Ibushi paced outside of the door to his father's office. In what manner could he go about asking to marry Akoya instead of Kana? What could he say to get his father to see it from his point of view? Was there any way he could tell his father he'd rather be a homosexual than be married to such a terrible woman?
The worst thought stopped him dead in his tracks. How would his father react if Ibushi told him he wanted to marry a man? Would he be disowned? Would he be forced into a marriage with Kana immediately after? There was no way his father would allow him to marry a man. How foolish he had been to think he could!
Distressed beyond all further though, Ibushi took his car to see someone he knew could help him, or at least comfort him. Though he hadn't been around him much in the past six years, he knew his friend would have his back, no matter what.
.
Atsushi Kinugawa answered the door of the penthouse apartment he shared with his two lovers. He had been startled by the original knocking, but now he was even more startled to open the door and find none other than Ibushi Arima. "Ibu-chan?" he asked. "I heard you are back from studying abroad. How was it?"
Trying to be as polite as he could, Ibushi spoke in a rushed voice. "It was actually great. Thanks for asking. Is Kinshiro home? I have a slightly urgent matter to discuss with him, if he's available."
"You don't need to be so formal with me, Ibu-chan," the other replied, smiling warmly. "Kin-chan's in the living room. I'll take you there."
Ibushi examined the photo-covered walls of the hallway Atsushi was leading him down. He saw, displayed for anyone who entered, a photo collage of the last six years of his friend's life. Pictures of Kinshiro Kusatsu, En Yufuin, and Atsushi Kinugawa in various places and stages throughout the years smiled at him until he was lead through a doorway, revealing a lavish living room where two men were on the sofa, one reading a book while the other slept, his head on his lover's chest while his body draped over the reader.
Atsushi moved behind the sofa and spoke in a soft voice. "Kin-chan, you have a visitor."
Kinshiro smiled and looked up from his book. His green eyes lit up with delight when he saw Arima standing in his living room. Keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn't wake En, he gestured to the armchair beside the sofa while handing his book off to Atsushi. "Arima, it's so wonderful to see you! Please have a seat!" He daintily ran his fingers through En's dusty hair to keep him comfortable as Ibushi took a seat. "What brings you here?"
The green-haired man bit his lip in contemplation. "Kinshiro, how did you know that you were in love?"
Two pairs of eyes widened as they looked toward each other and then to him once more. "Arima, is this your way of telling us that our dearest Late Bloomer finally fell in love?" Kinshiro asked. "Who is this special person?"
"Wait a moment," his lover thought aloud, "aren't you engaged to Ako-chan's sister?"
"You're in love with Kana?!" Kinshiro demanded, startling En from his slumber. He leaned to kiss the top of En's head as he gently combed his fingers through the dusty locks, his voice soft and loving as he mumbled apologies to him. "With all due respect, Arima, are you blind? She's awful! How could you possibly-"
"Kin-chan," Atsushi interjected, silencing his boyfriend.
"It's not Kana," Ibushi firmly stated, offering a polite wave to En, who was staring at him as he was waking up.
"To be honest, I always thought of you and Akoya were going to end up together. You two were so close back in high school," Kinshiro told him.
"Didn't the rest of us take bets on it during senior year or something?" En groggily asked before the white-haired man clamped a hand over his mouth.
"En-chan," Atsushi sighed, putting a hand to his forehead.
"It's him." Ibushi's voice was steady as he spoke the confirmation aloud. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears as his head spun. A light-headed feeling overwhelmed him as he finally spoke the truth aloud. "I'm in love with Akoya. How have I been so blind all these years when the truth was right in front of me the entire time? I don't want to marry Kana; I want to marry him!"
"Then do it," En simply said, having taken Kinshiro's hands into his own so he could no longer be silenced. "You love him, it's obvious that he loves you. Just marry him instead. Either way, you're marrying into the Gero family, right? It's not that big of a change to the plan. Besides, who in their right mind would want to marry Kana Gero?"
"If only it were that simple." The green-haired man sighed heavily. "I'd switch in a heartbeat if I could."
"What's stopping you?"
He had to admit, En made a good point. "Would either of our families be satisfied with that? What about an heir? And how would that make our families look?"
"Why do you think everything else comes before you?"
Ibushi froze. What En had said was correct. Why did everything else always seem to come before him? Was that just what he had always been conditioned to believe? When did that line of thinking even start for him? Had it always been this way?
"En-chan!" Atsushi hissed in a scolding tone as Kinshiro glared at their boyfriend. Noticing that Ibushi was still frozen in place, he addressed him. "Um, Ibu-chan, he didn't mean it like that. En-chan can be pretty blunt with his words."
"He's right, though," the green-haired man replied, looking over the three. "That truly is how I've always believed." He bit his lip in concentration. "How do I make it stop?"
"Well, Arima," Kinshiro began, "isn't that up to you?"
.
Once more, Ibushi found himself outside of his father's office. He knew he needed to speak to him in regards to Akoya, but he was having trouble summoning the words. How could such a simple-seeming question be so hard to ask? It wasn't as if he was wanting to break off the deal with the Gero Group. He just wanted to swap his betrothed from the daughter to the son. Then again, would that be an insult to the Gero Group? The politics of the situation were driving him mad!
Yamada approached him, eyeing him curiously. "Young Master, might I point out the knob on the door?"
Ibushi nearly jumped out of his skin. "Yamada!" he gasped, catching his breath. "I-I had no intentions of going in."
"I see." The butler's voice was flat and disbelieving, but he dropped the subject. "Young Master, a guest has arrived for you. I sent them up to your bedroom."
With a simple nod, the green-haired man made his way to his bedroom. He already knew that Akoya would be waiting there. After all, who else would it be? His heart pounded in his chest as his legs swiftly carried him to his destination.
Though once inside his bedroom, Ibushi instantly crashed down from his high that had accumulated from the thought of seeing Akoya. The man in question was sitting on the couch, his arms tightly clutching the throw blanket he had wrapped around his trembling body. A patchwork of bruises decorated his face as his gaze remained on the coffee table in front of him.
"Hey, what happened?" he softly asked, sitting beside Akoya. "Who did this to you?"
Akoya simply shook his head, eyes unfocused. "I must have been out of my mind," he muttered to himself. "How could I have been such a fool? What made me think that anything could ever possibly work out in my favor?" He leaned his head on Ibushi's shoulder. "Ibushi, I really messed up this time." His beautiful face, marred by bruises pleaded up to the other man. "I'm tired of being a useless heir."
"I'm going to need you to tell me what happened." Ibushi softly pressed his lips to the bruises as if he could heal them with tender kisses. "No one has any right to do something like this to you."
"It was my father," the pink-haired man told him. "I went to his office to tell him about how I feel toward you and to ask if I could marry you instead of Kana." The blanket slid off of him, revealing purpling bruises on his arms as well as his collar. "This was the response."
"No," the other protested. "Akoya, how could he do this to you?" He brought him into a gentle embrace, cradling his head to his chest. "This isn't right. You did nothing wrong." Tears pricked at his eyes as he did his best to remain strong for the other man. "I should have been there to protect you, Akoya."
"Even still, I can't hand you over to Kana! She doesn't deserve you! She doesn't deserve a man who can bring her happiness! You're too good for her, Arima!" Akoya held Ibushi's shirt tightly in his hands as he shouted into his chest to muffle it. "I love you! I've always loved you! Why can't we be together?! Why does Kana need to take everything I love away from me?! It's not fair! The only Gero you should be marrying is me!"
"Do you think I don't know that?" Ibushi asked him, breathless from anger. He moved Akoya away from him and gently held the other man's cheeks in his hands. "Your father has gone too far for my liking! There has to be something we can do!"
"There's nothing!" the pink-haired man wailed. "I don't ever want to see you with anyone else, Ibushi! I refuse to hand you over to my sister! I've thought of every way possible to take you for myself, but it was all for nothing!" He slid his hands up to hold desperately to his best friend's. "Ibushi, kiss me! Let me know that it wasn't all for nothing!"
It wasn't as if the other man needed any more prompting than that. He put one hand on Akoya's waist and drew him in close, leaving his other to cup his beloved's cheek as he kissed him with everything he had. His lips covered Akoya's in a fevered rush, as if he were starved for them. Ibushi could feel his arousal stirring, but he couldn't stop. Akoya wanted to know that his struggles from that day weren't for nothing, so that's exactly what he was going to prove to him.
Akoya's hands explored his best friend's chest, unbuttoning his jacket and shirt to get a feel for his bare flesh. He moaned softly when he accidentally ground against the other man, his erection growing. With no shame to hide, he twisted his fingers into Ibushi's green hair from both sides, moaning softly as Ibushi's hand on his cheek went into his hair as well.
When the two broke apart for air, they stared into each other's eyes. Gasping for breath, they couldn't help but think the other was sexy with his flushed cheeks and lust-drunk gaze. Akoya draped himself over Ibushi's body, resting his head on his shoulder. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he couldn't bring himself to return to sanity. He wanted this moment to last forever, never returning him to the devastating reality of not being allowed Ibushi.
The other man's head was swimming with emotion, yet he wished to do anything but ground himself. Instead, he focused on the man in his lap and the way his pulse hammered through his veins at just a single touch. How could he even dare to think of something else? Just the idea of it sent his mind spiraling. In that moment, all Ibushi could think of was Akoya. All he could see was Akoya. All he wanted was Akoya.
"For the moment," he slowly began, feeling Akoya's body react against his to the sound of his voice, "let's forget about Kana and the marriage and whatever disastrous things may spell out the future. Right now, all I want to focus on is you. Us. I want nothing more than to learn more about you and the feelings you enjoy. I want to find the parts of you that make you squirm with delight and boost your desire for more. Will you allow it?"
"Will I?" Akoya asked, pulling away from him to look at him. His eyes were dazed and hazy with desire. "How could I not?"
The two men then kissed once more, rekindling the burning flame in their souls for each other. Their hearts sang out as one as layer-by-layer their clothing decorated the floor. And once they found themselves tangled together in the sheets of Ibushi's bed, both were pleasantly satisfied with their satiated lust. They fell asleep in each other's arms, feeling a deep peace in their hearts, blissfully unaware of what was awaiting them the next morning.