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Note : I love you all! Thanks for the reviews. Especially those who are sweet enough to send two reviews! Wow! I've been pressured writing this lately. So much researches. But as much as I hate to admit it, it's not Alzheimer guys! I've done my research and it's well. . . something else.

Love Me For Thirty Days

DAY TEN

Monday

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"The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the racking thoughts that crowd upon the mind, and make the heart beat violently, and the breath come thick, by the force of the images they conjure up before it; the desperate anxiety to be doing something to relieve the pain, or lessen the danger, which we have no power to alleviate; the sinking of soul and spirit, which the sad remembrance of our helplessness produces; what tortures can equal these; what reflections of endeavours can, in the full tide and fever of the time, allay them!"

― Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

One would describe Akashi Seijuurou depressed on one early morning. Who knows why? It was Monday after all. Nine out of ten people despise Mondays, the typical bad day for every living being, as one would call it. Though it was more than just depression, he was sleep deprived – high from coffee – and low in mood to do work that even his own secretary was annoyed having to remind him on every appointments he had with clients today. It was then, he gave up his work, told his secretary to cancel all appointments and meetings he had today and decided to lay off a bit. He requested more caffeine to make him stay awake but the more he was in the reality world, the more nauseous he was getting.

The thoughts about Tetsuya lingered, and so did the fear. He wasn't quite sure why he was afraid, but last night the words sounded as genuine as he would've proposed to the blunette years ago. He knew those words too well – not that he knew someone experienced by those, but it was something commonly seen in shows, in those sappy love stories written by heartbroken writers or simply writers inspired by how sad their lives were. Yet, it was one word he dreaded so far but was coming real into his eyes.

Dementia.

What's worse than death?

Of course, Tetsuya was too young to have Alzheimer. He dimly remembered his grandfather, he was eighty something when he had the cursed disease. And Alzheimer was caused by some sort of failure in the brain cells, rose from a complex series of brain changes that occurred over decades of living. Tetsuya was just around his late twenties, reaching to his third decade. So, what could have caused Tetsuya to have dementia?

There was still hope, Seijuurou wondered. Dementia was, in fact, just a theory. Maybe it was some other diseases. Maybe Tetsuya was drunk last night – even though, he smelt nothing of alcohol but one could only hope. Maybe Tetsuya was confused because, well, he remembered back in the university the blunette couldn't even memorised a simple set of mathematical theorems. Maybe that was just it. Dementia just popped inside his head because he was shit scared.

The redhead didn't realise he was crying. Or at least, what you could count a few drops of pure liquid was considered crying. He was shivering though, amidst the chilly autumn season, a full blast air conditioner sounded like a bad idea. Apparently, it wasn't a shocking scene when his secretary slipped into his room to report about some workers' status just to find the CEO curled on his knees, looking like a lost puppy. Lost in between two emotions, she was figuring out whether to let out a chortle or gave him the emphatic look. Conflicted by her own emotions, she chose to puff out a cloud of air, placed the documents on top of the wide – and neat – surface. She set her arms akimbo to her waist, firm but polite. "Sir, I think you need a good vacation."

"Wh –", the redhead coughed, blinking the mismatched pair as if he was recovering from a hangover, "What are you saying?"

"In my opinion, sir," she pushed a glass of water toward confused Seijuurou, "You need a good rest from all your problems. Somewhere peaceful with your, um, lover and clear whatever complicated things affecting your brain."

The latter clicked his tongue, finally having his cladded feet touching the soft paddings of carpet. "I'm fine, Mirai."

"You don't look fine at all."

"Seriously –"

"I'm booking your tickets to Philippines."

"To what. . .?" The Akashi heir looked twice as clueless as he had been before. This time his hands propped against the table as he leaned closer to the office desk in surprise, crimson and gold pair wide.

The secretary who went by the name Mirai only smiled, a genuine one before bowing politely toward her boss. Before she fully exited the room, she noted the information about said vacation. "The flight is tomorrow's night, I'll book two tickets to Manila then."

"Make it three," the redhead groaned.

Mirai halted her heels. She glanced backwards, reluctantly. "Three?"

"We're taking care of a child."

"Oh, well then. . ." she shook her head, amused at the fact that her boss – who she knew was homosexual – was taking a child as if it was his own. "Enjoy the family holiday tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll take care of every business you have here." Giving her boss a last simper, she retreated back to her secretary corner filled up with more files and papers. Mirai groaned, albeit not complaining.

She never expected an assistant's life to be this difficult after all.

Meanwhile, brooding inside a large office sat a man named Akashi Seijuurou. Still recovering from the overdose of coffee, yet there was a small smile befitting his handsome features and his chiselled jaw going numb from the continuous grin he had. The redhead looked like an idiot, smiling all by himself, chuckling alone without a single person or any kinds of entertainment.

Perhaps, Mondays weren't that bad.

Sakura was torn from whether she should be joyful or forlorn. First, there was her mother. Once again, with her work in a designing company filling her schedule full caused her to leave to the United States for a week. It was quite disappointing for a five year old child. Children were supposed to be with their mothers, pampered and loved by the hands of a woman who bore them in their wombs. Alas, not just the father of the family, but her mother was also a busy one. One had went to the army for a year, the other one gone for a week. Yet, she had Tetsuya – and Seijuurou as the godfather of her own imaginative family. Although they weren't the ones who gave birth to her, the both of them were what her idealistic parents would be in her own fantasised world. A week with the two of them wouldn't be that bad after all.

The pink-haired child tried her very best to forget about the incident a few days ago. It was normal for couples to have arguments sometimes, she told herself. It was quite foolish to cry over such matter.

So, she smiled a bit when Satsuki stroked the light tufts of cerise hair and gazed upon two pools of grey-blue eyes. Her mother sniffled a bit, holding back a teardrop as she gave a final hug – not that it was a permanent leave anyway.

"Be a good girl for okaa-san, okay?" Satsuki flicked her nose.

"Promise! Chichiue is here for Sakura-chan, anyway."

They exchanged glances for a while before the woman put on a lopsided smile full of playful mischief and she ruffled the cerise cascades into a mess. "Don't give your new mommy a headache."

"Momoi-san, I'm a male."

"Just joking, Tetchan." Satsuki winked, "Goodbye, dear," she held the little girl's hands, "See you within a week."

"Okay, okaa-san." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Satsuki stood up to her feet, her conversation transferred from her own daughter to the caretaker she trusted most. "Hey Tetchan, take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, Momoi-san."

"Don't lie!" she laughed, yet her tone was sorrow and her eyes dropped to a dull shade of cerise. She pulled the short male into a friendly hug, patting his back before releasing him with a sigh. "Be good with Akashi. . . You both deserve something happy."

Silence, silence and then a sigh. ". . . I'll think about it."

"Goodbye," Satsuki turned just after her last wave, and then left a few moments after.

The little girl glanced upon her caretaker for a while. Curious to what actually happened, she pulled the hem of Tetsuya's shirt. "What did okaa-san means about chichiue and otou-san?" The question caused him to pull away slightly, but he remained his composure and shook his head. "It's nothing important, Sacchan. . . You should go to school now."

"Eh. . ." Sakura pouted. "Okay then."

The sun fell down to its horizon as slow as a snail today. Well, that was what happened when one was waiting. Apparently, there was nothing Seijuurou wanted but to return back to the condominium block, and reported Tetsuya regarding of the good news. He was hoping that he get the chance to see the joy returned to those blue pools once again. And oh, how he missed those gazes. Gentle and serene but he knew those eyes were brimming with enthralling tales and memories to treasure.

He drove back home as fast as he could, only slowing down when passing over an officer's car. The redhead was greeted with laughter and a whiff of a merry dinner. Sakura was indeed very loud – laughing and giggling and perhaps running around the kitchen just to mess around with the blunette. He leaned by the kitchen's door, watching the commotion occurred in front of his eyes. True to his thought, the little girl was attempting to mix chocolate to curry, much to the blunette's chagrin. It was only when he gave out a little cough, which caused both attentions went straight to him.

"Oh, Sei. . . You're back." The blunette evaded his gaze. "Y-You're quite early today."

"Yeah, because I have to tell you something." The redhead stepped closer, closing the gap in between till his breaths reached to Tetsuya's soft tufts. He tried his best to sound serious, as if something bad was to occur.

For once, Sakura watched with intent focus and she was mute like a dead radio. She was afraid to whatever news her otou-san might bring up.

"Wh-what is it. . .?" Tetsuya sounded genuinely worried.

Seijuurou hid his smiles. "We."

"We. . ."

"Are. . ."

"Are going to break apart. . .?" Tetsuya silently whispered, his head hung low as he hid back the gossamer tears.

Seijuurou winced. "Kami, no. . . Let me finish this, Tetsuya."

"O-okay," sobbed the blunette.

"We're going to a vacation."

He released a satisfied huff, finally distancing himself slightly from the teary-eyed blunette. For once, he was gasping not because it was a shock – although, indeed it was a surprise; but a wonderful one! – and Tetsuya couldn't help but let out a reluctant laughter. He choked back his tears, yet he was smiling.

It was now or never. So, the Akashi heir took his chance to hold the shivering hands and kissed every digits belonged to the blunette. Tetsuya threw his head back, laughing like a madman – since it was the good news he heard so far. Sakura was still confused, but hearing there was vacation, she too was celebrating on her own. That was, until Seijuurou pulled her closer and hugged her.

"Happy?" He winked at the little girl.

"Mm!" She replied with a swift nod.

The blunette lightly punched Seijuurou by the shoulder, his eyes furrowed as if he was actually angry. But of course, he was failing at hiding his grin and he gave Seijuurou a brief but tight squeeze.

Tetsuya whispered, "Is this your way of dealing with our promise?"

The redhead could only respond with a shrug. "Think of it as reward."

"Bakashi."

TO BE CONTINUED

Mozu : So many fluff till I drop the atomic bomb. . . I have to say, this story is making me depressed. One day, I whatsapped my best friend aka mastermind of the story and she's like "NOW DROP THE BOMB!" huehuehue

Guys, please try reading Paragon! It's sexy and fluffy if you need a remedy from this angst!

-Mozu The Mochi (2015)