Disclaimer: Takaya Natsuki is the rightful owner. I'm merely borrowing her creations for my own diabolical ideals. No, really.

A/N: I took much longer than I expected, but here's the chapter. Be glad I even posted this up. As of right now, I am always constantly swamped with work and school. Hardly any free time allowed to myself, so that means less writing! XD

Life's Many Indulgences
Chapter 14: Revealing the Truth

"Mother, I will be going out now," Yuki said, from the foyer. "I'll make sure to come back before dinner time."

"All right. Have fun," she called back to her son.

Yuki inwardly smiled; he was happy that there were no complications within his family, and therefore a strong bond of trust was created between them. Alas, just as the door closed behind him, Yuki began to walk, eager to got to the Mizunashis' to see Kyo again.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"This is absolutely splendid! Your little friend is coming over again, Kyon--"

"Kyo!"

"--aren't you happy?"

"With you around how can I be?"

"And of me, Kyo?" A teary-eyed, orange-haired man stepped forward. "Am I a bother, too? I apolo--"

"No," Kyo sweat dropped, "no, you're fine the way you are, Uncle Ritsu."

"Oooohhhhh, how could you, Kyon." Shigure displayed a hurt expression, and dramatically swayed to and fro. "You call him Uncle, but you won't do the same for me."

"I'm sorry! I am so sorry! Shigeru, forgive me!" Ritsu threw himself down on the floor, lying prostrate and waiting for punishment, so it seems. "Please, do what you must to a scumbag like me."

Mizunashi Ritsu is the second eldest son. He is older than Shigeru and younger than Kyo. As one would put it, Ritsu has a strange habit of apologizing whenever he thinks someone is displeased because of him. And the reason it is considered a strange habit is because any little thing pertaining to him (whether it be good or bad), he'd immediately ask for forgiveness. This came about when he was only a child - he was regularly picked on and made fun of being overtly cowardly most of the time.

"Ritsu, stop it. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Come on, now. Stand up." Shigeru knelt down by his elder brother. "You know how much your younger brother loves you, don't you?"

". . . you love me?" Ritsu asked.

"Of course."

"Do you have to say that stuff right in front of me?" Kyo muttered.

"I'm sorry, Kyo! I was not paying attention to your feelings!" Kyo appeared to be rather startled, because usually when he muttered no one ever hears what he says. However, such a person as Ritsu (known to detect negative things easily) could clearly hear him. "Here!"

Ritsu presented his nephew with a kitchen knife. "Gah, where the hell did you get that just now!"

"Here! Use this to stab my heart, and all my feelings will pour out! I'll let you have as many of them as you want!"

"Stop acting crazy all the time, dammit!" Kyo yelled.

"Kyo's getting more and more angry. My dear younger brother; my dear young nephew -farewell. I won't forget either of you or anyone else I care about!"

§OUT IN THE HALLWAY§

"Come on in, Usuda, you're here just in time. Right now Kyo is spending some quality time with his Uncles."

Yuki smiled and nodded. "I apologize for intruding."

"Oh, not at all! Please," Tooru bowed, "come this way."

What Yuki and Tooru were presented with was something neither one of them expected. A hysterical Ritsu; a angry Kyo; and a somewhat worried Shigure were moving about inside the room, much like a pack of wild dogs. Tooru gasped and Yuki merely stood there motionless.

"Put that thing down, will ya!" Kyo made a pass at the knife.

"No!" Ritsu swiftly dodged the younger man. "I must do this or else you won't believe me!"

"I'd advise you to do what Kyon says, Ritsu," Shigure added. "Wielding that around is . . ." everyone's eyes grew wide ". . . dangerous."

"Usuda!" Tooru cried.

A trickle of blood dribbled down the side of the gray-haired teen's face. Apparently, Ritsu had accidentally slashed him on the left cheek - the cut was shallow, but that didn't stop it from stinging really badly.

"Oh, my." Shigure sweat dropped. "I suppose I'll go get a band-aid."

Ritsu collapsed to the floor then, and began to cry out incoherent words (probably apologies). Yuki was more shocked than anything else, and to put it frankly, he didn't even feel any pain. Tooru was on the verge of panicking, and she was literally running around the room, wondering what she should do.

Kyo appeared to be the only one unaffected by the transition - he remained where he was, watching his Uncle cry pitifully.

Sounds of footsteps filled the halls. Mr. Mizunashi burst onto the scene, followed by his wife, Mrs. Mizunashi.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Mizunashi asked. He looked from his daughter and then to his brother. "Why are the both of them screaming?"

Ritsu looked up, meeting his brother eye to eye, while wailing, "it's all my fault! He's bleeding because of me! Kill me now for the wrong I have done! I don't want to live anymore!"

"I'm back with the band-aid," Shigure announced. No one looked at him let alone notice that he went up to Yuki and stuck the plastic strip across his cheek. (The design on the band-aid was 'Bottle Fairies'). "There you go, Usuda. Does it hurt?"

"No-not at all," Yuki replied, as if just noticing that Shigure was right by his side.

"Get up from the floor, Ritsu." Mr. Mizunashi pulled and pulled, but Ritsu refused to budge, almost resembling a lifeless doll. "Don't become dead weight."

"S-sorry!" Ritsu sprung to his feet, accidentally knocking his older brother down. "Ah! I am so SORRY! Here, let me help you get up!"

"By the way, Usuda, Ritsu didn't mean to cut you." Shigure gingerly scratched at his own unscathed cheek, inwardly glad he wasn't the one slightly nicked. "I apologize on his behalf - as you can see, he has a bit of a problem."

"It's not a problem at all."

"It is a problem, Usuda, you're taking this too lightly. My crazy Uncle was brandishing around a kitchen knife and he slashed you. It may be a minor wound, but the ordeal shouldn't be something brushed aside so easily."

"Kyo," Mrs. Mizunashi began.

Yuki was astounded by what he was hearing. Did Kyo care about his well-being that much, or did he feel guilty for some sort of reason?

"I'll go die silently! Farewell, everyone!" Ritsu dashed out of the room.

"Oh my god, we need to stop him!" Tooru exclaimed.

"He's quite serious about these statements of his, so I better go, too," Shigure said. "You handle this dispute on your own, Kyo."

Kyo? Yuki wondered if Shigure was referring to his feisty classmate.

"Kyo--"

"Mom, just drop it."

She continued anyway. "--you know how he is. Why do you treat him this way when you're not ignorant to the facts?"

"It's not my fault he can't be responsible for the stupid things he does," Kyo argued.

Yuki felt like he didn't belong here, because it was a family matter. However, if he tried to leave, wouldn't it be considered rude, after only having come here? Amidst all the yelling, all the gray-haired teen could do was stand there and listen.

"His self-esteem and his very nature is not like ours. You need to understand that, Kyo."

"I've been nice to him countless times, but he went too far today."

"He's like a child."

"He's not a child now, is he? He's a full-grown man."

That was the last straw; Yuki felt he couldn't stand any more of the arguing, so he decided to excuse himself.

"I think I better go," Yuki said.

"Usuda," Kyo called out to him. But Yuki did not stop to look at him. "Dammit. Mom, we can finish this discussion later."

Once Kyo and Yuki were gone, Mrs. Mizunashi voiced her concerns. "Oh dear, if this becomes something I don't want it to be, it'll be very troublesome."

MEANWHILE, KYO GOES AFTER YUKI

"Hey! Wait up!" Yuki only walked faster. "Stop, Yuki! We need to talk!"

"There's nothing to talk about. You didn't do anything wrong. All's well and done."

"Then say this directly to me, dammit! Look at me in the face!"

"For once . . ." Yuki slowed his pace and then came to a halt. "I noticed you called me by my last name in front of your parents." Kyo appeared to be taken aback. "Can you not let them know?"

"Huh? We're pretending, aren't we? So why would I need to tell them?"

Despite first name basis calling, it can also be interpreted as friends. Did Kyo not see that aspect as well? Yuki wasn't too sure.

"More than this being about you Uncle . . ." The gray-haired teen was lying. ". . . I thought maybe we could let your parents acknowledge me as a friend of yours . . . as close friends."

"Why are you fussing over this? You're starting to sound like a girl."

Yuki blushed. Being compared to a troubled girl was rather embarrassing. "Well . . . I suppose confessing the truth shouldn't really matter now, but I want to tell you, Kyo. I truly do like you, and am hoping we can become more than just friends."

Kyo went rigid, standing so still that he could have been mistaken for a human statue. At this point, Yuki wasn't too sure as to what he should be expecting from the red-head. Was it shock filled with disgust? Was it surprise by the sudden revealed secret? What was it?

"Is that so?" Kyo finally said something, though the rigidness in his body didn't completely fade away yet. However, his stoic expression became that of something gentle. Yuki was now confused. "I suspected something from the start. Your confession wasn't surprising, because it's more like I wasn't expecting you to tell me right at this instance."

"So . . .?" Yuki had felt the atmosphere was perfect for his confession though.

Kyo looked up at the sky and smiled, saying, "sure."

Did Yuki hear right? Did Kyo just comply with his request?

"You're not repulsed by the idea of two guys dating?" Yuki asked, somewhat afraid of what the red-head's answer may be.

ANSWER SCENARIO 1

"It is downright disgusting, but I'll make an exception with you. I'll just make-believe you're a girl instead of a guy, since you sort of look like one."

ANSWER SCENARIO 2

"To tell you the truth, I've been liking you for a long time. It's good to know you feel the same way as me."

ANSWER SCENARIO 3

Kyo burst out laughing. "What kind of question is that? Would I say yes to your request if I didn't accept the fact of two guys dating? Don't speak of the obvious because it's a little embarrassing." As Kyo was saying the last part, there was a light tinge of pink dusting his cheeks.

The scenarios played in Yuki's mind only made him all the more nervous.

"Not particularly." Kyo noticed the tense look on the other boy's face. "Well," he could feel his face turning red, "it's more like I don't dislike it, but neither do I really like it."

Yuki smiled, happy to see the "flushed" look on his "boyfriend's" face. Yup, they are officially a couple now.

"It's nice to know we're no longer pretending. Now the false information Kishida leaked out has become truth."

"That's true, though I ought to punch him once for leaking out false information in the first place."

An awkward silence passed between the two - they both stood there staring at each other until Tooru showed up.

"Come back inside. Ritsu adamantly insists he apologize to you, Kyo. And, please, Usuda, do come back inside and have lunch with us. Since you came all the way here, it'd be a waste to go home on an empty stomach."

"All right," Yuki said.

Once they were all together and in one place again, an eerie silence now enveloped everyone. Mrs. Mizunashi was about to speak first when the silence persisted, but Ritsu beat her to it.

"Kyo, I'd like to properly apologize," Ritsu began. Kyo turned his head to face his Uncle, though doing so was nothing new. Ritsu's apologized to him many times before . . . Yet, this time the intense look Kyo was showing made the other much lighter red-head nervous. "I'm sorry for what has happened earlier. I don't know what possessed me to do all of those things."

"Gee, I'd like to know, too," Kyo added.

Ritsu frowned, about ready to burst into tears . . . Once again.

"Don't cry, Ritsu." Shigeru patted his older brother on one shoulder. "Kyo's not mad at you anymore, okay? He's over it, although he may not seem like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kyo answered for Shigeru. (The eldest brother).

While the three siblings were occupied with one another, Mrs. Mizunashi looked towards Yuki and Kyo (whom were seated next to one another), and looked as if she wanted to say something.

"Something the matter?" Kyo asked, catching her gaze.

"No . . . it's nothing."

Tooru stood up from the table then. "I'll go get the rest of the food - you all sit here and relax." All talking and movement ceased, and all eyes were steered towards the brunette-haired female.

"Oh, no, no, my dear Tooru, let Uncle Shigeru help, too."

Ritsu stood up as well, and said, "I want to help."

"Mom?" Kyo noticed his mother's face was all red, but what could she be so embarrassed about? "Mom? You do know you're as red as a tomato, right?"

"Ah, mom will help, too! Come on!"

Mrs. Mizunashi, Tooru, Shigeru and Ritsu walked through the kitchen door single file.

"Ahahaha, that was priceless!" Mr. Mizunashi chimed. "I haven't seen her turn that red in a really long time!"

"I don't get it. What's the big deal?" Kyo asked.

"She's embarrassed because as a woman of the house, she thinks it's her duty to do all the cooking, cleaning, serving, and such. With her job and the things she does at home, it'd be nice if she took a break once in a while, eh?"

Kyo shrugged. "I guess."

"Usuda."

"Yes?" Yuki abruptly sat up.

"How long have you know this hot-head?"

"I'm not a hot-head . . ."

"I'm a hot-head, too, son, so no need to deny it."

"You wish," Kyo muttered.

Yuki heard him loud and clear, but Mr. Mizunashi didn't.

"Eh? What did you say?"

"Forget it, dad. Let Usuda speak."

"Oh, uh, two months . . ." He realized he was beginning to trail off. ". . . at the most."

"Ah, I see. It's good to know Kyo has a friend. It's really good to know."

Chapter 14: END