Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

A/N: Still in the same TeniCamp-derived universe as my other RyoDans. I wasn't sure if I should post this but my Ryoma told me to. Set off in the future when Ryoma's singing career has really taken off. This continues the series from Amazement, Sadistic Smiles, Homecoming, Crisps and Kisses, Pillow Talk, and Art.

Clementine

"Where the Hell is that man?"

Quite a few cringed at the rather loud question ringing through the backstage. It wasn't just the crude words that startled them; those were rather often heard in such stressful surroundings. However, to hear this particular person swearing… well, it wasn't all that ordinary.

"You're the one who'd be expected to know." A few heads turned to see Matt hurrying towards them. Nobody exactly envied him. Being the manager of the night's artist was rarely easy; being the manager of this particular very troublesome artist was just about the worst thing ever. The night of an important show and their main star was nowhere to be found…

"Actually, nope. I'm not responsible for tracking him. You're the one he works with," replied the other voice. Even then, the man in question looked rather harried as he ran a hand through his hair, looking around as though he might discover their missing star from some shadowy corner. "He's not answering his cell, however many times I try."

"Well, we can't do a lot more," Matt sighed. Such chaos for one stubborn diva with a tendency to oversleep… "The audience's getting rather restless. We've already had them waiting for a while." He shook his head. "Are you sure he wasn't home when you left there?"

"One would think I'd notice, eh?" Dan Taichi shook his head, sounding just about frustrated as they all felt. "Unless… well, worth a try." Fishing out a cell phone from his pocket, he dialed a number. Well aware of the expectant looks on him, he then brought the phone to his ear. "Yo. You have any idea where your brother is?"

There was a short moment of silence during which nobody dared say much of anything. It was, however, soon broken by Dan's exclamation. "What do you mean, he's there?! He has a concert!" A pause. "When? Right now! He should have been here hours ago!"

Matt motioned for everyone to get moving even as Dan continued speaking into the phone, closing his eyes with a look of absolute exasperation. "Just… just get him here. ASAP. I don't care if you have to drag him here by his hair, just… get him here. Now." He paused again. "Yeah. Great, thanks. Now, hurry!"

Snapping his phone shut, he glanced at Matt. "He was napping, as expected," he said dryly. "Over at his brother's. I didn't even know Ryoga was in town this week… In any case, they'll be here as soon as possible. With luck, that's ten to fifteen minutes; Ryoga's place isn't far from here. With less luck, though, it might take them half an hour or so."

"Great. Just great." Matt sighed. "How are we going to keep the audience at bay for another half an hour?"

"We've got to try at least." Sighing, Dan glanced down at himself, then strode over to the make-up assistant. "Jessica? Get some make-up on me so I can get on the stage without looking like a ghost, and quick."

"Look, I know you guys look similar, but not that similar," she said, frowning. "Especially with this little thing called height difference, you know? I can't exactly magic that up with make-up."

"Jessica, dear, I don't recall telling you to make me look like him," Dan replied, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose as he took off his glasses before sitting down in front of Jessica's mirror. "I told you to make me passable for the stage. That's your job, isn't it?"

"But – what are you going to do?" asked Matt, his previous nigh distress now overcome with pure bafflement. "They want Ryoma, not just a random pretty Asian man!"

"I'll thank you for the compliment some other day, okay? Too busy right now." Dan's eyes danced over to the side even as Jessica finally started working on stage make-up for him, searching for the closest person working with sound. "Ryan, darling? Have the boys scratch Clementine off the list until Ryoma actually shows up. We're starting with Every Step."

Ryan, apparently realizing what he was going for, nodded happily and hurried off. However, not everyone was quite as accommodating, from Jessica's bewildered expression to Matt's still wringing hands.

"I thought you said you weren't going to try to be Ryoma," Carl pointed out. He did, however, sound… the slightest bit curious. Dan sometimes had that effect on people, especially when he went along with preparing his plans and then putting them into action without informing anyone else what exactly he was aiming at. It could be rather frustrating to those who were supposed to work together with him to accomplish whatever he was trying to do.

"And I haven't changed my mind." Dan raised his eyebrows. "Say, sweetie… what's special about the new album version of Every Step?"

"…It's a duet." Carl stared at Dan. So did everyone else. "You mean…"

"Yes, I do mean." Dan sighed. "I'll walk out to the stage and sing my part of it… if pushed, I can do some of his other songs, too, I can sing them all and I know his choreography – hell, I helped him learn most of it." For all that he played little nowadays, there was at least something his copying skills were still useful for. More often than not, he learned Ryoma's new choreographies faster than Mr. Artist himself, just from watching from the side for a bit. "I know I'm not what they want, but with the duet part, I can hopefully keep them from going crazy until Ryoma turns up. Whenever he does." He smirked grimly. "And then they can all witness his gruesome death when I get my hands at him."

Now that everyone had caught on, they started fussing about even more restlessly than before. Jessica managed what was probably the fastest make-up job she'd ever deemed passable for the stage, while others worked around with all the little details that went along with such a show. Someone was sent to look out for Ryoma's arrival, someone checked the lights, the song list, everything. Even Dan's shirt was changed at some point before he stood ready to enter the stage.

The music started outside, coaxing cheers from the audience. Glancing over his shoulder, Dan was met with nods and OK-signs from the show crew. He was their best bet of calming the audience right now, slim though that hope might have been.

A hush fell over the audience as the actual song started. It was… probably not exactly as they had expected. The lyrics were the same, of course, but both the tune and voice were clearly different from the original version. It was to this hush that Dan appeared at the stage.

"Whenever I looked for light / I found it in your eyes," he sang, at the same time closely following the audience's reactions. He was certain some if not most of them were already recognizing his voice, or there might have already been a minor riot. It was rather… intimidating, though, to be met with so many eyes. He was rather good at being loud and assertive in front of small numbers of people, or people he knew well; this was something else entirely. This wasn't a safe and secure studio recording. This was the real thing.

Ah, well. Ryoma survived it on a regular basis. It couldn't be that hard.

"All the terrors of the night / you showed to be just lies…"

By some miracle, his voice didn't break, he didn't trip over his own feet, and nothing else went woefully wrong, either. In fact, by the end of the song, he found himself finishing it in what he knew would have been the perfect harmony to Ryoma's voice, had Ryoma actually been there. As Ryoma wasn't there, though…

"Hello, everyone," he said as the music came to a stop, his English slightly more accented than usual. Let it never be said he didn't know anything about appearances. "I'm glad to see so many of you here, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Now, as you can see, it's certainly not our darling Ryoma on the stage." He chuckled, shaking his head. "He will turn up soon, hopefully, but until then we'll just have to be patient, ne?"

He reached back, tearing the elastic off his ponytail and letting the hair fall down to his shoulders even as he walked closer to the audience, coming to a stop close to the edge of the stage. "Who am I? I'm Taichi Dan. That's right, exactly like Ryoma Dan. And you know what?" He winked. "I'm the one who was Dan first."

There was a lot of noise from the audience. Dan simply chuckled, smirking at them. Try and stand it, Taichi. Ryoma'll be here soon… or he'll be dead. Either way, just grin and go along with it.

"You might know me better as the second voice of the latest version of Every Step of Way, as you just heard," he continued, walking along the front of the stage. "I've done some of the cover arts for Ryoma's CD's. I've helped with some of the lyrics. But there is one thing I'm sure you all know me from, even though you may not be aware." He paused slightly. "Then, he did call me Clementine."

Another explosion of noise met him. Dan ducked his head slightly with a faint, embarrassed grin. "I guess I'm not exactly what you might've expected," he admitted. "Not small like a fairy, am I? But yes, the song was written for me. About me. And no, I really can't listen to it without crying."

He didn't know who started it, or even at which part of the audience. From a few separate cries it suddenly grew into a chant, a wave of voices all calling for that one thing. Wow. Cruel much?

Dan made a quick face before forcing his smile back to his face. "Ah, but wouldn't you rather wait for Ryoma to come and sing that for you?" he asked. "He should be here in just a moment, certainly he'd be much better –"

They didn't seem to care, as it appeared. Chanting for Clementine, the one song he absolutely did not want to sing, they left him little choice – especially as suddenly the intro for that particular song blared from the speakers. Oh, yes. He'd not only murder Ryoma, but Ryan and Matt and everyone else involved, too. They knew very well just how much he hated this.

He knew the song by heart, of course. He hated it and he loved it because every word of it was true, of course it was all true, it wasn't just by accident that Ryoma put so much emotion into it whenever he sang it. He didn't think he'd ever actually sung it before, however, not aloud at least, he'd only ever even listened to it when Ryoma wasn't home and wouldn't see him cry.

He sang it now, though, voice thick with the tears that forced their way out despite his best efforts, the lyrics were correct weren't they the song really did make him cry. "This song is for you, my lovely Clementine / I would love to sing it to you and make you smile / but I know you'll never hear it and not cry / though it's all about how I love my Clementine…"

Jessica would hate him, he concluded, of course her make-up was waterproof but she'd still hate him because he hadn't told her he might cry, hadn't given her the change to make him look the best for that. Then again, it wasn't like he could be blamed. He wasn't the one who had called for it, or even the one who had started the music. He was so going to get their heads for this… "Sitting nights beside your bed / waiting for you to raise pretty head / but you sleep, don't say a word / shall I buy you a mocking bird?"

He'd heard it so many times, so very many times, yet it never ceased to have this effect on him. One would have thought he'd have gotten immune to it over the time, but no. It never failed to remind him of things he'd have rather forgotten… and things he couldn't bear to forget. The pain, and fear… and the relief of waking up and finding Ryoma there with him. "Boughs are breaking and cradles fall / but I don't care much at all / praying to gods who aren't even mine: / give me back my Clementine."

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer even as another voice joined his, one much better trained for this sort of thing, strong and clear even though he heard the unshed tears all too clearly. "Now if you wake up will it still be you / will you be here or distant like the moon? / Smoothing your hair that is oh so fine / dreadful sorry my Clementine."

He stopped singing, now, he had no voice left from his tears and it didn't matter anymore, did it, not when Ryoma was there next to him and the audience was cheering at his appearance. Ryoma squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before stepping forward, taking his place at the front of the stage. He really was better at this than Dan… then again, Dan had never before even tried to sing the entire song, least of all in front of a full audience.

"And just as I was feeling like a cow jumping for moon / you open your eyes, it's a moment not too soon / your hand is in mine and I will never let you go / and I cry, my Clementine, for I love you ever so."

Ryoma's hand was grasping on his, right there for everyone to see, and then the song came to an end and Ryoma was talking, some witty snarky comments about his lateness and Dan and had they all been nice to his darling, and Dan really didn't hear even half of it. He did notice his chance to leave the stage, though, and took it gratefully, slipping backstage and leaving Ryoma to take care of his own show.

"I hate you all," he hissed through clenched teeth as he stalked towards the nearest chair, wiping tears off his face. He practically threw the now off-turned microphone away for some stage hand with quick reflexes to catch. "Of all the songs you could have picked to follow…"

"Well, they obviously wanted it," Matt defended their choice, smirking at him. "And besides, it went great! They were all happy even before we got Ryoma out there!"

"You got me to cry like a baby in front of a full stadium of people." Dan shook his head. "Oh gods… I'm so going to murder you all when this show is over."

"Poor baby." Ryoga appeared from somewhere, stepping back as Dan threw him a glare. "Whoa, whoa! Don't look at me like that. I had no idea he was late for somewhere!"

"Your brother has a bloody concert and you're not even aware of the day?" Dan asked disbelievingly. "No wonder he's such an airhead sometimes, you've obviously both gotten the worst of your father's genes."

"Ouch, that stings." Ryoga made a face semi-seriously. "Honestly, though, nicely done, little sister. That kind of thing takes guts. It can't be exactly easy to go out on stage."

"Yeah, well, I kinda realized that out there." Dan rolled his eyes. "Now let's just wait and get this thing over with so I can murder my husband in peace…"

For all that it was supposed to last a while, the concert was over as quickly as always. At some point, though, as he was almost prepared for the show to be finally over, Dan again found a microphone being stuck into his hand.

"Every Step," Matt merely said, nodding towards the stage. "Duet. Get going." Dan nodded, too surprised to even think of protesting.

It was… easier, strangely enough, or perhaps not so strangely at all. It was certainly odd, hearing their voices weaving into harmony over the blaring music and the noise of the audience instead of the much more controlled environment of the studio. Adding to that the choreography and the stage, and Dan was frankly quite surprised that he actually could do it all, yet somehow he did manage, singing and dancing and not even slapping Ryoma for all the trouble he'd caused.

"Before I had heard your name / I knew it in my heart," it was strangely appropriate, wasn't it, singing such a song together, in front of everyone. "I knew that whatever came / we wouldn't be apart."

Indeed they hadn't been torn apart. Despite all the strangeness and upset and horror life had tried to throw their way, despite all the misfortune and pain and even overslept shows, Dan knew he still wouldn't murder Ryoma because really, his life would have been much emptier without his snarky little bastard of a husband.

He was vaguely aware that Ryoma was closer to him, now, obviously on purpose even as they both were supposed to follow an identical choreography. Even then, he wasn't entirely prepared for what happened. About as soon as the song ended, with the music still playing, a hand grasped on his arm and tugged him closer. Before he even fully realized what was happening, Ryoma had pulled him close and kissed him. Kissed him in front of thousands of people. Ryoma said something, then, something that Dan wasn't exactly concentrating enough to hear properly but that had something to do with being married to the greatest ass ever, and really he probably should have smacked Ryoma for that but it wasn't exactly the time or the place and then he'd just been complimented anyway hadn't he.

He did yell at Ryoma later, safely at the backstage, and everyone else just laughed, being relieved that the show hadn't turned out to be a total catastrophe after all. Dan didn't want to even imagine just what kind of headlines they'd see the following day, and at the moment, he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to care just yet. For now he was just glad it was over, it was all over, and damn it Ryoma see if he'd ever do that again. Ryoma laughed and smirked and apologized, saying he'd never take a nap when he was late for somewhere again, and none of them believed a word but then there was very little they could do.

"Go to Hell," murmured Dan.

"At least then you'd know where to look, next time," Ryoma replied, then added, "Clementine."

As Dan threw an empty soda can at him, nobody would have even dreamed of saying Ryoma didn't deserve it.