"Yo." Takumi smiled when Shuichirou opened the door of his apartment, but as soon as he noticed the worried look on his face, his smile stop. "Wow, your face is terrible. What happened?"

"I needed to talk to someone." He said, after he entered and took of his sneakers. "I made dinner, are you hungry?"

"Sure. But, why didn't you call Haruka as well?"

"She can't know what happened."

"Shuichirou, you do realize we are married now, right? Are you asking me to hide things from my wife?"

"Please." The green eyes were serious. He went to the kitchen and started to set the meal. "I roasted some chicken tighs with potatos. There is also rice."

"The smell is great." He smiled, trying to undo his worried expression. "Did Eiji-kun teach you?"

"Yes." His voice was filled with sadness before he placed the food in front of Takumi. He was already sitting on the dinner table. "Thank you for the food."

Shuichirou watched while Takumi started to eat, feeling anxious. His chest was so full and he needed to talk.

"So, what happened?"

"Tezuka and I had a fight. I found out he said horrible things to Eiji-kun to force him to move out. And then, he cheated on me."

"What?!"

"And Eiji-kun came here, he kissed me and confessed. Then, he left in a hurry, extremely nervous, asking me to not hate him."

Takumi drop his food from his hashi and looked at Shuichirou with a shocked, frozen expression.

"Takumi, say something!"

"What do you want me to say?!" he put one of his hands on his face. "Now I know why you didn't want Haru to know! That Tezuka guy is absolutely trash! What did he say to Eiji-kun?"

"That we were nothing but strangers and he should stop being a hassle to me." He repeated, sadly. "As soon as I found out about this, I went to Osaka to talk with Eiji-kun and apologize to him. He told me he was silent about it so he wouldn't create problems between Tezuka and me. But, when I returned, Tezuka had already cheated on me."

"You know it's not your fault, right? How are you feeling about that?"

"Is doesn't really matter right now." He said, sincerely. "Part of me knew that Tezuka was never going to have real feelings towards me. I'm worried about EIji-kun. I've been calling and texting him constantly but he is avoiding me." He took a deep breath. "What should I do, Takumi?"

"Well, are you really surprised that happened? I mean, you and Eiji-kun shared a lot. He's probably terrified of ruining things between you two."

"That's exactly why I need to talk to him! I needed to put him at ease!"

"But what you going to do towards his feelings? You cannot ignore he confess to you. He's probably waiting an answer, right?"

"Yes." He said, quietly. "He said he was going to give me time."

Takumi chuckled.

"Such a good kid, even in a situation like this. So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know! I never saw Eiji-kun like that! I thought my heart was going to stop when he said he was in love with me!"

"But, would it be something so terrible, to have a relationship with him?" Takumi asked, calmly, eating a small potato. "That kid always adored you. He took care of you when you were sick, he moved out to not trouble you. Even when he was already gone, he continued to be in touch, right? And you're always so happy around him."

"He's so young, Takumi! He probably doesn't even know what love means!"

"Aren't you underestimating him?" the scarlet eyes were serious. "He may be young, but I'm sure Eiji-kun would not say such a serious thing if he was not certain about it. He treasures you that much. I know it's difficult for you as well, but take your time to process things. You own him an answer."

###############

Oishi was at his desk, finishing reports over his patients. His working hours were about to end and he had already taken off his white coat. A week had passed since Eiji's confession and he continued to be confused about the situation. He had stopped sending him messages, since he would never reply them.

It was also difficult for him to hide things from Haruka. His friend knew something was off, but he would always avoid the topic hiding his preoccupation with a smile.

Suddenly, his cell phone started to call. It was . They had exchanged numbers a few days after Eiji moved in, so they could keep in contact if something happened to him.

"Hello, Yagami-san." Shuichirou said, gently. "Is everything all right?"

"Good evening, Oishi-san. I'm very sorry for disturbing you."

"Don't mention it. I'm about to leave work. Did something happen?"

"Did you talk to Eiji-san lately? I'm worried about him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he started to take his medication for anxiety and he's having some difficult with the side effects of the adaption period. He told me everything is under control, but you know how much Eiji-san hates to bother people. His boss at Sakurai even gave him some free days because he was very sleepy. I'm afraid things are worse than he's telling me. I'm still spending some days at Kyoto, but, please, could you just check on him?"

"I understand. I'll go to your place right away."

"Thank you so much, Oishi-san."

##############

Eiji was sitting on the bathroom floor, his face covered in sweat. He had just vomited and his mind was all blurry. His doctor had told him about some side effects in the beginning of the treatment, but he was feeling simply awful. It was a good thing he was home alone, otherwise Mika would probably call Oishi to take care of him. He took a deep breath and used a lot of strength to stand up. He washed his face, brushed his theeth and looked at his paleness on the mirror for a moment.

"At least isn't raining lately." He said to himself, before leaving the bathroom.

He was going to the kitchen to grab a cup of water when the door bell rang and he was surprised. Who could it be?

He opened the door and the blue eyes were wise in surprised. Shuichiro smiled gently at seeing him.

"Hello, Eiji-kun."

"Oishi-san! What… what are you doing here?!"

"Yagami-san asked me to come and check on you. She told me you're struggling with your medication."

"Don't worry about it." He averted his eyes a little. "I'm just fine and…"

He got dizzy and his hands grabbed on the door.

"Eiji-kun!" Shuichirou held him. "You're definitely not okay!"

"Please… go home, I… I don't want you to see me like this." The red hair was in front of his eyes.

"I'm not leaving you." He said, before taking off his shoes and helping him to sit on the sofa. Shuichirou sat by his side and started to examine his face. "How long are you feeling like this?"

"I started the medication last week." Oishi's hand was on his coldish forehead and he blushed a little with the proximity of his face.

"Were you able to eat something tonight?"

"No. I'm too dizzy to cook anything. I'm also nauseated."

"I see. I'm going to prepare something for you, okay? You cannot stay with an empty stomach."

"You don't have to worry, Oishi-san!"

"You took care of me before, right?." He ruffled his red hair. "I know it will not be as good as your food, but at least it will fill your stomach a little." He said with a smile, before going to the kitchen.

############

"Here we go." Shuichirou returned to the sofa with two small bowls on his hands. One of miso soup with square pieces of tofu and the other one was rice. He placed them on the small table near. "Do you think you can eat a little?"

Eiji just moved his head silently. He was starving. He picked up the miso soup and drank it a little.

"This is… so good." He looked at Shuichirou amazed.

"Really? I'm glad. I've been training the recipes you taught me."

He blushed again and continued to drink the soup silently, on small sips.

"Aren't you eating as well, Oishi-san?"

"Don't worry. I had a big lunch, so I'm fine." He smiled gently.

Eiji had missed him so much. He finished the miso and started to eat the rice in little bits with the hashi.

"Eiji-kun, why are you avoiding me?" Shuichirou asked and he noticed the sadness and preocupaiton on the green eyes. "I've called you so many times."

Kikumaru felt his heart tight and averted his face.

"I… I didn't know how to be around you. I was afraid you hated me."

"There's no way that would ever happen. Don't worry about it." He said, sincerely.

"Really?" the blue eyes looked at him shyly and Oishi smiled kindly.

"Really."

Eiji put the bowl aside and looked straight at him, even though his face was burning in embarrassment.

"Did you think about… about what I said?"

"Let's not talk about it now, okay? I'm here to take care of you. You should really go to your doctor and tell him how unwell you're with the medication. You shouldn't be suffering like that. He can prescript something different that suits you better so…"

"I need an answer, Oishi-san." He said, seriously. "Please, don't try to avoid the subject and spare my feelings just because I'm sick. I told you to take your time, so any answer is fine. But, please, just tell me what it is."

There it was, the grown up façade again. Just a second before he looked like a puppy under the rain. How could his expression change so quickly.

Shuichirou took a deep breath and looked straight at him.

"I'm sorry. I cannot answer your feelings. A lot has happened between us, we were very close and you're still so young, Eiji-kun… I think it's normal for you to get confuse and…"

Eiji lowered his head and he could hear his heart being crushed.

"You think I'm an idiot?" his voice was almost a whisper.

"Eiji-kun?"

"Do you think I don't know what I am feeling for you?" Shuichirou noticed his narrow shoulders trembling. "I may be just an useless kid, but I'm not stupid. You may give me a lot of reasons for rejecting me, but you have no right doubting my feelings."

"Eiji-kun, I didn't…"

"I want to take care of you! I want to make you happy, I want to protect you so you'll never cry again like you were crying for that Tezuka guy! I want to cook you delicious food everyday and make you smile!" he finally looked at him again and the dark blue eyes were glistering with tears. "I'm not confused! It also caught me completely by surprise, I'm also strugling a lot with it, but, I'm absolutely sure I'm in love with you, Oishi-san!"

He stood up, still a little woobly and was about to leave when Shuichirou held his wrist.

"Where are you going?!"

"To my room! I want to be alone!"

"Eiji-kun, please!"

"I don't need you taking care of me out of pity!" Oishi noticed he was making a great effort to not cry.

Kikumaru freed himself from his grip, before turning around and walking away, his heart burning in anger.

"Go home, Oishi-san. You don't need to worry about me anymore."