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"Ugh...Nowaki...can't you just tell me where the hell we're going already? I mean, it feels like we've been driving around for hours..."

"Hiro-san. I told you. Just trust me." Nowaki urged gently, stroking Hiroki's hand.

"Ugh...you're impossible. Can I at least take off this damn blindfold?" Hiroki asked, tugging at the black strip of cloth that covered his eyes. At Nowaki's insistence he'd finally agreed to put it on. Another surprise apparently, god he's so damn cheesy...

"Ah! We're here!" Nowaki gushed happily, squeezing Hiroki's hand. "Okay, Hiro-san, you can take off the blindfold now." Nowaki told him, smiling, as he turned off the ignition and led Hiroki out of the car.

"About damned time..." Hiroki mumbled, untying the cloth from his eyes, which were immediately blinded by the sight of the bright autumn sun sparkling on the coastline. Hiroki gazed at the vast expanse of water with awe and amazement. Nowaki had brought them to a beach, but it was different than any beach he'd ever seen. In Tokyo, it was hard to escape his busy schedule for any vacation or relaxation time, so he seldom went to beaches, though he'd frequently told Nowaki how they'd relaxed him so as a child. But this beach wasn't anything like those back in Japan. The sand here was clean and white and ran like water through your fingers when you picked it up in your hands, and there were practically the only ones there. Hiroki swallowed hard as he heard gulls cryign in the distance and the waves lapping rythmically and melodically against the shoreline.

"Nowaki...it's beautiful... " Hiroki whispered. Nowaki, who had just unfolded a towel on the sand close to the shoreline, grinned as Hiroki sat down on it, and reached out to rest an arm around his shoulders.

"I knew you'd like it. I knew not many other people would be here this time of year, so we could be in private." Hiroki had to agree. Autumn was hardly a month for beach-goers, but even so, it was pleasant and mild out, the sun's warmth at just the right level. It was a relatively nice day for autumn...and it was so quiet...Hiroki found himself nestling closer to Nowaki and lacing his fingers through the ones curled on his shoulder.

"I could watch this forever..." Hiroki found himself murmuring, letting the sound of the waves fill his heart. "It takes me back to when I was young...and my mother and I would come here..."

"Just the two of you?" Nowaki pressed curiously. Hiroki shook his head, sitting closer.

"One time Akihiko came too...but that was back in grade school."

Just then, Hiroki could feel Nowaki stiffen beneath him slightly. "Nowaki?"

"S-sorry..." Nowaki stuttered. "I can't being childish about that man, even now. I mean, I know you don't love him that way anymore...but it still...gets to me."

"Well, it should'nt." Hiroki told him firmly, clutching his hand, but then caught himself quickly and cleared his throat. "Er...I mean, don't be stupid! Do you honestly think I would let you drag me all the way to America to take me as your cheesy bride if I still loved Akihiko that way? I mean, c'mon!"

Nowaki sighed. "I know, Hiro-san." He paused. "I guess I'll always be that way." But then he smiled broadly, and chuckled to himself. "But Hiro-san is my bride now, so I guess there's no reason to worry! Ouch, that hurt Hiro-san."

"M-moron! Who said I was your damned bride?"

Nowaki blinked. "You just did Hiro-san."

Hiroki' face flushed, partly with embarassment and partly with happiness. "Aw crap, look what you made me do you bastard! I meant at least to you I'm your bride. And apparently this "romantic trip to the seaside" is your cheesy idea of our honeymoon getaway, isn't that right?"Hiroki demanded.

Nowaki shrugged sheepishly. "Guess I've been found out huh?"

"Yes! You have!" Hiroki blustered, crossing his arms against his chest in a feeble attempt too seem annoyed. Nowaki saw right through it though, as he placed a hand on Hiroki's.

"But Hiro-san is happy, isn't he?" Nowaki asked, suddenly very uncertainly, making Hiroki want to slap him for sounding so insecure.

"Of course I am, dumbass." Hiroki grumbled. His raven-haired lover's blue eyes grew wide and happy-looking. "Oh Hiro-san..." He murmured softly, gazing at his husband's crimson cheeks. He felt himself lowering in, to kiss those tender, beautifully warm lips he had taken against his own so many times...Hiroki turned up his face slowly to look into Nowaki's eyes as he leaned forward...the gentle crashing sounds of the waves rising to a steady crescendo in the background...

But then all of a sudden, Hiroki felt a sharp jab on the back of his neck, and then another. He clutched at the skin there and found that it was throbbing. Nowaki gasped, feeling a sharp jab on his own neck as well, and turned around to find that two teenage boys had been throwing rocks at them, and now were laughing cruelly.

"Ha! Look at the two homos, making out on the beach!"

"Fucking faggots! Take this!"

"Cut that out!" Nowaki shouted angrilly, with an enraged look in his eyes. "Don't you dare touch Hiro-san!"

But the two childish, hateful adolescents kept up their mocking until something stopped them in there tracks; the sight of Hiroki Kamijou getting up and slowly walking towards them, giving them the famous "Kamijou the Devil," glare that would unfailingly send chills of fear down anyone's spine. As soon as the two boys were caught by this murderous glare, they screeched in horror and bolted from the scene. Nowaki ran up to his side, taking his hand.

"Oh Hiro-san! I'm so sorry...did they hurt you? Are you hurt Hiro-san?"

"No, I'm fine," Hiroki replied flatly, rubbing at his neck. "But if those two brats hadn't ran you would have seen two empty craters where their heads once were."

Nowaki laughed. "Hiro-san." But Nowaki stopped there and noticed Hiroki's quivering lip, and a moisture glistening over his eyes and beading his lashes... "Hiro-san? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing! Let's just go!" Hiroki barked, turning away quickly from Nowaki's worried gaze and briskly sprinting back towards their now wrinkled sandy towel. The edges of which had been soaked by the surf, and were now salty and wet. Hiroki rolled it up and started walking back towards the car.

"Hiro-san! What are you doing?" Nowaki asked. "We don't have to go yet!"

"I want to go home..." Hiroki mumbled softly. He was trying to keep his voice even, even though his tears. "I'm sorry...I just..."

Nowaki hadn't yet noticed those tears, but regardless took his husband into his arms. "C'mon. Sssshhh. It's all right...I'm here..."

"Damn it all..." Hiroki whispered. "Just damn them all..."

"Come on...there's one more thing I wanted us to do before we left." Nowaki urged, taking his distraught husband and leading him through the sandy dunes towards a large structure in the distance. They walked together in almost complete silence for up the an hour until they came upon their destination; it was a lighthouse, one of the tallest, and oldest ones in all of Maine. It also happened to be open to the public. Nowaki knew his Hiro-san would love the view from the top. Luckily, it wasn't very crowded, even in the outside picnic/lunch area, which was good because he doubted Hiro-san was in any mood to be around any other people besides Nowaki at the moment.

"Look Hiro-san, isn't it incredible? Let's climb to the top!"

Hiroki nodded wordlessly as Nowaki led him to the entrance down the boardwalk, paid their fee to climb the rickety iron stairs all the way to the top. The paused to take pictures at the half-way point through a small window, as Nowaki tired to cheer up his Hiro-san by pointing out all the buildings in the distance. They could even see their hotel from that height, but Hiroki wasn't even remotely interested. When they reached the top, Nowaki gasped and tried to act stunned and amazed by the view, as if he were a small child who had never seen the world from the top of a lighthouse before. But it was all fake. He was trying to do something, anything, to make his Hiro-san snap back to normal. Return to his old, harsh, grouchy self. It hurt Nowaki too much to see his husband look so desolate and defeated like this.

"C'mon Hiro-san, please." He urged softly. "Please cheer up and look at this view with me."

Hiroki didn't say anything, but he followed Nowaki to the railing and looked out at the glittering horizon. It was close to early evening now, since they had arrived at the beach by two, and the sun was just beginning to dip lower in the sky, turning it into a hazy mixture of red and cobalt blue. Clouds scattered across that multi-colored landscape, and their edges were illuminated by the rays of the setting sun so beautifuly it was like standing beneath a giant oil painting.

"Oh Hiro-san, isn't this so beautiful? We really came on a good day, didn't we?" Nowaki then felt an increase of weight on his shoulder and found that Hiroki had rested his head on it, silently.

"You know, I'd almost let myself believe that now we are really married, I would never have to face any hateful or malicious bastards like those ever again. Like the way I'd faced my father. I thought that I would never have to encounter that type of human scum again unless I willingly put myself in a situation that might involve them. I thought my father was the worst, but those brats were like miniature versions of him. One day they'll grow up and turn into drunk, stupid bastards just like him..."

Nowaki's heart lurched. "Hiro-san, please look at this view with me?" He asked softly. "I know you'll feel better. We'll both be-"

"You know something Nowaki?" Hiroki continued. "I don't even think you have any idea about how cruel and evil the world is. I really don't. No matter how old you get, I don't think you'll ever come close to fathoming how incredible a human being you are. Do you ever think about all the crap you've been through just to prove to me that you care? Don't you ever think about how many other people would just go away to America for a year and sleep around like a bunch of horny ass pigs and then come back with all smiles to their oblivious lover? You know, I don't even think you're physically capable of that."

"Oh Hiro-san, where is all this coming from?" Nowaki said softly wrapping an arm around Hiroki's shoulder and nuzzling him. "Of course I would never cheat on you. Never, in a million years..."

"My point exactly. That's why you're so special. If it were any other damn human male on this planet, I would say nine times out of ten, he'd be lying through his teeth...but you? Forget it...and yet, even incredible human beings like you aren't immune to cruelty. You still have to live to encounter it, deal with it, endure it like a trial. That really pisses me off. The fact that people like that and people like you can roam in the same territory. They should be locked away and left to rot in a cell somewhere at the bottom of the earth.

"Nowaki...what I'm trying to say is...I...I've dealt with this kind of shit my entire damn life. When I was a little kid, dealing with my feelings for Akihiko, they would show sometimes, and I would get bullied and harassed, and it practically ruined me as a human being. It would have if I hadn't learned from it and grew from it. But ever since I found you, that kind of pain has been a thing of the past. The only time you've hurt me was when you were away from me, and even then it was a misunderstanding.

Listen, what I want to say is, even thought I don't show it worth shit, I'm so happy that you're with me now. You're the only truly good human being I'll think I'll ever have known in this lifetime."

The silence that stretched forth then felt like it might last an eternity. Nowaki was so profoundly moved he didn't know what to say. He had never been moved to a point where he was completely speechless. What was he supposed to say now?

"H-Hiro-san..."

Hiroki stood closer to his speechless husband and gazed out at the water. "This view really is beautiful, isn't it? Thank you for this Nowaki. I really needed it."

Nowaki swallowed. God, how he loved this man...the sunlight had filled the liquid depths of his eyes, and they were more beautiful than he had ever seen before.

Together, they watched the sun dip beneath the horizon. Hiroki was grasping Nowaki's hand by this time, and standing with his head on Nowaki's shoulder and his eyes shut with bliss. Finally, Nowaki could'nt resist any longer, and he turned around and took Hiro-san's head in his hands. Hiroki's eyes fluttered open slowly, as he looked deeply into Nowaki's, which were close to bursting with tenderness for him.

"I love you, Hiro-san." Nowaki whispered tenderly. Then, he picked off where those boys had so cruelly interrupted. He pressed his lips to Hiroki's which eagerly returned the kiss. They were still completely alone at this point, so they didn't hesitate to wrap their arms around each other and melt into the kiss. Hiroki opened his eyes halfway to gaze at his husband's face, and he moaned and leaned farther into Nowaki's embrace.

"I love you too." He whispered when they broke apart.

They spent the rest of the evening walking along the beach together, hand in hand. When night fell, they stopped at a nearby fast-food restauraunt for a quick dinner, then returned to the hotel suite. Hiroki looked very tired from the day's events, and Nowaki assumed that he just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.

"Hiro-san? You going to bed?" Nowaki asked gently. Hiroki nodded in response and headed for the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, scrubbed his face, and clambered into bed.

"Did you have a good day Hiro-san?" Nowaki could'nt help but ask, as he sat on the edge of the bed, turning on the TV. It never seemed to bother Hiroki or keep him awake, and right now it looked as though he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He rolled away from Nowaki, yawning sleepily.

"It was nice, for the most part, except for those damn brats...they can go to hell for all I care..."

"Don't let them get to you anymore Hiro-san." Nowaki said. "It's over now."

"I know that." He rubbed at his neck. "Stupid fucks...throwing rocks at us. How old were they anyway, four? They make my lazy ass deadbeat students look like angels."

"I know. It's horrible."

"At least we're going home soon. I'm starting to miss home."

"Me too." Nowaki agreed, shutting off the TV and settling down next to his husband in bed. "Night, I'm gonna get some sleep too."

Hiroki sighed. "Nowaki..."

"Yes, Hiro-san?"

Hiroki fidgeted in bed a little. "I...I'm just a little cold, you know?"

Nowaki smiled, gathering his beloved into his arms once more. "You are just so adorable Hiro-san."

"Whatever," Hiroki grumbled, burying his face in Nowaki's chest. "I just hope we never run into that kind of shit again you know? I was really this close to just kicking the shit out of those little delinquents..."

Nowaki chuckled. "I can see that happening easily."

But then, Nowaki's tone lowered a little. "Hiro-san, please don't think about it anymore. What matters is that we're together, and no one is ever going to change that. Never."

"I know..." Hiroki murmured into his chest.

Nowaki never heard him say more though; he had fallen asleep. Nowaki smiled. "Oh Hiro-san. If only I could remake the world. I'd make it so no one could ever hurt you...maybe then you would'nt have to put on such a facade of invulnerability for everyone, when it's clear to me how fragile you are inside." Nowaki kissed him on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Hiro-san."

Okay yeah I get it this chapter was a little cheesy. But I just felt it was needed. I really wanted to write some more hurt/comfort kind of thing for this couple. I'm sorry if Hiroki was a little OoC...sometimes that sort of thing is hard to avoid. Plz Review! Next chapter will probably be the last one.