Kai woke up next morning feeling really warm and comfy, mostly because he was in Reita's bed and in Reita's arms. He didn't really want to wake up, he didn't want Reita to wake up either. This was because it was so soothing to hear the older male's steady heartbeat close to his ear and feel his warm breath making his hair flutter slightly.

But unfortunately for Kai, Reita woke up just a few minutes later and gave his new lover a gentle, charming smile and a sleepy "Good morning."

"M- Morning..." Kai muttered, being a bit nervous of what he should do. Luckily he didn't have to wonder about that for too long since all his thoughts drifted away as Reita's lips softly pressed against his own, causing his cheeks turn into a light shade of pink.

"You're so cute when you blush", Reita commented after breaking the kiss and Kai's cheek lightly. Kai blushed deeper and tried to cover his face by pressing it against Reita's bare chest. The latter chuckled, and ruffling Kai's hair he said: "C'mon, let's get dressed and go for breakfast."

Kai wanted to stay in bed with Reita longer, but managed to sit up along with him. Reita put on some clothes, and let Kai borrow some of his own - even though they were too big for him, but in Reita's opinion, it made him look even cuter than he already was.

Meanwhile Uruha's eyes fluttered open to see Ruki sleeping next to him, his arms wrapped around his body and quiet snores escaping his lips. Uruha chuckled lightly at the sight and snuggled closer to his friend. Unlike Kai, he really wanted to get up already because he had a lot to do. He had to apologize Kai, kill Reita and torture Aoi and then kill him too. But because he was trapped in Ruki's embrace, he couldn't move at all until the younger male woke up.

When they were both up, they headed to the dining room, where Reita and Kai already were. Uruha sent Reita a murderous glare, not liking the way he was so close to Kai. For some reason, Aoi hadn't yet arrived, but Uruha thought it was just really lucky for Aoi - after all, he would be dead the moment Uruha next saw him.

"Kai? Didn't you have something to say to Uruha and Ruki?" Reita asked softly from the dark-haired boy as he saw the other two walking in. A bit nervously, scaredly even, Kai looked at Uruha and muttered: "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have gotten mad at you last night... But... I really, really love Reita, so I'd like you to accept it."

Reita smiled again and patted Kai's head in sign of him doing well. Uruha wasn't too pleased, but for Kai's sake, he accepted the apology. "No, it's not your fault. It was I who got mad. I was just really stressed, so I guess I got angry really easily."

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Kai asked hopefully and moved his gaze from his plate to Uruha, who was biting his lip thoughtfully. Uruha chuckled and answered: "Not at you, but at Reita."

"Okay, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I meant it as a joke, I had no idea you'd get offended by it", Reita apologized with a playful, but a little careful grin.

"I accept the apology, but if you hurt Kai, I ing swear that I-" "Hey, why would I hurt someone I love?" Reita interrupted.

And so, Reita, Uruha and Kai managed to form a peace, even though Ruki wasn't still very satisfied with Reita. Or Aoi, to that matter. Speaking of Aoi...

"Hey, where's Aoi?" Reita suddenly asked. Uruha folded his arms and scoffed: "As if I'd know. I don't even care."

"I haven't seen him this morning at all... I wonder if everything's alright? I mean, he usually comes for breakfast early, right?" Kai muttered worriedly.

"Maybe he's not hungry. Or he just doesn't want to come eat breakfast", Ruki snapped and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Ruki's right. It's not like you should get worried", Uruha pointed out silently. Reita scowled and said: "You know something, don't you?"

"What?! Why would I even have anything to do with him?!" Uruha replied angrily. "I might hate him, but what the hell would I do to him?! Kidnap him and lock him into the wine cellar and let him die there!?"

"In that case, you might as well help us look for him, then?" Reita hissed as he stood up.

"Fine... C'mon, Ruki", Uruha muttered, so the rest of the boys stood up too.

"Me and Kai will check the first and second floor and his bedroom. You and Ruki will check the third and fourth floor and the basement", Reita said and they split up to look for Aoi.

"Reita... Don't you think you're overreacting? I mean... He didn't come for breakfast, that's all we have", Kai pointed out carefully as he and Reita headed to the raven's bedroom. The blonde shook his head and answered: "Aoi's the type of guy who can't miss breakfast. And here maids never bring food to bed unless you're sick or won't eat for other reasons."

"Oh. Maybe he's sleeping in, then?" Kai tried, but Reita just said Aoi would never sleep in.

When they reached the door of Aoi's bedroom, Reita politely knocked on the door, but got no answer, so he knocked harder. When nothing still happened, he banged the door loudly and yelled: "Aoi! Open the ing door!"

"I don't think he's there..." Kai muttered. He had pressed his ear against the wooden door, and heard nothing inside. Reita tried now opening the door, but it was locked. He stepped a little further away from it and said: "Stand back."

After Kai did what he was told to, Reita kicked the door, causing terrible noise as the door broke down. Kai looked really startled; he knew Reita was strong, but never expected him to be able break down doors by a simple kick. They entered the room, but Aoi was again nowhere to be found. Reita checked Aoi's bathroom and dressing room, but the whole place was empty.

"Hey, Reita, look at this", Kai said as he found a small note from the bed. Reita returned from the dressing room and asked what it said, but Kai shrugged and replied: "I can't read very well."

The older male took the note, which appeared to be a letter, and read it;

"Well, since you found this letter, you've obviously noticed I'm missing, whoever you are. If not... Well, now it's pretty damn obvious, isn't it?
I'm not going to be gone forever or anything, but I've just decided to take a little break after what happened with Uruha. I don't care who you are - but I wish you're Reita, not one of the servants - but tell Uruha I love him, okay?

I'm going to be away for about a month or so. No need to worry, I can take care of myself. Don't bother to look for me, I don't need company right now. See you next month!

~Aoi
Also, I took a little money and food, so it wasn't a robbery or anything ^_^"

"That jerk..." Reita muttered after reading the letter. Kai tried peeking behind his shoulder and asked what did it say. Reita sighed, closed his eyes and answered: "It seems Aoi's gonna be away for a while... He'll be back in a month."

Reita folded the paper, shoving it into his pocket. He sighed and said: "C'mon. Let's go find Ruki and Uruha."

"Are we gonna look for Aoi, though?" Kai asked as they headed out of the room. Reita shook his head. "If he wants to be alone, so be it. If he's not back in a month, that's when we'll start looking for him."

"B- But, what if something happens?" Kai insisted worriedly.

"He can take care of himself, trust me. I've been with him since I was a child, and he was the one taking care of me. I didn't have to worry about him at all when he went off to steal, or sometimes rarely buy, food, because I knew he'd come back just fine", Reita answered quietly, but his voice didn't convince Kai at all. Still, the younger just bit his lip and followed Reita. They didn't exchange any words on the way to the third floor, where Ruki and Uruha were talking to one of the maids in hope she had seen Aoi - she hadn't.

"Did you find him?" Uruha asked.

"No, but this", Reita replied bluntly and gave Ruki the letter so that he could read it. Uruha read behind Ruki's shoulder, and after he had finished reading - it took a bit longer for him than Ruki - he paled. "H- He left? Because of me...?"

"Well, that's what it says", Reita said. He took the paper and tucked it back into his pocket. "The problem is, there's no way for us to connect him. We don't know where he is at all, and it's still pouring so it's not really a good idea to go look for him. It's hopeless to see him in less a month."

"He's there all alone in the rain?! He'll get sick!" Uruha yelled. His earlier cold attitude towards Aoi seemed to have faded now, and he was worried to death. "I'm gonna go look for him!" he continued in verge of tears and was about to burst away, but Reita grabbed his arm and reminded it'd be impossible to find him.

"Besides, he knows what he's doing. He isn't stupid enough to wander around in a storm. He'll probably live in some motel until the rain stops", the blonde pointed out. The tears in Uruha's eyes were clear to see as he cried: "And when he runs out of money?! What will he do then?!"

"He'll either steal or get a job. Just stop worrying already, I thought you hated him!" Reita snapped. Uruha sent him a sharp glare and pulled his arm from the older male's grip. "Don't tell me what to do", he hissed and started running.

"URUHA! Come back!" Ruki screamed. All three started running after the honey-blonde, but the latter was way too fast and was outside the manor in no time. Since it was pouring so hard, they couldn't even see where he went.

"Uruha! URUHA!" Ruki cried, not wanting to believe his friend left. Reita placed his hand on the shorter male's shoulder and said softly: "It's no good standing here in the rain. Let's go inside."

Both Ruki and Kai were crying when they went back inside. Before closing the door, Reita looked at the grey, nearly black, sky and muttered quietly: "Be safe... both of you..."

...

Uruha didn't know how long he had been running, but it felt like more than an hour and he hadn't stopped crying for Aoi's name once. He felt disgusting. Because of him, Aoi might die! He shouldn't had overreacted, he shouldn't had yelled at him!

At some point, Uruha's legs gave out and he collapsed on the muddy ground. He was cold. He was sad. He was angry. He felt dead inside. He continued crying on the ground, not bothering to even try getting up. I'm probably going to die here... Freeze to death... Or maybe I'll get run over by a carriage... he thought. But that was before he was picked up by a pair of strong arms and he was being pressed against a warm body.

He didn't need to look to tell it was Aoi. He recognized his smell, his arms, his chest and his soothing voice that said something Uruha wasn't able to hear well enough to make out the words. He grasped Aoi's shirt, pulling himself closer and cried even harder. Aoi didn't mind him clinging on him like that, just carried him to some old shed and then placed him on the floor, where someone, probably Aoi himself, had already laid a warm, soft cloth for a makeshift mattress.

"You idiot", Aoi mumbled, Uruha's wet cheek. "I told you not to come look for me."

"Do you really love me?" Uruha asked weakly, ignoring Aoi's words. The raven chuckled lightly and answered: "And just now you realize that?" Uruha smiled faintly, muttering something about Aoi being a jerk. Aoi sighed and said: "Anyway... As soon as this storm stops, I'll take you back home."

"Will you come too?" Uruha asked, now sitting up.

"No..."

"Then I'll stay with you!" the honey-blonde decided stubbornly.

"Look, Uruha, I don't think you could handle living in the streets like that", Aoi protested gently.

"My life has been rough anyway, it won't be anything new!" Uruha insisted like a little child who did not get the candy he wanted.

"You lived in an orphanage. That's luxury compared to streets, and I know what I'm talking about", the raven pointed out in a very serious tone. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you."

"Then come with me! The others are really worried too, even Ruki!" Uruha said.

"Sorry, Uru... I can't", Aoi said, smiling apologetically at the younger male who looked like breaking into tears. "Why...?"

Suddenly Aoi's expression changed from serious to a bit childish. He was pouting and his voice was a pitch higher when he explained: "Because it'd look like a defeat! It's supposed to be mysterious, people should be really curious of where I am! But it'd ruin the whole thing if I came too early, and Reita would laugh at me!"

"So that's the reason you did this...?" A vein could be seen throbbing on Uruha's forehead and his eyebrow twitched. Aoi was about to say it wasn't the main reason, but got smacked on head by furious Uruha. He rubbed the spot and whined: "Uruuu~! What was that for?"

"You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" Uruha yelled. He was seriously hurt by Aoi's actions. He had been worried to death, he had felt so guilty because of what happened... And now this?! How the hell was he supposed to react?!

"Aww... You were worried..." Aoi smiled softly again and suddenly pulled Uruha into a hug. He closed his eyes, and still smiling, muttered: "I'm glad you worry about me, Uru...But I'm not an idiot."

"Oh really now", Uruha snapped, but still had his arms wrapped around Aoi's torso. The latter chuckled and said: "Really. I wouldn't do something like that without a reason."

Uruha pushed Aoi gently away, gazed at him with pleading eyes and pointed out: "But you don't have a reason, not anymore! I've already forgiven you, but I won't be doing so twice!"

"Sorry, but that wasn't the only reason. I've got a personal life too, y'know", Aoi explained. Uruha, as expected, got furious from this. His face was red and his eyes filled with anger as he asked: "So you love me, but I don't belong to your personal life?!"

"W- Well-" "You know what?! you!" Uruha stood up and headed back to the rain. He ignored Aoi, who followed him. He ignored the rain that hit his already wet body. He ignored the fact he didn't even know where he was, or where he was heading to.

"Uruha, please, I didn't mean it like that!" Aoi apologized desperately, grabbing Uruha's wrist so that he would stop. The honey-blonde turned around and cried: "You don't mean anything! You always lie and you disgust me!"

"I never lie!" Aoi yelled, starting to get really frustrated by Uruha's mood-swings.

"Then what was that in the wine cellar? What's with you running away to the streets?! AND WHAT THE IS WITH YOU LYING ABOUT YOUR FATHER?!" Uruha screamed.

"When you look back, you realize I've never lied, not even once, to you", Aoi hissed. "In the wine cellar, I simply tried getting closer to you. I ran away from problems, not you. And I haven't mentioned my father once."

"Then where is he all the time?! Yesterday you said he would come for dinner with his friends, but no one showed up. I've never even seen him, how do I know he even exists?!"

Aoi ran his finger through his wet, raven hair and sighed again. "Look, Uru... I understand you're confused by it, and I promise you'll find out some day... But please, for now, don't be bothered by it. He does exist, I assure you."

Uruha remained quiet, biting his lip and staring at Aoi, but never directly in his eyes. The next moment he was crying and jumping into Aoi's arms like a little kid. Aoi was surprised by this, but closed his eyes, smiled and hugged Uruha back. He wrapped his arms protectively around the younger male's body and whispered: "Don't cry, Uru... I don't like seeing you like that."

"I'm sorry! I always get mad at you without any reason, I'm such an idiot!" Uruha cried, ignoring Aoi's request.

"You're not an idiot, you have all rights to get mad at me. I know this has been hard for you..." Aoi mumbled. "And... If you're really sure about it, you can stay with me until I return."

"R- Really?" Uruha sobbed and looked at Aoi. The latter his cheek and answered softly: "Yeah, if you want to... But I still gotta remind you it's not gonna be nice." Uruha shook his head a little and muttered: "It's okay, I can handle it. I don't want to leave you all alone."

"Okay, then. Let's go, I don't want you to get sick." Aoi put his arm around Uruha's shoulder and they headed back to the shelter, where they would stay at least for the following month. Uruha had to admit he didn't quite fancy the idea of living in a shed, but he wanted to stay with Aoi and apologize for his behaviour and mood-swings he couldn't control.

.

"Hey, Ru... Are you mad at Uruha?" Kai asked worriedly. He was sitting on Reita's bed, while Ruki was on the floor reading a book - he had only been staring at the same page blankly, though, so he wasn't really reading. They were waiting for Reita to return, since he had promised he'd bring them some snacks to eat.

"No. I'm mad at Aoi", Ruki replied bluntly. Just then he seemed to realize he hadn't turned the page in half an hour or so, so he tried to continue reading - only to fail. He was really worried of Uruha. He was afraid something had happened to him, that he had been run over by a carriage or that he had frozen to death.

"You shouldn't... He just loves Uruha so much", Kai pointed out quietly. Before Ruki could answer, the door opened and Reita stepped in, carrying snacks he promised. There was candy - for Kai, because neither he or Ruki really cared for sweets - and stuff like a few sandwiches, pastries and... was that soda? Ruki and Kai had never tasted soda before, so they both got pretty excited for it.

"So, what are our plans for tonight?" Reita asked as he sat down next to Kai and kissed his cheek quickly.

"We haven't figured it out yet", Ruki answered.

"Hmm... So we're just gonna hang out, huh?" Reita muttered.

"I suppose so", the youngest teen said, turning his gaze back to the book.

"Kai... Do you have any idea how attractive you look when the light hits your skin like that?" Reita mumbled. No one had time to say anything before Kai was being kissed passionately. He wrapped his arms around Reita's neck and kissed him back. Reita's hand that wasn't resting on Kai's cheek wandered down on the latter's body, first stopping on his waist, but then making its way to his hip. When that wasn't still enough to satisfy Reita, he placed his hand on Kai's . The brunette blushed deeply at this, but didn't protest. Reita figured this was a good sign and shoved his tongue deeper into Kai's mouth. When the younger boy whimpered, Ruki finally snapped and said: "Hey! I might accept you two being together, but I don't want to see you making out like that right in front of my eyes!"

Reita withdrew from the panting brunette, grinned and pointed out: "Then you don't have to be here. It'd leave more privacy for us anyway."

"If I left, you'd him. And hands off his ", Ruki snapped. Reita rolled his eyes, but didn't take his hand away. It was his decision if he wanted to touch Kai, not Ruki's! Well, maybe it was partly Kai's decision too, but he wasn't saying a word against it.

"Anyway... Do you think Uruha's okay?" Ruki asked, shade of worry in his voice. And by shade of worry, I mean that he was sick of worry and wasn't trying to hide it.

"I don't know... If he's lucky, he might've found Aoi and he's taking care of him. But if he's not..." Reita shook his head, not finishing the sentence. Kai buried his face into the crook of Reita's neck. He grasped Reita's shirt and was practically glued to him.

"It's okay, he's probably just fine", Reita whispered and Kai's back soothingly. He bit his lip and wondered if his words really were true. In reality, he was just as worried as the other two.

Aaaaah, sorry it took this long to update! >.<

I would promise the next one will be up sooner, but I never really know how long it takes to update... Sometimes I write a chapter in only a few days, maybe less, and sometimes it might take a month... So sorry about that

By the way, it snowed today here in the South of Finland! (In North it's been like that for a while now...) Has there been any snow in where you guys live? I'm curious ^_^