Whew! Finally! Sorry about the super later chapter, guys. My computer ate the chapter and then a family emergency came up. I had to retype it and it's probably not as good as the first and it probably has a gazillion typos and grammar issues! ~_*;;


Chapter 7: Firmamentum Amor

Ribbons of red rage followed in Usami's wake as his steps took him towards the hospital yet again. Everything in him wanted to return to the holocaust of an apartment and choke what little lifespan the man had left from him. As soon as Misaki was safe, Usami would deal with the man permanently. Usami had never really been all that angry of a man, even when the incident with Sumi had happened. However, Ishikawa had done the worst possible thing and now there was no way that Usami was going to let him get away with it. He trusted Nowaki to keep Ishikawa occupied and he knew the taller, younger man would not kill him. It was Usami's prey to deal with and Nowaki had too many qualms about getting the blood of another man on his hands. Usami might've been disturbed by such a notion before, but not he reveled in how many different scenes he could come up with his mind. There was no way he could deal with Ishikawa on a quick, painless basis. The man needed to suffer ten times more than Misaki ever had. Usami still blamed himself for what had happened, but in the end he devoted every ounce of himself to anger instead of stark fear and depression.

The blond doctor from before had tried to stop Usami from going into the room with Misaki to be taken care of and Usami was still raging about that too. He had nearly pummeled the man where he stood until Usami had been able to get his own way in the end. He vowed never to leave Misaki alone again, especially when he was as wounded as he was. He wasn't about to go back on the promise he made to his lover. Of course their relationship had started on less than normal circumstances but it didn't change the fact of how strongly Usami felt for Misaki. He had thought he'd been so in love with Takahiro before and maybe he had, but it was pale in comparison to his love for Misaki. Each moment he spent with the younger male made him want to cherish and love Misaki all the more. The idea that Misaki had nearly been taken from him not once, but twice made him shudder in fear and clasp Misaki's hand a big tighter. The doctors had said the wound wasn't as serious as it looked and stitching would be enough. They had stitched the wound on his thigh again and cleaned him up before Usami gave them all a death glare in getting out of the room.

He had taken great care in putting the gown on Misaki's body and for the first time he had been able to see the marks on the boy's body. He looked like he'd been through hell and back and Usami's mind ran with so many questions as to why or what for. He knew Misaki could be stupid somethings, but Misaki wasn't the type to blindly rush into something that was going to get him hurt without a good reason. Usami figured Ishikawa had to of had some type of leverage over Misaki and had been threatening him with it this entire time. Usami vowed to get to the bottom of it and right everything that Ishikawa had done. For now he let his eyes look over Misaki's battered face and he leaned down to press his lips gently against Misaki's temple. He thought, if anything, Misaki had probably been trying to protect Usami from something. While Misaki had never voiced his feelings and emotions about Usami to him so readily, Usami knew how Misaki felt about him and he knew that when you were in love with somebody, you would've gone through great lengths for him. Misaki had never been an exception; Usami was sure.

"Usagi." Usami heard and he snapped his head up to see Takahiro. He looked tired and ragged and Usami knew exactly how he felt. Usami tightened his hand over Misaki's once again and tried to face his best friend. It had grown increasingly difficult to keep himself together in front of Takahiro and now that the man knew about he and Misaki's relationship, he just didn't know what to do. He knew better than to think Takahiro was just going to be alright with it. The only reason Takahiro was being nice now was because he was thoughtful and surely must've only been trying to keep the drama down to a minimum for Misaki's sake. Of course, Misaki had not yet been told that his brother knew about their relationship and telling the boy would be the farthest from the best thing to do right now. Instead, they would wait until Misaki was well enough to discuss everything. Usami's let the anger within him lessen a little and he said nothing to the other.

"Who did this to my brother?" Takahiro whispered softly and moved to Misaki's side. Usami watched the gentle care that Takahiro took in brushing Misaki's hair from his forehead. There was a gentleness there and a love that Usami was sure was just as deep as his own love. They both cared for Misaki and Usami knew that even if Takahiro had a kind, gentle nature that he was thinking about getting his hands on Ishikawa as well. Usami did not immediately give Takahiro an answer mostly out of his own selfishness but somewhere within, he knew he never wanted Takahiro to put his hands on another man because of anything. He could handle the burden and elation of knowing who had done it all on his own. With a soft sigh, Usami's thoughts were broken when Manami walked in moments later with yet again more coffee. Usami might've found it amusing that there was so much coffee bought that never got drank if he hadn't more pressing matters on his mind. A cup was given to Takahiro and the other was set aside for Usami to drink if he so chose. Manami did not speak but gave a frown at Misaki's condition and clasped her hands into Takahiro's.

They all sat for near an hour in silence until Usami saw Nowaki enter into the room. He gave a slight, sad smile and stood near Usami to place his hand on the man's shoulder. There had been a time when he did not care to be in the company of his man more from jealousy than anything else. He knew that his Hiroki had loved this man once upon a time. Still, he put it within his past when he saw the way Usami looked down to the boy in the bed. He gave the man a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and spoke in a soft whisper for only Usami to hear. "I need to speak with you outside as soon a possible." Nowaki left it at that and turned his attention to Takahiro and Manami. While it was good to give them some closure, he thought it in everyone's best interest to spare details on the sensitive subject matter at hand. With a soft breath to calm his own nerves, he spoke. "The man suspected of being responsible for Misaki's injuries has been captured..." He could see the visible relief in Manami and Takahiro's bodies at once. Nearly instantly, he readied himself for the entourage of questions that were sure to be directed at him.

Thankfully, the blond doctor from before, peeked his head in to take over for Nowaki so that he and Usami could talk alone. "I've got this, Kusama. Get lost... you too, Usami." He mumbled and flicked them both a serious look before he picked up the chart at the end of Misaki's bed and began reading it over. Making a couple of marks he set the chart back down and faced Takahiro and Manami fully. "We haven't been able to meet properly yet. I'm doctor Tsumori and any questions you have... I'd be happy to answer as fully as I can for you." Tsumori was used to dealing with mostly pediatric cases, but in the event that Misaki's parents were gone, Tsumori couldn't see too much of a difference. He also knew that Usami would rather shank him than talk civilly with him about Ishikawa.

With some amount of convincing, Nowaki managed to pull Usami from the room and down to the deserted cafeteria to have some privacy. Nowaki bought yet another two cups of coffee and slid one to Usami before he prepared his the way he liked it. Pointing to a table off in the corner, he instructed Usami to sit down and he rubbed his hand over his temple before he sat too. He wasn't sure where to begin but he could see that Usami wanted answered and looked like he was about to murder Nowaki for not telling him about Ishikawa sooner. With a sip of his coffee, Nowaki began slowly. "I know why Misaki went to Ishikawa's." It was the best start he could think of. It was difficult talking about something he felt partially responsible for. He knew Misaki had been protecting Usami, but the boy had also been protecting Nowaki and Hiroki too. How he could have done so much was beyond Nowaki and he admired the boy for it, but now wasn't the time to think about such things. Another sip of his coffee down and he glanced around to make sure nobody was looking before he spoke again.

"You need to know Ishikawa is being taken care of and will never be able to harm Misaki or anyone else again. Now I need you to focus on why he was at that man's house and about what I found there." Nowaki breathed in slowly and thought about pulling the photos out but knew it was a bad idea to do that anywhere at all in the hospital. Deciding to speak about them instead, he clasped his hands in front of him and around his cup of coffee. "It seems somehow Ishikawa got his his hands on some rather... intimate photographs. Photographs that should of never been taken... invasions of your privacy, if you will. The kind of photographs that if they were ever to be released publicly would ruin your career." He paused and watched Usami's expressions before he continued. "It seems not only was Misaki trying to protect you, but Hiroki and myself as well. I can't explain much further to you right now, only that I have every last photograph that was taken. Normally I wouldn't say something like this, but I had planned on getting rid of them completely... I don't think they're something that should be used as evidence against Ishikawa as much as..." He trailed off when Usami stood and glared down at him.

"Where is that bastard, I'll kill him!" Usami demanded with a deathly growl to his voice. Nowaki sighed and stood as well. Rubbing the side of his temples he shook his head. "Usami-san, please! Your anger isn't going to help anything and if we approach this the wrong way, it may backfire. Now please, try to calm down. I know how difficult it is, but you have to try. I'm fairly sure he was using the photographs to blackmail Misaki into doing what he wanted him to do. Now I did some research of my own on the dates of the photographs as well as what we learned about Misaki's wounds. I think it must've started somewhere around a month ago, maybe not as long but fairly close. Does any of this make sense to you?" Nowaki relaxed a little when Usami sat down again and seemed to be lost in deep thought. Nowaki sat too and he took another sip of his coffee while Usami snapped his head up in some form of sudden recognition. Suddenly every single thing had made sense and Usami felt like he wanted to die. He shuddered and slid his hands into his hair while he let his head settle against the table. Why hadn't Misaki just come to him about it in the first place? His career wasn't even as important as Misaki. Sometimes, the boy really could be stupid.

"Where are they?" Usami asked softly and pulled his head up to look at Nowaki. Nowaki opened his lips to speak but when he saw a person from the corner of his eye he took a sip of his coffee instead and spoke the best choice of words he could think of. "A safe place. I'll show them to you later." Usami seemed to catch on and by the nod Usami had given him, they both let it go as that for now. It wasn't much longer after their strained exchange of words that Usami was being paged to Misaki's room. Fearing the worst, Usami moved quickly with dread in his heart to Misaki's room but calmed when he saw Takahiro and Manami's relieved expressions and Misaki awake and seemingly alert. He set his cup of coffee down by the other Manami had given him and he slid Misaki's hand in his own. Misaki seemed content for only a few moments before he was struggling to try and and get up and out of the bed again. Usami breathed in deeply to calm himself so he wouldn't yell at Misaki for trying to be stupid enough to keep protecting him.

"Misaki. Stop it." He commanded in a soft, low voice. When Misaki stopped struggling, Usami brought the blankets back up to his chin and tucked Misaki in gently before he moved his lips to speak again. "I know everything and I promise he'll never touch you again. You need to rest, so go back to sleep." Each word was spoken in a tender command and Misaki seemed to calm at those words and he made a soft, breathy sound before Usami watched him drift off once again. He pet his hands affectionately through Misaki's hair and turned his attention to Takahiro and Manami. "What were you able to find out?" Usami wanted to know more about Ishikawa and Nowaki seemed rather reluctant to tell him anything. The two didn't have much information to offer him other than hearing Ishikawa was in custody and was being held without the possibility of being bailed out. It frustrated Usami, but in the end there was nothing he could do about it.

Three weeks had passed by and Usami spent every moment at Misaki's side. Due to Misaki's condition and Ishikawa's belligerent nature, the photographs had never been brought to the attention of the courts. Ishikawa was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced accordingly with other minor charges added to his overall sentencing. While Usami was not content with Ishikawa being kept out of his grasps, he spent more time focusing on Misaki than what that bastard man had done. Misaki was still the same to him even if he was much more frail and had not been able to speak a single word to him since the incident. He missed Misaki's constant protests but the fact that Misaki was alive and recovering had been enough for Usami. Takahiro had not yet spoken to Usami about he and Misaki's relationship, but Usami was just thankful that Takahiro said it was a better idea that Misaki continue to live with Usami rather than go back home with his brother and sister-in-law. While Usami did not understand and wasn't sure he deserved to have Misaki at his side, he did not chose to question it.

"Misaki, are you cold?" Usami said softly and rose to wrap a blanket around Misaki's shoulders. Misaki shook his head slowly but let the blanket be put around him anyway. He could hardly believe that Ishikawa had been captured and sentenced and that he was being released from the hospital to go home today. He had been questioned so many times and had been unable to give any answers at all. Most of the time he had fallen asleep or he heard Usami ordering them to get out of his room. He could have smiled at how protective Usami was if he hadn't been feeling at disgusted for himself for being useless. He had tried so hard to protect everyone and in the end, they had found out and protected Misaki. He let his eyes fall to his lap and ran his one scarred hand over the other. He wondered if Usami was only with him still out of pity and not love. After all, he was unsure anyone could love something as ugly as him anymore. Of course, Misaki had no idea just how beautiful he still was. Misaki wanted to tell Usami to leave him alone and go away, but without his voice working and how painful it was to even try, he settled with allowing the man to be so near him.

"Usami-san; Misaki-san." Misaki heard and turned his head to see Nowaki entering his room. His first memory of Nowaki was not from a hospital, but from a flower shop a while back when he had purchased some roses for Usami. He hadn't expected Nowaki to be a doctor as well, much less to be assigned to taking care of him. He had also hear bits and pieces that the doctor was somehow involved with Kamijou-Sensei. He mused over the thought for a while but in the end, he had left it at that. He was almost amazed to know that the one who had made Ishikawa's capture possible was Sumi. He could see Usami trying so hard to be civil to Sumi each time the man came to visit him. He turned his head away and breathed out slowly when he heard Nowaki say that he and Usami had just been cleared to leave the hospital. He barely listened when Usami thanked Nowaki for everything and promised to get with him later about more pressing matters. Of course, Misaki had just assumed the courts had obtained and kept the pictures confidential, not that Nowaki had been keeping a hold of them until he could figure out what to do with them.

"Let's go, Misaki." Usami said and Misaki only gave a slight nod when Usami wheeled him out of the hospital and to the familiar red sports car. Misaki hadn't yet been able to walk because of the damage done to his legs and he hated the fact that Usami had to wheel him around everywhere like he was helpless. He had tried many times to protest but in the end, it was nearly impossible. He remained silent when Usami lifted him from the wheelchair and strapped him into the seat. He didn't like the idea of being in the car, but on the other hand, he had stopped caring entirely. The whole way home was spent in silence with Misaki watching the tops of the trees against the sunlight. He had never taken the time to notice such things before and while he thought it was pretty, he knew that as soon as the sun faded, it wouldn't last.

The penthouse was the same as Misaki always remembered it and upon seeing Suzuki-san, his eyes lit up for the first time in weeks. It faded just as quickly and Misaki winced quietly when he was set down on the couch. Even if he had been released from the hospital, his body wasn't entirely healed and it still hurt a fair bit. He had been given so many painkillers that it left him groggy and fuzzy and he wished they would either throw him into a medically induced coma or let him live through the pain. He reached his good arm out to touch Suzuki-san and his eyes watched as Usami moved to the kitchen and tried to prepare coffee by himself. Usami had never really been all that good at taking care of himself and he always did something wrong. The last time Misaki remembered Usami trying to make coffee for himself, he'd poured it into the wrong glass and cut his finger when the glass shattered. Still, Usami seemed to be getting the hang of it at least somewhat and Misaki even dared to let the side of his mouth hitch up when Usami poured the brewed coffee into the glass Misaki had written on as being safe for coffee.

Usami had been trying so hard to do everything for Misaki and while on one hand he appreciated it all, the other told him Usami was only doing everything out of pity. He wanted to shout at Usami to stop but without being able to use his voice and with his arm not being able to write, it was virtually impossible. He let defeat wash over him and he knew as soon as his hand was healed that Usami wouldn't be safe from angry, etched words on a writing pad. So far his attempts at writing anything had ended up in a bunch of illegible scribbles that had only made Misaki angry and frustrated to no end. He couldn't speak, write, or attend his classes and he knew he had fallen so far behind that it was probably going to be impossible to make everything up. He frowned again thinking about it and it wasn't until Usami brought the cup of coffee to him that he looked up. Usami's hands were red from where he had burnt himself and had the cup wrapped in a dish towel in a way that made Misaki stifle away a silent laugh. Even if Usami was trying to pity him; the man was a hopeless case.

Misaki took the offered coffee in his good hand and watched the steam rise from it for a while before he dared to take a drink. He hadn't been given many hot drinks lately but he had finally been allowed to have them and even had been encouraged to keep himself warm. The coffee tasted good in comparison to the plethora of juice he had been made to drink, but it hurt a bit against his healing suture and he contorted his face a bit painfully before he grew accustomed to it and finished his coffee rather quickly. He had never really been a coffee drinker before, but asking Usami to make tea was practically impossible. Settling for coffee had been the next best thing and even if the taste was bitter, he preferred it to apple juice or an already bitter cranberry juice. He turned his head when Usami said his name and the look of worry on Usami's face made his heart break and also angered him at the same time. He nearly threw the glass at Usami but though against it in the end and set the glass down gently instead. He shook his head to Usami to denote he was fine and as belligerent as he was, tried to stand on his own. He braced his arms against the side of the couch and used the best of his two feet to brace himself. He made it took his feet and took one single step before he went tumbling towards the floor. Usami caught him and pulled him into his arms and Misaki closed his eyes to listen to the berating he knew he would get.

"Misaki! Are you trying to open up your wounds again?!" Usami ushered and was checking him over. Misaki opened his eyes to give Usami an annoyed, angry look. When Misaki pointed to the bathroom door, Usami understood and was already taking him towards the bathroom while Misaki was ardently shaking his head and trying to get out of Usami's arms. He felt pathetic enough that he couldn't even do that by himself and it was mortifying that Usami had carried him back and forth for a while now. When Usami did not seem dissuaded, Misaki decided to settle in for defeat and let Usami take care of everything for him once again. The road to recovery would be long and Misaki was either going to go insane or end up wanting to murder himself and Usami by the end of it.

That night Usami had done everything from cooking and cleaning to helping Misaki wash himself up and get himself ready for bed. When Misaki had pointed to his own room and tried to argue with Usami about sleeping alone, Usami had refused to leave Misaki that way and Misaki had been forced to be cuddled protectively into Usami's body the entire night. He didn't sleep at first and was left to his own thoughts and to the idea that even if Usami was probably just pitying him because of his condition, that it was rather nice to be held like this and to feel safe. Even with the news of Ishikawa having been captured and dealt with, Misaki still had problems closing his eyes to sleep without the aid of hospital drugs. When he did sleep, often he had different types of nightmares and awoke in silent screams and covered in his own sweat. It was hours after Usami had fallen asleep that Misaki himself had finally found his own sleep and thankfully, did not have a nightmare for the first time in weeks.

Misaki awoke the next morning feeling as stiff and sore as usual. He was thankful that with each passing day his vision seemed to be a little better although it was still nothing as it used to be. He suffered from frequent headaches and the different medications they put him on only made his head ache worse. He'd tried a few times to fake them into thinking he'd taken it, but as soon as Usami had found out what he'd been doing, he had made sure Misaki had taken the proper dosages without fail. Even if Usami was trying to do good and help him, Misaki wished that Usami would leave him alone to his own devices and self-pity. Wanting his own independence for a change, Misaki waited until he was a bit more awake until he tried to get his legs to work. His ankle still needed healing on the left leg and the muscles in his right leg would take much longer to heal and considering the spot, it was unlikely they would heal well enough to grant him walking as well as he once used to.

He pushed his left leg over the side of the bed first and put a bit of pressure on it. It hurt enough, but he was sure he could keep himself stable with it. His right leg came next and when he tried to step down on it, he was overjoyed when it didn't give in right away. He braced both his good arm and the arm with the cast on it to the edge of the bed and pushed himself fully to his feet. It was painful and he made the softest of whimpering noises that was barely audible at all. Still insistent on doing things for himself, he took a step with his left foot first, then his right. He managed three more steps before his right leg gave out and he went crashing to the floor on his back. The sudden impact jolted him and he breathed sharply, trying to clear the sudden jolt of pain away. It left him fuzzy and disoriented and when Usami shoved the door open to inspect the sudden noise, Misaki was unable to distinguish who was rushing so quickly at him in the darkness.

Misaki made a soft, panicked sound and tried to scramble away from Usami. He had no way of knowing it was Usami and in such a disoriented state, his mind was cruel enough to let him play out that he was on the floor if Ishikawa's bedroom. Usami tried to deal with Misaki as gently as he could, but with the boy flailing he had no choice but to pin Misaki down so that he wouldn't hurt himself. He could feel Misaki's rapid breathing and see his chest rising and falling dangerously fast. Usami wanted to die with the stark fear that was in Misaki's eyes when he touched him, but reminded himself that surely it was a mistake and Misaki had been having another nightmare. "Misaki, Misaki!" He said softly. He didn't want to raise his voice to further Misaki. When Misaki protested again, Usami drew in a deep breath to calm himself before he continued.

"Misaki! It's me... stop moving around, I'm not going to hurt you!" It seemed to be many more moments and Misaki was sill struggling. Usami gave a low, frustrated growl and hoped that Misaki wouldn't hurt himself in the time it would take for him to get up and turn the light on. He let Misaki go and moved to his feet before quickly turning the switch to flood the room with light. He was back at Misaki's side and Misaki struggled against him again, Usami hung his head in frustration and regretted having to pin Misaki down against his will. He lowered his forehead to Misaki's and Usami felt like a failure once again for not having prevented Misaki from going through such a terrible ordeal. It almost had him crying again but he knew he needed to be strong for Misaki, if not for himself. With a deep breath, he did the next best thing he could think of. Letting Misaki's hands go, he rose his face up a few inches from Misaki's and he winced but refused to move when he felt Misaki's fingernails rake against the flesh of his cheek.

When Usami was sure that Misaki would land another blow against him, he opened his eyes when he felt Misaki still beneath him. Worried that Misaki had passed out from exhaustion, his eyes widened slightly when he saw Misaki staring at him. Misaki's hand moved to the scratches on his face and while it stung and he could feel the blood dripping down his cheek, he made no motion to move. It nearly broke him when he saw tears in Misaki's eyes and saw Misaki try to speak. He shook his head softly and held his own hand over Misaki's at his cheek. The scratches on his face was nothing compared to what Misaki had gone through and Usami was just happy that Misaki finally seemed to recognize he was safe and wasn't in any danger. Usami immediately pulled himself of off Misaki and pulled him instead into his lap to curl him close against his chest. Misaki leaned into Usami willingly and Usami pet his free hand down Misaki's back to try and soothe him.

"It's alright, Misaki. I promise I'll never let anyone else touch you ever again." He said and leaned down to kiss Misaki on the forehead. He could feel Misaki's hot tears soaking through the material of his shirt. He didn't want Misaki to cry for him, but he knew it was impossible and so he just sighed and held Misaki into him. "Misaki... I love you." Usami said gently. No matter what, Usami knew nothing Misaki could do would ever make him stop loving him more and more with each passing moment.


Finally, eh? Sorry if this chapter seemed a little short or weak in comparison to the previous couple. I promise chapter 8 will be better!