Chapter 4

lol! i came down to the comments just to see you'd already said it.

Seriously though, it pisses me off. Hino leaves him and then comes back to Takashi at his own convenience? Apparently, when Hino went to chase his dreams Takeshi wasn't one of them. If I were Takashi, I wouln't care that he'd had some kind of change of heart, it obviously wasn't the right change

then he didn't even contact him after, just showed up like no thats not cool. Takashi must have really loved him or he's just that soft to let Hino be forgiven with a "I'm home"

yeah, i'd probably punch him. and then still turn him down

I totally get where you're coming from and there was I time I thought that way too. However, they both needed room to grow and change and it needed to be independent of one another. If they ended up together later, it was meant to be. If they grew apart during the separation and found other paths, then that was meant to be as well. Talking about it wouldn't change that fact. Hino wanted the seme to forge his own path without looking back or being tied down by his past with him. Hino also wanted to do the same for himself. Only then could they start over and move forward together unimpeded. Had they "discussed" their future together or without each other, each would have made decisions based on the other's feelings and desires, or expectations for the future, rather than on their own dreams, desires and hopes for the future. That is not what their relationship needed, nor is it what they, as individuals, needed at that time. Had they stayed in touch, lingering affection would have also prevented them from having the freedom to choose for themselves the future they wanted. It needed to be a clean, albeit brutal, break. Now, they can grow and move forward together, without regrets, down their own individual paths. Their paths before ran opposite to each other. Now, they are parallel and entwined. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do for the one you love is to let them go to be their own person and grow in their own way. If you find each other again and your love remains strong, you have found "the one". If you drift apart, they were never meant to be with you from the start. (There's an old saying: If you love someone, set them free. If they return, they are yours. If they do not return, they were never yours to begin with.) That was the "moral" of this chapter.

Yup, yup! Exactly it. They can't grow as a couple without growing individually. It hadn't been written in stone either because these two dodged healthy relationships (especially the one who had been abused.) This way allowed them to meet as equals.