Junjou Romantica is the rightful property of Nakamura Shungiku. This is a fanwork written purely for both your entertainment and mine.

Shinobu and Risako's mother is alive, but she's an unseen character in the manga. So, in this fic she passed away when Shinobu was young.

Chapter One
Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm

Miyagi Yoh had always been told to beware of the calm before the storm; the shock the storm brought would inevitably unsteady you and throw all sense of comfort and routine to the wind. In light of this, he'd always tried to stick to schedule whenever possible. Everything he did – his job, his home life, and everything in between – had gradually settled into the back of his mind as the norm, and he liked it that way.

Perhaps he should have considered that this was the calm he was warned about, and that the storm was fast approaching.

The day had started with Miyagi being awoken by thunder, and the hollow tap of rain against the windows. Risako was already awake, and Miyagi could hear her moving around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for them both. He wasn't sure why she did it anymore; perhaps it was a final, desperate grasp for normality in their relationship. If living had taught him only one thing, it was that nothing lasted, untouched, forever. He showered, got dressed and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast off the top of the stack Risako had made, before heading for the front door.

"I'll be home late tonight."

"That's fine. I will be too," Risako replied, pausing to sip her coffee.

Miyagi hesitated, unsure what he should say. Risako didn't seem to care whether he spoke or stayed silent, so he left without saying a word. This was how they often treated one another, and over the last three years it had gradually become a habit.

The Dean of the literature department at M University – Miyagi's father-in-law - had left for a conference in Osaka earlier that morning. He had needed to hand in the final drafts of the mid-semester literature exam, and had managed to catch the old man just as he was preparing to leave the office.

"Aah, there you are," the Dean's face had cracked into a visibly relieved smile, "I thought I'd have to change the date of the exam, for a while there!"

"Sorry, sir," Miyagi said, placing the papers on the Dean's desk, "I needed Kamijou's part of the paper too, and he didn't return from his week off until this morning."

"Perfectly all right; the important thing is that it's here now," the Dean chuckled, tucking the papers into his briefcase and shutting it, "One less thing I have to worry about before I leave. Anyway, how are things between you and Risako?"

"Good," Miyagi replied, like clockwork. He never spoke of their problems to anyone, least of all his father-in-law, and he was almost positive Risako didn't either. The man had been so happy when Risako had told him they were engaged, and Miyagi knew that any sign of trouble would upset him. It would work out somehow; it always did. Every relationship had problems. That's what he told himself whenever things got bad, like they were now.

"Good to hear," the older man replied, and guilt twisted in Miyagi's stomach, "I'm glad Risako is happy. She was so devastated when Masako – her mother – passed away. I'm glad to hear she's happy."

Miyagi nodded stiffly, feeling even guiltier than before.

"When will you be back from the conference, Sir?"

"Two days or so. Don't worry, I'll be in contact with you if there's anything on the paper that should be changed."

"Thank you. Have a good trip."

"I will, thank you. I'll be driving down, which is the only bad thing," the Dean replied, "Terrible weather for driving."

Miyagi nodded, and bade the Dean farewell before taking his leave and returning to his office.

As soon as he stepped through the door, a pile of scrolls was shoved into his hands.

"Professor, where were you? We need to get this material copied in time for the eleven o'clock classes. We've run out of paper down here, so you'll have to go and use the photocopier in the upstairs staff room. The bookstore called too; they said they've found a book that might interest you..."

"Err, Kamijou?"

"Yes?"

"What will you be doing, while I'm selfishly taking on all of these tasks, all alone..."

"I'll be cleaning the office and marking papers until my first class," Kamijou snapped, "Like I told you to do on Friday."

"Don't be such a slave-driver, Kamijou!" Miyagi whined, trying to snake his arm around his assistant's neck, but the younger man swerved away with what could only be described as practiced ease.

"Please get those two tasks done, Professor," Kamijou grumbled, shoving Miyagi out the office door and shutting it behind him.

Miyagi sighed, and headed for the stairwell. It was ten o'clock, and the hallways were filled with students heading to their classes; he almost dropped the scrolls in his arms twice, and actually did drop them once, about five steps away from the staff room door. Thankfully, he managed to get through the door without dropping them again, after two students stopped to help him pick all the scrolls up again.

The day was fading into monotony. And if he was to be completely honest with himself, Miyagi would say that he liked it that way. He didn't like things to be tossed around or messed with; everything was better when it met with routine, with what he expected, whether it was with Risako at home, or with the Dean or Kamijou at work, Miyagi liked knowing far better than being left in shock, even if it meant answering questions about his failing marriage or doing what Kamijou asked to avoid his work.

Everything was fine the way it was.

The rest of the day had passed without much excitement, save for Kamijou continually telling him to work harder, in between muttering about finding a job that was better for his health. At six o'clock, Miyagi packed the papers he had to mark before tomorrow into his briefcase and left the office, leaving the light on so Kamijou could see his way through the maze of boxes and books that the younger man still hadn't managed to find a place for after his mad cleanup of the small room.

It was still raining, but Miyagi didn't bother with his umbrella, and instead opted to run through the rain with his briefcase over his head; he could just toss his coat into the dryer, anyway. Once he was settled in the driver's seat, Miyagi slid his keys into the ignition and the engine jumped to life; the radio was still on from when he'd been listening to the news in the morning, and the announcer was warning of more wild storms, of fatalities on the road that day due to the wind and rain and lack of care people took in severe weather.

Miyagi switched the radio off and lit a cigarette.

Once he'd reached home, he grabbed his briefcase out of the passenger's seat and frowned, thinking about his earlier conversation with his father-in-law; he had honestly never felt quite so guilty for ignoring Risako in favour of his work, but perhaps that was because she was essentially the same way. For the meantime, they were both comfortable living a lie, and as long as neither of them were utterly depressed by the thought, they could make it work.

The start of their relationship had been typical enough; they'd met through a mutual friend at university, and had become fast friends thanks to their shared passion for books and reading, and even though this single love had taken them both down different paths, they had remained friends. There were memories of summer holidays spent hidden away in his rented flat in the middle of the city, reading and fooling around and happy to be young, to be away from the curious eyes of the Takatsuki household maids and Risako's kid brother.

It was on one of those days that Miyagi had drawn Risako closer to him and kissed her, and to this day, he still wasn't sure why he had done it. Perhaps it was because, deep down, he had known that that was what would make her happy at that moment in time; and she had been happy – after ten years of knowing one another and finally receiving reassurance that her hard work was paying off, she had been more than happy to announce their engagement to her family.

Sadly, he could no longer read Risako like he once could. Sliding out of the car, Miyagi scaled the stairs to his apartment and let himself in with his key.

The door opened to the sight of his wife sitting at their kitchen table, crying, face buried in her arms.

"Risako...?" Miyagi started, taking a cautious step forward.

Risako jumped, staring at her husband for a moment as if in shock, before her eyes once again filled with tears.

"Yoh," she managed to choke out, "It's Father. His car skidded off the road on the way to a conference. He... he's put into an induced coma in the hospital, but..."

Risako choked and buried her head back into her arms. Miyagi's mind went blank with shock. He wasn't aware of what was happening; all he knew was that his boss and father-in-law was close to death, and that his wife was sitting at their table in need of comfort, yet he wasn't sure how to do it, or even if he should make an attempt at it. He decided to take his chances and placed a hand on Risako's shoulder, but she flinched, and he moved away as if he'd been burned.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, knowing that simple words would hardly comfort anyone at a time like this.

Risako laughed bitterly, and Miyagi took a step back.

"Please, Yoh. Just leave me alone for a while."

Miyagi had never felt so relieved nor ashamed to turn his back and run.

In the end, Risako had come into their bedroom at about midnight, just as Miyagi was finished up the last of his papers at the small desk he kept in the corner of the room. They had changed into their pyjamas, lay down next to one another on the bed facing opposite ways, and switched off the twin lamps on the bedside tables without a single word.

Perhaps this was why Miyagi was so surprised when Risako finally spoke.

"Yoh? Are you awake?"

Miyagi grunted and rolled over to finally look his wife in the eyes, and was surprised to find them set, determined not to show emotion.

"I called my little brother to tell him what happened."

There were times when Miyagi forgot that he had a brother-in-law at all. Quick flashes of memory were all that reminded him; a wide-eyed little boy in a brand new private school uniform staring at Risako as she sharply broke away from Miyagi and tried to redo the top button on her blouse; the only person to have looked unhappy at their wedding, sitting in the row of family, glare practically burning a hole through Miyagi's skull.

The kid had been shipped off to some foreign country – Australia, was it? – for his final year of high school, and Miyagi hadn't seen or thought about him since.

"He's coming back to Japan. He'll be arriving on Wednesday morning. He'll be here until Father gets better," Risako explained, and Miyagi had to admire the fact that she didn't sound unsure at all.

"He'll have to stay with us. He had nowhere else to stay, and if... if something happens to father, I'll have to be the one to look after him until he can look after himself. IWe'll/I have to be the ones."

Miyagi remained silent, chewing this fact over in his brain.

"Yoh?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't mind?"

It wasn't like Risako to ask something like that at all.

"I don't."

"That's fine, then," Risako should have sounded relieved, but she sounded anything but.

"Try not to think about it. I'm sure it will work itself out."

"I hope so," Risako replied, before pausing awkwardly, "Goodnight, Yoh."

"Night," Miyagi replied, rolling back over. After that, they both returned to treating the other with silence.

The last thing Miyagi heard before he fell asleep was the thunder rumbling in the distance.

End Chapter One

Next chapter will be up soon. Comments would be appreciated.