Thanks for taking the time to read to this point. I appreciate all the reviews and questions, and the feedback has been so positive! And someone asked about the update schedule, (lol) and I've settled on Tuesdays and Fridays. I promise that this story won't go longer than 20 chapters, since it's already longer than I originally anticipated.

It was morning. The sun shined through the curtains of Usami Akihiko's spacious flat and brightened up the rooms. The sounds of the city filtered in through the windows and the author remained where he was—sprawled haphazardly on his bed. Numbness had spread though his entire body, and his toes tingled when he stretched them. Akihiko's eyelids felt too heavy to open yet, so instead he lay on his back, wiggling his toes slowly through his socks, and moving his fingers in the open air. He waved his hands through an imaginary current, and his eyelids fluttered.

Misaki.

The memories of yesterday came rushing back to him at once, and Akihiko's throat closed up immediately. He'd almost raped Misaki. Misaki had been raped by Takahiro. Takahiro Tadashi. His Takahiro. Akihiko's hands flew to his mouth and he felt the bile rising in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut and considered all of the roads that it must have taken for him to get to this point and how Misaki, poor, kindhearted Misaki, could have gotten there as well. He turned onto his stomach and exhaled a few times before slowly sitting up, only to fall back down onto his back again. Moving had never felt like so much work.

The morning was slow, even for a Saturday. The loft seemed even emptier and lonelier to the author as he trudged about, making coffee and eggs, and picking at them lifelessly. Questions flew back and forth in Akihiko's mind. Was this why Misaki was so sensitive to his touches? How long had the abuse happened? How could Takahiro, his oblivious, sweet, bumbling Takahiro have done something so despicable to Misaki?

The eggs tasted like rubber and metal, which was partly due to the fact that Akihiko had burned the pan that he cooked them in. As he scraped the contents of the pan into the trashcan, the phone rang in the living room. He answered it in record time.

"Misaki?" He panted.

"Um, no? It's your editor, you know, the one who makes you look good in front of people?" Aikawa teased, and then laughed. "Wow, I didn't know you even let Misaki out of your sight honestly."

Akihiko blinked once, and then rapidly, before dropping the phone to the floor and burying his face in the cushions. Aikawa continued to squawk from the ground, but Akihiko didn't hear a word.

He went through his normal routine, but Akihiko was a robot. He did his writing exercises, added to his newest manuscript and finished his required columns. He ate takeout for dinner and brushed his teeth afterward. He watched television and went to bed at an appropriate time. It wasn't until he had to spend another night alone that the author allowed himself to fall victim to his own emotions, and no longer hid from the pain.

Sunday was as lazy as usual. He woke up late, as it pleased him to do, and called for a delivery breakfast, and lunch. It wasn't until 8:00 that night that Akihiko realized that he had spent the entire weekend doing absolutely nothing, and Misaki still wasn't home. It was then that he began to panic.

17 calls and 11 voice messages. Usami Akihiko was a wreck. Misaki wouldn't answer, and deleted his voicemails. It was infuriating, and at the same time made him desperate to try again, harder this time, so that his lover would respond to him, just to let him know that he was safe and he was okay and he didn't hate him. Akihiko called Misaki again. Straight to voicemail, like all of the other calls. He paced for about two minutes, and called back. Still no answer. Misaki was ignoring him on purpose, and although he most definitely deserved this, Akihiko was reaching the end of his sanity. He fell asleep at two a.m., clutching Suzuki and curled up on the couch.

"USAMI-SENSEI!" Akihiko tumbled off of the couch and onto the floor. He felt a sharp pain in his knee and looked glaringly at the intruder. Aikawa stood above him like a dogcatcher before its prey. She narrowed her eyes and tapped one foot impatiently. "You forgot to send in the columns that were due yesterday." She said pointedly, looking him up and down.

Akihiko stared at her for a good 30 seconds and then stood and made a beeline for his room. Aikawa was on his tail before he even reached the stairs. "Wait a minute!" She said, grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him toward her. Akihiko twisted out of her grip and turned to her angrily. In response, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the deal with you?" She asked.

A lump rose in the author's throat. He inhaled and looked away. Aikawa's eyes widened and she dropped her arms. "What's wrong?" she asked softly, leaning forward to gently hold his arms. Akihiko shook his head and looked at his feet.

"He's gone." He mumbled.

"Who's gone? Wait, Misaki's gone?" Aikawa's eyebrows furrowed and her mouth twisted. Akihiko nodded, staring at the wall.

"He left me. Because I- I was too pushy and I used to love-"Akihiko stopped, and gathered his words carefully before continuing. "I used to love a bad person." Aikawa raised an eyebrow again, but didn't say anything.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked levelly and Akihiko shook his head.

"I don't know where he is, or who he's with, or if he's even okay!" Akihiko said, his voice raising louder with every word. Aikawa ran her hands up and down his arms, saying nothing. Akihiko continued to speak, trying to keep his voice in check. "I- I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make this right."

Aikawa silently pulled him to the couch and sat him down. "I'll make you some tea." She murmured, and pushed him toward the couch, where he lay limply. As Aikawa bustled around in the kitchen, Akihiko considered the possibilities of what could have happened if he had continued what he'd tried to do to Misaki before he left. If he'd succeeded, and they had had sex. Would Misaki be here? Would he hate him even more? Tears threatened to come to Akihiko's eyes again when the phone rang on th table.

He answered it before he consciously knew he had. "Hello?" He asked, noting how desperate his voice sounded.

"Hi, Usagi." Came Misaki's quiet voice on the other line. Akihiko felt his heart rising into his throat and swallowed a few times to calm himself.

"Misaki. Where are you?" He asked, attempting to portray some semblance of control over his emotions.

Misaki sighed, and Akihiko held his breath. "I'm crashing at a friend's. I think we really need to talk about us and the future for us, if there is one." Misaki said flatly, and Akihiko's heart dropped.

"Okay. I think that's good- that's a good idea." He said evenly, but he felt as though he would hyperventilate at any moment. "When? And where, I suppose."

Misaki seemed as though he were contemplating this, and then softly said, "The coffee shop where we first met. In person. I- I want to tell you things, Usagi-san." Akihiko was sitting up now, and nodding into the phone. Aikawa gently set a steaming cup of tea in front of him and sat down across from him, waiting quietly.

"Misaki?"

"Yes?"

Akihiko steeled himself and spoke quickly. "I'm sorry and I love you." The line was quiet for so long that Akihiko thought that Misaki had hung up, before Misaki spoke as well.

"I love you too." Misaki said, and the man thought that he might cry and laugh at the same time. He sniffed and smiled at Aikawa.

"Oh, and Usagi-san?" Misaki asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"You're nothing like him. I'm sorry I said that." Misaki made a little gasping noise before blurting out, "Tomorrow at 6:30," and he hung up. Akihiko held the phone to his ear for another few seconds, hoping beyond reason to hear Misaki's precious voice again, and ended his call. Aikawa watched him, obviously trying to be patient, but failing miserably. She was on the edge of her chair and jiggled her legs up and down furiously. Akihiko smiled slowly. She raised an eyebrow.

"I have a date tomorrow." He said.

So please let me know what you think! I tried to get this out as fast as possible, but college is making my schedule crazy! Thanks for reading so far! And I do accept critique on my writing style and mistakes, since I can only get better and I'm still a beginner. Thank you all!