Jack's large hand was threatening Kiryu's ability to breathe, but he didn't struggle. Pressed against the wall as he was and with a disadvantage in height, he probably wouldn't have had much success if he had wanted to fight. Instead, he met Jack's fiery eye contact with the icy cool of his own look and waited for Jack to speak. His patience was rewarded before long.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" Jack glanced down and added with a growl, "Wearing one of my shirts?" He loosened his hold slightly so Kiryu could answer him.

"Kiryu Kyosuke, I'm in hiding, and my shirt was dirty," Kiryu said, answering Jack's questions in order.

Jack looked at him blankly and Kiryu knew it would take more than his brief explanation to earn his freedom. He said, "Let go of me, would you? Then I'll tell you the whole story."

"I'm not interested. I just want you to leave."

"You have to let go of me for that, too," Kiryu pointed out.

"Says who?"

Kiryu realized he was less than a second away from being bodily removed from the Godwin residence. His one chance was an emotional appeal of the highest caliber. Jack was from Satellite. Surely anyone from that place would empathize with him. "If you don't let me hide here, my pimp's going to kill me!" Kiryu exclaimed.

Jack paused after lifting Kiryu up just an inch. He dropped him back to the ground without letting go of him. "You're a prostitute?" His expression was something between disbelief and what Kiryu hoped wasn't disgust.

"At your service," Kiryu answered wryly. Jack took a step back, his hands falling to his side. "That was a joke. I'm not diseased, you know. You don't have to look at me like that."

Jack settled for looking right above Kiryu's head. "What does any of this have to do with me? You're trespassing in my room."

"I went as far as I could and saw this place by chance," Kiryu said. "I've been running all day. So? Will you help me out or not?"

Jack asked, "Why is your pimp going to kill you?"

"Because he's an asshole and thinks he owns me. Which, unfortunately, he does. So when he realizes I've left he's going to be more than a little upset."

"He can't own you." Jack looked at Kiryu again. "You're a human."

"Don't be so stupid," Kiryu said, risking provoking Jack's anger. Was he purposely repressing his memories from Satellite or something? If he started acting like he was Tops born and bred, Kiryu knew he wouldn't be able to get through to him. "Shit happens and people take advantage of that. I'm fucking sick of it. I just need a few days. One day, even. Then I'll figure out somewhere else to go."

Kiryu could see he was winning Jack over. Finally, Jack said in a stern voice, "You can stay tonight but then you have to go. But don't leave this room or my father will throw you out. And if you think of stealing something or trying anything funny, I'll throw you out."

Kiryu smiled at him, genuinely relieved. "Thank you, Jack."

Then Jack looked at him strangely. "You said my name when I came in here. How did you-"

"Oh, everyone knows you now," Kiryu said dismissively. "Future politician Jack Atlas or whatever."

"I would never follow in that man's footsteps," Jack muttered. He walked over to his bed and frowned at the wrinkled sheets. "Stay off my bed. You can have that chair." He pointed to a large armchair facing the balcony.

Kiryu wasn't going to complain, since things were going so well. He took a seat as Jack pulled the curtains closed and turned a lamp on to make up for the lost light. There wasn't anything for him to do then and Jack offered no suggestions, sitting down at his desk and looking at something on his phone. Instantly bored, Kiryu looked around for something to do. The bookshelf next to him wasn't appealing and there was no television in here. He saw an mp3 player near Jack and said, "What kind of music do you like?"

"Hm?" Jack looked up from his phone, followed Kiryu's gaze to the mp3 player, and shrugged. "Nothing in particular. Here." He tossed the mp3 player to Kiryu, who caught it and put the headphones on. He closed his eyes and shuffled through Jack's music library, full of rock bands and intense metal and a mix of other mismatched genres. He started when something touched his shoulder.

"My father's home. I'm going down to eat. Stay here and stay quiet."

"Don't worry. He'll never know I'm here," Kiryu smiled. Jack stared at him for a moment before leaving, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Kiryu jumped up and paced about the room. Music was fine, but he decided he wanted to know more about Jack, and what better way to learn about his host than by examining the clues in his own bedroom?

He started with the bookshelf, which was much more interesting than he'd expected. The pictures on it were few, mostly of Jack, suggesting a streak of vanity. There weren't any of Godwin or from Jack's early childhood. In the back, half-concealed by a picture of Jack's high school graduation, was the only picture with someone besides Jack in it. Jack, who looked five or six years younger in it, was standing next to another teenager with dark hair and tan skin. He was much shorter than Jack and dressed in clothes that looked a size too big on him. There was nothing particularly striking about his appearance, except for his eyes. His big, brooding, dark blue eyes, like sapphires seen at night. Kiryu had seen those eyes before. There was no mistake; this was the man he'd seen at the club so recently.

"Well, well." Kiryu grinned to himself. It wasn't like he'd needed another sign, but he'd gotten one all the same. It was fate that had led him here. He already shared a connection with Jack. But what, he wondered, was Jack's connection to this other guy? He turned the picture over to see if any names were written on the back, but it was blank.

Kiryu put the picture back and went to Jack's desk, but no amount of poking around returned any find as interesting as the picture.

Dinner was a torturous affair. A cook came and prepared the evening meal and served them before leaving every day. Jack was left alone with Godwin and whatever inane conversation the man was intent on making. Lately, the topics had centered upon Jack's future, something he was loathe to discuss with Godwin or anyone else. After all, it had nothing to do with anyone but him, so other people's input was as useless as it was annoying.

"Did you see the article that mentioned you this week?" Godwin asked him as he cut a tender steak into small pieces. Jack began working on his own, noticing with disgust the pink center.

"I saw it."

"And what did you think?"

Jack put his fork down with a clatter. He hated when Godwin asked him questions like that and Godwin knew it. Whatever answer Godwin was looking for, Jack was never sure he had it. "It didn't really have anything to do with me, so I didn't think anything about it."

"What a self-centered boy." Godwin smiled thinly and poured himself a cup of tea from a pot in the middle of the table. "But in particular I was struck by the line stating that you were unavailable for comment. Do you remember that?"

Now Jack knew where this conversation was going and he was sick of it before it had really started. Anyway, leaving Kiryu alone in his room was something he felt hadn't been a good idea and he wanted to finish dinner as quickly as possible and go back upstairs. So he refused to let Godwin beat around the bush any longer. "What favor did you promise the reporter for lying?"

Godwin said, "It doesn't pay for politicians to be in someone's debt. At any rate, tell me, Jack, why you keep getting into this situation? Threatening reporters for asking you simple questions is both unbecoming and an overreaction."

"They all ask me the same thing over and over," Jack said, stabbing a bite of steak with his fork. "And if I say I don't want to talk to them, they get more in my face than ever. If they backed off, so would I."

"This isn't Satellite, Jack. Not everything is an eye for an eye anymore."

A frigid silence enveloped the room. Neither man moved to eat or drink anything more while it lasted. They stared at each other until Jack shoved his chair back and said, "I'm done."

"We're not done."

Jack ignored him and made for the staircase. It was a low blow, one that Godwin wasn't above taking again and again, because it always worked on Jack. Why did the bastard even adopt him if he was going to constantly rub his impoverished upbringing in his face?

Upset as he was, he'd forgotten about Kiryu momentarily and was surprised when his room wasn't empty. Kiryu was sitting in the chair Jack had left him in, watching the shadows from birds flying by behind the curtain splay across the carpet. "Hey," he said.

"Not in a talking mood," he said, lying down on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. He needed to be alone, but with Kiryu here, he wasn't able to stew in his thoughts.

"Can I ask something?"

"What?"

"Who's the guy in the picture with you?" Jack looked over at the picture Kiryu was pointing at and scowled.

"Who the hell said you could look at my pictures?"

"They're right there," Kiryu said. "And there wasn't much else to look at. It's not like I read your diary or something."

"It's still none of your business."

"But I met him."

Jack caught himself before he shot up. "Yeah, sure."

"I did," Kiryu insisted. "There's a club where I go some nights and he was there. You should've seen the face he made when he saw the stripper," he laughed.

Now Jack was certain Kiryu was mistaken. "As if Yusei would go someplace like that."

"Yusei is his name?"

Jack clamped his mouth shut. He'd already said too much and he wondered why he'd let Kiryu drag Yusei's name out of him. A long time ago he'd promised never to think of or talk about Yusei ever again. The latter had been easy enough to fulfill until now.

When Jack didn't reply, Kiryu said, "Well, anyway, it seemed like he was looking for something. So maybe he had a good reason to be there."

Jack tried to imagine what Yusei could possibly be looking for in a place where there were strippers and he could think of nothing. It wasn't his problem, though. He said, "I'm done talking about this."

"Why? What happened between you and Stardust?"

Jack choked. "What did you call him!?"

Kiryu blinked wide eyes. "Stardust, that's all. When I looked at his face, it was the natural thing to call him. Don't you agree?"

"No. That's absolutely stupid. His name is Yusei."

Kiryu shrugged. "That's a good name too. So-"

"Enough. Just shut up and be grateful I'm letting you stay, because you're really pissing me off right now."

That was enough to close Kiryu's mouth.

There was a knock at the door and Jack hissed through his teeth before jumping off the bed and pushing Kiryu into the bathroom. A moment later, Godwin opened the door.

"I didn't say you could come in!" Jack said.

"You aren't a teenager anymore, Jack," Godwin said. "So when are you going to learn to behave like an adult?" Godwin walked over to Jack's shelf of pictures and his eyes seemed to linger on the one with Yusei in it. With his back to Jack, he went on, "You need to think about your future."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Jack retorted. All these decisions he was being forced to make at once when all his options were unappealing as could be... He knew there was a path for him, and he knew he would find it, but for now it was hidden from sight.

"I think," Godwin said, brushing dust from the shelf, "you need some encouragement."

A small sound came from the bathroom, like a shampoo bottle falling over. Godwin looked at the door curiously before turning back to Jack. "If you have your own goals outside the realm of politics, that's fine. But I'm not satisfied with you dawdling your time away. You have two weeks, and then I expect to hear your plans."

Jack grit his teeth but saw no way out of it. "Fine. Now will you get out of my room?"

Godwin slowly made his way back to the doorway. "Goodnight, Jack."

When he was gone, Jack jerked the door open and glared at Kiryu. "Are you trying to get caught?"

Kiryu was balancing a bottle of lavender-scented shampoo on the shower's rim, a guilty look on his face. "Sorry. I was reading the label."

Jack sighed in exasperation. One night, and he was throwing this guy out. He went back to the bedroom, Kiryu trailing behind. He handed him a pillow and one of his blankets and pointed at a corner of the room. "Sleep there."

Kiryu made a bed on the carpet and settled in, though it was early yet. Before closing his eyes, he said to Jack, "Thank you."

Jack, never good with words of gratitude, muttered, "Don't mention it."

He turned the overhead light off and switched on a lamp to read for awhile before bed. Though now a deadline was looming before him, he didn't want to think anymore about his future that night, not when so much else was happening. He found himself reading the same paragraph over and over and gave up on reading, reaching instead for his cell phone to text Carly.

You awake?

Hi, Jack! Just finished up my article~

For a moment, he envied Carly's career, how she'd always known what she wanted to do, but Carly was his friend and he didn't want to be unfair to her. Good. He didn't know what else to say, but luckily Carly always filled silences.

I have the day off tomorrow, so let's hang out!

Sure. He glanced over at Kiryu. There's something I have to take care of in the morning, but I can meet you for lunch.

Yay! It's a date~

Carly.

Sorry, sorry, you know what I mean.

Jack had been utterly oblivious to Carly's infatuation with him until she'd asked him out a year ago. And, though she was perhaps his only friend since leaving Satellite and he cared for her deeply, he'd never thought of her in the same way. It wasn't anything about her, he'd assured her. What he hadn't told her was that it was all about him. Yusei. Even after all this time... Sometimes, Carly tried to press the issue again, but Jack always cut her off.

Anyway, she texted, we can go to that cafe you like, my treat.

Jack smiled at that. He could already taste the coffee blend of his preference, unmarred by sugar or cream. He started to type a reply when he heard something.

From the corner of the room where Kiryu lay, there were unintelligible low sounds. Jack frowned and put his phone down quietly, tilting his head to hear better. All of the sudden, that action was unnecessary as Kiryu let out a scream.

Jack cursed and was across the room immediately, his hand clamped over Kiryu's mouth so he couldn't make any more noises. Kiryu's eyes flew open, bright with fear, and he fought against Jack, who was forced to hold him down with his other hand. But Kiryu was impossible to restrain and he bit Jack's hand before trying to crawl around Jack. Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and whispered harshly, "Kiryu, calm the fuck down."

Kiryu's breathing slowed and his eyes focused on Jack's face. "J-Jack?" His voice was soft and broken, like a crumbling sandcastle. Noticing Jack's bleeding hand, the color drained from his face. "Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit."

"I told you to calm down, didn't I?" It was a miracle Godwin hadn't come to check into the noise, but his bedroom was on the other side of the floor, so it looked like they were in the clear in that respect. "Why were you screaming?"

"Was I?" Kiryu looked guilty, and that made Jack uncomfortable. It wasn't like he'd meant to have a nightmare or whatever it was.

"Kiryu, you..." Jack wished Carly was there. Somehow, she'd know how to help. Or at least how to phrase questions less bluntly than, "Is there something wrong with you?" As soon as Jack said it, he knew it was wrong, but tact wasn't his strong suit. By the way Kiryu stiffened up, Jack knew he was right, anyway.

"No, there isn't," he said.

But Jack's intuition said otherwise. In one quick moment, he grabbed Kiryu's backpack and started rifling through it. He expected to find drugs, but not the legal prescription kind he ended up with.

"Fuck you, that's my stuff!" Kiryu reached for the backpack, but Jack already had what he was looking for. He managed to read the label on the bottle of pills before Kiryu could snatch it back, but the medical jargon meant nothing to him.

"You didn't have to do that," Kiryu said, looking thoroughly betrayed.

"You came to me for help but you haven't told me your full story," answered Jack. "So tell me now."

"What's there to say?" Kiryu looked away. "Bipolar disorder. I have bipolar disorder, okay?"

Jack didn't know much about bipolar disorder, or any mental disorder for that matter, but he knew that it had to make Kiryu's attempt to escape his current situation even more difficult. "Have you... always had it?" he asked.

Kiryu shrugged. "My psychiatrist says so."

"Your psychiatrist?"

"Yeah, my pimp," Kiryu said nonchalantly.

Jack blinked uncomprehendingly. "Are you serious?"

"It's complicated."

Jack shook his head. This was almost too much to take in. Kiryu pushed past him and went back to his makeshift bed. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Fine." Jack returned to his bed as well and saw the light on his phone blinking to alert him of a new text. It was from Carly, of course.

Jackkkk, where'd you go?

Nowhere. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Aw, okay. Goodnight. 3

Jack shut off his phone and the lamp, but instead of trying to go to sleep, he watched the sleeping form of Kiryu and thought about the conversation they'd just had. There was something different about Kiryu, but to Jack, it was so very familiar. It was a layer of desperation and desire that enveloped him from head to toe. It was an unbalanced awareness of the darkest corners of the world. People like him were everywhere in Satellite. Jack had been one of them. He'd escaped through adoption, but others weren't so lucky. And though Jack didn't know if Kiryu was from Satellite, he may as well have been, from what his life sounded like. Jack could tell the world was trampling all over the broken man.

Kiryu and Jack woke at the same time, when Jack's old-fashioned alarm clock went off. Kiryu pulled his cover over his head in a poor attempt to muffle the shrill ringing. His head hurt from sleeping poorly and the last thing he wanted to do was get up.

He heard Jack shuffle around the room for a minute before stopping next to where he lay. "Kiryu."

Reluctantly, Kiryu lowered the cover. "Is it morning already?"

"Yeah. I'm going to grab breakfast downstairs. I'll bring you something."

That perked Kiryu up. He got to his feet and stretched. "Sounds good. I'll get ready to go."

Jack nodded and left the room, returning in no time with yogurt and a breakfast pastry that he tossed to Kiryu. Kiryu sat down in the same chair as last night as he ate, being careful not to get crumbs anywhere.

Jack nudged the curtain aside an inch and said, "It's storming out there." Lightning punctuated his words, reflecting in his eyes. "I'm meeting a friend at twelve. If the storm hasn't stopped by then, you can stay here until it lets up." Jack said.

"Okay." Kiryu'd thought Jack would try to make him leave first thing, but he'd given him food and now he was saying Kiryu could stay a little longer. What else could that be but a good sign? "What's your friend's name?"

"Carly."

Kiryu felt the pastry turn sour in his mouth. He asked lightly, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Jack scoffed at him, "Hardly. But what business of yours would it be if she was?"

"What indeed." Kiryu opened his yogurt up and used his index finger to swipe the excess yogurt from the lid. He slipped the finger into his mouth and sucked the yogurt off. But Jack had stopped paying attention to him. Kiryu made an annoyed face and finished off the rest of the yogurt quickly. "I'm going to use your shower, alright?"

"Go ahead."

Kiryu's mind was buzzing with questions about Carly as he washed off, but he knew he wouldn't be able to ask anything else without risking being tossed into the storm. Maybe, if he played his cards right, Jack would keep extending Kiryu's welcome.

There was no more talking between them until Jack left soon after Kiryu emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his head. "Keep your fingers to yourself and don't leave the room," Jack reminded him before taking off.

"Where would I go?" Kiryu whispered. "I'm exactly where I want to be. And I won't leave so easily."

He freed his hair from the towel and ran his fingers through it. That was the annoying thing about long hair; it took forever to dry. But Divine wouldn't let him cut it. The more feminine Kiryu looked, the more customers he drew in. He tugged at the ends and considered getting his knife and chopping it all off. Defying Divine was fun, but if his long hair did make him more attractive to guys... For now, it would have to stay.

Thinking of Divine made him suddenly remember the bottles of medicine tucked into his backpack. "Shit, I forgot last night..." It had only taken a few missed doses for Kiryu to decide that Divine was right about this one thing, that he should take medication before he hurt someone or himself. Everything had to go perfectly now. He couldn't risk scaring Jack off. So he dug into his backpack and opened one bottle. To his dismay, there were only a few days' worth of pills huddling at the bottom. He checked the other one. Empty. Cursing at himself, he threw the bottle across the room.

"What do I do?" he muttered to himself, biting the skin around one fingernail nervously. He had to go back and get new bottles. He must have grabbed the older ones by mistake. Divine wouldn't be back yet, surely. No, fate was on his side. He would go back, get his medicine, and be back before Jack had finished lunch.

A peek out the window told him the storm had lightened, though rain still pattered on the streets below. After hiding his backpack in the back of Jack's closet, taking only his pocketknife, keys, and some change with him, he quietly left the Godwin residence. Walking would take too long, so he found a bus stop and rode away from the wealth and cleanliness of the Tops, getting off two stops before Satellite.

He held his breath as he entered Divine's house. Everything was as he'd left it and there was no sign Divine had returned.

He couldn't find any unopened bottles in his room, so Kiryu went into Divine's office. There had to be some there. He dug around in various drawers, not caring if he messed up Divine's meticulously ordered papers. Finally, to his immense relief, he found a bottle at the back of a drawer of otherwise useless objects. He popped one of the pills and swallowed it dry, tucking the bottle into his pocket.

"Good riddance, Divine," Kiryu sang to the empty room, using his arm to knock the books on the desk to the floor. "Live in your own hell and leave me out of it." He pushed a candle to the floor, the glass enclosing it cracking on the impact. But there was no time to destroy the rest of Divine's belongings or perhaps light the candle and tip it over once more. He had to return to Jack, to his plan, to his future. He smiled as he left the study and bade goodbye to the dining room where Divine always sat and sipped his imported wine, and he was still smiling when he collapsed in a pile in front of the door, one foot from the outside world he then dreamed of.

"Jack, I got us a table!" Carly was sitting on the cafe's veranda, a mug of coffee in front of her. Jack sat across from her and ordered the usual from the waitress who knew both their orders well by now. Carly chattered on and on about work, college memories, and an annoying coworker.

"And then my boss said I was fired again and- Jack, are you listening?" Carly pouted, adjusting her glasses to see Jack more clearly. "You look distracted. Even though I'm right here."

Jack shook his head slightly. "Sorry. I was listening."

"But something's wrong, isn't it?" Carly pressed, listening to her investigative reporter's instinct. "Did something happen?"

"Sort of." Jack sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "Carly, you're the only one I can trust."

"Jack..." Carly thought she would melt at the sweet sentiment. "If something's troubling you, please tell me." I sound like the perfect girlfriend, she thought triumphantly. Well, practice made perfect, and she was determined to one day truly have the part she was playing.

"I need another favor. But if you say no, it's fine."

"What is it?" It was unusual for Jack to ask for favors, prideful man that he was, but Carly never minded doing things for him.

"It'll be easier to explain if you see. Come back to my place after we're done here."

"O-okay." His place! I'm going to Jack's place! Carly's face burned at hot as her coffee. What kind of favor could Jack need at his home? Maybe in his room? Carly downed her coffee more quickly than usual, not caring if her tongue was scalded.

Jack, on the other hand, drank as leisurely as always. Carly couldn't rush him, of course; one of the many things she loved about Jack was how seriously he took his hobbies, even little things like savoring a freshly blended cup of coffee. Time flew anyway as she watched him enjoy his cup, and after she tried to pay and Jack handed over his own credit card for the bill, they walked side by side back to Jack's house. It would have been ideal if they only could share an umbrella, but Jack had brought his own.

Carly had seen his house before, but she'd never been invited inside. This was huge progress for them!

"This way," Jack said. He took his shoes off and left his coat on a hook near the doorway. Carly did the same and then stumbled after Jack towards the staircase. As they approached a door Carly just knew had to be to his bedroom, she tried to ask casually, "So, this favor... What, um, did you have in mind?"

Jack said, "You'll see in one moment." Carly thought the suspense would kill her as Jack swung his door open, stepped inside, and looked around. She joined him, almost shaking with excitement at seeing the inside of Jack's bedroom- the bed where he slept! The desk where he read! The bathroom where he- no, Carly didn't dare think it.

But Jack wasn't suddenly kissing her and leading her to the bed. Carly pouted again and looked up at Jack to see what was making him hesitate. "Jack?"

"What the hell? Where is he?" Jack grumbled. He looked in his bathroom and closet and growled when he found nothing. He started storming around the rest of the house, looking in every room, and Carly had no choice but to trail behind.

"Jack, tell me what's going on!" Obviously whatever favor he'd had in mind was far from what she'd been guessing. "Who were you talking about?"

"This guy, Kiryu Kyosuke, came to me-" Jack shook his head and broke off. "Nevermind. Looks like I was mistaken about needing something."

"It's fine," Carly assured him, still feeling confused and disappointed. "Well, um... Why don't we go back to my house and wait out the rain? It's supposed to stop soon, so you could try out your new motorcycle, if you have nothing else to do?" Seeing Jack take off on the bike, his beautiful hair waving in the wind, would help Carly feel better, she was sure.

After several seconds, Jack's pensiveness disappeared. "That sounds good. Forget about all this, okay?"

But Carly only smiled, because she didn't want to lie to Jack. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she could forget Jack's strange behavior and the mention of this "Kiryu Kyosuke."

A/N: First of all, thanks to firesarrow, k8wolfx, and 5dshadesofgay for your reviews! They're great encouragement to me. This chapter took longer to write than expected because Jack and Kiryu like to be difficult to writers. Every time I wanted them to do something, they would refuse, so I had to rewrite some of these scenes several times before I figured out what they wanted to do. Honestly, they're so stubborn!

Also, there was a minor typo in the last chapter that I caught soon after I posted the story, but it might be confusing for anyone who saw it. I said that the chief of police harassed Yusei in the club, but that would be Godwin, and it definitely was not Godwin, so I changed it to assistant chief of police.

Thanks for reading!