Chapter 1: Ideas

Update: After thinking for a veeeery long time, I've decided to split this chapter in two as it is too long to read for some people. So if you're searching for the smut part, feel free to skip to the second chapter: That's where the action is. *winks*

A/N: I really don't know how this chapter became so frickin' long, it just... did! I hope you will enjoy it anyway~

Big thanks to my senpai and Elena , because without you guys I'd still complain about being too lazy to write this story.

Warning: This story will contain smut, foul language, violence, drug abuse, overuse of the word 'god', ooc-ness (to moderate extent), typos and bad grammar, because me no can speak engrish.

Disclaimer: If I owned Junjou Romantica, there would be more smut in season two.

"...What was that again?" Misaki asked, visibly stunned from what he had just heard.

This couldn't be real, everything was like a dream. The fancy restaurant, the ring at the bottom of his champagne glass, Akihiko kneeling in front of him and spelling out the words every teenage girl was waiting for her whole life.

"Will you marry me?" the novelist repeated, voice soaking those delicate words in sweetness. His lavender eyes were sparkling with excitement for his lover's answer.

"Oh, Akihiko-san!" the boy exclaimed, his hands covering his o-shaped mouth. Obviously, the surprise had been a great success as Misaki was speechless, his eyes switching between the handsome man's amethyst orbs and the other sparkling object held high between the man's thumb and index finger.

The scene could have been mistaken for one of those soap operas Aikawa-san was always gushing about when she was not on editor mode. Everything around them seemed so perfect, so bright, so beautiful.

So surreal.

"Akihiko..." Misaki mumbled, his expression suddenly switching from excitement to confusion. Before the man could even consider what just had gone terribly wrong, the bright surrounding was fading slowly, mixing together like an oil painting. What was left of the once beautiful scenery was nothing but a dark mess around them.

"What gave you the idea that I'd ever get married with someone like you?" the boy asked. His voice was calm, but the words he had just spoken weighted heavily on Usami. He felt like he had just been hit by a car, a giant rock or something equally heavy and painful.

The boy snorted, his emerald eyes looked like they were losing their rich colour. "How pitiful," he spat. The witnesses around them were laughing cruelly. "Pitiful... pitiful..." they whispered.

"Thinking that you would be the one for me. I had expected a bit more intelligence of you," remarked Misaki. The shadows were giggling with amusement again. Akihiko felt like he was in a bad dream, his heart was aching and his body seemed to be numb. He couldn't feel anything but betrayal, disappointment and even hatred. Hatred for himself, for thinking he could be good enough for the young boy he was in love with. The only person who had seen him weak, whom he had spent so many years with. He had thought the boy was happy, but he surely hadn't expected such a reaction from his lover.

"I will never be together with you. Never!" came the words from Misaki's lips. Usami's world shattered into pieces under his feet, and he fell into darkness.

xxx

Akihiko's eyes shot open.

He managed to wriggle himself out of the warm bedsheets to rest on his ellbows, a drop of cool sweat trailing its way down the male's forehead. His labored breathing slowed down when he realised he had just awoken from a dream. A very bad dream, to say the least. Sighing out in relief, he felt something on his left shift in discomfort.

Misaki was sleeping peacefully beside him, one hand was resting next to his face. Akihiko reached out for it, linked their digits together and brought them to his lips, caressing the boy's delicate fingers with gentle kisses as his mind slipped into deep thoughts.

It had been seven years since the unusual couple had started living together. When he thought back to the time they had first met, never in his life he would have imagined that one day this angel-like creature next to him would be his to claim.

He was sure the boy was feeling the same for him, so he had considered to take their relationship a step further. He loved Misaki, from the bottom of his heart, and he wanted to prove it to his lover by finally proposing to him, making their relationship official.

He had thought many sleepless nights about how he would do it. Going to a restaurant and just placing a ring into his drink was boring and unoriginal. Besides, he didn't think the boy was so keen on having the whole world know that he was gay, even if it didn't matter to Akihiko.

"Usagi-san..." the boy mumbled sleepily. His eyes opened slightly to glimpse at the preoccupied man next to him. "What time is it?"

"Nine thirty," Akihiko replied, suddenly in a very serious tone. "You are getting late for work."

Misaki's eyes shot open in disbelief. "What? Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked hastily, already rushing out of bed. Suddenly he felt a cold hand grab his wrist and push him back into the warm blankets underneath him.

"Just kidding," Akihiko calmed him. "It's still early, you don't have to rush yourself."

Misaki punched the giggling man into his shoulder. "Baka! And I thought I'd be dead for sure!" He blurted out.

"Aw, sorry for that," the novelist apologised, towering above his lover. "Allow me to make up for my rude behaviour," he purred.

"Er... No, no, you don't have to, really!" the boy exclaimed, already knowing what was to happen next.

But Akihiko insisted on having his way. "But I want to." His lips were already working their way down the boy's body.

With Misaki beside him, he knew everything would be alright.

xxx

Akihiko had hoped the day would proceed as good as it had started, however, and he blamed karma for that, life had never been gentle to him.

As soon as both got up to have breakfast, the entire procedure was characterized by little discussions and small arguments about trivial doings. Whether it was about Akihiko's tardiness when it came to his writing, his frantic urge to spend, or being all messy, having his manuscripts, coffee mugs and full ashtrays waiting everywhere to be picked up by whoever had to keep the entire accomodation in a clean state.

Or Misaki still being too stubborn to confess to his lover.

Akihiko could not comprehend the difficulty in saying those three little words he had been waiting for way too long out loud.

Nor did Misaki understand how the taller male had been able to survive in such a mess before the boy had decided to stay with him.

Even if the silver-haired man couldn't help but find his lover's concern extremely adorable, he was also worried about how serious their once lukewarm arguments had become by then. It was one of the reasons that had brought him to the conclusion of proposing to his flat-mate. It would be a lie to say he was not frightened of hurting, or even worse, losing his beloved.

Misaki pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Come on, Usagi-san. Let's just leave it as it is. I'm getting late for work anyway."

"I'll drive you," Akihiko replied curtly

"Don't bother, I can walk."

But Akihiko was already heading towards the door, keys in his hand and a knit between his brows. Misaki rolled his eyes, collected his belongings and followed Usami without another word.

xxx

In a late August morning, when the sun was shining brightly in a flawless blue sky, two bad-tempered lovers were stuck in the worst traffic jam ever possible.

"Can't you turn this thing on a bit more? In case you haven't noticed, it's summer!" Misaki complained sarcastically. The air-conditioner was working sparsely and the boy felt like he was melting inside the luxurious vehicle.

"It's already on. Besides, you'll get ill if you keep leaning your face directly into the blower, especially when you're sweating so much. The cooling process will only quicken without you noticing and your body cannot handle such a quick change of temperature-"

"You know what, I think I'll just walk the last stretch of the way," Misaki cut in, unbuckling his seat belt in record time. He was out of the car and slammed the door shut before a confused and somewhat upset Akihiko could even say another word.

This was just what Misaki needed right now: An overprotective Usagi-san to boss him around. Didn't the guy notice that he was already stressed enough? That was the reason why the boy had wanted to walk to work. Alone. Because it was the only time of day when he could just unwind for some minutes and not think of the pressure that awaited him at work. Or a care-dependant, troublesome lover with the alter ego of a five-year old at home. Not like he was tired of living together with his boyfriend, the man had just gotten a hint too hard to please over the past years, especially when it came to emotional stuff. Didn't he realise that he was still having difficulties with his own feelings? It was hard to describe it, he wanted nothing more than to embrace his beloved and push him away at the same time. It was a paradox on its own, and it left Misaki with a headache every time he thought about their relationship.

How deeply he wished to talk to somebody about his unease, but his brother was still groping in the dark and his best friend did his very best to despise the man he was in love with.

Suddenly Misaki felt something in his jeans pocket vibrate. Retrieving his mobile, he shielded the screen from the sun's brightness with his other hand before reading the message he had just received.

Speaking of the devil... he thought.

'Sup man? Called a few times but you didn't pick up. Everything alright?'

Misaki stopped beneath a shady tree to reply to his friend.

'I'm fine. Sorry, had a terrible morning and didn't pay attention to my mobile.' He pretended that he hadn't pressed the send-button too hard because he was still upset with a certain somebody.

The reply came almost immediately.

'Quarrel with Mr. loverboy? Just rebuff him already! Me and Miyagi would totally make up for him! Wanted to try out that threesome shit anyways *wink*'

Misaki snorted at the suggestion. Of course, Shinobu was only joking around. 'Thanks man, but you're way too obsessed with that geezer to share him with anyone.'

Taking a glimpse at his watch, he realised that he had only several minutes left until work begun, so he finished the text message with a 'TTYL' before running down the street towards Marukawa Publishing.

xxx

"Chibi-tan, could you get me a copy of these?" The moment these words were spoken, Misaki found himself holding reams of paper in his arms. He had to stretch his neck until it actually hurt to glimpse above the pile of documents to give a grinning Isaka-san a half-hearted nod. Of course, why give the donkeywork to somebody else when Misaki was up and ready to be teased?

Carefully, he tiptoed towards the elevator and tried to push the right button with his elbow. Letting out a deep sigh, he leaned his back on the door after it closed to lessen some of the pain the stack of sheets were providing. Fortunately, he was the only person in the small chamber, so he could relax for a minute without anyone trying to boss him around even more.

As almost half of the staff was on vacation, those remaining had to make up for the lack of workers, which left Misaki running around all day, being here and there to do what work was waiting to be done. His trip to the upper floors via elevator was the first time in hours when he could wind down and be miles away.

Since he had entered the large company, he had done nothing but being bossed around by everyone, even by his co-workers. It was a rough job, to say the least. Every evening he would come home very exhausted to see that there was even more work waiting for him at home. Like cleaning up the mess his housemate had done during the day, or satisfying said person both physically and emotionally. It was like he was torn between two lives - the life of an independent, young adult who wanted nothing more than to reach for the stars residing in the upper floors of the company, and the life of a caring lover who had to sacrifice all of his leisure time for an individual with the worst case of Peter Pan syndrome ever possible.

Misaki felt his young heart ache everytime he thought about it. Where had his dreams gone? Like the dream to surpass Usagi-san by being more successful in the company, so nobody would look down on him anymore. Or finally being able to attack the male. Hadn't he vowed to take it upon himself to grow up and be the juvenile lead in their relationship? Where had his dreams gone? Oh right, they had been buried six feet under by a couch potato and piles of paper.

"Life sucks!" he groaned, when suddenly the door slid open - "Uwah!" - and Misaki found himself on the floor, sheets dancing down on his aching body. Pushing himself up quickly from the uncomfortable carpet, he took a glimpse around him and let out a pitiful whimper as the organized documents had been spread all over the place within seconds. This would take hours to clean up!

Utterly devastated, he got to his knees and started to collect the sheets, not aware of another hand offering him a good amount of paper.

"Need some help?"

When the he looked up from the mess on the floor, his gaze met familiar, kind eyes. A man in his early thirties with the appearance of a young adult crouched beside Misaki, offering some collected documents to the boy. Misaki's expression brightened immediately.

"Thanks so much, Senpai. You're a lifesaver!" the boy exclaimed, gladly accepting the offered sheets.

"Anything for my number-one fan!" the man replied, carrying a toothy grin. Misaki returned the gesture and together they cleaned up the mess in no time. After making sure that not a single piece of paper had been left, the male accompanied the brunet to the next photocopier, providing a bit of small talk along the way.

"So Ijuuin-senpai, how is work doing? Anything new from 'The Kan'?" the boy urged, green eyes sparkling with excitement. The mangaka chuckled at his junior's curiosity.

"What was our agreement on 'The Kan', Misaki-kun?"

"No spoilers for anyone, even if it's me," the boy pouted, his head hanging down in defeat. Kyou patted the poor boy on the back to comfort him.

"Don't worry about it. Just wait until next month, then you'll be able to figure out what happens by yourself." The boy mumbled a half-hearted "Okay" after shoving another sheet into the copier. Satisfied with his kohei's answer, he stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets before changing the subject.

"So, how are you doing? You look quite exhausted lately, are you eating properly? I hope there are no problems in your private life?" By hearing the words 'private life', Misaki's expression faded from upset to devastated, a dark aura surrounding him completely.

"Oh my, is it about Usami-sensei?" the man asked in a worried tone, not knowing that he had just hit the bullseye.

Misaki shifted from one foot to another before giving a brief nod. "It's nothing actually, we just had a small dispute in the morning..."

The male gave Misaki a sympathetic look. "I really would like to give you a hug right now, but I'm not entirely sure if Usami-san would be okay with that..." Misaki remembered what had happened last time his senpai had attempted to hug him; it had resulted in a fuming Usagi-san and an embarassed Misaki, because since that incident the entire company knew about their relationship, Akihiko had made that fact very clear.

"Thanks, senpai. It's the thought that counts," the boy replied. Finally, the required amount of sheets had been copied and Misaki thanked to the gods that Ijuuin offered his aid once more, otherwise he didn't know how to transport two mountains of sheets to Isaka-san in time.

On their way towards the elevator, suddenly Misaki heard somebody call out his name.

"Misaki-kuuun~"

The boy glimpsed above the pile in his arms to spot a woman with auburn hair, tied in a messy bun to prevent her sensitive neck from sweating even more than she was right then. A paper fan in her left hand was moving quickly from one direction to another, sending her a cool breeze.

"Aikawa-san, is that you?" he questioned, trying to face her through the mountain of sheets. Judging by her expression, the woman was very displeased with something.

"Misaki-kun, please tell that lame ass of an author that he has missed the deadline yet again!" she complained, now moving her other hand to cool herself down even more.

Misaki, still busy with stretching his neck from left to right to look at the woman properly, tried to calm her down however possible. An angry Aikawa-san was the last thing he needed right now!

"I'll tell Usagi-san, I promise!" he squirmed, however, she didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer.

"Dont just tell him, Misaki-kun. Do something about his behaviour! You've been living with that idiot for seven years, you should know how to knock some sense into that pighead of his!" she exclaimed, stamping with her feet.

'Says the one who has been Usagi-san's manager for ever!'

"I'll talk to him, really! Now please excuse me, I have to get these- " he eyed the sheets stacked in his arms - "to Isaka-san before collapsing again."

"Okay then, I'm counting on you!" She waved goodbye before running off to wherever she was needed at the moment, leaving Misaki alone with Ijuuin yet again.

As they were walking towards their destination once again, it was the man who broke the silence first.

"So, seven years, huh? Must be tough to keep up a relationship for so long. I've never been in one long enough so I wouldn't know."

Misaki just shrugged off the statement. "It's no big deal actually," he lied, because nobody had to know how difficult it was to keep up with both his work and relationship at the same time.

"So, when is the wedding?"

Suddenly Misaki tripped over his own feet and almost fell head-first to the floor. Luckily, he managed to keep himself and the documents steady by a hair's breadth.

"What?" The question had caught him entirely off-guard. "Where did that idea come from?"

Kyou chuckled softly. "Well, you two have been getting on each other's nerves for quite a long time, I think it is time for you guys to walk down the aisle, don't you think so?"

Misaki thought for a minute about what the man had just said, furrowing his brows. "I... I never really thought about it," he admitted. "I mean, we're living together already, it wouldn't be such a big deal to get married... right?" he mumbled.

"But isn't a marriage something beautiful? Besides, everyone wants to marry someday. Believe it or not," the mangaka's expression became nostalgic, "Even I would like to have someone by my side forever."

The way his senpai was saying that, it actually made some sort of sense. Every living being seeked company, but it was not like Misaki was on his own, anyway. The problem was that they were just lovers, and it was hard to admit that with being stuck between his real work and the work that awaited him at home, he had never actually had the time to think about taking a step further in their relationship.

'Marriage, huh?' he thought, looking out of a huge window that presented a clear blue sky. 'I wonder what Usagi-san would think about it...'

xxx

"Usagi-san, I'm home!"

The sun was already setting outside, filling the appartement with its last bits of daylight. Akihiko had made himself comfortable on the cozy sofa in the living room, his laptop resided on his thighs and two big hands were just guiding a steaming mug full of coffee to his lips when Misaki entered the room. After taking some time to put everything aside, he stood up and greeted his lover properly. It made him happy to realize that the boy would still blush when he stole a brief kiss from his soft lips.

"You're just too adorable," he admitted, causing the brunet to turn from pink to crimson.

"Am not," the boy mumbled.

"Why, yes of course you are! There is nobody else in the entire world who would blush like a silly girl from a small peck, especially after receiving it from the same old crock for seven years," he chuckled, cupping one perfectly flushed cheek with a cool hand.

Misaki chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah, about that..." he begun, but was cut off by Akihiko.

"You must be very tired from working," the novelist stated, guiding his lover gently to the comfortable couch he had been sitting on a minute ago. Misaki took a seat, very confused why the other had become so friendly all of a sudden. When the man disappeared into the kitchen with a mysterious smile on his lips, the boy had the opportunity to look around the room to get a glimpse of what mess had to be cleaned today. But much to his surprise, no matter how long he stared at the table before his view- somebody must've had cleaned it, looking at how much it was sparkling with scrupulous cleanliness- , or the dust-free television, or even Suzuki-san with a new bow around his plushy neck; everything seemed to be in perfect order.

"This is strange," Misaki mumbled with a doubtful expression. "Normally it should look like an ant's paradise around here..."

One blink of an eye later, Akihiko casually returned to the living room, heading right towards the confused brunet. When the man came to a halt before the couch, a strong, yet gentle hand was offered to the boy's direction. Misaki stood up very slowly and placed his own hand hesistantly on top of the other's, still having no clue of what was going on as Akihiko guided him to the dining table. To the boy's amazement, the table was decorated with a scarlet candle and rose petals. Much to his surprize, there were two porcelain plates with food that didn't look like Usami's work, nor like the leftovers from yesterday.

"It's from the restaurant you like so much," he said, answering Misaki's unspoken question. "And don't start to complain that you could've made something to eat as well. I just felt like ordering something, so you don't have to cook today." Then he added: "You must be hungry. Here, have a seat." He gestured towards the chair, moving it away from the table for the brunet to sit down.. Misaki did so and Akihiko imitated him right after. The boy had to admit, working all day had made him quite hungry and looking at the delicious meal before him - sushi from his favourite place that tasted a hundred times better than what they were selling at convenience stores, and also a slice of strawberry cake for dessert, probably from the bakery Misaki visited regularly - his mouth began to water.

Right when Misaki grabbed the chopsticks next to his plate, ready to shove one of the delicious treats into his greedy mouth, Akihiko decided to say something.

"By the way, I prepared you a bubble bath for after dinner. I thought it'd help you relax a little after work."

Misaki rose an eyebrow, now very confused about his lover's changed attitude.

"What did you screw up this time?" he teased.

"Nothing!" the man exclaimed, lifting his hands in protest. "I have to go to a meeting later, I just thought maybe you'd want to relax for the rest of the day since I won't be around to tease you." He pointed at the boy with his own cultery, waving them around before Misaki's nose.

"Um... Okay, I guess." The latter was still not satisfied with the other's answer, but he decided to just let it drop. Besides, if Akihiko had decided to do the boy a favor, who was he to refuse? As for now, they just enjoyed their spontaneous candlelight dinner without much more talking.

After they were finished, the novelist went upstairs to get changed for the meeting. Misaki was doing the dishes when the male returned, dressed in dark trousers and a white button-down shirt. He hugged the occupied boy from behind, startling him for a second.

"I'll be back soon," he mumbled, kissing the younger male on the cheek.

The boy simply nodded, pretending not to notice the sudden heat in his face."Uh-huh. Take care."

And with that, he left the building. After Misaki was done drying the dishes, he went straight into the bathroom to quickly get rid of his clothes and let himself sink into the bathtub. The hot water was rather unfomfortable at first, considering the hot weather, but after some time his body accustomed to the temperature and he finally felt himself relax. He soaked in the water for about half an hour before getting out. After putting on some comfortable clothes, he strolled towards the big sofa in the living room, ruffling his wet hair on the way.

He could have just watched some television, but instead he decided to pick a magazine out of his bag. It was about wedding rings, Ijuuin-sensei had given it to him after work.

"Just in case you might be interested," his senpai had said.

He proceeded to aimlessly flip through pages until he found some interesting articles. Misaki had never imagined there were so many different types of rings - broad ones, small ones, golden, silver, platinum; some had diamonds on them, others carried elaborate encravings. Especially one ring caught his eye; it did not look that exuberant, just a small golden ring with one embedded diamond. But that was what he liked about it the most, it was simple, yet elegant. Besides, every time he looked at the other rings, he thought that he might have to get at least two other jobs to afford them.

That made him wonder: Why was he already looking for wedding rings when the thought of marrying had crossed his mind only today? It was not like they had gotten together just recently anyway, marrying wouldn't really change that much in their relationship, the boy thought. Well, they were already living together, going on dates, eating together, even sleeping together - and with each other, obviously - and when he thought about it, there really was nothing on his mind that would have changed after getting married.

He looked at the ring again, rather fondly this time.

'But it would be nice to wear one of these...'

While laying on the comfortable sofa with the magazine in his hands and heartwarming thoughts in his head, he vowed to himself that this time he would make the first move and ask for his lover's hand. But until then, there was still plenty of time and lots of other things to do...

xxx

When Akihiko came home in the late of the night, Misaki had dozed off on the couch with the magazine laying on his chest. The novelist approached the sleeping boy to check if he was all right, when suddenly the catalogue caught his eye. He picked it up carefully to not wake the other, flipping through some pages.

'Wedding rings, huh?' he thought. After looking through the magazine for several minutes, he made up his mind.

'It's time...'

xxx

The next day, Misaki was glad he had the day off because now his back hurt from carrying stacks of paper the whole day and passing out on the sofa in the evening. Of course Akihiko had carried him to bed once he had arrived at home, but it hadn't been helpful anyway. Besides, he didn't feel like going to work after being lazy the evening before.

He turned around to see if Usagi-san was still asleep, but his side was empty. Right when he considered staying in bed a little longer, his mobile started to ring. Misaki looked at the screen sleepily. It was Aikawa-san.

"Hello?" he mumbled into the device.

"Good morning, Misaki-kun!" she exclaimed, apparently being in high spirits. "I hope you're enjoying your day off so far! How was your evening yesterday?"

Misaki was rather confused why the woman would ask him about such a thing, but he decided to answer anyway. "...Good, I guess."

"That's great! I hope that idiot cleaned up the mess he usually leaves behind at home. How was the meal? Did you like it?"

Now the whole situation was starting to get suspicious. "Aikawa-san, how come you know about all this?"

"Well, because I told Akihiko to do so!" she answered. "I called him after talking to you at work to inform him about the missed deadline. Then I told him he should do you a favor and at least clean the house because you looked so exhausted."

"Really?" Misaki questioned, his one eye twitching violently.

"Well, yeah! Otherwise he wouldn't to so much as to pick up a single thing laying around!"

Suddenly, the boy felt the urge to smack Akihiko across the head. He should've known that the man was not smart enough to figure out something like that by himself.

"Well then, thanks for telling Usagi-san, I guess..." he replied, starting to feel annoyed with the current situation.

"No problem! Be sure to tell him that he has a story to finish, otherwise I will have to pay him a visit!"

Misaki simply agreed and hung up, getting up on his feet to undress, feeling rather pissed. This would be just one hell of a morning, he thought sarcastically.

When he stepped out of the bedroom and went downstairs, he saw Akihiko talking on the phone, already dressed to go out and take care of some business. Apparently, his conversation had ended right when the boy had walked down the stairs. With a happy grin on his face, the male approached his lover to embrace him with strong arms.

"Good morning, my little Misaki-"

The boy pushed himself away from the male abruptly, a deep frown marring his expression. Their eyes met, although it was uncomfortable for Akihiko when Misaki was practically glaring at him.

"It was not your idea," the boy stated.

"I beg your pardon?" the silver-haired male questioned.

"Yesterday. It was not your idea," he repeated. Misaki knew it was ridiculous to make a scene out of it because it had been Akihiko who had done all those things in the end. And yet he felt upset because finally the boy had thought his partner would obtain some senses and try to be reasonable on his own.

"I don't know what you are being so upset about," the male frowned. "I just wanted you to have a nice day and now I have the impression you did not even appreciate it!"

"Appreciate it? I wouldn't have to appreciate anything if you started to think a little more and not just lock yourself up in your work room!" the boy barked.

Akihiko knew the boy didn't mean it like that and if he had given in, the discussion would have ended right then.

However, he was not doing any better to calm the current situation.

"Whatever. I'm going out for a while," he declared, turning on his heels towards the exit, towards denouement. Misaki snorted audibly, elucidating his temper.

"Running away now? Where are you going anyway?" the boy interrogated. He was having a really hard time not to vent his spleen on his partner.

Akihiko stopped for a moment to respond, however decided to form his lips into a thin line instead. "Be right back," he muttered before leaving his still confused lover alone in the appartement.

Misaki stamped towards the big sofa amidst the living room, cursing silently to himself. "Baka Usagi!" His head collided with a soft cushion in time to the aggressive sound of Akihiko's red sports car accelerating furiously before the sound vanished into thin air.

He hugged the huge teddy bear that was residing on its permanent place on the comfortable chesterfield. 'At least you don't run away, Suzuki-san' he sulked. It was quiet without the other man beside him, it always was. At times like these, he'd just linger on the cosy sofa, with Suzuki-san in his arms, lose himself deep in thoughts until he fell asleep. This time was no exception.

His mind enlarged upon various issues, although Akihiko was the main subject most of the time. He often envisioned their shared future, how life would be within the next years. Were they going to proceed their relationship like this forever? Or would they take a step further? Was he even contemplating marriage? He was unsure if Akihiko would prefer being hitched up with him for the rest of his existence as he seemed to enjoy the life of a handsome, successful bachelor. Although it seemed that he had never cared about acting like a grown-up. In fact, the older the man became, the more childish he acted, the boy mused.

And due to this certain behaviour it was no surprise they sometimes had a hard time to solve the differences every new daylight brought along. Actually, it was not that difficult to find a solution, really, as Misaki only had to do so much as to let his long eyelashes flutter to turn a certain novelist into a puddle of boiling testosterone. However, the brunet had never been the kind of person to use his charms to his advances, and sex was not the best idea to prevent discussions, anyway.

In his opinion, at least.

But sometimes their arguments would become so intense, he feared there would be dishes flying at each other any minute and words would be spoken and regretted the same second they left trembling lips, and even the mere thought was enough to let the boy's heart shatter.

It was not a lie to say that he was scared, hell, he was terrified. Terrified to make an irreversable mistake so bad that Akihiko would not even look at him anymore. Granted, he was not the type to go all husband ('Or wife? N- no way, what the hell am I thinking?') over his lover, but they had been together for so long, surely the male was certain of Misaki's feelings towards him, right? So if he already knew of the boy's attitude, there was nothing to be said out loud, right?

Everything would be okay, right?

Suddenly, Misaki was torn out of his thoughts by a shrill sound echoing inside the appartement. Looking around confused, he perceived his housemate hadn't returned yet, so he stumbled up and strolled towards the source of what had distracted him from his inner turmoil.

'Probably Usagi-san,' the brunet rolled his eyes. 'He usually forgets to take the keys along with him.'

He opened the door in time with his mouth, ready to criticize Usami's tardiness. However, when he realised the male in front of him was indeed a Usami, but not not the one he had expected to encounter, his eyes rounded in disbelief, jaw dropping to the ground.

'Usagi-ani? What the heck is he doing here?' his mind bellowed. From all the times Akihiko's half-brother could have appeared, why had he chosen to visit when the other male was not around?

"Did you just swallow your tongue or do you intend to catch flies with that open mouth of yours?" Haruhiko commented when the boy didn't say anything. Misaki pulled himself together to respond with the same stinging tongue as the latter, however, was cut off by the male before he could let out a single phrase. "I have been ordered by Akihiko to pick you up. You are coming with me, like it or not," he wised the boy up.

"And what makes you think I would believe in your words?" Misaki protested. He couldn't hide the mistrust that was clearly written all over his face. Of all people on earth, why had Usagi-san sent his ever so hated brother to pick him up? And to go where anyway?

But instead of answering, he just grabbed the boy by his arm, dragging him all the way down the appartement and into his car. "Less talking, more moving," he commented dryly before pushing Misaki past the open door, driving to... where exactly were they going anyway?

"I was ordered to take you to the Usami residence," Haruhiko answered before Misaki could even ask the question.

xxx

For someone who hadn't had the opportunity to go sightseeing around the world, the Usami residence was an imposing example of European architecture to behold. It reminded more of some heritage building than a home, with too many windows to count and the sumptuous interior only a royal family would have. Any who knows, maybe the Usamis had once been part of the British monarchy itself. But whoever their ancestors were, it was of no importance at that moment as Misaki walked past the enormous gates along with his common kidnapper, wondering how he had managed not to recognize the evident sense of déjà-vu in his mind.

Haruhiko had said that Usagi-san himself had sent him to take the boy here, but still, Misaki could not get rid of his unease. It was no surprise though, whenever he entered this place, something bad would follow afterwards.

Suddenly Haruhiko stopped in the middle of the pathway, looking for something in his pockets. He pulled out a neatly folded sheet of paper, eyeing it for a brief second before offering it to Misaki.

"I was told to give this to you," he said, not even bothering to explain it further to the confused boy. Misaki accepted the piece of paper hesitantly with two fingers. When he wanted to pull it out of the other's hand, the man just tightened his grip around the sheet. The boy adverted his gaze from their hands up to Haruhiko whose eyes were expressionless, his mouth firmly shut into a thin line. They continued their staring contest for a while, Misaki furrowing his brows while the other kept wearing his poker-face.

But then Haruhiko's expression changed into something Misaki couldn't quite decipher. It was something meaningful, that was for sure.

"I hope you will make the right decision, Misaki." He finally let go of the note, stepping back a little.

"I shall leave you alone now. I was in the middle of an important meeting before Akihiko called me to bring you here," he then announced his leave before turning on his heels without another word. And once again Misaki was left alone by a Usami. Only this time, he was not just angry, but very confused as well.

'The hell is up with all this secretive manner? Have all Usagis lost their minds today?' He eyed the piece of paper suspiciously, now held with both hands, before unfolding it.

Dear Misaki,

if you are reading this letter, and if my brother has not taken you somewhere else. you should be at the Usami residence right now. I am sorry if it caused you any discomfort to be brought here by Haruhiko, believe me, I would have done it myself if I was not busy with another important task at the moment.

This may be quite sudden, but have prepared a little game for you. You have to follow the rules, otherwise you won't be able to finish it properly, and that would be a shame, right? It should take some time, but trust me, it will be worth it. There will be a reward for you at the end.

I hope you will have fun playing, as much as I had planning this. And remember: I will know whether you have finished it or not!

Love, Usami Akihiko

'This is ridiculous,'the boy thought. Right when Misaki turned his hands into fists, crumpling up the sheet in the process, he noticed there was more written on the back.

Go to the front of the Usami residence. Your first task is waiting.

Thanks so much for reading! And because this chapter isn't long enough already, here some random OoC-ness:

Akihiko: I just had a nightmare and now I will proceed to have sex with you.
Misaki: NOOOOOoooo...
Akihiko: Oh, that was a good lay. Now clean the house and declare your love to me!
Misaki: Nevuuur!
Akihiko: Then let me drive you to work so I can get on your nerves even more!
Misaki: Not if I can stop you from doing so! *jumps out of car dramatically*
Shinobu: THREESOMES FTW!
Misaki: It's raining men, halleluljah... nevermind, it's just the sheets.
Pedojuuin: I think you should get married with Akihiko.
Misaki; WUT?!
Akihiko: I am spoiling you and it was totally my idea!
Aikawa: Was not!
Misaki:I am so disappoint right now!
Akihiko: Then I shall leave you and never come back!
Misaki: Where are you going anyway?
Akihiko: To Disneyland.
Haruhiko: I am here to kidna- escort you to the mansion for no particular reason.
Misaki: To the Playboy mansion?
Haruhiko: Close enough.

~Ichigo