Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation...Plain and simple.
Note: I wrote this on a bit of a dare. I love Yuki and Shuichi...but it's nice to see a little bit of a change.
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Shuichi sighed. He was bored out of his mind. It was the night before the opening concert of Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper's big duet tour.
'I wish Yuki-kun was here...' He thought. 'But no...he had some stupid book signing and couldn't make it...I bet he doesn't show up for any of the concerts...'
He heard something from the room next door and decided, out of a strange mix of boredom and curiosity, to see what was going on. He climbed out of bed, snuck out of his room, careful to avoid K's all seeing eyes and all sniping gun. He knocked on the door and smiled when Ryuichi answered.
"Shuichi?" Ryuichi asked. "Why are you up, na no da?"
"I couldn't sleep..." Shuichi admitted. "I heard a noise and decided to investigate."
"Kuma-chan and I were playing video games...wanna play?"
Shuichi's eyes lit up. Even though He and Ryuichi were quickly becoming closer friends, the idea of being invited in to play video games woke up his fan boy side.
"I'd love to Sakuma-san..."
Before he could blink, Ryuichi had pulled him inside, flopped him in front of the TV and handed him a controller.
"You're a much better opponent then Kuma-chan!" Ryuichi exclaimed as his character died. "Want to play again, Shu-kun?"
Shuichi blinked, dropping his remote.
"What's the matter, na no da?"
"You've never called me Shu-kun before..." Shuichi stammered.
Ryuichi's eyes watered a bit.
"I thought since we were friends... it'd be...ok..." With the last word, he broke down crying. "Gomen, Shuichi...don't be upset..."
"It's ok...please don't cry..." Shuichi said, on the verge of tears himself. "It just surprised me..."
The two cried together for a moment before the sniffles subsided and they dried their red eyes.
"So I can call you Shu-kun, na no da?"
Shuichi smiled. "Only if I can call you Ryu-kun."
Ryuichi nodded. Shuichi put down the game controller and sighed, giving a small frown. Ryuichi put down his controller, and moved to sit in front of the younger singer.
"What's the matter?" He asked his vice loosing some of its usual playfulness.
"I'm just nervous..." Shuichi admitted. "We've only preformed together three times..."
"And we were great!"
"But what if...something is said...like that one time...and you get mad at me?"
The older man looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Shu-kun...you've got a lot of talent...and no matter what, we'll always be friends."
Shuichi leapt forward and hugged his friend.
"I'm glad you feel that way, Ryu-kun!"
Ryuichi hesitated for a moment before returning the hug. Shuichi could still smell Ryuichi's shampoo from his shower a few hours ago. I was a strange mix of fruit and flowers, and made him feel lightheaded, almost intoxicated. He pulled back, and sat back down, one hand to his head.
"What's the matter?" Ryuichi demanded, concern filling his voice. He knelt in front of the pink haired boy and put a hand on each shoulder.
"It's nothing...I just got a little woozy..." Shuichi said.
He lowered his hand and looked up to see Ryuichi still gazing at him, concerned.
"I'm ok, I promise..."
Ryuichi sat down beside Shuichi, a smile spreading across his face. They sat there silently for a moment, before Shuichi moved to get up.
"I should be going to bed..." Ryuichi said nothing, but grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"What is—?" Shuichi began, but was cut off as the older man pressed his lips against his own.
A surreal feeling rose inside Shuichi, his heart raced as he felt the warm, sweet kiss. He closed his eyes, prepared to become lost in the moment. That was, until an all too familiar blonde ran across his mind.
He pulled back, a hand shooting to his mouth. 'I can't believe...'
"I have to go." He said, and he started or the door.
"Shu-kun, wait..." Ryuichi pleaded, but Shuichi ignored him. His door slammed behind the younger rock star and he sighed.
'Baka...' He mentally scolded, falling back on his bed.
Once back in his room, Shuichi sat on the end of his bed, too confused to think. Why had Ryuichi kissed him? And more importantly, why had he liked it so much? He had a boyfriend already, so why didn't he resist more? He fell back onto his bed and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
'Maybe it will all make sense tomorrow...' he thought.
=======
"What's wrong?" Hiro asked as Shuichi sat down beside him for a quick bite of lunch.
"Yeah, you've been acting odd...even for you." Suguru added.
"It's nothing." Shuichi sighed. "I just didn't sleep well..."
"Don't tell me you miss your ice prince..." Hiro joked. "You saw him about twenty four hours ago."
"Just don't let it put you in another slump or something..." Suguru said. "There won't be anyone to bail you out this time."
Shuichi nodded, taking a few more bites. He sighed and stood.
"Where are you going?" Hiro asked. "You need to finish eating...who knows when we'll get to again with a slave driver like K..."
A bullet whizzed by Hiro's head.
"It was a joke, K-san..." Hiro said, waving his hands in front of him, a large smile on his face. "You can take a joke, right?"
K thought for a moment.
"No."
Shuichi shook his head and walked off, content to roam around until an answer came to him. He came to an unoccupied lobby, and sat down, face in hands, trying to make sense of everything. A shadow fell over the patch of sunlight he'd been staring at through his fingers. He looked up, and saw Ryuichi. He was wearing a serious, almost cold expression.
'He's mad at me...' Shuichi thought.
Ryuichi just stood there, not saying anything, staring at Suichi with that same, unchanged expression. Shuichi stood to go, but couldn't. When he looked at Ryuichi, he noticed his look wasn't cold; it was more concerned like the look he saw in Ryuichi's eyes the previous night...right before...
"Shuichi...I wanted to explain...about last night."
Shuichi's eyes darted around frantically. 'What if someone heard? And got the wrong idea?'
A few people came in from the dining area, laughing and joking about something or another.
"But we won't talk here." Ryuichi decided. With that he turned and started off.
Shuichi bobbed along after him, and followed him onto an empty elevator. He reached for the button to take them to their floor, but Ryuichi stopped him.
"I just wanted to tell you I meant what I said last night. No matter what, we'll always be friends..."
"What about...?" Shuichi couldn't finish the sentence. 'The kiss...' He mentally finished. 'You kissed me!'
Ryuichi lowered his head, examining his tennis shoes.
"I like you Shuichi..." he began.
"Ryu-kun, I—"
"I love you, Shuichi." He finished. His eyes now fixed on the younger boy. "I have for some time now. I never had the chance to tell you...but last night...you were so close...you were right there. And you looked so cute when you smiled at me, right before you hugged me."
Shuichi felt his idol's eyes burn into him, right down to his soul. It was uncomfortable...but welcome...all at the same time.
"Shuichi...all I'm asking is that you give me a chance...just one...to make you happy...while Yuki isn't here to fog your judgment." He hit the button for the ground floor, and the doors slid open, exposing them to the outside world once again. "Just think about it...let me know..."
With that, Ryuichi disappeared into the crowd of people checking in and out. That night at the concert, Shuichi was proud of himself. He never once let anyone know of the struggle he was facing. He noticed that everything went on like nothing at all was wrong.
=======
He sat on the edge of his bed, wondering how long Ryuichi had been there, fighting back feelings for him. Ryuichi Sakuma, a man who could literally have anyone he wanted, wanted him.
There was a knock on the door, and he looked up, half way expecting to see Ryuichi standing there.
"Oh, K, it' you..."
"Lights out." K said, repositioning the rifle on his shoulder.
"Hey...K...can ask your advice on something?" Shuichi asked without thinking.
"Sure...shoot..." K smirked at his own little pun.
"Ok...I've got this friend...and he's been in a pretty solid relationship for a while now." Shuichi began, already mentally kicking himself. "Well...recently, he came to discover that someone else had feeling for him...and he realized he might have feelings for that other person too..."
K put a hand to his chin, deep in thought.
"How do each of these people treat your friend?" He asked after a moment.
"Well...in his current relationship, he finds himself feeling alone...even with that person. And he often feels that that person doesn't trust him...maybe doesn't even care for him as much as they did at first. But he still loves that person, and wants to make it work." Shuichi sighed. "This new person, on the other hand, has always made my friend feel happy and special. He's never wondered about their feelings towards him...until they said they loved him...Now he doesn't know what to do..."
K nodded. "Does your friend love this new person as much as their current relationship?"
"I—er—he doesn't know for sure...there's something there, but he doesn't know what."
K nodded again. "I know exactly what to do in this sort of situation!"
"You do?" Shuichi looked up, hopeful.
"Yup! Happens a lot back in the states." K smiled as he turned for the door. "Tell your friend to just go out with both until he can decide...or they find out about each other and drop him like a hot potato. If that happens, take which ever one he can grovel his way back to. Night Shuichi!"
With that, K flipped the light off, and closed the door.
Shuichi lowered his head again. 'I'll give Ryuichi a chance...what could it hurt...?'
Across the hall, K opened Hiro's door.
"Lights out." He called.
"Ok, thanks." Hiro said as he started for bed.
"Oh...by the way...the next time you need advice, feel free to come to me...don't send Shuichi."
"What?" Hiro asked, thoroughly confused.
"Night." With that, the blonde man was gone.
=======
Shuichi woke up as thunder rolled somewhere just outside. He heard a floorboard near his door squeak, and he rushed to turn on the bedside lamp. Much to his surprise, he saw Ryuichi, Kumagorou in tow, about halfway between the door and himself.
"What are you doing, Ryu-kun?" He asked, a little sleepy.
"Kuma-chan got scared..." Ryuichi said, walking the rest of the way to Shuichi's bed. "But K is scarier then the storm....and Noriko and Tohma make fun of me—er—him..."
Shuichi laughed. At that exact moment, Ryuichi looked so adorable. He moved over, giving the older singer plenty of room to climb into the plush king size bed. Neither of them lay down, but sat there instead, both lost in their own thoughts. Ryuichi stared at the lightning flashing beyond the curtains, and Shuichi stared at Ryuichi.
"Ryuichi...I feel something for you...I know that much..." Shuichi broke the silence. "But I want to give you a chance. I want to know if I love you."
Ryuichi said nothing, but put his hand on top of Shuichi's, holding it in a firm but gentle grasp.
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Shuichi awoke the next morning, stretching his arms out with a great yawn. He opened his eyes suddenly when he realized he was alone.
"Kumagorou Beam!" Was suddenly exclaimed as a pink fluff wad hit him right between the eyes. He sat up, and saw Ryuichi perched on the end of the bed, a large grin. "Time to get up!"
Shuichi laughed, and threw Kumagorou back at him. Ryuichi tried to catch him, but fell off the bed, landing on the floor with a THUD. Shuichi dove off the bed and pulled Ryuichi up into his arms.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
"I am now, na no da..." Ryuichi replied, leaning up to sneak a quick kiss while Shuichi was still in shock. Shuichi helped him to his feet just as K burst through the door.
"What's going on in here?" He demanded.
"Kuma-chan thought it would be fun to wake up Shu-kun...but he made me fall..."
"Who, Shuichi?"
"No, Kuma!" Ryuichi smiled. "Well...time to get ready for a new day..."
With that, the lead singer of Nittle Grasper was off.
K shook his head. "Sometimes I worry about him."
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"Shuichi sure does seem happier lately..." Hiro commented a few weeks later.
"Yeah, what ever got into him about his ice cube, he must've worked it our." Suguru added.
"Where is he anyway?" Hiro asked, looking around.
"I don't know." Noriko commented as she entered with Tohma.
"We haven't seen Ryuichi all day either." He said.
"I know it's our day off, but those two should've remembered that K said to tell someone before leaving." Suguru sighed.
Upstairs the two singers were oblivious to everyone and everything else. They were sitting on the balcony to Ryuichi's room, quietly watching the clouds roll by.
"How do you feel, Shu-kun?" Ryuichi asked after a long pause.
"Happy." Shuichi sighed. "I don't feel rushed or pressured into doing anything I don't want to do."
"Then I'm happy too." He rested his head on the younger boy's shoulder.
"I just don't know...how to tell Yuki..."
Ryuichi said nothing but put his arm around Shuichi's shoulders.
"It's just...he's been hurt so much in the past...I don't want him to hurt again."
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Shuichi climbed into his bed, exhausted from the final concert of the big duet tour.
'I can't wait to be able to sleep in my own bed again.' He thought with a smile before realizing. 'After I break up with Yuki...I'll probably have to move back in with my folks. I doubt Ryu-kun is ready for me to move in with him...'
He sighed and closed his eyes. He had just drifted into a light sleep when his door silently opened and closed. He was awakened suddenly as someone leapt on the bed, landing beside him. He didn't open his eyes but smiled softly. 'Ryu-kun came to visit...'
"Did you miss me...Baka...?"
Shuichi's eyes shot open.
"Yu—Yuki-kun...?"
Yuki leaned up on his elbow.
"Who else jumps into your bed in the middle of the night?"
'...Do you really want me to answer that...?' Shuichi thought. A guilty feeling rose up from the pit of his stomach.
Yuki tried to wrap his arms around the smaller boy, but Shuichi stumbled back, landing on the floor.
"What's your problem?" Yuki asked, sitting up and looking down at his pink haired boy toy. "I figured you would've been happy to see me."
"It's just, I—"
"If you're mad because I missed your tour, you need to get over it. You knew I had important work to do with my new book coming out."
"No, but I—"
"It doesn't matter, just get up here." Yuki reached down and pulled Shuichi back up onto the bed.
"Yuki-kun, wait!" Shuichi said, trying once more to pull away. He wanted to tell him now, before things got any worse. He stumbled back, and fell off the bed of the second time. There was the sound of footsteps outside as the door flew open.
"Shu-kun, are you ok?" Ryuichi asked before skidding to a stop and looking at the scene before him.
"What are you doing here?" Yuki asked.
Ryuichi said nothing, but turned and ran out of the room.
"Ryu-kun, wait!" Shuichi said, jumping up and starting after him.
"You wait, Baka." Yuki said, grabbing his lover's arm. "What is going on here?"
Shuichi lowered his head.
"It's very hard to explain..." He began.
By now there was quite the commotion outside. Ryuichi had managed to wake everyone else up. Hiro, K, and Suguru stood outside Shuichi's door, as curious as Yuki for an explanation, while Noriko and Tohma tried to calm Ryuichi.
Shuichi couldn't bring himself to say anything for a moment. He could feel Yuki's eyes burning into him.
"During the course of the tour, Ryu-kun and I—"
"Stop." Yuki ordered, although his voice didn't hold it's usual cold, cruel tone. Shuichi could almost hear his heart break. "I know what you're going to say...just don't."
He stood and started for the door, the small crowd parting to let him pass. He looked over and saw Noriko and Tohma standing by Ryuichi in the hall. He stopped, looking at the man who took Shuichi from him...his Shuichi. He started to walk towards him, noting the look of fear and panic in his eyes. He raised his fist, ready to beat him until he surrendered Shuichi, but stopped as he saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over and saw Shuichi crying, his eyes pleading. 'Please understand, Yuki- kun...'
Yuki lowered his fist, and laid his hand on Ryuichi's shoulder.
"If you hurt him, I'll kill you." He warned. Then his voice softened a bit. "Don't screw up like I did."
With that he turned, and started for the elevator.
=======
Yuki sat alone in the bar, trying to drown how he felt.
'If this is what it takes to make you happy, Baka...' He said, trying to convince himself that as long as Shuichi was happy, he was too.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Tohma's worried eyes.
"Everything will work out..."
"I know...I just didn't expect this."
"What did you expect then, Eiri?"
Yuki sighed.
"I expected him to be the one, down here, drowning his sorrows."
"What do you mean?" Tohma sat beside the younger blonde at the bar.
"I knew things were heading south with us...and I knew we'd grown apart."
He finished off his glass before continuing.
"I knew he'd be happier without me...and I'm finally to the point where I can be happy without him."
Tohma nodded, finally understanding.
"It's the best for both of you."
Yuki sighed.
"I didn't expect Shuichi to move on so quickly...but the fact that he has makes it easier on me."
He looked to Tohma with a weak smile.
"I don't have to see him upset."
Tohma laid a sympathetic hand on Yuki's shoulder, pulling him into a reassuring hug. Yuki sat like that for a while, glad the only other person in the room was the bartender, who honestly didn't care what was going on as long as she got tipped. He felt the sadness melt away the longer they sat there. He'd always known Tohma's feelings...but was it possible he could learn to return them?
'It's easier then finding someone new...' He reasoned. 'He already knows all my deepest, darkest secrets...'
He looked up at Tohma after a while.
"What about Mika?" he asked as the two of them stood. He slapped some money down, not really sure of how much he owed.
"I thought you figured out a long time ago that was just for show..."
"Really now?" Yuki asked as they made their way to the elevator.
"She's got her kicks, I've got mine."
Yuki laughed as the doors started to close.
"I'm surprise you could stand her this long, even for show." He said. 'This might be just what I need to get over the Baka for good...'
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Note: I'm really sorry about the ending. I tried to make it happy for Yuki too...but I just couldn't. Please don't be too upset...and as always please R&R and tell me what you think.
Also...sorry for the odd dividers...had to get a little creative...