Forget Me Not (Chapter 5)

A/N

I realized how angsty most of the chapters are (including this chapter) but rest assured that it won't be like this forever. In the following chapters, there would be the fluff that DaiMao are known for ;)

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"Ugh! The accident didn't kill me but I will die from boredom here." Daisuke muttered under his breath as he stared at his hospital room's plain surroundings. Suddenly, a hesitant knock on the door roused him up. He waited with anticipation until the door opened and an unknown face with stand-out cheekbones peered through. The face brightened upon seeing him awake and finally opened the door widely.

Daisuke's eyes widened when a group of unusually good-looking men emerged. They looked like the ikemen he remembers seeing on magazines: tall, clear-skinned, handsome.

"Ehem-" Cheekbones cleared his throat. Daisuke stared at him curiously. His cheekbones are really awesome, he thought.

"We will introduce ourselves one after the other." Cheekbones continued.

Daisuke nodded with unblinking eyes.

"My name is Baba Ryoma. You usually call me BabaRyo or just Baba when you're annoyed. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!" Cheekbones spoke too fast in a high tone that Daisuke almost didn't catch his name.

"BabaRyo? Sounds cool!" He smiled widely, feeling infected by the man's energy.

"Wait till you get tired of his hyperactive behavior." The guy beside him remarked, his quite serious face and sharp eyebrows making Daisuke cower a bit. "By the way, my name is Minami Keisuke. You can call me Keichan like everybody else does." He then wiggled his eyebrows amusingly. Daisuke felt himself relaxing again.

"And I am Yagami Ren," The long-haired guy beside Keichan moved nearer to his bed, offering a hand. "But I prefer to be called Ouji."

Daisuke shook his hand happily.

"Ohh, I'm next!" The tallest and probably the thinnest man he's ever seen exclaimed. His womanly features almost deceived him, if not for his manly voice. "Yuuta Furukawa at your service! You call me Yun or Yuuta or Furukawa, depending on your laziness."

Daisuke laughed self-consciously. It seems he has crazy friends in the entertainment industry. He then moved his attention towards the last guy. If Yuuta were beautiful, this one is surely a stand-out. He can't even find the right words to describe him. He is also tall but he's probably the smallest in the group and the way he is bowing his head is adorable.

"Ano..." the man bit his lip before looking at Daisuke with impossibly large eyes. "I'm Hamao kyousuke. You can decide what to call me."

Daisuke knitted his brows. This guy's voice seems familiar to him. It's like he heard it somewhere recently.

"Daichan, we are not the only friends you have in the industry. The rest are unfortunately working today but they'll be visiting in the days to come." Yuuta explained.

"I-I have more friends?"

"Of course! You are liked by everyone and also well-respected." Keichan stated matter-of-factly.

This information brought immeasurable happiness to Daisuke's heart. "I didn't imagine I could be a person like that."

"Well, you are Daichan which is why everyone already anticipates your return." Ryoma excitedly stated.

"Ah... about that, I'm not sure whether I can go back to my work immediately considering my situation now." Daisuke also felt disappointed at this fact. This people all appear to be nice and fun to be with. He really looks forward to working with them but at the moment he doesn't have courage yet to face up to his present life.

"Don't worry Daichan, we're all here to help you adjust to your life. Especially, Mao here!" Ryoma lightly pushed Mao towards Daisuke. Mao staggered a bit before throwing Ryoma a lethal look which the latter just laughed off. "He came back from his studies in America just to comfort you."

Daisuke turned to the man in question. "You came back just because of me?" He couldn't believe what he heard.

Mao was busy staring at the floor though. Avoiding Daisuke's eyes, he just nodded affirmatively. Daisuke felt a tug in his heart at the sight of the seemingly timid young man. As if in trance, he couldn't seem to remove his eyes away from him.

The sound of the door opening snapped him out of staring. Aiko entered together with Takeru, his dormitory roomate in university.

"Takeru!" He exclaimed happily. "I'm glad you could visit."

The burly man came forward and bumped fists with Daisuke.

"Have you met my colleagues?" He gestured towards Ryoma and the others.

"Sure. We were acquainted while you were still in the ICU."

"Ah, that's great. Aiko," he turned towards the woman who chose to stay near the door. "Come here. You also know them already, right?"

"We were only introduced that time." Ryoma couldn't help chiming in.

"Oh..." Daisuke was surprised. He expected his friends and fiancee to have known each other for some time already.

"Daichan, I told you we were separated for a long time, right? We just got back together recently so there was never a chance to meet them before." Aiko went towards her boyfriend and kissed him in the cheek.

Mao, who was silently watching, bowed his head even lower at the display of affection. He bit his lip and with a small voice uttered, "I-I need to go now guys."

Daisuke snapped towards him, alarmed. The thought of him leaving is strangely sending him a dreadful feeling. "So soon..." he stated, disappointed.

For the first time that day, Mao held his gaze. "I'm sorry, I have another appointment today. But I-I will return tomorrow." He whispered. He then excused himself and bid his goodbyes to his friends before exiting the room, leaving Daisuke confused. Ryoma sighed deeply before excusing himself as well. He followed Mao out in the corridor but he has already disappeared as fast as a lightning.

"You shouldn't have left like that."

Mao raised his head to meet Ryoma's disapproving look. He is sitting on one of the shaded benches in the hospital's well-tended park. It isn't snowing heavily in Tokyo this time of the year and the sun is shining brightly so there were a lot of patients together with their families in the park.

"Babachan..."

Ryoma sighed and sat beside the younger man. "You should always be beside him at times like this."

Mao stared at him, finally realizing that Ryoma knows his real feelings before he turned to look up the sky. "He'll be fine with Aiko-san."

"Are you giving up, Mao? Just because of that woman?"

"That woman is Daichan's fiancee." Mao stated sadly. "She has more rights to be beside him."

"I don't know about that Mao. I really smell something fishy about her."

"Babachan, maybe you just side on me because I'm your friend. And anyway, I've known since the beginning how impossible my love is."

"Mao!" Ryoma grabbed both of the younger man's shoulders. "Don't say such things. Daichan really cares about you. I know because I've always seen how he looks at you. And a while back- he looked at you the same way he did before!"

Mao hung his head to hide the tears that are forming in his eyes. "Please don't make me expect again Babachan. I've already been hurt many times."

"Mao..." Ryoma let go of his shoulders. "I want to help you and Daichan because both of you are my friends."

Mao just sniffed and rubbed his eyes dry with the back of his hands before resting his head on Ryoma's shoulder.

"Thank you Babachan for being my friend..."

Ryoma wrapped his arm on the younger man's shoulders in turn, thinking to himself that he'll continue trying to bring Mao and Daichan together, where they really belong.

"You're crazier than I thought."

Aiko glared at Takeru who is towering over her. They are walking towards the parking lot, with Aiko offering to send Takeru off. The latter bid goodbye to Daisuke earlier, telling him how he has to go back to Hokkaido because of his job.

"You lie as if you're a professional. Why don't you try changing careers too? Daichan could surely help you."

Aiko just continued walking, pointedly not minding her friend's statement.

"When he starts remembering you'll get even more hurt. Are you not worried about him hating you for pretending to be his fiancee?" It seems, Takeru has more to say though.

Aiko was stopped on her tracks, "The present is more important to me. I'll face my fears when they happen."

"You surely changed Aiko..."

"Love changes people. You should know. You've been in love too."

"Yes-" Takeru sighed, "With a woman who's willing to risk everything for the person she's crazy about."

"Takeru-"

"You get it right? The reason I'm just letting you do things? Daichan is also my friend, but I'm throwing it away because of you."

Aiko bit her lip, knowing exactly what her friend meant.

Takeru raised his right hand to touch her face. Aiko stared at him unmoving. Suddenly, in the corner of her eyes, she saw Hamao kyousuke approaching a parked car near where they're standing.

The young man saw them too, stopping on his tracks. She immediately moved her face away from Takeru's hand.

Takeru glanced at the former actor, bowing slightly to acknowledge him.

"C'mon Takeru, or you'll be late on your flight." Aiko dashed to her car and quickly got in the driver's side. She didn't wait for a long time as Takeru got in immediately afterwards.

Aiko bolted the car, passing by the younger man who stared at their car with a dark look on his face.

"I really hate that guy! If he says anything to Daichan, he'll hear a piece of my mind." Aiko grunted under her breath while driving.

"Why do you hate him? He didn't do anything yet."

"You know the reason!"

"What? Your crazy ideas about his real relationship with Daichan? You're not even sure Daichan has feelings for him. Besides, you're not Daichan's fiancee. You don't have any right."

"Exactly! That's why I don't want him near Daichan." Aiko angrily gripped the steering wheel. "You saw him in the flesh. He's insanely beautiful. Everyday I see him I realize more and more that my suspicions are not impossible."

"But Daichan isn't gay and you know how much he hated gays back in university."

"Does that even matter now? We all know how he's changed after being an actor. He even starred in a gay movie, for god's sake. It won't be uncommon for him to fall inlove now with another man."

"Aiko..."

"I know, I'm getting crazier. I just love him so much even after all these years. Is it so bad that I want him back with me without other people threatening our relationship?"

"Don't make this get out of hand Aiko. Don't ruin your life. I won't be here most of the time to protect you."

"I know..." Aiko uttered brokenly. It's true, she realized, how love makes people commit mistakes but although she knows that what she's doing is wrong, she blindly holds on to a hope that Daisuke will realize one day that she is the one that is meant to be with him forever.