Our Hope

Chapter 27

The amount of effort required to basically run the world was taxing. Most nights, I was asleep before Byakuya had even stepped into the bedroom. "I don't know, Kyoko. It's like we're living separate lives," I huffed, pushing my mug by the handle.

She nodded, taking a sip of coffee. "I understand. Makoto and I have a habit of forgetting to spend personal time together," Kyoko shrugged.

The sound of the front door opening had us turning around; Byakuya entered the kitchen, stopping when he noticed us staring at him, "Hello, Kirigiri," he greeted her, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. "What brings you here?" He asked, sifting through the papers in his briefcase.

"My lunch break, you?" Kyoko was always quick when talking to Byakuya; a clash of personality, I would say.

"Likewise," he sighed. When his eyes finally left the documents, he stared at Kyoko. "How long has it been since we last spoke?"

Kyoko sighed, exchanging glances with me. Has it really been so long? "A month, I'd say".

"Why don't you and Makoto come over for dinner tonight? We should catch up, right Byakuya?" I gave a hopeful smile in his direction. He didn't turn away from the paperwork but simply nodded. I heaved a sigh; Kyoko patted my hand, agreeing to the plan.

Although the signs of exhaustion were visible, nothing had changed. Makoto and Kyoko talked about the Academy while I talked about the extensive progress of Future Foundation. Byakuya was silent through most of the conversations; expressing vague emotions until his cell phone began to ring. When he stepped out of the room, I sighed and refilled my wine glass.

"Is this normal?" Kyoko arched an eyebrow at me.

"Every night, sometimes several times a night," I quickly sipped half of the glass. "He's a workaholic, but aren't we all?"

"It isn't easy," Makoto offered a slight grin. "when you're trying to restore the world".

Wasn't that the truth. I chuckled, thinking about how rushed and opposite our lives were. At the age of college students, we were running the world; a situation you would only find in young adult fantasy novels. "When did we become such boring adults?" I said, grinning. Makoto and Kyoko laughed.

Byakuya came back into the dining room while we continued to laugh. Obviously confused, I repeated what I said. He gave a weak laugh, consumed by whatever business occupied his thoughts.

Knocking on the office door, I peered through the doorway. I could hear the usual "I'll be there soon" monotone response. I stopped in front of the desk, "We need to talk".

His eyes glanced up, over the frame of his glasses. "If possible, can it wait until tomorrow?"

I pulled the documents from his hands, setting them aside. "No, it can't," I leaned over the desk, pressing my hands onto the surface. "When did work become the first priority?"

"This again? Karen-," He stopped when he saw how tired I was.

"When did we become boring adults, Kuya?"

He took my hands, guiding me around the desk to his side and pulling me onto his lap. His hands wrapped around my waist, gently tracing his fingers along my back. "I'll try to work from home more often," he said, picking me up and carrying me into the bedroom.

Nestling me into the bed, Byakuya hovered over me. "I apologize for neglecting you, honey," he said, running his hands up my thighs. "Let me make it up to you". His lips met the tender skin of my inner thigh, trailing up slowly. When I felt his tongue meet in the middle, my back arched, causing me to grip his hair. His hands reached up to mine, squeezing them back, as he continued.

In a blur of half-consciousness, I scrambled to find the source of the ringing. I stared confused at my dark cell phone screen, "What the hell?" I muttered. Glancing around the room, the telecom system Kazuichi had sent to each of us flashed 'incoming call'. I wrapped Togami's shirt around my shoulder, sitting in front of the screen and accepted the call; Nagito stared back at me with a sigh of relief.

"Did I wake you? I apologize". He gave me a wry smile.

"Why are you calling so early in the morning?" I glanced at the clock; it was 7:30. Byakuya would be downstairs, silently drinking coffee. "You should remember that I'm not an early riser, Komaeda".

"I know," Nagito shot a glance over his shoulder, "I made a mistake. I think," he whispered into the telecom speaker. Watching him tug the ends of his hair triggered my fingers to begin combing through my messy strands. After a moment of silence, Nagito stared directly at me, "I slept with Hajime last night".

I blinked slowly, still wondering why he had to call so early. "Okay? You've slept with guys before, Nagito," I said, readjusting Byakuya's shirt. I stopped to think about it; if it was this early in the morning... "Nagito? Did you just leave?"

Nagito hid his face, muffling his whines. "This isn't like other times. He was still sleeping and- oh my god, Karen, I fucked up!" He reburied his face in his hands.

Seeing him lose his composure like this, I almost pitied him. A smirk was creeping on my face. I leaned forward, perching my chin on my hand, "You must really like him to be so concerned". He was different, contrasting drastically from the Nagito Komaeda I knew before.

"What do I do? The closest I've gotten to a committed relationship was with you," Nagito glanced around again, tapping nervously on the table.

I burst into laughter, which I quickly regretted; I was only making Nagito feel worse. Getting myself under control, "I'm sorry," I paused to catch my breath, "I just...me? You know what kind of parties we attended".

"Pray tell," Byakuya was leaning against the doorframe, coffee in hand. "I heard laughter and came to make sure I heard correctly. Hello, Komaeda," his voice dipped into an ice reserve. Byakuya handed me the cup of coffee, sweetened just to my liking.

"Be nice, Kuya. He's having a moral dilemma," I smirked at Nagito, who stuck his tongue out at me. "Mature," I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Obviously," Byakuya sat on our bed, staying out of Nagito's line of sight. "What could be so troubling to require your urgent attention?"

Nagito smirked at this, "I think he's jealous". I curled my lips in, avoiding the urge to laugh.

"Of you? Hardly," Byakuya snapped.

"Togami, what do you do after a one-night stand?" Nagito blurted.

I choked on my coffee; droplets flying out of my mouth and running down the cup. I turned to Byakuya, who's face had brightened, to find him avoiding having to look at me. "Do tell, Byakuya. Please," I insisted, squinting my eyes at him.

"Why would you assume that I have experience with such reckless behavior?" Byakuya stared past me, focusing on Nagito.

Nagito scoffed, giving him an 'are you serious?' look. "I had hoped you, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, could see it for yourself". Nagito smirked at Byakuya's eye roll, "You don't need to feel ashamed, right Karen?"

I mouthed 'shut the fuck up', glaring. Heat rushed throughout my face and I could feel Byakuya's eyes on me. "Anyway, Komaeda, you should get back to Hinata. Leaving him high and dry like that doesn't make a good impression," As calmly as I could, I smacked the 'end call' button.