"Eiji-kun is moving out." Haruka said, when she left the bathroom. She was wearing a white towel around her body and drying her long silver hair with another one.
Takumi was lying on their bed, waiting for her while watching tv and sat down, surprised.
"What? Why? Did he and Shuichirou have a fight or something?"
"Not at all. He's moving in with some girl from his college." She sat down by his side.
"Eiji-kun got a girlfriend?!" he got close to his wife and started to dry her hair.
"He said it was not the case. But, it's still weird."
"Shuichirou's going to be so lonely." He felt sorry for his friend.
"I know. I'm worried already."
Takumi hugged her by the shoulders and kissed her face.
"We should get a big house and live together, the three of us."
She smiled and turned around, caressing his face.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah!" he smiled happily. "And when we get kids, they will have uncle Shuichirou right next door."
Haruka giggled before kissing him.
"It's the first time you talked about children." The golden eyes were kind. "You really want to have them?"
"Of course." He caressed her cheek. "I want everything with you."
She hugged his chest, her head against his heart, before closing her eyes.
"Me too."
############
Mika was sitting on the sofa, waiting for Eiji. He had sent her a message asking if he could stop by. She was free and thought he wanted to talk something about the upcoming moving.
But, when she opened the door, Kikumaru was crying seriously, like a lost child. His arm was in front of his eyes and he sobbed.
"Mika-san…"
"Eiji-san, what happened?!" she gently made him enter and looked at him worried. "Are you hurt?!"
"I'm so sorry….for bothering you… I just… didn't have anywhere to go." He said between deep sobs.
"It's okay. Please, go sit down, I will bring you some water."
She returned and sat by his side, offering the cold water to him. He drank slowly and Mika gently rubbed his back.
"Thank you." He said, after finishing.
"Can you tell me what happened?" the purple eyes were so worried. "You're trembling."
"You were fine just a couple hours ago when we left college? Did something happen at home? Did your boss and you get into a fight?"
"Not at all!" he finally looked at her properly. "Oishi-san didn't do anything wrong, he…"
The sound of Oishi's moaning Tezuka's name returned to his mind and he sank his face inside his hands, trying to calm down.
"Oishi-san… is dating someone. That person said I was nothing but a hassle to him and said I should distance myself from him." She noticed he was on the edge of tears again. "When I arrived home today, that person was there and I… I think I had another anxiety attack because of it."
"Did this person threaten you?"
"No. But he said I should distance myself from Oishi-san. That I was nothing but a stranger to him."
"He?" she noticed the pronoun, but didn't thought it was important to dwell over the subject at the moment. "But your boss was the one who took you in, right? And you're being paid for a service." She was upset. "Why did this person meddle with such a thing? Your arrangement with your boss is between both of you. Did you tell Oishi-san what had happened?"
He moved his head negatively.
"I can't. He's really happy. I cannot… create problems to him."
"Is that why you're moving out in such a hurry?"
"Yes." His voice was weak. He lowered his head and the red bangs were in front of his eyes, but she could see a new tear rolling down his face.
Mika took a deep breath, feeling extremely sorry for him. She didn't know much about Eiji's circumstances, but he did tell her about him being adopted and how he hated to be a nuisance to anyone. So, she could only guess how bad he felt towards such cruel words.
"Eiji-san, sleep here tonight."
"What?!" he looked up, the dark blue eyes glistering with tears. "I couldn't impose on you like that!"
"There's no way I'm letting you alone tonight." She smiled at him. "And we're going to live together soon, right? There's no problem on it."
"Mika-san…"
"Did you eat yet?"
"No."
"Go sink in the bath for a moment. Take your time and relax. I'll prepare something yummy for you. Is hot chocolate with cake okay?"
"You don't have to worry."
"I'm going to see my girlfriend tomorrow, so I bought vanilla cake for us. There's more than enough." She smiled. "There are clean towels at the bathroom closet. I will lend you some of my brother's old pajamas."
"You have a brother?"
"Yes." She stood up. "An older one, but he lives in Kyoto. He spent the night here when I moved in to give me a hand."
"Thank you so much, Mika-san."
"Don't mention it."
###########
"Are you leaving already?" Oishi sat down, looking at Tezuka while he started to dress himself.
"You said it would be awkward for me to be here when your kid is around." He was buttoning his shirt.
"I see." He showed him a small smile. "I've prepared dinner for you. Would you like it to take it home?"
He came close and placed a soft, gentle kiss on his mouth.
"Yes, please."
Shuichirou smiled and left the bed, dressing himself as well.
They went to the kitchen and he started to prepare the take out.
"How are your weekends? I was thinking we could set a date for our trip to the inn."
"Ah, I'm going to start volunteering for the hospital on Saturdays, so I don't know my schedule yet." He smiled. "But I will tell you as soon as I know about it."
"Volunteer?"
"Yes, I'm going to do pro bono consultations for a children's shelter at the city."
"Working for free on the weekend? Why would you do such a thing?"
Oishi was surprised with his words.
"Because I want to help. Life in a shelter can be really difficult for those children. If I can offer them proper health care, I want to do it." He put the lid on the container. "Don't you have something similar as a lawyer?"
"We do. Some people work in Child's Services or something like that. But, I'm not suited to do such job."
"I see." Shuichirou offer the container to him. "Here you go."
"Thank you for the food." Tezuka leaned over and kissed him again. "And for your time as well."
"You're welcome." He smiled. "Thank you for coming over."
"Let me know when you're free."
"I will." He said, before Kunimitsu went to the door and left his place.
Oishi returned to his room and threw himself on his bed, taking a deep breath. What kind of wild sex was that? He felt like he was going to faint!
Picking up his cell phone, there was a message from Eiji.
"Practice ended up late, I'm going to sleep at Mika-san's home. She's the one I will move in with. Don't worry; I'll be back in the morning."
He sat down and read the message again. How could he not worry? Eiji was going to spend the night out, with a girl nonetheless!
"He said she was not his girlfriend, but he wouldn't spend the night and live together with someone he was not close to, right?"
He was so confused! Why wasn't Eiji telling him things properly?!
"I hope he's responsible about it. He's too young to be a father right now." He said, before leaving his bed and going to the bathroom to take a shower.
#########
"Feeling better?" Mika asked to Eiji, with a smile, just after both of them took a sip of the hot chocolate on their respective mugs.
"Yes." He showed her a small smile. They were sitting on high chairs, across from each other, on the kitchen's counter top. She had also placed a slice of cake to him. "Thank you so much, Mika-san."
"I already have my share of ugly crying. I know how hard it's to go through such a thing by yourself."
"The cake is very good." He said, after taking a bite.
"It's my girlfriend's favorite. She had a really sweet tooth.
"Mika-san, what kind of person is your girlfriend?"
"She's strong." He noticed how her expression softened completely. "She took over her parent's business by herself when they retired and it's doing an excellent job. A lot of people didn't believe in her at the beginning."
"What's hard of her… towards her family… I mean…" she noticed he was shy to complete the question.
"To date women?" she smiled, wanting to put him at ease. "She told me she never really talked about it with them. She even got dragged into marriage interviews for a couple of times until she told them she didn't want a husband and would dedicate herself for the family business. But, I think in her case is a little harder, because she's an only child. Most of families have this expectation, right? Having children to continue their names."
"My parents didn't change my name when I entered the family's register. They said it was not fair for them to do it, since I was young and could regret later." He looked at his own reflection on the chocolate. "But, being a Kikumaru never brought me anything good, except from being abandoned by another Kikumaru. So, when I turn 20, I'm changing my last name."
"What last name will you take?"
"Ono Eiji." He grinned. "Doesn't sound nice?"
"It sure does. But, I don't think there's anything wrong with you being Kikumaru Eiji. You're kind, gentle, intelligent and talented, regardless of your name."
"I'm not all of these at all!" he smiled shyly.
"Of course you're." she took a bite from the cake. "You got hired to cook for someone. Most of people in our classes didn't have this chance yet."
"But, it was really easy to work for Oishi-san. He's a very nice person, he's very kind and gentle and he worries about everyone sincerely." He lowered his head a little and she noticed a hint of sadness on his smile. "He always ate all my food with a smile on his face and praised me, even when I cooked simple things. He would pat my head and said I was doing a good job. He also… took care of me every time I had anxiety attacks." He took a deep breath and one of his hands grabbed the cloth of his shirt, feeling his chest hurt. "He really put me at ease and never judged me for this weakness of mine."
"I'm sure he's going to miss you a lot as well." Mika touched his hand and pressed it gently inside her fingers, wainting to comfort him. "You two seem very close."
"When I was all alone he gave me a place to return to. And now… I lost it." His voice trembled. "I lost my home with Oishi-san."
Mika continued to listen to him, until he realized he was about to cry again and finally raised his head.
"I'm sorry." He faked a smile. "Here I'm, acting like a cry baby again, I…"
"Eiji-san…" the purple eyes looked deep inside the dark blue ones. "Are you in love with your boss?"
