Love Stage: Hidden Love

Runaway

Living with Shougo was a testament to Rei's patience at times. He picked up the third discarded sock. He already had several shirts in his hands, a pair of pants, two pairs of boxers left in the bathroom and a tie, where had that come from? He pondered as he scooped it up. Rei didn't were bolo ties so this had to be Shougo's.

Marching past the bedroom, he peeked in. Shougo was curled up hugging Rei's pillow, it was the only way he could get out of bed. He had only been up for a few minutes while the coffee brewed he had started to clean up. Sighing at how soft and sweet the teen looked asleep, Rei slid the tie over the door handle. He dumped everything else into the washing machine. It was filled it, so he decided to start it.

As he was, finally, back in the kitchen to get the coffee ready, there was the sound of the front door buzzer ringing. Then little knocks on the door. Rei frowned. Who could that be this early? It wasn't even seven on a Saturday. No one Shougo knows would be out of bed yet. Rei walked to the door. Carefully he opened it. A strong force slammed into his legs. Arms anchored themselves around his waist.

"Rei! I missed you!" Izumi cried as he clung to the tall brunette.

"IZUMI! BABAY BROTHER!" The yell came, followed by pounding feet.

Shougo rushed out of the room, naked! He ran toward us. Rei had the wherewithal to slam the door closed. Clutching Izumi to him so his face was buried in Rei's stomach he glared at Shougo.

"GET AOME CLOTHES ON!" Rei bellowed.

Shougo came to a halt a few feet from them. He looked around not seeing anything to put on. He turned around looking everywhere for something to cover his body with. Rei huffed pointing back to the room he had charged out of. He glared at his lover for a second seeing that Rei was keeping the boy close to him.

Rei angrily pointed back behind Shougo once more. He turned looking sullen before walking back toward the room. Rei guided the small child in his arms to the table. Setting him down Rei brushed his bangs back away from his forehead.

"Izumi, how did you get here?" Rei asked him.

He blinked up at him. A small smile turned his lips upwards as his eyes darted away from the older male. Rei knew then no one knew where he was.

Letting out a sigh, Rei watched him. Leaving him to sit at the table, the dark haired man, went to get Izumi some milk. When Rei returned it was to find Izumi still wearing his winter jacket. Carefully, Rei helped him out of it. By this time Shougo, now dressed, had stepped back out of the room.

"Does your parents know where you are?" Rei asked.

Izumi scratched at his cheek. It was a habit he did when he was trying to decide if he should lie of not. Rei folded my arms.

"Izumi?" Rei commanded.

Shougo was next to his brother in a flash. He knelt down beside him holding him against his chest. Glaring back up at his lover, Shougo stroked his brother's hair.

"Don't be mean, Rei!" He huffed.

"Shougo, he ran away from home. I'm certain no one knows where he is. The fact he got this far and no one has alerted us, means this is a bigger issue!" Rei had to pinch the bridge of his nose to calm himself.

"Izumi, please tell us what happened?" Rei pressed.

"Oh, we don't have his favorite cake!" Shougo cried.

"Good idea. I'll look after him while you run to the store and get it for him." Rei smirked.

Shougo agreed since it was for Izumi anyway. He rushed out nearly forgetting his shoes. Rei had to toss them out after him, along with his wallet. Shougo laughed waving as he tried to walk and put the shoes on. Rei shut the door, listening to make sure he didn't hear the other male fall.

"Izumi?" he pressed returning to the table.

"I, uh, well..." The boy clapped his hands between his knees.

"Rei, I really need to pee first!" He cried.

Showing him to the bathroom, Rei left him alone to do his business. He went to get his phone. First he texted Seiya letting his boss know that his youngest son was safe. Seiya didn't respond right away. Rei glanced at the clock. He was sure they were on a different time zone.

Next Rei texted the nanny he had set in place to look after the boy once he had left. She responded almost instantly with gratitude and relief. Apparently Izumi ran away from school the day before. His parents were out of town and no one knew where to look for him.

Rei informed her that the second Izumi went missing, her first call should have been to him!

"There is a special bond between the two brothers. It would have been the first place to look, after you searched the neighborhood." He informed the woman.

Izumi came out of the bathroom. His head hung low. "Why did you run away from school?" Rei asked.

"You talked to her." Izumi looked worried.

"Come on, have a seat and tell me what happened." He demanded in the politest tone he could manage currently.

"We were in art class..." Izumi began.

Rei let out a huff. Of course they were. Izumi loved to draw. He was always thinking up manga ideas. The problem was he was horrendous at it. You couldn't make out what it was he was attempting to depict. Rei stroked his hair as the boy cried about getting bullied over his drawings.

This was what Shougo came home to. Of course the elder brother didn't just stop at getting Izumi's favorite cake. He ended up getting drinks and snacks along with many gifts. Rei sighed knowing that the special bond between these two was being stretched by Shougo.

"Shougo, Izumi has had a long difficult time. Why don't you let him get some rest. He can use the fold out bed in the office." Rei offered. Showing the teen away.

Rei only allowed Izumi go rest once he made sure the young boy had eaten something other than cake. Rei had made him a turkey sandwich. The brothers walked off down the hall. Rei pulled out his phone to see Seiya had responded. He was glad his son was safe and asked Rei if he could look after him during the term break.

Rei wanted to throw the phone but stilled himself. He responded that he could. He didn't inform Seiya that Shougo nor him had any such break. He could make this work, he was sure. Izumi was almost ten. Surely he could stay at the apartment alone for a few hours...

Today was Saturday. He didn't have to worry about it for a few days. He set the phone down to walk down the hall. Shougo was sitting beside his brother. The small form was curled up along with a giant body pillow that Rei had never seen before. It was obvious he was asleep. Shougo snapped several pictures on his phone.

"Too cute." He kept muttering to himself.

"We are going to keep him over his school break." Rei informed his lover.

"But he doesn't have clothes!" Shougo pointed out.

"You stay to look after him, I know his sizes." Rei insisted.

Shougo found this to be acceptable. Rei watched as he crawled into bed with his little brother. They were both snoring softly as Rei dressed for going out. He only now realized he hadn't made the coffee or the breakfast in bed he had planned for the morning.

Making sure to lock the door behind him he went to the coffee shop on the corner. He got himself something quick to eat, before going out on his journey. Maybe he could make them something special for dinner. He decided.

That was when another worry set it. He shared a room with Shougo. Izumi wasn't stupid but how much did they let him know? Should they tell him they were together? Rei wasn't sure. He supposed he should have a talk with Shougo out of ear shot of the younger boy.

With his mind made up, he went to the local shops. Several were just opening. Rei purchased a week's worth of clothing for the young boy. He also picked up a few drawing supplies, some manga and a how to draw instruction book. Maybe it would make Izumi feel better.

Before going back to the apartment he bought more of Izumi's favorite foods. Yeah, so he had a soft spot for the boy as well. He smiled to himself.