-Three months after Iori visited Riku's house-

Iori had been visiting Riku at his house every Monday. Every time, he would bring some bakery gifts with him and it would make Riku really happy. Last Monday, Riku was even more excited than usual since he had happy news to tell the younger boy.

"Iori, guess what! Tenn-nii is coming to visit next week. You should come over~"

Iori would never forget how Riku smiled so brightly that it was almost blinding that day. He really loves his brother, huh? Although, there were a few things Iori could not help thinking about. Why does Tenn-san not visit Riku more often? Especially when Riku is like this. They're family. I get it, his jewellery business is huge and still on the rise, but family should come first, right?

Iori sighed. Who am I to talk about this? Even Nii-san and I don't contact each other that much. Iori sat still on his bed for a while before taking his phone to search for Mitsuki's number. He pressed the call button. He did not have to wait long at all for the other end to pick up.

"Moshimoshi, Iori?"

Mitsuki expressed how happy he was that Iori had called him. He went on and on about how he finally got into the idol industry after failing one audition after another. He had formed a unit with a strange foreigner named "Rokuya Nagi" and an old middle school friend Mitsuki had lost contact with, "Nikaido Yamato". Iori was truly happy to hear about his Nii-san's success. Even better, Mitsuki said that his group would fly back to Japan very soon to debut.

"So, Iori, how are you? I'm sorry I left you on your own like that." Mitsuki sounded pretty sad to Iori.

"It's fine, Nii-san." Iori smiled a little, thinking about Riku even though the feeling he had was bittersweet.

"You know, Iori, I've been thinking..." Mitsuki went into serious mode. "You don't have to look after the bakery if you want to do something else. It's just... I want you to live your life the way you want, so..."

Iori decided to tell his Nii-san that he had met Riku. It was his turn to talk on and on about his life with Riku. He also mentioned Riku's illness, and of course, once he said it, he could not leave the most important and awful part behind.

Mitsuki went silent. He did not take the information in as well as Iori did when Riku told him full details about his condition. "Iori," the orange-haired boy spoke, sounding even more serious than before. "You know what you are getting yourself into, right?" Mitsuki simply had to ask. He was, after all, Iori's big brother. Iori's family.

The last thing Mitsuki wanted was for his younger brother to experience an unbearable amount of pain, sadness, and eventually,

grief.

The new idol could hear the sobbing coming from the other end. "It's *sniff* too late, Nii-san." Iori used his arm to wipe away his tears. "I'm already in love with him."

Soon, Mitsuki cried too. Why, oh, why, Iori. For someone to find his first love, it should have been a happy moment. Yet, I feel so bitter. Iori knows what he will have to go through. Why must my little brother's first love turn out to be this way...? Mitsuki tried his best to calm down and verbalise his thoughts.

"Then you have to make him happy, Iori. And, and..." The big brother took a deep breath in.

"Make sure you enjoy those precious moments too, understood?"

~~

Tenn stepped into Riku's cosy house. He took a deep breath in. Ah, I missed this lovely smell. "Riku! I'm here!" He shouted and soon he heard footsteps coming towards him. Riku came out and gave Tenn his sweet hug.

"Tenn-nii, I miss you soooo much!" Riku was tired but he beamed. He was glad to see his brother again. Actually, he was relieved to see that angelic face again. "Ah, right Tenn-nii, you've met Iori, right?" Riku turned his head back and Iori appeared from behind.

"Hello, Tenn-san." He bowed with respect. Tenn's eyes widened in shock. The bakery boy, in my beloved brother's house!?!

"What ARE you doing here?" Tenn glared at Iori. He was confused. Violently confused. His protective brother mode was activated. Iori was taken aback by Tenn's words. Maybe I shouldn't interrupt family time.

Tenn's actions upset Riku. "Tenn-nii, don't be rude. I invited him!" Riku took hold of Iori's arm, making Iori blush. Tenn's confusion developed into anger. His murderous intent rose dramatically. R-r-r-riku hold up! Your brother, he's going to kill us!

"What? It's been like what, three months?" As a businessman who lived in a large city, Tenn was not so trusting of people. Especially when the Nanase was so rich, Tenn thought up all sorts of scenarios. This boy is most likely in it for the money, or he wants to use my Riku then dump him. "Riku, I've always told you not to let a STRANGER into your house!" Tenn shouted, ignoring Iori completely.

Even though Riku knew how much his brother loved him, Tenn was always crazy overprotective. Sometimes it was frustrating when not only his life was limited by his illness, but by his brother too. "Tenn-nii, Iori is not a stranger! We are dating!" Riku shouted. Tenn felt like his body was split into two. Iori's face went extremely red.

"You can't be serious, Riku!" Tenn grabbed his brother's shoulders. If Riku was NanaseJewel's hot model and friend, Yaotome Gaku, Tenn would have shaken him to death. Iori saw that Riku was getting really upset so he decided to step in.

"Tenn-san, please calm down. It is true. I asked Riku out." Iori could have just walked away easily, but when he asked Riku out, he vowed that he would always protect Riku and that they would go through anything together. "Please give me a chance, Tenn-san. I will make sure your brother is always happy." Iori bowed and stayed in that position to show his utmost respect. Seeing that, Tenn's softer side came out. He released his grip on Riku's shoulders.

"Alright, but know this: if you ever hurt my dear brother, you are done for." As soon as Tenn finished his sentence, Riku had the biggest smile on his face and he hugged his Tenn-nii.

"Thank you, Tenn-san," Iori spoke. That was really scary!

The three spent a sweet time together, having Riku's special tea and Iori's lovely snacks. At one point, however, Tenn started saying something that blew Iori's mind.

Tenn was showing pictures of beautiful lakes and mountains to Riku. "Uwaaaah! This place looks totally lovely. Ah, I wish I could go there..." Riku's eyes were so sparkly like they were made of glitter. Already, Iori felt a wave of sadness hitting his back.

"I will take you there as soon as you get a bit better, Riku." Tenn looked at Riku and smiled sweetly while holding Riku's waist. Riku smiled too.

The wave of sadness consumed Iori's mind. H-he... The cool Iori could hardly remain calm. How could Tenn-san say that knowing Riku is... wait,

Tenn-san doesn't know...?

While Tenn was describing Gaku's funny moments during the magazine photoshoot at that lake, Riku shot a glance at Iori. Iori caught a cloud of sadness in Riku's eyes before the redhead went back to acting cute with his Tenn-nii. The younger boy got the message right away.

Riku, I can't believe you didn't tell him.

Iori excused himself to the bathroom so he would not ruin the scene.

that you don't have much time left.

In the late afternoon, Riku fell asleep on the couch. It was not unusual since Riku's condition tended to keep him up at night. Iori put a light Usamimi blanket over Riku's body to keep him warm. It was then that Iori heard the sound of the jingling key.

"Izumi, want to take a walk?" Tenn asked so that no one would disturb Riku. Iori nodded and together the two exited the house.

~~

The two walked silently for about five minutes before Tenn decided to speak his mind.

"When Riku first said he wanted to move out of the city, I objected and Riku showed me that upset face like this morning." Tenn began to tell a story while the two were walking around the quiet town at a slow pace. "Then my friend, Yaotome Gaku, stepped in, saying to let my brother go. I was furious."

"I screamed at him, saying how he could say something like that when he knew nothing about Riku. Then Gaku got angry and shouted back. It turned out Riku and he were spending quite a lot of time together when Gaku had his free time." Tenn looked down. "It hurt me. I thought I knew Riku well when I actually didn't. We are twins. We are a family. Yet I don't get to spend much time with him. I want our business to prosper, so he wouldn't have to worry about anything else."

"I just... I feel like I can't make him happy. People like Gaku and you just seem to be able to tell what he wants. I am an idiot who always ends up hurting the one I want to protect the most. " Tenn looked up to see birds flying away, disappearing into the bright blue sky.

The pieces were coming together in Iori's mind. "You are wrong about that."

Tenn turned to look at Iori in confusion.

"When Riku and I talk, a lot of the time your name always comes up in our conversation and Riku will always smile widely."

Iori went to the edge of the big bridge. This bridge was built over the town's river and it led outside to other places. There was a nice breeze. To Iori, it was a refreshing spot. "You certainly make him happy, but I think he doesn't want to be the only one protected." Iori turned to look at Tenn's pink eyes. "I think he wants to protect you, too. He knows that you are doing so much for him, so he turns to people like Yaotome-san when he needs some support."

"Tenn-san," Iori sighed and spoke sternly. "If you treat him like a friend instead of a person who needs protection, then maybe both you and Riku won't feel like there's a gap between your feelings and his."

That's right. Riku taught me to be more honest with my feelings. He taught me to be brave and follow my heart. That silly person is strong. He does not need protection and he wants his brother to know that. If Riku told him about the severity of his condition, Tenn-san would never change. He is hoping Tenn-san will one day see him the way he sees Yaotome-san or me.

I will respect Riku's decision not to tell you this. So I hope this is enough of a clue for you, Tenn-san. "I think you should come to visit Riku more often." With that, Iori started walking away from the edge of the bridge. "Well then, we should head back."

Tenn stood still for a minute. Brat, the boy can live on his own. And when are you gonna stop treating him the way you treat your customers!? He doesn't need your goddamn shield, he just needs your love! Tenn recalled Gaku's words. It was so shockingly similar to what Iori had just said. That day, Tenn felt like Gaku had set his heart on fire. All he did was snap back at Gaku, saying they were only business partners and that he had no right to meddle in a family matter.

Have I been wrong all this time?

--------------------------------------------------------------

If you need a confirmation of what you've read: yea Riku is....*sniff* *sniff* *sob* WAHHHHHHHHHHH. Oh Iori ;-;