Title: The Night the Maid Quit
Pairing: Ryohkura
Genre: Angst
Note: This is for yelloetta who requested an Ohkura/Ryo story that has angst with a happy ending.

Summary: Ryo comes home and finds his apartment a totaled. He comes to the wrong conclusion for the cause of the mess without knowing all the facts.

****

A secure apartment was something that the debuted artists of the Johnny's agency took for granted. That was the privilege of being debuted. The artist wouldn’t' have to worry about their apartments being damaged. Kanjani 8 was no exception. Unlike the other Johnny's groups, they had chosen to live in the same apartment building.

It had been an ordinary day for Ohkura Tadayoshi. He had gone to work, filming TV show appearances. Since his lover Nishikido Ryo was out of the country filming a movie with NEWS, Ohkura had taken on all of Ryo's personal appearances. The drummer didn't mind, he looked down to his finger, to the diamond ring that Ryo had given him before he had left the country.

Ohkura knew there would be nothing waiting for him when he came home. Ryo wasn't due home for another week. He was surprised to hear noise coming out of his apartment. It was rather late for the maid to be there, but he knew that was who it had to be. Ryo had hired a maid for them as soon as he had moved in with Ohkura. Ryo was a neat nick, and Ohkura had troubles keeping things clean to Ryo's perfectionist expectations.

Ohkura unlocked the door to the apartment and went inside. The first thing Ohkura noticed was that the couch had been turned over, and that the back had been cut open. He could see men in the kitchen, opening cans, dumping their contents on the floor.

A strange man was going through the closet in the living room, throwing stuff onto the floor as he looked.

That was when Ohkura noticed that the maid was there, giving orders to these strange men.

"What are you doing?" Ohkura demanded.

"We're cleaning your apartment." Ohkura's maid smirked. "You've been such a dirty boy! You're little boy friend is going to be so angry."

Ohkura realized he was being robbed. He tried to get away; he would run to his friend's apartment and call for the police. But he found himself tackled by one of the men. The robber was soon joined by three other men. All of them beat on the drummer.

The drummer fought against the men, but they were too strong. One of them hit Ohkura over the head with something hard, and everything went black.

***************

Ohkura woke, he found himself tied to one of the dining room chairs. He realized that the TV, the stereo and the computer was gone. The apartment had been totaled. Everything that couldn't be sold for money had been destroyed.

'Look through Ohkura's bag." The maid ordered.

The drummer could only watch helpless as the men went through his bag, taking his money and his credit cards.

"Where is the rest of your money?" The burglar grabbed Ohkura’s hair and yanked it hard.

"You have it all." Ohkura gasped. His lips were swollen from the earlier beating.

"Liar!" The burglar hit Ohkura hard in the face. "Tell me where you've hidden it!"

"Johnny-sama keeps all of our money in trust." he said truthfully. "We have to live on a small cash allowance."

"He has a diamond." The maid told her fellow burglars. "It's huge. He always wears it on his left ring finger."

The burglars grabbed Ohkura's hand. He fought against them. He had promised Ryo that he would never let anyone take it. He could hear a crack, then unbelievable pain. He began to scream in agony.

"Give up the ring, or we break the other arm." The maid gloated.

Tears of pain poured down Ohkura's face. He had no choice. "Take it."

The burglar knelt down and pulled the rings off of Ohkura’s fingers. One was a diamond that had been given to him by Ryo. The burglar gave it to the maid who slipped it on her finger.

Ohkura didn't fight when the burglars pulled him off the chair and half drug/half walked him to the closet. They shoved him inside.

"If you tell anyone what happened, we'll kill Ryo!" Then they slammed the door.

Ohkura struggled against the ropes that bound his wrists, but his arm hurt so much. He had to get away. The robbers might return. What was even worse he was afraid what would happen when his room mate found out.

**********************

Ohkura didn't show up for the rehearsal. That wasn't like him. Murakami Shingo, called Hina had tried to contact Ohkura, but no one answered. That too wasn't like Ohkura. The drummer was the type that would call if he was even ten minutes late. Hina decided that he needed to check to see if he was well.

Hina had a key to everyone's apartment. Every member of Kanjani 8 had a set of what was called back up keys. That way if anything happened they could get into their band mates apartment.

Yokoyama Yu, whose real name was Yokoyama Kimitaka had insisted on coming with Hina. He too was worried about the drummer. Hina unlocked the door and went inside. The living room had been trashed.

"Wild party?" Yoko asked.

"Do you really think Tacchan's the type to have wild parties?" Hina countered.

"No, I suppose not." He shrugged. "I know that Tacchan's a slob, but he's never been this bad."

"I don't think he made this mess." Hina decided.

Hina looked around, not finding anything but filth in every room. Then he heard a noise coming out of the bedroom closet. He opened it and Ohkura came tumbling out. His arms tied behind his back,

Hina bent down. "What happened?"

"I was robbed...." Ohkura sounded stunned. "Oh god, what am I going to tell Ryo?"

"You have to tell him the truth."

"But they say they'll kill him!" Ohkura wailed. "They broke my arm!"

Hina helped Ohkura take off the ropes that bound his arm. His left arm was swollen. Ohkura moaned and moved his arm so that he could hold it.

"They took my keys." Tears of pain fell down his face. "They can now get into everyone's apartment."

"Kimi-Chan, call everyone telling them to double bolt their apartments.' Hina ordered. "Then call the agency."

"Of course," Yoko moved off and began to call their fellow group members.

"I'm calling for the police." Hina decided.

"No, no police." The drummer gasped in pain.

"I'll call for an ambulance." Hina told him. "You have to have your arm set."

"All right," he agreed.

"We should contact Ryo." Hina said.

"No, he's busy with the movie that NEWS is making." Ohkura told them.

"I'm calling him anyway." Hina decided.

Hina called Ryo, but he didn't answer. Hina left a message, but didn't go into detail.

**************

Nishikido Ryo had been gone on a movie shoot for a month. It was the first movie NEWS was making together and Ryo had been excited. There was only one thing, he missed Ohkura. So he came home early. He was expected home in two days, but he decided that he had to see his lover. He didn't tell him, he didn't want to ruin the surprise.

Ryo had received a strange message from Hina, but since he wasn’t in Japan, he couldn’t get a hold of him. He wasn’t too worried, as it didn’t’ say it was an emergency.

Ohkura was his best friend, his lover. The pair had been together for what seemed like forever. Ryo was crazy about Ohkura. But Ohkura had one little problem, a tiny one that drove Ryo insane. Ryo had even told his lover if he didn't change his ways that Ryo would leave him.

Ohkura was a bit of a slob. Oh he always made himself look good every day. He was sure to wash himself and shave. That wasn't it. It was something else. He was a free spirit when it dealt with cleaning the apartment. He didn't mind if the clothes piled up in the corner. That that trash wasn't taken out.

It drove Ryo insane. So he had hired a maid. The maid always was sure to keep the apartment the way that he wanted it.

Ryo wasn't too afraid to come home, after all the maid would be there to clean.

Ryo opened the door to the apartment. He carried his bag into the apartment and set it down. The apartment had a bit of a smell, as if food was rotting. He turned on the light.

The room was a mess. There were piles of clean clothes neatly stacked on the couch. There were also more piles of clothes that probably needed to be washed. Those were dumped all over the floor. There was also no sign of the TV or the DVD player.

Ryo signed disgusted. This had all the earmarks of one of Ohkura's cleaning projects. As much as he loved his lover, he had a way of starting a project and not finishing it.

Ryo decided to check out the rest of the apartment. The bathroom had puddles of water all over it and towels strung all over the floor.

Then he tried the kitchen, that was just plain horrible. The floor was sticky; the stove had what looked like tomato sauce burnt onto it. The sink was full of dirty dishes and the trash over flowed. Almost every can of food had been opened and dumped onto the floor.

Ryo decided to kill Ohkura that is if he could find him. Since it was the middle of the night, he decided to try the bedroom.

"Come on Tacchan, that's it, like that." Yoko crooned. "If you do it that way, he'll love it."

"Are you sure?" Ohkura asked.

"Of course we are!" Hina added.

Then Ryo could hear a lot of panting and groaning sounds. Then suddenly someone cried out.

"Here let me suck that," Yoko offered.

Ryo tried not to loose his temper. It was quite obvious to him that Ohkura was cheating on him, with Hina and Yoko.

Ryo decided that he had to see what was happening. He flung open the door. He was expecting to see Ohkura in bed with Yoko and Hina. Instead, the furniture had been moved around. Yoko was sucking on Hina's finger.

"Ryo-Chan what are you doing here?" Ohkura's face was bruised. There was a cast on his left arm. That didn't matter to Ryo, he was so angry at Ohkura that he couldn’t' see straight.

"I live here!" Ryo thundered. "What the hell is going on?"

"I wanted to clean up the apartment before you got home." Ohkura said innocently. “Since we no longer have a maid.”

"Why does the apartment look this way?" Ryo demanded. "Why didn't you clean up after yourself?"

"I tried, I really did, but I was busy at the hospital. They just let me out this morning." Ohkura bowed, holding his hurt arm to him. "I am so sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me the maid quit?"

"I didnt' want you to get mad." Ohkura said softly.

"I am not going to clean any of this." Ryo spat.

"I know," Ohkura looked terrified.

"Why are the clothes all over the living room?" Ryo shouted. “I can’t believe it’s so dirty in here!”

"It's a long story." The drummer began.

"We’ve been trying to get it to look like before…." Yoko interrupted.

“Shut up Yoko! This has nothing to do with you!” Ryo yelled.

"Once we put the clothes up, the only rooms we'll have left are the kitchen and the bathroom." Hina told him. "It will be back like it was before..."

"I can’t' stay here, not like this." Ryo snapped. "I'll have to stay at a hotel."

"Ryo-Chan, please stay." Ohkura begged.

"I can't live with you," Ryo told him. "You're a slob. You can't keep anything clean."

"You don't understand... I didn't do this..." The drummer started.

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Ryo yelled. "Give me my ring back!"

"I don't have the ring anymore." His lover looked like he would burst into tears at any moment.

"Where the hell is it?" Ryo demanded. "You promised you would never loose my ring!"

"It wasn't my fault." a tear rolled down Ohkura's cheek. "Please Ryo, listen to me!"

"You're nothing but a liar!" Ryo slapped his lover hard across the face. "It's over! I will never come back!"

"Listen to Ohkura!" Hina demanded. “Something bad happened!”

"You can all go to hell!" With that, Ryo stormed out of the apartment. He knew he would never return.

*************

"You can all go to hell!" With that, Ryo stormed out of the apartment.

Ohkura Tadayoshi watched Nishikido Ryo walk out of his life. He felt tears sting his eyes. It had happened. After being together for three years, Ryo had finally left him. The drummer tried not to think of his lover. Tried not to think of the look of pure hatred that Ryo gave him. Ohkura had always known it would end like this. He wasn't perfect, and his lover demanded perfection.

"Do you think he'll return tonight?" Yoko asked.

"Ryo will never return to me. I broke the rules." The drummer fought the tears that tried to take over everything.

"What kind of rules?"

"When he asked me to move into his apartment, he made certain rules." Ohkura tried to explain. "If I made his apartment messy, He would break up with me."

"This is your apartment too." Hina reminded him.

"No, it's Ryo’s; his name is on the lease. I'm just a guest." The drummer wiped the tears off his face. "I've always been just a guest in our relationship."

"What if he finds out the truth, that you didn't cause this mess?" the older man asked.

"It won't matter." More tears fell. "That's one of the reasons I love Ryo. He means what he says. If he says he'll never come back, then he won't."

Hina glanced at his watch. "It's getting late, why don't we quit for the night?"

"I agree." Yoko told him. "A rest would do us a lot of good."

Ohkura looked around the apartment. It was still filthy. He couldn't face spending another night in Ryo's apartment. It would remind him too much of his former lover.

"Let's keep working," Ohkura decided, though he felt like falling over.

"You need to rest." Hina told him. "You just got out of the hospital."

"But you'll leave." Ohkura tried not to sound as afraid as he was. "I'll have to be here alone."

"You're afraid they'll come back?" Yoko guessed. When the drummer nodded, Hina gestured to Yoko. The two lovers went into the other room. Ohkura could hear them discussing him.

Finally Hina returned to the room. "You're going to stay with us until you can get your apartment secure."

*********************

Ohkura looked around the guest room in Hina and Yoko's apartment. He felt as if he was imposing on his friends. He had only brought one bag with him. Everything else could wait.

The drummer took a bottle of cologne out of the bag; he set it on the cabinet. Then Ohkura pulled the covers down on the bed. He sprayed one of the pillows with the cologne. He then put the bottle back in the bag.

It was only then Ohkura got into bed. He pressed the pillow against him. Breathing in deeply the scent he so loved. The scent of the man he loved more then his life. He needed Ryo's touch, to be held, to be told that everything would be all right. But the drummer knew that would never happen.

That was when the tears started. Ohkura sobbed in despair. He knew he would never get Ryo back. He was so exhausted that he soon fell asleep.

When Ohkura slept, he dreamt about it being different. Of Ryo finding him cleaning the apartment.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Ryo was with Ohkura in their totaled apartment.

"I was so scared." The taller man admitted. "I tried to fight them off, but there was too many of them. They tied me to a chair. I had to watch while they took everything that was worth anything to you. All your valuables. I wouldn't let them have our ring. They broke my arm.

"You should have just given it to them." Ryo told him. "They could have killed you."

"You told me that you would leave me if I lost it." A tear rolled down his cheek. "Everything worth anything is gone."

"No my love," Ryo took Ohkura into his arms. "They didn't take my most precious valuable."

"You’re most precious valuable." Ohkura repeated. "What could that be?"

"They didn't take you."

"But our things..." Ohkura said confused. "Our Ring..."

"I can buy new things." Ryo tried to reassure. "But I can't buy a new you."

"You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I love you so much." Ryo kissed Ohkura’s lips very gently.

Ohkura woke up with a start. He was alone in the bed. A tear soaked pillow in the place that Ryo used to sleep. It had all been a dream. Ryo hadn't taken him back. Ryo hadn’t told him he loved him. But then, Ohkura realized that his lover had never loved him. The drummer had never felt so alone before. Ohkura began to cry yet again.

*************

Ryo was sitting and sulking in his hotel room. His heart hurt. He refused to cry about Ohkura. His lover was simply a guest in his apartment. He never had the rights that a real roommate had. Ohkura had to act like a good guest. When he hadn't and trashed the apartment, Ryo knew he had no choice but to throw his lover out.

He would miss Ohkura. The man who would smile at him every morning and tell him he loved him. There had always been hope in the drummer’s eyes. Ryo knew that the drummer had just one wish. He wanted Ryo to tell him he loved him. Ryo couldn't lie to Ohkura. He couldn't tell him something he didn't feel. He had even bought his lover a diamond ring to shut him up. But that just made him tell Ryo he loved him even more.

Love was a weakness, and Ryo decided that he would never be that weak.

There was the noise of someone pounding on his hotel room door. "Let me in Ryo, I know you're there!"

Ryo got up and answered it. He was met by Hina's fist. He fell to the ground. Hina stepped over him and went into the room, shutting and locking the door.

"You are an asshole." Hina said as he came into Ryo's hotel room.

Ryo got to his feet. "Stay out of my business Hina."

"Do you want to know why the maid quit?" Hina asked.

"It doesn't matter." Ryo told him. "Tacchan probably drove her away with his sloppiness.”

"There's a little more to it then that." Hina told him. "How do you think the place would look after being robbed?"

"My apartment wasn't robbed." Ryo insisted.

"This is the police report." he shoved a paper of Ryo.

"Police report." Ryo looked at the paper. The apartment had been almost totaled. All of the closets and drawers had been empties so that the robber could look for valuables. "My apartment is high security. How did they get in?"

"The maid let them in," Hina explained. "Tacchan walked in while they were robbing the place, they tied him up. Then they took everything worth anything."

"But he wasn't hurt?" Ryo asked concerned.

"They broke his arm because he wouldn't give up your diamond."

"Why didn't he tell me?" Ryo demanded.

"You didn't give him a chance." Hina told him. "You need to go back to your apartment, and make up with him."

"I don't know if I want to do that." Ryo began, before he was met by Hina's fist.

"I said, you are going to go back to your apartment and make up with him!" Hina yelled.

.

***********************

Hina forced Ryo to return to his apartment. Ryo still wasn't too sure if he wanted to talk to his lover. They found Okura and Yoko folding clothes. Ohkura looked as if he had been crying. For the first time Ryo noticed that his lover had a bruised face, and that he had a cast on his right arm.

"If you know he isn't coming back why are you doing this?" Yoko asked Ohkura.

"When I move into my new apartment, I want to make sure I don’t' take anything of Ryo's." Ohkura explained.

"Why is that so important?"

"You've been with Hina so long you wouldn't understand." he put the shirt down he was folding. "Ryo-Chan wants it to end, it will. If I don't have any of his things, I can pretend that we never were together."

"Why would you pretend that? It makes no sense."

"You don't know how much Ryo's leaving hurts," Ryo could barely hear Ohkura's voice. "The man I love doesn't trust me. He wouldn't even listen to what I had to say."

Yoko looked across the room. "Why don't you tell him now?"

Ohkura looked at Ryo; he suddenly had the deer in the headlights look. "Ryo-Chan."

"Look what I brought back," Hina told Ohkura.

"You shouldn't have." Ohkura said sadly. "It's better that we have a clean break."

"Are you all right?" Ryo asked concerned. "Did they hurt you?"

"You know about the robbery." Ohkura guessed.

"Hina told me." He went to Ohkura's side. "You should have called me, told me what happened."

"I tried telling you when you got home." Ohkura spat. "But you wouldn't listen to me. You never listen to me. That's the problem with our relationship."

"I came to apologize." Ryo felt frustrated. "Why wont' you accept it?"

"What you did to me is more then just saying I’m sorry. It’s everything you do." Ohkura told him. "I have to tiptoe around you. Hoping that I don't make you angry. If I say anything wrong, you threaten to throw me out."

"I don't do that."

'You do Ryo." Ohkura turned and sat down on the couch. "I fought the burglars. They broke my arm before I would let them take the ring. You probably think I should have let them kill me before I gave them up."

"You should have just given it to them." Ryo told him. "They could have killed you."

"Isn't that what you want?" A tear rolled down his cheek. "Perhaps if I had been killed, you might have finally admitted to having feelings for me."

"I'm sorry." Ryo sat down beside him. "Please Tacchan, forgive me."

"How can I forgive how you are?" he tried to act as if it didn't matter. But Ryo knew it did. "I will never be perfect enough for you."

"We will never get back together, will we?" Ryo realized.

"We could, if we started fresh." His lover told him. "No stupid rules, no maid. If you want the apartment spotless then you clean it."

"All right," Ryo agreed.

"We need to have a new apartment. Not me moving into your apartment." Ohkura decided. "We need one that's ours. A large apartment with two bedrooms."

"We will have two bedrooms?"

"I need a room that can be mine alone. It can be messy if I want it to be. I can stay there when you're with NEWS." Ohkura suggested. "You live in two worlds, why can't I?"

"Will we still be lovers?"

"I don't know," he looked at Ryo. "That's up to you. Can you accept me the way I am?"

"We need time." Ryo realized.

"When we move into our new apartment, you can tell me then." Ohkura decided.

"If that's the way you want it." For the first time, Ryo realized that he was in love with Ohkura. He knew it was too late for them to be real lovers. He had to get out of there. He left the apartment, running, getting away from Ohkura. He had only gotten as far as the staircase as everything he had been holding in took him over. Ryo sank to the ground, sobbing bitter tears.

**************

It had been a month since Ohkura and Ryo parted. Ohkura had tried to talk to Ryo about the new apartment, asking when he wanted to go look for one, but Ryo told him he didn't care. The only attention he ever got from Ryo was text messages and emails. Ryo emailed him almost constantly. Every time he turned on his new computer there was a message from Ryo. It was like when they had been together and Ryo was in Tokyo.

They where in a dressing room. Sometimes all of Kanjani 8's time seemed to be spent in dressing rooms.

Ohkura's phone beeped. He looked at it. It was a message from Ryo. He looked across the room, to the man who just sent the message.

"You should send me photos of the apartment. I really want to see what it looks like."

"Why won't you talk to me?" Ohkura text back.

"I like it like this." Ryo answered. "I have to give you the time you need. What I did was so wrong. I should have trusted you. I miss you so much Tacchan."

"I miss you too." The drummer confessed.

“If I talked to you, will you not send me away?”

“I’ll never send you away.” Ohkura promised.

Ohkura looked at Ryo again. This time, their eyes met. Ohkura smiled at his lover. For the first time in a very long time, Ryo smiled back at him.

Just then, a staff member came into the dressing room. It was time for Ryo to be on set. Ryo looked at Ohkura one last time, and left.

Shota, who had been sitting in the corner quietly moved so he was sitting close to Ohkura.

"What's going on? And don't tell me it's nothing." His friend demanded.

"I don't know," Ohkura confessed.

"Are you two back together?"

"I don't know." Ohkura repeated.

"How can you not know?" Shota asked. "You should see how he looks at you."

"He doesn't look at me any special way." he denied.

"He's head over heals in love with you.” Shota decided. “I never saw him look at you that way before you broke up."

“I think you’re seeing things.” He decided to change the subject. “My new apartment is ready for me to move into.”

“The group needs to hold a getting your apartment ready party!" Shota said eagerly.

"I don’t' feel like a party,” Ohkura admitted.

"Come on, it will be fun." he encouraged. "We'll help you get everything all set up. Then you can move in."

"I don't want to live alone" he looked at his broken arm. "I shouldn't have told Ryo we needed time."

"Don't worry about that," Shota told him. "We will have a good time with or without him."

*************

Ryo was at work. While the rest of the group would get the evening off, he had to film a TV spot. There was only one other Kanjani 8 member left at the studio. Ryo wasn’t' quite sure why Hina was still there.

"We're having a party tonight," Hina told Ryo.

That made Ryo perk up. That was what he needed, a chance to get drunk and forget about his problems. "Oh really? What kind of party?"

"The group’s helping Tacchan set up your new apartment."

"It's not my new apartment." Ryo pointed out. "We broke up."

"Tacchan's miserable, don't you care?" Hina demanded.

Ryo tried not to blink. He cared a great deal for Ohkura, but he couldn’t let Hina know that. His feelings for his lover were private. He would have to lie, to protect his heart.

"I gave him the chance to take me back. He's the one that refused." Ryo spat. "I'm not the type that begs. If he doesn't want me, then he won't have me."

"Do you love him?"

"Stay out of my business!" Ryo snapped. "You should worry about Yoko and not Ohkura!"

"I'm only going to tell you this once. Stay away from Ohkura." Hina ordered. "You don't deserve someone as wonderful as Tacchan."

"Go to hell Hina!" he yelled.

"You go to hell!" Hina stormed out of the room.

As soon as Hina left, Ryo took out a photo of Ohkura. He still wasn’t' sure what to do. He loved Ohkura more then anything. He wanted to go to Ohkura, to tell him he loved him. But something inside of Ryo was still afraid.

His ketai rang. He glanced at it. It was a text message from Ohkura. "There's a party tonight. We're going to decorate our new apartment. I would really like if you come."

Ryo looked at the message. He was tempted to skip the shoot, but knew he would get in trouble if he did something stupid like that. He messaged back. "I can't join your party. I have to work tonight. I'm sorry. I'll come over tomorrow and look at it. Go ahead and decorate. I trust your tastes.”

***********************

The group had gotten together to help decorate Ohkura's new apartment. Because of his broken arm, Ohkura couldn’t' do much moving. They called it a party, though there was no beer and little food. Yoko, Hina and Maru were all ready there.

"Today you’re the director," Yoko told Ohkura.

"Just tell us where to move things and we will." Maru promised.

"We'll start with the living room." Ohkura decided.

They began to move around the furniture. Ohkura thought that the living room being welcoming was very important. If this was His and Ryo's new home, then the living room would the place they could take refuge.

A few minutes passed and there was a knock at the door. Maru went and got it. Ohkura looked up for a moment, hoping that Ryo had been able to get away from the shoot. Instead, it was Shota who was bouncing with enthusiasm.

"We brought you some presents." Shota said brightly.

"Will someone help me with these?" Subaru yelled from the hallway.

Shota and Maru went into the hallway. They soon came back carrying large shopping bags full of things.

"We took the colors that you said you wanted the apartment in, and we got you some things." Shota told him.

"What kind of things?" The drummer asked.

"You know pillows, sheets, towels, bedspreads." Shota began. "I bought a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a coffee pot...."

"Yassan went a little bit crazy." Subaru tried to apologize.

"But he had to start from scratch!" Shota protested. "He has to have a good looking apartment. Everything's in beautiful shades of leaf green and gold!"

"You should have let him go with you if you where planning on buying so much."

“I know what he likes!” the guitarist insisted. “He told me!”

“You just like spending money!” Subaru spat.

“What’s wrong with spending money?” Shota countered.

“Nothing if it’s your money!” he rolled his eyes. “You used my charge cards!”

Ohkura could only smile as the two lovers began to argue.

Ohkura's ketai began to ring. It was a special ring that belonged to only one man/

"What would you do if I told you I love you?" Ryo text to him.

The message came quickly. “I would tell you I love you too. But don’t tell me now, tell me in person”

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Ryo promised.

"It's too bad Ryo isn't here," Maruyama told Ohkura.

"He had work." Ohkura's smile grew wider. Ryo wasn't there, but the message Ryo sent him gave him a lot of hope. For the first time in a long time he knew that he would get back together with his lover.

******************

Everything in the apartment was new. All the furniture, the carpet, everything. It was like someone else's apartment. Everything was in shades of leafs and gold.

Leafs and gold. Ryo realized that those were their ranger colors. Unlike before, it wouldn’t just be Ryo's apartment, with Ohkura as a sometimes unwanted intrusion. This would be their apartment.

He could hear noise coming out of one of the bedrooms. He went and checked. It was Ohkura, in a bedroom that was to Ryo's critical eye messy. Ryo was about to say something, when he realized. This was Ohkura's apartment too. He was allowed to decorate the apartment anyway he wanted. If he wanted his room messy, then he could.

Ryo knocked on the open bedroom door. “Hello Tacchan."

"Welcome home." Ohkura told him. “Do you like our new apartment?”

"Our apartment?" Ryo echoed. “Do you really want us to room mates?”

Ohkura thought for a moment, and then he smiled and said. "Of course I do."

“I really like what you did to this place.” Ryo smiled. “You have a knack for decorating.”

“Well, Yassan’s the one that decorated. I just told him where to put everything.” He confessed.

"I bought something for you. I really want you to have it." Ryo took a small box out of his pocket. He held it out to Ohkura. "Please take me back."

Ohkura took the box, but he struggled to open it one handed. Ryo took it from him and opened it. Then he passed it back to him. His lover looked at the gold band. Not as fancy as the other ring. A tear rolled down the drummer's face.

"I'm sorry... you hate it don’t' you?" Ryo said quickly. “I wanted to give you something different. Something that would let you know how I feel for you.”

"Its beautiful." more tears. "I love it. Help me put it on."

Ryo took the box from Ohkura and slipped the ring on his finger. Then he looked into Ohkura's eyes. He had never been so afraid of anything in his life. Not even the wrath of Johnny Sama. He pulled up all of his courage and said. "I love you."

Ohkura smiled at Ryo, the special smile Ryo had missed. Ryo felt his hand move on its own. He touched his lover's cheek. Then he kissed Ohkura.

"Do you want to see your bedroom?" Ohkura asked between kisses.

"No, I like this one." he confessed before kissing his lover once again.

***************

Time passed, Ohkura finally got the cast off his arm. The two lovers celebrated by spending their day off in bed. They lay on Ohkura’s bed, in his bedroom. Ryo decided that once he stopped thinking about the mess, he liked it better then his spotless room. Ryo realized that he only felt at home in Ohkura’s room.

Ryo turned on the small TV. He switched it to a news channel. He always liked to keep up with news. He could hear his lover wake up. Then a report came on. It was about the break in.

"Tacchan, are you awake?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"There's a story about the break in." Ryo told him.

He could feel his lover sit beside him. They watched the report. The burglars had been caught trying to rob Hina and Yoko's apartment. They had found the burglars and tied them up. All of the burglars were turning states evidence against the maid. The good news was that a diamond that had been stolen from Ohkura had been recovered.

"That's good news." Ohkura put his arm around him. "Perhaps they'll go to jail for a long time."

"I hope," Ryo took his lover's hand. "We could go get your ring."

"Why should we?"

Ryo couldn't believe his ears. "You don't want your ring back?"

"It’s not my ring. I don't want it." Ohkura raised his left hand, showing the gold band. "This is our ring. This ring shows you love me."

"What should we do with the other ring?"

"Sell it for charity." Ohkura decided.

Ryo began to nibble on his neck. "Love you."

"What?" Ohkura teased.

"I love you." he began to kiss his neck. "Love you, love you, and love you."

"So you love me?"

Ryo pulled away from Ohkura looking into his eyes. "Yeah, I love you."

With that, Ryo was kissing his lover. Ryo knew that their life together would always be special. Because they had each other.