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Learning to Land	By : Suteishichic Category: Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama > General Views: 11419 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis (Tennis no Ohjisama), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 45
- 46
- 47
Learning to Land. Chapter Forty Six ~Mukahi~

Warnings: Yaoi, Love, Angst, Fluff, and Lots of Sex. Some kink. You've been warned ;)

Disclaimer: Nope not mine. Still in my dreams. ;)

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Gakuto stirred in his sleep and turned over. The sun still had not come up yet and he was exhausted. He had tossed and turned in his new bed all night. He knew he had slept at least a few times only because he kept waking up.

He was furious at stupid Yuushi. Completely furious. This was all the tensai's stupid fault. It had been all Gakuto could do to not punch Yuushi right in his stupid mouth or seriously hurt him last night.

Because Gakuto was being nice and loving. He had been feeling all good and loving, and then stupid Yuushi accuses him of playing games which ruined it all. As if Gakuto was gonna use him and throw him away. How Yuushi, who supposedly knew him so well, and supposedly loved him, could ask him something as stupid and lame as that, Gakuto had no idea.

Yeah, all right, so Gakuto wasn't one of the stupid characters in one of stupid Yuushi's stupid romance books who goes off spouting about stupid love and poetry or stupid eyes like limpid pools, but hadn't Gakuto said sorry for every mean thing he ever said or did to Yuushi? Didn't he kiss Yuushi because he wanted to? Wasn't he being sweet just because he felt like it? What the hell did Yuushi think it meant? What more did Yuushi expect? Hell,Gakuto last nigh twas being loving for the first time, maybe ever with someone, and even had a plan to help Yuushi, and the stupid tensai really didn't even notice any difference? Stupid Yuushi said that he needed to know if Gakuto was just playing around.

It hurt.

It had seriously hurt.

Stupid Yuushi.

Alright, so Gakuto knew he kinda liked Yuushi. He liked how things felt and how things were with them. He had felt good when Yuushi said he wanted to be normal with him and he even liked that waiting to make love garbage. It had made Gakuto happy when stupid Yuushi said that stupid lovey crap. Happy enough that Gakuto wanted to love him back a little bit, and Gakuto was in his own way.

Yuushi washing him and that thing with Gakuto doing his mouth had been really hot. All Gakuto had wanted to do the moment he came was kiss Yuushi for a long, long time and be close to him. Gakuto didn't even question it, he just reached for Yuushi and kissed him long and hot and smiling. He hadn't even cared how lovey or stupid it was; he kissed Yuushi in the bathtub over and over and over enjoying all those good humming noises Yuushi made, and his swirly lovey kisses because Gakuto wanted to.He wanted to and he had liked it. A lot.

Yuushi after dried him off, told him really bad things, and then somehow made it all right by holding Gakuto close. By letting him cry and not making fun of him or saying it was all okay when it wasn't.Gakuto felt right then that Yuushi completely understood him and he understood stupid Yuushi. Maybe he even liked Yuushi more than a little, and Gakuto thought that it wasn't even a bad thing. He liked him enough that he told Yuushi he had a plan for the tensai. Gakuto had heard back when he was in therapy about sex therapists. At the time he thought it was a funny term. He found out that there were ones that were serious like doctors who just yakkity talked, and others who had sex with people to help them get over their problems with sex. Now that Gakuto could totally relate to.

When Yuushi first told him about his bastard tutor, Gakuto had wondered if the tensai had sex with all those other people to get over his sex problems. He sort of figured that Yuushi wasn't really over them at all, and his realization was concretely confirmed when he found out that no one had ever topped Yuushi. Not once. When Yuushi said he didn't like being touched there, Gakuto knew he was lying. Yuushi wasn't over what happened to him at all.The tensai was stuck.

Gakuto understood this he thought maybe better than anyone. Because through trial, experimentation,and effort,Gakuto had given himself his own version of sex therapy.

He had approached it like he had approached anything Gakuto was afraid of--he jumped right in. It was how Gakuto faced and defeated his childhood fear of heights. Being afraid of heights started when he had a series of bad dreams about falling off a high building. Sometimes he fell, sometimes he was pushed, and other times he jumped in these dreams. He would wake up night after night screaming and unable to fall back asleep. It had been annoying and ridiculous to be so afraid of something so stupid. He could fly through the air acrobatically on a moments notice but if he had to climb on a high balance beam or work out on even a very high set of rings, fear held him back.

Gakuto simply decided to overcome his stupid fears by forcing himself to face everything that made him feel afraid. He started by going bungee jumping over and over until he looked forward to the thrill and the high. That first time though, he had been so afraid his knees shook and his teeth chattered. He took so long to get off the platform and go that the bastard guy who worked there "accidentally" pushed him off. Gakuto'd screamed like a little girl and then laughed as they set him safely down. He jumped again and again all day, flipping the bastard off each time Gakuto threw himself off the platform.

The rest after that was easier. He rode high ferris wheels and went to the top of high buildings to make himself look down. When his family took vacations he sat on the plane in the window seat, and rode the rollercoasters in the parks over and over until it was time to go home. Soon enough he was over it and actually began to enjoy heights.

So after he was attacked, slowly but surely, through more trial and effort he had given himself sex therapy. Sure, he wasn't completely over what happened to him and Sato, that bastard, would have continued screwing up his head until Gakuto had found another way to get away from him, but Gakuto functioned. He enjoyed sex most of the time. He was damn good at it and hell, he wanted Yuushi to enjoy it too.

Hopefully with him.

Sex felt great and freeing. There were times when Gakuto came really hard, especially lately with stupid Yuushi, when he really thought that it was the best way to survive what happened to him. It was a way of showing the bastards that they had not won or destroyed him. Gakuto had really wanted to show this to Yuushi and he knew he could help Yuushi. That felt amazing to Gakuto. To help Yuushi to fix something in him that was broken just because Gakuto cared about him. And even better, was that Gakuto, who was not a brain or a tensai, had figured out how to do all this on his own. Yuushi would be impressed and really like Gakuto more for it, right? Gakuto wanted Yuushi whole and he knew only he could make that happen.

He wondered if Yuushi last night just got scared. Maybe he asked the stupid questions to Gakuto to push him away kinda like how Gakuto then said mean things when he wanted Yuushi to get away from him. Out of his bed.

The truth is he didn't want Yuushi to give up and go to his own bed last night, but Gakuto hadn't liked when Yuushi started crying like a girl and begging him. And Yuushi wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said, almost like the tensai was scared and freaking out. Gakuto didn't like Yuushi being that upset because it scared him and made him want to forgive Yuushi when he couldn't yet. Gakuto was mad and he got even angrier when stupid Yuushi didn't seem to know what it was that he said and did that was so wrong. If Yuushi would have yelled at him or handled it another way it would have been fine, but instead Yuushi kind of fell apart. So much so that Gakuto was torn between hugging him or hitting him. He chose hitting him because that was easier and what they usually did.

But Yuushi didn't even bother to block himself from getting hit or smacked, and it was that other Yuushi, the one who did whatever he could to fit in without understanding why he didn't. Almost like Yuushi would have let Gakuto hit him because he figured maybe that would make it all right. That was when Gakuto was going to leave. At least until Yuushi got a grip and wouldn't fall apart. At least until the other Yuushi, the one he kinda liked came back, although, the guilt Gakuto felt at seeing the tensai that upset and fall apart was terrible.

Gakuto didn't like this.

He didn't like what had happened. He didn't like seeing Yuushi get so upset. He didn't like Yuushi upsetting him. He didn't like sleeping alone either and it was all stupid Yuushi's fault. Several times Gakuto had looked over when he woke up and Yuushi was just lying there, in his own bed, a few feet away, just staring at him. Which was annoying!

At one point Gakuto was thinking of going to pee, and on his way back just getting into Yuushi's bed with him. As if Gakuto forgot he was supposed to be mad because he was half asleep. He thought it over carefully and decided to do it, but when he peeked over at the tensai,he was awake, still looking at Gakuto, and without making any noises, Yuushi was crying. Gakuto felt so mad at him right then that he turned over, punched his pillow, and cried a little too because Yuushi was making him feel bad when Yuushi was the one who hurt Gakuto's feelings. Not the other way around! Stupid Yuushi. This was all his damn fault!

Gakuto later looked over at Yuushi through squinted eyelids and slowly opened his eyes as he realized Yuushi was finally sleeping. He looked like a little boy and Gakuto tried to picture what he must have looked like when he was really little. He tried to picture someone waking little Yuushi up and doing sex things to him when he was supposed to be safe in his bed. Gakuto had a cousin who just turned three. To think of someone doing actually things to the toddler who was barely speaking was just so...wrong. True, genius Yuushi could probably solve quadratic equations and solve global warming at age three, but still, he had been just a little boy.

It made Gakuto feel angry. It made him feel really angry at stupid Yuushi's parents.

Gakuto's Mom liked to say that each child was like a blackboard, and every singly thing you do, learn, say, and each person you meet makes a mark on your blackboard. She told Gakuto some of his early things were hard for him to remember because when you lean on a chalkboard things get smeared and were fuzzy, but still there. She said that what happened to Gakuto at first would feel like it was so big and terrible that it would fill up his entire blackboard and cover over everything. But slowly, over time, it would just be another thing in his long and mostly happy life. It would be just one bad thing and it would shrink and shrink and shrink until it didn't matter anymore and was all but forgotten. Other things, she said, would fill in the spaces and the more he filled it with, the more people he loved and the more memories he made, the smaller and faster that one bad thing happening would shrink to nothing. She was right.

Yuushi's sleeping face was all puffy and he was breathing through his mouth because his nose was probably stuffed up from crying. His forehead between his eyes was creased instead of relaxed and he seemed upset still, even in sleep. Gakuto suddenly wanted to fill up Yuushi's blackboard with good things to replace all the bad things and make them no longer matter. He was just thinking of crawling over to Yuushi's bed to wake him, and deciding if he could stand it if Yuushi cried again, even in happiness, when a phone rang and scared the wits out of him.

Yuushi jumped too even though it was the tensai's cell phone. He looked over at Gakuto. "I'm so sorry," he said looking upset and half awake. The tensai said hello, and then walked over to their "other room" to talk.

"Hello Mother," the tensai said formally. Gakuto was surprised. Yuushi never talked about his parents. "Yes, I am sorry, but I need to speak quietly. I have a roommate now and it is very early here." There was a pause. "I'm sorry Mother, I did not mean to imply that it was wrong of you to call or that you were being inconsiderate. I understand. Yes, I am sorry, please forgive me, it was very inconsiderate of me to forget that you are traveling. It is very nice that you called, thank you. How is your trip?" There was another long, drawn out pause as Yuushi must have listened to what his mother said. The tensai said nothing and Gakuto had a sense that the person on the other end was talking at Yuushi and not with him. Yuushi said, "Oh. All right then, I lov..."

Gakuto heard him close his phone, and he wondered if she told Yuushi she loved him. He had a deep and terrible feeling that she not only never even remembered to, but that she left saying it out on purpose. He also heard Yuushi say nothing to her about himself, school, how he was, or even that he had changed rooms. Gakuto realized that by and large, he was probably the only person Yuushi talked to.

Sure, he knew there were people that liked Yuushi. He had friends. Hell, several people had paid him well to find out who Yuushi liked and dated since he had met the tensai, but he realized that Yuushi didn't have a family that loved him to make him feel safe and supported. All he really had was himself. Yuushi was really alone. Damn it.

Gakuto was starting to feel guilty again.

He heard Yuushi stand up and start moving, so Gakuto quickly shut his eyes and pretended to be back asleep. Yuushi went back to his bed and whispered, "I'm sorry," to Gakuto.

He wasn't sure if the tensai meant about last night, or the phone call, or what. He heard Yuushi lay down and through squinting eyes saw him look at Gakuto for a long moment before turning away from him. Gakuto moved quietly to sit up and then went to Yuushi's bed. He climbed in behind the tensai and hugged his back. He was right on the edge so he commanded him, "Move over, Yuushi."

Yuushi moved to give him more room, and at the same time half turned towards him, "What are you...?"

"Shut up Yuushi. Your bed is nicer than mine." Gakuto shrugged. It wasn't, but it felt better to sleep with Yuushi. He was very warm and Gakuto got cold when he slept sometimes, that was all.

Yuushi half turned more to face him, "I'm sorry, would you like me to...?"

No, Gakuto didn't want stupid Yuushi to go sleep alone over there in Gakuto's bed! He sighed annoyed and rolled over with a quick turning flop so they lay back to back. "No." Gakuto said meaning, say no more, Yuushi.

The tensai turned and held Gakuto close to him. "I'm sorry if my questioning your feelings and motives hurt you. I'm also sorry for getting so upset." Gakuto felt amply rewarded and was also pleased that Yuushi seemed to be done talking. But of course Yakkity Yuushi had more to say, "I'm sorry I've been afraid. And..."

"Yuushi!" Gakuto yelled. "You say one more word, and I won't talk to you for the rest of the day!" Yuushi was quiet and held him a little tighter. After a minute, Gakuto decided to test him, "Is the alarm set?"

"Yes." Yuushi said and Gakuto turned to look at him, furious. "B...but you asked me a question...?" Yuushi asked, he looked both dejected and confused.

Gakuto decided to let him figure that one out on his tensai own. Some prodigy he was when he can't even figure out to nod his head yes when he's supposed to be quiet. Yuushi kissed the back of Gakuto's head a few times, and breathed in his hair as if he liked how it smelled. To stop him and because he liked sleeping on his other side, it was just more comfortable to face Yuushi when he slept was all, Gakuto turned in his arms.

Gakuto was just falling asleep when he heard Yuushi whisper very softly, "I love you."

He fell asleep feeling better that even if he hadn't tested Yuushi, the stupid tensai still would have talked.

The next morning Yuushi had adapted much better to Gakuto not speaking to him. He was starting to have entire conversations with Gakuto not having to say a single word. This started out at home and went on all through practice. Everyone again found their newest bit hilarious, but this time both Yuushi and Gakuto also were having a good time with it as well. Yuushi didn't make either of them look stupid so it was rather funny. The tensai just played himself being too serious and acted as if Gakuto answered anything he asked him by the look on Gakuto's face or the positioning of his body. Jiroh particularly found it hysterically funny. Everyone laughed harder when Kabaji was utterly confused and astounded as to how Yuushi knew what Gakuto was saying.

Gakuto overheard Jiroh ask Yuushi why Gakuto wasn't speaking with him and the tensai said, "My Mother called at four in the morning from Australia."Yuushi looked at Gakuto as if asking if this explanation was acceptable. Gakuto shrugged. He guessed it was as good as any. Yuushi smiled over at him, and Gakuto rolled his eyes.

Gakuto felt damn tired and achy from yesterday's sickness and last night's sleeplessness. Working out felt good because he was restless. He felt guilty for being too sick to meet with Kiyoshi the night before and angry at himself for being too forgetful to call him. He wanted to get seeing Kiyoshi over with so he took Atobe aside, and asked if he could miss morning classes to visit. Atobe said he only could if Yuushi went with him and Gakuto agreed though he wondered why. He didn't ask. Atobe just did things like that sometimes and you never knew why. The Vice-Captain also asked Gakuto if he could get as much information out of Kiyoshi as possible, even things he didn't tell the police. He went over a list of things to find out about and Gakuto, because he was tired, asked if Yuushi could hear the list too. He knew the tensai would remember better than Gakuto. So Atobe spoke with them both about it and then dismissed them early which was cool.

They showered, changed, and left from the club room before anyone else came out. Yuushi said he was hoping that they could make it back before their chemistry lab and Gakuto, though he said nothing, agreed. He had mentioned a few days ago to Yuushi he wanted to change partners so they partnered in lab together. Gakuto's current partner was a girl who was nice, took good notes, and was really hot, but she was as dumb as a box of rocks. He was carrying her grade and he knew Yuushi was carrying his current partner, a guy in the tennis club who wasn't a sub-regular, too. Gakuto wondered to himself if it would be easier to switch partners if they were tied this afternoon for doubles practice.

Gakuto kind of dreaded that.

He had to do this before with Kabaji right after he started living with the giant. You were tied together with a rope and supposed to split your classes up. One day you went to one person's classes and the next day you switched. Gakuto hated this. He had dragged Kabaji to all his classes. He wasn't about to sit through freshman classes again. Hell no! He had also discovered that Kabaji had this annoying habit of mimicking people. Like a parrot he would repeat the last few words someone said and even try to anticipate what you would be saying. You would say, "I'd like to have a sandwich." and Kabaji would echo, "have a sandwich." before you were done saying it first. It had driven Gakuto nearly insane.

He knew he wasn't the only one who Kabaji drove crazy. Kabaji was a nice, gentle giant, but he was irritating. Atobe after discovering his mimicking habit, ordered Kabaji not to speak unless spoken to around him. In fact the only thing Kabaji was allowed to say back to Atobe at this point was one word. Yes. Anything else said from that babbling motormouth would get Atobe furious fast. How Gakuto wished he'd had Atobe's power when he was tied to Kabaji and had to listen to the gigantic parrot repeat all the end of his sentences, and then suffer through all Kabaji's long rambling family stories 24 hours a day. It had been agony.

Kabaji would be droning on and on and on and Gakuto used to hold the rope around their waists around his neck and act like he was hanging himself, only half joking. Gakuto would stick his tongue out of his mouth like he was dead, Kabaji would drone on and on, not even noticing Gakuto, and everyone around them laughed until they cried.

At least if he had to be tied to someone, it wouldn't be like that with Yuushi. The tensai would put Gakuto first and look after him. That would be nice.

Plus he wouldn't have to hold his nose outside the toilet like he had to when Kabaji used it in the mornings. Kabaji was addicted to Gyuudon and ate the cheap bowls of beef all the time, bowl after bowl after bowl. He would buy it from any shop that sold it and would often make himself ill from how much he ate. Gakuto was tempted to try it once only when Kabaji suggested that if Gakuto ate more beef he'd grow bigger, but he resisted after getting a big whiff of it. The only thing he discovered he could do was tempt Kabaji away from eating it by suggesting they get a pizza. During the nearly two weeks they were tied together, Gakuto ate a lot of pizza, held his nose a lot, fake hung himself constantly, and feared he was going insane.

But it would be better with Yuushi at least. The bathing and bed part wouldn't be awkward like it had been with Kabaji and the talking would be better. If he could only get Yuushi to relax and have sex, it would be ideal, but there would be time for that. Gakuto looked over at Yuushi as they walked to the hospital. Atobe had already given them the room and floor number so Gakuto was surprised when Yuushi walked past the hospital front door, and into a gift shop conveniently located just outside. Yuushi explained that they should bring Kiyoshi some flowers or something.

Gakuto went to protest that Kiyoshi wasn't a girl, but stopped himself from speaking just in time. Yuushi surprised him by half-smiling, so he must have seen. Gakuto felt annoyed but it quickly dissipated as Yuushi put together flowers. The tensai explained that each flower has a meaning, which Gakuto knew but he didn't know what each one meant. The tensai apparently did, and the ones he was choosing for Kiyoshi he explained meant friendship and speedy recovery. As the shopkeeper bundled the flowers, the tensai spied a pair of fake eyeglasses near the register. He went to try them on and Gakuto stopped him. He pointed to a pair of round framed ones and indicated those.

Yuushi tried them on, looked at him for approval, and Gakuto shrugged. If the tensai wore fake glasses for some stupid Yuushi reason, at least they should be ones Gakuto could live with looking at. Yuushi smiled at him, apparently very happy.

Before he knew what hit him, Gakuto suddenly had the urge to kiss Yuushi, and wondered where in the hell that came from. He wondered if it was just because since last night Yuushi hadn't really kissed him, or if it was just cute in a dorky way how Yuushi looked for the glasses and Gakuto's approval, or if it was just because Gakuto had never kissed anyone wearing glasses, or what. It bothered him and he walked out of the store to wait for Yuushi to catch up.

He ignored the confused and concerned looks Yuushi gave him after he paid and walked out. As if Gakuto was the one acting strange while the tensai put on his fake stupid glasses after taking the tags off. "Would you like to carry the flowers?" Yuushi asked and Gakuto shook his head no, horrified.

No way was he gonna give flowers to a guy even if he was hurt. It was so girly! Gakuto didn't even give flowers to girls! But he was curious to what flowers meant. He had never seen some of them before and he wondered how Yuushi knew all that. Did he read a book or did some girl show him? In the elevator, Gakuto touched one that was white and had a sweet smell when he sniffed it. "That means both comfort and friendship." The tensai explained, "My mother taught me." Gakuto shrugged because he didn't want to seem too impressed. Yuushi could be lying for all he knew, but he liked at the same time that the only girl that Yuushi said showed him was his mom who Gakuto decided was mean to Yuushi.

They went into the room after knocking and Kiyoshi was a mess. His one eye was swollen shut and he was a mass of bruises and cuts. He seemed to be alone and peacefully sleeping, but then his eyes opened and he saw Gakuto. For some reason, Kiyoshi took Gakuto being there really bad.

He yelled at Gakuto that what happened to him was all Gakuto's fault, to get out, and leave him alone because he would never forgive him. Gakuto was shocked and confused and got really upset. Gakuto tried to explain to Kiyoshi that he really had been sick and was really sorry, but Kiyoshi kept getting more and more upset to where he was almost screaming.

Finally Yuushi, standing there, holding his flowers, saved the entire situation which surprised the hell out of Gakuto. The tensai said sharply as if his voice was able to slap him, "Kiyoshi. None of this is Gakuto's fault."

Kiyoshi's one open eye widened, and he looked over at Yuushi for the first time as if stunned. He gasped and said in barely a whisper, "Oshitari-senpai? I...why are you here? We...we've never even met before...!" Kiyoshi covered his mouth with his hand that wasn't hooked up to tubes and things.

Yuushi said kinder, "I came with Gakuto. He wanted to see how you were, he was concerned, and you owe him an apology. None of this is his fault."

"I...I'm so sorry." Kiyoshi stammered at the tensai. Kiyoshi turned to him, "Gakuto, please forgive me. I'm upset. I'm sorry. I know you came because you were concerned, and I'm trying to accept what's happened...but Gakuto, it will be a long time before I can forgive you." New tears feel from his eyes.

Gakuto went closer to the side of his bed, "Kiyoshi, look, I'm sorry. I would have been there but I really was sick and I would have called but..."

At first Gakuto thought Kiyoshi was crying, but he was laughing in a nearly hysterical way. Gakuto looked over at Yuushi in alarm. Kiyoshi barked at him and pointed, "No, that's not why I hate you! I hate you because this IS your fault! They did this to me because they thought I was YOU!"

Gakuto took an involuntary step backwards and backed into Yuushi without realizing it.

The tensai recovered faster than Gakuto did, "Gakuto, go get some water for his flowers, I'll calm him down." Yuushi said it softly in his ear and added, "Gakuto, I'll find out what happened from him. Give us a little time, okay? Just ten minutes or so. Please, don't go far." Yuushi had his hands on Gakuto's shoulders like he did the night before, gently rubbing where he was sore, soothing him, and softly loving him. "It will be all right, go on," Yuushi said quietly and Gakuto finally nodded.

He walked out of the room in a daze and heard the automatic door close behind him hard. Somehow he had Yuushi's flowers in his hands so he set off to do his appointed task. His hands were shaking and he was close to panicking, so he just put one foot in front of the other to keep moving.

A pretty nurse stopped him, "Hi! Do you need to put those in some water? Let me help you!" She said it all in a singing voice thinking he was younger than he was because he was small. Gakuto was still upset so he just nodded and let her lead him away. Then he had to have her show him where the room was again because he hadn't been paying attention. His thoughts were going around and around wondering why this was happening and what was going on.

He realized he had been away for some time, longer than ten minutes, and knocked on the door before pushing it open. Gakuto couldn't have been more shocked at what he saw. He almost dropped the flowers in his hands when he saw Kiyoshi and Yuushi...kissing. Kiyoshi hugged Yuushi then and cried against his chest. Yuushi shrugged as if to say he was sorry and put one finger up to his lips to tell Gakuto to be quiet.

Gakuto felt ice on the back of his neck and he felt sick again. His heart was racing and he was upset. He almost ran out of the room, but his feet felt stuck to the floor like they were glued in place. He was completely still like a statue and even forgot to breathe.

Yuushi said calmly, as if everything was okay, "Gakuto, will you put those on the table over here, please?"

Gakuto was surprised his legs listened to march over to Yuushi and go there. He wanted to be both far from Yuushi and next to him both at the same time. He set the flowers down and tried to walk out but Yuushi grabbed him and in grabbing him, let go of Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi said, "Gakuto, I'm sorry."

Gakuto almost said to him bitterly, you should be...but held back because he didn't know what else to say after that or really what was happening.

Did Yuushi just fall in love with Kiyoshi while he went to get the water? Was it just that Yuushi liked saving people who were attacked? Gakuto didn't know. He didn't. What the hell was going on? He was confused and his chest and stomach hurt like when he landed wrong on a dismount and smacked into the ground.

"Kiyoshi, will you please tell Gakuto what you told me?" Yuushi asked him as if nothing was the matter and as if the kissing never happened.

"Yes, Oshitari-senpai," Kiyoshi looked at Yuushi as if he were in love with him. Gakuto's throat was tight, and his heart was pounding.

Yuushi's face looked hard and serious and Gakuto didn't know what it meant. Maybe it was Gakuto's fault and Yuushi wanted him to know why he was hurting Gakuto before he left him for Kiyoshi. Gakuto felt his chest squeeze like a vice and fought to take one slow, deep, even breath.

Kiyoshi said, "I went there to warm up early. I always do. I got there over an hour before you usually get there. I didn't know you were sick or not coming, but I go even when you can't. Sometimes I practice with someone else but I do a lot of work alone." Kiyoshi's dream was to be in the Olympics, but his family wanted him to be a doctor. The facilities at Hyoutei for men's gymnastics were a dream, but there was no coach or official team. It was a loosely formed club and Gakuto and Kiyoshi hit it off right away mostly in skills, talent, and ambition. Gakuto remembered bitterly that Yuushi had said he knew Kiyoshi went early and stayed late. Had the two been meeting in secret?

Kiyoshi went on, "I went in and before I could even turn on the lights, three or four guys grabbed me. I think it was four. Two held me down and they started hitting me. They cut and ripped off my clothes..." Kiyoshi's voice got tight and Yuushi held out some water for him to sip. He looked adoringly at Yuushi and took a deep breath, "Thank you Oshitari-senpai. They said your name, Gakuto,the entire time and said things like, 'Mukahi Gakuto, you should have never told.' and 'Mukahi Gakuto, now we're going to really punish you.' Gakuto, they said your name to me over and over. No matter how many times I told them I wasn't you, they laughed and didn't believe me. My eyes adjusted to the dark and they could clearly see me. They had no idea I wasn't you, and they only stopped...hurting me when one guy yelled out, "Time!" Then the leader who was doing most of the talking said they would be seeing me, meaning you, soon. To not forget them and to never tell or they would come back and kill me. That no one can know or they would kill me. They told me the only way I could be safe from more attacks is to quit the tennis club and leave Hyoutei. If I didn't, they said they will find me and do worse. That I knew what they meant. Then they left and I called for help on my cell phone."

"They're no one from Hyoutei?" Yuushi asked Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi gave a bitter laugh. "Of course not Oshitari-senpai, everyone knows Gakuto. We look nothing alike." They didn't. They were both small height-wise but Kiyoshi was wide where Gakuto was lean. Kiyoshi had much darker skin and jet black, shoulder length, curly hair. Kiyoshi shook his head, "I've never seen any of them before."

"I'm really sorry Kiyoshi," Gakuto wasn't even aware the little voice he heard was his at first. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. Something like what happened to you did happen to me a long time ago, but the people who hurt me knew me. It couldn't have been the same people. They would have known I wasn't you."

Everyone was quiet for a moment or three. Kiyoshi suddenly asked, "Gakuto? How..." Kiyoshi was upset again but not angry at least, "Gakuto, how did you get through this?"

Yuushi surprisingly answered before Gakuto could, "You just do, and you find out that you're stronger than you know. You don't let them win or destroy you by getting over it and getting on with your life. You take things one day at a time until you realize it happened a long time ago and you're over it." Kiyoshi looked shocked over at Yuushi. "Yes. It happened to me too. You can't let them win Kiyoshi. You have to live your life and make it count. It's why when you confessed your feelings for me, and asked if you could kiss me for your first kiss, I allowed you to even though I told you I'm in love with someone else. Because you need to focus ahead on good things to come and not dwell on bad things." Yuushi glanced at Gakuto and then continued, "Everyone has bad things that happen in their life, but whether it makes them bend or break is up to them. It's not what happens Kiyoshi, it's how you deal."

Kiyoshi looked at Yuushi, "What am I going to do? My parents want me to come home, but I've gone to Hyoutei all my life. I want to stay here." Kiyoshi shook his head and said bitterly, "But how can I? Everyone probably knows and be talking about me."

"Maybe not," Gakuto said and started thinking of a plan. "You're going to be in here for a while, right?"

Kiyoshi nodded, "My Mom is at a hotel resting now. She stayed here with me all night. My Dad is coming up this weekend and they want to take me home."

"Okay, you think about what you want to do Kiyoshi, and what you can do with your parents. As far as school," Gakuto smiled as an idea came to him, "I promise you that by this afternoon, no one will be talking about you. They'll all be talking about something else. All right?"

In the end, Kiyoshi agreed and Gakuto and Yuushi walked back to school taking their time; their chemistry class was all but forgotten and suddenly even changing partners or being tied together with someone didn't seem so important. Yuushi called Atobe on the way. The tensai told him the details of the attack and that it had definitely not been anyone from Hyoutei.

He finished on the phone with Atobe and turned back to Gakuto, "Do you want to cut the rest of the day?"

Gakuto looked surprised at him. He had never expected the geek to suggest it. Gakuto shrugged at the wasted opportunity to see what the tensai did when he cut school, "We can't Yuushi, I gotta start a big fat rumor." Gakuto looked at Yuushi who was staring at him as if he was now surprised, "What? It has to be a really big rumor. I'm not sure what though. It'll come to me." Gakuto shrugged and only then remembered he wasn't supposed to be speaking to the tensai. He shrugged again.

"It's early," Yuushi said after a moment. "Would you like to come take a nap with me until lunch?"

Gakuto shrugged. A nap sounded good. He felt exhausted and stressed out. And confused.

"Gakuto, I need a favor." Yuushi had his undivided attention at some of his favorite words, "I don't want you going anywhere alone. Atobe said the same thing too. Not even down the hall or to workout alone. If you need to go anywhere then go with me. Whatever it is I'm doing, even class isn't as important as you are." They waited for the elevator to go to their floor. Yuushi stopped talking because there were people around. "Promise me?" Yuushi asked as the elevator door closed leaving them alone for a moment.

Gakuto shrugged and nodded. The tensai wasn't done, "We need a code, just in case you need me, and for some reason I'm not around. You can text me, 1-1-9 if you need me and 1-1-0 if you're in trouble. All right? I'm very serious about this."

Gakuto shrugged and nodded as they left the elevator and went to their room. Yuushi unlocked their door. Gakuto walked inside and meant to flop down on Yuushi's bed, but suddenly he didn't know if he should. Maybe he should flop down on his own. Alone. Without Yuushi.

He felt Yuushi's arms slide around him and the tensai held him from behind. "I only let him kiss me because it was the right thing to do. He was crying and said that he had never even kissed anyone, that he had liked me since he first saw me but was never brave enough to confess his feelings. He had even thought of telling you, but he worried you would make fun of him for liking me. I told him I loved someone else and couldn't kiss him back, but he could kiss me for his first kiss if he wanted to. I didn't mean for you to walk in and see it. It has nothing to do with us or my feelings for you. He was hurt and scared and it was just the right thing to do because he was in pain and so upset. I didn't kiss him back."

Gakuto shrugged and walked a step forward. Yuushi stepped forward with him and said, "I didn't kiss him back, I didn't use my tongue, he didn't use his, and no, I would never swirly kiss him. I have no feelings for him other than I feel sorry for what happened to him. When he told me about his crush and wanting to kiss me, all I could think about is if you liked someone back then. Someone who came to see you. I hoped that person would comfort you like I did to him. I swear I would never really kiss or swirly kiss anyone but you, Gakuto. I love you." Yuushi took one finger and ran it down the part in his hair. The tensai said, "Please forgive me. And it would make me very happy if you would be my sex therapist. I'm tired of feeling afraid and I want to learn, but only with you. I only want to be with you."

Yuushi was making him feel all dopey and lovey and at the same time he was starting to get hard thinking of the sex therapist thing, and all the things he could now do to Yuushi. He decided to tease the tensai a bit, not completely forgive him, but tease him. So Gakuto smiled, "Hah! Yuushi, you're touching me first."

"This doesn't count, Gakuto. When he told me about them hurting him and saying it was you, using your name, I think my heart stopped." Yuushi held him tighter, "I mean it Gakuto, please, I beg of you, please don't go anywhere without me. If anything were to happen to you, I...I would break." Yuushi's voice cracked on the last word and Gakuto turned to look up at him.

Yuushi looked scared which made Gakuto feel afraid. He tried to shake it off. "Stupid Yuushi, nothing's gonna happen to me. I said I won't go anywhere without you." Yuushi went to kiss him and Gakuto said, "No way! You kissed Kiyoshi! Go brush your teeth first!" Gakuto started stripping off his clothes. He got down to his underwear and flopped down on Yuushi's bed while Yuushi stared at him. "Hurry up Yuushi! Before I fall asleep. And take your damn fake glasses off. I've never kissed anyone wearing glasses." Gakuto thought with a pang of jealousy that Kiyoshi got to kiss Yuushi wearing his dumb fake glasses before he did.

Stupid Yuushi.

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Learning to Land