Okay, here it is, chapter 2!!! I hope you guys enjoy this!!! I'm really sorry that this took so long, but school really had me busy, but now I'm free for the summer!! I can write!!! YAY!! Same warning as before, yaoi! I'm aware this isn't as good as my last fic, but I'm trying…
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN IT!!! Awww shucks…
A Masterpiece is ForeverBy: Meg-chan
As Genrou entered his apartment in Harvard Square, just across the Charles River from Boston, he placed his bag down along with his coat. He walked to a window that faced the street and drew the curtains, letting some light shine in the darkened room. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed a light flashing on the answering machine. Upon returning to the machine from the kitchen, a pint of ice cream in tow, he pressed the button next to the blinking light and proceeded to dig in with a spoon he held in his hand. A familiar, but not recently heard voice came through.
"Hey Genrou, it's Kouji. How ya doin' man? Well, anyways, I was just wonderin' if you were goin' to the reunion. Well, why don't ya give me a call later, actually, I'll call ya, we got practice today. Well, I'll talk to ya later man. Take care."
Genrou sighed and flopped onto his couch, upsetting a pile of dirty laundry that had been there. The reunion… he had forgotten. He began to think back to what had happened so long ago…
//flashback//
It was late summer in California, and the rest of the country for that matter. Genrou and Houjun were walking down the stretch of sand that made up the local public beach. It was late and no other people were to be found. It was perfect.
Houjun sighed and gave Genrou's hand a slight squeeze. Genrou turned to look at his boyfriend with concern showing on his young features. "You okay hun?"
Houjun nodded slowly, "I'm fine, just a little sad. I mean, we're both going off to college next week, and we'll be on different sides of the country. I don't know what I'll do without you to understand me no da." As soon as he said "no da" he slapped his hand over his mouth.
"Wow, this really must be bothering ya if ya slipped back into that again. Don't worry, I'm sure there'll be tons o' people fer you ta get ta know." He paused for a moment; his features had a thoughtful look cast over them. He began again, "Houjun, I know I've said this to ya before, and I meant it every time, but this time it's forever. I love you Houjun, and I always will. I know we're goin' off ta college an' we won't see each other, but I'll wait fer you. Forever."
Houjun was at a loss for words, something that didn't happen too often. "I'll wait fer you. Forever." Those words sacred him more than anything else. He loved Genrou with all his heart, but to wait for him forever? He was only 18, and he had the whole world for him to discover. He had never been with any one other than Genrou, and he needed to know if there was more. He had a feeling there wasn't but he didn't know that for sure. Perhaps Genrou knew for sure because he had been with other people, but all that Houjun knew was that he wasn't ready. "I-I don't know what to say. Gen- Genrou, I'm… I'm not ready for that. I love you, or at least I think that's what it is, but I'm still so young. Maybe you know exactly what you want but I'm still looking. I can't deal with that now. I'm sorry, you know I don't want to hurt you, but this is how I feel, and to tell you otherwise would hurt you more in the long run. I- I'm sorry." With that he walked away and got into his parked car. They had come separately so he drove off without a second thought as to how Genrou would get home.
Genrou stood and watched the car pull away. He didn't know what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea. And he didn't like it.
~*~
Houjun avoided Genrou for the rest of the week. He made excuses, didn't answer the phone. Everything felt so awkward. The week passed, and Houjun left for school in New York. Genrou hadn't seen him since the incident at the beach and he went off to school in Boston. They e-mailed each other, and things were straightened out between them. There were no hard feelings, but they never kept in contact afterwards. Genrou had kept his promise though; he had never been with another person from that day forwards.
//end flash back//
Genrou couldn't help but let a few tears fall. Even after all the years, the pain was fresh in his heart. He wasn't obsessive; he hadn't wanted to be with anyone else, he'd never actually gotten over Houjun. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. After so many years and being forced to grow up a little faster than necessary, Genrou had matured into a moderately responsible adult. He opened his bag and pulled out some reports he had to write up for work. The work took his mind off things, but he was pulled back into reality when the phone rang. He thought about letting the machine pick it up, but then decided against it.
"Hello?"
"Hey Gen, it's Kouji. How are ya?"
Genrou smiled, overjoyed to be able to talk with his best friend again. "Hey man, I'm doin' okay, how about you?"
"Good, so did ya get an invitation to the reunion?"
"Yeah, yeah I did."
"So…do ya think you'll go?"
"I-well- I'm not sure. I-I don't know if that'd be such a good idea."
"You know, Houjun's coming. Hikou an' I are gonna stay at Houjun's an' well, we hope you decide ta come. Listen, I gotta go, but I'll talk to ya later, okay?"
Genrou sat down, and leaned against the back of the sofa. Now what? "What the fuck ya gonna do now? What if ya go, an' the firs' thing he does is spit in yer face? But I got every right ta be there too. We both went to school there. Kouji an' Hikou'll be there. Oh gods…"
He sat on his sofa for another hour or so, and before he realized it, the clock in the hall began to chime ten. Genrou shook his head as he was standing up and walked into his room. He stripped down to his boxers and undershirt and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He slipped into bed, his mind still stuck on Houjun and the reunion. He drifted into sleep, the subject still spinning around in his mind.
~*~
As Kouji finished his conversation with Genrou, he returned to the kitchen where a bag of microwave popcorn was beeping, waiting for attention. He pulled the bag out and winced as some of the steam rose out and scorched his hand. The young man nearly dropped the bag, but bobbled and caught it just in time. He carried the steaming bag into the living room of the small house he lived in with Hikou. They had both gone to college together, Hikou giving up a place at Harvard to be with Kouji, and they spent their college days at the University of Vermont.
After they had graduated, they both returned to the school, Hikou as a teacher of philosophy and Kouji as the head coach of the school's soccer team. They had been going out ever since high school, with a few breaks here and there, as every couple must have. Kouji sat down next to Hikou on the couch and handed over the popcorn. A movie began playing on the TV in front of the two men, and Hikou's arm managed to snake it's way around Kouji's waist and pull him close. Kouji sighed with content in response to the action.
When the movie was over they continued to just sit on the couch. Hikou had his arms wrapped around Kouji as they sat in silence. Every few minutes they would talk, but would always stop not long after. Hikou was thinking about the reunion and how good it would be to see everyone again. "Kouji? What did Genrou say about the reunion? Is he coming?"
Kouji sighed as he sat up, pulling away from his lover. "Hikou and I are so happy together. Why can't they see that they're miserable without each other?
"I really don' know. I hope so. It would do him an' Houjun some good to see each other I think. Ya know Genrou hasn't been with anyone since they broke up, an' from what you've said it doesn't seem like Houjun's been doin' too well as far as relationships go…"
Hikou nodded in agreement. "Houjun seems even more depressed lately. His latest boyfriend has become a little more serious than his other ventures. But he's miserable with him. He just won't come out and admit that he misses Genrou, you wouldn't guess it, but after all his pain and suffering, he won't come out and ask for what he wants, he's too proud and only depends on himself. See if you can't convince Genrou to come. Maybe we'll have a chance to be matchmakers…" He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye.
Kouji smiled in response. "Sounds like a good plan ta' me. I love it when you get all sneaky." He threw his arms around Hikou's neck and pressed his own lips against his lovers. Somehow, in their moment of passion Kouji lost his balance and toppled onto the floor, bringing Hikou with him.
They were lying on the floor, very busy, when Hikou pulled away. "Perhaps we should take this to the bedroom."
~*~
Houjun opened the door to his very nice and very expensive apartment in Greenwich Village. As he was walking in the door he checked his watch. 7:04 p.m. That meant that Tom would be home. Tom was Houjun's "significant other", to put it simply. Tom was young (24), smart, and very attractive. An artist too, he satisfied Houjun's creative side. Houjun hadn't really been too serious about any relationships since Genrou. In college, if he was with anyone it never lasted longer than three weeks. It became so bad at one point that he almost had a "reputation" so to speak. He had settled down considerably since then, but Tom was the longest relationship he'd been in since Genrou. Houjun loved Tom, but not the same way it had been with the redhead. Many nights he spent convincing himself that he was happy, and he didn't need Genrou. Tom was all he could ever hope for. The worst part is he most often managed to convince himself.
As Houjun was putting away his things, coat in the closet, shoes by the door, suit jacket slung over the back of a chair, and briefcase on the computer desk, Tom had slipped into the room unnoticed. As Houjun was loosening his tie, he felt arms snake their way around his middle. "Hey there lovely, how was your day?"
Houjun felt a sudden pang of guilt. Here he had this loyal wonderful man at his side and all he could think about all day was an old boyfriend whom he had dumped. He placed one hand on the slightly larger ones entwined across his torso. He turned around and placed a kiss on the lips slightly higher than his own. "Mmmmm. Much better now. My day was so confusing…"
The younger man looked at the man in his arms. "Really? Why, what's up?"
"I received an invitation to my 10 year high school reunion. It brought up the past, something I try not to think about. I'm here now, with you and that's what I need to focus on. However, opening that letter made it so that I really had no choice. It came up and pretty much exploded in my face." Houjun held on to the young man even more tightly than he had been.
"What's wrong with the past? I know you said high school wasn't a good time for you, but you never really told me why."
"I'll give you five clues. Gay. Teen. In. High. School. I was always a bit of a loner. But then they found out I was gay. My…" he paused, unsure of whether or not to say this. "My first boyfriend and I were the victims of a hate crime. A senior on the same soccer team as my boyfriend kidnapped me. The bigot used me to lure him there. My boyfriend ended up in the hospital for a few weeks, but not nearly as bad as the other guy." Houjun smiled at the memory, even though the pain it brought was great. "From that point on things got even more complicated. Kids at school, his parents, and then we had to go to college… I sort of broke it off. He was ready to commit, and wait for me but I was scared… I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I haven't even thought about all this in years. But I'll be gone for a few days next week. Think you can manage?"
Tom looked at Houjun a moment longer. He wasn't very happy to know that Houjun would be going to an event that may involve an old flame, but he couldn't stop him. What Houjun had just told him also worried him as well. He was keeping these emotions bottled up and that's not good for a person. The young man sighed and answered, "I'm pretty sure I'll get by. Hey, I was going to make dinner, what do you say we go to Ruby Foo's instead? We haven't gone in a while and maybe it'll cheer you up."
Houjun looked up from his spot on Tom's shoulder to smile in agreement. "You always seem to know how to cheer me up. I'll just go get changed."
As Houjun walked into their bedroom Tom frowned. He didn't like what was going on one bit. The way Houjun had talked about his other boyfriend. He had talked about the ones he had in college before, but not in the same way, and never in a way that had ever made Tom worried or jealous, however, the emotions brought on by Houjun's speech were that of both jealousy and nervousness.
That's the end of chapter two!! Did you like it? If you did tell me! Heck, tell me even if you didn't like it! I like constructive criticism. Key word there is constructive. Please don't be overly picky, that's just annoying. Thanks for reading!!!