(A/N: Welcome to the 4th chapter of this series. It's just one chapter away before the finale. But I'm still thinking if I'll add a bonus chapter after the 5th chapter like an epilogue or 5 chapters will be enough to cover the whole story. I guess we will see as we move along the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did when I was writing it).


Chapter 4

By: Aztec999


The faint sunlight came peeking through the window and slowly crept inside the bedroom where Mitsuya laid out peacefully on the mattress. Nevertheless, a weak groan escaped from his lips as the light finally reached his face, making him open his eyes blearily and rubbed it with his hand.

'What happened?' He thought hazily as he tried to reorient his mind into his present surroundings.

Mitsuya tried to get up only for a splitting headache came crashing through him that made him winced and fell back into the bed unceremoniously. "Fuck. Why does the ceiling keep on spinning in front of me?" He groused.

The shuffling sound of the door being opened caught his attention and Mitsuya glanced at the doorway to see Draken holding a glass of water and a pill.

"Good morning. Glad to see that you're awake. Here take this. It can help you with that raging hangover you're feeling." Draken placed the glass of water and the pill on the bedside table.

Mitsuya's eyes widened briefly at his words and at the sight of him as his mind tried to catch up with some of the events prior to this morning.

All he could remember was…

…singing his heart out at the KTV bar and giggling like an idiot in front of him.

Fuck.

Mitsuya wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. How could he have embarrassed himself in front of Draken like this? He shouldn't get carried away and drink only the amount of alcohol according to his body limit and not overindulge himself.

Mitsuya was inwardly praying that he didn't say or do things that would make the other question his common sense further.

"Shit. I… I… didn't do something humiliating last night haven't I?" Mitsuya bit his lip as he looked away, feeling his face heating up at the implication of his words.

For a moment, everything seemed quiet. The deafening silence seemed to stretch and it felt like the hours dragged on even if it just seconds passed by.

As Mitsuya was prepared to open his mouth and break the overbearing silence away, a boisterous laughter rang around the room which made him taken aback and looked again at Draken's laughing face. He couldn't take his eyes away from him as his face morphed into radiant and glowing expression despite it being a normal look of amusement. Draken wasn't the most handsome guy that he had ever seen in his life given that he travelled around the Europe as a fashion designer. But he was certainly one of the most appealing guys that he had ever laid his eyes upon on. The kind of face which got more arresting and gorgeous the more you stare at him for longer.

Mitsuya decided to cut his stupefied expression and spoke up slowly. "Is there something funny?"

"Nah. You looked sorta panicked for a second when you've asked me. Also, it's cool. A drunken man's deeds are a secret of another fellow." Draken remarked, his eyes slightly crinkling in mischief.

Mitsuya was a bit taken aback in a pleasant way to witness a playful side to him since when he met him, he was a bit serious and a no-nonsense type of guy. He didn't know how to react to this new man he was seeing in front of him. But he could feel the increasing tempo of his heartbeat inside his ribcage.

Damn it. What the hell was this thing going on inside of him?

Mitsuya tried to act casual despite the havoc that the other was causing within him.

Mitsuya tried to smile even though it came out weird. "No really… I didn't cause any trouble or inconvenience to you last night haven't I…? If I did, I wanted to apologize and—."

"Mitsuya. Relax, will you? You didn't commit any crime or do anything weird so drink that pill now and join me in the dining room downstairs for a breakfast all right?" Draken cut off his words gently, offering a reassuring a smile on his way.

Mitsuya didn't blush at that breathtaking smile directed at him. No. Nope. Nada. Zilch.

So, why was he staring at the ground when he answered him anyway?

"All right if you say so. Just give me a few minutes to prepare myself." Mitsuya murmured, the loud beating of his heart almost making him deaf.

"Okay. Got it. I'll be waiting for you downstairs." Draken seemed mildly amused at his reaction but didn't point it out and let him be. He finally went out and closed the door carefully behind him.

As soon as Draken was gone out of his sight, Mitsuya flopped back down on the bed unceremoniously and let his screams be muffled by the pillow.

"God. Why did I have to act like a total moron in front of him?! Mitsuya Takashi you're better than this! You're a full fledge adult and not some fidgeting, uncertain teenager in front of him!" He berated himself under the pillows.

He needed to get a grip on himself.


Draken was already placing the plate full of flapjacks in the middle of the table when Mitsuya came downstairs and went to the dining room.

"You're just in time. Breakfast is done. Just sit over here while I'll put the mug of coffee in the table." Draken greeted him with a small smile on his face.

Mitsuya couldn't help but to smile back at him in return. After calming himself down and having a mini pep talk with himself in the bathroom and how he should stop embarrassing himself in front of Draken any longer, he made sure that he can finally face him without having his face heat up in mortification or blurting out stupid things in front of him. It must be the effects of alcohol and the hangover that's making him act this way. That's right. It's that and nothing else.

"I can see that you've prepared a lot." Mitsuya noted mildly.

"Well, you're my unexpected guest for today so I don't want my guest starving in my humble abode." Draken replied lightly as he pulled up a chair and gestured for the other to sit on it.

Mitsuya ignored the way his heart flutter at his words and action, choosing to remain cool and calm in front of him as he promised himself that he would get his shit together and act like a damn adult.

"You'll make a good host for an event." Mitsuya remarked idly as he looked at the sumptuous breakfast of flapjacks, bacon and eggs, hotdogs, fried rice, luncheon meat and toasted bread dressed in golden butter.

"I'll take that as a compliment. It's not every day that I heard things like that from an unexpected yet pleasant guest such as you." Draken chuckled lightly as he sat on the opposite side of him after handing him a plate some utensils.

Takashi took a seat and began to put some food on his plate.

For a moment, the silence between the two of them seemed to stretch on as if both had a lot of thoughts going on inside their heads.

Only to shatter the second they both speak accidentally.

"You know—."

"I'd like to—."

They both stopped midsentence and looked at each other with wide eyes before Mitsuya backtracked and apologized.

"Ah, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead."

"No Mitsuya. That's fine. How about you go first?" Draken replied quickly and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I just wanted to comment on how fluffy these flapjacks are. You're great at making them." Mitsuya remarked casually and smiled back at him.

"Well, that's one of the good things that came out when you're living independently at a young age. I learn how to cook on my own and other necessary chores that helped me go through my daily life." Draken replied smilingly, ignoring the way his heart somersaulted at the sight of the other simply smiling at him.

Mitsuya hummed in assent. "I totally get you on that part. How about you…? I mean you wanted to say something earlier?" He asked curiously.

"Ah, about that… Just out of curiosity but what do you usually do? What I mean is your job and stuff? You already know that I run and work in a mechanic shop but I wanted to know what's your line of work? You're a new face that I saw in the neighborhood and I can't help but to become curious." Draken asked a bit bravely, the sight of Mitsuya's despondent face last night when he was drunk flitted in his mind and he can't help but to wanted to know more about the other male that seemed to mystify yet intrigue him further.

"Ah, that one…" Mitsuya murmured, pausing briefly before he reached for the cup of coffee and sipped it gingerly.

"I am a fashion designer in Paris. Well, I was a fashion designer there before it all went downhill and some clusterfuck had happened." Mitsuya laughed mirthlessly.

Draken grew curious yet concerned at the same time. "Care to tell me what happened back then? That is if you want too of course." Draken quickly added, not wanting to pressure him in talking about a certain event that must've been sore spot for him.

Mitsuya couldn't explain it but the thought of spilling everything to him wasn't a scary or an awkward thought to him. He reckoned that Draken wouldn't judge him despite on how he looked like and the few days that he spent time with him prompted him to think that he was probably one of the most understanding and considerate people he had met.

"No that's fine. It already happened anyway so what's the point in not talking about it." Mitsuya answered lightly before he leaned back on his chair and began his storytelling.

"I'm one of the new fashion designers in Milan that worked in several fashion houses as an assistant designer such as in Prada and Coco Chanel's. Then I slowly but steadily made a name for myself in the industry and created my own fashion line in Paris. Everything was going right for me except that one event wherein it became a scandal not only for me but for the models who worked under me. One of my models who was on the runway and was wearing one of my newest creations had wardrobe malfunction and was stripped naked in the middle of the event. You can guess what happened next." Mitsuya paused as if he was steadying himself and shot a quick glance at Draken who seemed slightly taken aback at his words yet remained silent as if he was waiting for him to go on.

"I quickly scrambled up at the stage to cover her and yelled at the paparazzi to stop taking pictures of her. But somehow it was too late as some of her half naked pictures quickly circulated online and the next day, I just lost half of my patrons in my business and I was summoned by the management interrogating me on what happened. It was a damn mess but I tried to move forward. I even visited the model who suffered from that event. She wouldn't sue or blame me for what happened but ever since then she lied low in her career and was… seeing… a professional help for the trauma that it caused her. As for me, my career went down the drain even if the investigation about the event was still ongoing. No one wants to be associated with me. No one wants to purchase or order my creations. The result of the investigation was one of the staff accidentally spilled some tea on the original dress that the model was supposed to wear for the event. What they did was they replaced it with another identical dress that was not the size of the model's body and put on so many pins on the bodice to make it fit. I won the lawsuit against the staff of the hotel where the event was held but it didn't make me feel happy or anything as seeing it was already too late. I didn't have any career to go back to and I've got this irrational feeling inside of me that it's all my fault for making the other person's career and mental health suffer. And I left Paris. There was no future waiting for me there anyway. So, there you go." Mitsuya finished with a wide smile on his face that seemed utterly forced.

Draken could only watch in silence as he tried to absorb everything Mitsuya had confessed right in front of me.

"Shit… That was…"

"Terrible? Humiliating? Pathetic?" Mitsuya supplied for him.

"No. That must've been a goddamn devastating experience for you. Fuck. I'm sorry to hear all about it. I really am." Draken replied apologetically, understanding Mitsuya's crestfallen expression and vulnerability during his drunken moments last night.

Draken can't imagine himself if that happened to him.

But somehow despite Mitsuya's admission to him about that terrifying event, it didn't diminish his admiration towards him. It made him see the other in a new light. The shrouded part of him seemed utterly clear to him.

Even though he had trouble reading on what was going through the other's mind and emotions inwardly, he could probably tell that event still stung him, the pinpricks of pain and anguish was still present, lingering inside his heart as he recalled the event of his downfall and how his career had fallen into shambles in just one night.

Fashion designing had been Mitsuya's dream and aspiration ever since he was a kid. A goal that he strived so hard to fulfill into adulthood. Hence, he could understand where the other was coming from. Draken didn't offer any encouraging words or unsolicited advice to him as he knew that was what not Mitsuya needed the most right now. Draken maybe not the most emotionally adept person in the world but he wasn't that clueless in human crisis. Mitsuya needed someone to listen to him. He probably kept all this inside of him and reassured the people around him that he was fine and dandy when he was not and he was slowly falling into pieces.

"Mitsuya… I-."

"Enough about me!" Mitsuya suddenly cut him off with a cheerful smile on his face. "Now I want to know more about you. It doesn't seem fair that I'm doing all the talking while you're listening right?" He asked with a bit of laughter.

Draken knew it was a diversionary tactic but he let it slide for the meantime as he wanted to respect the other if he didn't want to talk about it further.

"About me? Well what about it? What do you want to know about me?" Draken asked with a light chuckle escaping his lips.

"About yourself. I mean what do you wanna do in life? I can see that you're enjoying doing stuff with the bikes such as tinkering and stuff. So, you really want to be a mechanic or what?" Mitsuya asked curiously and Draken couldn't help the faint amusement etching on his face he watched the genuine interest in the other's eyes. It was like a child seeing an interesting object that caught its full attention and wanted to know more.

"In the part where you said that I want to be a mechanic you're partially right about that. Simply because I really wanna be a drag racer. Ever since I was a kid, drag racing fascinated me. I've watched them on televisions and my attention caught on fully on that one." Draken replied casually.

"A drag racer huh? That's interesting and a bit risky mind you. You're a lot fiercer than I thought." Mitsuya chuckled lightly under his breath.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? What's your initial impression about me anyway?" Draken asked curiously.

"My initial impression about you is that you're serious and a no-nonsense type of person. But hearing this side of you makes me think now that you're also a risk taker and braver to take on a dream that has high risks in life. And that's actually pretty damn cool." Mitsuya replied smilingly.

Draken tried not to blush at his words and the slight compliment that the other gave to him. But he could feel that the tips of his ears were turning slightly pinkish at his remarks and Draken wanted to curse himself inwardly for reacting like this. He's not a damn teenager for fuck's sake who's getting controlled by his hormones and emotions just because his crush complimented him!

His mind came into a screeching halt.

Wait.

Crush?

What. The. Fuck.

Draken kept a calm façade even though his mind and heart was in complete havoc upon that realization.

"Compared to what you do and what you've achieved in life, I'd say you're much cooler than I am." Draken replied with a lopsided grin on his face.

"There's nothing bigger or smaller when it comes to dreams Draken. If you've managed to reach for them, I have nothing but admiration for them in beating the odds and stayed focus on their goals. That includes you of course." He replied in genuine sincerity.

Draken now knew that his face was combusting that instant upon hearing those words of confirmation. Damn. Why did Mitsuya had to be goddamn smooth…in almost everything?!

"You got a way with words sometimes." Draken grumbled, looking away as he felt his face heating up.

Mitsuya chuckled softly at his words. "So, I've been told."

Draken coughed slightly to get back on the topic and completely ignore the way his face felt hot and how his nerves were skyrocketing inside of him.

"Anyway, aside from aspiring to be a famous drag racer one day I'm also interested in fixing bikes and stuff so I tried to open a mechanic shop after saving enough money to put up a small business around it. I'm just fond doing it and for practical purposes, I needed some source of income if I want to make my dream come true. Starting up a career in drag racing can be a bit pricey because of trainings and stuff. But I'm getting there. And while you're here, I have an upcoming match soon in Tokyo. Wanna come and see the race I'm in?" Draken took the opportunity to invite him before his frayed nerves failed him.

Mitsuya seemed taken aback slightly at his sudden invitation, blinking owlishly at him. "Me? O-of course I want to! Just tell me the date and place and I'll mark up my calendar." Mitsuya tried not sound too much excited even if the adrenaline of seeing Draken inside the dragster made him oddly enthusiastic and interested.

"Great! I'll send you a message about the details. Guess I'll be seeing you there." Draken remarked lightly.

"Yeah. You can count on it."

They resumed eating their breakfast after that.

Unbeknownst to them, the smile of satisfaction was both written on their faces.


The crowd was already thick when Mitsuya arrived in the venue of the race itself.

He wasn't late perse but he surmised that the event would commence soon because he could already here the voices of the announcers somewhere introducing themselves as the hosts of the racing event.

Mitsuya decided to sit in one of the available benches in the middle of the stadium, holding a compact binocular on his left hand. Today's relatively sunny and a good day to watch the drag racing contest that Draken was currently joined into.

The announcer began with the introductions and with that, the racing has started off.

Mitsuya began watching the race through his binoculars. Draken was driving the yellow dragster and for a moment, it seemed like he was leading the race. That was until the black and red dragster were catching up on him and moved past him after a few minutes. Mitsuya found himself cheering for Draken while holding the binoculars tightly in his hands. He was hollering and cheering like the rest of the crowd, truly immersed in the intensity of the race.

"Ken go for it! You almost got it! C'mon! Keep going baby!" As soon as the last word came out of his lips unconsciously, he stopped midway and a faint blush marred his cheeks. He looked around but it seemed that the audience couldn't hear any of what he had just said and continued to cheer on the racers that they bet on. Mitsuya breathed out a sigh of relief but it still didn't stop his heart from hammering wildly inside his chest.

Why did he just call him his baby?

God. He sounded like a teen who was endeared too much with his crush.

What the hell?

Before he could even contemplate on his spiraling thoughts, the announcer's voice threw him back to the present announcing the winners.

The black dragster ended up winning with Draken's yellow one coming in at 2nd place while the red one came in at the 3rd place.

Mitsuya immediately went down the stadium to greet Draken who was drinking water after he got out of the vehicle.

He waved to him. "Draken! Congrats on getting the 2nd place!" Mitsuya greeted him with a big smile on his face.

Upon seeing him, Draken shot him a radiant smile over his face. "Thanks even though I didn't get the first place."

"But still… I'm proud of you! That's a close one. There will still be next time. And who knows you might end up winning." Mitsuya chuckled softly under his breath, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering inside his chest at the beatific smile the other gave him earlier.

"You always have the right thing to say most of the time. You could be my campaign manager in the future." Draken joked lightly, masking the way his heart pounded wildly inside his chest at those words.

"Why don't we celebrate it?" Draken quickly suggested before he lose the nerve. "Just a simple hang out at my place. Got some beers and chips in there." He added, hoping that the other would accept but readying himself in case Mitsuya would reject the offer.

"Sure. I have nothing important to do anyway." Mitsuya found himself saying before he could even stop himself.

When it came to Draken he found himself getting swept away by the current and he doesn't know if that's a good thing or not.

But right now, he didn't want to think too much of it.

He wanted to enjoy the moment that they're in.