing and he hoped the brunette couldn’t see it.
“Hey, you finally got yourself a boyfriend. We have to celebrate this.”
The brunette laughed at the comment and spontaneously gave Tora a chaste kiss on the cheek before he went back to sit beside Reita, the place where he belonged now. The dark-haired man sighed at the bitter thought but he decided to just deal with this dinner issue and get over it as soon as possible. Putting another fake smile on his face, Tora finally spoke. “Okay then. Yume cooked all of this so…let’s eat!”
The dinner surprisingly went okay, despite the fact that Yume and Tora sent each other a knowing glance every once in a while. They could talk about this later. But for now, none of them wanted to ruin Ruki’s happiness. They talked about a lot of things during dinner. Reita, who was usually silent in front of strangers, was now very talkative. They were talking about the school, their lecturers, the itty witty professors. They were also talking about Reita’s new project, in which Ruki acted like a spokesman for the novelist. The awkward atmosphere that was once built when Reita first stepped inside the apartment was now gone. The blonde could get along with Yume and Tora pretty well, even though sometimes he could catch a piercing stare being thrown to him by the taller man.
But the real challenge came for both Tora and Reita when they were finally left alone in the balcony while Ruki and Yume cleaned up the dishes, especially for Tora who was protesting at first when his sister dragged him there. And now here they were, sitting next to each other, enjoying beers, and simply staring at the night sky.
“To be honest, Suzuki…I hate you…” was the first sincere sentence Tora spoke in the past few hours.
Reita just smiled at the confession and took one more gulp at his can of beer. “I know…”
Tora released a bitter laugh and raised a finger. “No no no…you have no idea about this…”
“You like Takanori, don’t you?”
Reita’s quick reply successfully cut the taller man’s laughter. Tora glanced at the man beside him and the look in his eyes clearly showed how surprised he was.
“You might have fooled Takanori but you can’t fool me…” The blonde also turned to face the other male, eyes calm and content. “…because we love the same person…”
Both men stared at each other in silence. Tora never expected this conversation to happen. Hell, he never expected all of this mess to happen! It was true that he hated this man, but on the other hand, he also saluted him. This man was far from the image he had in his mind. Suzuki Akira definitely was not ignorant and selfish. He was far the opposite from it.
Before the dark-haired man could throw a ridiculous remark, Ruki got into the scene for a brief announcement. “Guys, come here… Desert is ready.”.
Both Tora and Reita turned to look at the brunette for a second and gave him a simple nod. They got a soft smile in return before Ruki went back inside the apartment, leaving those two men alone once again. Reita was about to turned on his wheelchair when a hand gripping his right arm stopped him from moving even further. The blonde averted his gaze to the man beside him and was challenged with a serious stare.
“You break his heart, I break your neck.”
Reita knew that it would be so wrong if he didn’t take the threat seriously so he put a hand on top of Tora’s and gave it a light squeeze. “That won’t happen.”
With the novelist moving towards the dining room, Tora was left at the balcony all by himself. Sighing in annoyance, he took a pack of cigarette out from his pocket and lit one of the sticks between his fingers. He really needed a distraction right now. It was still hard for the dark-haired man to accept the whole reality, the whole drama that was shoved on his face all at once. How come he didn’t notice? How come he didn’t realize it? Or was he just being ignorant? He refused to accept the fact that Ruki was already attracted to that man since the very first day he worked there. Was that the truth? He should have noticed the gestures, the smiles, those never ending text messages Ruki always received at night. He should have noticed it all earlier.
Now it was just too late…
He was about to take another drag at the cigarette when suddenly the usual headache came again, throbbing viciously at the back of his head. He felt like he’d just been hit with a huge batter. Thinking that it was probably because of the cancer stick, he carelessly threw it off the balcony. The dark-haired man closed his eyes and tried so hard to just focus on his breathing. After several torturing minutes, the pain eventually subsided and Tora could finally breathe normally. Mumbling an audible ‘fuck’, Tora decided that he had had enough of all this.
Standing on his feet, the tall man walked inside the apartment and found his sister, Ruki, and that bloody bastard all laughing at something funny around the dining table. Yume had actually served a delicious tiramisu cake, but somehow he had lost his appetite just a moment ago. And honestly, he just didn’t want to sit at the same table with the man who just snatched Ruki away from him.
“Hey guys, I’m sorry but I think you should go on without me.” Tora spoke, scratching his scalp clumsily in the process.
The first one who sent him a worried look was his sister. Yume looked like she was about to stand up, but the stern gaze Tora sent held her from doing so. Both Reita and Ruki also gave him the same worried look and the taller man put a reassuring smile so that he wouldn’t ruin Ruki’s happiness tonight.
“I’m alright. It’s just… This headache is killing me.” He told the truth even though for the others it sounded like a very lame excuse.
Ruki was the second person who wanted to stand up with that worried look on his innocent face but once again, Tora’s words stopped him.
“Ru…just sit down, please… I’m alright…”
The brunette wanted to protest at first but Tora just smiled and shook his head slowly. Thus, he sat back on his seat, exchanging worried looks with Yume.
“Enjoy the cake…”
With his last parting words, Tora excused himself to go to his room. He didn’t forget to send a less-threatening look to Reita before leaving the scene, and the blond answered him instantly with a reassuring nod, a silent promise between two men not to hurt the person they both loved.
Once the dark-haired man disappeared behind his bedroom door, a sigh of distress was heard from his sister. She gave Reita an apologetic look and got an understanding nod in response.
“Yume…is something bothering him…? He doesn’t look good…” Ruki finally asked, and it took a lot of strength for the young woman not to snap at the question. She knew very well how innocent Ruki was, but sometimes, being too innocent was annoying for someone else.
“He’s just…having a bad day…” The woman gave the simplest explanation she could find. Suddenly she really wanted this dinner to end soon. And somehow, Reita seemed to catch her wish through his eyes.
The novelist took Ruki’s left hand and gave it a light squeeze, causing the brunette to look at him. “I think I have to go now…it’s late already…”.
Ruki gave his lover a concern look. “Why does everybody act so weird today?”
Both Reita and Yume laughed awkwardly at the question and got a pouting Ruki as a result. The blonde leaned closer and gave his smaller boyfriend a chaste kiss on the temple. “Maybe we’re just tired, love…”
The brunette heaved a sigh and stared calmly at the handsome blonde next to him. “Then I’m coming with you. I can take a cab later.”
“Nope, Sato will drive you home later.” The blonde tightened his hold on Ruki’s hand and kissed him once again oh his cheek this time. Reita then averted his gaze towards Tora’s sister and smiled sincerely. “I’m sorry for leaving too early, Yume-san.”
The woman just shook her head swiftly and her lips also stretched into a warm smile. “It’s alright, Suzuki-san. I’m the one who should apologize. But Shinji really needs some rest. He kept on having those migraine attacks for the past three weeks.”. Yes, she was telling the truth. But she didn’t want to open the fact that those migraine attacks were getting worse since Tora decided to show his feelings to the brunette. She didn’t want to blame Ruki for it, because, the truth was, it wasn’t his fault. It was all just her brother acting foolishly when he should have confessed to the younger male a long time ago. If Tora could get rid of his selfish ego and took those many chances to tell Ruki his feelings, this wouldn’t happen.
Ruki nodded in agreement. “And that stubborn jerk even refused to go to the doctor.”. The brunette stood up from his seat and patted his lover on the shoulder. He glanced at Yume who already stood up from her seat. The woman took a few steps closer to the new couple.
“I’m leaving, Yume-san. Please tell your brother to get some decent rest.” said Reita as his lover pushed his wheelchair towards the apartment door. The woman smiled and nodded, opening the door for both men to pass. Ruki gave her a brief hug before pushing Reita’s wheelchair out of the apartment.
“I’ll be back later…”
Yume nodded and smiled, leaning on the doorsill as she watched both men walking towards the elevator right in the corner of the alley. Once she saw them disappeared, she stepped back inside the apartment, closing the door shut. She sighed contently and locked the wooden door. Tonight was just so awkward. Detaching herself from the door, Yume walked towards her own room. She glanced at her brother’s room and shook her head in defeat. They really needed to talk, but judging from Tora’s condition earlier, the man probably didn’t want to be disturbed.
----------------------------------
“Shinji is my one and only best friend. I’ve known him since we were babies.” A small smile grazed Ruki’s lips as he told the story to his boyfriend. Sitting on the backseat of Reita’s car on their way back to the Suzuki house, the elder had asked him earlier about Tora. “His father and mine were childhood friends too. But they took different paths.”
Reita raised his eyebrows. “Different paths?”
The brunette chuckled softly and leaned his head on the novelist’s strong shoulder. “Dad became the leader of an investigation team, a division in the police department, while Shinji’s father became the CEO of a huge textile company.”
“Actually that was a great friendship, love…” Reita brought one of his hands to move some strands away from his lover’s face. “Your father had a true best friend.”
Speaking of best friend, it reminded him of someone. Suddenly the image of a sick Tora came to his mind and the smile fell off the brunette’s face. He hid his face on the crook of Reita’s neck and inhaled the pleasant smell of his lover, trying to search for comfort. Something was definitely wrong with his best friend and he didn’t know what to do about it.
Reita noticed the sudden change. He turned his head a little and laid a soft kiss on top of those soft locks. “What’s wrong, baby?”
The brunette shook his head and snuggled closer to Reita’s warmth. One of his hands clutched at the front of the novelist’s shirt. “I’m worried about Shinji. He acted so…weird…and not just tonight. He’d been acting weird around me for almost two months.” The brunette closed his eyes briefly. “I really want to know what’s wrong with him.”
Reita could only stare at the mop of brunette hair on his shoulder. He heaved a sigh as one of his hands found its way between Ruki’s soft locks, caressing them in a soothing manner. He certainly knew what was wrong with Tora, but there was no way in hell he would tell his lover about it. His hand slowly moved to the brunette’s chin. Ruki lifted up his gaze as he felt a soft tug from the blonde’s finger, and there he met a pair of magnificent tender eyes staring at him lovingly.
“There’s no need to worry. I’m here…”
And by whispering those words, Reita leaned down and sealed Ruki’s plush lips with his own, savoring the addictive taste that only Ruki owned it. He could still feel the tremble and shyness in that kiss, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. The blonde could feel his lover gradually relaxed at his ministration, closing his eyes slowly in the process. There was no rejection, no hesitation. His hand now came to lie on the brunette’s flawless cheek, caressing the tender skin underneath his palm. Ruki’s lips cracked open a little as a curious tongue peeked out, nudging at his soft pair, asking for entrance which Ruki gave immediately. That tongue soon found its playmate inside, sinfully dancing along with the other in a breathtaking choreography. That kiss took the brunette’s breath away. It was like magic, sweeping his sanity all at once. And as soon as the kiss ended, Ruki found himself clutching at the front of his lover’s shirt insanely tight.
Reita smiled at his boyfriend in his arms, still panting from their previous encounter. He leaned closer once again and connected their foreheads softly, inhaling the befogging scent that was so Ruki. With his eyes fluttered close, the novelist whispered. “Don’t ever leave me, Takanori…”
Smiling at the rare request, the brunette gave Reita’s thin lips a quick peck. “I won’t…”
Reita couldn’t ask for more than this. He used to think that his life was over and that the rest of it would be a waste of time. He used to think that he could never move on, that his life would be bound to the past forever. But now he realized that he was wrong. Holding the man in his arms tightly, the novelist swore that he would never him go. Ruki was his second chance, and it was the best form he could ever get.
-----------------------------------------------
A loud heartbreaking scream woke Yume up from her slumber. She fell asleep just a moment ago and now someone decided to wake her up in a frightening way. She was still sleepy and a bit drowsy. The scream was heard again and she suddenly snapped from his dreamland when she realized whose voice it was.
Shinji!!
The woman stood up abruptly and dashed out of the room. She ran towards her brother door and she didn’t need to knock on it. The young woman slammed the door open and her eyes soon widened in sheer panic. There, right in the corner of the room was her brother, crouching down with both hands gripping his hair, both eyes shut tightly. She saw that painful expression and the dark-haired man looked like he was in agony. Jolting from her spot, Yume ran to her brother and crouched beside him, wrapping her arms around the shaking figure.
“Shinji….Shinji, what’s wrong?”
The man could only manage a painful groan. He shook his head and tried to make some coherent words but it just didn’t work. It took all the strength he had to just voice out the one thing he needed the most at the moment, and it came out in a strangled scream.
“Aspirin! Yume, Aspirin! Now!”
The older brother didn’t have to tell her twice. Yume frantically dashed out of the room, wanting to get the needed item as soon as possible. This was the very first time she saw her brother in such condition and she didn’t even want to think about what had possibly happened to him. She just wanted the pain to go away.
Meanwhile Tora was still crouching in the corner of his room. He had had numerous headache attacks before, but this one was surely the worst of it all. The throbbing pain came from nowhere and it felt like someone had jammed hundreds of nails inside his skull. He could deal with the pain before, but this one was different. The continuous pain was literally excruciating. He wanted to vomit but he couldn’t. All of his nervous system was in chaos and it seemed like all synapses only transmitting the pain at the back of his head. He wanted to rip his head skin apart and just pull out the pain away, but he knew that was impossible.
Suddenly, without warning, Tora felt like something was cracked on the back of his head. And in that moment, all pain was mysteriously gone, vanished without a trace. He felt absolutely nothing. Assuming that the attack was over, Tora tried to stand on his feet. But he never managed to do that because in all of a sudden, the world was moving around him. The dark-haired man lost his balance and fell to the ground. His body hit the ceramics surface so hard. All he could feel now was cold. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t scream, he could barely breathe. His body was shuddering and it became so much harder to breathe. He might be hallucinating now because he saw the image of Takanori smiling at him beautifully, just like he usually did. He wanted to reach out for the man he loved but failed to do so. He simply couldn’t move a muscle. The image was slowly fade away and his vision became blurry with every second passed.
“I will do anything to protect you, Takanori…”
And then…it was all pitch black.
----------------------------------------
The luxurious SUV arrived in Suzuki house a few minutes ago and now Ruki was helping his boyfriend to get out of the car. He was now holding Reita’s body, assisting him to stand up from his seat. With the help of Satoshi, Reita’s driver, both of them successfully sat the novelist on his black wheelchair, receiving a polite ‘thank you’s from the blonde.
The brunette pushed the wheelchair and walked inside the house. Reita had asked him to stay earlier inside the car, but he politely refused it, mainly because he wanted to take care of Tora. And Reita was not selfish. He could understand very well the reason why his lover rejected his offer.
The brunette pushed the wheelchair up the slope tracks beside the stairs and walked directly towards Reita’s room. He wanted to check that everything was set for his boyfriend before he went back to his apartment, and the novelist really appreciated the action. He was about to push the door open when one of his lover’s hands stopped him. Ruki looked at the blonde with a questioning look on his face.
“I’m all good here, Taka. You can go back home…” said the novelist softly.
The brunette gave another worried look. “Are you sure?”
Reita gave his little boyfriend a reassuring nod. He gave the other’s hand a slight tug and Ruki complied. The younger man leaned down slowly to receive a chaste kiss from the blonde. He was about to go for another kiss when he felt his cellphone vibrated inside his jeans pocket. The brunette straightened up and took the phone out. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the caller ID displayed on the screen.
“Yume?” Ruki answered the call immediately.
Reita couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the call, but he knew that it was Tora’s sister since Ruki already spoke her name. But the sudden change on Ruki’s expression told him that something was wrong. Something was just not quiet right. And Ruki confirmed all of his worries when the phone call finally ended.
“Shinji is in the hospital…” Ruki’s voice was nearly breaking when he spoke his next words.
“He’s in the intensive care unit…”
-----TO BE CONTINUED-----
A/N : And the drama starts now! *insert evil laughs here*
Ohay~ Chapter 7 already!! Seriously, so far this is the longest multi-chapter fic I've ever done. xDDDD
More twist and drama will come soon, and I hope you guys will love it...
As usual, constructive criticism is very appreciated *bows*
Author : miyabi_is_dead
Pairing : Reita x Ruki , Tora x Ruki (one-sided)
Genre : Romance, Angst
Chapters : 7 / ?
Rating : PG-13
Warnings : Weird relationship, Unbeta-ed mistakes
Disclaimer : I bought Reita and Ruki yesterday in Narnia *is lying*
Summary : Reita was a famous writer. He once had a perfect beautiful life. But a tragedy, a merciless terror had taken them all away from him. What would happen when an energetic college student suddenly appeared in his life one day...and asked him to make some changes in his life...?
Comment : Um...not much... Well, let's get into the drama!!! \\(^___^)// *laughs*
As usual... You may read in peace~~
( Prologue)
( Chapter 1)
( Chapter 2)
( Chapter 3)
( Chapter 4)
( Chapter 5)
( Chapter 6)
Sorrow. Disappointment. Anger. Repentance. Loss. Rage. Sadness. Rejection.
Those feelings were all mixed and clashed inside Tora’s aching mind at the moment. His strong heart was beating in a fast and unsteady pace, mimicking his own distorted in-and-exhales. The synapses all over his slightly trembling body were nearly torn apart. And miraculously, despite all the destructive chaos going on inside his mind, the fake happy smile still hung on his dry lips. Having this secret feeling towards Ruki kept in his heart for years, it took only one blink of an eye to destroy it, in the cruelest way he had never imagined before.
There, just a couple of feet away from his seat, sat the love of his life, all smiling in that shy manner of his. His small fingers stayed idle on the wooden dining table, the fingers Tora longed so much to hold, to caress, to kiss. But those fingers were now intertwined with someone else’s. The other’s fingers were bigger, stronger…firmer. And those fingers belonged to the man who was now sitting next to the brunette, holding Ruki’s hand protectively. That lucky bastard was no other than the grumpy novelist he hated so much. The man who now had the title as Ruki’s lover was Suzuki Akira.
“I want both of you to be the first to hear this.” said Ruki in an obvious cheerful tone. His left hand slowly reached out and took a hold at one of Reita’s hand, the man who was now smiling sheepishly beside him. “We’re a couple now.”
The dark-haired man wanted to just skip that one part of his memory but he just couldn’t. How could he forget something that was just spoken barely a minute ago and the person who brought the news were still there right in front of his eyes? How could he forget when this memory was permanently carved on his brain? So he did what a best friend would do whenever they heard that their childhood friend finally found someone they loved. He smiled. It might look happy and genuine for Ruki, but for the girl sitting beside Tora who had been observing his brother since the very first minute Reita got inside the house, that smile looked obviously fake.
Honestly, Yume almost broke the glass in her hand when she heard Ruki delivering the shocking announcement. She felt disappointed, and somehow…betrayed. But she wasn’t all that blind. It was true that she was sad to see the devastation hidden behind Tora’s brown eyes, and knowing that the cause of it all was no other than Ruki himself made her feel so useless. But she could also see the gestures, the touches, the loving stares Reita kept sending to the younger man. She could also notice the way Ruki would glance shyly at his lover every once in a while. Everyone who witnessed their acts towards each other would definitely say that they were indeed in love.
“I’m happy for you, Taka…”
The words slipped out of Tora’s lips smoothly and Yume was beyond surprised. She glanced at her brother and her round eyes widened as she saw the bright happy smile on her brother’s face with no trace of sadness or anger, at all.
But truth was, Tora was devastated. He felt numb and emotionless. The smiles he put and the words he spoke were all automatically done. The one and only reason he didn’t break down right now was the beautiful presence in front of him who kept on smiling so brightly it put all the ancient goddess in shame.
Ruki stood up abruptly from his seat and walked fast towards the dark-haired man. All Tora could do was just closed his eyes and held all the tears inside when his best friend hugged him tightly from behind.
“Thank you, Shinji…thank you…”
As those grateful words were spoken softly, Tora wished he was somewhere else. He wished he could just vanish from his spot. He wished Ruki wasn’t there. And he wished…everything that just happened was just one of his darkest nightmares.
It took all the strength he had to just turn his head around and face that angelic face. The string in his heart was nearly tearing and he hoped the brunette couldn’t see it.
“Hey, you finally got yourself a boyfriend. We have to celebrate this.”
The brunette laughed at the comment and spontaneously gave Tora a chaste kiss on the cheek before he went back to sit beside Reita, the place where he belonged now. The dark-haired man sighed at the bitter thought but he decided to just deal with this dinner issue and get over it as soon as possible. Putting another fake smile on his face, Tora finally spoke. “Okay then. Yume cooked all of this so…let’s eat!”
The dinner surprisingly went okay, despite the fact that Yume and Tora sent each other a knowing glance every once in a while. They could talk about this later. But for now, none of them wanted to ruin Ruki’s happiness. They talked about a lot of things during dinner. Reita, who was usually silent in front of strangers, was now very talkative. They were talking about the school, their lecturers, the itty witty professors. They were also talking about Reita’s new project, in which Ruki acted like a spokesman for the novelist. The awkward atmosphere that was once built when Reita first stepped inside the apartment was now gone. The blonde could get along with Yume and Tora pretty well, even though sometimes he could catch a piercing stare being thrown to him by the taller man.
But the real challenge came for both Tora and Reita when they were finally left alone in the balcony while Ruki and Yume cleaned up the dishes, especially for Tora who was protesting at first when his sister dragged him there. And now here they were, sitting next to each other, enjoying beers, and simply staring at the night sky.
“To be honest, Suzuki…I hate you…” was the first sincere sentence Tora spoke in the past few hours.
Reita just smiled at the confession and took one more gulp at his can of beer. “I know…”
Tora released a bitter laugh and raised a finger. “No no no…you have no idea about this…”
“You like Takanori, don’t you?”
Reita’s quick reply successfully cut the taller man’s laughter. Tora glanced at the man beside him and the look in his eyes clearly showed how surprised he was.
“You might have fooled Takanori but you can’t fool me…” The blonde also turned to face the other male, eyes calm and content. “…because we love the same person…”
Both men stared at each other in silence. Tora never expected this conversation to happen. Hell, he never expected all of this mess to happen! It was true that he hated this man, but on the other hand, he also saluted him. This man was far from the image he had in his mind. Suzuki Akira definitely was not ignorant and selfish. He was far the opposite from it.
Before the dark-haired man could throw a ridiculous remark, Ruki got into the scene for a brief announcement. “Guys, come here… Desert is ready.”.
Both Tora and Reita turned to look at the brunette for a second and gave him a simple nod. They got a soft smile in return before Ruki went back inside the apartment, leaving those two men alone once again. Reita was about to turned on his wheelchair when a hand gripping his right arm stopped him from moving even further. The blonde averted his gaze to the man beside him and was challenged with a serious stare.
“You break his heart, I break your neck.”
Reita knew that it would be so wrong if he didn’t take the threat seriously so he put a hand on top of Tora’s and gave it a light squeeze. “That won’t happen.”
With the novelist moving towards the dining room, Tora was left at the balcony all by himself. Sighing in annoyance, he took a pack of cigarette out from his pocket and lit one of the sticks between his fingers. He really needed a distraction right now. It was still hard for the dark-haired man to accept the whole reality, the whole drama that was shoved on his face all at once. How come he didn’t notice? How come he didn’t realize it? Or was he just being ignorant? He refused to accept the fact that Ruki was already attracted to that man since the very first day he worked there. Was that the truth? He should have noticed the gestures, the smiles, those never ending text messages Ruki always received at night. He should have noticed it all earlier.
Now it was just too late…
He was about to take another drag at the cigarette when suddenly the usual headache came again, throbbing viciously at the back of his head. He felt like he’d just been hit with a huge batter. Thinking that it was probably because of the cancer stick, he carelessly threw it off the balcony. The dark-haired man closed his eyes and tried so hard to just focus on his breathing. After several torturing minutes, the pain eventually subsided and Tora could finally breathe normally. Mumbling an audible ‘fuck’, Tora decided that he had had enough of all this.
Standing on his feet, the tall man walked inside the apartment and found his sister, Ruki, and that bloody bastard all laughing at something funny around the dining table. Yume had actually served a delicious tiramisu cake, but somehow he had lost his appetite just a moment ago. And honestly, he just didn’t want to sit at the same table with the man who just snatched Ruki away from him.
“Hey guys, I’m sorry but I think you should go on without me.” Tora spoke, scratching his scalp clumsily in the process.
The first one who sent him a worried look was his sister. Yume looked like she was about to stand up, but the stern gaze Tora sent held her from doing so. Both Reita and Ruki also gave him the same worried look and the taller man put a reassuring smile so that he wouldn’t ruin Ruki’s happiness tonight.
“I’m alright. It’s just… This headache is killing me.” He told the truth even though for the others it sounded like a very lame excuse.
Ruki was the second person who wanted to stand up with that worried look on his innocent face but once again, Tora’s words stopped him.
“Ru…just sit down, please… I’m alright…”
The brunette wanted to protest at first but Tora just smiled and shook his head slowly. Thus, he sat back on his seat, exchanging worried looks with Yume.
“Enjoy the cake…”
With his last parting words, Tora excused himself to go to his room. He didn’t forget to send a less-threatening look to Reita before leaving the scene, and the blond answered him instantly with a reassuring nod, a silent promise between two men not to hurt the person they both loved.
Once the dark-haired man disappeared behind his bedroom door, a sigh of distress was heard from his sister. She gave Reita an apologetic look and got an understanding nod in response.
“Yume…is something bothering him…? He doesn’t look good…” Ruki finally asked, and it took a lot of strength for the young woman not to snap at the question. She knew very well how innocent Ruki was, but sometimes, being too innocent was annoying for someone else.
“He’s just…having a bad day…” The woman gave the simplest explanation she could find. Suddenly she really wanted this dinner to end soon. And somehow, Reita seemed to catch her wish through his eyes.
The novelist took Ruki’s left hand and gave it a light squeeze, causing the brunette to look at him. “I think I have to go now…it’s late already…”.
Ruki gave his lover a concern look. “Why does everybody act so weird today?”
Both Reita and Yume laughed awkwardly at the question and got a pouting Ruki as a result. The blonde leaned closer and gave his smaller boyfriend a chaste kiss on the temple. “Maybe we’re just tired, love…”
The brunette heaved a sigh and stared calmly at the handsome blonde next to him. “Then I’m coming with you. I can take a cab later.”
“Nope, Sato will drive you home later.” The blonde tightened his hold on Ruki’s hand and kissed him once again oh his cheek this time. Reita then averted his gaze towards Tora’s sister and smiled sincerely. “I’m sorry for leaving too early, Yume-san.”
The woman just shook her head swiftly and her lips also stretched into a warm smile. “It’s alright, Suzuki-san. I’m the one who should apologize. But Shinji really needs some rest. He kept on having those migraine attacks for the past three weeks.”. Yes, she was telling the truth. But she didn’t want to open the fact that those migraine attacks were getting worse since Tora decided to show his feelings to the brunette. She didn’t want to blame Ruki for it, because, the truth was, it wasn’t his fault. It was all just her brother acting foolishly when he should have confessed to the younger male a long time ago. If Tora could get rid of his selfish ego and took those many chances to tell Ruki his feelings, this wouldn’t happen.
Ruki nodded in agreement. “And that stubborn jerk even refused to go to the doctor.”. The brunette stood up from his seat and patted his lover on the shoulder. He glanced at Yume who already stood up from her seat. The woman took a few steps closer to the new couple.
“I’m leaving, Yume-san. Please tell your brother to get some decent rest.” said Reita as his lover pushed his wheelchair towards the apartment door. The woman smiled and nodded, opening the door for both men to pass. Ruki gave her a brief hug before pushing Reita’s wheelchair out of the apartment.
“I’ll be back later…”
Yume nodded and smiled, leaning on the doorsill as she watched both men walking towards the elevator right in the corner of the alley. Once she saw them disappeared, she stepped back inside the apartment, closing the door shut. She sighed contently and locked the wooden door. Tonight was just so awkward. Detaching herself from the door, Yume walked towards her own room. She glanced at her brother’s room and shook her head in defeat. They really needed to talk, but judging from Tora’s condition earlier, the man probably didn’t want to be disturbed.
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“Shinji is my one and only best friend. I’ve known him since we were babies.” A small smile grazed Ruki’s lips as he told the story to his boyfriend. Sitting on the backseat of Reita’s car on their way back to the Suzuki house, the elder had asked him earlier about Tora. “His father and mine were childhood friends too. But they took different paths.”
Reita raised his eyebrows. “Different paths?”
The brunette chuckled softly and leaned his head on the novelist’s strong shoulder. “Dad became the leader of an investigation team, a division in the police department, while Shinji’s father became the CEO of a huge textile company.”
“Actually that was a great friendship, love…” Reita brought one of his hands to move some strands away from his lover’s face. “Your father had a true best friend.”
Speaking of best friend, it reminded him of someone. Suddenly the image of a sick Tora came to his mind and the smile fell off the brunette’s face. He hid his face on the crook of Reita’s neck and inhaled the pleasant smell of his lover, trying to search for comfort. Something was definitely wrong with his best friend and he didn’t know what to do about it.
Reita noticed the sudden change. He turned his head a little and laid a soft kiss on top of those soft locks. “What’s wrong, baby?”
The brunette shook his head and snuggled closer to Reita’s warmth. One of his hands clutched at the front of the novelist’s shirt. “I’m worried about Shinji. He acted so…weird…and not just tonight. He’d been acting weird around me for almost two months.” The brunette closed his eyes briefly. “I really want to know what’s wrong with him.”
Reita could only stare at the mop of brunette hair on his shoulder. He heaved a sigh as one of his hands found its way between Ruki’s soft locks, caressing them in a soothing manner. He certainly knew what was wrong with Tora, but there was no way in hell he would tell his lover about it. His hand slowly moved to the brunette’s chin. Ruki lifted up his gaze as he felt a soft tug from the blonde’s finger, and there he met a pair of magnificent tender eyes staring at him lovingly.
“There’s no need to worry. I’m here…”
And by whispering those words, Reita leaned down and sealed Ruki’s plush lips with his own, savoring the addictive taste that only Ruki owned it. He could still feel the tremble and shyness in that kiss, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. The blonde could feel his lover gradually relaxed at his ministration, closing his eyes slowly in the process. There was no rejection, no hesitation. His hand now came to lie on the brunette’s flawless cheek, caressing the tender skin underneath his palm. Ruki’s lips cracked open a little as a curious tongue peeked out, nudging at his soft pair, asking for entrance which Ruki gave immediately. That tongue soon found its playmate inside, sinfully dancing along with the other in a breathtaking choreography. That kiss took the brunette’s breath away. It was like magic, sweeping his sanity all at once. And as soon as the kiss ended, Ruki found himself clutching at the front of his lover’s shirt insanely tight.
Reita smiled at his boyfriend in his arms, still panting from their previous encounter. He leaned closer once again and connected their foreheads softly, inhaling the befogging scent that was so Ruki. With his eyes fluttered close, the novelist whispered. “Don’t ever leave me, Takanori…”
Smiling at the rare request, the brunette gave Reita’s thin lips a quick peck. “I won’t…”
Reita couldn’t ask for more than this. He used to think that his life was over and that the rest of it would be a waste of time. He used to think that he could never move on, that his life would be bound to the past forever. But now he realized that he was wrong. Holding the man in his arms tightly, the novelist swore that he would never him go. Ruki was his second chance, and it was the best form he could ever get.
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A loud heartbreaking scream woke Yume up from her slumber. She fell asleep just a moment ago and now someone decided to wake her up in a frightening way. She was still sleepy and a bit drowsy. The scream was heard again and she suddenly snapped from his dreamland when she realized whose voice it was.
Shinji!!
The woman stood up abruptly and dashed out of the room. She ran towards her brother door and she didn’t need to knock on it. The young woman slammed the door open and her eyes soon widened in sheer panic. There, right in the corner of the room was her brother, crouching down with both hands gripping his hair, both eyes shut tightly. She saw that painful expression and the dark-haired man looked like he was in agony. Jolting from her spot, Yume ran to her brother and crouched beside him, wrapping her arms around the shaking figure.
“Shinji….Shinji, what’s wrong?”
The man could only manage a painful groan. He shook his head and tried to make some coherent words but it just didn’t work. It took all the strength he had to just voice out the one thing he needed the most at the moment, and it came out in a strangled scream.
“Aspirin! Yume, Aspirin! Now!”
The older brother didn’t have to tell her twice. Yume frantically dashed out of the room, wanting to get the needed item as soon as possible. This was the very first time she saw her brother in such condition and she didn’t even want to think about what had possibly happened to him. She just wanted the pain to go away.
Meanwhile Tora was still crouching in the corner of his room. He had had numerous headache attacks before, but this one was surely the worst of it all. The throbbing pain came from nowhere and it felt like someone had jammed hundreds of nails inside his skull. He could deal with the pain before, but this one was different. The continuous pain was literally excruciating. He wanted to vomit but he couldn’t. All of his nervous system was in chaos and it seemed like all synapses only transmitting the pain at the back of his head. He wanted to rip his head skin apart and just pull out the pain away, but he knew that was impossible.
Suddenly, without warning, Tora felt like something was cracked on the back of his head. And in that moment, all pain was mysteriously gone, vanished without a trace. He felt absolutely nothing. Assuming that the attack was over, Tora tried to stand on his feet. But he never managed to do that because in all of a sudden, the world was moving around him. The dark-haired man lost his balance and fell to the ground. His body hit the ceramics surface so hard. All he could feel now was cold. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t scream, he could barely breathe. His body was shuddering and it became so much harder to breathe. He might be hallucinating now because he saw the image of Takanori smiling at him beautifully, just like he usually did. He wanted to reach out for the man he loved but failed to do so. He simply couldn’t move a muscle. The image was slowly fade away and his vision became blurry with every second passed.
“I will do anything to protect you, Takanori…”
And then…it was all pitch black.
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The luxurious SUV arrived in Suzuki house a few minutes ago and now Ruki was helping his boyfriend to get out of the car. He was now holding Reita’s body, assisting him to stand up from his seat. With the help of Satoshi, Reita’s driver, both of them successfully sat the novelist on his black wheelchair, receiving a polite ‘thank you’s from the blonde.
The brunette pushed the wheelchair and walked inside the house. Reita had asked him to stay earlier inside the car, but he politely refused it, mainly because he wanted to take care of Tora. And Reita was not selfish. He could understand very well the reason why his lover rejected his offer.
The brunette pushed the wheelchair up the slope tracks beside the stairs and walked directly towards Reita’s room. He wanted to check that everything was set for his boyfriend before he went back to his apartment, and the novelist really appreciated the action. He was about to push the door open when one of his lover’s hands stopped him. Ruki looked at the blonde with a questioning look on his face.
“I’m all good here, Taka. You can go back home…” said the novelist softly.
The brunette gave another worried look. “Are you sure?”
Reita gave his little boyfriend a reassuring nod. He gave the other’s hand a slight tug and Ruki complied. The younger man leaned down slowly to receive a chaste kiss from the blonde. He was about to go for another kiss when he felt his cellphone vibrated inside his jeans pocket. The brunette straightened up and took the phone out. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the caller ID displayed on the screen.
“Yume?” Ruki answered the call immediately.
Reita couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the call, but he knew that it was Tora’s sister since Ruki already spoke her name. But the sudden change on Ruki’s expression told him that something was wrong. Something was just not quiet right. And Ruki confirmed all of his worries when the phone call finally ended.
“Shinji is in the hospital…” Ruki’s voice was nearly breaking when he spoke his next words.
“He’s in the intensive care unit…”
-----TO BE CONTINUED-----
A/N : And the drama starts now! *insert evil laughs here*
Ohay~ Chapter 7 already!! Seriously, so far this is the longest multi-chapter fic I've ever done. xDDDD
More twist and drama will come soon, and I hope you guys will love it...
As usual, constructive criticism is very appreciated *bows*