Eiji picked up his cell phone near his futon and looked at the time. It was 4:15 a.m and he was still not able to sleep. Mika's question continued to echo on his mind and he felt so terribly uncomfortable on his own skin.

He opened the message Oishi had sent him earlier. "Get home safely. I will wait for you for us to have breakfast. Call me if you need anything. Have a good night."

He put his cell phone down again and took a deep, tired breath. He didn't deserve Oishi's kindness and worry. He had nothing but treat him dearly and, even so, he had such strange behavior towards him. What would have happened if his senses didn't stop him on that early morning at the hotel? Eiji was sure the young doctor would violently push him away and call him names if his fingers had acted on their own.

Love. The word echoed on his brain. What it even mean? Aside from the love he felt for his parents, Eiji never experienced anything similar with anyone else. While on high school, his classmates were busy trying to find dates and he would just stay behind to study and get good grades. He could never find a girlfriend since his face was always inside books and he would throw away a couple of confession letters he had received during the school years.

He would always avoid anything that would let him distract himself and cause his parents any problems, since he was on a scholarship. He needed to be the perfect student, the perfect son. For many years was always afraid Masayuki and Chiho would change their minds and return him to the shelter.

Was that the reason his feelings towards Oishi were so confused? He had no practice on having any kind of relationship aside from his parents. Oishi had helped him in an extremely crucial and lonely period of his life. He had become his family, so it was normal Eiji was extremely attached, right?

"Just like a stray cat." He repeated Tezuka's words and his heart was tight inside his chest.

###########

Tezuka woke up and sat down on his bed in a sudden move. It was morning already. Getting up, he put his pants back before leaving his room and searched for Syuusuke but soon realized he was completely alone. He remembered the way the light blue eyes looked at him after he made Kunimitsu come into his mouth. He licked his fingers with a satisfied expression, before silently curling up by his side, while Tezuka was fighting to breath steadily again.

"What the hell happened?" he asked himself, putting a hand on his face. Who gives someone a blowjob and disappear like that?!

He returned to his room and picked up his cell phone. Maybe there was a message there? Looking through his contacts, there was nothing from Fuji and Tezuka was sure he was just played again.

Suddenly, a message from Syusuuke popped on the screen. He was thanking him for the night before and said he wished they could see each other soon. He remembered Fuji's words and took a deep breath.

"It was not cheating." He stood up, leaving the cell phone on his bed. "There's no need to tell him anything." He told himself, before going to the bathroom. Tezuka was in a desperate need of a long shower.

###########

"I'm Yagami Mika." She made a reverence. "Nice to meet you, Oishi-san."

"The pleasure is mine, Yagami-san." Oishi was at her apartment. The moving day had finally arrived and he was there to help Eiji with a couple of remaining boxes. He had started to take his things to the new apartment during the week. "Thank you so much for taking Eiji-kun in."

"Don't thank me." She said, gently. "He's going to be a big help. And he's very fun to be around."

"Oishi-san, come see my bedroom!" Eiji smiled.

"Yes, yes."

"Ah, Eiji-san, I'm going out for a while, okay? Doing some shopping. Please, you two, be at ease."

"Okay."

Shuichirou smiled when saw the big windows on his room and the beautiful view to the park at night.

"It's lovely, Eiji-kun."

"Isn't it?" he grinned happily.

"I understand why you wanted to move out." Shuichirou smiled at him. "This place is so much better than mine."

"It's not it, Oishi-san!" he responded seriously. "There was nothing wrong with your place! I really liked it in there."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! Your apartment was always so cozy. I really felt at ease. It was because Oishi-san was there."

Eiji was putting an extremely strong façade towards everything. He used the time Oishi was at work to finish packing and reunited strength to hold back his tears when seeing his empty. There was no use to cry for the situation anymore. When Shuichirou returned home, he painfully put a smile on while trying to remain calm during the last dinner they would share together. But, while preparing the food, Eiji's hands couldn't stop trembling and he felt like suffocating.

"You're always so kind and gentle and you took very good care of me." He averted his eyes, feeling a little embarrassed. "Masa-nii always says that home is where your important people and happy memories are, so I considered your apartment my as home as well."

"I'm glad you had such a good time living together. It was the same for me. You did so much and even taught me how to cook a little. I'll be forever grateful." Even though his voice was filled with gentleness, Eiji noticed a hint of sadness on the green eyes. "You know, on those last months, it was the first time that place really felt like a home, not only an empty space I only used to sleep. I was really looking forward to return every day, just to see you there, talk and eat your delicious food. I got used to say good morning and good night to you. It's going to be hard to return to no one from now on."

"Oishi-san…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he chuckled. "I shouldn't be saying such things on this day. You should be enjoying it." He looked around his bedroom and the majority of things were already organized. Eiji had always being very tidy. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Can I… give you a hug?" he asked extremely shyly and Oishi smiled to his cuteness.

"Of course."

Eiji's arms were around his torso tightly and he leaned his forehead on his chest. It was the first time he really noticed their height difference of almost 10 inches and he felt even smaller towards Shuichirou.

"I'm the one who has to be grateful. Thank you for everything, Oishi-san. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it." He caressed his hair. "But, it's not like we will never see each other again. I hope you visit from time to time."

"I cannot." He thought to himself, tightening his grip on Oishi's back.

"I will work hard to improve my cooking skills. I want to prepare you some delicious food someday. Please, take care of yourself and call me if you need anything. At any time. Okay?"

"Hm." Eiji was unable to respond anymore. He silently wished he could stay inside that hug forever.