Akira had spoken and now he was staring intently at Azu as he waited for his reply.

"What? You know I can't do that. I've been friends with him for so long and you want me to suddenly cut him off? " Azu protested.

"Azu, do you want me to spell it out for you? That guy wants to fuck you. That bastard, who cheated on you and treated you like trash, now wants you back. Don't tell me you didn't notice it. "

Azu wanted to tell him that he was wrong. He wanted to tell him that Izu had no such intentions and that he genuinely cared for him. But he couldn't bring himself to say it since he didn't believe in that either. They shared a history and Azu was not confident that Izuki had moved on from that. 

He was Azu's first love. 

Izu entered his life on an ordinary day in the spring of his childhood and it didn't take Azu much time to fall for him. 

As time passed he fell even deeper in love with Izuki and much more than that, with the feeling itself. The feeling of  belonging and being accepted by someone was a pleasant and welcome rush to Azu - something  he'd never experienced before. 

He had come to know the excitement of stealing glances and finding reasons to talk and spend time with him. He also came to know longing and the sweet pain that accompanied it.

When finally his efforts paid off and Izu confessed his love for him, Azu was on cloud nine. He had told him that he wanted him despite his family history, his status and all the baggage that came along with him. 

Since the relationship was so sweet, the breakup was as bitter it could be. It left Azu hurt and devastated. It left on his heart a scar that would take a long time to heal.

When months had passed and Azu had started dating Akira, Izu once came looking for him. Or rather, he'd come to him looking for some good fuck. 

But Azu had moved on, believing that his ex lover had given up on him. 

Somewhere along the line Izuki's visits started becoming more frequent. As time passed, he found Izuki coming back to him, following his break up with his girlfriends or boyfriends every other month. Without an ounce of shame, he would then ask him to indulge him.

Their history didn't just end there- Akira had had to thwart him off more than a couple of times in the past when Izuki, drunk, had tried to forcefully kiss and grab Azu. But he would come and apologize the next day confessing that he couldn't help it since he was still not over Azu and Azu in turn, would easily let his friend off the hook out of pity and some guilt. 

All these reasons were precisely what forced Azu to suspect Izuki's intentions when he suggested that he can sleep with him to get revenge on Akira. But he'd ignored all the flags and decided to go ahead with it because he was being stupid. 

In the silence that followed, Akira realized that Azu would need one last push.

"It's either him or me."  He declared.

He didn't mean it. But he did want to know if Azu were to chose one of them, who it would be.

Akira winced as he felt a sharp jolt of pain. The air around him had suddenly grown cold and it was biting him like a beast with a million teeth. What shocked him more was the realization that Azu had attacked him. 

"No you can't do that. You can't force me to choose." Azu warned him.

As Akira processed the rejection, his face gradually assumed a cold hard mask. "Oh, I very well can Azu. You can go ahead and choose him and still be my beta. But our relationship - you can be damn sure that I will end it." Blinded by fury, he couldn't think straight anymore.

"What do you mean you'll end it? You can't end it one sidedly, Akira. Not after spending five fucking years together." He snarked, "You are such a fucking hyprocrite, aren't you? Weren't you the one who told me a couple of hours ago that you would never leave me? And now you're already talking about breakup?"

"Well I can still stay by your side as your alpha. We are a Pair after all." 

It hurt. Every single word that came out of Akira's mouth hurt Azu. He'd trusted him with his secrets and now he was being forced to choose between his friend and .. his everything. He let out a mocking laughter.  

"That's bullshit. That's fucking bullshit and you know it."

As Azu hurled more curses at him, Akira stood and listened. There wasn't much he could do. He knew he was being a damn brat but he didn't want to act mature. Not now. He wanted to keep Azu away from Izuki and with a bit of guilt, he admitted that he wanted to keep Azu for himself. He may not have been his first love but he sure as hell was going to be his last one.

"What do you want me to do then?" He shouted. It was rather unexpected and Azu froze in his place for a second. 

"What do you want me to do, Azu? You want me to just watch while you stay in his house and sleep in his bed knowing that he's chasing you? You want me to forget that you almost slept with him and then lied to me about what happened at the motel that night? "

"It was not like I hid it on purpose, Akira. I was afraid! Do you have any idea how scary you looked that day? You almost burnt me, do you know that? I was naked, lying on the floor and you fucking immobilized me and was trying to hurt me! " Azu shouted back, his anger pouring out. Along with it came out everything he was holding back until then.

"What do you think I should've done instead? Tell you that I was sleeping with my ex to piss you off and that he sucked my dick even though I never planned on letting him do that? Is that what I should've told you?" 

It was happening all over again. Azu could feel it. Waves of blistering heat were washing up on him and for a second he doubted if Akira was doing this on purpose. 

"Back the fuck off! You are doing it again, Akira. You're hurting me." Unable to take any more of it, he let the ice protect him. And the moment he let his magic take form, cold waves wrapped around him like a cocoon, protecting him from the fury of the fire.

Akira was taken aback. 

When was the last time he'd lost control over his element like this?

His whole demeanor changed in a flash and Azu, who was watching him carefully, noticed it without fail.

"You didn't realize it?" His tone was gentle this time. 

Akira sighed. 

Head hung in shame, he walked up to Azu. There were a lot of things that were weighing down on him at the moment. Besides Izuki, Azu and his grandfather there were also the duels that were bound to happen the next day. 

It was tiring. He wanted to be held, he wanted to be loved too and to be told that it was okay to be a little selfish sometimes.

He took Azu's arm  and pulled him in for a hug. Before he knew it, tears were out.