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Hiroki's Birthday - Part 3

"Hiroki–"

"Akihiko!"

"With best wishes," a straight-faced Usami, Akihiko said – though Hiroki thought that he could see just a touch of softness there in the other man's eyes. "Happy birthday," Akihiko continued while handing over a wrapped item, obviously a birthday present, to Hiroki.

Hiroki had just entered the campus grounds of M university, when he was unexpectedly faced with the notorious presence of one Usagi-san. Of course, Takahashi's presence at the other man's side – beside the red car that Hiroki thought was not nearly ostentatious enough for Akihiko – gave away the reason for Akihiko's presence immediately. Though Hiroki had found out merely a few weeks ago that it was indeed Akihiko who dropped Takahashi everyday to the university, it was still surprising to see the other as Hiroki usually came quite a bit earlier to his workplace than them.

Needless to say, it was all Nowaki's fault that he was late today. Hiroki thought while trying to hold back a frown.

As he eyed the flatness and thickness of the present given to him, he couldn't fully prevent the frown from forming though. Last year's damned gift drifted into his mind: a much beloved Junai Egoist novel from – who else? - Akikawa Yayoi, aka. Usami Akihiko. "Thanks," he muttered suspiciously and directed a glare at Akihiko just incase. He didn't fully trust the git yet not to have given a present of the same sort this year too.

"Mother called," was Akihiko's reply. Hiroki's eyebrows quirked up in surprise. "I suspect she's going to be coming today."

"What!" Hiroki yelped. He had not expected that and quickly became flustered. Hiroki himself knew that his one weak-point (he just had to scowl at that, even if only to himself) was his mother. "Why is she coming? And why didn't she call me first?"

Akihiko, it seemed, just couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. Meanwhile, Misaki watched on with wide eyes, faintly nervous and more than a little curious. It was still strange for him to see his demon professor be civil and almost nice to his lover.

"Of course, her reason doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I keep more in touch with her than you do – her own son. And nothing to do with the fact that you moved and changed your phone number so abruptly – which, may I remind you, took me three entire days to track down personally." Akihiko responded with evidently blatant sarcasm and one eyebrow raised mockingly. All the while, guilt crept up on Hiroki rather sharply and he was starting to sweat by the end of Akihiko's drawling rant. Hiroki was sure that there were still traces of hard feelings lurking and hiding behind Akihiko's words, though they didn't hold much heat.

Naturally, so sure was he of the inevitable blow-up from the "Demon Kamijou", Misaki was sweating bullets and contemplating just how to distance himself discreetly from the other two. He slowly inched backwards.

"I already apologized for that," Hiroki said in response to Akihiko's last comment, with defensiveness apparent in his tone. There was an awkward pause – well, for Hiroki – while Akihiko merely watched him with thinly veiled amusement.

"Anyways, mother said that she would be dropping off some peaches. But the way she said it indicated that she was coming to see you," Akihiko said, still with the eyebrow quirked and giving a slight shrug at the end.

Hiroki processed those words and did not know what to say just then, but he responded with a word of thanks after some moments and waved the present in acknowledgement. Akihiko gave a little nod back and turned toward Takahashi – an obvious gesture of dismissal. Hiroki, with one last glance at them, continued on his way.

His mother's presence had thrown an obvious wrench into his afternoon plans. But he really had more important problems to worry about with the impending presence of his mom. Like what the hell he was going to tell her regarding Nowaki...

TBC

A/N: Any comments or thoughts? Tell me please. Thanks!