Chapter Fifteen

When he described the photograph taking and followed it with the brief explanation of the portfolio—and hence the dozens of pictures ranging from him in gowns to casual wear—Miaka was gaping, stunned at him. Irritably, he plowed on, determined not to stop before he regained common sense and before the fact that he was telling his twin sister all of this sank in. He purposely skipped any personal tidbit, and shoved all thoughts of Tomo and Houjun to the back of his mind. He did mention Doukun though. By the time he had finished the part where Yui had called him earlier this morning, his spectator's jaw had hit rock bottom.

"I was supposed to meet that crazy woman for lunch. But…damn it, I don't think I'll be going. I'm sick of all this, and I want it to fucking end."

The fact that Genrou had suddenly too-casually looked away at his conclusion made Miaka raise an eyebrow. "Is that all there is to it?"

He snorted and turned back around, glaring at her. "Hell, yes! Why are you asking? I told you everything!"

She stared at him for a moment longer. Uncomfortable, his gaze sank to the ground.

"No," Miaka's voice was plaintive. "You haven't told me why you were crying, Genrou."

"It's nothing!" his jerky, desperate shout was a direct lie to the façade that he was trying his hardest to keep up. Realizing that almost immediately, he groaned and pulled his legs up onto the bench, resisting the urge to scream.

"Anything else you need to clarify?" he asked dryly, attempting to hide the fact that his throat was still clogged with emotion. He thought of the photographer again, smiling softly at him; a tanned hand reaching out to shift Genrou's position and pull a few tendrils of his hair over his face; tucking an obscenely cheerful sunflower behind his ear for one of the pictures; winking at him from behind the lens of the camera. The image flashed forward to Houjun, held safely out of his reach, in Tomo's arms.

Get over it! He pleaded silently. Just. Get. Over. It. Genrou.

"Does that mean that that day, at the shopping center when I was following you…it was you on the ground?" his sister's voice was turning sly. "Kissing that man? Or is he a woman in disguise?"

Genrou was torn between hitting Miaka upside-down, or laughing hysterically. He decided that the latter option was a safer one.

Miaka stared at her brother, who was snorting and choking so hard in mirth that tears rolled down his cheeks, and bristled. "What's so funny?"

He pointed at her and laughed even harder. It was a good five minutes before he could calm himself down enough to wheeze out a reply to the death glare that Miaka was giving him.

"Houjun? A woman? Not likely!"

Oh no. I JUST TOLD MYSELF I WOULD FORGET ABOUT IT! Genrou would have kicked himself if he could, but as it was, he settled for gritting his teeth and trying his best to shove the photographer's face out of his mind and hoping his sister wouldn't press the issue.

No such luck.

Miaka peered at him. "So you were kissing a guy," she mused, looking directly at her brother. "Why? So that I would get the wrong idea and leave? Is that it?"

Of course!

Not.

Hell, Genrou you idiot, she's giving you a way out! Take it!

"I'm trying to figure this out properly, Genrou," she said primly, folding her hands and placing them in her lap. "You can help me out so I can help you out, or you can do whatever you want and I won't really care. As long as you wash my dishes for a month."

"Excuse me?" he managed, only half-paying attention as his thoughts raced. "What?"

And then it sank in. "No!"

She grinned innocently at him. "So, Genrou? Answer the question. Was that all there was to what happened that day? Or is my little brother experiencing a sexuality crisis?"

It hit far too close to home, and he could feel his cheeks burning. "Shut up! Don't fucking call me that!"

She moved closer to him, that impish smile still plastered on her face. "Or is," she cooed, reaching out and patting him on the head before he could stop her, "Or is my little brother—could he possibly be?—in love?"

Bingo.

@@@

Houjun bit his lip, and then decided against the call. When he did talk to Tasu Leika, he didn't want to be rushing about. Mostly because he wasn't sure of what he wanted to say in the first place. Walking to the dresser, he stooped slightly, scooping the silver watch from the bedside table.

@@@

"Aw!" Miaka's shriek made Genrou's hair stand on end. "I've hit the nail right on the head haven't I?"

He wasn't quite sure if she had, and told her just that. "Maybe."

She began laughing insanely, clapping her hands like a deranged Energizer bunny and rocking backwards and forwards on the bench. He wondered belatedly if he could scoot away and pretend that this had never happened.

But to do that, he would probably have to go back a long, long way to the beginning, starting from the very moment he had seen that cursed flyer.

"Well then! What's stopping you?! Call the guy out for a drink!"

Genrou stared at his sister as though she had grown purple horns. "You haven't been listening to me!" he hissed at her through clenched teeth. "He—along with the whole world—thinks I'm a WOMAN. You know? With a—" he gestured wildly at his chest, indicating the lack of inflation. "And you want me to just walk up to him and ask him out? You're fucking crazy!"

Her hysterical laughing was beginning to scare him, quite truthfully, but she shut up at that and stared at Genrou thoughtfully.

"Well then, just tell him the truth?"

One sheep…I will not lose my temper…two sheep…I will –not–…three sheep…

Genrou exploded.

"You don't understand!" he growled, his hands clenching into fists. "Has it ever occurred to you that he might have someone?! That. He. Might. Not. Want. A. Relationship?"

A relationship with me, no less, he added to himself silently.

Miaka raised an eyebrow at him, and then shock and understanding flooded her features. "So that's why you were—"

"I WASN'T FUCKING CRYING, OKAY?" he snapped. And then he gave up trying to hide anything any longer, exhaling in a sudden rush of tiredness.

"You want to know everything? I'll tell you everything. See, this is the actual, whole, bloody situation…"