A/N: Well, hello there, my lovelies. I am aeon fear, resident lunatic. Somewhere in the corner of my mind I decided that I was just sane enough to try my hand at writing a Tyrant fanfic. I hope you'll enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It's aaaaaaaaaalllll in my imagination.
~Telling Thursday~
Tatsumi Souichi would never admit it, but the apartment felt different without Morinaga around. The unoccupied corners seem darker and colder, the noises seemed too loud. Which was surprising, considering that Souichi always scolded Morinaga whenever he (they) got too rowdy.
The food tasted different, too. Souichi never learned how to cook, with two younger siblings to do the job for him during his own school days. Now there was Morinaga. Morinaga always left him food whenever Morinaga thought he would be out working late, but when Souichi ate alone, he found himself wishing that Morinaga was there to eat with him.
"Damn him," Souichi muttered now. He was sitting in front of their TV, flipping through the channels as he waited for Morinaga to come home. The idiot told him that he would be late, but not late enough to miss dinner.
"See what you're making me do," Souichi added for a good measure. He was waiting for Morinaga like a…like a…
Like a wife waiting for her husband to come home.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Souichi blushed-for he realized the accuracy of the description.
Well, he would be damned if he would be the "wife" in this relationship. Because they did have a relationship, Souichi could admit it now. No matter how they got here, no matter how much he protested, Morianga and Souichi were sharing something more than a typical friendship.
"Come home already, moron!" he yelled into the empty house.
As if God had heard his command, there was the sound of the door opening. Souichi straightened, startled, when Morinaga poked his head into the room.
"Senpai? What are you yelling about?"
"I-you're-" Souichi stuttered, still surprised that Morinaga had appeared right after he'd yelled. "I'm hungry, idiot," he said in a lame attempt to save face.
"Oh, I knew it. Good thing I brought take out, since I'm also hungry-I don't think I can wait for food to cook," Morinaga said with a smile, holding up a large paper bag. "I hope you don't mind Chinese food. My co-worker recommended it. Can you help set the table while I change?"
Souichi nodded. Ten minutes later, they were tucking into bowls of spicy noodles and trays of dim sum.
"You're right," Souichi said. "This is good."
"Yes," Morinaga said. "But this is my first time to eat it."
"How did you know it was good, then?"
"I told you," Morinaga said patiently, "My co-worker told me about the place. And since you can't come to the office, I brought the food to you. It's almost like a date, isn't it?"
"Q-Quit saying things like d-d-dates!" Soiuchi flared up.
Morinaga only smiled, too used to Soiuchi's exclamations to care much.
"By the way, senpai," Morinaga continued after a short pause, "I'll be quite late tomorrow."
"What, again?"
"Are you going to miss me, senpai?" teased Morinaga.
"No, it's not that…it's just..."
"They're going to have a welcome party for me," Morinaga explained. "I'll try to be back before midnight."
"Fine," Souichi agreed, trying not to sound too sulky. But he knew what would happen when Morinaga was away. "Try not to get drunk."
"I won't," Morinaga laughed. "I can hold my liquor better than you ever could, senpai."
"Shut up!"
Souichi had an early dinner the next night. He'd brought a stack of reports with him, intent on finishing them by midnight. Work had piled up because none of the assistants who replaced Morinaga were as efficient. It almost made him want Morinaga to come back.
However, he also knew that Morinaga was happy at his current job. That, more than anything else, made Souichi keep his silence.
Midnight came and went without so much as a phone call from Morinaga. The idiot was probably drunk, despite Souichi's warning.
Souichi snapped his phone shut, irritated. He would go to sleep, he decided.
At 12:30 his phone beeped. Morinaga messaged him to say that he would be home in half an hour. Souichi thought that he might as well wait up for him-what was half an hour, after all? He sat down on their couch.
The next thing he knew, sunlight was filtering through the windows. It already morning and Morinaga still hadn't come-he knew, because he checked Morinaga's room.
Where was he?
There were no new messages from Morinaga. Souichi prepared for the laboratory with half his mind still adrift. Morinaga was probably sleeping over at a co-worker's house and forgot to tell him…
Wait-did that mean that Morinaga was out there cheating on him? Souichi instantly accepted this solution, since Morinaga was a pervert who was uncontrollable with alcohol. He pulled out his phone and dialled Morinaga's number. He was going to give that pervert a piece of his mind.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up.
"Hello?" said a female voice. A stranger.
His worst fears were confirmed. That lying, cheating, pervert! He just had to let his lower half loose, did he?!
"Who the hell is this? Get me Morinaga!"
There was a long pause. "Who is this?" the female finally answered.
"I'm the one asking the f*cking question," snarled Souichi. "Where is Morinaga?"
"He's at Nagoya General Hospital."
"W…What?" Souichi breathed.
"I'm a nurse at the hospital. Last night, the car Morinaga-san was riding in crashed."
Car crash…
No way.
Not Morinaga.
Souichi's head was filling with a kind of buzzing sound that made it hard to think. But last night he…Morinaga…
He said that he would be home by midnight…
"This is a joke, right? It isn't funny anymore, so put him on the phone."
"I think you should come up here," the nurse said quietly.
the tone of her voice, more than anything else, made him start to believe.
"Is he…" he choked, unwilling to speculate.
"He's not dead. Yet."
A/N: Isogai is holding the next chapter hostage. Any complaints about delays should be deferred to him. Or, alternatively, you can clicky the little button to review. More reviews would delay world domination by the cookie monsters.