Chapter 6

Akihiko removed his sunglasses and placed them inside of his jacket pocket. He checked for his cigarettes and to his relief he didn't leave them back home. Last time, he found them in underneath Suzuki-san. The engine of his car whirred to a stop when he turned off his red sports car. He got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Pressing a button on his keys, he locked all the doors. At the sound of the beep, he left the car knowing it remained shut from anyone else. He pocketed his keys.

He hurried down the sidewalk and entered the humble diner where a kind hostess approached him. Once he explained Hiroki's appearance, she lead him toward the brown haired man, but not before she grabbed another menu.

Hiroki sipped his coca cola while he turned another page of the book he currently read. His whole demeanor, relaxed. Showing no indication of his prior anger at his loss. In fact, he had a small smile on his face which made his features much softer than the usual frown he sported.

From his peripheral vision, he noticed the familiar light blue dress the waitress wore and he looked up. She set the menu in front of him with Akihiko sitting himself down but not before ruffling Hiroki's hair which produced a scowl.

Hiroki snapped. "I'm not a kid Akihiko! What the hell!"

Akihiko smirked as he patted Hiroki's head and avoided the smack of his hand. "I know. That's for leaving me with your father Hiroki. It's a small thing but I will get you again."

"Technically he's yours too." Akihiko arched a brow. "If he were any other guy you wouldn't let him lecture you that harshly. You never let anyone snap at you without retaliating." Hiroki opened his menu and shifted through the options. "You're part of my family. That's why father is particularly mean to you."

"Why though? He has you to yell at whenever he is pissed. What? Are you not enough for him anymore?" Akihiko asked while picking out his option and shut his menu. "Have you ordered yet?"

"No." Hiroki said as he closed his book and hid it in his book bag. "When I first got here I wasn't hungry, now I am feeling pretty peckish. I might get something small." He pushed the glass of water to Akihiko, Akihiko grasped the soda next to that and took a long sip. "Akihiko!"

Akihiko smiled as he gulped down the soda before he said. "What? We've shared drinks since we were children Hiroki. You need to mellow out before you blow a gasket. Besides, you've never complained about this habit. You practically offer your drinks most of the time we hang out. The same goes to Takahiro."

Hiroki slapped him on the shoulder as he rolled his eyes, "Whatever." Akihiko's phone rang in his pocket and without looking at it, pressed ignore. "Avoiding your editor again? You need to stop doing that."

"She doesn't stop calling me, I thought she would've quit by now. She knows my writing habits and shouldn't feel the need to interrupt me." Akihiko explained while checking over his shoulder, the waitress walked to their direction. "Might as well order. Do you know what you want?"

Hiroki answered. "Yeah."

The young girl held a notepad in her hands as Akihiko and Hiroki told her their orders. She jotted it all down as they handed her their menus and gave them both her best smile. A sincere smile. Akihiko presented his stage smile which caused a blush on her cheeks.

Akihiko felt proud of his affect on people. This meant he perfected his disguised persona to the public. Disguising his usual foul mood when presenting himself to his award shows or interviews.

She turned to Hiroki who took sips of his soda and paid no attention. Though, he thanked her when she collected his glass to refill the contents with his drink. If he didn't at least attempt to act out his lessons, memories of his parents jamming polite etiquette into his young mind resurfaced. Not that his mother forced the lessons of etiquette on him. She tapped his hand with a spoon when he got something wrong.

The tea parties in the garden with his mother brought a small smile on his face. He might ask for a small lunch in the garden on his next visit.

The waitress left them and returned with their drinks. Akihiko pressed ignore on his phone yet again. He changed the settings to silent mode, already grown tired of Aikawa's persistent calls.

"Do you remember when my mom used to teach us etiquette when we were kids?" Hiroki inquired and sipped his new soda.

Akihiko chuckled. "The little tea parties in the backyard with the pastries we tried to pass off as 'manly'. I didn't care about the cutesy designs of the desserts but the jokes always made her crinkle her nose. Those were good times."

Hiroki held back his laughter when he said. "She told me about the time you dumped your tea all over your she-devil of a mother's white dress. You added food coloring to make a bigger impact on the stain."

"That's right!" Akihiko said as he tried keeping his initial laughter in check but he failed.

Hiroki and Akihiko laughed as they pictured Akihiko's mother ready to attack her son when he tripped her into the cake. In front of a majority of the Usami family. The workers of the manor kept a straight face as they cleaned the cake off of everything but gossiped about the ordeal in detail for days. Hiroki heard his mother muttering about good cake going to waste after she had a good laugh on the issue.

Akihiko had no remorse on what he had done. In his rationalization, she had it coming. The woman never treated him kindly and attempting to gain her favor did nothing. He never really cared for her anyway.

Their laughter subsided but a few chuckles managed to escape the both of them.

The waitress returned, a tray in her left hand. She set it on the other table before she collected each individual plate. She placed each plate in front of Akihiko and Hiroki, then she returned to attend other customers.

Hiroki began eating his order of pork cutlets with a side of rice and miso soup. Hiroki sipped his soup and ate a huge chunk of the pork. Savoring the flavor

Akihiko ordered beef stir fry with the same side orders as Hiroki. He snapped off the chopsticks apart and dug in.

"I'll bet you're thinking of wanting to trick her again aren't you?"

Akihiko hid his grin as he told Hiroki. "You found me out. Can you blame me? She is the devil incarnated, even you can admit it Hiroki."

Hiroki sipped his coke. "Can't argue with that." He leaned against his seat while fiddling with the buttons on his brown pea coat. "I'm sure she might get back at you."

"If trying to get me to marry those air-headed daughters of her friends is her so called revenge, that's a horrible way to go at it."

"Nah, she is waiting on something bigger to attack you with." Hiroki said as he went back to his food. "You are going to have to be careful Akihiko."

"I always am when it comes to that woman. Even those other two don't mess around with her. She can make a huge scandal but reputation is everything to her." Akihiko returned to his food as well. He moved onto his rice since he hadn't touched the side dish yet.

The moment he saw him, Akihiko noticed the dark circles under Hiroki's eyes. He didn't mention anything under the assumption that Hiroki dove into his schoolwork again and sleep escaped him. Again. He knew Hiroki well enough to know he never stopped working until he either completed it or after he collapsed from exhaustion. Maybe even a new book got Hiroki's attention and he kept reading the pages into the early hours of the morning.

His violet eyes noticed the dark scarf around Hiroki's neck. He furrowed his brows. He wondered where the red one disappeared to. Hiroki always wore it whenever he had the chance. Despite the bright color, Hiroki managed to find clothes complementing the color.

He assumed Hiroki left it hanging to dry after hand washing it.

Akihiko cleared his throat, he smirked. "Where's your bright monstrosity Hiroki?"

Hiroki glared at him. "Don't start with me Akihiko, not today."

"Why? I'm just curious, the way you care for the thing, you never leave out a chance to wear it." Akihiko sipped his soda. "It's not like it was taken or something, you would've kicked the person's ass."

"If it'll shut you up, I lost it."

Akihiko stared at him in astonishment. "You're lying...when? You never lose anything!" Hiroki gave him a confirming stare as Akihiko said. "Well, anything is replaceable but gifts from the heart...not very easy to remake."

Hiroki sighed. "Ugh..nothing is going good for me at all lately. I might as well sleep all of this off when I get back home…I couldn't sleep due to my thesis plus my mom. In general, it's all been a mess."

Akihiko offered. "Want to grab a drink after this? We can go to my place and you can get as drunk as you want. It's Saturday."

"Sure. Why not."

Hiroki shivered. He rubbed his arms to create warmth. He felt someone staring at him but he had no idea from which direction. This new development made him nervous. With so many people in the city, he though he was invisible from anyone gazing at him. Turning his head to the left and right, he saw that no one stared at him directly at all.

Akihiko arched a brow as to why Hiroki rubbed his shoulders. The temperature ran a little too hot due to the cold weather outside. The heater blasted all throughout the diner. He even took off his heavy sweater to accommodate the heat before he started to sweat.

Akihiko asked with worry in his tone. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine…it's just that I feel like someone is staring at me. It's creeping me out." Hiroki answered as he hid his face from the window with his hand.

"Seriously?" Akihiko searched through the place and saw no one acting suspicious. "Well, I see no one being weird. Everyone I see are in their own little worlds. Are you sure?"

Hiroki still felt the burning sensation of a pair of eyes watching him. "I still feel it, I think I should leave."

Akihiko placed his hand on Hiroki's shoulder. "Look, if you leave you're giving the person the satisfaction that he or she made you do it. Besides we're having a good time, you can ignore it."

"Whatever Akihiko you're not getting a stare down from some unknown person from who knows where." Hiroki snapped as he finished his food and drank all of his soda.

"Whoa slow down!"

Hiroki finished eating as he placed his chopsticks on the plate. He felt no eyes on him and relief washed over him. The person must have left him alone or found someone more interesting to look at. The way he scarfed down his food might have disgusted the person to leave him alone. For once, he was glad he ate so vicious at times.

Hiroki visibly relaxed in Akihiko's eyes, he asked. "The feeling is gone?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Akihiko said as he checked his watch. "Is 4 in the afternoon too early for booze?"

Hiroki shook his head. "Hell no, we have plenty of time to buy the beer and make it back to your place. I'll buy the snacks and you get the beer."

Akihiko smiled at Hiroki's new found energy, the creep must have shaken him a bit earlier. "Sounds like a plan. I'll get my preferred brand. I don't want to hear any complaints from you."

They missed a pair of ocean blue eyes glaring at Akihiko before passing the window of the diner.

Akihiko and Hiroki's happiness over their oncoming drunkenness obscured anything outside their conversation.

Hiroki got up from his seat and buttoned up his coat while Akihiko put on his purple sweater. They placed money on the table to pay for their food before exiting the establishment. A press of a button unlocked the doors and both men entered the car. The car revved into life as they sped off into the traffic.

Hiroki leaned against the couch as he tipped the beer to his lips. He gulped a huge amount down his throat. His mind swirled. Placing his legs on top of the coffee table and stared at the empty cans of beer with little interest. He wondered how much more he could drink before he completely slurred in his words. Falling back into a drunken stupor and snoring the night away. He felt safe in Akihiko's home. His friend always let him sleep his drunkenness off without any problems.

He turned to his right and noticed Akihiko finishing the beer he had in his hand. Akihiko placed the empty can with the rest of the other cans before he opened another one. He took another sip while he reached out his hand and ruffled Hiroki's hair. Hiroki didn't react. He rolled his eyes and relaxed in his spot on the couch.

Akihiko sighed when he noticed how many beers Hiroki drank in the past hour. It wasn't a surprise how many were accumulating but still unsettled him. He was glad Hiroki drank in his apartment and not in some random bar with people he didn't know. He trusted no one outside his circle of friends.

This was why he always offered Hiroki to come drink at his place. The spacious area gave them enough room to stumble around without pissing anyone off. When they got hammered, they could fall asleep anywhere. If they were at a bar, they would get kicked out at closing hour. Akihiko hated when people told him what to do.

Hiroki drank a big gulp of his beer as he complained. "This sucks! Why did this have to happen when I barely returned from home? Am I seriously that forgetful? Man this is turning in to a shitty ass week."

Akihiko patted Hiroki's shoulder when he told him. "Who knows, maybe it's somewhere you never expected and will find it real soon."

Hiroki made a face as he wagged his finger. "No no…I checked everywhere! I even looked behind my bookcases and under my bed…but no! It was not there! I want to hit something to get rid of this anger."

Akihiko nodded his head as he sipped more of his beer, he suggested. "I can look throughout your place when I visit next time. Besides, if you have me looking at everything alongside with you we might be able to find it."

Hiroki hugged Akihiko while he said. "That…would be great, thanks Akihiko. You're awesome...you really are."

Akihiko snickered when he heard Hiroki saying this to him without restraint. He knew Hiroki never praised him like this when he was sober. So he was going to enjoy hearing Hiroki complimenting him until Hiroki fell asleep.

He patted Hiroki's back and smirked. "Why thank you Hiroki, that's very nice of you to say."

Hiroki nodded his head with a flush to his cheeks when he poked Akihiko's chest. "Don't get…don't get used to it! I'm just being nice right now. You should..be lucky I am not calling..you..you mean!"

"Of course you are just being nice." Akihiko mused as he relaxed on his sofa while he let out a big yawn.

Hiroki swigged of his beer as he burped loudly. Akihiko wasn't annoyed by Hiroki's action at all. They have been friends for far too long for him to have not seen Hiroki burping without a care. He burped in front of Hiroki all the time, they were that comfortable with each other. If the time called for it, they even bathed at the same time. Saved time and water.

Akihiko remembered the first time they got drunk as he chuckled. "Hiroki..do you remember when we drank that bottle of alcohol at my house and your father yelled at us for it?"

Hiroki blinked as he started snickering. "Oh yeah…your father was at a business trip and he forgot to lock his alcohol stash away…" He leaned against Akihiko when he continued. "And then Tanaka noticed we were acting weird! He tried chasing after us around the manor but couldn't catch us. It was so funny!"

Akihiko shook his head as he smiled and closed his eyes. "To see your father yelling at that man for being so irresponsible was worth sitting through his lectures." He let out a sigh as he put an arm around Hiroki's shoulders. "So…how's tutoring what's his name going along?"

He only recently found out about this guy Hiroki tutored and he felt sort of hurt Hiroki didn't tell him about this kid sooner. If he never went to visit Hiroki then he might have never found out about this kid until way later. Akihiko let it slide, he knew Hiroki would tell him everything if he asked about it.

What he wanted to know was the kid's name. Hiroki was his dearest friend and he wanted to protect him. He needed a name to do a background check. With his connections he could find every little detail about this guy and check if he was good enough to be around Hiroki.

Of course, Hiroki didn't know of his spy nature but he wanted to make sure whoever got close to them had no ulterior motives. He dismissed countless people who he found out through these background checks. A majority of them were after the Usami fortune. He knew his method was effective.

"Hmmm?" Hiroki scrunched his eyebrows as he drew a blank, until he remembered Nowaki's tall stature and his blue eyes which were not common in Japan. "Wait…Nowaki? Oh he's learning all the shit I am tutoring him about."

Akihiko opened his eyes as he turned to look at Hiroki, he was already speculating on the validity of the young man's name. "Nowaki? That's an odd name, are you sure that's this kid's name?"

Hiroki nodded his head as he raised his hand. "Yup…he showed me his I.D, that's his real name. His picture was not so bad. Lucky bastard." Hiroki hiccuped as he patted Akihiko's hand. "He isn't wasting my time…that's a real good thing…he isn't annoying half the time either."

Akihiko knew he could narrow it down with this name alone, no one else had such an odd name. To make sure he didn't forget, he took his arm off of Hiroki and grabbed a pen from his pocket. He quickly wrote the name on a random napkin before he forgot about it through his drunken stupor.

He tossed his pen at a random direction as he downed his can of beer. Then, he started feeling the effects of the alcohol as he tossed the empty can to the pile.

Hiroki kept talking about Nowaki as he said. "Like like…this kid has a shit load of jobs…I was surprised he even made it to tutoring half the time. He has this…big smile too..he never stops smiling…ever…"

Akihiko ruffled Hiroki's hair when he laughed. "At least he isn't using his jobs as an excuse …to not…do your homework."

"Damn straight!" Hiroki exclaimed. "I would kick his ass if …he ever tried flaking on me! I have wasted enough time..only to have him run off on me!"

Akihiko patted his chest with his hand. "Call me in to help…no random punk..is going to run off on my friend."

Hiroki arched a brow as he hit Akihiko's shoulder. "I'm practically your brother dumbass!"

"Oh yeah!" Akihiko smirked as he held him close when he playfully said. "My bad little brother."

Hiroki scowled as he pushed him away softly. "Don't say it like that…you sound so stupid…and annoying."

Akihiko laughed out loud as he held onto Hiroki. "You are just…so entertaining."

Hiroki huffed as he hit Akihiko again and he rolled his eyes. "You are…the ridiculous one." He looked around the apartment for a bit before he closed his eyes and started drifting to sleep. "Man…I need to find that scarf…"

Akihiko told him. "We'll find it…don't worry about it…"

Hiroki fell asleep a few minutes later. Akihiko tiredly set him down on his sofa. He swayed a bit but he regained his balance. Akihiko felt no need to grab a blanket from his bedroom when his home always stayed warm. He knew he wouldn't catch a cold while sleeping without one.

He laid down right next to him and yawned before he closed his eyes. Akihiko grabbed a pillow to cuddle with since Suzuki-san was in his room at the moment. He was asleep in a manner of minutes. In his sleep he unconsciously wrapped his arms around Hiroki and cuddled with him.

When they woke up hours later, Akihiko wondered when he put his arms around Hiroki. Hiroki and Akihiko didn't care how it happened since they always ended up huddled close when they napped when they were little. They had grown used to it so they stopped questioning it.

The warmth was worth it.

TBC