Jump!
Chapter 1
.
.
.
Misaki watched his brother and Akihiko in the living room from his place in the kitchen in between setting the table for dinner and preparing to cook dinner. It was a rare occurrence that his brother and his family came over to dinner, so Misaki made the most of it and went all out with the dishes he served. Not that he ever slacked off when cooking for Akihiko and himself.
Mahiro loved to help his uncle in the kitchen as much as he could – especially with desserts since he got to lick the spoon – and expectedly came running at Misaki clutching at his legs. "Can Mahiro help too?" He asked cutely, his pouty expression exaggerated in effort to get a positive response.
"Of course," Misaki answered while chuckling lightly. "I couldn't imagine cooking without my apprentice now could I?" He picked him up and propped the young boy on his hip.
Mahiro giggled and squealed happily, "We need our hats!"
"Yep! They should be- Ah ha! He were go!" The man exclaimed, pulling out the chef hats and aprons hanging in the cupboard beside the bench against the wall.
Putting them on, Misaki set the child on the bench, "Now what should we cook tonight, Chef?" He asked and went to the fridge.
"Fish! Fish, fish, fish!" Mahiro chanted from his place on the bench. He was still obsessed with fish. No one really knew how it started but the boy was crazy about his fish. From eating them, to watching them at the aquarium, to collecting as many stuffed fish as Akihiko does bears.
"Well aren't you lucky, because your favourite uncle in the whole world bought lots of seafood just for his favourite nephew." Misaki grinned as he pulled out two lobsters and two Snapper, making the child laugh glee.
"You're his only uncle." Came the deep voice of the author.
"Usagi-san! Don't scare me like that!" He exclaimed holding a hand to his racing heart, only receiving a chuckle in return.
"Misaki! These are so expensive! You should be wasting money on things like this, it's only us." Takahiro scolded, a frown marring his features.
"Well, you don't come around for dinner often and I got a pay rise anyway, so I figured I could splurge a bit." He shrugged, getting out the necessary utensils.
"You didn't tell me you got a pay rise! Congratulations!" His brother exclaimed happily, frown easily replaced with a smile.
"Me either." Akihiko glared, obviously not happily at being left out of any aspect of his partners life.
"Well, it wasn't really important, beside you were busy with your up coming book, and you didn't need me bugging you with useless information while you're working so hard." He replied nervously. Not telling Akihiko things usually resulted in very sore hips for the following days after he had found out.
"It's not useless and it would take two seconds-" The phone rang out cutting him off, only irritating him further.
"Ah! I'll get it! You two can keep talking." He scrambled out of there, thanking the gods for the momentary distraction – he knew better than to assume that Akihiko would forget about it.
"Hello, Usami residence." He answered.
"I'm looking for Misaki." The voice cheerfully answered.
"Uh, yes that's me." He replied unsure. Hardly anyone he knew knew the home phone, preferring to give out his mobile.
"Misaki! It's me! Victor!" He shouted happily in Russian.
"Victor! I haven't heard from you in ages! Wait, why are you calling the phone? It's going to cost you big time." He sighed as he replied almost automatically in Russian.
"You sound like an adult." He laughed, "It won't, I got a phone card while I'm in Japan."
Misaki couldn't help his shout of joy, "You're in Japan?! Why didn't you tell me? Where are you right now? Should I come and get you? Is Yuuri with you?" He fired off questions like bullets, returning to Japanese.
"Well I wanted it to be a surprise! I'm at Narita Airport right now, I'm about to catch a taxi but it's too late to head to Hasetsu, Yuuri came a few days ago. I was wondering if you could give me your address so I could come. Do you mind if I stay the night?" He asked in his usual cheerful manner, also replying in Japanese, though his words were heavily accented.
"Two seconds, I have to ask." He replied, and turned around to ask Akihiko. Only to find the man right behind him. He almost yelled again, "I just told you not to sneak up on me!" He scolded.
"Whose on the phone?" He asked, ignoring Misaki's small outburst.
"Oh, Victor. Do you mind if he stays the night? He can't get to Hasetsu this time of night. I promise he's easy to get along with." Misaki pouted slightly, "Please?"
"… Who is he?" He asked after a second, Misaki could see him slowly relenting.
He was hesitant to answer and Akihiko could see that. He frowned, "Who. Is. He?"
Quickly glancing at the door, he locked eyes with Akihiko. "My dad." He answered. Akihiko obviously didn't know how to respond, confusion bright in his lavender eyes. "I promise to explain, just please let him stay, it'll only be for one night."
"Yes, you better explain yourself." Came his brother from the doorway, a deep frown on his face though his confusion evident as well.
"N-Nii-chan! I- Uh..." He didn't know how to respond. Was he hiding around the corner?
"He can stay. On the condition you explain this, ok?" Akihiko replied, smiling reassuringly and ruffling his hair. He didn't need to stress Misaki at the moment, knowing that whatever this was, may impact Takahiro's and Misaki's relationship – if calling someone else dad was to anything to go by.
"Thank you." He replied softly, forcing himself to exhale the breath he was holding. Turning back to the phone he gave the conformation, "Yes, you can stay."
After a few more words and confirming the address, he hung up.
"You speak Russian?" Akihiko asked. Misaki slowly nodded, "I didn't know that. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know that either." Takahiro stated, arms crossed and glare settled on the smaller man in front of Akihiko.
"Well, I guess it never came up. I wasn't hiding it." Misaki replied, looking everywhere but their eyes, "Better start dinner!" He grinned suddenly, and walked past them both, "Mahiro, were you waiting for me?"
"Misaki! I'm not finished talking to you!" Takahiro exclaimed.
.
.
.
Misaki continued to dodge their questions all through the process of making their dinner, much to the annoyance of both Takahiro and Akihiko. He had threatened to fill every dish with green peppers should they continue questioning him. Needless to say, Akihiko backed off pretty quick and convinced Takahiro to do the same, fearing he'd do it if his brother kept pushing it.
"Mitaki! Say something in Lu-Rus… Those weird words!" His nephew exclaimed, his eyes wide with curiosity and wonder.
"Ok, let me think. How about… Ты такой классный." Misaki sounded almost like a native. His pronunciation was flawless, hitting all the right tones.
"What does that mean?" The child asked excitedly.
"It means, 'You are so cute!'" He stated, poking the young boy on the nose in emphasis, "Dinner's ready, so why don't you get your mama and papa and Usagi-san."
"Ok!" He scampered of into the open living room. Misaki could easily tell them over the bench but decided to avoid talking at all for the time being.
'How did this go down hill so fast? I could blame Victor for his untimely surprise, but I can't be mad. He probably assumed I had told Nii-chan about it all.' Misaki was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Akihiko come up beside his once again, until arms wrapped around his slender waist.
"Careful, don't hurt yourself, you might be thinking too hard." Misaki turned around in his arms, not rising to the bait.
He hugged him back knowing Akihiko wouldn't be so open if his brother was in the room, "You're on Nii-chan watch."
He didn't know what Akihiko might think after he explained everything. Would his brother understand or would he be disappointed? Would Akihiko be ashamed?
"Misaki, don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fine." He squeezed his a little tighter.
"I made some bad decisions in the past, Usagi-san. Ones I'm ashamed of. I just don't want you to see me differently or distance yourself from me." He explained, his head burrowed in the crook of Akihiko's neck.
"It won't happen. Nothing can change my feelings for you Misaki. I'm not going to see you different because of something in the past. We've all made bad choices at some point, some we accept and some we're ashamed to let others know, but whatever it is, it played a role in making Misaki, Misaki." His poetic inner author was shinning through, but it helped Misaki calm down some what. "And I love all of Misaki."
The short speech brought tears to Misaki's eyes as he wrapped his arms around Akihiko's strong neck and stood on tip toes to place a quick passionate kiss on the man's lips.
They parted quickly as they heard the trio coming down from the upstairs bathroom.
They seated themselves at the table, Akihiko making sure Misaki was next to him. "After this, I expect explanations." Takahiro stated as they all dug into the food.
"Victor doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut, so I'll sure you'll find out one way or another." Misaki responded, not even bothering to look at his brother.
"Did you put green peppers in anything?" Akihiko asked, chopsticks poised to eat but fearing to find the dreaded minced green throughout each dish.
"No, I didn't." Akihiko smiled at the his chef and proceeded to pile his plate with all the delicious seafood.
Dinner was silent for a long while, with only Mahiro's voice breaking the tension as he remained unaware of the heavy atmosphere. Soon enough, the doorbell rung out and Misaki broke into a wide smile, getting up and dashing to the door.
There were cries of joy and a mixture of Russian and Japanese conversations, everyone listened trying to pick up on what they were talking about and simply enjoying the beauty of the two languages joining together harmonically.
Eventually a silver haired man emerged from around the corner carrying Misaki, who had attached himself to the foreign man in a hug. Misaki let go after a few seconds, feeling Akihiko's glare burn through the back of his head, his jealously unparalleled.
"Hello! I'm Victor, Misaki's dad!" He introduced himself, his Japanese thickly accented but clear.
The room remained quiet, and Victor looked at Misaki in confusion, "I never told anyone about Russia. They all found out when I was speaking Russian on the phone. I still need to explain." Misaki said.
"Misaki! Why didn't you tell them? You did so many great things!" He scolded lightly.
"Well, I'd have to tell them why I was there in the first place then." He explained as though he was pointing out the obvious, "Here, sit down and dig in! I saved you a seat, you can sit next to me." He gesture to the extra place beside him.
Misaki and Victor kept conversing throughout the meal, and everyone introduced themselves to him. Mahiro had loved Victor almost instantly, looking at the man in awe the entire time and Victor loved the child in return, gushing about how adorable he was and even hand feeding him at some points. They tried to stick to Japanese so everyone could understand.
"Misaki! You should let me baby you too! You never let me spoil you when we were in Russia!" Victor stated, a pout plastered on his face.
"When you were in Russia?" Akihiko and Takahiro asked in unison.
"I'll explain later." He sighed exasperatedly. "Because I'm not a baby. Go baby Yuuri."
"But I want to baby both of you! That's what parents do… I think." He argued.
"I don't know, don't ask me. Yuuri's parents don't spoil him all the time, so maybe parents don't do that." Misaki countered, squeezing lemon on his Snapper.
"But that's Japanese parents, and Yuuri's parents wouldn't be able to spoil him all the time. Yuuri and I are famous so we have lot of money to buy things to spoil each other with. And Misaki too!" He winked, eating some more lobster, "Oh, and congratulations on that promotion Misaki! I'm so proud of you!"
Misaki blushed and grinned brightly, "Thanks Dad."
"We have to celebrate!"
"No! Don't waste your money!"
Takahiro and Akihiko just listened on as Misaki and Victor conversed, his brother slightly shocked that Misaki would talk about family or parents so openly with the topic being taboo between them for so long. Both of them were fairly annoyed that Misaki had let the stranger from another country know about the promotion before his own brother and secret boyfriend.
Dinner finished up quickly after that, and Takahiro and his wife and son sat in the living room, and Victor followed wanting to play with his nephew some more. They talked quietly amongst themselves asking random questions about one another.
Misaki began to clear the table, piling the dishes to the side and filling up the sink with soap and hot water. While he was waiting he put any leftovers into containers for lunch tomorrow.
"I'll help you." Akihiko appeared behind him, placing a hand on the small of his back.
"No, it's fine. This is my job." He replied, turning off the water. He began to scrub each dish and Akihiko – ignoring his protest – grabbed a tea towel and began drying as Misaki washed.
Misaki had to admit that it was kind of nice, doing such a simple every day task together. Akihiko didn't touch him perversely even once throughout the chore, just stood close to the small man beside him making the menial task seem slightly more intimate.
Once they were done, Misaki made up a bowl of ice cream for Mahiro and coffee for everyone else – it was going to be a long talk.
He looked up at the older man, worry etched into his expression.
"It'll be okay, I'm here." He whispered, making sure the others couldn't hear them. Squeezing his hand in reassurance, they walked out of the kitchen and sat down across from Takahiro and Minami, Victor was on the floor with Mahiro by Misaki's feet. He set the coffee down in front of everyone, receiving murmured replies of thanks, and passed Mahiro his ice cream.
"You have such an adorable son! He looks just like you!" Victor went on.
"Thank you." Takahiro replied kindly, the tension between everyone had eased slightly.
The room was doused in silence again. Only the tick of the clock resounding through the room.
"I don't know where to start." Misaki stated, eyes glued to his lap where his hands kept fidgeting.
"When did this all happen?" Takahiro spoke up, beginning the conversation.
"Remember when I ran away when I was 15 and I didn't come back for a year?" Misaki asked in return. "I was in Russia."
He could hear the deep breath his brother sucked in and exhaling slowly.
Akihiko on the other hand was trying to remember if Takahiro had ever mentioned this. The man told him everything, yet he couldn't recall ever hearing about it. Surely, he'd remember. He was obsessed with his brother and would have been in hysterics if his precious baby brother had disappeared.
"You were in Russia."
"Mm."
"How the hell did you get there? You had a part time job at a bakery. Definitely not going to pay enough to book a flight to Russia." He argued, Misaki didn't look up.
"Actually, I had been doing all sorts of jobs. From neighbours, to odd jobs for businesses. I picked up a second part time job too." Misaki explained, "A return flight is expensive, but a one way flight was a lot cheaper. I got a flight for about ¥90 000 from Fukuoka Airport to Saint Petersburg in Russia." Misaki finally raised his head and looked at his brother. His frustration seemed to stem from confusion, not in anger at what he had done – yet.
"I would have noticed, your grades would have slipped if you were spending all you time working for money." He ran a hand through his hair.
"I studied while I worked. I'd have my book open and between doing whatever it was, I'd study and do homework. I knew you'd notice if my grades were slipping." Misaki smiled sadly, "I might not have academic smarts but I have common sense Nii-chan. I went through everything that could raise a red flag in your eyes and made sure to avoid it."
"You told me you were living with a friend. You lied to me, Misaki." Takahiro sounds so hurt, his baby brother had deceived him, they only family he had left at the time had left him and even when Misaki did come back, he said nothing of what happened when he was away.
Misaki nodded solemnly, "I'm sorry Nii-chan. I really am. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you about it." His eyes took on a glassy sheen, holding back tears. Misaki knew once he started crying he wouldn't stop.
"Why Russia?" He asked finally. As he took his first sip of the now warm coffee in front of him. His wife put a comforting hand on his shoulder, silently supporting him. Minami knew that this wasn't something she should interrupt and could only hope for the best of this situation from the side lines.
"… Nii-chan, you won't like what I tell you." Misaki hesitantly responded. He took a deep breath, his brother would push for this answer. He didn't want to upset or put guilt onto Takahiro.
"I don't care, I want to know why my baby brother ended up in Russia of all places, for a year, leaving me to worry sick about whether I'd ever see you again!" He locked eyes with Misaki, demanding the response. He will give him one, he wasn't leaving till he heard.
"I did leave a note." He half-heartedly mumbled, knowing it wasn't going to save him.
"Misaki."
Victor would sat forgotten to the side placed a hand on Misaki's slender knee. "It's okay, you're brother won't get mad. See? I told you he was worried for you."
Misaki looked to Akihiko for support, placing a violently trembling hand in the large cold one that rested between them. He didn't hesitate to grab it, holding it tightly for both of their sakes. He was terrified of the answer. Misaki had gone through the trouble over what was probably months to gather money to go to Russia. He had bought a one-way ticket to Russia, meaning he didn't intend on coming back.
Misaki wouldn't leave his brother, not with the brother-complex he has and the near obsession of not being troublesome.
He almost didn't want to hear to answer.
Misaki closed his eyes for a second to gather himself, but when he opened them again, his bright green eyes were dull, hollow, lifeless. He didn't look at anyone, choosing to rest his gaze on the coffee table between them.
"I went to Russia..." He looked up, finally bringing himself to aim his sight at his brother, he hesitated a second but a squeeze to his hand gave him the courage to force the next words through his mouth.
"To end my life."
.
.
.
Notes on my profile.