The Pink Rose's Promise (BL)

19. Telling the Truth

CONTENT WARNING: Descriptions of violence and (non-sexual) child abuse are prevalent in this chapter. Please take care of yourself.

It was an awkward, quiet week for Ichirou. He and Masahiro texted very minimally. He couldn't find it in himself to fully cool off. He spent a surprisingly large portion of that Monday through Friday pacing around his room, muttering to himself. He tried many things to relax and stop being so angry, but nothing seemed to work as well. Well, nothing besides talking to his best friend about it.

"You're fucking kidding me," Yuuhei said, sounding stunned.

"I'm not," Ichirou replied.

Ichirou was in the middle of painting his toenails pink on the floor, with his phone set on the ground and on speaker. He had just finished relaying the entire depth of what Masahiro had kept from him for the past five months. It was enough to make Ichirou want to beat the crap out of the huge man.

"You two have gotta be soul-bonded," Yuuhei said, with a surprised and almost horrified laugh. "You just gotta."

"There's no way that I'm soul-bonded to him! How the hell is that the first fuckin' thing you say? Not, why was he deceiving you? Not, he shouldn't have done that? Not even that he could have been trying to play me this whole time?!" Ichirou cried.

"Ichirou, how is your belief anything but that you're soul-bonded? For Christ's sake, the man lost all forms of contact with you, didn't forget his promise to marry you, and found you again when you were adults! How is that not the plot of a romance novel?" Yuuhei replied.

Ichirou felt his face redden, and he looked down at his toes. "I mean... you- you're right, but we're not like that! I swear! Just because I–" Ichirou cut himself off, realizing what a horrific thing that would be to say.

"Just because you what, Ichirou? What did you do?"

"N- nothing! You don't need to worry about it!"

"Motherfucker, what did you do!" Yuuhei shrieked on the other end of the line. "You never lie to me, what is this?!"

Ichirou slammed his face into his legs and spoke as quietly as he could. "I jacked off to the thought of him."

"I did not hear a single word of that, you're gonna need to speak up."

Ichirou grabbed the phone and hissed into it. "I jacked off to the thought of him, okay?!"

Yuuhei was silent for a moment before he burst into laughter. Ichirou slammed his face back into his knees, face and ears bright red. This is exactly why he didn't want Yuuhei to know. Now Yuuhei would think even more that Ichirou was in love with Masahiro.

"How? Howwww?" Yuuhei croaked into the phone between laughs. "How are you still so far in denial? This prince charming guy comes into your life, is super kind and courteous to you all the time, he's your first love, and you're horny for him, but somehow you're not in love with him? What a crock of shit, Ichirou. You just need to make out with him and put a ring on it, my poor, sweet Ichirou."

"I called you to complain about that bastard, not to have you proclaim that I'm in love with him!" Ichirou cried into the phone, his bottom lip quivering.

"Ichirou, why do you care so much that he didn't tell you? I'm sure he figured that you forgot about him, and when you did meet him all those years later, you didn't recognize him, so he didn't bring it up because he thought he could just bring it up later. I'm pretty much certain that's what he thought. So, I'll ask you again; why does it matter so much that you two had a past when you were little, tiny humans?" Yuuhei asked.

Ichirou was silent for a little bit as he put some topcoat on his cute little pink toenails. "I'm mad because he lied to me at all, not because of what he did. I just... I wish he told me. I wish I didn't find out from my parents and watching those videos."