Forbidden Love *Chapter 19* Part 3

[yume16]

The bus finally stopped in front of the school and everyone got their stuff to leave. When Kyou looked back at Ren he saw him deeply asleep. He leaned over his seat to shake him by the shoulder.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Hmm?” Ren looked puzzled at Kyou and when his gaze wandered to the woman that was standing next to his friend and was glaring draggers at him he sat up straight immediately.

“Thank you.” He grabbed his backpack and left the bus as fast as possible. There was the nagging feeling that Kujo had something against him because he was close to Kyou. But how could she know? Only because they had slept while leaning against each other once?

He bit his fingernails nervously.

“It was a long, but nice trip.” Kujo said next to Kyou and tried to make some conversation after they had gotten out off the bus, too.

“Yeah, the end could have been better, but all in all I enjoyed it a lot.” Kyou grabbed his travelling-bag. He couldn’t wait to finally go home and relax. The whole trip had really exhausted him and he looked around for Ren, but it seemed the other had already left. He had wanted to make sure the other got home safely…

“Do you already have something planned for later today?”

Kyou bit his lip unsurely. He could imagine what she wanted, but he really was tired. On the other hand he had agreed to try and spend some time with her.

“How about tomorrow? I’m a little tired and would like to rest.”

“Okay, then let’s meet tomorrow.” She smiled happily and quickly gave Kyou a kiss on the cheek before walking away.

Kyou’s eyes widened in surprise and he was rooted to the spot. After having blinked several times, he noticed the whispering students around him and immediately turned around and left. Even though he had agreed to date her it had taken him totally by surprise when she kissed him. He got a bad feeling when he realized his heart was not beating like crazy in his chest like how it was supposed to…

He didn’t waste much time anymore and went home. When he opened the door to their flat he could already hear the water running of the shower. He dropped his things on the bed and let himself fall next to them.  A few minutes should be alright, he would check on Ren when he was done showering.

Ren towelled himself and put on some comfortable clothes. He was already feeling a lot better and the headache medicine Kyou had given him in the bus seemed to be much stronger than the one he had given him in the morning. When he looked in the mirror he looked still tired, but that was okay. It had been a long trip.

The flat was silent when he left the bathroom and he had to check if Kyou was really there. He could have bet he heard some noises earlier.

Kyou was lying on his bed dead asleep and he had to smile. It seemed like they had exhausted their teacher quite some. Silently, he tiptoed towards him and put the bag on the floor that was on the bed. After having pushed the other’s legs on the bed that had been dangling over the side, he pulled the covers over Kyou. Ren tilted his head to the side when Kyou immediately rolled on his side and hugged the blanket to his chest. It looked so cute.

He bit his bottom lip when the thought suddenly popped up in his mind that he wanted to be the blanket. He smacked himself. Wanting to be an object, was not considered normal.

A short glance at the clock and he decided to go into the kitchen. It was still a little early, but maybe he would be done with the cooking before Kyou woke up. After having looked in the fridge and feeling like an idiot because seriously, why would there be any food when they hadn’t been home? He came to the conclusion that he had to go groceries shopping or starve…Settling for the first option, he put on his shoes. If he had been still living alone he probably wouldn’t go shopping and simply eat nothing, but all Kyou had asked of him when letting him move in was cooking, so he was going to keep his promise.

Luckily, a grocery wasn’t far and he went to buy the necessary things he needed or thought would need in the near future.

When he entered their flat again it was still silent so he tiptoed into the kitchen and closed the door as quiet as possible. The things he didn’t need he put into the fridge and cupboards and then started to cook. He looked thoughtfully at the vegetables he was cutting.

Now that Kyou and Kujo were trying to build up a solid relationship he should probably give his friend more room. He was aware of the fact that Kyou was constantly watching out for him and mostly spending his time with him. It would be selfish of him to stick with Kyou like he used to do. He wanted the other to be happy and he knew how much Kyou had wanted to get together with her. His hesitation had actually surprised him a little. Maybe the other was only unsure because now he really got together with her? Was that it?

Whatever it was he would have to let them be and become a lovey-dovey couple. At his last thought he chopped the poor carrot a little too roughly.

He took his time preparing the food and when there was still no sign of Kyou he ate alone and placed the rest in the fridge. He just didn’t have the heart to wake the other up. Jawing tiredly, he decided to go to bed, too. Tomorrow he would have to go to school again and it wouldn’t hurt if he went to bed early.

Kyou slowly blinked his eyes open and was surprised to see that it was already dark in his room. His bag wasn’t where it had been earlier anymore and he was properly lying in bed…Ren must have checked on him. He immediately got on his feet to look for the other. There were no sign of him when he stepped out off his room so he tried to open the other’s door as carefully and silently as possible. Ren was lying in his bed with the blanket messily wrapped around him and his hair mostly hiding his face. As quiet as possible, Kyou moved closer and pushed the other’s hair out of his face and smiled when he saw how peaceful Ren looked. Leaning down, he pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and then froze. Why did he do that just now? They had done a lot more intimate things than a kiss on the cheek, but still…It felt not like something without a meaning. Moreover, Kujo had done exactly the same to him. He furrowed his brows when he realized he was much more comfortable with it when it was with Ren. Sitting down on the edge of the bed he thoughtfully looked at his friend. On the one hand he knew Ren much better, but on the other hand Kujo was his girlfriend now. The whole matter was confusing him and he had no idea what to think of it. The best would probably really be to try to get to know her and when it just didn’t work out end it. He had the slight suspicion that she wouldn’t let him end it without even trying. She seemed to be very determined and here he had thought he would have to try really hard only to get her to consider him. Without him even noticing, his hand had started to caress Ren’s back and the younger one was snuggling closer to him.

If his stomach wasn’t protesting he would crawl next to the other and close his eyes again. He wanted to be in the other’s relaxing and calm presence. With a sigh he got to his feet again and silently left the room. He needed something to eat. In the kitchen he had realized that there most probably was no food since they had just gotten back today. He opened the fridge anyways in the hope there was at least something when he spotted what Ren had made for him.

“Oh Ren…” He leaned against the fridge and sighed. The other was too good to be true.

After having eaten most of the delicious food and against better judgement, he crawled into the bed next to Ren after all. The first thing in the morning he wanted to do was thank him. The food had been delicious and he was feeling comfortably full. He had changed into a t-shirt and taken of his pants and now he carefully lifted the blanket to make himself comfortable behind the other. The thought that his girlfriend would be scandalized just crossed his mind before drifting off to sleep.

Ren woke up and felt a weight against his back and around his waist. When he opened his eyes and looked around himself he noticed that his wish had come true after all. Kyou was hugging him to his chest like his blanket.

That was kind of against what he had planned. He had planned to put a distance between them and now there was no distance at all! Looking at Kyou a little desperately, Ren decided he would have to try harder. Careful as to not wake the other up, he pushed his arm of his waist and made Kyou grumble unhappily. The arm already wanted to sneak back around his waist and Ren slipped hurriedly out off the covers. He tugged the blanket up for Kyou and then turned to his closet. It was still early, but he wanted to be done before Kyou woke up. He set the alarm for the other and after he was dressed went into the kitchen.

Before Kyou woke up the front door closed with a click…

Kyou grumbled and turned on his other side when the alarm went off. Just now he had such a nice dream and he didn’t want to get up at all. With some more complaining noises he switched the annoying alarm off and sat up. That’s when he remembered where he was, but when he looked around Ren was nowhere insight.

Was the younger one already up? Jawing, he got out off the bed and walked into the living room. The flat was again completely silent and he got the bad feeling that Ren had already left. Staring unhappily at the living room table he sighed. Why couldn’t he get a hold on his best friend? He was already feeling grumpy because of it.

Going into the bathroom, he took a shower and then went into the kitchen for breakfast.

There was a bento box on the table with a note next to it.

“Don’t forget to eat in the break. Tell me if Kujo-sensei is making you a bento. I’ll see you later at home.”

Kyou frowned after reading. Was that Ren’s subtle way of telling him that they wouldn’t eat together in the break? If it was even possible he got even grumpier. He grabbed the bento and put it into his bag and left the flat, too. It felt like he was living alone again.

He greeted the other teachers in the staffroom and when his eyes landed on Kujo he was reminded of the fact that he had actually a girlfriend. He had completely forgotten about it, even though Ren had mentioned her in his note. He had to shake his head a little. The only one on his mind at the moment was Ren…

“Good morning, Kyou-kun.” Kujo greeted him with a shy smile.

“Good morning…Miako-san.” It was giving him the chills how they were calling each other.

“Did you already decided were we are going today?”

Kyou tried to hide his shock. He had completely forgotten about their date and had no idea what they could do…

“It’s a surprise.” He smiled and put his things down on his desk. That would give him some time, but also put him under the pressure to come up with something especially good.

“I love surprises. I’ll see you during the break” She smiled happily and left to make herself ready for her first class.

He had to think hard. Before school ended he would have to come up with a nice and amazing plan for their first date. A date…somehow the thought just didn’t feel right. The advices Ren had given him rushed into his head.

The day went on as normal and when he had finally Ren’s class he sneaked a glance to the last row to make sure the other was there and didn’t skip. Ren was there with his glasses on his nose and looked out of the window. Kyou had to sigh when there was his ‘don’t talk to me aura’ around him again. It was like a step back again…

Forcing himself to concentrate, he started to teach. This made him remember that he hadn’t helped Ren in maths for a long time. Therefore he sat down when his students had some exercises to do and worked on a new worksheet for Ren. While doing so he also tried to come up with a good place to go to with Kujo.

Ren stole a few glances at Kyou while trying to solve at least some of the exercises they had been give. To his surprise he even understood a little.

He wondered if the other had seen the bento or if he didn’t enter the kitchen. Moreover, he hoped Kujo didn’t make one herself because he didn’t want his bento to get spoiled…okay and maybe he wanted Kyou to eat it.

When the bell rang for the break he sneaked out of the room with his own food.

Kyou put the chalk away and saw his students fill out of the room. A dry smile appeared on his lips when he noticed that Ren was already gone. Knowing what to expect, he went to their usual meeting point and he only had to open the door to the rooftop to see that Ren wasn’t there. Well, Kujo wanted to eat lunch with him anyway so he probably shouldn’t complain. The second he entered the staffroom he was grabbed by her and dragged away. She praised a little the bento he had and he had to smile warily. He didn’t want to get praised like that for something Ren did. The other one deserved to be praised and not him, but he could hardly tell her who really made it.

Ren had hidden behind a corner and only gotten on the rooftop when he was sure Kyou was gone. He went to his favourite place and sat down. It was much harder then he would have expected to avoid the other. Moreover, it didn’t feel very good to see Kyou’s sad face. He was probably not being fair, but he had the bad feeling that if he stayed by Kyou’s side he would get possessive and try to keep him to himself. That was not acceptable and as his friend he should rather support him then prevent him from being happy. Ren nodded his head determined and stuffed some rice into his mouth.

After school Kyou returned to their flat to leave his bag there because Kujo had wanted to get home and change. Like he had expected, no one was there and he was now sure that Ren was avoiding him. With a sigh he let himself fall on the couch. It had started after he had told the latter he was together with Kujo and he knew those matters were connected. But why?

Ren had been supportive throughout and he was aware that the other still took care of him. The food in the fridge last night, the way he had made him lie properly in bed and the bento in the morning. It didn’t feel like Ren didn’t want to be his friend anymore.

Did the other want to give him some room?

Mumbling to himself, he got up to meet with his girlfriend. Before leaving the flat he placed the worksheet he had made for Ren on the living room with a little note.

He had decided to go to a cute little café with her he had discovered the first time he went shopping with Ren. The cakes had looked delicious and he was quite certain that she would like them. Afterwards he had thought about taking a short walk in the park close by to talk and get to know each other. The weather was nice and it should be okay for a first date. He had talked to her a little but he wasn’t sure about her hobbies and likes even though Ren had told him several times to ask her. Well, he would be able to plan the next date properly…

Ren stretched his arms over his head as he walked home. He had spent several hours in his favourite little book store, but he was getting hungry and wanted to go home. He opened the front door and was greeted by silence. Shrugging his shoulder, he toed off his shoes. Even better since now he didn’t have to come up with a way to avoid Kyou. There were still some leftovers in the fridge and he warmed them up. He sat down on the kitchen table and ate his food. Afterwards he put the dishes in the dishwasher and decided to watch some TV. Noticing the note on the table and the paper under it, he picked it up.

“I’m meeting Kujo and I’ll be back in the evening. Here is a new worksheet since we have completely forgotten about your math problem. I scribbled some help on the side and I believe you should be able to solve everything. Gambatte!”

Ren looked at the worksheet and tried to ignore the strange feeling that welled up when he had read Kyou was with Kujo. At least now he had something to distract himself with.

When Kyou came back he found his worksheet filled out on the living room table. He was really tired and sat down on the couch to correct it. Ren made barely mistakes and Kyou was sure that the other would soon understand what he was talking about in his lessons. The younger one was a quick learner and had learned complicated things in a blink of an eye.

Kyou went to his room to prepare his lessons for the next day and after he was done decided to call Minami. He hadn’t talked to his friend since he had left and because Ren was avoiding him he was feeling a little lonely, even though he had spent the whole afternoon with Kujo.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s me, Kyou.”

“Oh, how are you?”

“Hm, okay.”

“Okay?”

“My Ren-chan is avoiding me!”

“Does he know that you are calling him that?”

“No…”

“Good…and stop pouting.”

“I wasn’t!” Kyou tried to force his lips to stop pouting.

“Why is he ignoring you?”

“I wonder…You know I got a girlfriend…”

“The one teacher you mentioned to me? Wait, are the two matters connected?”

“Yeah, that’s who I’m talking about. Well, I guess so. He started avoiding me after I told him.”

“Oh…hmm, sounds strange to me.”

“Yeah…I miss him.”

Minami chuckled because it was so like Kyou to say something like this.

“I can imagine.”

“Maybe it’s just a phase. Remember how we acted as teenagers? He will come back to you for sure. You are important to him. I saw that when I visited. Don’t worry.” Minami added after some seconds of silence.

Kyou looked thoughtfully out off the window. Somehow he couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t that simple.

“Maybe…well thanks, I think I’ll go to bed now.”

“Already?”

“I just feel tired. I went on a date today and feel completely drained.”

“She is exhausting you that much? That can’t be healthy.”

Kyou chuckled slightly.

“Bye Minami. I’ll call again.”

“Sure, bye!”

Kyou flipped his phone shut and went to brush his teeth. He looked into the mirror in the bathroom and couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes. Maybe Minami was right and dating really wasn’t healthy. After washing up, he contemplated to knock on Ren’s door, but since the other was obviously avoiding him it was probably better to give him some room. He took off his clothe and flopped down on his bed. Tomorrow he would have to get up early again.

The following days had a similar pattern and Kyou was starting to consider that he had only imagined Ren, but he was still there in each and every of his lessons so that couldn’t be true. Kujo had mentioned to him that he seemed to be kind of grumpy, but he couldn’t help it. The loss of his best friend was making him feel incredible lonely.

Ren wasn’t feeling any better and he was already close to giving up. He wanted to curl up against the other, but the fact that Kyou had a girlfriend killed that wish immediately. Today Kyou was on a date again and Ren was in his room trying to concentrate on a really good book, but it was incredibly hard. It was frustrating him even more than he already was. Throwing it on his bedside table he puffed out his cheek and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He needed to do something more distracting…

Maybe he could already prepare something for tomorrow’s bento. An hour later he had the same problem again and zapped through the different TV channels without much success. Groaning, he dropped his head on the backrest of the couch. Why did he have such a problem with being alone? Most of his life he had been alone if he hadn’t been with his sister and then only one guy had to come along, spent a few weeks with him and he was completely dependent. He tugged at his hair in frustration and tried to will the clock to tick faster with his glare. There was no need to mention that it didn’t work.

He licked over his lips nervously when a new idea came to his mind. But was he really that desperate? No, he wouldn’t do it. Not being able to sit still anymore he paced up and down in front of the TV and only 15 minutes later looked on the floor defeated. Carefully, he opened the door to Kyou’s room and felt at the same time like an idiot. There was really no need to be silent since no one was there who could hear him. He looked around unsure. Where could the other have put it? He didn’t want to search through Kyou’s personal stuff just to find it. Having an idea, he went to the travelling bag that still stood next to the other’s desk and peeked into it. To his relief he immediately spotted what he had been looking for. The bag was mostly empty except for some tissues and the lube he had been looking for. He took the bottle and went to his own room. He dropped it on his bed and crawled on the sheets, too. The bottle was lying next to him and he stared at it contemplating. Should he really do it? Sighing he opened his pants, he had already gone so far as to search for it that now he wanted to do it. He pushed his pants down along with his underwear and kicked the clothes off and laid comfortably down on the bed. Without further ado he slicked his fingers carefully and moved them down his body. He furrowed his brows when he prodded his entrance with his index finger. It was feeling strange to do it himself, but he was slowly getting used to it. He added one finger after another and caressed his inner walls and when the pain of stretching himself turned into pleasure he started to stroke his own member. The heat was pooling in the pit of his stomach and his torso was tensing. He teased the tip of his erection and when he fondled his sac a little and teased his sweet spot he spilled into his hand. Looking on his dirty hand, he decided to take a shower. He was feeling kind of strange now, but he couldn’t really put a finger on it. Was it an empty feeling? Or not? He couldn’t tell, but one thing was for sure, he was going to avoid Kyou in the evening at all costs. He couldn’t face him.

When he heard the front door open he gripped his book tighter, but Kyou didn’t bother him and went to his own room. Why had he been scared Kyou would talk to him anyway? They hadn’t communicated for days…well, except for some fast written notes.

Falling asleep had been difficult and he had only managed to do so way after midnight.

Ren heard some bustling, but it was still very early and there was no need for him to get up already so he closed his eyes again. It only felt like minutes when his alarm went off and told him it was time to get up. Groggily, he went to take a shower and not much more awake entered the kitchen some minutes later. He halted when he found a note on the kitchen table. The writing was very messy and he had to try really hard to decipher what it meant.

The second he understood he grabbed his key and ran out of the flat.

Kyou was nervously pacing up and down the corridor. His mother had called early in the morning and told him his grandma had been in an accident and since she was living in Tokyo, too he was the closest. She was still in the operating room and he couldn’t calm down. When he had been a child he had spent weeks with her as his parents had been to friends or other family members and he hadn’t minded. She was a loving and funny woman he loved to death. His hands were shaking and he balled them to fists. The corridor was empty and no one was around. He was feeling so damn alone.

He sunk down on one of the plastic chairs and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting like that till he suddenly heard fast footsteps approaching. Looking up, his mouth opened slightly as he saw the familiar silhouette. The other was looking around frantically and almost stumbled over his feet when his eyes finally landed on him.

In the next minute he was gathered in the other’s arms and he slang his own arms around Ren and buried his face in his neck. He sobbed slightly and Ren drew comforting circles on his back.

They didn’t exchange any words, but Kyou didn’t need them to know that Ren cared and that he was there for him. When he finally had calmed down a little the younger one made him lay his head in his lap and put his legs on the chair next to him so that he was lying down. Ren played with his hair and put his other hand on his side.

“How did you find me?” He had only written in the message what had happened and that he would be in the hospital, but he didn’t mention which one.

“This is the second hospital I went to. I was lucky.” Ren said in a gentle voice as he tried to soothe Kyou.

“Thanks for coming…”

“I won’t leave you alone.”

Kyou closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Good.”

He must have fallen asleep, Kyou thought when he blinked and opened his eyes. Slowly, he sat up and expected to look into Ren’s face, but instead looked into Kujo’s.

“Huh? Where is Ren? I mean Taoka-kun?” His brain was a little slow.

“I sent him home.” The gentleness that had been in her eyes that he had seen when he first had looked at her was gone. Kyou had called the school to tell them he wouldn’t be in today and why and as soon as she could she had come for him. It had annoyed her to no end to see Ren with him.

“Oh…” Kyou couldn’t help, but feel a little disappointed. He wanted the other to be here with him.

“He skipped school for you. Moreover, he refused to leave your side and it was really difficult to make him leave.” She looked piercingly at him.

“I…” Kyou didn’t know what to say.

“I know that the two of you don’t have a normal teacher-student-relationship. When are you finally going to tell me about it? I’ve been waiting for it.”

Kyou blinked at her surprised. She knew?

But when he saw a nurse walk past them he jumped up immediately. He was in the hospital because of his grandmother!

“What is with my grandma? Is she okay?” He looked around frantically for a doctor.

“The doctor told me that she is safe now and there is no need to worry. He didn’t tell me any details since I’m not a family member, but she is okay.”

Kyou fell on his knees as relief washed over him. He had been so scared and worried for her.

“I have to look for her…” Kyou mumbled to himself. Only when he had made sure himself he would be able to calm down for real.

“But I want to talk to you. I want to know what he is to you!”

“At the moment I just want to check on my grandmother, okay? We can talk about all this later.”

“Later? I think I have waited long enough for an answer.”

Kyou closed his eyes in desperation. Why now when all he wanted to do was to make sure a very important person to him was alright? He could understand that she wanted to know, but he would hope she would understand him as well.

“Ren is my best friend. I met him before he became my student and he is the one who helped me to find my way in Tokyo and to move in. Currently, we are living together.” Without saying anything more he left her where she stood. He knew telling her all this could be risky, but he just couldn’t discuss with her anymore and that certainly had shut her up.

His grandmother was sleeping peacefully but around her where beeping the machines and a doctor told him how lucky she had been. A car had hit her and she had had internal bleeding, but she had pulled through and the surgery had been successful. Kyou stayed at her side and simply watched her breathe. Before he knew it an hour had passed and he got up to leave again. Tomorrow he would come again and he had given his number to the doctor in case anything happened.

He stepped out off the room and closed the door behind him carefully. A silent sigh left his lips when he saw Kujo lean against the wall opposite his grandmother’s room. It seemed like she wanted to talk.

“You know that it is wrong to have such a relationship with a student and that it could cost you your job?”

“Yes, I know.” He said calmly. If he lost his calm it wouldn’t help them.

She glared at him and took a deep breath to calm herself down, too.

“As I said I meet him before I found out that he was one of my new students. He helped me a lot when I just got here and we just naturally became friends. It’s not like we planned it.” Kyou kept to himself that he had seriously wanted to be friends with the other and even ignored the fact that he was his teacher.

“But he is your student. The age gape might be not that big since you are still very young, but this is not acceptable.”

Kyou told himself to not get desperate.

“How did you find out?” He tried to change the topic slightly.

“Well, he apparently seemed to accept your company so I got curious. I didn’t found anything out till to the class trip though. I got suspicious when I saw you sleeping leaning against each other so naturally and not at all awkward. And my suspicions got confirmed when I saw him leaning against you after the cleaning of the Ryokan and how you held his cheeks in your hands.”

“You saw that?”

“I looked out off the window of my room. I don’t know what you talked about, but I saw.”

“He told me to be a good boyfriend.”

This made Kujo swallow.

“Well…”

“He is like that.” Kyou sat down on one of the chairs that stood next to her. He couldn’t help, but think that their relationship was going to end.

“I’m jealous.”

Kyou looked up at the sudden words.

“Whenever we spent time together I can feel that you try to listen to me, but I know that your mind is elsewhere. You never looked at me like you looked at him back there in the garden of the Ryokan. Why can’t you care for me like for him?”

“Because Ren is special.”

“Special?”

“Yes, very special and I need him by my side. If I have to choose between my job and him I won’t have to think twice. I would appreciate it though if I didn’t have to since I love my job, too.”

Kujo pressed her lips together tightly when she heard his words.

“You care for him that much?”

“I can’t wait for him to finally graduate.”

“I can’t beat him, can I?” her voice sounded a little strangled and it was hard for Kyou to look into her eyes. He felt so guilty.

“I’m sorry.”

She gasped for air and Kyou closed his eyes. He was scared of what she was going to do.

“He had never missed school before and he really refused vehemently to leave earlier. Saying things, like he promised to be there and that he couldn’t just leave. He cares for you just as much.” She turned around so he couldn’t see her face.

“I guess I have to face reality and let you go. I won’t tell anyone about your relationship whatever it might be in reality and I really pity every woman that tries to steal his place.” She turned around and smiled at him sadly. A little wave and she walked away.

Kyou was really impressed by her and if his heart hadn’t been taken he could have fallen for her.

“Thank you.” For the second time this day a big burden fell from his shoulders.

He didn’t stay any longer in the hospital since he had something else to do, even though he wasn’t sure what he was exactly going to say to Ren, but it was for sure that they had to talk. The other played a way bigger role in his life than he would have imagined. He hoped the other was at home and that he didn’t have to wait for him.

The second he opened the door he got his answer since he immediately had an armful of his friend.

“I’m so sorry that I left! I didn’t know what to do. I said I didn’t want to leave. I was so worried for you. Are you okay? Is your grandmother okay? She didn’t want to have me there. I can understand that, but I want to be by your side, too. Do you think she has an idea that we are friends? It seems to me she knows. She’s been looking at me a lot lately. Kyou what should we do? I don’t want to leave your side! I know that she loves you, but I love you, too. I don’t want to move out. Do I have to? I understand if I have to though…”

Kyou tugged Ren forward to crush his lips against his and managed to successfully shut the other up. He couldn’t remember to ever having heard the other talk so fast and so much.

“Calm down a little and one question after another.” Kyou said after he had pulled back. Gently, he pushed Ren’s hair behind his ear. It was very messy and it looked to him like the other had teared at his hair worriedly. Ren breathed heavily, but he tried to calm down.

“Are you calm now?”

The younger one nodded his head.

“Good. Then let’s go into the living room so we can sit down and then we can talk. I’m still only half way through the door.”

Ren looked embarrassed and immediately moved backwards to give his friend some room.

“Okay, where to start.” Kyou said when they sat down.

“The first thing you asked was whether I am alright, right? Well, I’m feeling fine since my grandmother is safe now and that she will be okay after some time again. That also answers your second question. And yes, Kujo knows that we are friends. She saw us together and I confirmed it to her just earlier.”
Ren gasped and then bit his lip worriedly.

“We had a long talk and I told her that we are very close. She promised to keep it a secret.

And about you having to move out: Are you an idiot? Of course not! I won’t let you and not only because of the fabulous bentos you make. That brings me to the last part…when you said you love me.”

“About that, I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know that…” Ren bit his bottom lip some more. He had said it in the spurt of the moment and he knew that Kyou had a girlfriend.

“She…I” He didn’t know how to continue.

Kyou watched his friend fondly. The way he stuttered made him feel confirmed.

“Ren-chan, you remember the love confession I came up with?” Kyou cleared his throat and thought carefully about the next words he was going to say. This was really important to him.

”Ren, we might not know each other for a long time, actually only for a few weeks, but I’m having special feelings for you already. I can even go as far as to say I love you. I love the way you look when you are concentrating, when you are biting on your pencil or when your glasses slip down your perfect little nose and almost fall off. I even love you when you look like the whole world is against you and you have this small crease between your dark eyes, but believe me, not the whole world is against you, I’m not. So please give me a chance and go out with me.” He repeated the whole confession. The words were still clear in his mind because he had spent so much time and energy on them.

“These words fit the situation quite well. That’s pretty much what I want to tell you.” Kyou said and nodded to himself.

Ren was completely speechless.

“But…”

“We broke up earlier because we realized that it can’t work out. It’s my fault since I can’t seem to love her as much as I should. There is already someone I love even more.”

Ren let out a strangled noise before throwing his arms around Kyou’s neck and hugging him tightly.

“My Ren-chan~” Kyou said in a sing-song voice and the other hit him playfully.

“Now I finally feel like I am doing the right thing, like I am with the right person. That feels damn awesome.” Kyou nuzzled the other’s messy hair.

“You feel its right to date your student?” Ren chuckled and closed contently his eyes.

“Well, that sounds kind of forbidden…but I guess I can’t help it. All we have to worry about for now is your graduation. Then we are not student and teacher anymore, but only lovers.”

“Did I already agree?”

“Hey!”

Ren smiled when he heard the other’s protest and pressed his lips against his gently.

“Cut!”

Pi pulled back gently from Ryo. That had been their last scene. Around them people were congratulating each other because of the success of the drama and they got up to join them. When they had bowed several times and the actress of Kujo Miako gotten some flowers they were allowed to leave for changing. There would be an after-party later.

“It’s a little sad that it’s over…I’m going to miss it.” Pi said thoughtfully and opened the buttons of his shirt.

“That’s true, but it was just long enough for us to confess our feelings.”

“Yeah…I love you, Ryo-chan.”

“I love the way you smile and how you show your teeth when you are truly happy. I love the way you fall sleep everywhere and at every time and make me feel protective of you. I love how you surprise me every day and it feels like there will always be sides of you I still doesn’t know and can discovers. I love that you try to be bold, but deep down you are pure and innocent and your bold actions embarrass you to no end. I love you even though you can be really careless of yourself and you gave me more than once a headache. Stay by my side, please”

“You have gotten pretty good at this.” Pi said with a bright smile which showed his teeth.

“I sure have. I had plenty of chances to practice.”

“It is probably my turn to return the favour, but I don’t know where to start since there are more than enough things I love about you. So you have to be satisfied with me saying that I love you the way you are.”

“That’s more than enough.”

Ryo peaked Pi’s lips and they shared a smile.

For the ones who are interested: There is going to be an epilogue, but this was the last chapter. I can't believe I am almost done, but I am also incredible happy. I hope I could entertain you all and there were some nice surprises in each chapter. The reason why I was so late this time was not that this chapter was so long. I got really sick some weeks ago and was out cold for a week. To my misfortune I then had a strong allergic reaction to the medicine I had taken to get better and almost had to stay at the hospital. I couldn't do a thing for another week and because I'm always incredible unlucky, all that happened in my exam time. I had to catch up with some exams and therefore wrote some right after another with only one day to learn and school till 5pm. I simply didn't have the time to write. I hope you can understand.