AN: I dunno if anyone remembers, but I was the first person to post a Junjou Romantica fic on fanfiction .net, and when I saw we were nearing the 500 mark, I was like… "Gonna snag it." So this fic is in dedication to the 500 mark. Woot.

Warnings: Yaoi, possible spoilers for up to vol 11…

EDIT: … I changed the end a bit. -.-''' Stuff wouldn't make sense in ch 2 if I hadn't. _ Sorry.

-.=.-.=.-

The Frailty of Trust

-.=.-.=.-

[Monday Night]

"Okay, but if we go there, together, we have to wait for Thursday, that's the only night I know Nowaki is working late this week…"

…Was the first thing Nowaki overheard when he entered his apartment after a late shift. Blinking, he shuffled his feet a bit to make his presence known.

"Oh, he's home, I have to go…" Hiroki hung up and ventured out into the living room. "Nowaki, welcome home."

"I'm back… um, you're up late, Hiro-san…" Nowaki stated, tossing his pack on the couch.

"…Yeah…? I got this… phone call…" Hiroki scratched the back of his head. He set his cell on the coffee table and propped Nowaki's pack up, better, on the couch.

"From whom-?" Nowaki inquired, curiously. He did his best to hide his nervousness.

"Anyway, how was your day?" Hiroki interjected, gesturing to the kitchen. "By the way, I brought home dinner. I went shopping, and there was this Chinese food on sale at the Queens Kumaya, and there were free samples. I bought a whole lot… I shouldn't get so easily suckered into-"

"Who was on the phone, Hiro-san?" Nowaki urged. "This late at night?"

"It's not that late- how'd you get here, anyway? Don't the buses and trains stop running after-"

"Hiro-san… why are you keeping secrets?" Nowaki asked, folding his arms and pouting.

"I'm not keeping secrets…" Hiroki huffed.

"But that phone conversation-"

"What about it?" The brunette snapped.

"…Well… why do you have to wait for a night that I'll be working late? Who are you going out so late with, anyway?"

"…Mm…" Hiroki glowered. "It's nothing you should worry about!" And with that said, he turned, heading to his room. "Goodnight."

"…Hiro-san…" Nowaki blinked, hurt. After a moment, he pulled off his jacket, tossing it onto the back of the couch. Sighing, he headed into his room, pulling off his clothes and climbing into the bed. If Hiroki was mad at him, or hiding things from him, but had no intentions of talking to him about it, then he had no choice but to just go to sleep. He needed his rest, anyway. He had a relatively early shift the next morning.

He flicked off the lamp before falling asleep.

-.=.-.=.-

The next morning, he awoke to the feeling of fingers on his cheek.

His eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Hiroki's face.

"You set the alarm on your cell phone, but it was in your pack on the couch… I let you sleep an extra five minutes- hope that's okay."

"…Hiro-san… you're not mad at me…?" Nowaki mumbled, tiredly, wiping some sleep from his eye.

"Mm…" Hiroki glowered. "No, I'm not mad at you." He huffed, heading out. "I have to go to work. I prepared breakfast. It's waiting for you on the table."

"Thanks… I'll have some before heading out…" Nowaki threw the covers to the side, getting out of bed with a sigh. He rubbed his face as he walked Hiroki to the door.

"You're off early tonight, right?" Hiroki asked.

"I work the morning shift at the hospital, but I volunteered to pick up an extra shift at the floral shop this afternoon… I'll probably head home around the same time as you…" Nowaki muttered, groggily. "If you want to head home… together."

"And why, pray-tell would you pick up an extra shift when you're obviously so tired?"

"Mm… seemed like a good idea at the time…" Nowaki yawned. "Have a good day, Hiro-san."

"A good idea to pick up an extra shift? Why?"

"Needed some extra cash…" Nowaki mumbled, still groggy.

"What for?" Hiroki blinked.

"Oh… that's right… I guess I should talk to you about buying it, first… ah…" Nowaki trailed off, suddenly remembering the phone conversation he'd overheard. "…Ah… but you'll be late. Maybe we can discuss it on the way home."

"Oh, yeah… see you tonight, then…" Hiroki blinked, hesitating.

"…Something the matter, Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked, waiting for Hiroki to head out.

Knowing full well that Nowaki was exhausted, and secretly aware that one stupid kiss would probably give the brat enough energy to last the entire day, Hiroki let out an annoyed sigh, and boldly headed over to his lover, leaning up on his toes and pecking Nowaki gently on the lips. "…When we get home… let's-"

The phone rang, suddenly, and Hiroki growled, picking it up. "That damn asshole professor! Can't you prepare anything on your own?! How in the hell did you survive without me to do every little thing for you?! … I got it!" He hung up, then headed out, annoyed, slamming the door. Nowaki happily closed it again when it swung back open from the abusive slam.

He made his way to his breakfast and smiled at it, too. Everything seemed so much more pleasant, suddenly…

But then… what about that call last night…? Maybe he was reading too much into it… maybe Hiro-san was planning some surprise for him…? Okay, so maybe not… It was nowhere near any type of holiday or birthday, or anniversary, so that was sort of out of the question… but still…

He decided to trust Hiroki, for now… though this would still likely eat away at him… he had to trust him…

-.=.-.=.-

AN: Yep. Very short. I need to keep writing short ones so I can update all my fics more frequently… soon I should have more time on my hands… I think. There were some complications at work, and since I'm seasonal, I SHOULD have 2 months off coming up pretty soon, but who knows. (NO, I am NOT a teacher.)

Don't forget, reviews = " : D "