Aberrance

Hey guys! Here it is, your next installment :) Sorry these chapters are so short, but there are a lot of major things that are going to happen and I didn't want to overwhelm everyone. Besides, I've been told by reviewers that my story has a natural pace to it, and I'm certainly not about to stray from that now. Enjoy and please review!

Kyo let out a sigh as he shuffled into his apartment. Casting a quick glance around, he realized he had the place to himself and sighed again with relief. He fell unceremoniously onto the couch and flipped his phone open, hitting a number on speed dial.

"Hey Totchi, sorry about not being around today when you came by. Would you want to come over now?"

"Yeah sure, can Kao come with me? It's been awhile since we've all hung out."

"That'd be great, I'll see you guys in a few then?"

"Yeah we'll be right over. Later Kyo!" Toshiya flipped his phone shut and inhaled deeply as he looked over at Kaoru. "Come on Kao, let's go bring about the apocolypse!" he said with a wry smile.

Kaoru rolled his eyes as he grabbed his car keys and began following Toshiya out of the house. "Drama queen" he muttered, as his lips twisted into a smirk.

The younger man threw his arms around Kaoru's shoulders. "You wouldn't have me any other way" he replied with a cheeky grin and a wink. Kaoru's only response was a soft chuckle and a shake of the head.

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Kyo was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face while Toshiya was rolling around on the floor howling with laughter. Kaoru, on the other hand, was scowling darkly at the other two occupants of the room.

"That...was not...funny!" he growled.

Toshiya clutched his stomach and sat up, trying to school his features into something other than the large grin he was now exhibiting. Clearing his throat, he became serious. "You're right, Leader-sama, you falling off the stage and busting your fucking face was in no way amusing." He and Kyo glanced at each other as laughter once again overtook them. Kaoru folded his arms over his chest as his scowl deepened.

"Fuck you guys" he mumbled as he looked back and forth between the two men. This seemed to make them laugh even harder, both gasping for air. Kaoru couldn't help it when he started to laugh as well, the overall carefree atmosphere in the room seemed to be catching.

Kyo was the first to regain control of himself, as he took a deep breath while wiping the tears from his face. "We've been through some crazy shit together in the past ten years, that's for sure" he said, smiling fondly. This sentiment sent both Toshiya and Kaoru crashing back down to reality. Kyo watched, confused, as their smiling faces morphed into somber ones. "What's wrong? What did I say?"

Toshiya cleared his throat. "We actually had an ulterior motive in coming here today, Kyo" he replied quietly.

Kyo furrowed his brows and looked back and forth between his friends. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "It's not Jae is it? Or Tristan? Are they both okay?"

"No, it's nothing like that. They're as well as can be expected" Kaoru replied calmly.

Toshiya sucked in a breath. "I came here earlier today but no one answered the door so I let myself in, thinking maybe you hadn't heard me knocking. I walked towards the bedroom because I heard a voice but it turned out to be Hitomi talking on the phone to someone. I was about to leave when she said something that made me stop. She said she's not pregnant Kyo, and she has no intention of becoming pregnant." He paused and watched Kyo, trying to gauge his reaction.

Kyo stared right back at him. "Is that all?" he asked calmly.

Toshiya shot him a look of disbelief. "What do you mean 'is that all'?!" he exclaimed. He got up and started pacing. Kyo's eyes followed his lanky form.

"What I meant was that I get the feeling you have more to say, so quit pacing like some caged animal and come talk to me" he said as he patted the couch cushion next to him.

Toshiya flopped down and turned so he was facing Kyo. "You're right, that's not all of it. She then said that she was going to convince you to marry her and then tell you she lost the baby." Kyo stared at Toshiya while he absorbed all that he had been told. The air was thick with a tense silence and both men waited with baited breath for his reaction. Finally, he let out a long sigh and his head dropped into his hands.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"No, we thought it would be best if it stayed between the two of us until we talked to you" Kaoru replied.

"Besides, do you honestly think Jae would've let us come alone if she knew?" Toshiya chimed in.

Kyo looked up, a genuine smile lighting his face. "Not a chance in hell."

The men shared a short chuckle but Kaoru quickly turned serious. "Kyo, are you okay? Talk to us, tell us what you're feeling." Both of their heads snapped in Kaoru's direction as they stared at him in shock.

"I think we should be asking you if you are okay, Kao." Kyo laughed nervously.

"Yeah, who are you and what have you done with our Kao-Kao?" Toshiya added quickly.

Kaoru frowned. "What do you mean? I'm just concerned. I don't want a repeat performance of the incident with Jae, where you lash out and scare her half to death" he replied indignantly.

Kyo winced. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear. It just all came pouring out. I felt like I was outside my body watching everything, but unable to do anything about it."

"Aren't you angry with Hitomi?"

"I am, but my anger is overshadowed by relief."

"Relief?" Toshiya asked, perplexed.

Kyo nodded. "Of course I'm angry at her. Her lies have kept me away from my family for too long. To think that she was scheming to trap me in a marriage with her makes my stomach turn. The bigger part of me is relieved that I won't have to spend my life tied to a woman I don't love. I know that may come as a shock to you guys but it's the truth. I stayed with her because it was easy. With Hitomi, I knew where I stood. She loved me for my fame and money. I didn't have to guess why she wanted to be with me because she made it so blatantly obvious."

Toshiya was still confused and made no attempt to hide it. "I don't understand. You were completely furious with Jae when you found out about Tristan. Hitomi has been deliberately lying to you and you don't seem to care."

"The reason I was so upset with Jae was because I love her so much. You won't be able to fully understand this until you're completely enamoured with someone, but when the person you love does something that hurts you, that pain is unlike anything you will ever feel." He paused for a moment, looking pensive. "There was another reason I was so angry though. I put Jae on a pedestal. I held her to such impossibly high standards and when she fell short of them I became furious. She's only human but somewhere along the way I must've forgotten that." His friends nodded in understanding.

"So what happens now?" Kaoru asked.

Kyo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, Hitomi will be home soon so after I say my piece to her I'm leaving. I've wasted too many years away from my family." He blinked rapidly as his eyes welled up with unshed tears.

Toshiya reached out and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, it can only get better from here on out, right?" he asked with a smile.

Kyo smiled back and nodded, then turned to look at Kaoru, who had been unusually quiet. "Kao, are you alright?"

Kaoru looked up to find both Toshiya and Kyo staring at him with worried expressions. "Huh? Oh...yeah...I'm fine." He offered them a small smile, which was, unbeknownst to him, wholly unconvincing. However, being friends with the pragmatic man for years, they knew trying to push him into talking was futile. Kaoru was a very private man, and if he chose at some point to disclose to them whatever was bothering him, it would be when he was ready and not a moment sooner.

Kyo drew his eyes away from Kaoru to glance at the clock. "Guys, I hate to make it seem like I'm kicking you out, but Hitomi will be home soon and I need to pack." He followed them to the door and stood watching them as they put their shoes on. "I wanted to thank you guys for being such great friends...and for taking care of Jae and Tristan while this mess got sorted out." He hesitantly leaned forward and hugged Toshiya and then Kaoru.

"We'll see you soon Kyo!" Toshiya said with a grin.

He nodded. "Maybe sooner than you think."

He closed the door behind them and went straight to his room and began packing. Once he was finished, he sat down on the bed and pulled out the picture of he and Jae from the drawer in the nightstand. His lips curved upwards into a wide smile as he stared at her smiling back at him.

"I'm coming home, koibito."