It wasn't until two tension-filled days had passed that Kamijou Hiroki allowed himself to relax and finally process what had happened.
After his escape from Akihiko's home, he'd gone to work and did his best to distract himself from both the situation and his pessimistic thoughts. Though no matter what he did, nothing could stop him from tensing every time someone knocked at the door.
'How long until the dean summons me to his office and fires me?' He couldn't help but wonder.
But that moment didn't come. He went through a surprisingly normal day, dodging professor Miyagi's jokes and questions and giving thanks to whatever deity was up there that he didn't have Takahashi's class on Thursdays.
'Maybe the kid didn't intend to fire me?'
If that was the case, the kid may approach him the next day after their class. Maybe he wanted to blackmail him for a better grade in his class?
'I will not allow that!' Kamijou swore to himself. The kid may try to blackmail him, but damn if Kamijou wasn't going to fight!
But Takahashi-kun didn't approach him. In fact, he behaved like he normally did, though he noticed he avoided meeting his eyes more than usual.
'Then what...?'
It wasn't until Saturday morning, after a full night's rest he forced himself to have to relax, that he finally let himself realize the truth.
He remembered that night in full. And besides the humiliation he felt from his actions, he realized there was nothing… negative in the kid's behavior. The kid knew he was with a man and still tried to make him feel better. He brought him to Akihiko's, and his he supposed, home after he said he didn't want to go back home. That didn't sound like something someone who hated gays would do, right? The mere fact that he didn't denounce him proved that. And while he wasn't his best student, Takahashi-kun was a good kid. He wouldn't try to blackmail or take advantage of his knowledge - it just wasn't in character for him.
Now that he thought of it rationally it seemed he'd exaggerated. He'd done what Nowaki had told him he did: gotten an impression and flew with it.
'Ugh, now I feel a bit stupid...'
Sighing, he let himself lay completely down on his couch with an arm over his eyes. Maybe he should apologize to the kid and give him proper thanks for his actions. He knew where he lived after all. With Akihiko.
It was so weird to imagine his childhood friend living with someone, especially if that someone was Takahashi Misaki. He seemed like a normal guy, this Takahashi Misaki. Didn't have the best marks in his class, but neither did he have the worst. Just completely average, Takahashi Misaki.
Takahashi Misaki. Misaki. Misaki living with Akihiko. Akihiko and Misaki.
Wait, where did he-?
Getting up, he padded to the shelf where he had all his Usami books and shoved some of them aside to reveal a row of books hidden behind them. These were BL books written by Akikawa Yayoi — Akihiko's pen name. He only got them because Nowaki liked one of the series, Junjou Egoist, saying that it reminded him of them, but he bought one tome of the other two.
'Not Terrorist... Then... Aha!'
Junjou Romantica. A BL series where the two main characters were named 'Akihiko' and 'Misaki'.
This couldn't be a coincidence. Hiroki knew Akihiko vented his one-sided love for Takahiro by writing BL novels with Takahiro being the character that loved Akihiko. And now that name changed to Misaki. The same name as the student living with him.
Why did it change? Did Akihiko fall for his student? Thinking about how Takahashi-kun was, or what little he knew about him, Hiroki couldn't see it. He didn't seem like Akihiko's type.
'But then, the book...'
Was Akihiko going to get hurt by an unrequited love again? Did he change one hurt for another?
Hiroki suddenly decided he would pay a visit to Akihiko and Takahashi's home that afternoon. To give proper thanks and apologies to Takahashi-kun, of course, and to make sure he wouldn't say anything about his lover. And if he stayed to chat a little with the guy, it wouldn't do to be a bad guest, wouldn't it? He had to apologize properly after all.
And if he was using this as an excuse to stop thinking about how his apartment seemed a bit too empty again, or his anxieties with Nowaki, well. No one needed to know.
Decision made, Hiroki began to dial.
"Hello, Takahashi-kun? This is Kamijou Hiroki..."
And so, that evening Kamijou Hiroki found himself ringing the bell of Akihiko's home, a bag of sweets in one hand.
"Ah, hello Kamijou-sensei." Came his student's nervous voice.
"Hello, Takahashi-kun," Hiroki greeted in return. "Sorry about the suddenness of all this. May I come in?"
"N-no, it was no trouble. Come in, please."
Nodding in thanks, and more than familiar with Akihiko's home, Hiroki seated himself on one of the couches, leaving the bag on the table.
"Here, it's a present. Some sweets."
"Ah, thank you very much. Um, would you like some tea?"
"Yes please."
After serving them some tea with the sweets Kamijou brought, Misaki sat down.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Kamijou-sensei?"
Watching the fidgeting Misaki, Hiroki sighed and tried to put him more at ease.
"There's no need to call me sensei. I'm not your professor right now, so just call me Kamijou-san."
"Um… if you say so. Okay, Kamijou-san."
It worked. With his authority as a teacher removed, Misaki's nervousness receded slightly.
"Then..." Kamijou started. "First of all, about the other night, I would like to thank you for bringing me here and letting me stay the night."
"Ah, there's no need!" Misaki said while waving his hands. "You're Usag-, um, Usami-san's friend, he would have let you stay either way."
"That doesn't mean you had to, so I thank you. And I also apologize for my unsightly behavior that night, as well as for any trouble I might have caused" Hiroki bowed in apology.
"No need for that either!" Misaki hurried to say, "It was no problem at all! I'm just glad I could help."
"Thank you, but I still wanted to apologize properly for what happened. As an adult, and especially as your teacher, it was wrong of me to bother you like that."
"...Then I accept your apology."
"Thanks."
With the first part completed successfully, Hiroki allowed himself a few seconds to sip his tea and nibble a sweet before bringing up the next part.
"I also... wanted to talk to you about what you heard that night." He finally said, putting his cup down.
"What I heard?"
"I mean," Hiroki blushed slightly and averted his eyes for a second, scratching his cheek in a nervous gesture, "about me being with another man..."
"Oh!" Suddenly Misaki realized what this was about. "Don't worry, I haven't said anything to anyone! And I won't do it in the future either!"
"That's a relief," Hiroki sighed. "I could be fired if this came out. Honestly, I was wondering what to do if you thought about telling anyone..."
Misaki just smiled nervously, sipping his tea while sweating slightly at the menace his teacher exuded.
"Y-you can rest assured, I won't tell a soul."
"That's good." Hiroki took another sip of his tea. "So, forgive me for asking, but how did you meet Akihiko?"
"Oh, he's friends with my big brother," Misaki answered, blinking slightly at the non-sequitur.
"Hoh... Friends with your brother, you say. Then how come you're living with him?"
"Well, my brother married and moved to Osaka. Usagi-san offered to let me stay with him, and I accepted."
"Hmm... Wait. Usagi? You call him Usagi?"
Realizing he'd slipped up, Misaki blushed and hurried to explain.
"I-it's something I picked up from my brother! He called him that for a while before they were close enough to call each other by their given names, so the nickname stuck with me… Usagi-san didn't seem to mind to I kept using it..."
Hiroki just stared as Misaki babbled nervously, entirely frozen as suspicion grew in him.
"So, your brother called him Usagi… and your last name is Takahashi... Your brother, he wouldn't happen to be Takahashi Takahiro, right?"
This stopped Misaki's babble, leading him to stare at his teacher.
"You know nii-chan?"
"...Something like that."
Suddenly, Hiroki realized how messed up this situation was. Akihiko, who had been in love with Takahiro is now living with his crush's younger brother and maybe falling in love with him. Said Takahiro had been Hiroki's love rival for Akihiko. And of course here was Hiroki, talking to who may be Akihiko's new lover who happened to be the younger brother of the man he told Akihiko to pretend he was with when Hiroki persuaded him to sleep with him.
'This is so tangled… wait, did Akihiko tell him about our one night together? Should I say anything?! But I'm not even sure this is Akihiko's new lover- but the books.'
This was such a mess. How the hell did he get entangled in something like this? He asked himself this in despair, even though he knew how and it had been his own fault.
'Okay, okay, deep breaths. Let's just… ignore the whole mess for now and focus on this guy's relationship with Akihiko.'
So, Akihiko was living with Takahiro's little brother. And maybe in love with him, if the books were a sign. Were they together?
"It's surprising to hear Akihiko is living with someone," he commented casually. "As Akihiko's childhood friend, I know to some degree what kind of guy he is. It seems impossible to me that he is really living with someone, let alone for three years."
"So everyone keeps telling me."
"No, I'm serious," Hiroki insisted. "That guy, Akihiko is someone who doesn't listen to others, doesn't have common sense, and he's really narcissistic. He's a bothersome guy. And you tell me you've been living with him, continuously, for three years? That's a little..."
"I-I know!" Misaki exploded.
'Aha.'
Finally.
Hiroki had noticed Misaki's expression getting tighter and tighter the more he went on about Akihiko's faults. He seemed the type of guy who wouldn't tolerate that for too long, so Hiroki pushed on purpose. And finally, he had the explosion he wanted.
'Let's see how this guy really is.'
Misaki knew this was a bad idea.
He didn't really have the right to get angry. It wasn't as if Kamijou-sen- Kamijou-san was wrong after all; Usagi-san was all he was saying and more. But still...
Still...
'Usagi-san isn't just that!'
"I know what kind of guy Usagi-san is. He never listens to what I tell him, drags me wherever he wants whenever he wants whether I want it or not, has a terrible personality when he just woke up, and is capable of making a mess is five seconds after I just tidied everything. He has an insane obsession with teddy bears, never finishes his work on time, makes a mess whenever he tries to cook anything and is constantly writing things about myself without my consent.
"I know how Usagi-san looks to others. I understand why they're so confused someone can live with him. But-but that's not all Usagi-san is!"
Misaki, who had been looking down during the whole rant, looked up to glare into Hiroki's brown eyes.
"Yes, Usagi-san doesn't listen to others, but if you really need a shoulder to lean on or someone to bent to, he's there for you. If you're feeling down or bad, he does whatever he can to take care of you, even if he ends up burning the food. And even if you make a mistake, he immediately forgives you.
"Usagi-san is more than the selfish person everyone sees him as. Usagi-san is smart, sensitive..."
'You can be selfish, Misaki.'
'Please, do not keep everything to yourself. Let me help you.'
'I want you to burden me!'
"And so, so kind. So please, stop talking about Usagi-san like that!"
'This guy...'
After Misaki's rant, there was a period of silence where they just gazed at each other. Which Hiroki broke with a sigh.
"Sorry, it seems I ended up talking too much."
"...N-no, I was the one who began to rant out of the blue..."
The kid was visibly embarrassed, what he'd said finally catching up to him. Hiroki had to still his face to avoid smiling.
He knew what the look Misaki had on his face while he defended Akihiko meant. He'd seen it in the mirror after all, when he and Nowaki were living together. And if he could see it, Akihiko could too.
'Who knew Akihiko liked this kind of guy?'
If they had been just friends/roommates he would have just ended the conversation here. But now that he was sure about their relationship, he was curious. Just who was this Takahashi Misaki, who seemed to have captured Akihiko's heart?
"So, it seems you get along well?" Hiroki finally said after clearing his throat, feeling a little awkward.
"Ah... yes, I'd say so."
"So, how is it living with Akihiko?"
And as if he was desperate for anything to get away from the sudden awkwardness his rant had provoked, Misaki grasped the topic with relief and began talking about some of the shenanigans he'd lived through while staying with the author.
The conversation lasted for a while, the ambient between them light as Hiroki sometimes traded a tidbit of his own experiences with Akihiko, until it was time for Hiroki to go home.
"Thanks for the hospitality, Takahashi-kun."
"You're welcome, Kamijou-san," Misaki answered with a smile. Hiroki turned to go, but at the last moment, he turned back around and met Misaki's gaze with his own serious one.
"I'm counting on you, Takahashi-kun."
"Huh?"
"As you know, Akihiko may have a terrible personality, but he's a good guy at heart. And very sensitive, even if he doesn't look like it. You seem like a good guy, Takahashi-kun. So," Hiroki approached and poked Misaki in the chest. "I'm counting on you. Understood?"
"Y-yes!"
Satisfied with the answer, Hiroki turned to go. And Misaki suddenly understood.
'He was... looking out for Usagi-san, wasn't he? He was seeing if I was someone who would hurt him...'
Kamijou-san had worried about Usagi-san.
"Kamijou-san!" Misaki called, following an unknown impulse and making the stern teacher turn back his head in surprise.
"If... if you ever need to get out of your apartment again, feel free to come here! I'll take care of Usagi-san if there's a need!" Misaki smiled. And to his surprise, Kamijou the Devil, after blinking a few times in surprise, gave him a slight smile and a wave in return before continuing on his way.
'Kamijou-san is really different from what I imagined,' Misaki thought as he closed the door and began to tidy up. 'An old friend of Usagi-san's...'
'I really want to know more about him. Maybe he has more stories about Usagi-san.'