Daichi went home with Kyoya that day.

His brother wasn't home, but his father was. Unashamed, Kyoya knocked on his father's office door, Daichi's hand in his.

"Come in."

At the sound of his father's voice, Kyoya opened the door.

"Father, you remember Daichi Akiyama?" Kyoya asked in a firm tone.

His father didn't look up from his work as he said, "Yes, yes, I remember. I looked at the papers you wanted filled out and sent them to our lawyer. He's taking them to the court tomorrow."

Daichi looked at Kyoya with wide eyes. So he hadn't just been kidding? He seriously was going to help Daichi get away from Yukio. If he wasn't in front of that scary-looking man, Daichi could've cried.

"Thank you, father, but I'm afraid my plans have to be pushed sooner than I originally thought."

"And why's that?" Kyoya's dad scribbled something down with a sigh.

"This is Daichi Akiyama. He'll be staying with us from now on."

Finally, Kyoya's dad looked up. His face wasn't surprised. He and Kyoya shared the trait of being able to stay steely-eyed no matter the situation. Daichi didn't like it.

He did put his pen down and sit up a bit straighter. "He will, now?" he mused. "I see..."

He looked long and hard at Daichi, and the boy was suddenly very aware of how tight he and Kyoya were holding each other's hands — as if daring him to say no to the request.

"Very well, do as you wish. I'll send the doctor once I've finished with this." Kyoya's dad turned back to his work, and Daichi took that as their sign to leave, his heart weighing just a little lighter in his chest.

"Thank you, father," Kyoya said with no expectation of a response.

Daichi remembered his manners and nodded his head to the man who wasn't even looking at him. "Yes, thank you, sir."

Kyoya nudged him away and shut the door behind the two of them but not after catching the quiet, "You're welcome," from his father.

Smiling to himself, Kyoya led Daichi to his bedroom. He put their bags on the floor and they sat on his bed together.

"You can stay here with me, or you can have your own room if you'd like," Kyoya said. "But you're not going back there, okay? The doctor will be here soon to help you."

Daichi leaned onto Kyoya. Instinctively, Kyoya brushed his white hair from his eyes, humming the smaller boy to near sleep.

"Thank you, Kyoya," Daichi muttered.

God, his shoulder was so cool and soft. His scent filled Daichi's nose — ocean breeze and fresh lemonade. It was surprisingly refreshing. Kyoya may have looked smooth and polished on the outside, but inside, Daichi knew, was a hidden spring only revealing itself to those close enough. Daichi was proud to say he was close enough.

When the doctor came, he did everything Kyoya normally did, but it felt much more clinical. Daichi didn't like it. He didn't like that man's hands on him. It was only Kyoya's comforting presence that kept him sane and calm.

Once the doctor was finally done, it was time for dinner. One of the staff brought food to Kyoya's room. Daichi looked at the wide selection with tired eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a proper dinner.

Before he could dig in, Kyoya gently pulled him away. "Trust me, puppy," he said. "One day, you can eat as much as you want, but if you do that right now, you'll get sick. Your body's not used to it. Go slow, okay?"

Daichi agreed reluctantly, but he did still end up enjoying his meal. He ate and talked with Kyoya about absolutely nothing important, just the silly little things from their days, weeks, months, years. It was perfect.

Afterwards, a maid came and took their trash away, tidying up a bit. Then it was time for bed. Daichi, already exhausted from a long day, was lying on Kyoya's bed without thinking anything of it.

Kyoya moved his half-awake form to sitting up and helped change him out of his clothes. His eyes lingered on the shallow stomach and defined ribs. No, no more of that.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Kyoya looked at Daichi's collar. Would he want it on when he slept? Kyoya genuinely had no idea. He'd never asked about it, and now didn't seem like a good time.

Instead, he changed out of his uniform and into a pair of boxers. He looked at Daichi with a tired smile. "Ready for bed?" he asked.
Daichi nodded.

The two crawled into Kyoya's bed. It felt hot and cold all at once. Kyoya hated it. Daichi hated it.

So Kyoya moved closer.

And Daichi moved closer.

And when they woke up in the morning, Kyoya had his arm around Daichi, who was curled up into his side. And they were both ready to face the day.

They got dressed, ate a light breakfast, and headed out the door as if they'd done it every day.

School was boring at first until Daichi remembered it was Friday, the day of the championship football match. He asked Kyoya if they could watch. Of course, he said yes. They didn't have anything they needed to do.

Having found Tamaki, Honey, and Mori in the front stands, Kyoya and Daichi joined them. There was still a half hour before the game started, but the stands were filling quickly. This was the big game! Finally it was here! Daichi could barely contain his excitement.

That was when he saw one of his old teammates jog over, a scared look on his face.

"Kiyou?" Daichi asked. "What is it?"

The boy was panting, but his words were clear. Dreadfully clear.

"Daichi, it's Vincent!" Kiyou said. "He sprained his ankle this morning. I know it's mega last minute. But please, we need you to play! We need you to lead us."