Chapter 4: Secrets

When Aikawa had finally returned, she noticed almost immediately that there had been a change in her author between the time she had left and the time she had returned.

Before, he had seemed relaxed. Now he seemed on edge and restless, awkwardly shifting back and forth as much as his elevated legs would allow.

She knew just by looking at him that he had something he wanted to ask.

"Alright, what is it?" she asked, sitting down again in the chair beside him as she handed him a bottle of water.

Akihiko gave the slightest of pouts as he took it.

"Am I that obvious?" he asked.

"No, not really. But when you've been around someone as long as I have you, you begin notice the little things." she said, poking his forehead.

He glared at her slightly over the water bottle as he took a sip.

"So, what is it?" she asked again, leaning her face into her hand.

Akihiko stayed silent as he tried to sort his raging thoughts and countless questions. He continued to take sips and let the cool water sooth his parched throat. He swallowed slowly before answering.

"Aikawa...is...is there someone that I'm in love with, currently?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." she said bluntly.

He blinked.

Well, that was a quick answer…

"Can you tell me what they're like? How old they are? Are they…" he paused, remembering their previous conversation. "...a guy?"

She sighed, and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She took a small sip of her own water, her mind seeming as if it were somewhere else. She rubbed her eye before looking at him again.

"Well...do you remember anything about them?" she asked.

"No…" Akihiko looked down at his folded hands and thought for a few moments, racking his brain for any memories. There were none.

"No." he said more confidently, before looking her in the eyes.

"Please, tell me everything about them."

Not good, not good!

Aikawa was practically screaming the same two words over and over in her head.

She kept her emotions and panic in check as her author awaited her answer.

This is seriously bad. she thought.

If Akihiko didn't remember who Misaki was, then he definitely didn't remember any of the recent events that had happened between the couple and Misaki's brother, Takahiro.

Just a few months before the accident, and after being together for four years, Misaki had finally worked up the courage to tell his brother that Akihiko and he were in an intimate relationship and that they planned on staying together for the rest of their lives. With the support of his Usagi-san (Akihiko), they had talked Takahiro into coming over to talk to them, telling him that it was urgent.

The meeting had started off bad, since Misaki and Akihiko didn't plan on Takahiro bringing his wife, Manami, and their child Mahiro. Aikawa had been present, too, so in an attempt to help get the three men alone she had invited Manami and Mahiro into the kitchen with her to help prepare tea.

When the three were alone, Misaki and Akihiko had Takahiro sit down, and sat on the couch across from him as they carefully explained their predicament, all the while holding each others hands. The couple had hoped he would understand, but sadly, all of their hope had been smashed to pieces as Takahiro's face had gone pale as the minutes had ticked by.

Aikawa didn't know exactly what or how much they had told them, but she did remember hearing him start shouting at them horrible things. She, along with Manami holding Mahiro in her arms, had run back out into the living room to see what the commotion was (though, Aikawa had a pretty good idea).

When they had entered, Takahiro was absolutely furious - much more furious than they would have expected of the usually calm and kind man. He was red in the face, screaming at Akihiko and calling him terrible things - things Aikawa wished she could've forgotten - and had been trying to pull the now crying Misaki away from him.

"Nii-chan! Please, let me go!"Misaki had pleaded, desperatley trying to stay by Akihiko as his brother still pulled him away.

"Please! I'm still the same! I'm still your brother!"

"No you're not!" he had practically roared, tugging harshly on the sibling he had always been so gentle with.

"Something is definitely wrong with you, and it's all his fault!" he spat savagely at Akihiko who, for once, was at a loss for words.

"Please, Takahiro, if you would just listen to me-"

"Don't you dare touch me!" he had growled when Akihiko had attempted to remove his grasp on Misaki's arm.

Akihiko actually recoiled in fear at the savage response.

"Takahiro, dear-" Manami began, trying to sooth her husband's rage as Mahiro fidgeted in her arms. "Please stop yelling, you're upsetting Mahiro-kun-"

"Do you think I care right now, Manami? My best friend has been fucking my brother right under my nose and I wasn't told about it until now!" he screamed, his rage turning on his wife making her cower in fear. Mahiro began to cry.

Aikawa was about to interject, when suddenly the loud crack sound of a slap silenced the commotion.

"Nii-chan. That's enough."

Misaki's hand was still raised, putting all of his courage into his words. His brother's face was shocked at the impact the slap in the face had given him - the slightest amount of hurt filled his eyes.

Misaki's knees trembled, while the tension in the room could be cut with a knife as everyone awaited his response to Misaki's actions.

Finally, he regained his composure and his expression turned cold as he let go of his brother. Misaki quickly scrambled back into Akihiko's arms in fear that Takahiro would try to drag him away again.

"Let's go, Manami." Takahiro said, turning towards the door, his voice as cold as ice. His wife, afraid of this new terrifying side of her husband, quickly joined his side as they began to leave. Mahiro, still in her arms, reached over her shoulder at Misaki and Akihiko.

"Mi-chan! Unagi!" the toddler cried.

"Takahiro, wait! We can talk about this, I'm your friend-"

"Friend…?" Takahiro said quietly, pausing as he opened the front door. He looked back at Akihiko over his shoulder.

"I have no friend. And right now as far as I'm concerned, I have no brother."

Akihiko had frozen at these words, agony and sadness rippling across his face at his once best friend's cruel words. As soon as Takahiro and his family had left, both Misaki and Akihiko had collapsed.

Aikawa had quickly ran to their sides to provide the best comfort she could, though it had never been her specialty. She hugged Misaki, who sobbed violently into her shoulder as Akihiko remained much more quiet, silently beating himself up in his head as he stared blankly at the door.

When Misaki had pulled away from her, he rubbed his puffy eyes and wiped his snotty nose on his sleeve, not caring anymore about appearances. He looked up at Akihiko, his emerald green eyes filled with sadness before he crashed into the large man's chest.

"It's not fair!" he said into his chest as Akihiko hugged him, his eyes still vacant of any emotion as he tried to repress them, so not to upset Misaki more.

"It's not fair, Usagi-san! Why, why if...if I would've gotten a girlfriend while at M University and said I wanted to marry her, he would've been ecstatic! But just because you're not a girl, and we're not just friends, why...why does he have to get so angry!" he looked up at him, new tears staining his face.

"Why is it, now he hates us? Just because I...I…" both Akihiko and Akihiko's eyes began to widen as Misaki spoke.

"Because I love you?"

In the four years of them being together, Misaki had never once had the courage to boldly state that he loved Akihiko with as much confidence as he did in that moment. Aikawa began to tear up, and Akihiko, no longer able to hold back, crushed Misaki into a hug.

And, for only the second time in his life, the first time being when he had fallen in love with Misaki, did Usami Akihiko allow himself to cry in the presence of others.

Aikawa really didn't want to have to tell her author about how the times had been for them after that. Both of them had been depressed and upset. Aikawa had even attempted to call Takahiro herself as a neutral party to help out, but when she had tried the numbers for Takahiro's home phone and cell phone had been changed.

She looked at her blissfully ignorant author in front of her, looking back at her with a little bit of excitement in his eyes, eager to hear about his wonderful relationship. It made her heart clench.

How would she be able to explain it easily?

She also felt a chill go down her spine, remembering that she had also successfully lied to him before too.

Akihiko hadn't been the only one in the car.

Misaki had been in the passenger seat.

"Well?" her author asked, trying to hold back his curiosity.

"I'm waiting."

HELLO.

Ugh I am a horrible person, I update 3 days late, then hit you with angst and THEN leave the chapter on a cliffhanger…

Please forgive me *bows deeply*

Anyways…

Does anyone else notice that Takahiro is almost always a raging homophobe in fanfictions? No? Just me? Well, I hope he isn't a cannon homophobe, though, since in the newest chapter update Misaki said he wanted to tell Takahiro...now I'm nervous.

Well, I hope everyone reading this is doing well! Thank you all so much for following/favoriting/reviewing! ;u; It makes me really happy I wish I could hug you all…

(oh! and also I think I fixed the genre of the story so that it showed up under mystery. I thought I had before, but oh well...fixed it!)**

I hope everyone is doing well! c:

-OopsIThoughtICouldFlyy

**EDIT:

OH MY GOD I'M SO STUPID. I misread the comment before, it didn't say to PUT the story under mystery, it said to REMOVE it.

I'm so sorry I'm so dumb. Okay, I REALLY fixed it this time so it's not under it anymore...

I need to stop getting so excited and misreading things...*dies of embarrassment*