It's been a while, hope people enjoy this latest installment.

Thanks to anyone who reads or reads and reviews. Cheers!

/GG/

More than Life Itself

On those rare days when Hatroi was able to sleep in he usually still woke up earlier than Yoshino. In fact, there had never been a time in his life, adult or child, in which the other man had woken up before him. So when he strictly recalled falling asleep with one mangaka in his arms followed by waking up without, he was a little confused. Momentarily his heart felt a little lost when he saw the other side of the bed empty. Then he realized that his lazy lover probably hadn't made it further than the kitchen or the front room. There was a good possibility Yoshino had gotten out of bed and fallen asleep in front of the television. `

Hatori was tired though. Had Chiaki still been in bed with him he would have wrapped the other man into a big hug and tried to fall back asleep for another hour or so. Since that wasn't the case he couldn't fall back asleep. One missing Yoshino was a good indicator that Hatori wasn't going to get any more shut-eye; he hadn't been good at sleeping without the other at his side anymore.

Slowly, the editor sat up and stretched his arms toward the ceiling and yawned to get more oxygen into his blood flow. The floor was cold on the base of his feet and sent a jolt through his system that immediately wiped any remaining need to sleep.

"Shit," he mumbled as he realized just how cold his bedroom was. Hatori looked at the aircon remote control and saw it set on fifteen. No wonder it was so cold; Chiaki had to have turned the setting down that far.

He turned the setting back to twenty-two and reached for his house slippers. At least he needn't walk across the freezing surface of the floor. Then he padded to the door and walked into his front room. Hatori immediately saw Chiaki sitting on the sofa, staring intently at a computer screen. This sight made Hatori happy; Yoshino Chiaki actually working on research for his manga. That was the only time his lover tended to work on a computer, for research, so he thought nothing of it as he went into the bathroom to complete his morning routine.

/GG/

It would have pleased him immensely had his Yoshino come into the bathroom to have a shower with him. When that didn't happen, it was at least some consolation that the other was working. They didn't usually end up with a lot of time together, but if Chiaki was so intent on working he wasn't about to stop the mangaka. Maybe, for once, there might even be some pages turned in on time.

The thought of Chiaki in the shower with him caused that familiar sensation to rush into his nether regions. Maybe it was a good idea that his lover hadn't joined him or they may not have gotten out of the shower any time soon. Those additional comments in his head, accompanied with memories of prior times caused his family jewels to become slightly erect. He counteracted this feeling by jumping into the cold shower and quickly cleaned himself off.

It wouldn't have gone well had Yoshino commented on how long he had been in the bathroom. The other's embarrassment about sexual acts had slowly been diminishing. Whether he brought it up was debatable, but it was always possible.

Hatori finished and walked out of the bathroom. He noted that Yoshino was still in front of the computer, in the exact same spot. The mangaka's face was about twenty centimeters from the screen and he realized that Chiaki's hands were not moving. Was he reading something?

"You shouldn't sit that close to the screen, Yoshino," Hatori said in passing as he went into the bedroom to don some clothes. When he returned the man was still staring at the screen; hadn't moved a millimeter.

Hatori walked over and put his hands on Chiaki's shoulders, pulling the man from the screen.

"Yoshino," he said softly. "If you sit that close you will hurt your eyes." He looked at the screen and didn't quite understand what he was seeing. "What are you doing, Yoshino?"

"Tori," Chiaki said with a huge grin on his face. "Yuu showed me how to download a torrent and use it to download movies, albums, and manga. I'm watching the progress."

Hatori knew what a torrent was and it was a little shocking to see that Yoshino was using one.

"I understand why Yuu may need to use one of those, but with the money you make, Yoshino, can't you buy the things you are downloading legally?"

The editor never liked to bring up the mangaka's money situation, especially since he regulated it to ensure Yoshino didn't buy ridiculous junk. Bringing up the money usually made the mangaka feel bad about his situation. Hatori hated it when Yoshino questioned his money; he deserved every coin he'd earned, but the editor knew that his lover always felt unworthy of his success.

"I can, Tori," Chiaki chirped as he looked up at Hatori with a grin. "But there are so many good foreign films out there that are not subtitled in Japanese. I have learned that fans have made something called soft subs and put them onto the movies then upload them to the Internet."

This was all new information to Hatori. He knew that there were illegally posted movies, but he hadn't been aware that fans of movies made their own subs and put them onto the Internet for others. While that was an illegal practice, it was actually rather thoughtful. Chiaki was right; there were dozens of good films in existence that hadn't been placed on the Japanese market.

"Look, Tori," Chiaki said, pointing to the computer screen. "Do you remember that movie we saw in that foreign film house when we were kids?"

Hatori looked at the title and instantly had a flashback of the two of them sitting on the chairs with only a handful of other people, watching an American movie with no translations. He'd never forgotten about that day; neither had Chiaki it seemed. The movie that had almost finished downloading was that film. Both he and Yoshino had adored sitting there and watching the film and not understanding a word of what was being spoken. It made them feel so grown-up to watch a movie in English.

Chiaki continued talking while Hatori had his musings. "I started looking for this after Yuu helped me download the torrent to the computer. I thought we could watch it together after it finishes downloading. I've been downloading it for weeks because the wifi keeps going out and there are so few seeders."

Hatori couldn't help but smile. Chiaki was being unintentionally sweet, though Hatori doubted the man realized why. That film had been fun, but more to Yoshino's taste. The reason Hatori had liked that film was because it was the first time the future mangaka had held his hand differently than as a friend. Chiaki'd unintentionally grabbed Hatori's hand and entwined their fingers in all the excitement of the movie. To the editor it had been a sign that his pining wasn't in vain; eventually they would end up together.

After that movie Hatori had searched for a copy of that film on VHS and had come up empty. Sporadically since that time, twenty years ago, he'd checked auctions and Internet sites to see if he could find the movie. That movie seemed to be elusive, until Chiaki and his torrent had come along.

"Ahhhhhrghhhhh!" Chiaki shouted out, causing Hatori to jump slightly out of his skin. "This damn thing is taking too long!"

Hatori watched as Yoshino stood up and started to pace the room, ranting.

"It said thirty minutes just a few moments ago and now it says twelve hours! Why does it do that? What is the matter with the Internet connection?"

This caused Hatori to lower his head and shake it slightly. He walked over and put his arm around Yoshino's shoulders and led the slighter man back to the sofa.

"It's okay, Yoshino. It's not a bad thing to wait a little bit longer for the movie to download," Hatori stated calmly.

"But we are busy for the next few weeks. I wanted to watch this with you today like we did back when we were kids."

The comment was so heartfelt it made Hatori's own heart skip a beat. How Yoshino did that to him was a mystery. It took a lot of self control not to smile at how adorable Chiaki looked with that depressed glint in his eyes over a movie not being downloaded quickly.

"Yoshino, it will download eventually and we can watch it then."

Yoshino frowned at him and looked away; Hatori could tell he was embarrassed.

"Why don't we make breakfast together, maybe the movie will have finished downloading by the time we finish eating."

Chiaki nodded and Hatori took hold of his lover's hand and pulled him to his feet. Then he placed a tender kiss to the other man's left cheek, then his right cheek, nose, neck, and finally lips. When he pulled back he took in the look of Yoshino's wide eyes, surprise written on the shorter man's face.

"W-w-what…?" Chiaki sputtered. "For that what was?"

Hatori almost laughed at Yoshino's inability to say the sentence in the correct order. How cute his boyfriend was when flustered.

"Because, Yoshino, I love you more than life itself."

The blush that crossed Chiaki's face could have rivaled a ripe strawberry. A grin made its way onto Hatori's face as he led his stammering boyfriend into the kitchen. The movie could wait, as long as he could feel his lover's fingers with his own.