Specks of Light

Part Four. Chapter 5: Love Story

Yuu closed his eyes tightly at the realization that he had just been discovered, while it wasn't really bad for people to know that he was dating someone, the fact he was dating a man could cause a lot of trouble. The symptoms of his cold seemed to have vanished, or at least they were now suppressed by his growing anxiety. He took a deep breath trying to figure out what to say when he felt Fujino's hand on his shoulder "Don't be nervous, I am not judging you" the author said tenderly. Yuu had never felt really comfortable with Fujino- sensei touching him as much as he did, but for some reason, tonight it seemed to be the most relaxing gesture ever. "Sen- sensei, I.." he started to explain but he was quickly interrupted "You thought that if I found out that you're in a relationship with a guy, I may bully you or something?" Fujino asked apparently noting just how Yuu was feeling "Of course I won't do that, so don't worry" he continued with the same tender tone. Still, Yuu couldn't find the strength to turn around and face him. "Trust me, Yuu- san. If anything, I am glad to know about it" Fujino finished taking a step closer to Yuu.

This short distance between him and Fujino- sensei wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been on previous occasions. "What do you mean you're glad to know about it?" Yuu asked finally turning around to see Fujino. To his relief, the guy was wearing the same calm, relaxed expression he always wore without a single piece of doubt showing in his face. "Well...you see, Yuu- san. I have been interested in men too before" he said with a tiny smile forming on his lips. Yuu's eyes immediately went wide open at the revelation "Don't play with me" Yuu said feeling quite shocked, it was obvious that not many people would be willing to confess such a thing. "I am telling you the truth. In fact, the one I am interested in dating right now is guy...a very handsome guy" Fujino said as his smile grew wider. Yuu felt like he shouldn't dig any deeper into the matter, it wasn't like he and Fujino were close friends or anything. Still, he didn't want to get asked anything about his relationship with Ijuuin- sensei and the only way to avoid that, was to have Fujino answering instead of asking.

"Wh- where do you know him from?" Yuu asked reluctantly immediately noting Fujino changing his expression. "I met him at Marukawa about two years ago, actually" Aki answered casually "But if you want to talk about this, why don't we head towards the living room?" Fujino said giving Yuu a little push in the back "I may have one or two questions to ask you as well" he concluded calmly exiting the room. Without much hesitation, Yuu followed Fujino towards the living room promising that he would leave exactly within an hour. It was almost ten o' clock and he had to catch a train plus now that Fujino had found out, Ijuuin- sensei's words would not leave his mind: "Please go home early today, don't stay late at Fujino- sensei's house".

He took a seat on the big couch and saw Fujino bringing two cups of what it looked like wine. "Alcohol?" he asked confused "You're still pretty shaken, Yuu- san. This'll help you ease up" Fujino said giving him the cup with the dark liquid. "So let's make a deal, shall we?" Fujino spoke adopting a serious tone "I will tell you everything about him...but you'll answer some stuff too" he told Yuu as he took a sip from his cup of wine. Yuu didn't want to accept such thing, but trapped as he was, he didn't really have a choice. Sure, Fujino had said he could trust him, but how could he really be sure? It wasn't a big deal for him...but Ijuuin- sensei was a public figure whose work was highly dependant on people's acceptance. He could not get involved into any sort of scandal, so no matter what it took, Yuu was willing to do anything to protect his partner.

"Okay" Yuu answered still feeling anxious about this shady treaty. "Alright, then Yuu- san. What do you wanna know?" Fujino asked adopting a relaxed position on the couch right across the little table that separated them. "How exactly did you meet him at Marukawa? Is he an editor?" Yuu asked deeply hoping it wasn't somebody he knew. "Well, no he is not an editor. If you want to know the whole story, I guess there's no harm in telling you" Fujino started with a rather confident tone "About two years ago, I saw him at the editorial...and as soon as I saw him, I knew he had to be mine, you know?" Aki said glaring at his cup of wine. Yuu didn't give an answer intending for Fujino to explain further. "I don't know if you believe in love at first sight, Yuu- san, but I really can't find a better way to explain it" he went on now moving the cup with his hand. No doubt there were a lot of memories now crossing Fujino's mind. The smile he now displayed greatly reminded Yuu of the expressions Ijuuin- sensei used to have whenever he spoke of Misaki- kun, meaning that Fujino was really serious about the guy, whoever it was. "Since then, I started going to Marukawa even if I didn't have to, in hopes of seeing him again...I was successful a lot of times, but he was never alone, so I never really had my chance to approach him and introduce myself, neither did I have a good reason to do so without him suspecting of my feelings". Yuu had been working with Fujino- sensei for a little over a month, and by now, he thought he knew the guy quite well, yet he had never heard him speaking with this much sincerity.

Yuu kept quiet, hoping for Ijuuin not to call or text him. He drank more of the wine in his cup as Fujino- sensei went on "It is funny how all your confidence fades away when you have to face the person you are in love with" he said with a tiny smile that made his blue eyes shine deeply. "So, I kept going to Marukawa with the only intention of seeing him. Several times, whenever I was feeling sad or uneasy, I would go to the editorial and the only sight of him would be enough to calm me down and instantly make me feel better! My heart would beat faster and an instant smile would draw on my face just by watching him walk by...that's how I realized I had really fallen for him" Aki continued with an expression Yuu had never really seen on him before, this guy was definitely in love. Fujino kept looking down when he spoke again "On one of those occasions, I happened to be with Ishi- kun and I dared to ask him if he knew who my special guy was, that day I finally learned his name".

Yuu started to get nervous as the story went on, if Fujino had revealed this much, he was probably expecting Yuu to do the same, and that was something he really didn't want to do. He could probably speak of his unrequited love with Yoshikawa- sensei, but Ijuuin's own unrequited love story wasn't his to tell. "I guess you can say I have been in love with him since then and up until now, I still think of ways to impress him and make him fall in love with me. My biggest dream is for him to tell me that he loves me too" Fujino said, this time in a somewhat sad manner "Since I first saw him, there hasn't been a day I hadn't thought of what it would be like to hold him in my arms and I intend to do anything possible to make that dream become a reality" he finished drinking what was left of wine in his cup.

Yuu had never been really interested in people's love life, mainly because the only guy whose love life had mattered to him, had chosen someone else to share his life with. However, he found Fujino's story to be sort of captivating and he couldn't help but to feel sympathy for the guy who had clearly expressed himself from the heart. Nevertheless, now it was his turn to speak and he was sure Fujino would want to know as many details as he had given him. "I see, that's a nice story, sensei" Yuu said kindly still holding his cup of wine "You may start asking now" he continued with a determined tone. This was probably the liquid courage speaking, but he wanted to get this over with.

"Alright, Yuu- san. I am gonna make just one question like you did" Fujino said looking at him intensively. That surely meant Fujino wanted to know the full story too, maybe he could start speaking of his past love without revealing who it was and then he could talk about how his relationship with Ijuuin- sensei had developed and evolved. Yuu was about to start telling the story when Fujino- sensei dropped his question "Do you love him, Yuu- san?" he asked looking right into Yuu's eyes. It was probably the wine, his anxiety or the fact that he had agreed to this deal with the only intention of protecting Ijuuin- sensei, but as soon as he heard the question, his lips honestly delivered the answer "More than anything, even more than myself".

"I see" Fujino replied upon hearing Yuu's fast response. "Then I have another question for you" he continued without dropping his gaze from Yanase's face. Yuu knew he had blurted out a phrase not even Ijuuin- sensei had heard from him, no denying that it was a little embarrassing, but maybe if Fujino knew that they weren't just fooling around, he'd be more willing to keep their relationship undercover. "Go ahead" Yuu said trying to sound more confident than what he actually felt. "Would you agree that all is fair in love and war?" Fujino asked delivering a more serious expression.

There had been a time when Yuu had felt that way in order to get Chiaki, it hadn't worked out for him but sure it had worked out for other people in the past. Love and war were different in many aspects, but their similarity relied on the fact that one had to fight for what one wanted. At the end, there is no way of winning without battling first. "Yea, I guess I can agree with that" Yuu answered unsure of why Fujino asked such a rhetorical question. "Okay, I'm glad we see eye to eye on that matter" Fujino said with a new smile forming in his lips. "I should get going then" Yuu said feeling ready to leave the apartment. Fujino's questions hadn't been as uncomfortable as he had anticipated, but that didn't mean that the situation couldn't take an ugly turn at any moment. "Of course" Fujino said standing up, they headed together to the genkan where Yuu quickly put his shoes back on. "Thank you, sensei" Yuu spoke getting ready to leave "Thank you for your hard work, Yuu- san" Fujino replied calmly. Yuu opened the door and was about to leave when he felt Fujino's hand on his left shoulder holding him back "Your secret is mine" Fujino whispered into Yuu's ear. Immediately after he let go and the door of the apartment closed behind Yuu leaving him standing on the hallway. Without much thought, he quickly got out of the building and headed to Ijuuin's place.