I'm back~ thank goodness my midterm ended.
Replies to Reviews:
Nychell21: Hahahaha! Hilarious. Thanks for the review!
Ax1kaiser: Wow I really enjoyed reading this. You're very welcome, in fact my bad for not updating for a long ass time. I usually try not to delay the story for more than 6 months the latest, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Haha, better late than never (welcome! We need more people here hahaha!). Actually, I never shipped them, even after I finished the anime—it was just this image I saw that implied them as a couple and my brain exploded on the spot. XDD. It's amazing you saw them as a possible ship right off the bat. Also, I'm very glad you checked—it would suck to miss a chapter you've desperately been waiting for. Lol, but oh my God, I really love how much you love this story—it's very flattering and motivating*. ^^ Maybe that's why I'm here even sooner ; ) Thanks a lot for the review!
Chapter 35:
"So, what do you think?" Kohaku hooked his fists on his hips.
"Whoa, you really made this? On your own?" Mikage observed the hand-made wooden bench in the mansion's garden.
"You bet. I was bored so thought—why not? In fact, I just finished yesterday so your timing's perfect." The younger blond explained as they stood outside in the Oak manor's garden with Rinka. "Come on Mika-nii, sit down. You'll be the first." He proudly smiled.
"Is…is that really okay…?" Mikage looked at the bench doubtingly.
"Hey, what's with that? I'm telling you it's legit."
"Kohaku is very skilled with his hands, nii-san, so you don't need to worry about falling." Their sister supported.
"Rinka! Why would you think he's worried about falling?" Kohaku inquired aggressively.
"Alright, I'll sit—please calm down Kohaku."
"Hmph. About time." He watched the older teen sit down and feel the polished wooden surface.
"Wow…I'm amazed…"
"See?" The younger blond's expression lit up almost immediately. His elder brother smiled.
"Maybe you oughta make me something for my room too?" Mikage suggested.
"Heh, sure~ It won't be for free though."
"What's with that?" The begleiter laughed.
"That's not very nice." Rinka pointed out to Kohaku.
"It's not like I asked for money! You didn't even let me finish—"
"Mikage?" A new voice interjected from behind them.
"Oh, Ayanami-san?" His blond lover stood from the bench and approached him. "What's wrong?"
"I'll be stealing him now, if that's alright." The silverette placed a hand on the younger's back, signaling him to step along and follow him.
"Is everything alright?" Mikage questioned as he walked beside the other, back in the direction of the manor.
"What's the matter Kohaku?" Rinka directed towards Kohaku who was burning holes in the Chief Executive's back.
"I don't like him."
The girl was puzzled to hear that at first. "Why would you say that? He's Mika-nii's partner and boss and it looks like he really cares about him."
"I don't know…just a gut feeling. Whatever." He rotated back to his bench and dropped onto it. "Anyway, we'll get Mikage-nii back later—there's no way he's only gonna spend five minutes with us after coming back three years later." His sister nodded.
"Ayanami-san?" The younger continued to follow the elder.
"…You…haven't shown me to your room. Isn't this also your house?" Ayanami rendered an excuse for them to stay together longer.
"Ah." The blond subtly blushed. 'Right, this was the first time Ayanami was at his house and meeting his family…as his lover...' "Um, sure—sorry about that, it totally escaped my mind." He sheepishly laughed. "This way then. Though there's really not much to see in it…"
'Success.' The silverrete thought with a guilty conscious.
"We're here." Mikage opened the door to the room he hadn't seen in ages. It brought back a nostalgic feeling. The room was painted a baby blue and looked very clean and untouched. There was no bedsheet on the bed and most of the things looked packed away aside from some figurines, books and models behind a transparent showcase. "I told you, nothing special."
Nonetheless, the silverette stepped in, studying the—what he would call—small space. "It's cute."
"Eh…?" The blond didn't understand the other's logic sometimes.
"Wouldn't you agree? It's quite small and simple."
"Er, yeah…"
"So, this is where you've spent the life before knowing me?" It was a straightforward question, but Mikage felt the words had a deeper weight to them. The times he spent here—before the army—he never even dreamed about getting a lover so soon and definitely not one that would be so obsessed with him. What if they had never met and he stilled lived here? The thoughts were pointless now though. "These are quite the toys you have here. Why didn't you tell me you were into collecting this kind of stuff? I've never seen you keep any in our room." While the teen was busy musing, he didn't notice Ayanami standing before his glass showcase.
"Oh, haha…those are really old."
"Is that so?" The elder trotted towards him, impelling the other backwards and finally onto the bed. He hovered over him on the bed, with his arms pillaring on each side. They stared into each other's eyes for a heated moment before Ayanami smirked. "I was almost convinced that I wouldn't have you alone tonight."
The blond hid a blush as he looked away "Well, it can't be helped…they haven't seen me in ages…"
Ayanami heaved an exhausting sigh. "Family…how troublesome." He uttered right before locking the other's lips into a kiss. Mikage unconditionally responded back to the adoring kiss. The blond moved his hands onto the silverette's neck and enjoyed the sweet moment before he backed away.
"Wait…Ayanami-san…here…?"
"What's wrong with here? It's your room. We can part it with some intimate memories. Because it's not as if you'll be living here anymore."
"Eh…you never know~"
"Absolutely not." The chief's violet orbs darkened instantly even if his expression didn't change much. "You will always be living with me—in our room."
"…but Ayanami-san—" The blond immediately froze and cut himself short. 'Crap! He knew better than to say 'but…' Ayanami hated that word!' However, to the teen's surprise, it seemed the elder didn't catch that word or chose to ignore it because there was no reaction from him. "Um…are you saying I can live with you forever?"
"Precisely." His expression softened and he pecked the blond on the cheek. The teen believed him. Normally, there was no such thing as relying on 'forever' –people change and relationships hardly last that long but… with Ayanami…and his thick love…forever was but a short time…
"I hope you're thinking about me." The elder interrupted his trail of thought with a bite to his neck, to which the blond flinched.
"Of course…" The teen muttered as the silverette undid his uniform's first button.
Ayanami reached for his lips and devoured them again. Mikage instantly moaned into the kisses until he heard a few steps followed by a voice.
"Mikage? Are you in here?" He heard Kokuyou's voice a few feet away outside their room. The blond gently shoved the elder away when the ajar door automatically opened. Kokuyou walked in to find them sitting casually on the bed edge and Mikage buttoning up his blazer.
"Hey aniki, I was just showing Ayanami-san my room." Kokuyou was partially amazed to hear that.
"That's very nice… You two are quite close despite the age difference." The teen sheepishly laughed when he heard his brother say that.
"Anyhow, there's desert served downstairs and a number of officials would like to speak with you Mikage."
"Oh, right—okay!" The younger sprung up and followed behind him. Ayanami stood up too.
Mikage heaved a sigh. "Are you sure everything is alright?" Kokuyou posed to the blond who was standing against the wall, taking a break from the guests.
Mikage appeared a little flustered. "Ah, yeah…sure…" He lied but he wasn't convincing anyone. He was on edge because the idea of keeping a secret from his older brother—who was like a parent and best friend—was killing him. 'I want to tell him I really do but…is it okay? Well it was Kokuyou…he would understand, right?'
In the end, Kokuyou's continuous stare defeated him.
"An-aniki, actually…can I…talk to you…? In private?" Kokuyou raised a brow.
"Of course, Mikage."
Ayanami was in a circle of military officials but always had an eye on Mikage across the large room. That was the only thing keeping him going in this boring party. He didn't fail to notice the other speaking with his brother and playing nervously with his fingers. The elder frowned slightly at the sight, before he saw them exit the space together.
"What is it?" Kokuyou softly asked when they picked one of the random guest rooms on the second floor to discuss.
"…I'm only telling you this…because I love you and I want you to accept it…okay?"
"Mikage?"
"But…first you have to promise me you won't get angry, okay? Promise?" The younger finally turned around and faced him.
"I understand…but don't you agree it's difficult to make a promise to something you're unaware of?"
"Sorry I know, but you really can't freak out, just...try to understand me."
"So, what happened? Are you hurt?" The older blond held the teen with both hands on his arms. Suddenly Kokuyou was concerned at the seriousness and nervousness that the teen wore.
"Mh, I'm fine, it's nothing like that." Mikage shook the hands off respectfully. "Actually…I um…" This was suddenly harder than he thought. Apparently, he couldn't just blurt it out but the more he thought about it, the harder it became to find the appropriate words to say.
"…" Kokuyou was growing tired of the suspense. "Are you pregnant?"
Mikage's face flushed red at that. He didn't find that funny at all, especially given what he was planning to say. "No of course not! Why would you say that—aniki?!" He felt teased by his older brother, who hid a chuckle.
"Then are we going to talk?"
The blond took a breath. 'Well that broke the ice nicely.'
"I…love…someone." The younger was supposed to say the name 'Ayanami,' but his tongue defied him last minute.
The elder blond raised both his brows this time and slowly opened his eyes. "Mikage…wow…That's …nice." This was the first time Mikage ever talked to him about such matters. He was truly happy for him. "Who—"
"Ayanami-san." The teen hardly even let him finish and blurted the name out.
"I'm sorry? …as in Ayanami-sama? Your boss." Mikage shamefully nodded. "…Mikage are you serious? Does he know?"
"Yes."
"What?" Kokuyou's comprehension was beginning to lose him.
"Actually…we're already dating…"
"I beg your pardon…? Mikage—what are you thinking? This is Ayanami-sama we're talking about. You cannot just have an affair with your boss…Is that how you became a part of the Black Hawks?" Kokuyou sounded disappointed.
"What—no! How could you even think that?! That was a legit recommendation from the Head!" The blond defended himself. "Aniki I'm not like that!"
"Then how did this happen? How on earth can you be dating? You are telling me he feels the same for you?"
Mikage glowered at him, hurt. "Are you saying I'm that bad that he can't fall in love with me?"
"NO. Mikage, God no. You have a great personality but how can you know he's serious about you? Don't you recognize the huge age difference? How can you 'fall in love' like that? How do you even know this is love? I don't understand." Mikage didn't have an answer straight away.
Ayanami excused himself and decided to follow them, glancing at the room doors to notice any occupied. He stepped further down the corridor and heard voices from behind a door, two rooms down. He waltzed closer until he recognized his lover's voice.
"Aniki I thought you'd be a little more understanding than that."
"Mikage, I already told you I had no problem with your sexuality but with a man who's twice your age?" The younger looked away.
"Aniki, you've never fallen in love, have you? If you did, you'd realize that it just happens and there's no stopping how you feel –and before you know it position and rank doesn't even matter anymore." The blond couldn't believe he was explaining all this.
"Even so, I don't agree with this Mikage…I cannot fathom this in my head…I'm sorry…" They stood in silence for a brief moment. Mikage didn't know what more to say to convince the other. "Perhaps you should take a break from the army. You've been there for three years straight now, haven't you? Maybe some time alone to think is what you need."
"What's there to think—" However, before he could finish, another voice interjected.
"That won't be happening." Both brothers were shocked to find Ayanami himself casually walk in. The silverette found a spot beside his blond and locked eyes with Kokuyou. "Mikage-kun isn't going anywhere."
"Ayanami-sama…pardon me for being rude...but what are planning?" The elder blond cut to the chase. "You're the chief of the army, you were once the heir to the Raggs…you can have anything or anyone you want…why Mikage?" He was afraid the elder was only playing with his younger brother. It was impossible to believe someone with Ayanami's caliber would simply accept Mikage's, a teenage boy's confession.
Ayanami smirked on the outside and wrapped his arms around Mikage possessively from behind, his face pressed against the other's. "I suppose your brother is just one of a kind then."
The butler didn't take that as a serious response especially with Ayanami's playful tone. "Are you playing with him? Do you find this amusing sir—that he feels this way? So, you want to indulge him for a bit?" Ayanami's expression darkened and his smile disappeared. All this time he was trying to compose himself but now that was over.
"Kokuyou, was it? You're an adept person from what I've seen but I would watch what you say from here out though."
"Forgive me—" The elder blond acknowledged that but pulled Mikage out of the other's grasp. "—but I'm having a difficult time accepting this."
Instantly, a nerve in Ayanami's head snapped when the blond was ripped out of his arms. He was beyond speechless and his blood boiled to the point where his mind went completely blank. He strode forward towards the butler.
The younger unconditionally jumped in front of the Chief. "Ayanami-san wait! You can't! He's my brother!" It was almost like the blond saw the blood lust in his eyes. The sileverette came to a halt, with Mikage's hands still on his chest keeping him in place with an apprehensive expression.
"Fine." Ayanami obliged and grabbed Mikage's wrist. "Brother or not, I won't tolerate anyone snatching you away. We're leaving." Ayanami did the honor to lead them all the way out. On the way out, Mikage flashed a hurt and disappointed expression towards his brother.
Kokuyou stood there as if the ground around him was lava—confused, trapped and speechless. This was the first time his brain couldn't process his environment and he was quite the fast learner. Lastly, that expression Mikage wore haunted him…
"Get in." The silverette stopped a foot away from their limo.
"But…the party…"
"Forget it, we're leaving. I can't stand another minute in this place anyway." The elder was already on the passenger side and swung the door open for himself.
For some reason, hearing those words leave the other's mouth broke the blond's heart. 'His lover was just at his house, and didn't like it…'
To Be Continued…
Haha, oh boy things are getting heated again. Kokuyou's actually a really nice human being, very observant, smart and skilled but It's hard for him to process this. Let's hope he comes around. He's actually one of my favorite characters—funny right? He's not even in the anime. Anyhow, lemme know what you guys think.