A/N: This is a very important warning for those of you who never read the summaries: THIS IS A DEATHFIC!!! Someone WILL die! Now that that's taken care of and I've scared off most of my readers, I hope you enjoy the fic!

~

"Yuki! I'm home! Yuki? Where are you?"

"Kitchen!" Shuichi headed to the kitchen, thinking about how nice it was that Yuki was responding to him.

After he had dragged the blond back from New York, Yuki had been much more open with Shuichi. He took time every once in awhile to shut off that laptop that seemed glued to the table in Yuki's office, and they spent quality time together. 'Quality time' being Shuichi saying stupid or endearing things and Yuki either smiling softly or hitting him over the head. Either way he got called a baka. Still, they were at least spending time together.

"How was your day?" Shuichi asked, reaching up to kiss the blond gently on the cheek. Yuki smiled and looked up from the stove, where his attention had been fixed for the past half hour.

"Good and bad."

"How so?"

"I finished my book three weeks before the deadline, so that's the good."

"And the bad?"

"This isn't turning out right," Yuki mumbled, pointing to the concoction in the oven. Shuichi smiled broadly.

"How's it supposed to turn out?"

"Like that." Yuki pointed to a delicious-looking picture in a cookbook Shuichi had gotten for his birthday. The food in the oven slightly resembled the picture, if Shuichi squinted really hard.

"Did you follow the recipe exactly?" Much as Shuichi hated admitting to Yuki's faults, he was forced to admit that cooking was not one of Yuki's strong points. The novelist tried to cook, but they usually ended up ordering out if Shuichi couldn't salvage the creation-in-progress. Yuki was fine at minor or easy breakfast items and desserts, but anything remotely difficult or for any other meal, and he was helpless in the kitchen.

"Almost," Yuki admitted with a slight flush. Shuichi looked up at the golden-eyed man and waited. "It called for Brandy. I used beer instead."

"If it called for Brandy, there's probably a good reason for it." Yuki shrugged and left the kitchen, leaving the corrections and the rest of the meal to Shuichi. The pink-haired boy was thankful that he'd at least remembered to wash up the things he had used.

~

After the meal (which was, to Shuichi's relief, salvageable) the two sat on the couch. They didn't talk, or even do much of anything. They just sat there, enjoying each other's company. A few minutes of silence passed before Shuichi could no longer contain himself.

"Guess what!"

"Three."

"Almost. We got another four songs recorded today!"

"That didn't take long."

"Nope! And even K said that I was doing a lot better and was concentrating on what I was doing more."

"That's good."

"Do you know what that means?"

"What?" Yuki asked, trying desperately to hide his fatigue from the younger male.

"It means I get the day off tomorrow!" Shuichi had caught how tired Yuki was, and after he told Yuki his announcement, he stood up and tried to pull Yuki with him. Yuki looked up at him from his reclining position. Shuichi grinned at him and pulled again, this time succeeding in pulling Yuki to his feet. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"You're not tired," Yuki objected, still not willing to admit his own exhaustion.

"No, but you are," Shuichi countered. From that point onward, Yuki offered no resistance in being led to their room and readied for bed. He only had time to say goodnight before falling into an exhausted sleep. Shuichi stayed up for another hour, watching the older man sleep. He was slightly worried about how tired Yuki had been lately, and then he remembered what had been happening.

For the past two weeks, both Shuichi and Yuki would wake up at 4:30 so that Shuichi couldn't possibly be late to work. It also gave them an hour to spend with each other in the mornings before either of them had to start rushing. Then Shuichi would spend the next few hours in a recording studio or doing some type of singing or talking, and Yuki would sit in front of the computer, not moving until his eyes were too strained to see the writing clearly.

When Shuichi got home from work, they had thirty minutes to themselves before guests started showing up. When Shuichi had dragged Yuki back to Japan, their friends had decided that they would not allow Yuki to feel the need to leave again. They thought that the way to do that was to come and visit, checking up on them every day. So if Shuichi got home at 4:00, people would arrive at 4:30 and usually stay until ten or eleven that night. Sometimes one or two stayed the night. On the rare nights when Shuichi wasn't feeling up to company, the 'guests' would leave at seven or eight. After they left on the early nights, Shuichi would watch TV or take a bath, and Yuki would type some more on his story. Either way, they were usually out cold by 11:15pm.

"That's really not fair to you, is it?" Shuichi whispered into the dark room. He knew that Yuki was not a social person, so on top of having only about five hours of sleep a night, he was also forced to endure people for at least three and a half hours a night. "It's really beginning to wear on you, isn't it?" The steady breathing of the blond was his only response. "I'll do better from now on. And I won't wake you up tomorrow for anything." Shuichi reached over and turned off both of their alarms then kissed Yuki's shoulder. "Goodnight, Yuki."

~

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" Shuichi tried to stay quiet as he ran to the door. He opened it before the person the person on the other side could ring it for the third time. "Hello? Oh! Hi Sakuma-san!"

"When is Shu-chan going to call me Ryu-chan, Kumagoro?" Ryuichi asked the bunny he was holding.

"Sorry, I'll try to remember," Shuichi promised, keeping his voice at a whisper.

"Why are we whispering?" Ryuichi asked, lowering his own voice to that of a whisper.

"This is my first day off and I'm trying to let Yuki sleep."

"Why can't Yuki sleep any other day?"

"He likes to wake up with me for work."

"That's sweet! What time does Schu-chan wake up for work?"

"Um… about 4:30."

"After lunch?"

"No… before breakfast."

"Why do you have to wake up so early, Shuichi?" Tatsuha asked, coming up behind Nittle Grasper's singer.

"It keeps me almost on time."

"I guess that means we won't be getting together today?"

"Actually, I was wondering if we could cut down the visits in general. I think Yuki's more liable to run away if he never gets any privacy that if everyone's here to keep an eye on him."

"That's true. What were you thinking by 'cutting down'?"

"Well, maybe once or twice a week, and only for an hour or two then. Weekends only if Yuki or I call, and not at all this week?"

"That works. Do you want me to call the others?"

"Would you?" Tatsuha nodded and Shuichi thanked him profusely. After they left, Shuichi went back into the house to find a groggy Yuki stumbling into the living room.

"Who was at the door?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes and yawning.

"That was Tatsuha. But guess what!"

"Huh."

"We're not going to have any company all week unless you want it! And even after that, it'll be cut down!" For the first time in two weeks, Shuichi saw a little spark show up in Yuki's eyes. He only asked for confirmation, though. Shuichi nodded and sat down next to him on the couch. Within five minutes, the blond was asleep again.

~

"I'm HOME! Yuki? Where are you?"

"Bedroom!" Shuichi found himself once again following Yuki's call into whatever room he was in. He got to the bedroom and saw Yuki putting away a load of clothes. Instead of trying to cook, Yuki had taken to the safer chore of laundry. After their hellos to each other, Yuki followed the purple-eyed boy into the kitchen to watch him cook.

It had been almost a month since Shuichi's talk with Tatsuha and Ryuichi, and everyone was doing much better because of it. Yuki had opened up even more than he already had, and Shuichi was falling in love with him more and more the more he opened up.

"Hey Shuichi?" Yuki asked over the meal that night.

"What?"

"Don't leave me."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Just… don't."

"I won't. What brought that on?"

"I had a dream last night that you had left. I just… don't want it to come true."

"Don't worry. If I have any say in it at all, I will never leave you. I promise. Now your turn."

"I won't leave you, and I won't make you leave me any more, either."

"Thank you." They both went back to their meal, Shuichi confused about why he had brought he topic up so suddenly, and Yuki felling much better, but still slightly off.

That night after they were in bed, Yuki couldn't sleep. He was tossing an turning, unable to get comfortable. Finally, Shuichi rolled over to face him, and asked him about it.

"Yuki? What is it?"

"Are you sure you won't leave?"

"Yes. Are you still worried about that?"

"Something just feels wrong. I don't know what it is."

Shuichi reached over and hugged the taller man. He held Yuki close and whispered assurances to him until Yuki was almost asleep. Yuki managed another goodnight before rolling over a final time and falling asleep. Shuichi smiled in the darkness and fell asleep himself.

~

"Do you have to go?"

"If we want to get popular, yes."

"Why do you have to be popular in America?"

"Because a lot of people over there buy our music even if they have no idea what we're singing. We would be losing a lot of possible sales if we didn't go over there. Why? Is something wrong about it?"

"I guess not."

~

"Yuki, that's my plane, I've gotta go."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't go. Something's going to happen. I know it."

"Yes, Yuki. We'll go over there, get mobbed by American fans, and come home. That's all."

"No, something bad's going to happen." Shuichi stood up on his toes and kissed his boyfriend. After a second, Yuki returned the kiss, and they continued until K's grunt brought them back to reality.

"I'll be back in a week. I promise."

~

"… We have just received word that Bad Luck's plane has been lost on radar after sending an SOS signal to out towers. We'll keep you posted as more news comes in." Yuki sat in shock, unable to believe what was being said. It was impossible. Shuichi couldn't be… No. It only said they had lost contact. That didn't automatically mean that there was an accident.

~

"… A rescue team has been sent to find the members of Bad Luck and their producer and manager. We have not heard from them since their SOS a few days ago, but we still have hope that there will be some sort of miracle- "

Yuki looked up as the TV was shut off. Tohma held the remote control in his hands, and a look of utter disgust was on his face. Then he looked down at Yuki's worried face and his own face relaxed. He sat on the couch beside his wife's brother and put his arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Yuki. They'll find Shuichi, and he'll be fine. He'll probably yell at them for taking so long and how he promised that he'd be back and that he can't break a promise to you. Tomorrow you'll hear the door opening and you'll see Shuichi run in, yelling something or another." Yuki nodded, smiling for the first time since he had heard that there was a problem.

~

"… The plane has been found, but there is only one survivor. He has been identified as Shindou Shuichi, the vocalist of Bad Luck. He is alive, but aside from that, his condition is unknown."

"Yuki, you're not supposed to be watching that," Mika said as she turned off the TV. "I found the hospital Shuichi's at. Tohma and I will take you there." Yuki nodded, not caring that his sister and brother-in-law were acting like babysitters again.

"Hi Yuki," Shuichi said weakly. Yuki smiled at him, tears coming to his eyes as he looked at the mangled body of his boyfriend.

"Hey," he whispered. He held Shuichi's hand in his, afraid of what its frailty meant. Shuichi read his look and gave him a sad smile.

"Yeah, I have to go soon. I wanted to come back and say goodbye, though."

"You can't say goodbye!" Yuki was crying, but he didn't care. The only person who had ever gotten past his shields was leaving him.

"I'm not saying goodbye." Shuichi waited until he had Yuki's full attention. "I'm not leaving you, okay? I'm just… taking our relationship to another level. That's all. I get to watch over you now instead of the other way around. Let Tohma-san and Mika-san take care of you if you need it, okay?" Yuki nodded numbly, and Shuichi smiled at him. "If I see you after I die and I find out it was your fault I'm going to be mad at you, understand?"

Yuki nodded again, starting to smile.

"You have to live for both of us now, got it? And if you end up falling in love again, go with it! If it's the only thing I accomplished, I want to make sure you can be happy with someone. I love you, Yuki."

"I love you too, Shuichi." The pink-haired singer smiled again before closing his eyes. He died with a smile on his face, and his hand still wrapped in Yuki's. He was buried the next day, with all of his family, and most of his close friends right there. Hiro was buried next to him, and Suguru and Sakano were buried nearby. K was buried in America, in his family plot. Yuki stood by the grave, crying unashamedly as they lowered his only love into the ground.

Hours after everyone else had finally gone home, Yuki, Tohma, and Mika still stood beside the grave. Mika and Tohma were supporting the blond novelist. Yuki whispered a goodbye to the gravestone, and allowed the other two to move him away from the cemetery.

~

A/N: I almost cried at that ending. I HATE deathfics, so I have no idea why I wrote that one. I can't believe I almost cried! I NEVER cry for stories or movies. Well, I did when I saw A Little Princess, but that's a different story. Anyway, I know that the characters were pretty OOC, but I had to do that to make them work. Besides, Yuki's been helped, his demons have been exterminated. He's allowed to be happy and emotional. And Shuichi… well, I just don't believe he's really as clueless as he leads people to believe. Please review and let me know what you think, but flames are not appreciated. I'll cry. And then I'll never write another story again. So please send a nice review? Thankies!