A/N: I'm in a bit of a Shuichi x Hiro friendship phase right now. It takes place in the same universe as 'Twenty Four Seven', meaning it takes place some time after it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Gravitation and make no profit from this what so ever.

Better Safe than Sorry

"It was my fault," Shuichi whimpered as his weakened voice cracked from all the crying and screaming he had done. He allowed his fingertips to play with the hem of Hiro's jeans as his best friend ruffled up Shuichi's hair.

"I very much doubt it," Hiro muttered while staring down at Shuichi's pink hair. He wasn't entirely sure what had transpired between his best friend and the romance novelist, but he was almost positive Shuichi didn't deserve it. He had the feeling it was just a matter of Eiri Yuki not being able to handle Shuichi's stupidity.

"No," Shuichi sighed, "it really was. I should have known with his deadlines so close he'd be in no mood to deal with me."

Just to be sure, Hiro had to ask. "What did you do?" He was positive the answer he'd receive would either be something Shuichi did without thinking, or something Shuichi did without thinking that really wasn't even his own fault.

"I pestered him," Shuichi whispered.

That could mean anything, Hiro thought to himself. In this current situation, 'pester' could be anything from Shuichi constantly nagging Yuki about every little thing to Shuichi merely saying 'hello.'

"There was something bothering him, I could tell." Shuichi's voice was quieter than usual, almost as if he were speaking to himself and not to Hiro.

So, all he did was ask him what was wrong. He just wanted him to be okay. Hiro had to admit; sometimes Shuichi could be a handful. That's why he made a promise to Yuki that if he made his best friend cry over something that wasn't his own stupidity, he would go after him. It was a promise made long ago, but still a promise none the less.

Hiro sighed; he really didn't want to have to go down there, but if it meant setting Yuki straight for Shuichi's sake, he'd go to the ends of the world.

No one made his best friend cry.

Shuichi continued, his voice a little more stable. "I just asked him what was wrong. I didn't mean to bother him."

Hiro now wanted to go down there. He didn't understand this man, after all this time. How could he end it, just like that? Surely he had to have seen the devotion Shuichi had for him; who else would put up with so much emotional torment just to be near Eiri Yuki.

No sane person, Hiro thought as flashes of his best friend assaulted his mind, even though he was right there with his head on his lap. Shuichi isn't a sane person though.

Had this been the past, Hiro would not have been surprised by Yuki just tossing Shuichi to the side. But this wasn't the past, and he had thought it was all left there to rot and never be mentioned again.

Shuichi was broken without Yuki; Hiro could see that. He didn't want to see Shuichi broken; hell, if it were up to Hiro then Shuichi wouldn't need Yuki to be happy.

Yuki wouldn't be in the picture.

Originally he hadn't cared, so long as Shuichi was happy than Hiro wouldn't get in the way. But, Shuichi wasn't happy. Not with Yuki, at least not right now.

But even without Yuki, he'd be worse. Hiro had no doubt that eventually Shuichi would get over it. He was a strong individual, after all, and had matured considerably in the past year.

Still…

"Hiro?"

Hiro looked down at his friend, who had shifted so he could meet Hiro's gaze. "Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I don't think Yuki will let me back in."

Hiro felt his hand tighten into a fist. Unfortunately for Shuichi, it had been the same hand that had been tenderly stroking the vocalist's hair no more than a few seconds ago.

"Ow! Hiro! All you had to do was say no!" Shuichi whined as he winced in pain.

Hiro quickly released his grip, momentarily taken aback by his actions. "Sorry. Of course you can stay here, Shuichi."

As a matter a fact, I think I'll go pay Mr. Yuki a visit when he goes to sleep. He was going to have a nice talk with Yuki; he was going to make Yuki see what kind of a bastard he was being.

He hadn't felt this angry since the night of the incident; a night he'd never forget, receiving a phone call from a pained Shuichi, and finding his battered body sitting in the rain outside of his own apartment.

He was hurt then. He's just as hurt emotionally now then he was hurt physically that night.

Shuichi yawned as he sat up and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. "I think I'll hit the hay now."

"You do that; I'll come wake you up in the morning for work." Hiro smiled at his friend as he walked into the guest room and shut the door.

At that moment Hiro shot up from the couch, ready to go down to Yuki's to have that talk. However, he decided that it was best to wait until Shuichi fell asleep first. Set on that idea, he took his seat and waited patiently.

He had waited for about an hour before he was ready to get up and check on Shuichi, only to be halted by the phone ringing.

Cursing slightly at the idea that the phone would wake Shuichi, Hiro rushed over to the phone and picked up; he answered in a sort of whisper. "Hello?"

"Nakano?"

He recognized that voice instantly; he felt the anger rise to the pits of his stomach.

"Mr. Yuki, we need to talk-"

"Is he there?" Yuki interrupted, his voice perfectly neutral.

"May I ask why you care?" Hiro tried to sound as neutral as Yuki, but failed.

"Because the brat just left without any reason."

Without any reason? Hiro shut his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts so he could form a coherent sentence that didn't involve a string of angery curse words.

"Maybe because you made him cry?"

Yuki chuckled, which only fueled Hiro's anger. "Is that what he told you?"

"He didn't have to. It was perfectly clear to me that you ended it with no reason other than something like, 'he can be a bother sometimes'."

"I ended it?" Yuki just sounded amused at that point.

"Yes. Don't play-"

"Because I told him to get out," Yuki interrupted Hiro again, his tone perfectly cool. "He thought I meant the house, I meant the study."

And just like that, Hiro's rage deflated like a popped balloon. It made perfect sense just hearing Yuki say it, even after seeing the state Shuichi was in. He had overreacted, and thought Yuki was kicking him out of his life when he was really only kicking him out of the room. Still, Hiro felt annoyed with Yuki. He still made his best friend cry.

"You could stand to be a little more clearer, Mr. Yuki."

"And he could stand to be a little less over dramatic; but it can't be helped."

For the first time, Hiro agreed with Eiri Yuki.

"I'm coming to get him tomorrow." With that, he hung up the phone.

Hiro found himself nearly slamming the phone down in irritation. He hated agreeing with Yuki, but he was right. Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped. Yuki would always be cold and misleading when dealing with Shuichi, and Shuichi would always be over emotional and overreact to Yuki's actions. The best Hiro could do was sit back and help Shuichi deal in whatever way he could, even if his best friend was merely overreacting. Hiro wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but he didn't mind. He just wanted to help Shuichi in whatever way he could; even if he was just reacting poorly to a mistake Yuki made.

After all, it was better safe than sorry.

A/N: 'That night', refers to the night Tachi Aizawa paid that group of thugs to have their way with Shuichi; just to clarify.