AN: Finally, an update. Man, I've been out of it, lately. Between random crap jobs, (babysitting), and being sick as hell, I've not had much writing time.

-.=.-.=.-

The Frailty of Trust

Chapter 7

-.=.-.=.-

[Wednesday afternoon]

Shinobu grumbled to himself as he ate lunch with a couple of friends.

"What's the matter, Shinobu?" One of his friends turned from the conversation they were having (about porn or some nonsense, from what Shinobu had heard), and looked at the teen, curiously.

"Nothing. Love troubles. Ignore me." Shinobu huffed.

"Ah- that girl you're dating who's like a million years older than you?" The guy blinked. "…What kind of love troubles?"

"…I'm beginning to consider the possibility of an affair." Shinobu muttered.

"Oooh?" The others blinked. "…You're going to have an affair?"

"No." Shinobu snapped. "I'd never do such a thing! But… my lover's behavior, lately, has been suspicious…"

"Wow, you consider yourselves lovers?"

"Yeah… we're practically married." Shinobu lied, slightly. It was true that he'd marry Miyagi in a heartbeat if it were possible… but lately, he was beginning to feel less and less loved by the man…

"So you think she's cheating?" His other friend asked, adjusting his glasses. "Why do you think so?"

"…Suspicious phone calls… there's… this co-worker… they share an office, and every time I show up, they're all over each other. Mi- … my lover says it's nothing to be suspicious about- that they're just playing… but… I'm not so sure…"

"That definitely sounds like she's flirting…" The bespectacled teen exclaimed.

"What kind of suspicious phone calls?" The other asked.

"Well… it's hard to say… I'm sure it's possible that I'm just misinterpreting… but saying things like, 'I want to do it with you,' or 'we should do it a day your lover is at home so it looks less suspicious,' and stuff like that… it just seems-"

"Definitely!" The other two agreed.

"She's two-timing you, man!"

"How old is the other guy?"

"…Older than me, but younger than…"

"Oh, so she definitely likes them young?"

"But not too young?"

Shinobu stared nervously at his friends, who already decided in their minds that Shinobu's 'girlfriend' was a rotten cheater.

Sighing, he stood. "I've gotta be misunderstanding! I'm sure it's nothing!"

"Poor Shinobu." His friend muttered as Shinobu hurried off.

"She's just toying with him…"

-.=.-.=.-

Shinobu kicked a can in his path as he walked along a quiet street. He kicked it until he neared a trash receptacle, at which point he bent over, picked it up, and tossed it inside. He then continued on his way.

A grim expression adorned his otherwise attractive face and when his cell phone buzzed softly in his pocket, he stopped walking and pulled it out.

He had received a text message from Miyagi.

[Shinobu-chin, I'm trying hard to come home on time. I remembered why today is special- want to go out? Where are you right now? I can pick you up. It's been one year since I picked you up from the airport, hasn't it?]

Shinobu's eyes widened and watered slightly after reading the text. He remembered… and he wanted to celebrate, too…

He hurriedly replied to the text, overjoyed at his lover's compliance. He had half expected the older man to complain that they only needed one anniversary. They hadn't really had a real 'anniversary' yet, since they'd barely been together a year… when they talked about it one time, after having some pretty awesome sex, they had both considered celebrating the day Shinobu confessed after returning from Australia, the day Miyagi picked him up from the airport, and the day Miyagi confessed at sensei's grave. Both realized that an anniversary should be a one-time thing, but in the end, they hadn't really decided on which they should celebrate.

Shinobu still felt bad about celebrating their anniversary on the day that sensei had died… for many reasons… he'd grown so upset at the prospect that he demanded they drop it- and then they never did mention it again, really…

So maybe this would be their anniversary after all… somehow, it didn't feel quite right. This was the day they got together, but… somehow sensei's death anniversary seemed more magical. It was the first time Miyagi confessed sincerely, and proved that Shinobu had taken her place as his number one love- and it was the day they'd made love for the first time…

(Those first two times didn't count!)

But whatever… that Miyagi wanted to celebrate today made him a bit happy, too. He'd deal with the other anniversary when they got there…

-.=.-.=.-

"Professor! Did you hide my glasses, again?!" Kamijou shouted, furiously as he ransacked their office, looking for the glasses.

"Yes. Yes, I did." Miyagi replied, checking the text he'd received from Shinobu.

[I'm on my way home, right now. I'm about a block away. If we're going out, I should change first. Someone spilled food on me. I'm happy you remembered. Where did you have in mind?]

Miyagi thought for a moment, before replying. In the meantime, Kamijou was reading over his shoulder.

"Is it an anniversary?"

"GUAH-!!" Miyagi buried the cell in his lap, glowering over one of his shrugged shoulders at Kamijou. "Hey, didn't your lug of a boyfriend get in trouble for reading your stuff?!"

"If it's your anniversary, you better not cheap out, professor." Kamijou magnanimously opted to ignore his superior's jab. "He's a kid, so the first anniversary needs to be special!"

"What the hell, Kamijou?! Why should I listen to love advice from you?!"

"Because my relationship's lasted longer than any of yours?"

"Somewhere special, you say?" Miyagi stroked his chin, thoughtfully. "…I made reservations at Le Mirage for the twenty fourth of January… I figured that would be when we celebrate our anniversary." (1).

"You don't know your anniversary??" Kamijou asked, annoyed.

"It's complicated." Miyagi sighed. "…We officially got together one year ago, today… but then he dumped me a few months later for about a week or something and then I confessed properly… because he confessed first, then we got together, then I confessed, it throws a lot of things out of whack."

"…Yeah… you don't celebrate the day you confess, you celebrate the day you got together, or have a first date, or something." Kamijou huffed. "And even if you broke up, if you're still together, it doesn't really count."

"Don't you just like saying you've been together for seven years, so you exclude the year you two were apart?"

"SHUT UP!" Kamijou snapped. "Where are my glasses?!"

"If I went through the trouble of hiding them, why would I give them back or tell you where I hid them?!" Miyagi snapped, texting Shinobu back.

"Well why did you take them in the first place?!"

"Because they make you look like a nerd."

"I AM A NERD! SO ARE YOU! We're literature professors! Where are they?!"

"You should at least get some cuter ones."

"You bastard! What's wrong with them?"

"They're awful."

"…Ugh… I need them!"

"You only wear them for class, anyway."

"YES. So I can see the students in the back when they mumble to each other, I'm near-sighted!"

"Then wear them all the time."

"Absolutely not! I only need them to teach! I can see fine, I can see all the way across the office, I just can't see the back of the class room all that well!"

"Not my problem." Miyagi sent his text with a small smile. Kamijou huffed.

"Hey, professor?"

"Mm?" Miyagi looked up.

"Where are they?" Kamijou snapped.

"You've got connections, Kamijou. Hook me up with some fancy dinner reservations and I'll give your glasses back."

"…Ugh…" Kamijou frowned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell, scanning through the various numbers of old flings. Eventually, however, he decided just to call Usami. He waited for the man to pick up, then sighed. "Akihiko, can you get me dinner reservations at a nice restaurant on short notice? For two… it's a business thing… thanks… ah… everything turned out okay, I want to read your manuscript, too! I hate it when I'm not the first to read it. Can't you e-mail it to me? I won't do anything. You can trust me. I promise. You know me better than that! Of course I'd never do such a thing! … Okay… About the restaurant, put the reservation under 'Miyagi' please… Thank you." He hung up and Miyagi spun around in his chair, three times.

"Yay… Kamijou is the best."

"My glasses?"

"After I get the dinner reservations."

"And what's really in it for me?" Kamijou snapped.

"Another gift card to used book store." Miyagi produced the gift card from his pocket and Kamijou snagged it, happily, then glared at his superior. "You didn't use the 'company budget' to pay for this, did you?"

"Nope, I'm re-gifting it."

"Che. Where'd you get it?"

"Ex-wife."

"For what?"

"I let her take a lamp she liked, so she gave it to me the other day."

"So… you still talk to her?"

"Divorce is a weeeeird thing, Kamijou- make sure you and that boyfriend of your never have to go through it."

Kamijou opened his mouth to retort, but his cell rang, and he answered it. "Hello… ah… thank you… I'll pay you back, somehow… and as for the manuscript…? Alright, that's great- I'll read it tonight and send back a review… of course I need to- you shouldn't have submitted it without my feedback, first. Thank you, goodbye." He hung up. "L'auberge De L'ill."

"NO WAY?!!" Miyagi exclaimed, happily. "That author friend of yours is really amazing!"

"Glasses, please."

Miyagi opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled a green cabbage out. It was 'wearing' Kamijou's glasses.

"…Why is there a cabbage man in your desk?" Kamijou sighed, annoyed.

"That was my lunch. I've been picking at it…" Miyagi peeled off a leaf and ate it.

"…You eat cabbage like that?"

"Somehow, I've acquired a taste for it… Did you know there's a cabbage wine?"

"…No, I did not."

"There's like three different kinds. I'm thinking of having Shinobu-chin make some." Miyagi pulled out his cell when it buzzed and texted his lover the good news. "Thanks, Kamijou- if you want… I'll wear white."

"YEAH! YOU WEAR IT!" Kamijou smirked, deviously. "Besides, if I bought a white suit…" He shuddered. "It'd put weird thoughts into Nowaki's head.

Miyagi closed his cell, giving that some thought. "Oh, then maybe you SHOULD wear white… that way, when you two really do tie the knot, you can use it at your wedding."

"…" Kmaijou glared.

"Just kidding." Miyagi sparkled, tugging his own collar up and holding it to his chin. "White looks good on me, anyway- like you said, my hair's darker, so it makes more sense."

"Hmpf." Kamijou slid his glasses on and headed over to his desk.

Miyagi stuck his tongue out when his assistant wasn't looking, turning back to his cell and waiting happily for Shinbou to respond.

-.=.-.=.-

Shinobu pulled his shirt off and stared at his slender reflection in the mirror. He turned to the side and ran a hand down his stomach, frowning. Maybe they needed more than just cabbage in their diet… Annoyed, he turned to get a look at his back and shrugged his shoulders, trying to see any visible musculature. His cell went off, startling him, and he pulled it out of his pants pocket, scrolling over their conversation, thus far:

[Miyagi: Shinobu-chin, I'm trying hard to come home on time. I remembered why today is special- want to go out? Where are you right now? I can pick you up. It's been one year since I picked you up from the airport, hasn't it?]

[Shinobu: I'm on my way home, right now. I'm about a block away. If we're going out, I should change first. Someone spilled food on me. I'm happy you remembered. Where did you have in mind?]

[Miyagi: I've already made reservations at a restaurant. I'll pick you up very soon, dress nice, okay?]

[Shinobu: What kind of reservations? Where? What do you mean 'dress nice?' How nice? Should I wear a suit?]

[Miyagi: A suit is fine. I have to get back to work so I can finish up with everything.]

[Shinobu: Okay, I'll dress nice. I love you.]

[Miyagi: You're so cute.]

Shinobu flushed at the last message, glaring up at his reflection in the mirror. 'Do I always get that red that fast?!' He thought, annoyed, putting his cell away and pulling out two suits, raising them in front of his slender form, one by one. One was black and the other was dark blue, and he wasn't sure which to wear…

Annoyed, he switched to shirts, trying to decide on what color to wear. He had a plain white one, but that was boring. He had a lime green one… WHY he had a lime green one, he couldn't recall. The last was a light blue one… if he wore it; he'd probably go with the black suit. Annoyed, he tossed it over the black pants and blazer, then pulled out ties. Should he even wear a tie?

By the time Miyagi arrived, there was a heap of clothes on Shinobu's bed and the teen was frantically struggling to decide on which socks to wear. Miyagi watched him in silence for a moment before laughing when Shinobu put on two different socks and turned from one side to the other to see which he preferred.

The teen jumped when he heard his lover's laughter and turned, face burning a deep shade of red. "M-Miyagi?! When did you-?!"

"Just got here. The reservations are set for seven- are you about… ready?"

"…" Shinobu flushed. "I'm not sure what to wear."

"What've you got so far?"

"…I like these." Shinobu pointed at the sock on his left foot. All he was wearing, aside from one navy blue ankle sock and one black shin-high sock, was a pair of gray boxers.

"…Well I think you look great."

"SHUT UP!" Shinobu snapped, annoyed, pulling off the socks and grabbing up his ensemble, hurrying into the bathroom. When he emerged, he wore the light blue shirt, the black suit, the black socks, and a lavender tie. "…Does this look bad?"

"It looks adorable."

"Would you say that no matter what I wore?"

"Didn't my comment two minutes ago prove that?"

"Mmm…" Shinobu glared. "…Should I just wear a black tie?"

"You don't have to wear a tie at all- but the purple looks good, too." Miyagi smirked.

"…What about you? You going like that?"

"Huh? No…" Miyagi scratched the back of his head. "I gotta change, too."

"…Hmm… I thought you had reservations…? Seems like you're throwing everything together at the last minute."

"I just got the reservations." Miyagi grinned.

"Oh… I thought you planned it in advance." Shinobu frowned, averting his gaze. So Miyagi hadn't really planned this through- he'd just realized at the last second that today was important and then thrown something together… to some extent, that in itself was kind of cool… but it was a little disheartening.

"…Well… I figured we'd celebrate the twenty fourth of January, so I made reservations at Le Mirage on that day, but since you decided you wanted to celebrate today, too, I-"

"I didn't decide it… I didn't say we had to celebrate, I just wanted you to get off early…" Shinobu frowned.

Miyagi frowned, too. "…Ah… I really made the reservations for Le Mirage all on my own, though… I made them the day you moved in next door… I was so happy, I wanted to do something special, so I made them."

Shinobu blushed, looking up at him. "Really…?"

"Yeah…" Miyagi scratched the back of his head. "…You know… it's okay if we celebrate all three."

"…Three?" Shinobu blinked.

"You know… your confession… the day we got together… and my confession… We'll both be successful, so why not celebrate all three times…? Or something like that… hahaha…"

"…" Shinobu flushed even harder, averting his gaze. "Y-you just want three separate breaks from cabbage."

"Ah… that's not true, either… you bought so many I thought they might go bad, so I took one to work today and ate it for lunch… well, most of it… I really like cabbage, now, ahaha…"

Shinobu buried his face in Miyagi's chest, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "…I'm sorry I looked disappointed a second ago…"

"…" Miyagi hugged him back, smiling lightly. "…Uh… quit it…" He pushed him away and Shinobu blinked, looking up. "If… you don't stop being cute, we won't make it to the restaurant…"

"What restaurant is it?"

"L'auberge De L'ill…"

"…That place is really fancy, how'd you get reservations there, on such short notice?"

"…I'm a successful guy, I have connections… Don't ask how the magic works, Shinobu-chin, just get swept up in the flow, heh, you know?" He made a 'flow' motion with his hand through the air and as it passed, he glanced at his watch, then gawked. "AH CRAP! I HAVE TO GO GET READY, PRONTO!" He hurried out and Shinobu cocked his head to the side, still flushing slightly.

A small smile graced his features as he clasped his hands behind his back, swaying from side to side, waiting for Miyagi to return. When he caught himself moving so girlishly in the mirror he walked away from it, a scowl plastered on his face.

He locked up his apartment and waited outside Miyagi's, leaning against the wall in a very MANLY way and folding his arms. A woman who passed down the hall glanced at him flirtatiously and he huffed, averting is gaze. Annoyed, she continued on her merry way.

Miyagi came out of the apartment looking pretty sharp. Shinobu frowned. Sometimes it seemed like it didn't matter what his lover wore- he always looked really handsome (like he'd ever tell the bastard) and he wondered if, despite having been 'straight' in the past, Miyagi ever thought the same of him… he was a pretty popular guy in high school- and in university, too…

"We match." Miyagi grinned stupidly, gesturing to his purple tie.

"…Mine's nicer." Shinobu muttered and the grin fell from Miyagi's face as he huffed.

"Well who bought it for you?"

"You did… but you also bought yours."

"Well I spent more on you. Come on." He grabbed the teen's arm after locking up and pulled him down the hall. "We'll probably be about ten minutes late."

"No problem." Shinobu mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Something wrong?" Miyagi asked as they hurried down the hall.

"…Nothing… you look really…" Shinobu trailed off with a frown. "REALLY handsome."

Miyagi paused, blinking, and then he glanced over his shoulder, confused.

Shinobu's face went red and he quickly turned his head away, frowning. "W-well, it's just a compliment, you don't have to act like I never dish them out!"

"You never do." Miyagi snickered, pulling Shinobu along, again. "Don't throw me off like that- I'm embarrassed."

"YOU DON'T SEEM LIKE IT." Shinobu muttered, scowling at the back of his lover's head.

"I wasn't surprised by your saying it as much as I was at the fact that it was coming from someone as cute as you and directed at a dork like me."

Shinobu blinked, watching the back of his lover's head as they continued down the hall. After a moment, he stopped, and tugged his wrist back. Miyagi seemed ready for the teen's sudden halt and he turned, placing his fists on his hips.

"Not now, we have to get going."

"…" Shinobu was silent for a moment, then he sighed, walking on. Miyagi followed.

"What is it? We can walk and talk."

"It's nothing- you're right. You're a dork."

"Aww, go back to calling me handsome." Miyagi teased.

"No way. It was a lie."

"Aww."

-.=.-.=.-

The two made it to the restaurant and they were only about seven minutes late. They sat, ate, spoke about university life, and even about their families… Shinobu had never dated anyone before Miyagi, not seriously anyway, (usually it was out of obligation), so he could only hope this was what normal couples did. Either way, he was comfortable and happy, so it felt right.

"Hey, Miyagi?" Shinobu cocked his head to the side, suddenly. "They had tattoos when you were young, right?"

Miyagi scowled at him. "SURE. But we used feather pens called quills and we had to etch the designs into our body- and the removal involved a cheese grater- and yes, they had those when I was young."

Shinobu huffed. "You don't have to be rude."

"I don't have any tattoos… you should know that by now." Miyagi huffed, taking a drink and smiling into his glass when Shinobu's face went pink.

"So… what do you think about them?"

"Tattoo? Thinking of getting one?" Miyagi frowned.

"What's your take on them?"

"Don't care for them." Miyagi shrugged. "I'm a traditional old man. I think they look messy- they're for punks."

"What if I got your name tattooed?"

"Where?"

"…I dunno… somewhere no one but you would see."

Miyagi smirked. "That's okay- my name sucks."

"What sucks about it?" Shinobu huffed.

"It's so ORDINARY." Miyagi teased. (2).

"Your first name is- it's awful." Shinobu agreed, and Miyagi huffed. "But Miyagi's not so bad- it has a nice ring to it, too. Miyagi Shinobu."

Miyagi laughed. "Are we husband and wife, now?"

"…" Shinobu ran his finger along the rim of his glass, frowning. "Risako just barely changed her name back to Takatsuki… finally…"

"Ah, so I heard…" Miyagi pulled out a smoke. "Do you mind?"

"I thought you quit?"

"So did I… so strange." Miyagi lit it up and took a drag, blowing away from the table. "So…? What brought on the tattoo thing?"

"I don't know." Shinobu shrugged. "I got a coupon."

"Pfft." Miyagi huffed. "You need to quit being so frugal! Your parents make a lot of money, right?"

"We're on pins and needles." Shinobu muttered, frowning. "They know I'm seeing someone and are upset that I won't tell them who. They think I'm being secretive and stuff- I haven't asked for any money or used any of their money for a while, now… they're still annoyed at lending me the money for the apartment."

"So move in with me." Miyagi shrugged.

Shinobu's eyes widened. "…What…?"

"Hah? We practically live together anyway." Miyagi shrugged, nonchalantly. "We've been together a year now… To be perfectly honest, it's kind of bugged me lately- your apartment is like never used- you don't even have real furniture… Nothing matches- it's a dump."

"Fuck you." Shinobu glared, annoyed. "How would you even know, you never come over."

"I came over once and that's all it took. All you use that place for is studying."

"So?"

"So there are libraries for that- it's not economical."

"…Why do you have to feed me a bunch of logical reasons as to why we should move in together? Why can't you be romantic about it?" Shinobu huffed, very straightforwardly.

Miyagi laughed. "Well I just figured if your face got any redder, people might think you've been drinking my wine."

"Hmpf." Shinobu stared down into his water with a frown. "Come on… take a whack at it."

"…Oh…" Miyagi sighed, snubbing out his cigarette and leaning back in his seat, reaching out with his foot after pulling out of his shoe and sliding a socked foot up his lover's shin, making the teen flush furiously. "…Move in with me."

Shinobu pulled to the side, embarrassed as the waiter approached.

"Are you gentlemen enjoying everything, tonight?" The man asked.

"Can we get two to-go boxes?" Shinobu asked, bluntly. The man blinked.

"Oh… certainly… is the atmosphere not to your liking?"

"Not at all." Miyagi smiled up at the man. "We're just very busy." He slid his foot up the side of Shinobu's shin, secretly. Shinobu blushed more.

"To-go boxes, please."

"Right away." The man bowed and headed off.

"Miyagi… I don't think I can wait to get home."

"Well, at least wait for the valet." Miyagi smirked.

-.=.-.=.-

[Thursday morning]

Shinobu smiled happily as he curled against his lover. His stupid friends didn't have a clue about suspicious behavior.

Glancing up at his lover's snoozing face, he brightened even more. 'Only I get to be with Miyagi like this.' He sighed softly through his nose and rested his head on Miyagi's chest. It would be a bit nippy if he got out of bed, now… and the warmth from Miyagi's body heat beneath the blankets was far more enticing, anyway.

Closing his eyes happily, he nestled his head into the crook of Miyagi's shoulder. It was great just

lying beside the man…

Well… he'd get bored in about five minutes, but for now it was nice.

He snuck a leg between Miyagi's, cuddling even closer and blinking when Miyagi let out a soft breathy chuckle, moving about a bit.

Shinobu continued watching his lover's face as a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

A hand came up around Shinobu's shoulder and fell limply upon the teen's head, fingers immediately weaving into his mop of light-colored hair.

Flushing lightly at the sleepy-headed affections, Shinobu pressed into the hand atop his head.

Another small half-laugh half-sigh escaped Miyagi and he turned toward Shinobu, lazily opening his eyes.

"…Good morning." Shinobu mumbled, softly.

Miyagi smiled more. "Good morning… aww… such a cute- gerr!" He sat up, smiling nervously and pulling away from Shinobu as a dark color washed over his face. "I mean-!!! Uh… don't attack me in the early morning, brat!"

"I didn't attack you…" Shinobu sat up, tiredly, rubbing his eye and shivering a bit as the cool air met his exposed body.

"Ah…" Miyagi eyed him, sliding a hand down his own bare front to see how naked he was. Once he realized he wasn't wearing pants he sighed, softly. "…Oh… last night's coming back to me…"

"Are you hung over?" Shinobu inquired, pulling at the blanket and lying down, sliding under Miyagi and stretching, exposing himself to Miyagi's gaze.

Miyagi huffed. "I'm not hung over- I didn't even have that much to drink… you?"

"Nope." Shinobu huffed, resting his arms behind his head. "I didn't have any- you wouldn't let me… We have another hour. Sorry to have woken you."

"No." Miyagi moved to lie down on top of him, tiredly. "It's fine. Wake me in an hour, though."

"Get off of me." Shinobu grumbled, grumpily.

"Nope. You're my newest pillow." Miyagi buried his nose in Shinobu's neck, kissing him gently. "Good night."

Shinobu shifted a bit, uncomfortably before realizing that this new position wasn't all that bad… it felt very warm, and a bit nice being trapped under the older man… almost as if Miyagi was holding him… sort of…

Flushing at his own embarrassing thoughts, Shinobu closed his eyes, bringing his hands up around Miyagi's back and drifting back into sleep.

-.=.-.=.-

"Mmn…" Both men turned and glanced at the night stand in unison when Miyagi's cell phone's alarm went off.

Reaching for it at the same time, both men sank to the side and rolled out of bed, into a tangled heap of arms and legs on the floor. Due to the sudden bumping of Miyagi's head to the night stand, the cell fell down to join them.

Shinobu shut it off, annoyed, then set it down, wrapping his arms around Miyagi.

"Did you turn it off?" Miyagi grunted.

"Set it to snooze."

"Well you can snooze, I have to get ready for work." Miyagi sat up and tried detangling himself from the blanket. "You should too, I made quite the mess of you, last night."

"I'll start the laundry and join you in a second." Shinobu sighed. "But I don't have to go in until later, today…"

"You don't? Why not?" Miyagi asked, heading into the bathroom as Shinobu got up and sat on the bed.

He yanked the blanket upward, in-turn knocking the cell phone further under the bed and then balling the comforter up and grabbing a laundry basket. "I don't remember. I just have it in my calendar."

"Well, lucky you." Miyagi huffed. "Don't wait up for me, tonight- eat on your own, I'll be out a bit late."

"Mm?" Shinobu headed off with the laundry. "Late doing what?"

"Uh… just work stuff."

"Want me to bring something by for you?"

"No, that's okay- I won't actually be at the university…" Miyagi stated.

"…Okay…" Shinobu struggled to register his lover's claims in his exhausted, hazy mind.

-.=.-.=.-

"Did I tell you not to wait up?" Miyagi asked as he hustled and bustled about the kitchen, after his shower.

"Um, yeah… well do you have something for lunch? I haven't made you a bento…" Shinobu stated as he opened the fridge and looked around for something to give his lover.

"That's okay, Kamijou and I will order something, thanks!"

"…Oh, well… so what're you doing for dinner? Sure I can't bring you something?"

"Kamijou and I will probably get something while we're out." Miyagi stated, pouring some coffee into a thermos.

"…Wait, I thought you had work?!!" Shinobu's head bolted up and he cried out when he hit it on the inside of the fridge.

Miyagi's coffee spurted out into the sink as the man laughed at his lover's accident.

Shinobu glowered furiously at him as he rubbed his head, bumping the refrigerator door closed with his hip. "Miyagi! Why are you going out with that guy tonight?!"

"Huh? What makes you think I…" He trailed off, nervously.

Shinobu blinked. "You just said you would catch lunch with him-"

"Right, lunch, we're ordering in, so you don't need to bother with bringing me anything, thanks though! I'll get something later tonight, too, so don't bother with it." Miyagi pulled Shinobu over to inspect the back of his head before kissing it and heading off. "I'll talk to you, tomorrow-"

"What're you doing for dinner tonight?!" Shinobu snapped.

"I'll probably catch a restaurant."

"I'll meet you! Tell me where!"

"Not sure yet, it depends on where we are at the time, besides-"

"'We' who?!"

"Me, and a… a coworker…" Miyagi grabbed his scarf.

"Which one?!"

"What's it matter?"

"You already told me it's Kamijou!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes! YES YOU DID! JUST NOW!"

"No, Kamijou and I will order lunch!"

"And Kamijou and you will get something while you're out! Where are you going?!"

"It's just a meeting!"

"So there will be a lot of people?"

"Well, no, just… me and Kamijou- it's a one on one!"

"…" Shinobu folded his arms, obviously upset. "Miyagi, don't leave, yet!"

"I have to, or I'll be late." Miyagi sighed. "Just quit freaking out, okay?" He waved. "Thanks for making the coffee." With that said, he closed the door.

Shinobu fumed, storming back into the room and grabbing his clothes.

-.=.-.=.-

AN: Finally threw that one together- it's a bit longer than the rest, not that this makes up for the fact that it took so long to update, haha- sorry about that. Next chapter, (or possibly the next), Nowaki and Shinobu do some questionable stuff in order to find out what their lovers are up to… Drama ensues

(1) In the anime, it marks sensei's death as November 24th, but it's WRONG. I do incorporate a lot of elements from the anime, like the name Mitsuhashi instead of M uni, or Tokyo University instead of T Uni, but when it comes to dates, I like to follow the timeline provided to the junjou fanatics livejournal community by a member who studied the manga and worked very hard to throw together an accurate timeline. According to her timeline, sensei's anniversary occurred on January 24th, so that's what I'm going with, since I trust that person and her research.

(2) Miyagi's first name is 'Yoh' which, written in the kanji/characters used to compose his name, means 'ordinary.' His parents were douches to name him that, IMO.