Shuichi let out a soft moan and struggled to open his eyes. His entire body ached, like he had indulged in a night of wild and rough sex, though he could not recall why. The last thing he remembered was going to Tokyo Joe's(1) with his bandmates. He, Hiro, and Suguru had been hearing about the place from K and Sakano and how wonderful the food there was for the last week, and so they had decided to go there themselves. The restaurant was out of their way -- it was located near the Imperial Palace -- but the trip had been worth the extra distance. Shuichi had never had key lime pie(2) before, and it had been quite delicious. Shuichi wanted to talk Eiri into going to Tokyo Joe's with him -- if he could pry the author away from his laptop long enough! After that, Shuichi's memory was fuzzy. He knew he had started to walk home. It had been a rather nice night out with a few snowflakes falling here and there, but he remembered nothing after leaving the restaurant.
"It's about damn time you woke up."
Shuichi's eyes flew open at the sound of Eiri's gruff tone, and he bolted forward . . . only to collapse back agains the bed, his head and body screaming in protest from the action. A whimper passed his lips in the process. What the hell had happened to him to cause this much pain?
"Take it easy, you moron," he heard Eiri growl. He glanced at his lover, his eyes heavy from exhaustion. "You can't be moving around just yet."
"Eiri?"
His voice sounded hoarse, like he had not drunk anything for several hours. His mouth felt like it had been stuffed with . . . something really dry, like a handkerchief or two. The author's name was nothing more than a cracked whisper.
"Yeah, I'm here, baka," his lover replied, pressing what felt like a straw to Shuichi's lips. "Drink."
Tentatively, Shuichi did as he had been told, idly noticing it was only water. Exhaustion started to settle over him once more, despite the white-hot pain in his body. He also felt cold, uncomfortably so. Shuichi shivered a little and pulled the blankets over him as best as he could, forgetting to ask what had happened to him. Eiri helped him, placing a light kiss on the vocalist's cheek in the process.
As he drifted off once more, he heard Eiri say, "Next time, call for a ride home. Idiot."
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(1) - Actual restaurant in Japan. It specializes in American cuisine and only American cuisine.
(2) - One of the desserts served.
