I'll Always Be by Your Side

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own Junjou Romantica.

Summary: Slightly AU. After Takahiro dies Akihiko offers to let Misaki stay with him.

Hm, I was reading a Death Note fic and listening to Itsumo Soba Ni, and this idea came up 0_o. How, I have no idea. I don't want Takahiro to die, but somebody has to for the story to continue on, and it just so happened that I couldn't think of anyone else who was important to Misaki and not already dead… Anyway, moving on!

Chapter One

Akihiko sighed as he came up to the funeral. Truthfully, he didn't want to be here at all. He preferred to be holed up in his apartment, sulking in his own misery then perhaps dying of starvation so he could be with his beloved Takahiro. But, here he was being forced by the editor from Hell Aikawa, to be at Takahiro's funeral. And just to make sure he went, Aikawa was right behind him watching his every move. "What kind of friend are you if you don't even go to his funeral?" Had been her words and with that, she had dragged him here.

Soon after being seated, the priest began chanting the sutra and they once again had to get up. Throughout the ceremony, Akihiko's gaze kept flickering over to the teen who sat nearest to the front. 'That must be Takahiro's brother.' He thought to himself. The boy was staring unseeingly at the ground and seemed to be doing everything in his power not to break down. Akihiko felt his heart go out to the boy.

"C'mon Usami-sensei, let's go." Aikawa said, but he wasn't listening. "Usami-sensei?" She turned to see the man gone. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the man walking up to the boy whom was sitting at the front. "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.

"Paying my respects." Akihiko replied smugly.

Almost everyone was already gone and only a few people were still left. Misaki slowly pushed himself up, deciding that he should head home and start packing, there was no way he could afford that apartment anymore without Takahiro. He bumped into somebody. "Ah, excuse me." He said, surprised at the sound of his raspy voice.

"It's quite alright." Akihiko said. "I wanted to talk to you anyway. I'm Usami Akihiko." He introduced himself. Akihiko's breath caught as the teen looked up at him, his green eyes shining with unshed tears. "You're Misaki, right?" Akihiko asked.

"H-hai." Misaki replied.

"I've heard a lot about you from your brother. He used to talk about you all the time." Akihiko said, smiling lightly. "Hey, you don't have any where to stay right? Why don't you stay with me?" He offered. Aikawa's jaw dropped even farther, if that was even possible.

"Eh? Oh, no I don't think I could do that." Misaki said, shaking his head.

"Please? It's the least I could do for Takahiro to make sure his little brother has a place to stay and food to eat." Akihiko said trying to convince the teen. He didn't know what came over him, but he wanted to help this boy.

"But, I don't have any money and I wouldn't be able to pay you."

"Nonsense, you can stay free of charge." Akihiko said, surprising both Aikawa and Misaki.

"I couldn't do that-"

Aikawa cut him off. "Boy, he's offering you a place to stay instead of being out on the streets and letting you stay for free no less. Take the offer, because something like this won't come up again."

"If it makes you feel any better, you can pay the rent by doing chores and such. So, what do you say?" Akihiko asked, smiling.

Misaki contemplated for a moment before replying, "Fine. I just have to go pick up my stuff."

Akihiko smiled brightly, feeling victorious. The three of them left the shrine and to Akihiko's red sports car. They drove to Misaki's apartment and picked up his stuff before driving to Akihiko's home.

"You can have the guest room, up there." Akihiko pointed to the second floor and Misaki nodded. Akihiko watched as the teen trudged up the stairs, and sighed.

"Usami-sensei, I don't know what you're planning but please, don't hurt Misaki-kun." Aikawa said, as she picked up her purse and started leaving. Right as she opened the door, she paused for a second. "Oh yes, and one more thing. YOU BETTER HAVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT READY BY TOMORROW! Ja ne!" With that, she was gone.

Akihiko sighed dejectedly. This was going to be hard.

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Hm, well that's all I can come up with for now. I hope you're happy, because I feel bad for neglecting my other two stories which haven't been updated for like two months… Anyway, if you enjoyed it and want more, please review!