Gah! Sorry! -bows- This chapter got deleted when I edited the chapters! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! For all of you who have been waiting for this, I apologize! Enjoy and review, plz!

Chapter 12: Tadaima!

"Okay Tohma, I'll go in first to tell him that you're coming in" Yuki barked at his shaking 'friend'. Tohma nodded vigorously. He felt as horrible as he did when he found Yuki that night in New York. It still made him shudder when he thought about either of the two things.

"Do you think he'll forgive me?" Tohma asked quietly. He twiddled his thumbs anxiously. Yuki paused at the door, his hand gripped onto the handle. He looked thoughtful. He had never seen Tohma so worried about anyone besides Yuki himself.

"Well, I don't want him to" Yuki explained coldly. "But, it is his choice, not mine. I know him well, but not that much. This just proves it. I didn't think he'd go to such measures just because I left him, so you can't really ask me what he's gonna say, can you?"

"Eiri!" Tohma cried. He frowned. "You're not helping!" Yuki smirked cruelly,

"Who said I was trying to?" he asked. Tohma sighed and hung his head in defeat.

"Look Eiri, I told you I was sorry!" Tohma said. "What else can I do?" He leaned back against the wall and slid down it.

"If Kitazawa came up to me and said, "I'm sorry Yuki", do you think I'd automatically forgive him?" Yuki demanded. Tohma silenced himself. "Saying sorry doesn't always cut it. You should know that well, Tohma."

"Yes, forgive me Eiri" Tohma mumbled through his sobs. "I understand. I must try, though. And no one can stop me!" He went into a I'm-almighty-and-strong-and-you-can't-stop-me-from-doing-anything-ha-ha pose. Yuki rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I'm gonna tell him you're coming in now" Yuki said. He wondered what Shuichi would do when he told him that Tohma was coming in. With that in mind, he opened the door and closed it softly behind him.

"Shuichi?" Yuki called. He looked around for his brat. Shuichi was in the fetal position on the bed, rocking back and forth in a swaying motion. "Oi, brat! I'm back!" he called.

"Yuki!" Shuichi cried. He jumped up, causing waves of pain and dizziness to go through his body. He rubbed his head and smiled. "You're back!" He jumped down from the bed and ran to Yuki, embracing him tightly. "I thought you weren't gonna come back again…" he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

"I told you I'd be back in two hours" Yuki said with a sigh. But then he looked Shuichi in the eyes. He was no longer frustrated. He pitied Shuichi greatly for some reason. Shuichi's eyes were covered in fresh tears and his eyes were red and puffy. That meant that he had been crying before then. His whole body was shaking, and it held on to Yuki for dear life. Shuichi looked like a broken child, and, at the moment, he was. He was a child who feared that the person he loved the most had left him, again.

Yuki hugged Shuichi back, feeling very guilty. 'I should've never left' he thought. 'I'm such an idiot…' He sighed. He could hear Shuichi coughing and hiccupping. "It's okay" he cooed. "I'm right here, okay?" Yuki couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. He was comforting Shuichi, something he had never done before. After the near-death experience though, he thought that Shuichi deserved all the OOC moments Yuki could manage to do without puking.

"Y-Yuki, please don't leave me again…" Shuichi whispered, his body still shaking with fear. Yuki nodded slowly. His shirt was soaked again, but, yet again, that didn't matter. He would just have to buy ANOTHER one. "I love you." Yuki nodded. He knew that Shuichi understood the nod, so he left it at that.

Shuichi finally let go of Yuki and calmed down. His head hurt more than ever and his arms were stinging again. He felt really dizzy, probably because his crying wore and stressed him out. Yuki escorted Shuichi back to the bed. Yuki bit his lip. He looked thoughtful again. He was having second-thoughts about letting Tohma see Shuichi. Finally, Yuki decided to let Tohma come in.

"Shuichi, Tohma wants to talk to you" Yuki breathed. He paused and waited for a reaction. Shuichi didn't cry. He didn't faint. He didn't smile. He just stood still, as if he hadn't heard Yuki at all. Yuki shrugged and continued. "You don't have to let him though. It's up to you."

"Does he really want to talk to me?" Shuichi questioned. He was still finding it hard to believe that Tohma was caring about him at all. Yuki nodded in response. "Why?"

"He wants to apologize for what he told you" Yuki explained calmly. Shuichi shook his head sadly.

"He doesn't have to" Shuichi said. "I shouldn't have overreacted. It was my fault."

"No, it's not your fault" Yuki growled. He was getting angry. "It's not. It's Tohma's fault, and he knows it. Now, you deserve his apology, even if you don't forgive him." 'After all, he's the one who put you in the ER' Yuki thought bitterly. "Shall I let him in?"

'Um…okay" Shuichi said. He sat up straight and sighed. Yuki left the room and Tohma came inside. Tohma looked scared and depressed. Shuichi almost fainted.

"Hello Shindou-kun" Tohma said shakily. He walked towards Shuichi slowly but surely.

"H-Hi" Shuichi muttered. He tried to remain calm. When he saw Tohma, he remembered the words, "And it's about Eiri". He shuddered.

"I'm extremely sorry" Tohma said, and he BOWED. Shuichi gasped. Tohma NEVER bowed to anyone! This was his OOC day for sure. "I shouldn't have lied to you about Eiri's whereabouts."

"N-No, it's okay" Shuichi said. "You were just looking out for Yuki."

"No, it's NOT okay" Tohma said. He stood up straighter. "I told you that Eiri was sick and had fled to New York. And then, you got so worried that…" He trailed off, not wanting to discuss the details of Shuichi's condition.

Tohma looked hard at his employee. Usually, Shuichi was energetic and looked happy. But now, Shuichi had bags under his eyes. He was stuttering. His voice was raspy. His legs were shaking. His head was pounding. His eyes were filled with tears and depression. And his heart looked shattered. It was as if Tohma could see right through Shuichi's soul. He saw all the pain behind the act.

"You don't have to accept my apology" Tohma said. "I don't expect you to. But I'm truly sorry for what I did. I promise that I will never interfere with your relationship with Eiri ever again. I've learned my lesson." He hung his head in defeat. He knew he lost.

"It's alright" Shuichi said with a forced smile. "I accept your apology. It's okay, really. I'm not mad or anything." Tohma frowned.

"How can you say that?" Tohma asked. "I hurt you in the worst way possible. How can you forgive me so easily? I don't understand…" Shuichi made a genuine smile at Tohma.

"You're sorry, right?" Shuichi confirmed. Tohma nodded. "Well, what else can you do? I don't expect anything, because I know you feel bad. I don't like when people feel bad, so why should I make you feel bad?"

"I made you feel bad" Tohma said, making a good point. Shuichi sighed. Tohma had a thick head to get through to.

"Two wrongs don't make a right" Shuichi reminded Tohma, slightly chiding him. "Besides, I'm not one for revenge. If you hurt Yuki, then I'd NEVER forgive you. (That's an exception.) But I know you would never do that, so I accept your apology."

"Shindou, I can't possibly thank you enough for forgiving me" Tohma said quietly. "You have my eternal thanks." Tohma bowed again. "I hope you recover soon." He paused. "You can have all the time you need off."

"Oh, really?" Shuichi cried. He smiled with sparkles in his eyes. "Thank you so much, Seguchi-san!"

"Call me Tohma" Tohma said kindly. Shuichi nodded.

"But, you have to call me Shuichi from now on" Shuichi said with a smirk. Tohma laughed and nodded. "Goodbye! Thanks for visiting!" Tohma nodded and smiled.

"Goodbye, Shuichi" Tohma said. He walked out the door and met up with Yuki. "Ah, Eiri!"

"I'm guessing it went well?" Yuki asked. Tohma nodded in confirmation.

"Shuichi is a wonderful person" Tohma said. "Now I know how he was able to melt the ice around your heart so easily." Yuki scowled, then frowned in confusion.

"Wait, what's with calling him by his first name?" Yuki demanded.

"He asked me to" Tohma explained. "I was amazed at how forgiving he was." He paused. "Oh, and if I kill you Yuki, he'll never forgive me. He told me himself." Yuki rolled his eyes.

"That brat is so weird" Yuki said. Tohma smiled again. (He's been doing that a lot lately.) Yuki smiled back. "But he's my brat, so it's okay."

"Yes, it is" Tohma said. "Oh, and Eiri, I won't interfere with your relationship with Shuichi anymore. You don't have to worry about something like this happening again."

"Good, because I was trying to resist killing you all day" Yuki muttered.

"Huh?" Tohma asked. He titled his head to the right.

"Oh, it's nothing" Yuki said with a chuckle.

"Oh, okay Eiri!" Tohma cheered. "I'll see you soon! I hope you and Shuichi return home safely."

"Whatever" Yuki said coldly. He scowled as Tohma walked away. Yuki entered Shuichi's room again. "Hey Shuichi, want to come with me and get some food?" Shuichi was still on the bed, sitting peacefully.

"No thanks" Shuichi muttered. "Their food is awful."

"You've had it before?" Yuki asked. Shuichi nodded.

"One time, K shot Sakano in the arm, so we had to go to the hospital" Shuichi explained. "You were away then, so I probably forgot to tell you. Anyways, we had to eat there because it was dinner time. We ate the food and it was horrible. I puked it all out five minutes later."

Yuki laughed, partly because of the situation itself and partly about what Shuichi did. "It was that bad, huh?" Shuichi nodded. "How about I take you to a place with real food?"

"I don't think I'm allowed to leave" Shuichi said. He sighed. "And I don't want you to leave again." Yuki nodded in understanding.

"How about I have Hiro order the food and come here?" Yuki suggested. "I called him earlier when you woke up, but he was on a date with Ayaka. I told him that he didn't have to leave because I wanted to talk to you alone anyway. He agreed and said he'd come later. He might as well come now with edible food, eh?"

"Yeah!" Shuichi cried. He ran up to Yuki and hugged him. "I love you Yuki!" Yuki smiled. He felt like the luckiest man alive.