BACK IN TOWN

CW: small sexual content.

Note: In this chapter Mitsu's thoughts are written with " " and the chatting is with ' '.

Mitsu Mafuyu walked across campus with his eyes stuck on the ground at all times. His pace was as fast as possible since he had the mission to not bump into anyone he knew there. He tried to avoid the rest of the students, too, hiding behind his hoodie. Firstly, because he was entirely over psychology school, and secondly, because he had a noticeable scratch on his cheek that could catch the attention of anyone.

He was returning from the school's administrative department after signing his formal resignation. Carelessly, Mafuyu had thought that if he didn't put a step on campus for six months, the school would eventually figure out he wasn't interested anymore and automatically drop him out. Unfortunately, the establishment did need him to start the whole process and sign a bunch of papers to leave. Since he had done any of that, he owed the University an entire semester.

He tried to look afar to see if anyone familiar was coming his way so that he could hide in time. There were people all over since he had finished just in time for lunch and everybody took this break simultaneously. The laughs and the chatting, adding the peeking at his wounded cheek made him more annoyed than ever.

Yep. Coming back was definitely not a good idea, he thought.

The weather was hot, and Mitsu was feeling suffocated. Also, the fact of being so vigilant made him feel anxious. If anyone approached him, he wouldn't know what to say since he had entirely disappeared for six months - no phone, no social media, no everything. He caught quick glimpses of people that would take a second look at him because of the scrape, to which he decided to pull his hoodie and hide more into it.

Rai must be pissed…

Once he was finally out of the psychology building, he could finally relax. He slowed down and caught his breath. It only lasted a couple of seconds since he saw a group of psychology students at the front entrance. He quickly hid behind a tall pillar at the side of the hallway. He sighed and let himself drop down into a squat while leaning his back on the pillar.

This is so stupid. I need a smoke.

He took out a rolled cigarette from one of his pockets and *a lighter with 'California' engraved on it. He lifted his face to light the cigarette, and when he was inhaling, he saw someone passing through right beside him.

Time stopped for a second.

Mafuyu's eye rapidly recognized the boy who had just walked by him. He got up and extended his hand, grabbed him by the shoulder and made him turn around in just one second. He wasn't entirely sure, but he did it thoughtlessly.

Mitsu widened his eyes and his mouth slightly opened, making him almost drop his cigarette.

"Alex?"

Mitsu retrieved his hand and looked from head to toe at the boy. He was also noticeably shocked and had changed so much. He had a new hairstyle, new earrings, and new clothes - and they…suited him.

"He looks older."

He was wearing a wide-neck T-shirt that was crooked enough to show his pale neck and clavicles. Mafuyu noticed the natural black roots from his hair growing out, meaning he had dyed it a while ago. Six months had passed so fast, but now he realized how many things could have happened during this time.

"Stop looking at him. What the hell is he doing here? Didn't he say he was dropping out too? Well, last time he said that."

Mafuyu contemplated Alex's terrified look and came to a realization. His gut churned.

"Right, the last time we saw each other…"

Mitsu looked away and took a drag of his cigarette, embarrassed. Alex kept staring, confused.

He knew the boy had many questions, the same questions he had been avoiding all morning. After what felt like an eternity, Alex took a step back. The young boy's eyes fixated on Mafuyu's scratches.

Both opened their mouths, but before they could say anything, a high-pitched voice interrupted them behind the boy.

'Alex!'

A small girl with short hair jumped onto Alex's back, making him break his balance. He quickly recuperated and faced the new girl. Mitsu stared at the scene, frowning and confused, smoking.

'Are you ready for our date?' asked the girl as she hung with her arms around the boy's neck. His cheeks and ears were bright red.

The girl was considerably shorter than Alex, so she looked at him from below with what Mitsu thought were the exact definition of puppy eyes. He also noticed how she pressed her considerably big breasts against Alex's. Mafuyu raised his eyebrows and bit his tongue.

"There's no fucking way…"

Alex laughed nervously and nodded quickly.

'Of course, he said with a hoarse voice.

The short girl took a peek at Mitsu and leaned back. She stared back at Alex, expecting him to introduce them. Mafuyu took advantage of the situation and said:

'Hi. I'm Mitsu, Alex's -' he paused for a millisecond, only perceived by the two boys who interchanged a quick peek, '...friend'.

"Well, we are. We were?"

He politely extended his hand to the girl, but the girl just stared at it and then looked back at Alex as if she needed confirmation.

"Seriously, she's like a puppy."

'Alex?'

'Yeah, Maf-" he scoffed, 'Mitsu and I met here at campus ."Alex looked as if his whole blood had just accumulated in his head. 'Uh, this is Connie,' he continued, avoiding eye contact, 'my girlfriend.'

Mafuyu found himself out of words. He felt the whole situation was way off, *as if he had stepped into another universe.

"What? This is... Connie? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

'But I thought I knew all of your friends,' she claimed, looking at the boy, who was staring at the ground, barely blinking. 'And I haven't heard you mention him..."

Mitsu felt instantly annoyed. He scoffed lowly, sarcastically.

"Did she just ask that in front of me?"

'I've been away for a while,' Mitsu assured with a piercing tone. 'That's probably why…'.

After minutes of interaction, the girl finally looked at Mitsu's eyes and talked with what Mafuyu thought was a fake, sweet voice.

'Reeeeally? Where have you been?'

"Fuck."

Mitsu noticed he had made a mistake by mentioning that and froze. He found himself completely blank. He noticed how Alex looked up at him when Connie asked, probably because he had been wondering the same thing for months. Mafuyu and Alex's gaze met quickly and rapidly looked away. Feeling the pressure of both Connie and Alex, Mitsu coughed and finished his cigarette that had almost burnt by itself. He put it out and muttered:

'Uh, um, I was out of the country,' he confessed, carefully enunciating every word. He could feel Alex's eyes drilling on his face, and he couldn't dare to look back. He concentrated on the cigarette bud.

There was an awkward silence after his response that made Mafuyu physically hurt. Mitsu was internally cringing to himself, so much that he couldn't take it anymore, and said:

'Well, I'm on my way out, so…'

'Yeah,' Connie cut him off and jumped at Alex's back, startling the boy but making him smile. Mafuyu noticed how Alex's hands firmly grabbed her thighs as her skirt pulled up slightly, to hold her close to his body as she adjusted for a piggyback ride.

'Right, baby? Our date?'

Her high-pitched, fake voice was starting to bug Mafuyu as her tone rose every time she finished a sentence. He noticed how Alex and the girl moved together with ease as if the couple was used to each other's bodies. They were comfortable with each other. This bugged him.

"Why?"

'Right,' said Alex, interrupting his thoughts one more time and glancing at Mitsu. He nodded with his head once to indicate a goodbye.

Mitsu stared at them as they left without saying another word. He felt the impulse to stop them, so he could ask Alex to meet him again. Maybe talk about the last six months...

He took a step forward, and before his hand could reach them, Connie turned her head and looked Mitsu dead in the eye, which made him stop stone cold.

"What the…?"

The girl turned around again, and Mitsu stepped back.

"What the fuck was that?"

He felt a huge wave of irritation invading him. He frowned and took another cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, fighting with the lighter as it refused to light up at first.

"Really, Alex? Her?"

The picture of this new but familiar Alex, looking at him with terrified eyes, was stuck in his mind. Mitsu blew out a long cloud of smoke and rapidly sucked on the cigarette again.

"Well, that's none of my business."

He pushed the thoughts away, but he still felt a strange feeling.

"She is a brat. She acts like a little girl. That's what bothers me. Come on Alex. You can do better…"

Mitsu crouched against the pillar again while smoking.

Before coming back, he had already deeply regretted leaving in the first place. Even though he knew that he'd probably react the same way if it all happened again.

Memories from six months ago started to appear in Mitsu's head.

​​When Alex took him home after Nick's beating, Mitsu felt like he was going crazy. He couldn't help trembling as he had vivid memories flashing in his mind. As much as he tried to push them away, they kept coming. He started to get desperate as his heart raised, and every part of his body ached intensely.

The kicking, the hitting; they were all familiar. All came back as if it was happening again, except the person in his memories wasn't Nick. Mitsu knew Alex kept staring at him while in the cab. He only managed to look at his shoes and tried not to move an inch.

He dropped on the bed and curled up. He wished Alex would leave immediately.

"Leave. Leave now." he thought pressing his eyes shut.

He didn't want anyone to see him as vulnerable and weak as he felt at that moment. He swore he would never show it again to anybody.

"Leave, please." his mind begged.

The young boy sat on the bed and called him with his nervous voice, but he didn't want to listen to him. He tried to hide his face as much as possible as the tears fell on his face.

His body was out of control, and he kept shivering.

"Mitsu"

"This boy…"

"Mitsu."

"He's so…"

"Mafuyu!"

"Persistent!" he groaned inside.

Alex obligated him to look at his eyes, tugging from his arm, revealing his damped face and tears.

"Say something." Alex begged him

Mafuyu shook his head. He had sworn he'd never talk about it. He looked at Alex's alarmed semblance. It was his familiar melancholic look. Mitsu extended his hand to reach Alex's.

"Why do you have to look at me like that?"

Frustrated, he pulled Alex's body into a hug, closing his eyes and snuggling his face into the boy's warm neck. He noticed it made Alex flinch, but hugged him back.

"I can't help it with him. He makes me want to protect him urgently. And yet, he is trying to protect me... and who takes care of me?…"

"Mafuyu..." Alex whispered. The boy's worried tone made Mitsu feel warmer and hug him tighter, so he wouldn't pull away to look at him.

"This feels... so different."

Mafuyu could feel the boy's heart race as his own speed up too. He came to the notion that his nose and lips were against Alex's soft neck skin.

"Alex…"

His heart and mind went wild. Power from within made him push the boy back on the bed and put his hands at the side of his ears. Alex was definitely shocked, but he was staring at him directly. Mitsu had trapped him with his body.

"Alex... Why Does he always give in so easily? So vulnerable… Unlike me, always trying to hide. "

More frustration came over him, and he felt how his blood rushed everywhere on his body. The boy looked at him with desiring eyes. When Alex nervously licked his lips, Mafuyu couldn't resist it and leaned for a kiss.

"Fuck. I can't hold myself anymore with him."

He kissed him with fervor like an animal that hadn't been fed. He bit Alex's lower lip, and Alex stabbed his fingers on Mitsu's back, sharply.

"I want to protect him so severely, even from… me"

"and yet...

Fuck it. "

Alex grabbed his hair with his fingers and pulled it away from his face. *Mitsu looked at Alex's eyes almost as if they were demonstrating adoration. He kissed him back intensely.

"Fuck it. Fuck it. Don't leave, please."

Alex ultimately gave in to Mitsu; the older boy had him where and how he pleased. He loved that. Mitsu groaned in pleasure at the young boy's surrender. The fact that he was so easy to handle made him feel so eager. He usually didn't have that much control over anyone.

The young boy made him fall back, trying to take control. Mafuyu got carried away and let him do what he wanted. He was so used to letting the other one be in control so he didn't do anything to stop him, although he could have.

But this boy... this boy was changing him. So he wanted to be someone who changed him as well.

He quickly overpowered him again and pulled his T-shirt off before the boy could respond. He slipped the tip of his finger to his abdomen. Alex flinched and pressed his lips to hold his any sound, but his eyes gave him away. He was driving him crazy with every touch Mafuyu gave him. He bound his legs with the boy's so he couldn't move and placed his knees in between his legs on purpose. He could feel the boy's shorts getting tighter, which made Mitsu feel a wildness from within, making him almost lose control. He quickly grabbed both of Alex's hands and held them above his head, making Alex look up with wide eyes and then back. Mitsu smiled naughtily.

He approached Alex's neck and noticed something in his arm. He leaned over, slightly peeking at what it was. They look like a bunch white scars, but he couldn't realize what they were, Alex tried to take over again, making Mafuyu change his focus. He grinned mischievously and grabbed Alex's wrists tighter, pinning him down. He looked down at the boy, he liked how he was already with messy hair, sweating and flustered. Then the boy looked straight into his eyes, and he could tell he was wanting more. Mafuyu's blood boiled, and he felt on fire.

"You turn me on so much." he said looking directly into his toffee eyes.

The boy flushed even more, making Mitsu want to devour his mouth.

"This boy... this boy…"

Mafuyu was only obeying his body and what the beast from within wanted. He pushed his hips against him, making Alex jerk. Mitsu couldn't believe how raw and wild he looked and how it made him feel the same.

"I'm losing it too... I want him."

Mafuyu wanted more of it.

Alex's pleasure felt addictive.

He slid down a finger into Alex's shorts, but the young boy interrupted him. He looked at the big bruise forming on his side because of the beating, worried. He distracted him with a kiss.

"C'mon, fuck that, Alex."

He hungrily started to leave a trace of nibbles and kisses, going down to the young boy's neck. Flustered, Alex wanted to look at Mafuyu's face, but he wouldn't let him. He quickly grabbed Alex's wrist again, forcefully sucking on the boy's skin.

That was going to leave a mark, and that made Mitsu feel hotter and powerful, it felt new to him. He noticed how the young boy pressed his lips, trying to hold back his moans. That felt like a challenge to Mitsu.

"I'll make it impossible for you to hold those, you'll see. "

Kissing all over his body and going down his chest, he quickly reached the edge of Alex's shorts. He grabbed the edge of the shorts and started to pull them down.

He put his lips on Alex's lower stomach.

'Wait' Alex got nervous. The boy tensed up in reaction and shut his eyes. But as Mitsu licked his lips and was about to finally pull his shorts down, when Mafuyu's phone rang. He tried to ignore it and get back into his job. Alex made him notice it was ringing, alarmed, as always. He peeked at the screen. It was York. He silenced it and threw the phone away.

"I don't have time for tantrums. "

He grazed the edge of his boxers and started to kiss him when the phone began to vibrate, receiving a call.

"Ignore it," he demanded

But Mafuyu noticed how anxious the young boy was getting, and he confirmed it when he gestured to him to answer the phone. The moment was over, and Alex was conscious of what was happening. Mitsu felt frustrated and sat at the edge of the bed.

'For fuck's sake,' he muttered to himself.

He picked up the phone and answered.

He got startled when York's panicking voice shouted from the other side. He tried to calm him down, but everything was too fuzzy.

'Hold on.' he hurried to say, just a bit alarmed, 'Wait.'