OoOoO

A feeble fire lit up

from the edge of his heart;

Without his knowing, it spread

into a burning passion.

OoOoO

Scenario 2

OoOoO

Five months ago.

Outside a pastry shoppe, Oshitari Yuushi flipped his mobile phone open for the nth time. His patience was dwindling. Thirty minutes had passed by from when they were supposed to meet. He was about to leave when he heard an exasperated yell.

"Oi Lucky!"

The man looked at the direction of the voice. He saw a red-head teen, in sleeveless striped shirt and baggy shorts, running behind a golden retriever. When the teen noticed that the dog was running towards the direction of the bystander, he immediately pulled its leash. The dog cooperated and stopped their chase and the teen rewarded him with a pat on the head.

Oshitari mused at what he saw. He had never expected anyone familiar in this part of the city. The pastry shoppe was a few kilometers away from the bustling streets of Tokyo and was pretty well secluded. Despite this, it caught the attention of people with or without a sweet tooth. The professor placed his mobile phone in his pocket and approached the red head.

"My, my, Kikumaru-san?" The man said as he adjusted his glasses. "Good evening."

"Oshitari-sensei!" the teen immediately straightened his posture and bowed at the professor, still panting in an attempt to catch his breath.

"It's quite late, why are you still out?" Oshitari questioned.

"Oh, uhm, well I was going to... return Lucky to Momo but he, Lucky... ran, we ended up... detouring here," The teen tried to give a proper response between his panting.

"I'm sorry for holding you up. Please go ahead," The man smiled and the red head bowed again.

The teen said, "Excuse me," then walked away from the man while tugging the dog's leash.

A chuckle escaped Oshitari's lips. I was the first time he actually talked to the teen. Rumors had spread across the university that he was a genius programmer and that a corporation had hired him already, though it was waiting for the teen to graduate first before formally hiring him.

Seconds later, the mobile phone rang and Oshitari answered it.

"Hey, I'm so sorry..." An apologetic voice said from the other line.

"...It's alright," Oshitari answered subtlety.

"Did something happen?"

"Nothing in particular... Well, I'll go now. See you."

"Ye...Yeah. Bye-"

The other line went dead and the blue haired man took the liberty to enter the shoppe and order a cinnamon roll.

"It's always like this..."

OoOoO

One week later.

Oshitari shouted-yelled to be exact-into his cell phone.

"WHAT THE HELL AM I TO YOU?"

It was rare to see the blue haired professor losing his composure.

"... Yuushi! How could you be inconsiderate?" The caller chastised. "You know my work takes up my time."

"Oh, work? WORK!" Oshitari sarcastically spoke. "Cut the crap. Don't you dare make me a fool. Your excuse has been the same for who knows how long!"

"..." There was no response from the other line.

"This is the end of it. WE'RE THROUGH. FINSIHED. DONE." Oshitari had never felt this irked his whole life. "WE. ARE. OVER."

The professor hung up and threw his phone at the white wall. He sat down on the bed that he just finished fixing. He crouched and placed his intertwined hands below his chest. After a few moments, he stood and grabbed a large traveling bag. He gathered his belongings and made sure that there was no trace of his existence inside the complex. The broken mobile phone was thrown into the nearest trash bin.

When he exited the complex, he immediately took the nearest cab.

"Seishin-Kita Heights," he told the driver.

"Yes sir."

OoOoO

Three days later.

"Oshitari-sensei!" A bright voice greeted the professor.

Oshitari Yuushi's mind was still distraught. He didn't know what came over him when he went back to the pastry shoppe.

"Kikumaru-san how are you?" Oshitari asked the teen as he approached him.

"Oh... Uhm, I'm fine," Eiji replied stuttering. He was surprised with the question. "Oh, ah, take a seat sensei."

The university student was sitting in a booth near the entrance when he saw the college instructor just enter.

'He looks... sad,' the teen told himself. 'He must have had a bad week. He looks... very stressed compared to the last time I saw him.'

"Is something the matter?" Oshitari asked as he sat down opposite from the student.

"Oh, nothing at all," The teen shook his head.

"If you say so."

The two began chatting about whatever came to mind, always jumping from one topic to another. Along the exchange, both learned that they shared a few things in common. For example, both were living alone, far from their family. Kikumaru's family had recently moved to America, while Oshitari's family was in Osaka.

When the waiter delivered the teen's order, their conversation was halted.

"Thank you," Eiji told the waiter and the waiter took a bow.

"Is that the shoppe's specialty?" The professor inquired.

"Well, they have this 'eat what you want' menu. You can actually tell them what you specifically want. Like for example, you want your coffee to be blended with peppermint extract. Or you can have the 'customized cake'. It's one of the good points of this shoppe." Eiji bantered.

Though when he realized he was rambling, he apologized for his rude behavior.

"Oh, there's no harm done," Oshitari gave a reassuring smile. Somehow, the burden on the professor's chest was lifted a few inches. So far, they had just chatted, yet he felt relieved.

A growl escaped from the red head's stomach to his embarrassment.

"Please don't mind me. Eat your meal."

"Ittadakimasu."

OoOoO

Over the next few days, somehow, a mutual agreement was formed that the two would meet up at that pastry shoppe. Oshitari's aching heart was slowly beginning to mend. The broken pieces were slowly swept away and a rose-colored glass began to form.

During one of these times, Kikumaru Eiji brought up a topic that Oshitari Yuushi never expected to surface. The two were drinking tea this time.

"Uhm, sensei... I won't be able to come here anymore..."

The news was so sudden to the professor that he immediately stopped sipping his tea.

"My older brother is coming back and I will be moving to our house."

There was silence between them. The bond that had started to build, would be broken already, before it could even fully form? Oshitari didn't want to end their meeting however he also wished that their profound 'friendship' wouldn't go haywire. Calmly, he spoke to the teen.

"We will still see each other at the university, right?"

This surprised both Eiji and Yuushi. It was as if their relationship was treading on something.

"...Yeah."

OoOoO

For the remainder of the summer, neither kept in touch with the other. Oshitari decided to visit his relatives in Osaka and Kikumaru was preoccupied with familial matters and his 'new lifestyle'.

It was spring when Kikumaru Eiji finally breathed again. It was his first day back at the university and he was to finalize his schedule for the semester. For a moment, he hoped to be able to talk to Oshitari-sensei again.

OoOoO

"Well then Eiji-kun, I'll be going."

"Have a safe trip. Give my best to everyone Nii-san."

"Yeah."

When his older brother was at the departure lobby, Eiji sat on the benches near the exit. When he checked his phone, he caught sight of a familiar person.

"Oshitari-sensei!"

"Kikumaru-san!"

The two greeted each other in unison. Then two began to laugh.

"It must be fate that we met here," The professor said jokingly. "I didn't expect to see you here of all places."

"I was just sending my brother off," Eiji hurriedly placed his phone back to his pocket.

"I was visiting a few relatives and my family as well," Oshitari explained.

After the short catch-up a growl escaped from Oshitari's stomach.

"I skipped my meal to catch the flight," The professor chuckled.

"Well then, let me treat sensei since he has been paying for me for quite a while."

"Alright then."

OoOoO

Oshitari chuckled. He felt nostalgic as he recalled those times. The two of them moved as if they were magnets. No matter how far they were, they would still attract each other.

"Magnets huh?" Oshitari murmured.

A movement from beside the professor pulled him back from his reminiscing. The red head snuggled into Yuushi's limbs. The teacher then placed an arm over his lover. Using his free hand, he pulled up the covers.

He smiled contentedly while caressing the cheeks of his lover.

OoOoO

"It's nice to take a breather once in a while," a honey haired youth said to the call receiver. He was around the age of Kikumaru Eiji. He wore black-tainted sunglasses with a matching white collared shirt and floral painted shorts. He looked like he had come from the tropics since he also wore flip flops. "Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, di makakarating sa paroroonan."

"HUH?" the receiver replied.

"I learned that proverb when I went to the Philippines. It basically means that if a person doesn't look back to where he came, he won't reach his destination," the caller explained. "Well, it's been three years since I left Japan and I have a month off, so why not come home?"

There was no response from the other line. His facial expression changed from being enthusiastic to being disappointed.

"Are you not happy that I returned?" His voice became worried.

"It's not that. Really, I am glad that you have returned," the person on the other line said. "I was just shocked..."

The name of this youth was Fuji Syuusuke. He was a professional photographer working for an international magazine. He had light brown hair that he tied back and his eyes were hidden behind its lids. Right now, he was at Narita International Airport's arrival lounge.

"Well, I was planning to visit you," Fuji said hopefully. "Are you free?"

Fuji only heard some tapping sounds from the other end. He was about to ask again when he finally heard a reply.

"I'm good tomorrow. How about seven in the evening?"

"Sounds good. I'm staying at Seishin-Kita Heights for now," was the photographer's chirpy reply.

There was a long pause from at the receiver's end.

"Oh, okay. Message me your apartment number. See you."

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye."

After the receiver's line went dead, Fuji pocketed his phone, a smile playing on his face.

OoOoO

It was a rainy Thursday morning when Kikumaru Eiji woke up. His mobile phone had been ringing for the last minute. Groggily, he grabbed the phone.

It was from an unregistered contact. When he answered the call, a wave of anxiety flooded him.

"Hello, good morning," the caller greeted. "Eiji, is this you? It's me Syuusuke."

"You're back?" Eiji asked.

"Yeah, well it's nice to take a breather once in a while."

The two spoke for a few minutes and after the phone call ended, the red head plopped himself back on his bed.

"Why now?" Miserably, Eiji asked. 'It's your fault Syuusuke. Our fault. We let go of each other.'

[TBC]

A/N

: Merry Christmas everyone!

:Lalalalala., well, this was like a flashback chappie.

: My never ending gratitude to nekoyoka-san for editing this chappie., =D

:Thank you for reading this fic.

: Tell me your thoughts about this fic, 'kay?