“Hey now,” I cooed, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him into my chest.
His body shook with sobs. I wasn’t used to this. Being the one to comfort someone who was so obviously distraught. But maybe that’s what you signed on for when you pursued someone in such a way.
It hadn’t been my intention to go after any kind of relationship. I’d fully intended to keep my nose down, but there was something about both Itsuki and Yasu.
With Itsuki, he was so welcoming and warm. I’d never had someone be so open with me right from the beginning before. There was that little voice in my head that told me it was dangerous to taint him with my wrongness. That he deservedbetter than me. He deserved someone like Yasu, who protected him.
And then there was Yasu. Yeah, it’d started out as trying to mess with him because I’d never seen someone get so hostile like that. But he was extremely protective of his friends, and his loyalty to them is what kept drawing me back. I wanted to earn that same loyalty.
The door swung open a moment later. Yasu entered the hall, spotting me holding his crying friend. He didn’t relax. If anything, his shoulders bunched higher up to his ears as he marched closer to us.
Itsuki let out a squeak when Yasu grabbed his shoulder, pulling him from my grasp.
“What the fuck did you do to him?” he asked, wrapping his arms around the other man in much the same way I had. Yeah, he was a protective motherfucker, alright.
While it would have been easy for Itsuki to tell Yasu that I hadn’t done anything, he only sobbed harder, and I hated that he was upset about any of this.
“I didn’t do shit. He was upset. I brought him out here to make sure he was okay.” I answered, motioning to the two of them.
Yasu shushed Itsuki as he threaded his fingers through his fine hair. I wanted to be the person who was still comforting him, but while Yasu was around, I knew that wasn’t an option, but my arms still itched to wrap around both of them because it was better than nothing. It was still showing that I was there. But maybe I was doing that simply by being present.
Itsuki let out another sniffle before he buried his face deeper into Yasu’s chest. A muffled sound emerged from him. Maybe he was trying to say something, but it was hard to tell.
“What was that?” Yasu asked, pushing his fingers through Itsuki’s hair again, gripping it just slightly and angling his head back. The sight shouldn’t have done anything for me, but mybody was an asshole. All I could picture was grabbing Itsuki’s hair in a much more demanding way. It made my cock twitch.
Calm the fuck down, Ryosuke.
“Stop fighting,” Itsuki hiccuped. He pulled away from Yasu, then wiping more wetness from his face. His eyes were puffy, red-rimmed, and I had to fight back the urge to take over with the comforting. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have done any of that. It’s made everything so,” he took a deep, shaky breath, “awkward since then.”
Yasu looked over at me for the first time since the apartment. He didn’t look like he was on the verge of murdering me.
“How is it all your fault?” I asked, making both of them look at me.
Itsuki bit his bottom lip, eyes swelling with tears again. “Because I started it. I dragged you guys there and—”
“And no one said no, or to stop,” I reminded him. “We’re all in this together. If anyone is to take responsibility for what happened, then we are all to blame. Don’t take that on yourself.”
Another tear escaped, and I didn’t care that Yasu’s arms were still loosely around Itsuki. I leaned in, placing a kiss against the tear before it could slide all the way down his face. Itsuki’s cheek was warm under my lips and his tears were salty. In a perfect world, I’d never see this man cry again. He was much too precious and gentle.
Chapter 21
Itsuki
What in the world had I done to deserve this?
Both Yasu and Ryosuke should have been mad at me. They’d both been mad at each other. At least Yasu had been irritated with Ryosuke. And it was all my fault. I’d read the situation all wrong.
Ryosuke had flirted with me, and I’d caught him teasing Yasu. I thought it would be okay, but when Yasu ran from my apartment?
While Ryosuke and I could have continued things that day, it was too awkward after that. He wouldn’t touch me without Yasu there, it was like the magic spell was completely broken.
I’d kissed my best friend and my new bandmate. I’d made them kiss.
The moment I felt the soft press of Ryosuke’s lips on my face, all bets were off. I let go of my best friend throwing my arms around Ryosuke instead. It was a little odd that they were fighting over who was holding me, but I’d also created the mess.It was a beautiful mess that I hoped would keep going. I wanted to see what would happen if the three of us made this work.
But that was when the magic really happened.
The moment my arms encircled Ryosuke’s body, Yasu’s warm and comfortable embrace also came around us. It was a shock because after the last few days and how angry he’d been…
