-Izumi's POV-
"I've wanted to do that for a long time now."

Those words awoke Izumi from his stupor. To say he was dumbfounded by it was putting it mildly. He had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. What could he make from such a declaration? If looked upon at face value, Konno just declared that he had wanted to kiss and touch him like so for some time now, and that the man intends to sleep with him. And judging by the hard bulge still pressing against his inner thigh, it would seem sometime in the very near future. Izumi gulped at that realization.

Am I ready!? For the life of him, this scenario had never crossed his mind. All this time he was content, despite his restlessness and bouts of melancholy, with the intention to move on with his life. Though he had quite a few regrets about what could have been better and done differently, Izumi had a memorable relationship that taught him many things about love and life. He had never regretted meeting Takamiya. And even though he had lost the love and devotion from his ex-lover, the man will always have a place in his heart. So again the question is, was he ready to truly move on to another?

According to his body's reaction to his friend's seduction and the remaining heighten sensitivity to the man now, Izumi— if he was honest with himself— could not deny the fact that physically he was. But was it enough? Do I want this?

Would this be a one night stand or the burgeoning of a new relationship?

To answer that would require him to understand Konno's intentions. If Izumi was to take the man at face value, then naturally a relationship is possible. They had been friends for more than ten years now. And if the man was truthful about wanting him for a while, should he not give his friend a chance? However, given Konno's personality and history, Izumi wasn't too confident to stamp the seal of approval just yet. Despite the past couple of days in which his friend had already shown several sides of himself Izumi had never encountered before, he remains skeptic of the other.

His instincts were confusing him left and right. Warning sirens was blaring loudly for him to be cautious. Knowing his friend, Konno's motives and actions was always beneficial to himself only. Although the moments of genuine sincerity do happen, they were rare and far in-between. However, the past couple of days had already battered this conviction. The man has changed, should Izumi not give his friend a fair shot?

That's it isn't it? If I give Konno a chance, then I'm truly saying goodbye to Takamiya…

Izumi's heart constricted upon that thought as his brows furrowed deeply upon his smooth forehead. Unbecomingly, tears began to swim and swelter before they overflowed down his cheeks. His entire body sags with the full weight of his indecision.

A gentle hand brushes against his cheek lightly. Izumi flinches at the unexpected contact and raised tortured, blurry eyes to a pair of concerned ones. So familiar, he thought. Those warm brown eyes shining with sincere unease for him. For an instant, he thought he saw a shadow of Takamiya behind them. Izumi's heart beat increased and his breath faltered.

Again, a gentle hand rose towards his cheeks and wipes away the flowing tears from his eyes. Warm breaths sigh against his lips, a prelude to an age-old solace from a lover. Fresh tears rained anew down his cheeks and dripped pass the gentle hand that cupped it. Slowly, his eyelids droop to a close and he took one shuddering breath before he parted his lips, welcoming the entreaty.

Review Response:

COUGARS SHADES – I'm glad you think it was hot. Sorry about this short chapter, but I thought it best to end this chapter with such a note. It would be weird to switch POV's by distracting the mood of this. I hope you enjoy the complications. I am currently two-thirds done with the story.