Characters/Pairings: Yuuji, Shiraishi
Rating/Warnings: PG; domestic troubles
Word Count: 1120
Prompt/Theme: #27 "A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." (Anonymous) prompt_in_a_box's Round 20
Summary: Be who you really are and see how many desert you.

Yuuji peppered another balled-up piece of clothing into his suitcase. (How can they do this?) The force of it slammed the lid shut. (How can they do this to me?) The next T-shirt flopped on top of it, like shedded skin.

(How can they live with this?)

Scream.

The suitcase bashed against the opposite wall, contents scattering all over the floor. In the middle of it, Yuuji sank to his knees. He snatched at everything within his reach – shoes, books, jeans, CD cases – and hurled it across the room.

His outburst did not go unheard. Trampling footfalls stormed up the stairs, the sound of danger on the rise, of ringing eardrums and aching body parts.

He felt the sudden urge to hide, but already he was grabbed by the shirt and yanked to his feet. Yuuji knew what he had coming and was immediately rewarded with the satisfaction of being right, much as he hated it.

"I have enough of you. If you cannot leave quietly, I will have to shut you up."

His father was a slight man with thick eyebrows set in a perpetual scowl, not exactly a model of intimidation, but he had some scream-pipe, especially up close. And a strong arm, Yuuji's cheek reminded him as he struggled to free himself.

"Let me go!" That earned him another.

"Your mother and I wanted to give you time until tomorrow to find somewhere to stay. Now you're going as soon as you're packed. And if I so much as hear a peep from you, I'll throw you out myself, ready or not. Are we clear?"

Yuuji glowered at him, acid in his eyes and on his tongue, ready to spit, but he clenched his jaw instead and nodded stiffly. Pissing him off further would gain him nothing.

With a snort, his father shoved him away, as though touching his son disgusted him. On his way out, he mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. Yuuji was certain it could be anything but friendly.

Yuuji held his breath and waited just long enough for his father to slam the door shut before he tossed his pillow after him. Bastard!

With a huff, he crumpled onto the bed and started kicking his blanket.

He felt like Hiruko, whom his parents Izanagi and Izanami cast out just because he was malformed; or like Adam, whom God cast out of Paradise, just because he had done something he wasn't allowed to. Both had to start a life previously unknown. At least Adam had Eve, a companion to share his shitty situation, so he wasn't lonely.

And whom did Yuuji have? Maybe he should call Koharu to ask how his parents reacted.

No, he couldn't do that yet. Koharu's parents had struck Yuuji as way cooler than his own from day one. He could imagine they either reacted with understanding or not at all, because they didn't care what choices their son made.

Yuuji could still hear his mother screeching at the back of his mind. "How could you shame us so? In front of all those people!"

How could he know they would freak out like this? True, not everyone approves of gays; in school for example, there were students who thought they could bully him and Koharu. But when they did, they had to live with being ridiculed in turn. Most of their classmates accepted them or didn't say anything on the subject.

So his parents' reaction was something entirely foreign to him.

Growling, Yuuji got up to search for his cell phone, one of the objects he had thrown around the room earlier. He had to talk to someone, someone he could trust with this matter.

"'lo?"

"Hey Kura, I've got something I need to talk about. Do you have time right now?"

"Um, sure. Wait a second," there was a moment of silence before Shiraishi started speaking again; he had probably just closed the door. "What's the matter?"

"It's... kind of complicated. My parents, they... well, they threw me out."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently they saw my matches with Koharu on TV and our, uh, closeness? Needless to say, they're pissed."

"But that's no reason to just throw you out!"

"Well, yes, but fact is, they did and I don't know what to do now. I mean, what are my options? The street or homeless shelters. Or our club room," he added as a joke.

The silence on the other end of the line sounded grim, as though Shiraishi was thinking furiously.

Yuuji took that as an incentive to go on talking. "You know, sometimes I think we should never have started that game."

"Who?"

"Me and Koharu, of course."

"Come now, do you really think it was a game?"

"I don't know. I think I really do like him, but I'm confused right now. I thought it was fun when we were just joking around. It wasn't like we meant any harm with it – it was just our little game, something we shared, real or not. But I certainly never would have imagined that anyone could be so offended by this, least of all my own parents. I mean, hello? Shouldn't they support me, being my parents and all? I don't understand this at all."

"Well, all I can say is that it would have come to this no matter when your parents had found out about you and Koharu. I mean, you like him, right? Even if you call what you have a game, it doesn't change the way you feel about him."

"Hm, maybe you're right about that but... that doesn't help me at all!"

"I know, sorry. Just thinking out loud."

"God, this is so unreal." Yuuji scrubbed at his eyes; they were beginning to sting.

"Have you talked to Koharu about this yet?"

"No, not yet. I don't want to worry him. Or bother him, in case his parents act the same brain-fried way."

"Okay then, listen. I'll go talk to my parents now. I'm sure they'll let you stay with us till I have to leave for the Junior Selection camp. And in the meantime we'll find a solution for you. How's that sound?"

Yuuji wiped his nose with the back of his hand and smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

"Sure thing. Can't bail on you in a situation like this. Well, then. Pick you up later."

By the time Shiraishi hung up, tears were trickling down Yuuji's face, both bitter and grateful ones. Even if this was a temporary solution, it was something for him to hold on to for the time being, something solid and reassuring.

As long as he had friends, the rest could come later.