Home (male x male)

Learning & Past

Yuki couldn't believe how much Ichirou had changed, never in his life had he ever witnessed such violence come from his cousin least of all over a boyfriend/girlfriend. This new Ichirou was scarier than the previous carefree playboy cousin he knew He feared for the life of the person who would carelessly try to steal his boyfriend from him in the future he knew his cousin's dedication to the people he loved and he knew he would definitely go to death's door for any one person he loved never mind if he was IN love with said person. he felt pride in the man Ichirou was becoming and felt bad for his aunt there was no way her eldest son would ever part with his boyfriend and he would never be giving her a grandchild like she wanted. he laughed her son was just like the man she hated the most his uncle and Yuki thought that wasn't a bad thing as he left the apartment he was in a good mood.

Yuichi was working hard to get accepted into Kousuke school he knew he was at a disadvantage being younger than his classmates and that it could be a cause of bullying but he was pretty outgoing and popular also having Ichirou as a brother definitely seemed to help not that he wanted a free ride on the popularity of others he would rather be unknown so that when he did make it big it was all thanks to his own efforts. He searched for Ruka Sempai in the crowded lunchroom , earlier in the day she had offered to help him study for his exams and he had jumped at the chance. "Yuichi Kun! over here" turning at the sound of Ruka Sempai's voice he saw her waving at him smiling brightly from the second floor of the lunch room smiling back at her he made his way through the crowd of hungry students "Thank you for giving me your time Ruka Sempai " Yuichi bowed politely at her before sitting down "I'm happy to help you Yuichi and you don't have to be so formal you can just call me by my first name , now what subject would you like to start with math or English ?" "well I am pretty good with math so how about English " she smiled and took a book out her bag "here this is a copy of my notes there are guidelines for English use, study this while you are at home for now we will practice sentence structure. I will write several sentences and you have to decide if they are proper sentences, if they are not properly done fix them so they are okay " Yuichi spent the whole lunch hour working on the sentences and made plans to study more after school. Yuichi was shocked to see Ichirou waiting outside his school as he approached the fence with Ruka and some other sempai's " Hello Ruka Chan I was told by Mizuki to hand deliver this invitation to you " Ruka smiled hugging the invitation to her chest "wow I am happy to be invited but what is the invitation for?" Ichirou stood there smiling while the people around them stopped to admire him " open it Ruka Chan " he encouraged with a kind smile " Oh wow a picnic, I really love picnics" the boys would never say it out loud but they were relieved to see her smiling after her breakdown the other day they had all decided to do their best to make sure she didn't break apart again. Yuichi smiled at her kindly happy to see how happy she was to be invited “you should really come Ruka” he said happily she smiled at him and looked unsure. Ichirou smiled at her again with as reassuring a smile he could manage "it's nothing fancy and is mainly going to have older men with their life mates and some past tenants along with myself, my Mizuki, Yuichi and Kousuke the young man you met the other day with the rest of us" she nodded her head shyly “thank you I'll come” he smiled again "well I'll let you guys get back to what you are doing I need to go to work now take care and see you at the picnic" Ichirou left in a hurry as more girls had come to stand and gaze at him. Yuichi wasn't surprised at how everyone was staring at his brother as soon as he left they hurried before the group of girls could circle them asking questions about Ichirou. As they walked towards the library the other sempai's had started to go off on their own " hey Yuichi Kun isn't that your friend?" Yuichi looked in the direction Ruka had pointed "Kousuke!" Yuichi ran towards him to greet him. It felt as though he had wings on the bottoms of his shoes "hey YuIchi I'm about to go help out at the Hospital, my friend normally volunteers but can't make it today so I promised I would take his place. I'll call you later okay" with a smile and a wave Kousuke ran off down the street leaving behind a very perplexed Yuichi Ruka chuckled taking him by the shoulder "come on we have some studying to do " he followed her back to the library to continue his studies

. Yuichi had started to understand Ichirou better over the past couple of weeks he knew how his brother must have felt because he was always feeling the strain in the house the way his mother had treated her children until that point and after that point , it seemed like no matter how long everyone shares the same home they would never feel like a true family. And although his younger siblings did get along well together they would rely more on themselves than each other if they needed something and couldn't reach it they would not ask their mother to get it instead they would wait for her to leave the room then grab a chair and climb their way up to whatever it was they wanted. Although their father was always warm and caring mother had never been that way with any of them . There were never any hugs or kisses or bedtime tuck-ins, that was why he had become so attached to Ichirou because Ichirou had in his ways always given him love. He would wash his hair and dry it and tuck him in, sometimes even reading him a story or telling him one randomly. He knew if he wanted a good relationship with them he would have to be a good big brother like Ichirou, so instead of spending his whole time studying his homework and exam prep when Ruka had left he started looking up books that could help him interact more with them. He was going to be a junior high student. He needed to become a good big brother as soon as possible before things got too busy and he got carried away in school life and later work.

Mizuki was happy to come home to a guest free house he was unsure of how to act in front of Sakurano San he was confused by the man who had wasted no time in feeling him up that morning, he had worried that maybe he would try to steal Ichirou away from him but seeing how Ichirou had responded to him made him worry more about the moves being put on him instead. As Mizuki started to prepare supper for him and Ichirou his phone rang " Hello?" "Mizuki there's been an incident involving Kousuke it seems his father gave him a good beat down we don't think it's a good idea for him to go home so can you prepare the room down the hall for him it's unlocked since I was cleaning it out to redecorate it since it's been about ten years since anyone used the room I need to put the old stuff in boxes since the owner will be coming by during the get together " ' okay leave it to me " Mizuki ended the call with a trembling hand and a racing heart he knew he had been right to worry about the Kousuke and Yuichi since neither of the boys had come out and told their families they were gay. He did know that both of them had one parent who would be completely against their choice of lover's in the future Yuichi's mother was the most obvious of enemies but Kousuke's father was the most violent of enemies he was homophobic and hated people who not only were in same s*x relationships but those who supported them as well. He had hoped he could hide it from Tachibana Kei until Kousuke was old enough and strong enough to stand against him. He was grateful for the fact Kousuke hadn't ended up in the hospital from his beating.

Better fix that room up Mizuki thought to himself grabbing a set of unused clean night wear for Kousuke to use , walking down the hall he stopped in front of a door that said Silence Mizuki wasn't sure what to think about the name plate so instead he shrugged and let himself in the room "I'm coming in" he spoke in a loud tone feeling awkward knowing full well the only thing to meet him in the room was as the name plate stated silence . Mizuki could see the traces of life that once lived in the room but the life of the room had long since lost it's vigor and everything now appeared faded with a light sprinkle of dust. The room was one Kousuke would feel at home in the colors were all calming blues and greens Kousuke's favorite colors he walked over to the desk and picked up the abandoned duster and started to tidy the dusk off the desk and the photo frames he looking down at the photographs he held carefully in his hands and felt his eyes widen in shock in the photo were six males and an elderly man sitting on the stairs on the bottom floor of the building. Mizuki recognized his cousin Ren easily he was surprised at how young Yujirou looked in the photo for there was no doubt the young bleach blonde rebel with spiked hair and an earring was Yujirou Masanobu there was another couple they seemed like your average round of the mill university student nothing spectacular about them stood out except the way they looked at each other you could tell they loved each other even though they weren't touching merely looking at one another with Ren and Yujirou standing between them lastly there were two feminine looking boys sitting on the first step in front of Ren and Yujirou these boys seemed more shy and timid they seemed scarred somehow he could almost feel their pain reaching out from their eyes the emotions caught in the photo spoke volumes in the middle of the six males sat a smiling man who seemed to be in good humor and yet he too held a sadness in his eyes. Mizuki was curious about the men and the pain the men all carried in their hearts stories the photo barely even glimpsed at, the photo held a sense of sadness and yet it showed so much love and friendship he hadn't missed the fact the frame was one that had the words FAMILY on it whomever this photo belonged to out of the males he did not know in the photo he knew that man had once considered everyone in the photo as a family member which made the fact the photo was left behind rather sad to Mizuki . Letting out a sigh Mizuki went about the room tidying up he bared the mattress of the bedding and took out fresh sheets from the bedding cabinet as he moved the bed from against the wall he noticed there was a shoe box half opened under the bed , under normal circumstances Mizuki wasn't prone to snooping but somehow this room aroused all his curiosity and before he knew what he was doing he was opening the box to look inside . He wasn't sure what to expect so when he found a bunch of letters and photos he felt his excitement and curiosity rise he looked at the first envelope it looked very formal he handled the paper gently afraid of tearing it and read out loud

"Dear Silence, I am writing you this letter out of kindness. I do not want you to be hurt or shamed when you attempt to return home only to find you are not welcomed warmly. I am not supposed to be writing you this letter so I beg of you please do not return making a scene though I guess I have nothing to worry about since that is very far from your character you are such a docile kind and shy boy. I have sent many of your belongings to the address you had left behind for your lady mother. I pray this did not offend you but I felt you should have what is yours, if you desire to be rid of the possessions I've returned to you then do with them as you will. There are many charitable centers that accept donations and give them to those in need perhaps you could exchange goods. I wish your lord father were not such a man as he is but that my dear is a wish made in vain . I wish you much happiness in your new home with those who love you for who you are. I pray you will someday break the silence and let the world hear what you have to say. feel free to write to me at my personal address I left it on a card inside this envelope keep it with you at all times for should you ever need a supporter I will be on your side.

Sincerely ,

Fuji Sayuri (Maid of Matsumoto Residence)

Mizuki was touched by the letter he wasn't sure if he should keep prying through this Silence's belongings his subconscious however had other ideas for he found himself looking through a stack of photos ranging from elementary photos to University some photos from around the studio complex and with other tenants that once lived here Mizuki recognized a few faces of men he had met before there were several of Ren and Yujirou as well the last photo took him by surprise everyone looked young and all were in black suits and they stood in a cemetery what surprised him the most was the young child with red tinted hair just like Ichirou and Yuichi he flipped the photo and read the scribbled writing "Yuichi Masanobu was still so young his son Ichirou has lost his father at such a young age Sempai was my first one sided love I'll miss him" Mizuki could feel his heart clenching in his chest he decided he shouldn't invade Silence's privacy anymore and finished cleaning the room placing the clean pajama set on the bed and walking out leaving everything right where they belonged.