Breathless Melody

Author: Tenshi no Hoshii

Summary: Tohma has been feeling nostalgic ever since he awoke, yet he doesn't know why. He soon finds the key to his nostalgia in the form of sheet music. It was all in the past right? TxE

Pairing: TohmaxEiri

Disclaimer: Not mine, Gravi belongs to the lovely and genius Maki Murakami. If it was mine, Tohma would have been much, Much Happier.

Comments are greatly appreciated.

"Wish there was a way that I can make you understand"

Chapter 1: Memories of the Past - The Outing

Slender pale fingers ran across the black and white keys, the sound it made filling the silence in the room with a slow beautiful melody. This particular melody, Tohma had been working on for sometime now, but yet it always seemed to come out the same way. It was beautiful in its own right, that he could hear, but he could also hear all the flaws with it. It wasn't perfected. It didn't have the feel that he wanted it to have. He'd come to realize that the more he rewrote it, the more that feeling would become distant.

Tohma's eyes narrowed slightly, and almost abruptly the music stopped, everything in the room suddenly turning silent. Turquoise eyes closed as a defeated sigh passed through his lips. He knew now, that he just wasn't going to get it right. 'I might as well just give up on it' He thought. But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, something else arrived and made him rethink that. Running a hand through his bangs, Tohma opened his eyes and placed his hands back on the keys to begin the melody anew. A few seconds later, a gentle smile crossed his lips as he greeted his roommate.

"Good Morning Eiri-kun."

Eiri jumped at the unexpected greeting, before groaning. "You weren't supposed to know I was behind you." Folding his arms across his chest, he made his way over to the piano bench and dropped down next to Tohma, his back facing the piano. "How do you always know anyway?"

"I'm not giving away my secret."

"Aww come on please..." Eiri pleaded, hands pulling on the hem of Tohma's shirt to catch his attention.

"No. Why should I?" Tohma answered, the smile growing.

"Because you love me. That's why"

The melody faltered for a second before quickly getting back on track.

Tohma silently hoped that Eiri didn't notice the jump, but even he knew it wasn't possible. Sparing a glance over to the person sitting next to him, he caught sight of one of the most thoughtful looks he had ever seen on Eiri's face. But just as quickly, that expression was gone and replaced with a softer one.

"Hey Tohma."

"Yes, Eiri-kun?" Eiri opened his mouth to say something, but then rethought it and closed his mouth with sigh. Turning around in his seat, he placed his head on Tohma's shoulder; his eyes closing the more he stayed in that position.

"I like this..." Eiri whispered moments later.

"This..?" Tohma whispered back, his attention turned more on the boy leaning against him, than on what he was playing. Eiri nodded. "Being with you like this. Away from the teasing, the laughing. Away from home." He shifted a little, his hand coming up to grab Tohma's shirt again. "I mean, I miss Mikarin and Tatsuha of course, but... I don't know. It's nicer here."

The apartment filled with the sounds of Tohma's piano; the mellow sound setting Eiri on the verge of peaceful sleep once again. Grip slipping silently from the end of Tohma's shirt, Eiri ran his hand slowly down the other man's arm, that small action stilling the music almost instantly. Pale fingers lifted up from the keys to entwine with Eiri's; a quiet understanding passing between them from that one simple touch.

They stayed that way, just sitting in the silence together, hand in hand, enjoying each others presence and nothing more. Tohma shifted after awhile, releasing his hold on Eiri's hand, and gently pushed the younger boy back so that he could fully see his face. Running his fingers through Eiri's golden bangs, Tohma smiled before he spoke.

"How about we go somewhere today? Since I don't have to go to the studio and you have no school; we could make this day ours. Just you and me. What do you say?" Eiri stared at Tohma, contemplating the idea, before a bright smile glided across his lips. It wasn't everyday that Tohma had a lot of time to spare, so a whole day together was a chance he couldn't possibly miss out on.

"Sure! But what are we going to do?" Tohma thought on the answer, before shrugging. "Anything you want. Remember this is New York. There are tons of things out there to keep us occupied. Surely we'll find something." At that answer, Eiri jumped up off the bench and started towards the bathroom, a bounce in his step.

"I'll go get dress now. I'll be quick, I promise!"

An exhausted Tohma opened the door to their apartment, letting in an impossibly excited Eiri-kun, who practically bounced his way into the living room, the bags in his hands hitting against his leg in the process. Closing the door with a sigh, Tohma walked towards where Eiri was sitting and dropped down on the other end of the couch.

"So did you have fun today?" Tohma asked, already knowing what the boy's reaction was going to be. Eiri dropped his bags on the floor and began digging through them as he replied, "Of course! We have to do that again. Next time, if we go back that book store, I'll get that book that we saw. It seemed like it would interesting. Oh and maybe next time we could also-" Eiri continued to ramble on a little for a few more moments, before his voice faded off as he turned his full attention to what he bought. He pulled out a dark blue hoodie, with the words "New" on one side of the zipper and "York" on the other. He stood up as he put the hoodie on, a small frown crossing his face when he did.

"The sleeves are too long" Eiri stated, lifting up his arms to show that, yes indeed his sleeves were a lot longer than they should have been. A laugh slipped passed Tohma's lips before he could catch it and Eiri sent a glare his way, but it had no effect as Tohma only laughed harder. Eiri was starting to realize just how much his glare didn't scare people, and he made a note that he would have to work on that in the future. When Tohma stopped, he silently beckoned for Eiri to come closer with his finger, and when he did he grabbed onto Eiri's right arm and pulled it down from its former position.

"This I can fix no problem." And he did just that. Taking a hold of Eiri's sleeve, he began to roll it up, in a way where it didn't look bulky or out of place. Once he finished with that one, he placed Eiri's arm at his side and went to Eiri's other arm to fix that sleeve. Patting it when he was done, he leaned forward and grabbed a hold of Eiri's now uncovered hands, and held them up so that they were on his eye level.

"See, now you can see your hands again." Silence reigned over the apartment for a couple of seconds, as Eiri stared down at Tohma, the oddest expression etched across his face. Tohma just couldn't figure it out. It was so similar to what happened that morning, when Eiri gazed at him after his little slip up. The same expression was there now, but it was mixed with something else that he couldn't quite name. And just like earlier, the look disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, except this time a slight barely noticeable red tint took its place.

"T-Thanks." Eiri murmured as he slid his hands out of Tohma's and backed up. Slowly taking the hoodie off, he made sure that he left the cuffs in. "Now I won't feel or look like a loser." He laughed, and then he placed the hoodie on the couch and continued pulling items out of the bags. A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and Eiri turned around slightly, watching as Tohma got up.

"I'm going to make me some tea. I can make some for you if you want. It'll help calm you down a lot faster" Tohma offered and suggested, already standing in front of the kitchen's doorway. But Eiri politely turned him down and continued with what he was doing. No, he wasn't ready for that yet. He was still too excited to calm down and he made sure Tohma knew it, as he told him so before he entered into the kitchen. Earning Eiri a laugh and an all knowing sound of acknowledgment.

It was at least 10 minutes later, when Tohma started to notice that it was awfully quiet. He pushed himself off the counter and walked out into the living room, stopping when he was only inches away from the couch.

He knew it.

Every time the kid worked himself up and was extremely excited about something, he always swore up and down that he would never go to sleep. But just like every other time, as soon as he relaxed, even for the tiniest second, he would be out like a light and there was probably no waking him either.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." Tohma whispered to the sleeping boy, maneuvering around Eiri's stuff and gently lifting the boy up and into his arms. Tohma carried Eiri to his bedroom, making sure that he didn't disturb the boy in any way. Quietly laying him down on his bed, Tohma made quick work on removing his clothes and replacing them with his pajamas. When he was finished, Tohma stared down at Eiri, amazed that he didn't even stir. With a small smile on his face, Tohma ran his fingers through golden blond hair, before bending over and placing a small kiss on Eiri's cheek.

That's all he would allow himself.

"Goodnight Eiri-kun" He whispered into the darkness and then quietly exited the bedroom.