Disclaimer: I do not own any gravitation characters

A/N: This chapter was edited, I made Ryuichi two years older then he should have been.

Chapter 2: caught in the moment

Two days had gone by since Tohma had gone to the karaoke bar and saw the very guy that could change Nittle Grasper's future. Two days had gone by with him biding his time on how he would be able to ask him to consider becoming part of the group. He knew that whenever he was ready to ask Sakuma-san about joining, Noriko would go there to back him up. But taking all things into consideration he would have to go about things smoothly. While Tohma wasn't the best at reading people, he knew that if he didn't approach Ryuichi correctly his attempt could end in failure.

Tohma leaned back in his chair as he placed the bottom of his pen in his mouth. He had to think things over and consider all corners. That was something that his father had taught him when he sometimes visited the workplace. In order to seal an important business deal, the negotiator had to look at all sides of the equation. While the main party was always a consideration, you would have to look at all aspects that would affect the deal. That vital aspect in this case would be Taku.

Right now he was unaware of what Tohma was plotting. But it would be a matter of time before he caught up to the blonde's calm demeanor. Every since he'd seen Ryuichi the other night, he had been fairly civil towards Taku. Even when he was purposely taunted, Tohma would just smile icily at the man knowing that in the end he wouldn't be in the group and he would have the last laugh. Some times he found himself wanting to hint at it just to see Taku become fearful of his influences, but he knew that would be a bad ideal. So he decided to keep his little secret to himself and Noriko until the time was right.

Sitting his chair back upright and standing up as he stretched, he decided that since he had some time off tonight he mind as well hit the karaoke bar once again. He had to keep himself fresh in Sakuma-san's mind so that the man wouldn't forget him. The last thing he needed was to have his potential new band mate forgetting who he was. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his black full length coat. Checking himself in the mirror, he made sure he was dressed to impress. While he didn't want to overdo it, he made sure that he looked nicely since he did want to catch his attention.

Tohma arrived at the bar a half an hour later and was greeted by the gentle sound of Ryuichi singing on stage. As he walked into the room, he noticed that all eyes were on the brunette as he sung his heart out on the subject of unrequited love. Once again Tohma found himself in a reverie as he listened to him sing. He sung with such raw emotion to the point that the listener felt as if they could experience his words as if it were their own.

Deciding that he better take a seat, he walked over to the bar where he was greeted by Takashi.

"I haven't seen you in a few days; Yamamoto-san has been taking it easy?"

Tohma rolled his eyes as he glanced at the stage. "No way, Taku's still the same as ever, but I've become immune to his attacks so to speak."

"Is that so…" Takashi said as his voice trailed off.

Tohma nodded as he turned back to the stage where Ryuichi was finally finishing up his number. As soon as the music died down, the audience applauded wildly. It was amusing to see how many fans he had here right now. But Tohma could honestly say that Ryuichi was no ordinary karaoke singer. He turned back around in his seat as he waited for Takashi to pour him his usual drink. He knew that at any moment, Ryuichi was going to make his way to this bar and sit down next to him. All he needed to do was to wait until that was done so he could begin to work his magic on the man.

"What's up Tohma!" Ryuichi chirped as he sat down next to the blonde. Tohma smiled as he took a sip of his sake. He wouldn't lie about the fact that he genuinely enjoyed Ryuichi company. He was intrigued by him in more ways than one and he wanted to get to know him better. But at the same time he really wanted to join the band.

"Nothing much Ryu-Chan," Tohma responded as he took another sip of his drink as he looked at the man out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh really," Ryu said as he turned to Takashi. "I'll have what he's having." He said as Takashi looked at him hesitantly.

"Ryuichi you can't hold your liquor that well, I don't think it's…"

"Aww give me a break, I'll only drink one shot." Ryuichi affirmed as he held up his index finger.

Takashi took a deep breath as he pulled out a shot glass and filled it up with sake. Although he was a bit hesitating, he slid the glass over to Ryuichi before letting out a heavy sight and walking away.

Tohma sat there as his eyes darted back between the two. Why didn't the bartender want Ryuichi to drink? It had to be more to it than him not being able to hold his liquor.

"So what brought you here again tonight?" Ryuichi asked as he chugged the shot down in one gulp. He reached over the counter and grabbed the bottle of sake and poured him another cup.

Tohma stared at him as his eyes darted towards the spot were Takashi was sitting previously.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you again," he responded honestly.

"You wanted to see me again?" Ryuichi asked in amazement as he chugged down his second shot with ease.

"Yea but…" Tohma said as he turned to Ryuichi in concern. "Should you really be drinking that much? You promised Takashi-san that you'd only drink one shot." Tohma said as he cringed at Ryu as he downed his third shot.

"Awww don't be such a party pooper Toh-chan, I don't do this often so it won't hurt."

Tohma let out a heavy sigh as he ignored the pet name once again and reached over to retrieve the bottle. But the more he leaned over, the further back Ryuichi pulled the bottle until their faces were inches apart.

"You know, you're really cute. Are you mixed?" Ryuichi asked as he stared at him closely.

Tohma looked at the man in surprise as he pulled back swiftly, while trying to hide his blush in the process. Why was he so embarrassed by the sudden closeness? It wasn't like he hadn't been asked that question before. Although that was the case, somehow this time seemed a bit different. And it had gotten under his skin like nothing had ever before.

"Sorry did I say something wrong?" Ryuichi asked as he put down the bottle and looked over at Tohma with concern.

"No…the question just caught me off guard," Tohma lied as he chugged the rest of his drink down quickly.

"Are you sure" Ryuichi asked as he reached over and placed his hand on Tohma's cheek gently turning his face towards his. The blonde was completely open to Ryuichi right now and he wasn't quite sure what was happening. No one had ever wanted to know if he was genuinely ok other than Noriko. And since she was like an older sister to him, it never had an effect on him quite like this did. At this particular moment, he was going over a sea of ideals that could possibly explain his sudden nervousness. While some would seem to fit the situation, Tohma knew they weren't right. It was no possible way he could describe how he felt right now and I in a way he didn't want to know.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine Saku…Ryuichi, I'm just feeling a bit unwell at the moment."

"Really?" Ryuichi said as he pulled away slowly. "Do you want to come to my place? I could take care of you until you feel better."

"Ryuichi he's not a pet," Takashi cut in suddenly causes both of their attention to divert towards him. Tohma felt a bit relieved at the reappearance of the bartender, while Ryuichi pouted playfully.

"I never said he was a pet," Ryuichi said as he extended his arm on the bar table and laid his head on it. "Or maybe you're just jealous," he said as he gave Takashi a slight grin.

Tohma's eyes widen a bit as he looked at Takashi waiting for an answer. This was getting interesting, and it was becoming fairly obvious why, the bartender felt that he shouldn't drink.

"I'm not jealous it's just, this is why you always get hurt. You come here and pick up any person who you think would be remotely interested in you. Once they realize that this isn't who you really are, they leave you and you're back to square one here." He said as he glared angrily at Ryuichi.

It was obvious that the words that Takashi had stated stung, and as unbelievable as it seemed, it looked as if Ryuichi wanted to cry.

"Well excuse me for not being the type that you always wanted me to be, I have my reasons."

"Sakuma-san it's time you retired for the night." Takashi stated firmly.

"What if I don't want to!" he said defiantly.

"You have no choice because I'm going to ban you for the rest of the night." He countered.

Tohma just stared on in shock at this latest development. These two sounded like an ex couple who couldn't get alone in the least bit. Deciding that he needed to break this up now, Tohma grabbed his keys as he pulled Ryuichi with him.

"No Tohma what are you doing! I want to stay." He said as he snatched his arm away.

Tohma wanted to give up because he felt that it wasn't his place to situate himself inside an ex lover's quarrel. But he really wanted to get Ryuichi out of here before any type of authorities became involved.

"Takashi you've always been this way! You want me to change but since I like being who I am you give me a hard time about it."

Tohma grabbed Ryuichi's arm and tugged him sharply as he pulled him out of the bar. He didn't want the man to say something that he would regret later on.

"Tohma let me go," Ryuichi whimpered as he struggled to get away. Tohma sighed as he continued to drag his new found friend since he wasn't putting up much of a fight. He walked over to his car and opened up the passenger door and pushed Ryuichi in into the car lightly.

"Ryuichi I'm taking you home, you need to calm down and get some rest." Tohma stated firmly as he stared down at him. Their eyes met for what it seemed like minutes before the brunette's facial expression turned from anger to sudden sadness.

"W-what's wrong?" Tohma asked as he looked at his friend in alarm. It wasn't everyday that a grown man looked like he wanted to cry after an argument with another guy, even if that other man happen to be an ex lover.

"No-nothing," Ryuichi said as he wiped his tears away quickly. "It's just…I don't want to go home tonight," he said obstinately.

"Then where do you want to go?" Tohma asked growing a bit impatient. He wasn't use to someone being so emotional; it was beginning to give him a headache. While he knew he had to deal with this for the sake of his band's future, he also felt he had to deal with it for other reasons unclear to him at the moment.

"I want to stay with you," he said as he pulled his feet into the car and shut the door and locked it.

Tohma looked on in complete astonishment, was he insane? Why did he want to stay with a stranger of all people? He didn't have time to stay out late since he had band practice in the morning. Walking over to the driver's side, Tohma climbed into the car and put the key into the ignition.

"So where do you live?" he asked through false politeness, trying to at least get his address out of him so that he could eventually drop him off at home.

"I'm not telling," Ryuichi said stubbornly.

Tohma looked over at the man in disbelief. From the looks of him, he knew he was around his age but he had to ask. "Ryuichi, how old are you?"

The man looked over at him curiously as he held up both of his hands and began to count as if he were a preschooler. Tohma couldn't believe his eyes, and from his point of view this guy looked like a complete idiot.

"I'm 20 years old!" Ryuichi said happily as if proud of himself to have been able to count that high.

Tohma leaned his head on the steering wheel as he thought of possible ways out of this solution. He was just like a little kid, if you gave him what he wanted he would remain happy. The only thing that would make him happy right now was that he spend more time with Tohma, and for the sake of the band he was going to do that.

"Okay Ryuichi, where are we going to then?"

"Your place."

The blond leaned his head back as he started up his car, to his place it was.

They arrived at his house forty-five minutes later. Parking his car and finally turning it off, Tohma looked over towards the passenger seat to find Ryuichi sound asleep. Feeling a bit lucky but a weary, Tohma was happy that the alcohol had apparently put him to sleep. It gave him time to think about new developments on his way over here. It looked like this guy wouldn't be that hard to convince, but then again if his observation was correct he would be harder. His personality constantly flip flopped whenever Tohma was around him to the point where he was beginning to wonder if the person next to him had some sort of mental disorder. It wasn't everyday that you met someone like him, and usually this would be the type Tohma would avoid completely.

Sighing out of exhaustion, Tohma reached over and nudged him. Ryuichi only mumbled and moved his position a bit. He showed no signs of waking up in the least. Feeling like it would be better if he was left to sleep, Tohma stood up and walked over to the other side of the car and opened the door. He reached down and put Ryuichi's arm around his neck as he spoke to him softly asking for him to get up. With this, he was probably going to stay half asleep, which would benefit Tohma completely.

They walked over slowly to his townhouse apartment, as he fumbled in his pocket for his keys. Upon arriving in front of his door, he unlocked it and walked in, shutting the door with his foot. He walked over to the couch and sat Ryu down on it and took off his shoes. He made a mental note that he would have to clean his floor when he woke up because he usually didn't allow shoes to step onto his main floor but this was obviously a special case.

Laying him down, Tohma walked over to his living room closet and pulled out a blanket. Walking back over to the couch, he unfolded the cloth and spread it onto the sleeping man.

Feeling like he needed to get to bed himself, he cut off the lights and made his way upstairs to his bedroom. He usually preferred to sleep naked but considering he had company downstairs, he decided to sleep only with his pajama bottoms just for tonight.

He let out a loud yawn as he climbed into his bed and cut off his lights. For a while he just laid there thinking about what had been going on. Things were getting a bit unusual, but it was better than how his lift use to be. Growing up he never was able to chose his friends or lovers. Everything always had to be approved by his parents. When looking back at everything, his friends only liked him because of his last name and when he decided to take his own path they all disappeared.

Around that time he was beginning to feel like he didn't need anyone and that having friendships were a burden until Noriko came along. She shared his passion for music and her warm personality quickly pulled Tohma out of the shell that he was building around himself. Soon after he met Taku, who at first was a really nice guy regardless of how he is now. He loved to sing and that went well with his synth playing and Noriko's keyboarding. Soon after they began to play at clubs just for something to do, but eventually they were spotted by a record label scout off the clock and convinced to sign a development deal.

Some say that you realize who your friends are when you're becoming big and that was the case with Taku. He turned from the easy-going guy that he went to college with, to a money hungry diva that felt like he had did all the hard work on his own. While it was true that Tohma was the brain of the group. He had negotiated the deal and even gotten them Kazuma Hideki, who was one of the top-notch producers in today's music industry. Taku was the heart of Nittle Grasper and he knew that all too well. While it did pain him to want to get rid of his old friend, he wasn't the same person anymore. The group hadn't even achieved its fame yet and Taku was already claiming everything as his own.

Tohma's eyes began to droop as he continued to think. He wanted to prove his father wrong and show him that he could be something other than a business man. He could still remember his father describing him as an anti-social, spoiled kid who didn't know the ways of the world. While that may have been true, he wanted to change that. When he had made friends with Noriko, he had made of point of him not being anti-social. He was just picky of who his friends were. With a last name like Seguchi, he couldn't just go around introducing himself. He would attract the wrong types of people and that was the last thing he wanted.

The same went for his lovers, who his parents always seemed to pick out for him. Throughout his life he'd had three girlfriends who all only wanted him for his name. Of course they belonged to well off families as well but there was no emotion involved. Tohma hadn't developed any feelings for any of them and he was going to keep it that way. If Noriko hadn't decided to be an older sister figure to Tohma, he sometimes wondered if she would have been his first love.

He yawned loudly as he closed his eyes slowly, that was one of the things he would never know.

He felt like he'd only been asleep for a couple of minutes when he suddenly felt someone climbing onto his bed and sliding underneath his covers. Sometimes Noriko came over at night because she'd had some dumb nightmare so sometimes he paid it no mind. The figured laid their head on Tohma's chest as they cuddled up to him, wrapping their arm around his waist. On simple reaction, Tohma wrapped his arm around their neck as he positioned his head on theirs. While he was half asleep something seemed off, the smell was different than Noriko's and the chest area was extremely flat. Before he could react, he felt the figure move up till his chest was on Tohma's.

Opening his eyes slowly, he noticed Ryuichi staring down at him as he leaned in and kissed his cheek. Tohma was too tired to protest but he wish he would have been. That kiss sent him blushing more extreme than he did at the bar, which caused him to wake up a bit more.

"Ryuichi what are you doing?" He asked hoarsely as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Ryuichi grinned softly as he placed his index finger on Tohma's lips. "Shhh, I won't do anything I promise," he said as he kissed the tip of the blonde's nose. "I just wanted to sleep with you that's all." He reassured.

Tohma let out a loud yawn as he nodded and closed his eyes once more. Sleeping wasn't bad, but then again he had no energy to protest so why not let things be?

He found himself falling back into a deep sleep when suddenly, something he never expected to happen, occurred. He felt Ryuichi's lips pressed softly against his own and while he was a bit surprised, he didn't have an extreme negative reaction like he thought he would. Instead, he found himself responding to the kiss by wrapping his arms around Ryuichi's neck and pulling him in closer. He knew that he was in need of affection and right now he didn't care where he got it from as long as that person liked him. He felt Ryuichi climb on top of him and straddle his hips as he began to grind into him causing a soft moan to escape Tohma's lips.

He had never been with anyone like this, nor had he ever attempted to kiss someone as passionate as this. But this was something that he'd been longing for when it finally hit him.

He stopped kissing Ryuichi in a panic as he pushed him off of him, causing the man to fall to the floor with a loud thump.

"Wh-what the hell is going on?" he asked in a panic as he looked of his pajama top. He'd never expected this to happen, how could he make out with a guy? He wasn't gay, at least he wasn't yesterday and why did that have to change today. He looked around until he found his pajama top. He picked that up and ran downstairs and grabbed his keys and his coat, he needed to get away for a bit and think about what had just happened.

End chapter