Part one of the major events will now take place xD

Chapter 11: Hanging On

5:36 pm

Miyuki walked into the main bedroom and closed the door behind him. Work always got in the way of spending time alone with Eijun, but now that he was home early, he could finally relax and find comfort in the arms of his spouse.

Or so he thought.

Eijun was laying on the bed, bags of chips, sweets and sodas surrounding him. He picked up the remote and changed the channel, completely unaware of his husband's presence.

Miyuki unbuttoned his shirt and loosened his tie. "I'm home~"

No response.

"Eijun, can you hear me?"

Silence yet again.

"I said I'm home."

Eijun shrugged, stuffing a handful of Doritos in his mouth. 'Okay, so?'

The bespectacled male sweat-dropped. "Wait, are you still angry about what happened this morning? You got rid of the jacket, so I'm fine now."

Another shrug accompanied by a loud burp.

Sighing, Miyuki stood in front of the TV with his hands at his sides. The brunette moved to the left but he moved also. He dodged to the right but the screen was still blocked. This carried on until Eijun finally snapped.

"Mou! I'm trying to ignore you! Stop bothering me so I can ignore you! Is that too much to ask for?!"

"Uh, yeah. Why are you ignoring me?"

"I want to! Now move! I can't see my drama!"

"I'm not mad anymore."

"Okay, and?! I'm not ignoring you because of that!"

"Then what?"

Eijun folded his arms across his chest, pouting. "You accused me of cheating."

Miyuki's brow rose. "Oh. That's it?"

"DON'T TAKE IT SO LIGHTLY, BASTARD!"

The former catcher laughed in amusement as he plopped down on the bed next to his spouse. He snatched an unopened bag of caramelized popcorn and shoved some down his throat.

The shorter male gasped. "Hey, that's mine! You don't even like sweets!"

"Don't care. We're supposed to share in this house."

"Wow, I wonder who made that rule!"

"I did. Just now. By the way, aren't you supposed to be ignoring me?"

"Do you wanna be ignored?!"

Miyuki turned off the TV and pulled Eijun closer towards him. "I came home early, so I don't want to be ignored over something petty. I want to relax." He held up his hand in front of the latter's lips. "My fingers are sticky. Would you mind licking them for me?"

Eijun hummed. "Fine, I'll stop ignoring you. But what's in it for me?"

The bespectacled male whispered into the brunette's ear seductively. "I'll fuck you. I'll make you melt under my touch while you moan for me to go harder and deeper. I'll pull on your hair and spank you until you scream in pleasure. I'll suck on your thighs as I pinch your pert nipples. How's that sound?" With that, he rejoiced at the lewd expression on Eijun's face as he slowly sucked his index finger, his cheeks red. "You're making me fantasize about all the forbidden things I could do to you on this bed. Keep up the good work."

The former pitcher bit on his finger. "Shut up!"

"Ow, that hurt."

Ryosuke grimaced as he gulped another shot of alcohol and slammed the small glass against the counter. The strong but refreshing sting of the liquid smoothly glided down his throat, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. He felt safe. "Another one," he said to the bartender.

The bartender shook his head. "Nope, Kominato-san. You're way too drunk."

"Escusee me? I am not the least bit drunkuh. I have… no idea what you're talkiiing about."

"Yep, you're totally wasted. Why do you always come here to drink in the first place? You've never done this before."

Ryosuke exhaled as he massaged his temple. "I'm fruuuuustrated," he slurred. "Youichi… getting on my nerves."

The male leaned his elbow on the marble counter, interested in what his frequent customer had to say. "I'd like to know what's going on, if you don't mind."

"You give me shot, I give you story."

The bartender rolled his eyes, inevitably pouring a shot of Heaven into Ryosuke's glass.

Ryosuke swirled it around before blurting out his true feelings. When he was drunk, the worst thing about him was his mouth. He would say anything he truly felt like saying, which usually got him in trouble afterwards. "Sooooo, like, he's been such an assss lately. I didn't even d-do anything wrong; he did. How can you leave meeee for two yearss to take care of someone's baby?"

"Who was that person?"

"Our kohai from highschool. Some shit happened and Youichiiiii ended up staying with him? Shiiiit, did he like him or something? If he did, he should have married hiiim instead!"

"That's not a nice thing to say, Kominato-san."

"Am I lying, though?" Ryosuke's grip on the glass tightened, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "It hurts, honestly. I want to forgive him. I really do, but… it's harrrrd. I don't want him to leave again. In the past, I used tooooo think I burdened him because I couldn't give him a child. He always tells me that it's fine, but it's not. He really wants one… so I guess everything's my fault. Haha." He swirled the glass once more and drank it. The sting was there, alright.

The bartender nodded. "I feel ya. It's not easy forgiving someone, but I hope you do. You should treasure this Youichi character. Not everyone can handle your attitude."

"Funny." The pinkette took some bills out of his wallet and placed it on the counter. "I should go now. Keep the change."

"Be careful on your way out and don't bump into anything."

"I'll be fiiine."

11:56 pm

"Thank you for your service!"

Kuramochi inspected his bag of groceries as he exited the supermarket. Ryosuke hadn't come home yet, so the least he could do was cook him something for a late night meal. Standing at the crosswalk, he was about to walk until a woman's shout caught his attention. Dropping his bag, he ran to his left and entered an alley. "What the hell are you doing to her?!" he shouted.

A man snickered, kicking the woman on the ground. "Ain't none of your business," he said. "Why don't you run along and–"

"Hell no!" Kuramochi rolled up his sleeves and dashed over to the man. Ignoring the height difference, he grabbed him by the collar, kicked his legs and tackled him to the ground, pressing his arm behind his back. "Don't hurt women like that, you bastard! What did your mom teach you?" He pressed his arm harder.

The woman slowly got up and bowed at the former shortstop, scampering away. "T-Thank you!"

The former shortstop welcomed her and brought his attention back to his victim. "I ain't letting you go, you know that right?! You're gonna apologize!"

The man did not seem fazed at all. In fact, he was smiling. "You might wanna get off of me, kid."

"What's so fucking funny? Wipe that smile off your face before I do it for you!"

"Do you really think I'm the only one here?"

"Eh?"

Kuramochi gasped in agony as he felt something long and sharp pierce through his stomach. Looking down, his eyes widened at the sight of blood trailing down his shirt. "What the…" He held in his cries of pain, feeling the same sensation of a knife piercing through different parts of his body, mostly his stomach and thighs. Spurts of laughter echoed from behind him. 'These… b-bastards… wish I had my gun…'

By the time the men left, Kuramochi realized that he was practically half dead. He was on his hands and knees, panting heavily. He held his stomach with one hand, cringing at the amount of blood pooling beneath him. He couldn't move his limbs. His body was burning. Each breath he took was rugged and short, and his vision was fading. 'Am I… really gonna… leave this way? I can't leave… Ryo like this… I need to apologize even m-more… man, I suck balls…'

Running out of breath, Kuramochi's eyes shut and he fell to the ground with a thud.