Greeting and Salutation peeps! ^_^ once again, thank you all for the reviews and subscriptions! They really help alot! (In addition to the grammar advice. cough. I know. Queen of typos. I reign forever.)

Glad everyone like the Hisashi pic too! (And just to clarify to one reader: No, he is not a vampire. Though I do have a Junjou romantica vampire oneshot up.)

This chap is a little short, but I have a better handle on the plot now so next one should be better! *bows * Arigato!

TBF101

Always

Chapter Four: Blissfully Ignorant

"WAAAAHHHH! OH MY GOD YUU! THE NEWEST EDITION OF 'THE KAN' SIGNED BY IJUUIN SENSEI HIMSELF!"

Yuu winced and smiled musingly as Chiaki freaked out over the new manga, his bare feet twirling around in a circle.

"This wasn't supposed to come out till next week! How'd you get it?"

"Worked my ass off for five days drawing him buildings." Yuu replied, flopping down on one of Chiaki's beige couches. "So he let me have first dibs."

"Really? Was his deadline that bad this month?" The dark brunette asked, taking the seat next to his friend.

"The deepest level of hell." Yuu smirked back playfully. "And from what I've heard, you've dug yourself in deep lately too."

Chiaki furrowed his eyebrows indignantly.

"Hey! I was having problems with my storyboard! And Tori was being a total jerk about it too. Look at this! He sent me twenty six messages in two days!"

Yuu glanced at the screen of Chiaki's phone and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Hatori's a bloody workaholic, but you do your share of the damage too with all your procrastinating."

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!"

Yuu merely raised an eyebrow in response and Chiaki puckered his lips in annoyance.

"You're a meanie Yuu…"

Yuu grinned.

"Why? Because I only speak the truth?"

"No, because you're just mean." Chiaki retorted, sticking out half his tongue. Yuu chuckled and gave Chiaki's slender should a playful shove.

"Hey!" The blue-eyed brunette barked, returning the favor slightly harder. The two started shoving and pushing each other until it cascaded into a full on wrestling match on the couch. Unfortunately for the smaller, thinner, and weaker Chiaki, Yuu was a much better wrestler and had managed to tackle him facedown on the couch, pinning down his arms and back effectively.

"YUU!" Chiaki moaned, realizing he was truly SOL.

Yuu chuckled, strands of his auburn hair touching Chiaki's back as he leaned down to the brunette's ear.

"Give up Chiaki," He whispered into his friend's neck. "I won't let you back up until you say it."

"Yuu! Let me up!" Chiaki laughed, Yuu's breath tickling his ear.

"Say it…" Yuu breathed harder, the tone of his voice dropping ever so slightly.

Chiaki froze, a blush suddenly creeping over his cheeks for reasons he didn't understand. He was just playing around with Yuu, why did he feel so…odd?

The brunette's breath hitched as Yuu repeated himself.

"Say it Chiaki…Or…"

Chiaki swallowed.

"Or w-what?"

"Or I'll have to tickle you!"

"WAH! YUU! STOP STOP STOP!" Chiaki almost screamed out as Yuu's nimble fingers pranced around his torso, making the brunette squirm and giggle uncontrollably. Chiaki was laughing so hard that they both went rolling onto the floor, where Yuu continued to torment the smaller man. He sat on Chiaki's stomach, and began to chuckle himself as he saw the brunette's red, joyous face.

"YYUUUU! Please stop!" Chiaki panted weakly, his mouth still set in a wide grin. Yuu let out a roll of laughs and stopped his hands, resting them on his thighs as he watched Chiaki catch his breath.

"Yoshino, are you done with your storyboard yet—"

Yuu's garnet eyes shot over to the opposite side of the room as he heard the deep, monotone drawl of Hatori's voice. They exclamations of the rough housing had completely drowned out the sounds of Chiaki's editor and boyfriend coming into the apartment. Yuu felt his eyes narrow as Hatori stared in horror and anger at the compromising position of his love rival and his painfully oblivious uke. Yuu shifted onto his feet and stood, still meeting Hatori's eyes with equal ferocity.

"Torriii! Did you bring me food? I'm all out of rice again!" A piteous voice cried from the floor. Chiaki, his face pink from his laugh workout smiled dazedly up at Hatori, who stared back with steely eyes.

"Get off the floor Yoshino." Hatori commanded evenly.

"Help me up!" Chiaki spouted, wiggling his extended fingers at the tall brunette. Yuu moved out of the way as Hatori walked over in front of Chiaki and unceremoniously hauled his ass up, the rusty red irises losing none of their hardness.

"Are you done with your storyboard?" Hatori asked again.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's finished. It's in the bathroom, I had an epiphany this morning when I was—"

"I don't need to know," Hatori briskly cut in, exhaling through his nose. "Just go get it and lay it out for me while I make you some food."

"YAY!" Chiaki cheered, prancing down the hall at the mention of vittles.

"Chiaki," Yuu called. "I need to get going. I'll see you later."

"Aw! Okay." The brunette answered. "Thanks again for the manga Yuu!"

Once Chiaki was out of earshot, Hatori's hackles rose as he and Yuu stared each other down.

"What have I told you about getting handsy with Yoshino?" Hatori hissed, his grey eyes as sharp as steel.

Yuu cocked his head coolly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Chiaki and I were just having fun…as friends."

Hatori didn't look convinced.

"TORI! I LOCKED MYSELF IN MY CLOSET! HELP ME!"

Hatori's chest fell with a heavy sigh and he began walking past Yuu to rescue with clueless boyfriend.

"Give up, Yanase," Hatori said as he stepped away. "Yoshino is mine, and you'll never be able to change that."

Yuu narrowed his eyes and walked to the front entrance, grabbing his coat and bag before shutting the door with a bit more force than necessary.

He left the apartment building and began strolling to the train station, shoving his hands in his pockets as a cool, night wind swirled around him. The man with auburn hair and startling eyes walking as he normally did, alert and observant, even as his mind had retreated to a den of solitary contemplation.

Yuu sighed irritably.

Hatori was right. Yuu knew that more than anyone, though he hated admitting it. And yet he'd allowed himself to joke and be with Chiaki once again, knowing full well that his friend was a couple bulbs short of a lighthouse and didn't comprehend what that contact meant to Yuu.

But even in his airheaded state, Yuu couldn't quite bring himself to be mad at Chiaki. He was irritated, yes. A jar of mayonnaise had more social finesse than his middle school friend, but Yuu had always liked that about him. To someone who was so insightful he was almost an empath, a person who could remain in a state of ignorant bliss was as soft and feathery as a dove to Yuu. No schemes. No being twofaced. No vagueness. Just white honesty.

Yuu stopped at a street corner and glanced dryly up at the starless sky of Tokyo.

And he knew then that while he loved his friend and his ignorance, that it had caused him nothing but pain.

And it wasn't likely to stop unless he severed his ties.

It's funny how easy it is to make fun of Chiaki in this story. SO many expressions to use. Not a sharpest tool in the shed, A few fries short of a happy meal, a few panels short of a manga...

Oh so many. Let's have a contest to see who can come up with the best Chiaki insult! XDDD

But don't tell Hatori. He can be an extremely scary man when he wants to... *shudder *...