Specks of Light

Part Five. Chapter 6: Tea Party

Kyo opened his eyes and checked the clock on his bedside table [8:15] it was still early to wake up on a Saturday and Yuu was still asleep next to him. He thought about getting some more sleep when he remembered there wasn't any food to make breakfast. He had just come back from Paris two days ago and he hadn't really been to the supermarket, nor had Yuu gone shopping for food. It was early but he knew the convenience store nearby the train station was open. So if he went now, he would be back before nine thirty which was perfect to make breakfast for him and Yanase. With that in mind, he slowly slid himself out of bed carefully making sure he didn't wake Yuu up, after all it was because of him that his partner was this tired.

At this point he saw no reason why they kept different residencies, he had thought of asking Yuu to move in with him several times, but he was afraid of receiving a negative answer. Before leaving to Paris, he had hinted that he would be asking him to move in and Yuu had had no reaction further than blushing, which could be taken as a good signal. He took a hot shower and put on some warm clothes, despite the warmness of the room, the day seemed to be quite cold today. He turned to look at Yuu who was still deep asleep with a really cute face, he was definitely exhausted because he hadn't moved an inch since Kyo woke up.

Kyo approached his partner slowly "Yanase- kun!" He whispered as he softly stroke Yuu's hair. "Yanase- kun!" He called again getting his face closer. "Mhm!" Yuu protested slowly opening his eyes. "I am going to the convenience store" Kyo said still delivering soft strokes on Yuu's head "I'll be ready in a minute" Yuu answered trying to lift himself up from the bed. "No, you don't need to wake up. I just wanted to tell you I'll be back soon okay? Go back to sleep" Kyo told him softly pushing Yuu's head back on the pillow and covering him again with the duvet. "Sleep tight" Kyo said landing a soft kiss on Yuu's lips. He stood up and made sure that the curtains were fully closed and the lights completely off so that nothing would wake Yuu up. He took the apartment keys and left as quietly as possible.

As he walked down to the train station, a lot of memories came flashing to his mind. The scene this morning had made him remember how lonely he used to feel before he dating Yuu. Looking after Yanase as his boyfriend was one of the most satisfactory parts of being in a relationship with him and while Yuu could be a bit of a tsundere sometimes, he never failed to show Kyo how much he truly loved him. The thought of this past year warmed his heart and he felt his lips slowly forming a smile. However, in the back of his mind he had a concern growing bigger and bigger, he could try and pretend that it was nothing, but in reality, that concern had a full name: Fujino Aki.

He was unaware of what had happened during the time he was away, but yesterday, the only way Fujino had looked at Yuu had been enough for Kyo to feel uneasy. There was no denying that he had a special way of treating Yanase and that made Kyo feel uncomfortable. He had taken a bit of an aggressive attitude towards the author because of that, but Fujino had responded quite similarly, so could that possibly mean that he had a special interest for Yanase? And if that was the case, was that special interest a romantic one? While he didn't think Yanase would ever think of Fujino's actions as flirting, he had a more in depth view of the situation and he for sure didn't trust Fujino Aki at all. He was looking for fresh bread and veggies when a voice called his name "I- Ijuuin- sensei" he turned to look and found none other Takahashi Misaki- kun. It had been a while since he had talked to the guy outside work but if he remembered correctly, he lived at Usami- sensei's house that was nearby so it was no wonder why Misaki would be at the same convenience store.

"Hi, Takahashi- kun. How are you doing?" Kyo asked politely, he noticed Misaki being nervous, as he always was whenever he ran into him. "I- I am fine, thank you, sensei. How are you doing?" the nervous guy replied looking down. "I'm doing pretty well" Kyo told him honestly. Maybe about a year ago he wouldn't have been able to say that in such a straightforward way to the person who had broken his heart, but now, he truly meant those words and if anything, he was glad that Takahashi- kun was doing fine too. "I- I am sad that there won't be a Za Kan chapter this month" Misaki commented looking truly disappointed. "Oh! Thank you! But don't you worry, there'll be a chapter on next issue for sure" Ijuuin said with a smile. It was always nice to know that his work was appreciated "Well, nice to see you, please take care Takahashi- kun" Ijuuin continued thinking that it was probably best not to be in Misaki's company for long.

"Wait! Se- sensei!" Misaki called making Kyo turn to look at him again. "Ka- Karuoko- san is coming next month to Tokyo" Misaki started to explain "So, since I know you two spent some time together in Paris, would you like to join us on the 27th for tea at the shopping mall?" he asked still sounding quite nervous. This was quite a weird invitation and it was highly likely for Usami- sensei to be there as well, so it was definitely better to refuse. "Well, thank you for your invitation, Takahashi- kun but I don't think..." he started, carefully picking his words when another voice interrupted him "It would be an honor if you join us, Ijuuin- sensei. I understand that you were extremely kind to my cousin during your stay in France" Usami- sensei said approaching Misaki from behind. "Nice to see you again, Usami- sensei" Kyo replied displaying a relaxed expression very different from the menacing smile the novelist was wearing. It had been naive from Kyo to think that Misaki would be at the store by himself "Same here, Ijuuin- sensei. So will you join us next month? It should be right after Marukawa's Winter Festival" the author pressed "Thank you, I will" Kyo answered confidently. "Perfect, I will keep you informed in the details" Usami replied with a more relaxed expression "Shall we go Misaki?" he continued setting a hand on Misaki's shoulder as to show some kind of possession "Y- yeah! Thanks for accepting Ijuuin- sensei, we'll see you soon" Misaki said giving a polite bow.

The pair quickly walked away leaving Kyo to realize just what he had accepted to do. It had been exactly at a tea meeting that Kauroko- san, Mizuki- san and Usami- sensei had pretty much forced him to give up on Misaki*, and the scene had been everything but nice. However, he now faced a new and and bigger problem...after the discussion they had had yesterday about Karuoko- san and the Usami family, how was he going to explain this 'tea meeting' to Yanase? 

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*Reference: Manga. Junjou Romantica Act. 36