Still Raining

Sequel to: Street of Dreams

I Want Us To Be A Family Series

Written by: chochowilliams

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Summary: There was one woman at the press conference that refused to leave well enough alone. Two years later, she's back and causing trouble. She's determined to prove that Aizawa isn't the biological father of little Takanori. What if she's right?

Warning: AU, Angst, Drama, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Fantasy, M-Preg, Language, M/M, Hentai, OCs, OOC, Hermaphrodites (referred to as "Neutrals"), Christian Extremist POV, Various Bashing

Pairings: Shuichi/Eiri, Ryuichi/Tatsuha, one-sided Eiri/Ayaka, Mentioned: Shuichi/Taki & Shuichi/OMC

Inserts: None

A/N: Enjoy!

oOo

Chapter 2: Acceptance

The Trinity Office - Setagaya, Tokyo

With the exception of a few who were working on additional research for their articles, everyone had gone home for the night. One of those few remaining was Nami Mataguchi who twirled a pencil ambidextrously as she sat at her desk. Playing softly in the background was some Christian rock song that she could not remember the name of.

With a growl, she flung the yellow number two pencil down in frustration and ran her fingers through her short black locks. Leaning back, she laced her fingers together behind her head and glared through anger clouded vision at the drop down ceiling.

Was he choosing to ignore her challenge? Again? Some would say that made him the better man. It was braver to walk away than to return the punch. It was more Christian-like to turn the other cheek. Yada. Yada. Yada. People could say whatever they liked, but she did not believe any of it. At least, not in this particular case. The fact that young Mr. Shindou continued to have "no comment" was in and of itself a comment. It was the answer she had been searching for this whole time. It meant she was right in her beliefs. She had to be. She had to give him cudos for sticking to his guns. The fact of the matter was that if she was wrong and he right, then he should not have any problem in proving it. Right? Seeing that he refused to give her and the public a sufficient answer meant that she was indeed right.

A grin slowly made its way onto her face.

Maybe she could use that. Rile him up a bit.

Dropping her hands, she reached for the phone. Her fingers danced over the keys.

"Thank you for calling TCN, The Christian Network. This is Kinu. How may I direct your call?" answered a young sounding female over the line.(1)

oOo

Uesugi-Sakuma Residence – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Ryuichi was roused out of his semi-comatose state by the sudden ringing of the house phone. It echoed shrilly throughout the condominium. As tempted as he was to ignore it and roll over and go back to sleep, he let out a groan as he struggled into a sitting position. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he slipped his bare feet into his slippers and padded groggily out of the bedroom and down the hall to the living room. He grabbed the cordless extension from the end table besides the couch.

"Hello?"

"Hello. This is Dr. Kimio Moriyama from Yowa Hospital," came the female voice in his ear (2).

Suddenly wide-awake, Ryuichi tensed. His grip on the phone tightened.

"I am looking for a Ryuichi Sakuma."

Now he knew why he had been tempted to ignore the phone. As much as he would like to inform the caller that she had the wrong number, he could not very well in good conscience do such a thing. Why had his mother raised him to be a proper young man? "This is he," he admitted into the phone. He cringed at the admission.

"Ah, Mr. Sakuma. Hello. How are you today?"

Pleasantries. That was not a good sign. "…Fine. How are you, ma'am?" he asked in return.

"I'm doing well, thank you."

There was silence for less than a second, but it seemed to stretch on for eternity.

"Mr. Sakuma, are you acquainted with a Mr. Yuki Kitazawa?"

"Yes, I am," he admitted cautiously. Where was this going?

"Mr. Sakuma, I am sorry to have to inform you that Mr. Kitazawa…"

Ryuichi held his breath.

"…attempted suicide a short time ago."

His breath rushed out in a soft sigh. That was not what he had been expecting.

"One of he nurses found him hanging from a makeshift noose he made out of one of his bed sheets. We were able to revive him so he should be fine. There shouldn't be any lasting effects."

Damn. He knew it was too good to be true.

"…Mr. Sakuma?"

Ryuichi cringed. Did he say that a loud? "Look…Dr. Moriyama, was it?"

"Yes."

"This isn't the first time and it won't be the last time he tries to off himself. What he does is none of my concern."

"But Mr. Sakuma-!"

"I may be listed as his next of kin, but I have absolutely nothing to do with him. Not anymore."

"But it says here-"

"Next time don't stop him." He slammed the phone down as the doctor sputtered over the line. With a hand on the extension, he dropped his face into the other.

There was a noise behind him.

Startled, Ryuichi spun around and came face to face with Tatsuha. He gulped, wondering how much the younger man heard.

"Who was it?" Tatsuha asked innocently around the armload of groceries.

"No one."

"Ryu…"

"It was nothing, Tatsuha," Ryuichi insisted. He grabbed one of the bags out of his lover's arms and strolled around him to the kitchen, hoping that Tatsuha dropped the subject. However, he should have known better.

"Was it about Yuki?" Tatsuha asked as he set the bag that he was holding on the counter besides the stove.

Ryuichi sighed as he put the mayo in the pantry, but did not say anything. Why did Tatsuha have to be so persistent?

"Ryu…"

"Don't."

Tatsuha sighed. He knew all about Ryuichi's past with Yuki Kitazawa and how Ryuichi felt about the other man. Truthfully, Tatsuha could not blame Ryuichi for feeling the way he did, but even though Ryuichi may despise Kitazawa and may want nothing to do with him, the fact of the matter was, Yuki Kitazawa was Shuichi's birth mother. "Look, Ryu-"

"I said 'don't'," Ryuichi snapped. He slammed the pantry door shut harder than was necessary.

"You hate him. I get it."

"Do you?" Ryuichi rounded on his long time lover. "Do you really?"

Tatsuha chose to ignore that. "He's the mother of your son!" he protested.

"Yeah, the son he very nearly killed," Ryuichi shot back.

Tatsuha did not know what to say to that. It was true. If it were anyone else, he would be confident in saying that threatening to jump was nothing more than a bluff, an attention grabbing action, but Yuki Kitazawa was not just anybody. He truly was psychotic and just might have jumped if one of the security guards at the old L8r Records studios had not tackled down from off the ledge.

Ryuichi ran his hands over his face. "If he wouldn't have been a Nittle Grasper fan and snuck backstage to see me after one of our concerts, Shuichi never would've been conceived. If Yuki hadn't become obsessed with me after that night, I might never have known that he was pregnant. If he hadn't of made such a scene at the studio, I might never have known about Shuichi because the psychotic bastard would have thrown himself to his death killing both of them!"

"…Ryu…"

"We had one night. That's it."

"Yeah, but that one night linked the two of you together for the rest of your lives," Tatsuha reminded his lover.

Ryuichi said nothing.

"Whether you like it or not, Ryuichi Sakuma, Yuki Kitazawa is going to a part of your life till the day you die because he is the mother of your son. You don't have to like him. Nobody's saying you have to. You're going to have to just grin and bear and grow the fuck up."

Unfortunately, Tatsuha was right, but that did not mean that Ryuichi had to like it. His fisted his hands to keep from lashing out.

Tatsuha frowned. "Ryu?"

Ryuichi turned on his heel and marched out of the kitchen without a word.

Tatsuha watched his lover sadly.

oOo

Shindou Residence – Kyoto, Japan

"I'm telling you, he is as big as a house," Maiko exclaimed as she set the table for dinner.

For each place setting, she placed the rice bowl on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind them, she set three flat plates for the okazu. One of the flat plates sat on the far left, one at the far right and the final one in the center.

Mrs. Shindou's heart ached at the talk of her baby boy. She might not have given birth to him, but Shuichi meant just as much to her as if she had. Choosing her husband over Shuichi was the stupidest decision she ever made in her entire life. It would haunt her until her dying day.

With her back to her daughter, she clutched a hand to her chest as her other hand worked the stir-fry in the wok.

"I mean, I'm not sure how far along he is," Maiko continued, unaware that what she was saying was affecting her mother, "but he's bigger than me!" She giggled as she set the chopsticks down on their matching hashioki at the front. She made sure the pointed ends of the chopsticks were pointed to the left (3). "Of course I didn't say that to him."

A tear slid unseen down Mrs. Shindou's cheek as her daughter continued to prattle on undeterred.

oOo

Unbeknownst to his wife and daughter, Mr. Shindou had returned home from the office earlier than usual with some very good news. He'd been promoted. However, as his daughter's excited monologue reached his ears, he backpedaled out of the kitchen doorway. The smile on his face wilted and died. With a heavy heart, he slumped back against the wall. He titled his head back and stared up at the ceiling blankly. His grip on the handle of his briefcase tightened.

oOo

Koishikawa Park Tower – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Leaning against the railing, Eiri took a long drawl off his cigarette. The tip glowed. He peered through the billowing white mesh curtains at his husband and their son as they both lay on their stomachs in the middle of the living room coloring in a dinosaur coloring book he bought the boy from the discount store. He smirked. Little Takanori was like Shuichi's doppelganger. They both held up their heads with the same hand and swung their feet in the air. He was not too sure about Shuichi lying on his stomach now that he was pregnant though. Shuichi claimed he was acting like an over protective mother hen and that he should not worry so much.

"…So," he called as he grey smoke into the air, "what's with the drummer?" With the addition of a drummer to the band, Bad Luck's sound had evolved from the stereotypical pop into something more their own.

"You mean Eri?" Shuichi responded.

"Is that her name?" he asked in a bored, nonchalant tone.

Eiri was not fooling anyone. He knew what lay behind that bland tone. Shuichi rolled his eyes, but decided to play along. Propping onto his side, he turned to look at his husband. "Yeah. She's not that much older than me and Hiro."

Eiri was impressed. She was as much a genius with the drums as Hiro was with the guitar. Shuichi really knew how to pick his band mates. That was not a snide remark either. "She was a…" What were they called? "…studio musician?" What a waste of talent.

Shuichi shook his head. "She used to be part of another band." He scratched his cheek. "I'm not sure what they were called, but there was some sort of infighting within the band and she ended up quitting." He shrugged. "She doesn't really talk about it."

"Hm. Well, their loss is your gain I suppose."

"That's for sure."

"…What?" Eiri growled as Shuichi continued to watch him.

Grinning, Shuichi shook his head before returning to coloring with their son.

"Baka,"Eiri muttered. He turned to gaze out over the city. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. This was nice. This was what he has been missing for the last several months. The last thing he wanted was to push him, especially if he was not ready yet, but he wondered if he could get Shuichi to move back home?

II

The Trinity Offices - Setagaya, Tokyo

"Are you sure about this?" the male voice over the line asked her for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening.

"Of course I am," she snapped back. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm the one who called you."

There was a heavy sigh. "Look, Nami…"

"Save it, Chishin," Nami Mataguchi bit. She swirled her chair around to glare out the windows into the rapidly descending twilight.

"Don't you think you're taking this too far?"

"No. I do not."

In his office at The Christian Network studios, Chishin Yamada reclined in his leather chair behind his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel the beginnings of a looming headache. "Why do you care so much?"

"You know why," Nami answered him.

"Humor me."

"Fine." She started counting. Her index finger on her free hand rose up. "You have a man who is known as Japan's cold, stoic, heartless bachelor."

"Accepted."

"In the past, he's avoided commitment like the plaque." A second finger went up.

"Accepted."

"Then we learn that he's involved with someone." A third finger. "And this was after saying in an interview for Book TV that he was convinced love didn't really exist."

"People change."

"Yes, but this someone is not an ordinary someone. But a Neutral," she sneered the word. She fisted her hand and brought it down onto the arm of the chair.

In his office on the opposite end of the city, Chishin rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes. They're disgusting and immoral and wicked and gross and should not be allowed to exist."

Nami nodded in agreement. "Exactly." Apparently, she did not hear the sarcasm in her old friend's voice. "But it does not end there."

"Of course not."

"This Neutral was pregnant."

"Imagine that."

"The pièce de résistance comes when we learn this pregnant Neutral is no more than a boy. A minor."

"So?"

Nami's grip tightened around the phone. How could he play this off as nothing? Did he not understand the severity of what she was trying to tell him? "'So'? 'So'?"

"Yeah. So-what. In Tokyo, you become of age at seventeen and since the two of them started dating a couple months before he became of age, it's not something the police would-"

"That's not the point!"

"And what is?" he shot right back.

"He was still a minor! The famous Eiri Yuki was fucking a minor who he ended up impregnating."

"There's no proof of that."

A slow grin crossed Nami's face. "Exactly."

Chishin sighed again. "Not all people are ruled by their libidos"

"That may be so, but Shindou was pregnant. He and Yuki were dating." She pounded the arm of the chair she was sitting in for emphasis.

"If 'a' equals 'b' and 'b' equals 'c' then 'a' must equal 'c', huh?" Who said you could not adequately relate the math you learned in school and real life?

"Precisely. It's simple logic."

Chishin sighed. Talking to her was like trying to have a meaningful conversation with a brick wall. "No it's not. The biological father of Mr. Shindou's son is his ex-boyfriend."

"So they claim."

"And why would they lie?"

"To cover the truth."

Of course it was. "The truth being what?" he asked aloud.

"That Eiri Yuki is the biological father."

Chishin sighed. Yet again.

"You have to admit that it's just a little too coincidental that Shindou's so-called ex-boyfriend just happened to die in a tragic accident around the same time that it came out that he was not only pregnant but dating Mr. Bestselling-Romance-Bachelor Eiri Yuki."

"Not really."

"What?!"

"However," Chishin continued, "I will admit that it's mighty suspicious, but it doesn't mean anything. Something similar happened to my cousin several years back. It happens."

"We aren't talking about your cousin!"

"I know that! I'm just saying that it doesn't mean there's something underhanded going on."

"Of course it does!"

Chishin was becoming tired of sighing, but he could not seem to help it when he was speaking with her."…What's this really about?"

"I'm telling you what this is about!"

He had to wonder about that.

"Are you going to do it not?"

"I don't know, Nami. Frankly, I don't give a damn about this supposed truth."

"Yeah, well that makes one of us."

"Nami-"

"You aren't the only religious affiliate, ya know," she reminded him. "I can take my story elsewhere."

Chishin stopped himself from sighing for what had to be the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. That headache that had only been looming on the sidelines was now threatening to split his head open. He was getting too old for this.

oOo

Koishikawa Park Tower – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

"What's the point in having nine hundred stations if there's crap all on?" Eiri grumbled as he flipped passed station after station after station. This was why he did not watch television. Much. Maybe when he was feeling particularly bored he might decide to see what kind of crap the kids were buying at the record stores these days. If there just happened to be a Bad Luck video on it was pure coincidental. Despite the fact that he might watch on average three hours of TV a week, here he was stuck paying eighty-six hundred yen a month for nearly nine hundred stations. And why?

"You just don't want to watch any of that 'crap all'," Shuichi corrected as he meandered out of the kitchen and made his way slowly back to the living room.

Oh. That would be why. "Exactly."

Shuichi giggled lightly.

He finally settled on Anaconda with Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez. "Why you convinced me to get the premium package, I'll never know," he griped even though he knew the answer. He lightly tossed the remote onto the coffee table.

"That's easy."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yup!"

"And that would be…?"

"Because you love me," Shuichi replied happily.

Eiri snorted as he tried desperately to ignore the heat warming his cheeks.

"Here."

He took the proffered bottle of beer and took a swig from the open dew covered dark amber colored bottle.

Folding his legs beneath him, Shuichi settled onto the sofa besides his husband. Being careful not to spill any of his drink, he hooked his left arm through Eiri's right arm and cuddled against the writer's side. Using him as a pillow, he rested his head against Eiri's shoulder.

Eiri eyed the Nesquik 60th anniversary cup that was filled with some sort of yellow liquid suspiciously.

Feeling the heated gaze trained on him, Shuichi said, "Lemonade," before Eiri had a chance to even form the words to ask. He lifted his head and gazed up at his husband.

Eiri narrowed his eyes.

"Honest. Non-carbonated."

It amazed Eiri that Shuichi knew such a big word, but he had no choice but to believe the pink haired singer. Seeing as he was the one who had stocked the refrigerator, he knew that no carbonated beverages were readily available under this roof. However, knowing Shuichi as well as he did, it would not surprise him if Shuichi somehow were able to sneak an illicit beverage into the condominium without him knowing it. "Baka." It rather irritated him that Shuichi knew him so well, but he was proud at the same time.

Grinning, Shuichi giggled. He settled back against Eiri's side, feeling content for the first time in a long time, and hugged his cup to his chest.

Eiri took another sip of his beer and tried to follow along with the movie that he had apparently caught mid-way through. It was something about a film crew who was trying to film some sort of documentary in what appeared to be the Amazon, but was now being stalked by an anaconda that was impossibly huge.

"I love you, you know," Shuichi admitted unexpectedly after several seconds of blissful silence.

Eiri blinked at the admission. "What?"

"I love you."

Eiri snorted, "You sure as hell better." He turned back to the television just in time to watch a man being strangled to death by the giant anaconda.

Shuichi giggled. He tightened his hold on Eiri and snuggled as close as he could get despite his little baby bump. Eiri would not mind having his children resting in his arms, though. A look of absolute bliss on his face, he heaved a sigh full of content. His wide grin dwindled slowly into a soft smile, but the swell of emotion within him burned as brightly as ever. This was nice. He did not want to ever let go of this feeling.

When his pillow disappeared and the front of him grew suddenly cold, Shuichi pouted.

Growing bored of the movie, Eiri pulled out of Shuichi's restraint-like grip, smirking at the small whine this action elicited from him. Maybe getting his baka to move back home was not going to be so difficult after all. He snatched Shuichi's cup out of his hand. Leaning forward, he set both it and his beer on the table besides the remote control. Sitting back, he turned to face his pink-haired love and rested his hands on Shuichi's belly. "How're you feeling?"

A light blush coloring his cheeks, Shuichi lowered his head and said, "Pregnant."

Eiri chuckled lightly. "Not giving you any trouble?"

Shuichi shook his head negatively. "Not yet, but it's still early."

Eiri snorted. Unfortunately, that was all too true. The fun was yet to come. Yi-pee. He could hardly wait. When Shuichi had been pregnant with little Takanori, he had very nearly gone insane. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions. It was tempting to wait until Shuichi went into labor to ask him to move back home so that he did not have to go through the rigorous side effects of his partner's pregnancy, but not being able to hold Shuichi in his arms at night was a hundred times worse. "So, come up with any names?"

Shuichi shrugged. "A couple."

"Like?"

"Kita if it's a boy."

Cute, but Eiri was not too sure about it as a choice for his son. It sounded somewhat pansy-ish. The last thing he wanted was to have a child of his go through life being teased and bullied because Shuichi could not be bothered to think up a good, strong name for their son. Seriously, did Shuichi want their child to grow up to become a weakling?

"And maybe Aina for a girl."

Now that he could live with. "But how bout Sen if it's a boy?"

Shuichi muddled it over. "It's-okay…I guess." He had to admit that he liked the name he picked out better.

"It was my grandfather's name."

"Really?" This little tidbit of information did nothing to change his opinion about the name Eiri wanted for their son. It sounded like a girl's name.

"Yes, really," Eiri said with meaning. He knew exactly what was running through Shuichi's mind.

Shuichi rolled his eyes. He still thought Sen sounded like a girl's name.

"I was thinking of Kaya or Sayo for my daughter."

Shuichi immediately latched onto the suggestions. "Oo! I like those," he exclaimed, grinning broadly. "Hey, ya know, Mai's thinking of Poema if she has a daughter?"

Eiri chocked. "What?! What the hell kind of name is that?"

"That's what I said! She's adamant though."

"Is that like Koenma?" Eiri teased.

"Eiri," Shuichi scolded. He slapped his husband playfully.

Eiri chuckled. He settled back next to his lover and ran his fingers through his golden mane. "Dear God. It's like a hippie naming their kid Rainbow."

"Hey, now there's a name."

Eiri narrowed his eyes at his husband. "You do you die."

Shuichi grinned slyly. "What? You don't like it?"

Eiri felt his eye twitch. He swore by all that was holy that if Shuichi did something as asinine as name their child "Rainbow" or "Sunshine" or "China Rose" or something he would file for divorce. A low growl trickled out of his mouth.

Shuichi giggled. Hooking his arm through Eiri's, he laid his head back on Eiri's shoulder. "She says 'hi' by the way."

His mind still on the long list of idiotic names his husband could decide to choose for their children, he said, "Who?" in a distracted manner.

"Maiko."

"When'd you talk to her?" It was nice that the two of them could finally start connecting. Because Shuichi had been ostracized by his father his whole life, he and his sister had not had much of a relationship. It was too bad that it took something like the events of the past two years to bring the siblings back together.

"We had lunch at that café across the street from NG. La Coix de something or other."

Eiri chuckled. "La Noix de Coco?"

"Yeah! That's it."

"How is she?"

"Pregnant."

Eiri rolled his eyes. "No kidding."

Shuichi giggled, but the warm glow slowly dimmed until it vanished all together, leaving behind a heavy feeling of melancholy. Back when he was pregnant with Takanori, it had been so hard to tell his parents that he was going to have a baby, especially knowing how his father felt about him being a "freak of nature", as he oh, so nicely put it. Part of him had been adamant that they would overlook their prejudices and be happy for him, maybe even excited. That had given him the courage to tell them that they were going to be grandparents. He had not expected kisses and hugs or tears of joy, but some support at least. Who would not want to have a newborn to spoil and coo over and then hand off when it was time for a changing? Yes, he had been sixteen years old, practically a baby himself. As a parent himself, he knew he would hit the roof if his child came up to him one day and admitted something like that to him. So of course, he had been prepared for a little yelling and a little screaming, but he never expected to be kicked out of his own house.

What's more, he had not expected his parents' reaction to do a complete one-eighty when his baby sister confessed that she was pregnant at sixteen.

Why? Why did they welcome her with open arms and tears of joy and kisses and hugs when they had shown him such animosity? Was it because she had been practically raped by a guy she had had a crush on for years and that he had spread his legs willing? Or was it because she was a proper woman and he was nothing more than this thing stuck in between being a male and a female?

Eiri became worried when Shuichi remained silent for longer than he was accustomed to. "Baby? What's wrong?"

A stray tear slid unchecked down Shuichi's cheek. He shook his head.

Eiri did not like to see Shuichi like this. It had been two years, but the pain was still as raw as it was on that day when Shuichi's father had literally tossed him out of the house. As much as he wished he could, Eiri knew he could do or say nothing to make the hurt go away. It will be with him, haunting him, for the rest of his days. "They'll come around." They had to. The alternative was too depressing.

Shuichi nodded, though he did not really believe that to be the case. More than anything, he wanted all of them to be this big happy family like the Waltons, but that was nothing more than a fantasy.

He swept at the tears that coursed down his face and settled back against Eiri.

Eiri laid his head against Shuichi's where it was pillowed on his shoulder. A comfortable silence settled around them as they each settled back to watch the movie.

This was nice.

He reached out and rubbed a hand over Shuichi's belly.

Something inside Shuichi snapped. "What?! Then what the hell do you suggest Eiri?"

"Get the paternity test done."

Shuichi did not have to think about it. He said, "No," immediately.

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't have anything to prove to that bitch."

With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. He really screwed up hadn't he? Shuichi did not want to give in to the demands of Nami Mataguchi. He understood the reasons behind Shuichi's decisions, but he still thought it was foolish. She was not going to go away until she got what she wanted. Unfortunately, they could do nothing to stop her. They could not even sue her for slander.

If he had his way, he would get the paternity test done and it was not just to shut the religious extremist up either, though it would be an added benefit. No. He would get it done for Takanori. Shuichi may consider Eiri to be his son's father and Eiri may think of Takanori as his son, but the harsh reality was that he was not little Takanori's father and little Takanori was not his son; at least biologically speaking. Some day, Takanori may want to know who the man was who helped conceive him and Eiri wanted to be able to give him an answer.

"Look, Shu…"

"Mm?"

When those large violet eyes turned towards him, he faltered. "Nothing." He turned away to hide the rosy color his cheeks had taken on.

Shuichi cocked his head and studied the older man for a few seconds longer.

Eiri's dark blonde hair was longer than he normally liked to keep it. His usual layered circle cut had grown out into long layers that brushed the collar of his open collared white button down shirt. It was parted down the middle to frame the face. It reminded him of his drummer Eri's surfer boyfriend's hair. He liked Eiri's hair like this. It was pretty sexy. Though if Mika saw his hair this long she would force him to get it cut.

He took in the long black eyelashes that framed golden hazel eyes that stared out from a smooth, androgynous face, those angular cheeks, chiseled jaw, wide set shoulders and broad chest.

For the past half a year, he and little Takanori have lived apart from Eiri in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment that he rented on the opposite side of Chiyoda from the condominium Tohma had purchased for him and Eiri when they decided to move here from Kyoto. It wasn't the two hundred square meters that this place was, but it served its purpose. He'd wanted to be close enough so that Eiri could visit their son whenever he chose to without having to inconvenience the author. At the same time, he'd needed their places to be far enough apart so that he could experience being his own man and having his own place without running next door to Eiri whenever he had a problem.

Moving out had been the hardest decision of his short, young life, but it was something that he'd needed to do. As excruciating as the choice may have been, if the opportunity arose, he would not take the chance to go back and stop himself from making it. However, he had to admit that as difficult as coming to this decision had been, it had been even harder to not recant the choice. It had taken all of his willpower to not call up Eiri and beg him to come and get them.

That first night alone, and every night after that, he had cried himself to sleep. Just that morning, six months after he and his son moved out, he put on a fresh pot of coffee (even though he did not even drink the stuff). Everybody knew he was a crybaby. He cried at least once a day and usually over something stupid. Now that he had his own place, he found himself bursting into tears in the most inopportune moments. For example, he had woken up after a restless night that first day and had inexplicably started sobbing when he stepped into the tatami room and did not spot an ashtray on the kotatsu. Though the apartment he rented was barely sixty square meters, without Eiri it seemed twice as large. Despite a toddler running around like a chicken with its head cut off, it was too quiet. The twin-sized bed he attempted to sleep in at night was too empty, too big for just him. When he reached out for his husband in the middle of the night only to discover that the other side of the bed was still made up, he would curl up and sob.

It was what he had wanted, but living a solitary life in that apartment, even with his son, was not turning out at all like he had imagined it would. He had never felt so alone in his entire life.

What helped him make it through those cold, lonely nights was knowing that he would be seeing Eiri.

When his gaze rose back up, he met Eiri's smirking gaze. He blushed hotly in embarrassment at being caught ogling.

Eiri chuckled.

Shuichi peeked at eye through the curtain of hair that veiled his face. His blush deepened.

Eiri reached out and smoothed a lock of the choppy long layered cotton candy pink hair behind Shuichi's ear. He wondered idly if it was alright for Shuichi to be coloring his hair now that he was pregnant. That was something he would have to look into.

"Eiri?" Shuichi questioned as Eiri began caressing his face.

"Stay," Eiri found himself saying.

Tensing, Shuichi blinked. "What?" He wanted to make sure he was not reading more into what was there.

"Stay here. With me."

Tears filled Shuichi's eyes. "Oh, Eiri!"

Eiri brushed aside a stray tear with his thumb. "I don't mean just for tonight."

With a sob, Shuichi nodded.

Leaning forward, Eiri captured Shuichi lips with his own. "I love you, Shu-chan," he whispered as he pulled away.

"Me too, Eiri," Shuichi echoed with tears spilling down his face.

"Letting you go was the stupidest thing I ever did," Eiri admitted. Shuichi may have needed the experience of being his own man, but with each day that passed and Shuichi's side of the bed remained cold and empty, he had to fight the urge to drag his baka back home where he belonged.

Shuichi laughed through his tears.

Standing up, Eiri held out his hand.

Swiping at his tears, Shuichi slid his hand into Eiri's and allowed him to pull him to his feet.

Lacing their fingers together, Eiri lead his husband to their bedroom. "Welcome home Shuichi Uesugi," he whispered. He brought lips together just as the bedroom door shut behind them.

III

Uesugi-Shindou Residence - Koishikawa Park Tower – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

This.

Please!

This was it.

Oh God!

It has been so long.

Nuh!

So very long.

Ah!

Wave after wave of intense pleasure coursed through him. It built up to the point where it was just this side of exploding in a fierce display to rival that of the grandest fireworks show, but then his husband would back off just before he reached that highest pinnacle. Automatically, he would feel the pleasure gradually lessen its hold on him, but then he would be worked right back up to that highest peak. Just like before, his husband would once again withdraw right before they crested. It was a never-ending cycle that lasted long into the night. He savored every agonizingly pleasant second.

oOo

TCN Studios - Setagaya, Tokyo

Sitting at his desk in his office at The Christian Network studios, Chishin Yamada rested his chin in the cupped palm of his hand while his other hand tapped a staccato beat against the desktop as he stared blankly out the wall of floor to ceiling windows behind him. Because the sun had set long ago behind the metal and glass landscape, instead of taking in the breathtakingly beautiful view of his city, he was forced to stare at his own gloomy reflection. Turning away from the sight in disgust, he reclined in his leather chair and stretched his feet out before him under the desk. Dropping his head back, he stared across his office at the closed office door. What he would not give to be at his place right now, curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a good book. Instead, here he was, stuck at the office for who knows how long, forced to dance to the beat of Nami Mataguchi's delusional drums. Why? Because for some strange reason, she was convinced that dirty, underhanded lies surrounded Shuichi Shindou and Eiri Yuki's relationship.

Whatever.

He had to admit that her claims were intriguing, but he frankly could care less either way whether or not she was right. Actually, he was hoping that Shindou would decide to take up the challenge she issued just so he could rub the fact that the past two and half years had been a huge waste of time and money on her part. Then maybe he could finally figure out what the catalyst was that has been pushing his long time friend into this unhealthy obsession of hers.

Yes, for as long as he has known her, she has not cared for Neutrals. Why she seemed to have this deep-rooted abhorrence for the newly recognized third sex he could not say, but he had a feeling that her hatred for them had nothing to do with this obsession with the author and his singer husband. No, it was…something else.

And, yes, technically Shindou had been a minor when he and Eiri Yuki started their relationship, but like he tried to tell Nami, if Shuichi Shindou and Eiri Yuki had indeed had more than just a platonic relationship like they claimed they did at the time of the press conference, it was not something the police would go after Eiri Yuki for. They were not going to waste taxpayer money for something as tedious as that. Just because the speed limit was thirty-five, you were not going to get a speeding ticket for going thirty-seven miles per hour.

As certain as he was that the sky was blue and grass was green, he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that this had less to do with proving that Eiri Yuki had actually fathered Shindou's son thus proving that the two of them indeed had had more than just a platonic relationship and more to do with…What? That was the question.

Was her obsession because of Eiri Yuki? Could that be it?

Chishin shook his head.

Nami was not into romance stories. At least not the type that Eiri Yuki wrote that were filled with so much violence that it was difficult to even tell they were romance stories. Besides, she has never shown any interest whatsoever in Eiri Yuki before. At least, not in a fan girl type of way. He knew millions of hearts had been broken the day that Mr. Romance Novelist came out, but Nami's had not been one of them.

Then, what was it? Why did she care so much about the biological paternity of a two year old?

No, it was not Takanori Uesugi's DNA that mattered. It was something else. Not too long ago, she was obsessed with trying to prove that Shindou was guilty of some sort of infidelity.

"It's the only explanation! Why would two people who claim to be inexplicably in love break up?" he remembered her saying.

That Shindou and Eiri Yuki had not actually broken up had not seemed to faze her.

Then not too long before that, she had made some sort insinuation about Shindou and Ryuichi Sakuma. He could not remember what she claimed exactly, but it had something to do with them looking too much alike to be merely half-brothers.

Whatever.

What it comes down to in the end, is that it seems to him as if she was trying to find someway to bring Shindou down, which leads him to speculate that it had something to do with Eiri Yuki. If she had had a crush on the blond author then he might just buy that, but she didn't. So…what? What was it? Something was going on here and he was determined to find out one way or another.

oOo

Outside TCN Studios

"…Yes," Nami spoke into her cellphone as she walked briskly down the street towards the studio. "I'm there now…So far…Are you really sure you want to go through with this…? Well, it's just that…No, no! Of course not! How could you…? Of course I do!" She sighed. "…Alright. If that's what you want…Yeah. I'll call you later then to tell you how it went. Bye." She ended the call with a sharp flip of her phone. Clenching her hand around her phone, she stopped outside the tall modern glass sided building that housed TCN studios. She let her head fall back as she glanced up the massive skyscraper. When she felt her phone buzz silently in her hand, she brought up the message. The screen glowed brightly in the darkness of the night. "Huh. 'Don't disappoint me'." Her grip tightened around the small electronic device, though her face gave nothing away. "Yes, well," she whispered into the silent night, "if this doesn't go according to your plan, I'm sure as hell going to take you with me."

oOo

The Next Morning - Uesugi-Shindou Residence - Koishikawa Park Tower – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Shuichi hurt-a lot. There was not a part of him that did not. Dear God even his hair hurt. How was that even possible? It took him less than a split second to remember why and he blushed crimson.

They say it was just like riding a bicycle. It was something you never forgot and knew how to do instinctually. As true as that statement was, it did not take away from the very real fact that his entire body was sore and cried out in pain whenever he moved. Eiri had been more than a little aggressive. The word "excessive" comes to mind. The blond author had been in a very primitive mood last night and apparently had had the desire to re-stake his claim and mark Shuichi as his own. Not like he ever lost his claim to him in the first place, but his Eiri was a very possessive and very domineering man who wanted the whole world to know just to whom Shuichi Shindou belonged.

"Stupid Eiri," he muttered as he very slowly made his way silently through the twilight-strung condominium.

Though…

He paused behind the sofa and stared across the living room out the sliding glass doors that led out onto the balcony at a Tokyo that was just beginning to wake up. A smile crossed his face.

…It was better to suffer through some minor pain and discomfort and know that when he woke up in the morning, his Eiri would be asleep besides him then to be slapped upside the head by reality when he came to the depressing realization that it all been a dream and once again he was all alone.

Yes. Maybe this was not so bad after all.

He started to turn away from the breathtaking sight of the city landscape spread out before him when something on the television, that neither of them had apparently turned off before they went to bed, caught his attention. Rounding the sofa, he grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the volume up.

"And finally this morning," the reporter for the early morning news was saying, "Nami Mataguchi released a statement late last night-"

Shuichi rolled his eyes. Of course she did. She issues a challenge. He ignores said challenge. She in turn releases a statement in order to rile him into accepting the challenge. It was a never-ending cycle that never worked.

"- from TCN studios."

Shuichi frowned. Again from The Christian Network? What was up with this chick? Was she letting the backwards view of a religion that less than two percent of Japan practiced override her judgment (4)? Seriously. Did she not realize that most of the nation just did not care? She was worse than the tabloids; if that was even possible.

The reporter vanished and the screen split in half. On one side, there was a photograph of Nami Mataguchi, the woman who has been giving him so much trouble for the last two and a half years. On the opposite side of the screen was a written transcript of part of the statement she had apparently released.

He had to admit, though, that she was pretty cute. She had black hair cut into a short bob that angled down from the back to the front framing yellow-flecked dark brown eyes. Even though there did not seem to be a trace of makeup, her skin glowed. Her appearance had changed drastically in the two and a half years since he had first seen her at the news conference where Eiri and he announced their relationship. It was like looking at a different person. Though one aspect about her had not changed. She was as adamant as ever at discovering the truth behind his and Eiri's relationship.

"'I'm very disappointed with Mr. Shindou' she says," the reported continued in a voice over. "'The fact that he has once again chosen to ignore my challenge tells us a lot…'"

"Only to someone as psychotic as you," he retorted softly.

"'If he is right about the parentage of his son, then he should have no reason not to get a DNA paternity test done. I find it highly suspicious that he refuses to have one done. Just what is he hiding?'"

He could feel the beginnings of a headache. Pointing the remote at the screen, he pushed the power button. The image of the reporter froze and then faded to black. With a sigh, he stood and placed the remote on the table.

"What a way to harsh a guy's boner," he muttered annoyed as he made his way to the swinging door that separated the bedrooms from the rest of the house. "Stupid bitch."

Though he could not stop himself from thinking that she may just be right.

oOo

Uesugi-Sakuma Residence – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Though Ryuichi could hear the distance sound of traffic from the balcony of the apartment he shared with his partner, the early morning hours right before dawn was eerily still. Sighing, he leaned against the brick wall behind him that separated their balcony from their neighbors. He stared up into the early dawn sky that was just beginning to lighten.

"Whether you like it or not, Ryuichi Sakuma, Yuki Kitazawa is going to a part of your life till the day you die because he is the mother of your son. You don't have to like him. Nobody's saying you have to. You're going to have to just grin and bear and grow the fuck up."

Tatsuha's harsh statement from the day before echoed in his mind over and over again. Crossing his arms over his chest, he dropped his head back and let his eyes slide shut.

"…Are you going to tell him the truth? It's not like there's anything keeping you from telling him. Not anymore. Not like there was."

Pushing away from the wall, he scrubbed his hands over his face with a light growl from deep within his throat. "Dammit," he hissed. Walking towards the center of the balcony, he leaned over the railing and watched the traffic far below him. This was insane! He was so confused. What should he do?

oOo

Tatsuha watched him from the shadows. He could not even begin to imagine what was going through his lover's mind.

oOo

Uesugi-Shindou Residence - Koishikawa Park Tower – Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Shuichi lightly pushed down the door handle and swung open his son's bedroom door just enough so that he could stick his head in. He chuckled silently at the sight that greeted him. Little Takanori was fast asleep in the direct center of his bed within a nest made from his bedcovers. The two year old was face down with his legs tucked underneath him and his thumb in his mouth. He gave no indication that he was any closer to waking up than he had been when they put him to bed not long after dinner. How his son could sleep comfortably like that was beyond him.

Shuichi noticed how his son's naturally tanned complexion seemed to darken in contrast to the white T-shirt and boxer shorts that Eiri had put him in last night. He took in the raven locks that were mused and sticking on end, his round face and tiny nose. They were so much like his own. He could see so much of himself in his son and it was not just the boy's physical appearance. Eiri claimed their son had his big mouth, his amazing lung capacity as well as his love for music. Shuichi could not be more proud of his little boy. There were even faint traces of Ryuichi within the toddler that he has begun to notice, but what he had never seen was Taki Aizawa.

"Yeah, well, just make sure he looks like you," he said turning his back on the kid.

Eiri had given him the ultimatum for agreeing to allow Shuichi to name their after his biological father, but Shuichi never would have guessed it would come true, but he had always considered it to be a godsend nonetheless. As much as he loved his son and as much as he was grateful to have his son as part of his life, the less he was reminded of that sourpuss bastard the better. The only aspect of Taki he had ever seen in their son were those beautiful brown eyes, but all that changed when little Takanori's eye color began to change. Those eyes became the smoking gun.

They were typical Asian eyes with their epicanthic fold, meaning they were narrower and almost almond-like in shape, nothing like his own more rounder shaped eyes. He did not remember Taki's being as tapered, but he had always just assumed that he had gone in for some sort of cosmetic surgery. It was not as if he would be the first one. But when those dark brown eyes that his son had been born with began to lighten into a golden hazel similar to Eiri's, he had taken a really good look at his son for the first time.

The evidence had been there all along, but he had not seen it. Little Takanori had never been lithe or slight. He had always been more on the hefty side. It was not to say that he was overweight. He was just big for his age. While little Takanori was only two years old, most people mistakenly thought he was four. That was unlike when Shuichi was growing up. Born a month premature, he had weighed a little over six pounds. Back in grade school, all of his teachers had called him "Peanut" because he had been so small. According to Ryuichi, little Takanori was taller than Shuichi had been at his age. A little on the short side, Shuichi himself stood barely over five feet. The more Shuichi had studied his son, the more the evidence began to pile up around him. It was there in the stubborn set of his son's chin, along his jaw line and in his cheekbones.

A male face flashed before his eyes. Shuichi shook his head to rid himself of the image. Impossible. He knew it. Taki had known it too, which was why he had claimed the child for his own because there was just no other option. That was why he refused to accept what had always been there right in front of his eyes. Besides, what did it matter? Eiri had accepted responsibility for a child that was not his. Tohma had had his attorney in Japan draw up the papers and had them faxed to his attorney in New York City where Eiri had signed the papers to legally adopt little Takanori not even twenty-four hours after his birth. Eiri's name was even on the birth certificate. Eiri was their son's father. That was all there was to it. Some stupid piece of paper was not going to change that.

But…

They were trying to relearn how to breath when Shuichi's soft voice broke into the silence. "Why did you press the issue of getting that paternity test done?"

Blinking, Eiri turned to face him. "Why?"

"Yeah." Shuichi flipped onto his side. He held up his head with his hand. His other hand rested on his swollen belly. "Why? You're his father, Eiri. Does it really matter who fathered him?"

Eiri turned his gaze away from Shuichi's searching one and stared up at the ceiling, hidden within the shadows. "Not really. Not to me."

Shuichi's gaze narrowed in confusion. "Then-?"

"But it will matter to Takanori someday. He's going to want to know the truth." Eiri turned his head around so that he was facing him. "Will you be able to give it to him?"

…he could no longer deny it. You can only ignore the giant pink elephant in your living room for so long. The older his son became, the more evident it was.

Pushing away from the doorframe, Shuichi stepped back into the hallway and quietly shut the bedroom door behind him. He walked down the hall and out into the living room. He hade his way silently through the house to the kitchen. He picked up the cordless phone extension. His fingers danced over the keys.

"…It's me," he spoke into the receiver. "Sorry to wake you, but…I…I need to talk to you."

To Be Continued…

1. Not to be confused with TCT channel here in the US (though there are some people on that station that are a little…well, you get the picture).

2. Yowa Hospital is located in Nerima ward in Tokyo. It looks like a general hospital, but is home to about 400 patients with various psychiatric disorders. Dr. Kimio Moriyama is the actual president of the privately run hospital. Found this info from the Japanese Times.

3. Place settings found at wikipedia.

4. The only exposure Shuichi has had to Christianity is through Nami Mataguchi who really does give all Christians a bad name (which is the whole point, as she is an extremist)