"An Honest Mistake"

Part IV

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When Misaki rounded the corner and saw Usagi-san standing there, he was so happy that he could've kissed him. Not that he didn't do that often. Or more like, Usagi-san was usually the one kissing him, since Misaki really wasn't very good at initiating things. And it would've meant kissing in front of all these strangers in the restaurant, too, which gave Misaki the shivers just thinking about. And what would happen if Usagi-san got it into his head that that sort of thing was okay? He might want to start doing stuff in public all the time, like kissing and cuddling and hand-holding—or worse—and that would be a very bad thing, right?

Right?

Anyway, when Misaki saw Usagi-san standing there, he really could have kissed him. 'Cause he was pretty sure Usagi-san could do something about the three weird guys chasing after him. Not that the three didn't seem to be nice enough people, but Misaki was pretty sure that they had mistaken him for somebody else when they had suddenly sat down at the table where he'd been waiting for Usagi-san. And for some reason, Misaki hadn't been able to convince any of them that he wasn't the person they thought he was.

The three guys had all started acting oddly from the moment they had turned up, odd in a way that you would think they were rehearsing for a play or movie or something. Two of them, Ponytail and Cosplay-Wig (it had to be a wig—natural lavender hair like that just doesn't exist) had even called him "Your Majesty" several times! And when he had told them he wasn't whoever this "Majesty" person was, Ponytail's eyebrows had drawn together menacingly and Cosplay-Wig had giggled at what he insisted was "His Majesty's little joke." The third guy, Eyebrow-Scar, had just continued to quietly read his menu, but Misaki somehow got the feeling he was laughing behind his poker face, and definitely not the same way Cosplay-Wig was.

After a few awkward minutes in which Cosplay-Wig complemented Misaki on his own wig and contacts several times (which was strange, since Misaki wasn't wearing either), and during which Ponytail just glared at him suspiciously and Eyebrow-Scar continued to smirk (Misaki knew he was smirking, even if he couldn't actually see it), he'd decided that he'd had enough of all the weirdness. Getting up from the table, he'd announced that he was heading off to the bathroom. Really, though, Misaki had been planning to go find Usagi-san, who he was pretty sure would be willing fend off anyone—especially men—that Misaki felt uncomfortable around.

His plan had backfired, though—the three absurdly good-looking guys had stood, too, and told Misaki that they were coming along for his own protection. Misaki had no idea what he'd need protecting from in the bathroom of a crowded, well-lit Tokyo restaurant, but he'd panicked a little. Then that panicking had turned into running, which had then turned into the three guys chasing after him. And since this had freaked Misaki out even more, he'd found himself yelling for Usagi-san.

Thankfully, though, Usagi-san had heard him, and had come to the rescue! From the relieved expression he could see on his boyfriend's face, it was obvious that Usagi-san was as glad to see Misaki as Misaki was to see him.

It…It was like one of those scenes in those romantic movies—which Misaki definitely did not ever, ever, ever watch—where the hero and heroine, separated by tragic circumstances and now reunited just before the end credits, bound towards each other from opposite sides of a long, sandy beach at sunset. Even though they were in the middle of a restaurant and Misaki was well aware that he was no heroine, he could almost hear the cheesy, melodramatic score playing in the background, see the equally cheesy slow-motion effects, feel the audience of middle-aged housewives and wistful young ladies readying their hankies for the tearful reunion…

And then suddenly…suddenly Usagi-san's waiting arms were snatched away. Misaki, despondent and despairing, crumpled to the floor, unable to live on in a world where the love of his life could no longer hold him in his arms and whisper in his ear words of—

Wait, what?

Misaki blinked. The real reason Usagi-san wasn't before him any longer was that a blonde, foreign-looking girl a third of his boyfriend's size had seized said boyfriend by his jacket lapels and pulled him down to her eye level, yanking him away from Misaki.

"Did you think this was finished, you lily-livered drop of dragon dung? She shrieked directly in Usagi-san's face, jabbing her finger into his chest. "Do you think I'm just going to let you—"

"Do us a favor and stick that finger of yours in an electrical socket, why don't you?" Usagi-san snarled right back at her, batting her hand away and roughly pulling out of her grasp. "Come, Misaki, let's—"

But before he could finish, the girl just latched back onto his lapels and continued her earsplitting tirade.

Misaki stared at the two of them, dumbfounded. What…what in the world had happened while he'd been away? Absently, he rubbed a finger beneath the collar of his jacket, part of the standard black gakuran uniform worn at many of the local high schools. He'd been wearing one on a daily basis as less than year ago, but he'd already forgotten the way the high collar always felt like it was choking him. Not for the first time he wished that the waitress who had accidentally spilled a bowl of soup (cold, thankfully) all over him while he'd been waiting had been able to find something else for him to wear while the restaurant sent his original coat to the cleaners. Well, they had found something else, but Misaki was too much of a man to stomach the pink, pom-pom covered monstrosity.

Weirdly enough, Misaki could've sworn the three men who had later sat at his table had totally passed him by without notice while he'd been wearing his normal clothes. And come to think of it, where were those guys? It seemed like they'd been right behind him just a minute ago….

Suddenly Misaki realized that he wasn't the only person watching Usagi-san and the girl verbally tear into each other. Off to one side, a plain, ordinary-looking, black-haired teenage boy stood wringing his hands as he watched the fight (which had now degenerated into a shouting match about the merits of sumo wrestling, of all things). Like Misaki, the boy was wearing a high school uniform, though he at least looked the right age to be wearing it. His choice of clothing did seem kinda odd to Misaki—weren't all the local schools on break right now? However, since the guy seemed to be, besides himself, the only person in the restaurant that seemed to know either of the combatants, Misaki figured he would be the best person to ask what was going on.

"Um...excuse me."

The kid jerked in surprise before turning to face Misaki. "Ah…can I help you?"

"Er…yeah," mumbled Misaki, fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. "I-I was wondering if you knew what's going on? Why they're fighting, I mean…"

The teenager sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It's a long story." His voice sounded tired and a little exasperated.

"Oh. I see." Misaki and the boy stood in awkward silence for a few seconds more before Misaki decided to break the ice. "I'm Takahashi, by the way. Takahashi Misaki."

"I'm Shibuya, Shibuya Yuuri. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Good grief, Shibuya had an awful name. He must get teased at school all the frigging time. Misaki had only known him for a couple seconds, and he was already tempted to call him 'Shibuya Yuri Harajuki Furi' or something like that…

But that would be mean, of course. And Shibuya hadn't made fun of Misaki's own androgynous—he refused to call it feminine—name.

He really should continue the round of introductions….

"Oh, and that's my… my friend, Usagi -san. We came here together, but he got a phone call, so I went in to wait without him." Misaki nodded at the blonde girl, who was now standing on a chair so she could scream at Usagi-san face to face. "Friend of yours, Shibuya-kun?"

The black-haired boy nodded slowly. "I guess you say that." He then sighed. "We're close, but sometimes I wish Wolfram was a little less…overprotective."

Wolfram? That certainly seemed like odd name for a girl, but Misaki stopped himself from commenting. "I know what you mean," he said instead, shrugging. "Usagi-san's more than a little clingy himself. Especially when he thinks I'm not paying enough attention to him."

Shibuya bobbed his head in agreement. "Or when he thinks you're paying attention to someone else, or they are paying too much attention to you—er, Wolf's like that, at least. Gets all huffy and grouchy. It's like—"

"—Like they don't even trust you not to go running off with someone else! Even though you've told them that you never, ever will. But they still keep on being jealous."

Shibuya grinned at him. "Exactly!"

Misaki found himself returning the grin. He was definitely warming up to this Shibuya Yuuri, weird name or no. It was like there was a sort of…connection between them. And there was something about the boy's voice—Misaki could have sworn he'd heard it somewhere before….

But anyway, thanks to their connection, whatever it was, Misaki was finally feeling comfortable enough to admit something that he normally wouldn't have—well, normally wouldn't have without stuttering and yelling and many, many repeated denials.

"Actually, um, just so you know, Usagi-san's my boyfriend."

He had expected him to react more strongly than he did. However, Shibuya just blushed slightly and half-mumbled, "I-I kinda figured." And then for some reason, the teen started rubbing the top part of one of his ears between two fingers. The skin there was rather red, almost as if something—or someone—had bitten it.

Noticing Misaki's gaze, Shibuya snatched his hand away from his ear and shoved it back in his pocket. He then gave Misaki another smile, though it was a little weaker than before. "And, um, just so you know," he said, "Wolfram's my boyfriend, too."

Well, that was nice. What were the odds that probably the only two homos in the entire restaurant would—

Wait.

—Boyfriend?!

Misaki spun to stare at what he had thought moments ago was a fairly handsome girl. No way she was a boy! Softly curling golden hair, slender body, slim-fingered hands, completely flat chest, solid-looking shoulders, a voice that kept cracking with every other word—wait, what?

Okay. Just a really, really, really pretty boy. So pretty that Misaki could hardly imagine anyone having a relationship with—okay, his brain did not just go there. Ew. That pretty boy was nowhere near his type. His type was more like Usagi-san, big and broad and heavy except he didn't even have a type. There was only Usagi-san because Misaki didn't even like guys except he did 'cause he liked Usagi-san but not in that way but yes he really did—

"Well, actually, if we're being totally honest, Wolf's my fiancé."

Misaki whipped back around to stare at Shibuya. "What, really? I mean, er, you're both guys, so how—"

Shibuya just gave him a wry smile. "It's sort of a long story…"

"I've got time."

"I mean, it's a really, really long story, and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway. It's like something straight out of an anime or light novel or something."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad—"

SMACK!!!

The sound of flesh striking flesh brought Misaki whirling around. It seemed that the argument between Usagi-san and the girly boy called Wolfram had finally come to blows, though it was a bit surprising that it had been Usagi-san who had struck first. Up until now, Misaki had thought his boyfriend was a fairly cool-headed person.

Just behind him, Misaki could hear Shibuya moaning a prayer. He sighed. Wasn't his new friend (he hoped he could count Shibuya a friend—it would be nice to have one besides Sumi-sempai) overreacting a little? Not that violence was ever a good thing, and they'd all probably definitely get thrown out of the restaurant now, but at least Usagi-san had only slapped Wolfram across the face. It wasn't like he'd punched him or anything. It was almost like Shibuya was expecting all hell to break loose as soon as Wolfram recovered from the shock of being hit.

And then, suddenly, all hell did indeed break loose.

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To be continued…

Only one more chapter left! And a big "thank you" to everyone who reviewed!