A/N: Welp, back at it again. Happy very belated birthday to me. See the A/N at the end for more info, enjoy!

Junjou Restart

Chapter 12

There are Many Types of Love, and all Are Everlasting

I remember the last time I saw my Father, I was packing my bags. I could hear the creaking sound his wheelchair made as it came closer to my room.

"So this is it, huh? I suppose I won't be able to stop you."

I could feel his gaze burning into me as I checked over my luggage. Thankfully, I wasn't bringing anything with me other than my clothes and a futon. I figured I'd just buy the other necessities once I moved in to my new apartment.

"Deep down, I shouldn't even try to hope you'll listen to me. I know all I'm doing is holding you back, even if I force you to stay. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that, yet…"

I slammed my suitcase shut after waiting a brief moment for him to finish his sentence, and he didn't even flinch, as if expecting my reaction. "Yet, what?"

"Well, for one, I'm just very worried about you, Kyo. You've had enough of a hard time taking care of yourself as it is. At least your school was a little closer so that your Mother and I could swing by. But this is…quite the move."

"Please don't bring up University. That was then, and this is now," I said, gesturing to my suitcase. "Besides, I'm an adult making adult decisions now."

"I see that, but…" He sighs. "Nevermind. I'm just being selfish. I may be old, but I still remember what it was like to go through the motions at your age, and I also want what's best for you. I'm just not sure if this is it. You're more than talented enough, but I can't stand the thought of such an unforgiving industry eating away at you."

I finally looked him square in the face, not even bothering to read his somber expression "If you're saying I'm talented, you should believe in me more. Do you know how many times I've been rejected until I finally found the one place that actually wants me? This job is all I've ever wanted, and now you're telling me to back out so I can stay home and do nothing with my life—like I have been for too long now?"

"That's not what I'm trying to say." My Father managed to hold together his patience. "I'm saying that this is a job that's going to eat up all of your free time with no breaks, and I've been there. It's exhausting. When you work, you work until you're finished. Forget sleeping well, or eating right, or having any friends, or even…seeing us. You already don't do the first few things."

"Why are you acting as if I haven't thought about that? It's not like I'm gonna be some sort of recluse in the mountains. I want to make a name for myself—all I want is to tell my story, so stop thinking I'll end up like you," I snapped.

I let those last words linger in the air, and in that moment, it was as if I had awoken and become truly aware of what was around me. I had said something that couldn't be taken back with such anger that it managed to shock even me, as well as my Father, who spoke with such a strange combination of desperation and pity.

"Don't you want a quiet life, Kyo?"

"No. I guess I don't," I said without thinking, trying to keep my determination in face of my Father.

"Very well. Then all I can say is that I'm proud of you taking these first steps, son."

I was finally finished packing, so I wheeled my suitcase out of my room and past him.

"Maybe I just wished that we could continue the relationship we were supposed to have."

I still couldn't look back when he spoke as the room slowly faded to dark around me. There didn't seem to be ground beneath my feet, and my sense of direction was completely gone.

Where was I going?

I thought I was going this way, but somehow it felt like I was leaving something behind. Something important and dear to me.

All I remember was feeling this rush of frustration. If he cared about me so much, why didn't he try? Why did he hold back and stand on the sidelines in defeat like he always did?

There was crackling beneath my feet. My Father suddenly cried out in agony as his wheelchair sank into the nothing, and before I could lunge to save him, he fell into the abyss.

I woke up in a hot sweat, breathing so heavily that I could feel the nausea almost expanding and contracting in my stomach. It was still dark outside.

I slammed my head against the pillow. Haruhiko was sleeping soundly next to me, and I tried to focus on his peaceful face in hopes of falling back to sleep.

I was unsuccessful in doing so.

. . .

I didn't talk to anyone in the morning. I could barely even touch my breakfast.

My Mother already knew I was dreading visiting my Father, so she had decided it was better not to converse with me. All I had done was ask her for the car, which she of course allowed me to drive.

Either Haruhiko understood that talking to me in this state wasn't the best idea, or my Mother talked to him ahead of time. I felt awful for withholding affection from him—especially on our vacation time together—but the over looming doomed feeling was completely paralyzing.

As we got into the car together that afternoon, I finally spoke for the first time all day to Haruhiko.

"Haru, have I ever told you the story of how The Kan came to be?"

Haruhiko shook his head. "Not from you directly, but I've read and watched various interviews."

"Well, just forget anything I've told the reporters then," I advised, looking out the window of the car as the hills I always passed by in my childhood rolled before my eyes.

. . .

I'm about to tell a long story of a man named Tomitake.

Tomitake knew from an early age that he was going to join his military family in the ranks. Despite being an advocate for peace and non-violence, his Lieutenant father had managed to rope his son into the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in an effort to uphold the five generations long tradition of volunteering for the military.

His father used to recount stories about how he had refused to enroll in the military when he was a young kid as well, especially due to his father—Tomitake's grandfather—having involvement in World War II, which resulted in Tomitake's father getting heavily bullied. Yet, his father would go on to say how, "it was (his) duty to make his family proud," and how he had learned how to be proud of his military background with high hopes his son would follow.

Needless to say, the cycle continued, and Tomitake was especially bullied during grade school. Whenever the boys taking his shoes or stealing his books, they would ask Tomitake if he was going to be like his scary father, and he would try to say with pride that he was going to be like his father anyway—minus the scary part. Truthfully, Tomitake wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew it wouldn't be acceptable if he was anything but a soldier.

Lo and behold, by the time Tomitake turned 18, he found himself headed towards the Maritime sector. Tomitake was gaining more discipline, getting involved with training, and climbing the ranks. The tradition was continuing all according to plan.

However, amidst Tomitake's success, he found himself becoming more and more unsatisfied with his life. It didn't help that he found it hard to establish connections with his cohorts.

The truth was that what Tomitake enjoyed the most was cooking—especially baking. He wasn't really sure if it was possible for him to make a career out of it. Not expecting his Father to accept this desire of his, Tomitake decided to keep this hobby a secret.

So between his scheduling shifting every 3 months, Tomitake somehow found the time to take cooking classes without his father knowing. It wasn't long before Tomitake was recognized as a star student. His surprisingly handsome face and charisma was another huge draw for other people. He especially caught the eye of various women—despite his short height.

That was until, like the waves reaching into the shore and then pulling back into the ocean, Tomitake's popularity was always short-lived once the other cooking students found out he was part of the JSDF.

At this point, Tomitake's life could be described as quite lonely, but there was one person who unexpectedly stuck around.

Sayo was 20 years old when she met the then 35 year old Tomitake, but that didn't stop her from pursuing him endlessly. Everyone told her she was crazy for running after a military man, but she persisted anyway. Sayo herself was a bright student who had just completed culinary school with big dreams of creating a café, and happened to be teaching during one of Tomitake's free time periods.

Tomitake didn't want to admit it, be he was enamored by Sayo. Initially, it took Tomitake a while to understand that his teacher was most definitely hitting on him, as even though she was so tall and elegant and he felt that she was way out of his league.

Then, it had evolved from Tomitake being ready to take up Sayo's bold offer for a date, to suddenly turning around and declining it. He was due back at work at any moment, as his 3 months were about up, and he did not want to burden Sayo with a relationship. However, Sayo had stated that she didn't care, and that she'd wait for him to come back.

Sayo kept her promise, and they were dating in between Tomitake's breaks. Soon enough, Tomitake decided that he wanted to propose to Sayo. Sayo said yes, and her family was happy for her, although concerned due to Tomitake's involvement with the military. Tomitake's family was on board until Tomitake suggested leaving the military and supporting Sayo in what was to be their dream of having a café together.

Tomitake's father had threatened disowning his son if he were to marry Sayo, claiming that she was putting all sorts of crazy ideas in his head. Their feud ended in an agreement that Tomitake would be able to marry Sayo, but he could not withdraw from the JSDF. In the end, Tomitake's father did not show up to the wedding and had appeared all of once to visit his grandson as a newborn. They didn't hear from him again until his death. Bound by the guilt of continuing the tradition, Tomitake kept serving time in the military.

Tomitake had tried so hard to provide for his newborn son and Sayo, but as time went on, he found himself home less and less. He was getting called into work way more often—even during his breaks at home. Sometimes, he would come to home to find that his son had grown several inches, or he had learned new words. Despite feeling inadequate, Tomitake still tried to do his part as a Father when he could to be the best role model he could be, whether it was taking his son to the museum, or telling him that those scribbles he drew were very impressive. Tomitake did try to get his son to bake with him, but he was more into the idea of eating desserts.

Sayo was doing her best to have patience and basically live as a single mother for months at a time while her friends were begging her to find a man who could give her attention. She had stayed faithful and focused her efforts on working at various cafes. Sayo refused to get a divorce, despite her husband's suggestion, as she still loved him, but Tomitake could not help but feel he was letting his family down—especially because he could not be there for the times he felt his son needed him most growing up.

Even so, his son also retained much love and adoration for his father. To him, his father was smart, disciplined, athletic, handsome, kind, loving to him and his mother, and was everything a good father should be (when he was around). While he wasn't planning on continuing the family tradition of joining the army, or even cared much about cooking, which his and mother and father were perfectly fine with, he still wanted to be just like his father. For him, when his father was around, everything as okay.

If one were to look inside of his sketchbooks, it was filled with crude looking drawings of what appeared to be Tomitake with a chef hat he used to wear when he had spare time to bake with Sayo, along with the mustache he would keep for the rest of his life. This was the making of a manga that his son called The Kan, because nobody was manlier to him than his father. He would even go so far as to draw the café his mother worked in. By age 6, he already knew he wanted to be a mangaka some day, and while Tomitake supported his son, he was concerned about that being another lonely and busy lifestyle—especially one that could potentially not provide financially.

Tomitake encouraged his son to keep drawing, and Sayo had allowed him to draw excessively—that was, until it turned out that his son was having difficulty following along in school. She had even scolded her son harshly for drawing instead of doing his schoolwork, and punching another kid. It had turned out that similarly to Tomitake's childhood, his son was getting bullied for having a father in the JSDF. Various conferences with teachers went nowhere, and his son found himself more and more isolated in his own imaginary world where he was creating characters, and then his father was there as a protector in that world.

Tomitake was forced to retire by this time. An accident in training led to a spinal injury, leading to the utilization of a wheelchair. Finally, he was able to be around his family, but it was too late. His son was now in college, and Sayo was not home much, other than to run home and help take care of her husband's needs. Even so, Tomitake was alone once again.

So when his son was forced to come home from college after his school discovered his heavy drinking upon his hospitalization, Tomitake felt himself selfishly welcoming his son back. However, his son's habits and mannerisms were quite concerning, and also familiar. Now that he was home, Tomitake noticed that his son often forgot to eat, slept either too much or too little, drank too much, did not take care of his physical needs, and socially isolated himself. If Tomitake could guess what was going on, his son was possibly having thoughts of suicide, being that he was expelled and had no hope for his future. Truthfully, Tomitake was no better than his son, but all he could try to do was catch up on their missed years together and comfort him when needed.

Tomitake tried to encourage his son to take on a job, but nothing suited his son except one thing: becoming a mangaka. Even getting in with a publishing company was hard, as his son faced various rejections. It came to the point where he decided it was best to move to Tokyo for more opportunities, and that was the point where his Father had finally fought him on a decision.

"Don't you want a quiet life, Kyo?"

It seemed that he, in fact, did not, as he was finally ready to pursue the career that put a sparkle in his eyes like nothing else could. Tomitake realized after a while that he couldn't stop his son and forced himself to let go, saying he was proud his son was going to do what he wanted with his life. Of course, that was true, but Tomitake truthfully still wanted his son around.

Sayo could do nothing but show her support behind the sidelines, even though she was reluctant to let her son go, as well. She had also finally quit her job to take care of her husband full time, as his health was declining as the chronic pain became too much.

By this time, Tomitake had completely isolated himself and had lost all his energy to answer the phone when his son called to try and check up on him from time to time. His son was gradually giving up any hope of making his Father happy, and after a while, decided that he was disowned despite Sayo's pleas to understand that his father was not himself.

It wasn't until Tomitake's son had finally started serialization of his first manga that he discovered a missed call, just as he was ready to tell his parents exciting news about the project he had been waiting to work on.

His father had died from an apparent overdose of painkillers. To this day, it is unknown whether that was done with purposeful intentions or not. As painful as it was to admit it, his son knew the truth deep down, but it was too much to dwell on or think about, as the reasoning behind the previous events suddenly came together for him.

What became of Ijuiin Kyo, in the end? Most of the answer is already known: he struggled with various titles and found himself on the brink of quitting many times, only to find strength in the fan letters that urged him to keep going—even throughout the moments where he felt a mental breakdown coming on, or that he was going to collapse from exhaustion. What more could he do than that? His drive was gone—it was long dead now and buried in his hometown, and unable to console him when he needed it most. Yet Kyo knew that he needed to keep going not just for his own sake, but because he didn't want this to be all this sweat and blood for nothing.

After sometime, Kyo returned home for inspiration. At that point, he had not visited home since his Father's funeral, and had still refused to visit his grave, as it would only be another reminder that his Father was not only gone, but he had forcibly removed himself. During an argument with his mother, Kyo had ran into his room and occupied his thoughts by digging through his closet where he found the old sketches containing The Kan.

As he read through it, Kyo had remembered all the time and effort he put into all these character sketches and manga arcs as a child. Fictional or reality, the lingering image of his Father being the manliest and most loving had never faded, regardless of their hardship together. Kyo didn't want to recount this story to the press that wanted to know how The Kan came into creation, as it meant reliving these memories he wanted to leave behind when he moved, but lo and behold, this was how it all started.

. . .

The sunflowers Haruhiko had given to my Mother were laid down near the tombstone and beside it, a copy of The Kan.

The entire time, Haruhiko had not taken his eyes off of me, I noticed, but I could not look back, as when I had recited the story, there were tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I've never told you. I just...never really liked talking about it," I finally said, then added a slight chuckle, "Well, you did say you wanted to be more involved in my life, and I figured the best way to do it would be to take you to the one place I didn't want to come back to."

Haruhiko didn't say a word.

Somehow it felt easier to smile in face of what was before me. "You know, this is the first time I've seen his grave. It's easier coming here with you, but in a way, it hurts more, because I know he would've loved to meet you—even if he was still mad at me for being selfish and leaving when he needed me most."

Haruhiko continued to stay silent, but instead moved forward and pulled me into a hug. "Kyo-san… You know you're allowed to cry, right?"

I couldn't find the energy to hug him back, or feel ready to cry, so I stood there until he finally moved away.

"It's odd. For the longest time, I assumed everyone's family was like mine—cold and unsure how to properly love. I had only wanted to push them away. My Mother was a mistress, and while she may not have been the most understanding towards me, or…had never made any home cooked meals, I was still at a loss when she was gone. It was even worse when I had been suddenly owned by my Father, who for many years originally wanted nothing to do with me. In ways, I know he's trying to make up for lost time as well, but there are moments where I can't help but resent him. For a long time, I thought this was normal behavior, as a person constantly seeking approval from my family," said Haruhiko.

Truthfully, I hadn't even known Haruhiko's mother had died and was a mistress. The only thing I really knew was that Haruhiko and Akihiko were half brothers. In a way, I had almost felt guilty for not knowing Haruhiko in this way, because I only assumed it was a touchy subject that he didn't want to talk about.

"I had become friends with Isaka-san and Asahina as a child, but I didn't truly get to know their families until I moved into the Usami household. Then I understood how different families could be, and they seemed so caring and involved in each other's lives. At that point, the idea had made way into my head that in order to know a person, I must know every detail of that person to truly appreciate them—as I clearly did know my family well enough, and they did not seem to want to know me in return. That seemed to be the barrier between us having a real relationship," he continued to explain.

I thought briefly of my Father. A lot of what I learned about my Father actually came from word of mouth from my Mother before and after his death. Yet, it still didn't change my experience, or my love for him—even when I was angry at him for trying to make me stay.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is, I can't understand what it's like to lose someone to suicide, or to lose that kind of love. However, I can tell from everything I've learned up until now that your Father loved you very much, and that even though he was so sick, and he would still be proud of you and everything you've accomplished. I think he would be very happy to know where you are now in life."

In a matter of seconds, I had finally allowed the choked sobs to be released, slowly breaking down while Haruhiko had wrapped his arms around me again, hugging me tightly as for the first time in years, tears fell. I was holding on to Haruhiko as if my life depended on it, basking in the silence Haruhiko gave me until I couldn't cry anymore. The numbing feeling in my emotions finally dissolved completely, and somehow, him seeing my utmost vulnerability made my love for him deepen even more.

We ended up staying like this for a good amount of time. About a couple of hours passed before sending farewell prayers to my Father. We had even sat down at his grave, and for once, telling Haruhiko memories of the man named Ijuiin Tomitake felt good.

. . .

Mother made nikujaga for dinner—another one of my favorite recipes.

My stomach rumbled once the smell of meat and potatoes hit me, and Haruhiko was already eagerly heading towards the table once we got back.

We sat down together and made our bowls. There was silence between us as we ate, until my Mother suddenly stopped eating and pushed her bowl to the side as if she had been preparing the whole time we were gone to say something.

"You know, I look back, and I realize I've made a lot of mistakes," said my Mother, "I'm made a lot of mistakes as a mother especially, and as a wife. I was way too young and in over my head, and I tried so hard to make everything work. I'm still trying, in fact, every day. In all truth, it's lonely here, especially…without your Father, but it's what I know. I've even tried moving his pictures in the attic so I wouldn't be reminded of him, but it doesn't help."

Haruhiko and I had already stopped eating at this point as we listened to her.

"I may not look like it, but I'm getting old. Soon enough, I won't be able to work at the bakery anymore. When that day comes, maybe I'll be ready to move on from this house." She smiled sadly. "It's just so hard to leave these memories behind—even the bad ones. And I know asking you to move here would be unfair of me, so I'll let that discussion go."

Her expression darkened. "However, I think you need to understand that I have the right to worry like I do. There's a lot I'm still worried about with you, Kyo. I know you still struggle with taking care of yourself, and I know that there's more to it than that, just like your Father"—

She paused and took a deep breath. "You at least know what I'm asking you to do, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

My Mother looked over to Haruhiko suddenly. "Haruhiko, this may be selfish of me to ask, but please watch over my son—even when that day comes where I can finally move on."

"You don't have to ask that of me. I would like to, anyway," he said with an air of humility.

There were tears in her eyes that she quickly blinked away. "Thank you. Thank you so much. It's just…" A few stray drops rolled down her cheek. "I know it's what your Father would've wanted, too."

I rub her shoulder gently for a moment, and wait until we're comfortable enough to attempt to finish our dinner again.

. . .

We retired for the night soon after dinner, as Haruhiko and I were likely mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Mother had taken her leave for the night, as she was called into work at last minute to help prepare dough at the bakery for the next day.

The front door closed just as we fell against the mattress. On cue, our exhaustion suddenly subsided and traded in for the raw sexual energy that had been pent up inside of us for what seemed like an eternity. I should've fallen right to sleep, as I had gotten such terrible rest the night before, but I was somehow wide awake, once I was aware of our circumstance.

My hand was running through his soft strands of hair, and his hand was on my waist. We inched closer and I was kissing him in a matter of seconds, quickly taking advantage of my adrenaline high to roll on top of Haruhiko as we kissed with more urgency, my tongue clashing with his.

We separated for air and stared at each other wordlessly, until I finally dove in for more action and started kissing down his neck.

"Kyo-san," he moaned in between words, "I'm not sure why, but I think I'm ready."

"Good," I said, pecking him sweetly on the lips, "Because I wasn't planning on stopping."

. . .

Before we knew it, it was time to board our plane. There seemed to be no time to indulge in the morning after glow of sex, as we ended up waking a bit too late than we would have liked. All we could do was pack our bags, prepare a quick meal of toast, and call a cab to take us to the airport.

My Mother managed to meet us at the airport in time to say goodbye. We embraced for what seemed like five minutes.

"Please visit your old Mother again sometime soon, okay?"

"I'll try," I promised, still hugging her tightly for another few seconds until finally letting go.

She then faced Haruhiko and opened her arms wide, gradually moving closer towards him.

Haruhiko didn't budge, as if he was unsure of whether to return the gesture or not.

My Mother pouted. "Come now—I would like to hug my son-in-law!"

"Son-in-law?" I repeated lowly. It didn't seem that Haruhiko had heard her, as my Mother had already pulled him into a hug. I tried not to laugh, as he was so startled by my Mother's sudden affection that he just seemed lifeless in her arms.

They called our flight number. My mother waved us off in the distance as we waited on line. I waved back as Haruhiko appeared to be in a daze.

"You alright, Haru?" I asked him.

He seemed to be momentarily pulled out of whatever he was pondering about. "Hm?"

"I said, is everything okay?"

"Oh." He looked away shyly. "I was just thinking about how nice your Mother is."

I thought back to our conversation the day before. Haruhiko didn't seem to have the easiest relationship with his mother, and I hadn't realized what a shock it was for him to see how my Mother and I talked to each other.

Even though my Mother and I were sometimes on rocky terms with each other, we still had a strong bond, and it didn't take until this trip happened to appreciate that. Maybe she wasn't always the best to me growing up, but she was acting as a single mother doing everything she could for me. She only wanted me to be happy, and meeting Haruhiko and seeing how happy he made me seemed to have made her overjoyed, in turn.

"That's my Mother, for ya. She already considers you family, you know."

"Really?" Haruhiko smiled serenely. "Then, I would hope to visit again someday."

As I was ready to put my arm around Haruhiko, my phone buzzed. Kimura was trying to call me.

"That's weird. He knows I'm off today," I muttered.

"Kyo-san, we're about to get on the plane. I don't think you should answer that," Haruhiko advised, also holding out his cell phone. "Work is calling me as well, but I'm not going to respond until our flight is finished."

And of course, that was the perfect excuse to shut down my phone.

. . .

As soon as we got on the plane, everything had returned to normal—or at least, as normal as it could get. We were making casual conversation, talking about our current projects and manga we were reading in our spare time, with tidbits of flirting here and there on my part that had caused Haruhiko to blush and remind me in a hushed voice that other people could hear us.

"You know, you should tell me at some point when that catering hall is gonna be done so I can check it out," I said.

"Hopefully, we're getting a date on that soon, but you'll be the first to know," Haruhiko answered. "By the way, we'll likely have a grand opening ceremony, and you're welcome to invite your Mother."

I nodded. "Sure. I bet she'd love to."

I then gradually lowered my head so that it was resting between his jaw and his shoulder, nuzzling into it and taking my time to get comfortable in this position.

Haruhiko was trying, and failing to pretend like nothing was happening, his gaze averted elsewhere.

"Come on now, Haru, you're not embarrassed of me, are you?" I purred into his ear, causing him to flinch.

"N-no, never!" He was face was a vibrant red. "You're just very…affectionate today is all."

I refused to remove my head from his shoulder. "Well, maybe it's because I'm not going to see my adorable lover for a bit once Hell week starts back up."

"That's fair…" Haruhiko seemed sad suddenly. "Truthfully, I may be receiving a call about an incoming project. I'm not sure of the context yet, but I've already been assigned to it—if the project goes through. I'm not sure how much of my time will be devoted to it."

I lifted my head and caressed his cheek gently. "Let's make the most of our time left then, okay? All the sad stuff is over now."

He nodded in agreement. "Alright."

"Then again, I'm not sure if we can exactly top last night," I said with a smirk, "That is, unless you're willing to try again"—

And with those words, Haruhiko was a blushing mess for the rest of the trip—as if he suddenly dawned onto him everything we had done. He was so stunned that he couldn't refuse me sleeping on his shoulder for the remainder of the flight.

. . .

When we had gotten off the plane, the first thing Haruhiko did was check to see if there were any voicemails. "Excuse me, it looks like there's a call I need to take," he said to me as he ventured off to the side of the airport.

I decided to turn my phone back on while Haruhiko took care of his phone call. There were 6 voicemails. Before I had time to listen to any of them, my phone started ringing again.

"Hello, you've reached Ijuiin Kyo"—

"Sensei, I've been trying to call you all day!"

"Kimura, what is it? You know I'm still on vacation," I growled more impatiently than I would've liked.

"I'm sorry, I know you're away, but I just had to tell you the good news!"

'Good news?' I asked myself, 'Maybe he's talking about that collaboration project I've been wanting to do?' "Well, okay. Go on, I guess."

"Remember that pitch for the live action of The Kan? It finally went through!"

I felt my heart stop. Nothing about this news was good. I could already imagine my last bit of free time slipping away.

"Kimura, just stop talking for one second. Since when are we doing a live action?

Kimura seemed to ignore my question. "I know there was that problem with set creation, which is why we never did it in the first place, but we managed to pick up a really good architect to help us out with it."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, we didn't agree on it because I never wanted to do this in the first place. Do you have any idea how exhausting the consultation for that is gonna be for me? Why on Earth would I ever want to"—

At that moment, Haruhiko came rushing back to me after his phone call ended. Whatever it was about, even though there was no smile on his face, he was beaming. He was so excited that he had interrupted my call and grabbed my hand eagerly—and gladly so, as I was ready to have a panic attack if I heard Kimura say another word.

"Kyo-san, they're asking me to work on creating a live action set—and it's for The Kan. Congratulations."

Kimura was clearly saying stuff on the other line, but I couldn't hear anything amidst the excitement buzzing in my brain. Instead, I took a brief moment to use my free hand so I could pull Haruhiko in for a passionate kiss—not even caring that we were still in the middle of the airport as Haruhiko managed to match my ferocity.

"…On second thought, Kimura, this is a very good arrangement. I'll see you tomorrow."

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient! This is the biggest update I've done. I still have the smut content coming your way, but I just need more time to complete that, so keep your eyes peeled.

In the meantime, please feast your eyes on some art by Squidalicious, formerly known as DandereDaisy!

Fanfiction won't let me post the link, so check out squid-a-licious tumblr and search through the tags for Ijuiin Kyo or Usami Haruhiko. Thanks again!