Ohtori liked watching Ryou when he was half-asleep, his blue eyes half-lidded as he smiled at Ohtori. There was an innocence and a sweetness now that didn't exist during the day. A hand running through his hair broke Ohtori out of his musing. He looked up at Ryou, who screwed up his face with a grin.

"Your hair's all tangled," he murmured, attempting to right Ohtori's hair.

Ohtori bit with lip to keep from grinning and began to untangle Ryou's hair, "And yours is worse than mine, love."

Ryou made another face, "It won't be cured by anything but a brush."

"Let me cure it then?" Ohtori asked, kissing the spot under Ryou's ear that made him shiver.

"That means you have to get out of bed," Ryou protested sleepily.

"Only for a few seconds, I promise," Ohtori grinned. Ryou let him get out of bed grudgingly, pouting the whole time and causing Ohtori to laugh.

"My, my, so dramatic tonight," Ohtori teased, coming back to bed and wrapping his arms around Ryou. "Shall you become an actor next?"

"No, I've had enough of cameras," Ryou said, tilting his head back to see Ohtori. "Now, you have a brush. Use it." Ryou flopped onto his stomach and gave Ohtori a look that clearly said "what are you waiting for?"

Ohtori grinned and used the brush to give Ryou's ass a teasing thwap. Ryou yelped and glared at Ohtori over his shoulder. Ohtori just smiled sweetly and began brushing the knots out of Ryou's hair, kissing his neck every now and then.

"You're shameless," Ohtori laughed as he finished. "I bet if I rubbed your belly right now you'd purr."

Ryou hummed in agreement, smiling lazily. "Maybe I would."

Ohtori put the hair brush on the bedside table and laid down, gathering Ryou up into his arms. "Love you," Ohtori whispered, hand stroking Ryou's scarred hip.

"Love you too," Ryou murmured sleepily. "Don't wanna go."

"How much time do we have left?"

"Two weeks," Ryou muttered, moving as close as possible to Ohtori.

Ohtori smiled into Ryou's hair and dropped a kiss there. "We'll make the best of these two weeks then."

"You've got that audition in the morning, don't you?" Ryou asked.

"Mmhm, though it's not like they haven't already decided," Ohtori grinned.

"Told you," Ryou yawned, smiling victoriously.

"Yes, well, it was an obvious path that I…oh, shut up," Ohtori huffed, waiting for Ryou to stop snickering.

"You love me," Ryou grinned, kissing Ohtori's lips.

"Do I? I'm not so sure any more," Ohtori huffed, pretending to be hurt.

Ryou nipped Ohtori's chin, "Behave, you."

Ohtori opened his mouth to respond when the phone rang. Frowning at the clock – it was 12:30 at night – he picked it up, "Hello?"

"Ohtori?" asked a lost voice, "It's Jiroh. Can I come over?"

~

When Jiroh rang the doorbell, Ryou opened the door and suddenly had an armful of distressed and clingy blond. Ryou took a step back from the force of having Jiroh slam into him, but he held on and sat down on the floor with him, letting Jiroh cling to him and cry.

Ohtori watched, confused and distressed over what might have caused Jiroh to break down as such, and went into the kitchen to make some tea while Ryou calmed Jiroh. When Ohtori returned with the tea, the other two were on the couch, and Jiroh was still crying softly.

"Jiroh?" Ohtori asked, kneeling down next to the older man. "What happened?"

"Keigo…" Jiroh gasped out, trying to compose himself. "He…he…"

Ryou held Jiroh gently and rubbed his back. "Calm down, Jiroh," he said soothingly. "Deep breaths, close your eyes. Just focus on breathing and then tell us, okay?"

Jiroh nodded and did as he was told, much to Ohtori's amusement. Obviously Ryou was the one Jiroh normally went to if there was an issue with Atobe.

"You okay enough to drink some tea?" Ryou asked, petting Jiroh's hair. Ohtori smiled at Ryou, who smiled slightly at him and nudged Jiroh a bit. "It'd be good to get something wet in you from all that crying you've been doing."

Jiroh nodded and accepted the tea, his cries having died down to nothing except an occasional tear. Wrapping his hands around the mug, Jiroh was quiet for a few seconds. "He proposed," he whispered.

Ryou jerked back as if burned, eyes wide. Ohtori was just staring at Jiroh in shock.

"Say that again?" Ohtori whispered.

"He pro…no, he tried to," Jiroh muttered angrily. "But he messed it all up!"

"What happened?" Ryou asked, wrapping an arm around Jiroh's waist.

"He rented out the entire restaurant, which was really sweet of him," Jiroh mumbled, taking a sip of his tea, hands shaking badly. "Everyone was so attentive and the food was exactly what you'd expect when dealing with Keigo. Then dessert came, and it was that sugared bread I like and inside it was a ring."

Ryou raised an eyebrow, "Inside the bread?"

"The one that was given to me. It didn't look like it was baked in there, probably just inserted in while it was cooling," Jiroh said. "It was really sweet, though it kind of reminded me of how Yuushi proposed to Gakuto."

"Ring in the champagne," Ohtori snickered.

"Yeah," Jiroh said, frowning, eyes glittering in anger. "It was fine, up until I asked him if he was proposing. All he did was shrug and say, 'if you wish to consider it as such.'"

Ryou hugged Jiroh again and kissed his forehead. "Oh, Jiroh…"

"I got up and excused myself, and then just left. He just had to ruin it!" Jiroh grumbled. "It was perfect until he opened his big mouth."

Ohtori sat down on Jiroh's other side and hugged him tightly. "It'll be okay. You know how Keigo gets."

"Yes, but he didn't have to be so blasé about it! He was proposing! You don't act like that when asking someone to stay with you forever!" Jiroh moaned. "Why did he have to be such an idiot?"

Ryou heard his cell phone ring and got up to answer it, leaving Ohtori to clam down a furiously angry Jiroh.

"Keigo just isn't very good at asking other people things," Ohtori said softly. "You know how it is. We all grew up with him, we know how he can get. You and Ryou know it more, but—"

"But that should have made it easier!" Jiroh wailed. "I would have preferred being at home with takeout and having him do it right to this whole extravagant dance with him just acting like an asshole!"

Ryou came back into the living room, talking on the cell. "Keigo, calm down. He's right here."

"NO!" Jiroh snapped, startling both Ohtori and Ryou. "I don't want to talk to him!"

"Jiroh…" Ohtori said worriedly, watching the older man curl around one of their pillows.

Ryou watched Jiroh for a few moments before nodding, and leaving the room, obviously wanting to continue his conversation with Atobe. When he returned, Jiroh was still angrily curled around the pillow.

"Jiroh, you can stay at my place if you want to hide away from Keigo for a little bit," Ryou said, producing a set of keys. "The max I'll allow you to hide away from him, though, is three days. After that, the two of you will get together, and you will fix this."

"What if I don't want to fix this?" Jiroh asked brokenly. "What if I'm tired with him being him."

"Jiroh," Ryou whispered, kneeling down next to the blond. "You know you don't mean that. You love Kei, you always have."

"That still hasn't changed," Jiroh said stubbornly. "But him, how can I know for sure that he loves me?"

"He tried to propose to you, didn't he?" Ohtori asked.

"He fucked it up!" Jiroh snapped angrily.

"Not everyone gets it right the first time they ask," Ryou said with a small smile. "My brother asked his wife three times before she thought he got it right enough to allow him to put the ring on her finger."

"My sister made her boyfriend suffer by telling him to try again later five times before he just shouted at her to accept his offer, or he'd throw water balloons at her until she gave it," Ohtori grinned.

Jiroh blinked. "Water balloons?"

"I think they were filled with paint too," Ohtori said cheekily. "He's an artist."

Ryou snickered, "I always did like Hideki."

"Yes, well, Yukari is impossible to deal with, so I wish him all the luck in the world. Now he has two of them," Ohtori grinned.

"Ah, that's right!" Ryou grinned. "Poor boy!"

"Heh, he's handling it all quite well. He's just hiding his paints."

Jiroh tilted his head to the side, "That's right. You're an uncle now."

"Mm," Ohtori said with a grin. "Suki is adorable."

"So, see?" Ryou asked, running his hands through Jiroh's hair. "The first time is almost never perfect. Very few men get it right."

"Keigo should have," Jiroh whispered.

"He's just as mortal as the rest of us," Ohtori pointed out.

"Bet you would make it perfect, Ohtori," Jiroh muttered.

Ohtori flushed hotly and rubbed the back of his neck while Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted him to make it perfect," Jiroh sighed. "I just wanted it perfect."

~

"Where are you going?" Ohtori asked, watching from the bed as Ryou dressed and put his hair up. "It's 9:30 at night."

"Yuushi just called and apparently is dealing with a slightly, er…tetchy Keigo," Ryou said softly, sweeping his long ponytail up into a messy knot at the back of his head so it was off his neck. "And Gakuto is having fun alternating between teasing and yelling at him. Yuushi figured it'd be better if I was there to provide some balance."

"You providing balance between who?" Ohtori asked with a grin, standing and pulling Ryou up against him and kissing him.

Ryou grinned and kissed Ohtori back. "I have enough of a level head that I can balance out Gakuto's screeching, and I can also pick him up and drag him out of the room if I have to."

Ohtori slipped his hands under Ryou's shirt, running them over his back. "Do you really have to go?" he murmured sadly.

Ryou stood on tip-toe and kissed the tip of Ohtori's nose. "Do you want to deal with a tetchy Keigo, a depressed Jiroh, and then everyone else on top of it all?" he asked with a smile.

Ohtori shuddered, "No, thank you. I've dealt with Keigo in his moods before, and they're not fun."

"Imagine how much fun I've had with those moods in the past!" Ryou teased, kissing Ohtori. "Back to bed with you."

"Oh? Why should I go to bed all alone?" Ohtori asked, mock pouting.

Ryou grinned and backed Ohtori to the bed, pushing his lover down so he was sitting on the bed. "Because, when I come back, I'm going to need one of us to be awake enough to keep me from committing homicide and then suicide."

Ohtori raised an eyebrow and tugged Ryou into his lap. "So, basically, you want me to save up enough energy to exhaust you after you deal with our extremely frustrating friends?"

"Exactly," Ryou said, distracting himself by pulling Ohtori's shirt off. "Now, bed. I'm gonna drop Jiroh at my place first, and then head over to Yuushi's. Hopefully I won't want to strangle anyone by the time I get back."

Ohtori kissed Ryou and let him go. "Fine, I'll sleep, especially since you offered such a nice bribe."

Ryou laughed and lightly hit Ohtori on top of his head, "Idiot."

"Possibly."

Ryou rolled his eyes and grabbed his cell phone and keys off the dresser before leaving. Ohtori laid back in bed and grinned.

Maybe there was something to this whole "marrying" deal.

~

When Shishido got to Oshitari's floor, he could hear the yelling from down the hall. Wincing, he steeled himself and then knocked. About three seconds later, Gakuto yanked the door open.

"You!" Gakuto snarled, grabbing Shishido's wrist and pulling him into the apartment. "Do you know what that idiot did?"

"Which idiot?" Shishido muttered, letting himself be dragged into the living room where the other two were.

"I believe they are both referring to me," Atobe said icily.

Shishido raised an eyebrow, "If you are referring to the incident earlier this evening, then yes. I did hear about what you did."

"How's Jiroh?" Oshitari asked.

"Sleeping, right now. He's using my apartment since I'm staying with Choutarou."

"Is that really the smartest thing for you both to be doing?" Oshitari asked, frowning. "I mean, you don't want to rush anything."

Shishido closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Okay, first off, who are we here to interrogate? Me or Keigo? Second of all, it's not rushing anything. We both have our own apartments, we can both retreat to our own apartments if it is needed. At the moment, I can't because Jiroh will be staying there for as long as he needs to. And third, it's none of your business."

Atobe hid a smile behind his hand while Oshitari grinned openly. Gakuto just narrowed his eyes.

"You will not hurt him this time," Gakuto said with narrowed eyes.

"I resent the accusation," Shishido said coldly. He turned to face Atobe, eyes narrowing, "Now then, Keigo, what the fuck were you thinking?"

Atobe bristled, "What exactly are you implying?"

"'If you wish to consider it as such?'" Shishido said with a raised eyebrow. "Couldn't you have just come out and said, 'Yes, Jiroh, I love you and want to make our relationship exclusive and permanent?'"

Atobe glowered, "Back off, Ryou."

"Nope!" Shishido said cheerfully. "Jiroh came to us, so I have the absolute right to pick your brain apart and see just why you fucked up so terrifically."

"I did not—"

"Jiroh would have preferred you done it right, at home, with takeout and a movie," Shishido said with a sweet smile. "You know he doesn't like your extravagance that much."

"Back off," Atobe growled, eyes narrowed.

"So, why exactly, Keigo, did you go and mess it up so spectacularly? Obviously you came to Yuushi for advice since both Jiroh and Choutarou mentioned how much it sounded like how Yuushi proposed. So, how did it go wrong?" Shishido asked sweetly, ignoring the way Oshitari and Gakuto were slowly backing away and how Atobe's expression kept getting darker.

The only way to make Atobe Keigo admit he had done something wrong was to corner him and then stoke his temper.

Which was exactly what Shishido was doing.

"I suggest you shut up," Atobe hissed.

"You see, from what I understand, you told him that if he wanted to think that you were proposing, he could, but in actuality, you weren't," Shishido said with a smirk, watching Atobe carefully. "Care to explain why you blew it?"

"I didn't 'blow it,'" Atobe said, glaring at Shishido.

"Really," Shishido murmured with a sad smile. "Then tell me why Jiroh refused quite loudly to even talk to you on the phone and practically started crying again after it. Tell me why Jiroh's hiding in my apartment instead of going home. Tell me why he left the restaurant without you, wandered around for some time, and then called Choutarou and me last night at midnight in tears. Explain to me why this is."

Atobe looked stricken.

"Face it, Keigo," Shishido said softly. "You fucked up, and you fucked up good this time."

"Shit," Atobe whispered, sitting down.

"Keigo, do you know what you did wrong?" Oshitari asked softly, carefully.

"I couldn't say it," Atobe sighed, resting his face in his hands. "I couldn't ask him."

"Are you ashamed of him?" Gakuto asked, half hiding behind Oshitari.

"I'm not ashamed of him!" Atobe snarled, hands fisting in his lap. "I love him!"

Shishido sat next to Atobe and kissed his forehead. "You know what you have to do then, Keigo."

"I do?" Atobe asked, sounding lost.

Shishido bit his lip and smiled. "Try again, and this time, we'll help you get it right."

~

"May all the gods help me," Ryou moaned, collapsing on Ohtori's lap.

Ohtori grinned and carefully picked the hair elastics out of Ryou's hair. "That bad?"

"Keigo is a certifiable idiot," Ryou groaned, turning over and scooting down so his head was in Ohtori's lap and he was looking at his lover. "He couldn't say it. That's what started this whole thing. He panicked."

"So he's not perfect," Ohtori said with a shrug, playing with some of Ryou's silky hair. "Is it really that awful?"

Ryou sat up and straddled Ohtori's lap, running his hands through Ohtori's hair. "If you were to ask, theoretically, would you suddenly panic and then say nonchalantly that if I wished to, I could consider it a proposal?"

"I—" Ohtori flushed.

"Theoretically," Ryou said, kissing Ohtori's forehead.

Ohtori rested his hands on Ryou's hips and tilted his head to the side. "In theory?"

Ryou nodded.

Ohtori grinned and kissed Ryou sweetly on the mouth, "I could be a complete beast and ask during sex." Ryou hit him on the head; Ohtori just laughed and kissed him sweetly. "But I'd probably do something silly and romantic. Theatre, dinner, gay bar."

Ryou smacked him over the head again, causing Ohtori to laugh. "You are pushing it, love," he sulked.

Ohtori smacked Ryou's ass lightly, "Am I?"

Ryou arched his eyebrow imperiously. "Yes, you are," he said, imitating Atobe at his worst.

Ohtori seized Ryou's chin in a light grip and kissed him sweetly. "I love you," he murmured against Ryou's lips. "Even when you're being way too dramatic for your own good."

"I'm better than I was before!" Ryou protested with a pout.

"Yes, you are, thank the gods," Ohtori said vehemently.

Ryou rolled his eyes and kissed Ohtori, tangling his hands in Ohtori's hair. "Love you," he murmured.

"So, need me to wear you out after dealing with our terribly frustrating friends?" Ohtori asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Ryou grinned, "I think I could be convinced to be worn out."

"Good," Ohtori said huskily.

~

At 1:30am that night, the phone rang again. Having only fallen asleep an hour or so ago, Ohtori tried to pick the phone up without actually looking for it. By the time he had gotten it, it had stopped ringing. Fixing the cordless phone with a vicious glare, he let it drop to the floor.

Five seconds later, Ryou's cell went off loudly with vibration and music. Ryou, head buried half on Ohtori's chest, half in the blankets, reached over and grabbed his phone without having to look. Ohtori gave the offending object a dark glare.

"Hello?" Ryou asked sleepily, moving so that he was half lying on Ohtori. Ohtori yawned and ran his fingers through Ryou's hair. "Jiroh, slow down," Ryou yawned, tilting his head into Ohtori's touch. Ryou listened to whatever Jiroh was saying while Ohtori slowly drifted back into sleep.

"FUCK!" Ryou said, sitting up and getting out of bed, startling Ohtori awake. "Jiroh, it's okay. I'm sure it'll be fine. You know Keigo, he wouldn't do this on purpose! He's a god awful driver most of the time, but it becomes worse at night. You know this, so, just calm down. Which hospital is he…okay. We'll be right there, I promise. Just, take a couple of deep breaths and calm down. Did you call Yuushi and Gakuto, or do you want me to?" Ryou nodded, "All right, I'll call them on the way. We'll be right there, Jiroh. I promise." He nodded a few times and hung up the phone and started putting clothes back on.

"Ryou?" Ohtori asked, yawning.

"Keigo was in a car accident. He's unconscious and has been since they brought him in," Ryou whispered, tossing Ohtori some clothes. "Can you call a cab while I call Yuushi and Gakuto?"

"Yeah, sure," Ohtori said, shocked.

Ryou rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sat on the bed to call their friends while Ohtori got dressed and called a cab.

~

When Atobe opened his eyes, Jiroh was sitting in the chair next to his bed, staring at him.

"Jiroh," Atobe rasped, voice hoarse.

Jiroh reached forward and poked Atobe in the ribs, causing pain to shoot along his nerve endings. "Does that hurt?"

"Yes," Atobe gritted out, wincing.

"Good," Jiroh said, standing. "I'll get the doctor."

Atobe turned his head to watch Jiroh leave, confused. "Wait, Jiroh! What happened?" he tried to shout, only managing a hoarse rasp.

"Stop talking for once in your life," Ryou said from somewhere near him. Turning his head again, he saw the other man leaning against the wall in front of his bed.

"Ryou…"

"You were in a car accident. You're voice hurts because the air bag slammed into your throat. You're fine in that regard, which still leaves you with a voice. The other injuries I'll let the doctor explain. Yuushi, Gakuto, Choutarou, and I are here more to support Jiroh than to yell at you. Though, trust me," he growled, "I'm more than willing to yell at you for your stupidity."

Atobe closed his eyes and watched the door while Ryou came over and sat in the chair on his other side. About five minutes later, Jiroh was back with a doctor close behind him. Atobe allowed the doctor to examine him, not really wanting to know the extent of the damage he had done to himself.

The doctor explained that he had gotten off relatively lucky, having only a broken wrist, a few cracked ribs, and a lot of abrasions. There was a nasty gash on his forehead that the doctors were slightly worried about, but they had eliminated the possibility of a cracked skull and had reevaluated it to just a good gash and probably a concussion. They wouldn't know a lot more until they did some deeper X-Rays, which they needed him conscious for. Whiplash, he was told, was a given, but to what extent had yet to be seen. He probably had injured his back and neck, wrists, and knees.

They also explained that the car he was driving was pretty much totaled and he was lucky to be alive. The accident had been the fault of the other driver, who had died a few hours after arrival. The other driver had enough alcohol in her blood to knock out someone three times her size, and it obviously had shown.

Atobe listened with a kind of detached wonder. After hearing the little from the doctor, he was shocked and awed that he was alive. He should have died, there was no two ways about it. Apparently they had had to cut him out of his car, since the driver's side had been hit the worst and smashed in, and there he was, still alive and just a bit banged up.

The thought was unsettling, and also humbling. He watched Ryou's and Jiroh's reactions to the news, noticing how Jiroh was hugging himself tightly and how Ryou held him upright.

He wasn't stupid, despite popular opinion at the moment. He knew why he was still alive.

He had another chance.

~

"He's lucky," Shishido whispered, one arm around Jiroh's waist as they waited for Atobe to come back from radiology.

Jiroh nodded, looking like he was about to cry, "He is. And I want to fucking kill him for being so stupid!"

Shishido hugged Jiroh tightly, "He's okay, though. He got lucky, and he's still here."

"He got off real easy for that kind of accident," Oshitari said softly, startling both Shishido and Jiroh. "He's alive, Jiroh. You both have to work on this."

"It's been two days," Ohtori said, having come into the room with Oshitari and Gakuto. "You said you'd talk with him in two or three days."

"I am talking to him!" Jiroh cried. "I'm also yelling at him for being such a moron! He knows he's a bad driver! That's why he has people to drive him around!"

"Jiroh," Gakuto said, touching his friend's elbow. "We're not trying to force you into this, but you do need to talk to Atobe. This whole thing just makes it even more important that you two work it out."

"It's not like there's an actual wedding," Jiroh muttered. "It's just a symbol of a promise that we'd be only with each other."

"We know," Gakuto said softly, "but it counts in our hearts and in our minds. It's important to you, and to Atobe."

Shishido kissed the top of Jiroh's head. "Give him a chance, Jiroh. Not right now, but after he's done healing. You two do need to work this tangle out."

"Like how you worked everything out with Ohtori, Ryou?" Jiroh asked, lashing out. Shishido took a step back, arms dropping from around Jiroh. "You want me to leave and then come back and see how much better everything is?"

Shishido's face had gone blank, devoid of all emotion and he had paled slightly. "Jiroh…" he started, and then stopped, seemingly at a loss of anything to say.

"Go away, Ryou," Jiroh said suddenly. "You don't need to be here, and I'd prefer it if you weren't."

"Jiroh…" Gakuto whispered. "Stop this! You don't mean it!"

Shishido closed his eyes and nodded. "Fine. I'll leave. You're being irrational though, Jiroh, and you know it."

"Go away!" Jiroh snarled, blue eyes full of pain. "You don't know what it's like, because you just leave when it gets bad."

"Jiroh, stop it," Ohtori said softly, angrily.

"No!"

"Stop it, all of you," Shishido snapped. "Jiroh wants me to leave, I will. Choutarou, I'll see you at home."

Ohtori followed Shishido out when he left, leaving Oshitari and Gakuto staring at Jiroh.

"Do you have an explanation for that little outburst?" Oshitari asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

"He has no right to be here," Jiroh said softly, hugging himself. "He left us all, and then just came back."

"You've had no issues with him before," Gakuto pointed out. "You defended him while I threw fits."

"What do you have to fear from him?" Oshitari asked.

"I'm not afraid of him! I just don't think he has the right to be here when Keigo's hurt! He left us all, including Keigo, but…"

"You don't want him to steal Atobe," Gakuto guessed.

"That's not it…" Jiroh whispered. "I…I don't know why that happened. I just…"

"You got scared. Some part of you sees him as untrustworthy because of what happened," Oshitari said with a sigh. "And you're being stupid. Ryou left because he wasn't left with any other option. Both Ohtori and Keigo feel it's so."

"You grew up with him," Jiroh said viciously. "Do you think he had no choice?"

"I think he did what he thought he had to do," Oshitari said simply. "It turned out for the best, though."

"Did it?" Jiroh asked softly. "Did it really all work out for the better?"

Oshitari shook his head. "I'm not following you, Jiroh."

"Never mind," Jiroh sighed. "Keigo will be back soon."

"And you're going to have to explain to him why two of his best friends aren't here," Gakuto said. "Looks like Ohtori left with Shishido."

"Shit," Jiroh whispered.

Ohtori came back into the room, not looking very happy. "Jiroh, we all know you're worried about Atobe, but taking it out on Ryou won't help."

"Don't lecture me, Ohtori," Jiroh muttered. "I know it won't help."

"Then why—" Ohtori started, only to be interrupted by Atobe being wheeled back into the room in a wheelchair.

He looked around and frowned. "Where's Ryou?"

~

When Shishido got back to Ohtori's apartment, he had turned the TV on and curled up on the couch. He had sat there, toying with his cell phone for about two hours before it started ringing at him.

"Hello?" he asked, half distracted by the B grade horror movie that was on.

"Ryou," Atobe said in a small, hurt voice. "Where were you?"

Shishido muted the TV and sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. "Jiroh told me to leave, so I did. How are you?"

"Moderate whiplash which equates to four to nine months of physical therapy. My spine curves a little more than it should, so I also get signed up to go to a chiropractor when the minor muscle tears heal."

"You were very lucky," Shishido whispered.

"I know. I'm home now, Jiroh's in the kitchen making tea," Atobe said. "Ryou, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Anything, Keigo," Ryou said honestly.

"Can you and Yuushi help me set things up in the style Jiroh wanted in the first place?" Keigo asked. "I just…I need to do it right. I owe it to Jiroh to do it right."

Shishido smiled and chuckled. "Of course, Keigo. Now, drink your tea and rest. Leave everything to me and Yuushi."

"Thank you."

~

As Ohtori walked home from the hospital, he stopped outside a jewelry store, looking at the rings displayed there. Sitting in the corner, away from the front of the display were a matching set of silver rings. The place card in front of the said they were made of titanium and were made to size.

Checking his watch and looking thoughtful, Ohtori walked into the jewelry store.

~

Shishido knocked on Oshitari and Gakuto's door, checking his own watch. A few seconds later, Oshitari opened the door and pulled Shishido inside by his elbow.

"The rings?" Oshitari asked urgently.

"Returned and exchanged for something simple and plain," Shishido said promptly. "Movie?"

"Jiroh had been dropping hints like mad that he wanted to see this movie that was hit at some film festival. Secretary?" Gakuto said from the hall.

Shishido laughed, "Oh, I'd love to see Keigo's reaction to that film."

"Why?" Oshitari asked.

"Well, it's sort of a romance movie. It's…complicated and hilarious. Deals mainly with sadomasochism, and various other topics," Shishido grinned.

"Maybe we should rent it too," Gakuto murmured to himself.

Shishido shook his head, "Okay, we have rings, and we have the movie. Food?"

"Jiroh likes take out," Oshitari said.

"So, we figure Cambodian," Gakuto said. "One of their favorite restaurants delivers."

"Perfect," Shishido grinned. "Now, how are we going to get Jiroh out of the apartment long enough to set this up?"

Gakuto smirked evilly, "Leave it to me."

Oshitari and Shishido exchanged troubled looks but let it be.

~

A little after four in the afternoon, Gakuto started banging on Atobe and Jiroh's door. When Jiroh yanked it open, about ready to yell, Gakuto grinned and hugged his friend.

"Get dressed, you. We're going out," Gakuto said cheerfully.

"I can't, Gakuto. You know that!" Jiroh snapped.

"Yes, you can," Atobe said, standing behind Jiroh. "Go, I'll be fine for a few hours. You need to de-stress."

"Keigo," Jiroh whispered, looking wounded.

Atobe smiled and kissed Jiroh's forehead. "I'm just going to go take a nap, I promise."

"C'mon," Gakuto said, pushing Jiroh back into the apartment and taking his shoes off hurriedly. "Go get dressed and primp or whatever it is you need to. I wanna fuss over Atobe."

Jiroh looked puzzled and still a little hurt, but did as he was told.

"Shishido and Yuushi will be here in about ten minutes," Gakuto said softly, directing Atobe over to the couch. "They've got the rings, the movie, and the menu. You know Jiroh, so you just tell them what you both want to eat, and Shishido said he'll arrange everything."

"Thank you," Atobe said with a sigh of relief, wincing a bit at the pull of muscles around his ribs. "I don't know what I would do without you three."

"Suffer in misery?" Gakuto teased.

"I'll make you run laps," Atobe threatened.

Gakuto smiled impishly and bounced up as Jiroh came out, dressed relatively casual. "Okay! Now, I have a taxi waiting outside, and I'm going to kidnap you for about two hours."

"No!" Jiroh protested vehemently. "Only an hour."

"Jiroh, go," Atobe said forcefully. "Two hours won't kill you or me. I'm taking my pain meds and you know how they knock me out for a few hours. You're better off doing something instead of just sitting around and doing nothing while I sleep."

Jiroh looked wounded but nodded and sighed, letting Gakuto pull him to the door. "Two hours, no more."

"Two hours," Gakuto said gleefully. "Perfect."

~

Atobe opened the door for Ryou and Yuushi about five minutes after Jiroh and Gakuto had left. He watched them both with mild amusement as they rushed into the apartment and set things up.

"I'm glad we didn't have to resort to the second plan," Yuushi said as he started plopping candles all over the living room.

"What was the other plan?" Atobe asked, sitting in a plush chair, wincing at the pain in his ribs and back.

Ryou deposited a pill bottle and a water bottle into his hands. "Take them," he ordered. "You won't get better unless you take those medications, and you'll need to be relatively clearheaded later tonight."

"The other plan was to have me come in and be your babysitter while Gakuto got Jiroh out," Yuushi said with a smirk.

Atobe smiled and grabbed Ryou's hand. "Ryou, thank you." Eyeing Yuushi, he just shook his head.

Ryou's smile was dazzling, as it always was. "Not a problem, Kei. I like these little plots, remember? I haven't had a chance to be this devious since college!"

"You're kidding," Yuushi said, eyeing Ryou as he grabbed some decorative pillows and added them to the couch in front of the TV to make it more plush. "What about your hair? I'm sure you pulled other stunts to drive people crazy too."

"Nah, I've been very well behaved," Ryou snickered. "You lot are a bad influence on me. Jesse's reaction, though, I will admit, was utterly priceless. I need to keep acting up, it makes things more interesting."

"Are you going to resign your contract?" Atobe asked, taking his medication and knocking it back with a gulp of water.

Ryou paused in his rearranging the flowers in their vases, "What?"

"Are you going to continue modeling?" Atobe reiterated.

"I hadn't thought about it, actually," Ryou muttered.

"Liar," Yuushi said before Atobe could. "Spill it."

Ryou pouted dramatically and heaved a great sigh, "Well! I'm not sure if I want to, but I have no issues against resigning. If I did, I'd make sure to make my contract a bit looser, so that I could spend more time at home."

"That sounds more like a 'yes, I will continue to model,'" Atobe said.

"Have you talked to Ohtori about it?" Yuushi asked.

Ryou went back to playing with the flowers. "I'm waiting for him to say something about it. I couldn't care less either way."

"Where has he been this week anyway?" Atobe asked with a frown.

"Orchestra practice. There's a concert at the old opera house in about two weeks."

"You have to leave soon, don't you?"

"Ten days," Ryou whispered.

"You don't want to leave," Yuushi said with a smile.

"Not really. I'd forgotten how much I missed you all," Ryou smiled, kissing Yuushi's cheek and then leaning down to kiss Atobe's forehead. "You two are my friends, we grew up together. How could I not miss you?"

"Then don't resign that contract," Atobe whispered.

"Not up to me or you," Ryou said promptly. "Only one man has that choice, and he's currently teaching the orchestra his music."

"Let me see the menu," Atobe said with a yawn. "The medication's kicking in faster than I thought."

Yuushi handed him a menu and a pen and continued to flit around the apartment with Ryou making it look romantic and dramatic all at once.

~

When Gakuto dropped Jiroh back off at the apartment, Jiroh practically ran to the elevator and from the elevator to the door of their apartment. He couldn't help but be half terrified that something awful had happened while he had been out.

Unlocking the door, Jiroh toed his shoes off and stepped into the living room, eyes going wide at the scene that greeted him.

Vanilla and jasmine scented candles were lit and strewn all over the room. Flowers had been arranged and were incredibly fragrant, but as good as Jiroh was, he couldn't identify them all. The couch had pillows all over it, yet it still left room for two people to cuddle together easily. Music was playing in the background, but it was easy music that was there to just be background noise. The entire living room had been centered around the couch and the TV, and laying on the couch was Keigo, half-drowsing as he sprawled on against the pillows.

Smiling softly to himself, Jiroh went into their bedroom and shed his coat, wallet, and cell phone and went back into the living room, waking Keigo with a kiss.

"Hey there," he said sweetly.

"Mmm…Gakuto has good timing," Keigo said, sitting up carefully.

Jiroh's eyes widened. "You planned this?"

"Of course. Needed you gone for a few hours so that my minions could set this up," Keigo smirked.

Jiroh rolled his eyes, "Of course. You plan everything. I'm guessing that means Shishido and Yuushi were your minions?"

Keigo watched him warily. "Jiroh, I just want to spend a night at home with you, like we used to. Gakuto got that movie, Secretary, that you had wanted to see, and I ordered Ryou and Yuushi around to make things pretty."

Jiroh sat on the couch and sighed. "Just a night at home?"

"Absolutely," Keigo said with a smile. He held his arms out, "Come here and let me hold you."

"Let me put the movie in first, all right?" Jiroh said, getting up and turning the music off as he put the DVD in.

"Food should be here soon," Keigo said, glancing at the clock.

"Food?"

"Cambodian French," Keigo said with a tilt of his head. "Ryou bribed someone to get them to deliver for us."

Jiroh swallowed around the suddenly painful lump in his throat. He knew what this was all about; movie, takeout, a night in…he had told Shishido and Ohtori that he would have preferred it this way.

The doorbell rang suddenly and Jiroh left to go answer it while Keigo hid a small yawn. When he opened the door, Shishido stood there with a bag of food and a smile.

"Ryou—"

"One takeout dinner of Cambodian French," Shishido said with a jaunty smile. "Check the kitchen, I think Yuushi left a gift for you both since Keigo can't have wine while on the pain meds."

"Why…?" Jiroh whispered, near tears.

Shishido tilted his head to the side, his smile small and sad. "Because someone needs a happy ending."

Jiroh tried not to cry as he watched Shishido wave and leave. He went to the kitchen to put the food on plates and saw a bottle of sparkling apple cider with a note on it.

'Give him another chance.'

Jiroh smiled and carried the plates out and then went back in to pour them both glasses of cider. He enjoyed watching the movie with Keigo, who made various wry comments about how twisted the whole film was, and the food was excellent. He got up to bring the plates into the kitchen at the end of the movie when Keigo caught his wrist and told him there was dessert in the fridge.

Opening the fridge, Jiroh took out the white dessert box and opened it, staring at the fruit tarte inside. It looked to be made completely from strawberries. Frowning, he looked in the fridge again, and took out the can of whipped cream that was there. Cutting the tarte in half, he sprayed some whipped cream on the plates and grabbed forks and brought them out to Keigo.

"I know I messed up badly at dinner last week, and then so much happened, but I want to ask you for another chance," Keigo said, watching Jiroh eat his half of the tarte.

"Keigo, you don't need to ask for another chance," Jiroh said softly. "I forgave you when you got hurt."

"Then would you wear my ring?" Keigo asked, holding out a plain silver ring. "I know I'm a pain in the ass to deal with most of the time, and I'm not exactly easy to live with, but I love you."

Jiroh stared at the ring with wide eyes, letting the other man take his hand and slip it on. "Keigo…"

Keigo smiled gently at him and kissed the hand he still held. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes!" Jiroh cried, throwing his arms around Keigo and hugging him tightly, crying against his chest.

The End

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