Near midnight, Aki had long since fallen asleep and was heavy beside me in the bed, unmoving and drawing deep breaths. I had found myself feeling like I needed to stay awake to protect him in his vulnerable state, and I simply sat propped against the pillows, reading through the comments on Guardian's social media posts from the tour. I became invested in the mindlessness of the task quickly; and it brought me joy to read how excited and supportive the fans had been, even when I was unaware of it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the screen of Aki's phone light up from the bedside table. It was set to silent, and didn't even vibrate, and though I was curious since it was too early for Kota to be calling, I knew Aki didn't want to be disturbed. A few minutes passed, and a message appeared on my own phone screen, overlapping the comments I had continued to read. It was from Fuji. "Are you at Aki's house? I'm outside."

I got out of bed as quietly as I could, but Aki seemed to be completely undisturbed. I was wearing one of Aki's t-shirts that had been discarded on the floor of the bedroom, and I quickly tugged my sweat pants back over my underwear as I walked to the door. I found Fuji on the doorstep looking solemn, and he threw down a cigarette and snuffed it with the toe of his boot. "Hey, Natsuko." He said. "Sorry to show up here so late."

I moved aside, grabbing the sleeve of his sweater and pulling him inside the house. "Are you okay? Did something happen?" I was concerned about why he was suddenly standing at the door of Aki's house with no warning.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go. I only live in Tokyo now, but I took the train out here. My car is at home. The trains stopped running back to Tokyo."

I lead him to the main room, motioning for him to sit on the couch, and I continued on to the kitchen to pour tea. When I rejoined him, he was sitting on the edge of the couch, leaning over to rest his forearms on his thighs. He looked up at me only to take the tea from me. "Is Aki asleep?"

I nodded, sitting across from him, ready to hear his story. "He got a lot of tattooing done today, he was exhausted."

"I wondered when he didn't answer his phone. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"I was awake. I was kind of in protector mode for Aki."

Fuji smiled lightly, nodding as if he understood. "I bet after what you've been through, that wasn't easy to see." He forced a laugh. "Aki's tough, no need to worry about him when it comes to tattooing. You know, you've seen him."

"So, you took the train out here, I guess that means you were planning to stay the night." I tried changing the subject.

"You already know what happened." He said, leaning back into the couch. He looked defeated. "I was supposed to be staying with Hina, but she asked me to leave." He looked at me hard, and I guessed he was trying to see if I was waiting for more of the story, but I just waited to see if he would continue. I was afraid to ask more questions if he wasn't ready to talk. "You know, she was the one who didn't want to be with me because she thought it was too hard to live with a rockstar. Actually, it's been too hard living with her, who can't make up her mind."

With the break in tension in his voice, I felt that it was acceptable to smile. "Hina's never been like that, I'm not sure why she feels the need to be so guarded with you. You're a great guy, Fuji, and if it was me, I'd be more grateful for that."

"Thank you." He lifted his mug in a one sided cheer. "I think you already know, but Hina spent a few nights with me in the hotels during the tour. We had a really good time together, you know. We actually slept in the same bed together like a real couple. Nothing happened, though." It seemed like once he had started telling the story, he gained momentum, and I listened intently. "She invited me tonight, with the full intention of taking the next step, but she asked me to leave before I could even take my sweater off. She knew what time it was, and that I took the train because she had invited me to stay the night." He shook his head in disappointment.

"Disappear." I said. He looked at me in question, surprised by my comment. "Just stop seeing her. Don't talk to her anymore. Don't send her any messages or anything. Just cease to exist to her."

"That seems a little harsh."

I held up my hand as if to halt his train of thought. "No, Fuji, kicking you out knowing you had no way to get all the way back home to Tokyo after asking you to stay the night is harsh. She's only been thinking of herself this entire time. She's just leading you on. It's not fair. You actually really cared about her, and she doesn't deserve it."

"I sense you're also saying that because you're still a little mad at her for not wanting to talk to you." He smiled at me. "But you do make a valid argument. It's been more and more difficult with her, and I haven't been able to just sit back and enjoy the time like I used to." He leaned forward again, placing his tea cup on the table and holding both hands around it. "Maybe it is time to move on. It's clearly just not going anywhere."

I nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, Fuji, but you shouldn't have to try so hard. If she really wanted to be with you, she should meet you half way."

He slapped his knees definitively. "Thank you, Natsuko. I'm going to go set up the spare bedroom, and I'll let you get back to Aki." He stood, but pointed at me. "I'll make breakfast in the morning as an apology and thanks for crashing."

"Did you know we were here? What would you have done if we weren't?"

He laughed. "I have a key. I would have just stayed here anyway. But I wanted to make sure if you were here that I wasn't about to walk in on anything since you wouldn't have been expecting a visitor."

I stood to give him a friendly hug, sensing that he might have needed a familiar pair of arms around him, if only briefly. "I hope you can sleep well. See you in the morning."

I slept restlessly beside Aki's dead weight, afraid to disturb him, alert to be at his service in case he woke during the night in need of something. Early in the morning I smelled coffee followed by the aromas of various foods, and could hear movement from the kitchen. Excited to see what Fuji was preparing for breakfast, I gave up on sleep to meet him. He greeted me with a one armed hug, and poured a cup of coffee for me at the same time. "Everything is ready, should we wait for Aki to get up?"

"He was still pretty asleep just now, but he didn't move all night, so I don't think he'll sleep much longer." Though he asked me if we should wait, he didn't actually let me answer before he started to plate the food he had prepared. "How was your sleep?"

"Terrible. Hina was sending me messages all night. I didn't reply to any of them. I'm taking your advice, I'm just going to go silent." He carried two plates to the table in the main room, returning to the kitchen to retrieve one more. He pointed to the hallway where Aki's bedroom was located. "I hear shuffling."

Aki did indeed shuffle into the main room, half lidded, his hair sticking up at all angles. He had pulled his sweat pants on half halfheartedly, and I greeted him with a kiss while I grabbed the waistband to arrange them for him, and tied up the drawstring. I knew he wasn't expecting anyone else to be present. Fuji held out a cup of coffee to him, which he took without question. "Good morning, Aki. You look terrible."

Aki held out his unbandaged hand to take Fuji's as they half hugged each other. "I was tattooed for eight hours yesterday. Slept great though." He didn't bother asking why Fuji was present in his house or when he had come, and while it didn't fully surprise me that he simply accepted the company, it showed me just what kind of friendship the two had.

"I made breakfast." Fuji motioned to the table. He had set a third place. "I got here last night, sorry for intruding." He didn't have to explain himself at all to Aki, and I could tell it was just a formality spoke out of habit.

Aki sat on the floor at the table, waving his hand in dismissal. "Whatever you need, Fuji. Actually I'm glad you came here rather than spending money on a hotel. Thanks for breakfast." Aki looked around until his eyes settled on me as I crossed the room with a refill of my coffee. He patted the space beside him at the table, a silent way of telling me to stop being so busy and sit with him. He placed his hand on my thigh as I joined him. "Will you help me in the shower after breakfast? I have to take these bandages off and wash the plasma off."

I nodded happily to his request. "That sounds really gross, but I'll do whatever you need."

Fuji sat down with us. "Is he asking you to help him wash his new tattoos?" I nodded. "He asked Kota to help him wash his back, but Kota said no. I ended up doing it." He laughed at the reminiscence. "You want me to do it this time?"

Aki laughed with him. "No, Fuji, now I have a girl to shower with." His tone was playful, but it reserved a hint of gratitude at the offer, however jokingly it was presented.

"I hate to say it, Natsuko, but I've seen Aki naked more times than you have." I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment while the two laughed.