A/N- Holy flying fudge. Five reviews on the first chapter. WUT. I usually write for a bigger fandom, (Vocaloid) so I thought I wouldn't get as many on this, and then... I did. 5 reviews is the most I've ever gotten on one chapter. You guys are awesome!
Oh, and in bio class the other day, me and Emio Shira made an amazing discovery about Junjou Romantica. So, there's three types of symbiosis, right? Mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Junjou=Parasitism, Egoist=mutualism, Terrorist=commensalism. And my mind=blown. (Haha, I don't know how many people actually understand the symbiosis stuff but if you don't you just need to know that it's an awesomely perfect parallel ^^)
Misaki spent most of the next day staring at the walls, willing the wound in his gut to heal as quickly as possible so that he could get out, if only to be surrounded by something other than the color white and the smell of disinfectant. However, after a bit if thinking, he realized that he didn't really have anywhere to go once he was released. He could hardly return to Usagi's house, not after what had happened- If Usagi even continued to live there and wasn't put in jail for what he had done.
He could hardly go back to his brother, either- Takahiro had his own family to worry about, and Misaki wasn't about to invade on them. But where else could he go...? He didn't really have many close friends at school, at least not any that he knew well enough to stay with for an undetermined amount of time.
That dilemma occupied him for quite a while, and he still had no idea how to solve it when Nowaki entered his room at around five o'clock that evening. Misaki was a bit surprised by the odd timing, but figured that doctors were bound to have rather odd work hours.
However, the thought was pushed to the back of his mind almost instantly when Nowaki placed a paper bag on Misaki's nightstand. There was a bit of grease seeping through the bottom, and the salty smell was almost heavenly. Misaki gave his a questioning glance, which Nowaki answered with,
"I know how bad the hospital food is, so I took the liberty of grabbing you a burger on the way over."
"N-Nowaki-san, you didn't have to-" Nowaki cut him off.
"I know I didn't. But I wanted to, and it's not a big deal, really." Nowaki smiled at how flustered Misaki had gotten simply from being brought take-out. "Anyways, the hospital food really is awful." Nowaki dragged a chair from the corner over closer to Misaki's bed.
"So... my shift starts at seven . I figured I could keep you company for a while? If you don't mind, of course." Misaki shook his head quickly.
""T-that's fine, I don't mind at all..." Misaki reached a bit hesitantly for the bag Nowaki had brought, unwrapping the burger and taking a hesitant bite, chewing it pensively before swallowing. Nowaki interrupted the silence by saying,
"Is there anything you want to talk about? Anything bothering you, or something to get off your chest?" Misaki, as a general rule, tended to stay quiet about things that were bothering him, no matter how big or small they were. However, there was a general aura around Nowaki that made him indescribably easy to talk to- more so than even his brother, who always insisted Misaki needed to be more open about his feelings.
"Well... What do you want to know, Nowaki-san?" Misaki had the feeling that if he started from the beginning, wherever that may be, he would end up rambling and accomplish nothing but boring the older man.
"Anything you want to tell me about, I suppose- How about your family, maybe?" Nowaki asked gently and Misaki shrugged. That was probably one of the more simple questions to answer, as opposed to other things that could have been asked- where he lived, for example, or his relationship status. (He wasn't really sure as to why the doctor would care about either of those, really, but he might have.)
"Well, my brother basically raised me, since I was eight. My parents... left on a business trip, and they didn't come back." The tone of Misaki's voice made it clear that he was implying their deaths, although he didn't say it outright. "-But things turned out good after that. My brother, Takahiro, has been really great. I really look up to him"
"I... I see. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Misaki-kun. Nowaki's facial expression darkened considerably, and it was clear he genuinely pitied the younger boy. Misaki filled the short silence by taking another bite of his food, before saying,
"It's okay. My brother and I both turned out alright, I guess- I'm actually going to M university right now..." Misaki trailed off, not wanting Nowaki to think he was bragging, and glanced over through his hair to measure Nowaki's expression. He seemed, in a word, pensive. Misaki reached over to pull a container of fries from the bag as Nowaki commented,
"That's quite a prestigious school- are you enjoying it there?" Misaki nodded.
"It's really great! All of my teachers are really nice except-" Misaki shook his head, knowing Nowaki wouldn't really care about Kamijou the Devil's habits of throwing chalk at students. "-never mind. It's a really nice school." He finished rather lamely.
"Hmm... You seem like the sort to have lots of friends at school, am I right?" Well, I probably could, if not for Usagi... Misaki thought bitterly, before collecting his thoughts into a response.
"Oh, well, not really, thanks to-" Again, Misaki cut himself off before he could finish his thought. "-Um, I just don't really talk to many people at school..." Misaki was sure Nowaki could tell that wasn't the real reason, he just hoped he wouldn't continue to pry. Misaki smiled brightly and although the other could clearly see through how fake it was, Misaki was glad he didn't inquire as to why. Nowaki changed the subject after that, for which Misaki was thankful.
"You mentioned your brother- he must be a lot older than you, right?" Misaki nodded. "If you don't mind my asking, what's he doing now?" Misaki couldn't see how his brother was terribly important to their discussion, but decided it was a much safer topic than... other possible ones.
"He just recently got married, and he and his wife are expecting their first baby soon- He's always loved little kids, so of course he's ecstatic." Nowaki smiled at how genuinely happy Misaki seemed to be for his older brother.
"Well, that's nice to hear. And if you're in university, then are you living on your own? Or with a roommate, maybe? I... I don't mean to pry, of course." Nowaki, it seemed, had managed to find another delicate subject.
"I was staying with... um, he was my brother's friend." Nowaki couldn't help but notice the strained tone of his voice. He noted that the medical records said the boy had been raped- was there a chance it had been by his brother's friend? Nowaki was well aware that it was none of his business and shouldn't matter to him, but for some reason it did. That conclusion seemed plausible, or at least it would explain Misaki's reaction when Nowaki asked who he lived with.
However, he figured he had probably inadvertently caused the boy more than enough emotional stress for one day, and decided it would be best to leave before he accidentally stepped on another emotional land-mine and caused Misaki to burst into tears, as he looked uncomfortably close to doing so already.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to make you upset..." Nowaki was unsure how to react, since the boy's emotional barrier he had clearly put into place was quickly being stripped away. "I really wasn't trying to imply-" Misaki looked away and attempted to rub away half-formed tears, turning back towards Nowaki a moment later. He tried to smile, although it looked almost painful and the end result was more of a grimace than an expression of happiness.
"I-it's okay, I'm just... overreacting... I'm sorry, Nowaki-san." Nowaki reached over to squeeze Misaki's hand in what he hoped was a reassuring way.
"Don't be ridiculous, Misaki- It's perfectly alright to break down sometimes, especially after... what happened." They both knew that Nowaki didn't know the whole story of what exactly had happened to Misaki, but just hearing the reassuring words helped.
At that moment, Misaki completely snapped, throwing his pride and mask of emotion to the wind and leaning with more force than he had intended into Nowaki's chest, throwing his arms around him. misaki's stitched pulled tight, causing a pinching sensation in his stomach, but that thought was pushed aside when re realized what he had just done.
He felt stupid; Nowaki barely knew him and here he was, sobbing to him like he was a teenage girl crying into a pillow. But what was even more surprising to Misaki than his sudden emotional breakdown was the fact that Nowaki actually embraced him back, wrapping one arm around Misaki's back while the other gently patted his head. Misaki shuddered at the sensation as he remembered how often Usagi did that- but Nowaki's touch was somehow gentler, and showed a genuine care for Misaki beyond simply the lust that was always present in Usagi's gestures.
Misaki took a few deep, shuddering breaths and tried to get a hold of himself. When he finally pulled away from Nowaki's warm, comforting embrace, he realized that smears of his tears were evident on the front of the doctor's work shirt, as well as it being rumpled where it had before been neatly ironed.
"I-I'm sorry, Nowaki-san..." Despite having been told not to apologize, he felt obligated by his timid nature to do so. Apparently, Nowaki understood this, because he didn't object to Misaki's words. He simply reached over to Misaki's nightstand to pick up a box of tissues that were sitting there, and tried rather messily to wipe the tears from Misaki's cheeks.
Nowaki glanced up at the clock, and was surprised to see how much time had passed. "I have to go for my shift now." Nowaki broke the light silence that had fallen with a bit of hesitation.
"Oh.. R-right. I'll see you later, then?" Misaki was trying to act as though he didn't care, but Nowaki once again found his expression easy to see through.
"Yeah- Bye, Misaki-kun!" Nowaki also tried to lighten the mood as he departed, although he could tell his facade was as easy to see through as Misaki's.
Throughout his entire shift in the pediatric ward, Nowaki couldn't get his mind off of how Misaki's arms had desperately wrapped around his middle as he cried- and although someone else might have said his breakdown was simply a release of pent-up stress after having been stabbed, Nowaki could tell it was a lot more.
It was a release of fear, stress, worry, pain, and innumerable other emotions. Nowaki felt almost honored that Misaki had chosen him to pour out all of his emotions to. Although from an objective standpoint he may have said that since Misaki hadn't had any other visitors in the time he had been there, it wasn't a surprise that he had cracked. From loneliness, desperation, whatever it was.
Somehow, though, he wanted to let himself believe it was something more than that. What it was exactly, he wasn't quite sure, but what he didn't know was that he would soon get to be much closer to Misaki than he ever could have guessed.
A/N- I feel like that ended really awkwardly... Oh, well. I have up to chapter four already written out on paper, its just a matter of me actually typing them ^^ And I'm on spring break from school, so I hope I can get those posted soon :)
So... all the couples have names (Junjou, Egoist, terrorist) But what would the Nowaki/Misaki name be? I still haven't come up with anything good yet, and I think they need a pairing name, right? Anyone who comes up with something gets a virtual glomp~!
Oh, and remember, reviews make the author happy. And you know what a happy author does? She updates more! So... wanna review? I know this thing isn't perfect, tell me what I need to fix.