Later that Sunday night, the door to the Kusama-Kamijou apartment slammed open and a very irritable Hiroki stepped inside, dragging a wheeled crate behind him. It got caught in the threshold, and he wrenched it into the apartment with a flourish.
"You know, you could've helped me out, you asshole," Hiroki snapped, not bothering to hold the door open for Akihiko as he followed Hiroki inside, a cigarette dangling loosely from his lips.
"I'm already helping you with all of your missed grading," Akihiko said, shutting the door behind him and peeling off his coat. He hung it on the hanger and slipped out of his shoes. Hiroki huffed in response and lugged the overflowing crate down the hallway towards the living room.
"I help you with your homo novels all the time, so I think we're even!" Hiroki barked. Akihiko chuckled behind him before speeding up to take Hiroki's spot on the couch.
"Aren't you going to offer me some tea?" Akihiko asked teasingly, leaning up against the armrest and crossing his legs. Hiroki puffed out his cheeks and stomped into the kitchen, filling his kettle with water and slamming it onto the stove.
"Don't be surprised if I put rat poison in it," Hiroki warned wryly, clicking his tongue as he opened the tea leaf container.
"You're so cold, Hiroki," Akihiko sighed. Hiroki snorted. There was a long silence, and Hiroki looked up to see Akihiko standing on the other side of the counter, watching him intently.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Hiroki hissed. Akihiko knitted his eyebrows.
"How often does that Kusama kid fuck you?"
Hiroki reeled back, his entire body flushing scarlet as his throat made a strangled noise of embarrassment.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What did you just say?" Hiroki roared.
"Well, I ask because your skin seems to be so much more shiny than usual," Akihiko mused, ignoring Hiroki's humiliated thrashing and twitching. Hiroki, however, froze as sharp, violet eyes met his. "So, did you hear about that new drug, Append-X?"
Hiroki's colored face immediately paled and he backed into the refrigerator, where Akihiko approached him. He leaned against the refrigerator with one hand beside Hiroki's head, towering over the smaller man with a darkened aura about him.
"I m-m-m-may have… wh-why?" Hiroki stammered, cringing when Akihiko's eyes flashed in anger.
"He forced you, didn't he?" Akihiko suddenly asked, his voice icy. With his free hand, he reached down to press into Hiroki's abdomen. "He did!"
"Akihiko, what's wrong?" Hiroki shouted, confusion pulsing through his veins as he slapped Akihiko's unwelcome hand away. He fearfully tried to wrench his wrist away from his taller friend's grasp, squeaking slightly as the grip tightened.
"I knew something was off when I met him that day I came to your old apartment! I knew something as bad as this was going to happen. First, he leaves you for a year, then he sleeps with his senpai, and now this!"
"Akihiko!" Hiroki barked, finally yanking his wrist free. He stood defiantly below Akihiko, his fist clenched at his sides. "All of those were just misunderstandings! You know what happened with the whole studying abroad situation, and him sleeping with his senpai… well, that whole thing was just a stupid argument to begin with, because Nowaki would never do that to me!"
"And forcing you to take the pill? Just what is that fucker's excuse now?"
Hiroki hesitated, pinching his lips together.
"He didn't force me," Hiroki lied.
"Don't lie to me!" Akihiko shouted, and Hiroki cowered against the refrigerator. "I've known you longer than that kid! Append-X is something that you would never agree to! How can you be so fucking calm about this? Do you know what pregnancy does to the body? You'll be covered with stretch marks, you'll have a pouch of skin on your abdomen! And you'll have a brat to take care of! You hate kids!"
"Stop it! You're overreacting! What's gotten into you?" Hiroki cried, his eyes stinging as tears began to form behind them. Akihiko had never yelled at him before, and Hiroki was terrified, for both himself and the baby. Hiroki yelped as Akihiko roughly grabbed his shoulders, shaking slightly.
"Hiroki, you know how self-conscious you are!" Akihiko continued, his eyes flashing with anger and concern. "Think! Do you want scars all over your body? What if your lover thinks you're ugly after the baby is born?"
Hiroki burst into tears, covering his face in his hands as he trembled. He knees began to buckle, but before he could collapse, he was scooped up into Akihiko's arms.
"What are you doing? Put me down!" Hiroki shouted, thrashing around.
"We're going to the hospital, and you're going to get an abortion."
Hiroki's eyes widened and his struggling became violent.
"No! Stop, Akihiko!"
Akihiko opened the door, and both he and Hiroki froze, staring out at the figure who stood in the doorway. Misaki Takahashi trembled before them, his goose bump-covered arms wrapped around his t-shirt-clad body. His knees shook beneath him, barely covered by his shorts as puffs of steam rose from his lips.
"Takahashi-kun?" Hiroki asked in confusion.
"Kamijou-sensei?" Misaki asked, equally confused. However, he shook his head and instead looked up at Akihiko with wide, emerald eyes.
"I told you not to leave the house, Misaki," Akihiko said, his voice dangerous. Hiroki gasped as he suddenly glimpsed the black circle around Misaki's heavily swollen left eye, and dark bruises around his neck.
"You hit him?" Hiroki bellowed, coiling his arm back to punch Akihiko. However, a small hand caught his forearm, halting his swing.
"Kamijou-sensei, it's not like that!" Misaki cried. Hiroki looked over his shoulder, his eyes wild with fury. Although he hated all of the brats in his class, especially the Takahashi kid, he was still concerned for their wellbeing.
"I would never lay a harming hand on Misaki!" Akihiko barked defiantly. Hiroki furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, glancing at Misaki, then back to Akihiko, then back again.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"It happened about three days ago," Misaki said, sipping at his tea. Akihiko trembled beside him on the couch, his hand squeezing Misaki's thigh. Every time the Takahashi kid brushed Akihiko off, he would only move his back to its place and grip harder. Eventually Misaki gave up, allowing Akihiko to hold him as tightly as possible.
Meanwhile, Hiroki sat attentively in the adjacent chair, his tea untouched as he sat on the edge of the cushioned armchair.
"What happened was…" Misaki trailed off, hesitating slightly. He jerked his thumb at Akihiko. "This guy's brother got all drunk and barged into our apartment. Usagi-san was out getting cigarettes, so I was alone. I wasn't too worried about it, though, and when I heard the doorbell buzz I immediately unlocked the door, assuming it was Usagi-san. It turned out to be his brother, who started rambling off strange things. I wasn't really paying attention, as that is his usual behavior. However, things started getting out of hand and he showed me this weird purple pill called Append-X or something. Then he uh…"
Misaki trailed off and Hiroki watched as Akihiko leaned against his smaller lover and cling to him like a baby, shivering.
"Well, long story short, Usagi-san's brother forced me to take the pill. When everything was over and done with, I tried to get it out. That's when Usagi-san came home to find me covered in bruises. He took me to a hospital where they had to perform a surgery to remove my appendix, and…" Misaki's voice cut out and he shuddered as tears began to roll down his face. Akihiko took him into his arms. Misaki looked up at Hiroki and smiled waveringly, squinting against his tears. "I'm sorry, Kamijou-sensei. It's just that… I can't have a baby with Usagi-san anymore."
Hiroki watched silently as Misaki cried into Akihiko's chest. Half of him was alarmed that his best friend was his student's lover, but the dominating emotion that surged inside of him was horrified with Misaki's story.
"After that, I took Misaki out of the hospital to find that a riot had started. A bunch of people had signs that had anti-gay slogans on them, and they were all shouting about Append-X. Several of them had weapons, I think," Akihiko began, clearing his throat. "I was trying to lead Misaki through, but all of a sudden… well, he was there one second, and then he was gone. I found him getting strangled by someone as another person punched him in the face. A third person was standing over him with a bible in their hand, reading verses at the top of their lungs."
Hiroki trembled, his teacup clattering against its saucer. Misaki resurfaced from Akihiko's chest, sniffling.
"I mean… I'm Catholic," Misaki said, putting a hand over his chest as more tears slipped down his face. "I believe in God. I used to go to church until I couldn't anymore because of all my homework. I don't understand wh-why…"
Misaki began to cry again, weeping into his hands. Akihiko pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The person shouting the bible verses at him was his old Sunday school teacher," Akihiko said solemnly in a soft voice. Hiroki slapped his hand over his mouth as his eyes widened in horror and disgust.
"I…" Hiroki trailed off, flapping his lips speechlessly.
"I'm sorry, Hiroki, I was too rough with you. I'm just afraid for you. You've been my best friend since college, and I'm scared that, if I can't protect Misaki, then your lover can't protect you, either."
Hiroki was too shocked to care that Akihiko had openly spoken of Nowaki in front of the Takahashi kid. He gulped and set his tea cup down on the coffee table, staring straight ahead.
"I understand," Hiroki whispered. His gaze flicked to Akihiko and Misaki, who stared back at him with heartbroken eyes.
Heartbroken eyes that could easily be his and Nowaki's, if he wasn't careful.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened to you both, and for misunderstanding your intentions, Akihiko," Hiroki said slowly in a low voice, bowing his head slightly. "Really, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have this baby regardless of what anyone says. I have never doubted my lover's ability to protect me."
Akihiko's brows furrowed.
"Hiroki… you're in so much danger," he murmured. Hiroki watched solemnly as Akihiko ran his hand up and down his tiny lover's back, soothing the crying man-child.
"Takahashi-kun," Hiroki said suddenly, ignoring Akihiko's warning. Misaki looked up at him, his emerald eyes swimming with tears. "If… If you ever, you know, need to talk to me, I'll be there. I know we don't get along very well in class, but I can make an exception if you need someone to talk to."
Misaki sobbed and dashed forward, collapsing to his knees before Hiroki and shamelessly wrapping his little arms around his teacher's waist. Slightly disgruntled, Hiroki glanced up at Akihiko, who nodded slightly. Hiroki lowered his hands to gently pat Misaki's quivering back. Kicking Kamijou the Devil aside when it threatened to resurface for a moment, Hiroki allowed soothing words to flow from his lips, willing himself to be as comforting as possible for his unfortunate student.