My Roommate Oga Tatsumi

Chapter 16

Furuichi had been camping out in the living room since the two had been who knows where. The silvernette fought off the tendrils of worry creeping up his neck, trying to infiltrate his thoughts. During the days of their absence, Furuichi had gone to as many places on campus to occupy his mind. When Furuichi had found even the most obscure building, he'd gone home to realize that the apartment was a mess.

Irritated, Furuichi reached inside his pocket to call the brute to clean up after himself, but stopped. Oga and the baby hadn't been home since the Monday night they fought. It was now Friday. Rolling up his sleeves, Furuichi couldn't stop his mind from wandering as he got to work on the dirty apartment.

He genuinely hurt.

It felt like a huge piece of himself walked out the door and it hadn't come back. Furuichi slowly put his blanket back in his room. How did he really feel about Oga? Sure, sex was the best he'd ever had. Though sex can only go so far. Furuichi dusted off the couch with the millions of crumbs from all the snacks he binged on while trying not to feel anything. Running away from his feelings? That wasn't like him. What did that mean exactly?

Vacuuming the floor and putting dishes in the sink, Furuichi stood by his kitchenette counter with a furrow on his brow. It couldn't mean...that, could it? Needing to keep busy with his hands, he began washing the dirty plates. It couldn't be that. He wouldn't know what that actually felt like. He berated himself when a dish cracked as it slipped from his hands.

Thinking a shower would give him the clarity he needed, Furuichi shoved the rest of his thoughts in a box. The water felt warm and inviting on his skin. Just the thought of being clean made him feel loads better. However, he wasn't entirely prepared for the sudden wave of arousal. Furuichi shrugged and allowed his hands to do as they pleased. Caressing and fondling came easy. Imagination did not. Oga kept rearing his big head into Furuichi's thoughts. The way Oga's evil smirk turned the silvernette on because there was something pleasantly filthy just about to happen. The water turned into Oga's hands, touching Furuichi all at once. Teasing with light touches and torturing Furuichi until he begged for more.

Then his thoughts wandered to Oga taking care of the baby. His hands stopped as his heart bloomed with an emotion he dared not name. Memories of the brute taking care of Berebo made Furuichi's throat tighten up, refusing to allow the words to enter into the realm of reality. Furuichi braced his hands on the shower wall, willing for the words that threatened to escape to go away because once he said them, it was all over.

...

Furuichi hadn't moved from his bed for almost five hours. Love? Love? ...Love. The word kept rolling around in his mind like an uncomfortable pebble in his shoe. Furuichi had become, quite literally, paralyzed by the word. When his mind had finally gotten bored tinkering with the foreign word, it decided to turn the thought train toward "Doomsday".

Would he shame his family?

Would he choose his family?

Would he choose his own happiness and deal with the inevitable consequences?

With his mind like a racehorse, it's thundering hooves didn't allow for noise of the outside world to seep through.

What was he going to do?

His stomach clenched for food, but Furuichi knew that until he made peace with his mind and his feelings not a morsel would remain in his stomach.

Should he practice saying it out loud? Well, there's no better place to start. Snapped his grouchy inner voice.

"Oga. I...I l-lov-"