I don't own Gravitation or any of the characters, just the plot.

When he woke up, Shuichi had a stiff neck and sore legs. He could feel his eyes swollen behind his eyelids that didn't want to open. The porcelin tub had warmed up with his body curled inside, and it seemed more welcoming than he imagined Yuki would be. He wasn't sure he wanted to be welcomed, though. He didn't know wanted—to have dreamed all of last night? But he was still wearing his now-wrinkled tuxedo and could vividly recalled all the details of his conversation with Andre and the looks passing between Shane and Eiri. All of it was painfully real.

He hoisted himself out of the tub and sat on the rim. He reached over and mechanically flushed the toilet, still full of the previous night's sick, and bit his lip when he realized Eiri would know he was awake. He probably had to use the bathroom. They had another one, but this was the one he liked to use. He said it gave him privacy. And the bathroom attached to the bedroom had slowly been taken over by Shuichi's hair products and face creams (we aren't all natural beauties, he sometimes joked when Yuki complained) so that it was more convenient for Eiri to walk next door and do his business.

Well let him be inconvenienced, Shuichi thought, his anger flaring up.

He moved to the sink and spent some time doing damage control on his puffy face, running the cold water as quietly as he could. He brushed his teeth with a dab of Eiri's toothpaste and his finger, some irrational part of him not even wanting to share the intimacy of a toothbrush. When he was done he still looked like crap, but slightly less disgusting crap. He stripped off the jacket and dress shirt and removed his shoes and socks. He picked absently at a pimple on his left shoulder.

You're a little old.

He mentally berated himself. Was this all a little tantrum because he was suddenly insecure about his place in Yuki's life, in his heart? He hoped not. He didn't know.

After a deep breath he unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. The wood floor was cold on his bare feet. He walked as quietly as he could. The bedroom door was open and the bed wasn't slept in. He laid his things out and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Yuki's tux was hanging in the dry cleaning bag on the back of the door. What had he done last night? Was he worried, pissed off, sorry?

What was there to be sorry about? Not telling him? Shuichi shook his head.

"I don't know, dammit," he whispered.

His body yearned to sink into the bed, hide under the covered. But his stomach, amazingly, spoke up against such a plan. The appetite of the young, Yuki called it.

He crept out of the bedroom, his heart speeding up and his feet slowing down as he got closer to the living room. He expected to find Eiri brooding on the couch. No. The door to his office was open on the other side of the house, so he wasn't working. Not in the kitchen. He was gone.

Shuichi slumped into a chair, staring at the microwave clock. It was 7 a.m., why would he be gone so early? And on a Saturday? Weekends were for resting, and for spending time together when they weren't on tour.

"You asshole." He felt tears welling up again and fought them, punching the table.

The front door slammed and he jumped up, then immediately sat down and wiped his face. Eiri walked in a moment later and hesitated upon seeing him.

Something ugly roared inside Shuichi. "Where were you?" he fired.

"The coffee pot's broken, so I went to get breakfast."

Indeed, he was carrying a cup of coffee and a bakery bag.

The coffee pot was broken? How could that be? Sure, it was ancient, but things like that don't happen right after things like last night. At least, they shouldn't.

Shuichi backed down as suddenly as he'd risen and stared at the floor. Yuki plunked his bag down and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and two muffins, muttering something about not knowing if he were hungry.

For a minute Shuichi thought he'd sit down at the table and they'd be forced to talk or suffer unbearable silence, but Eiri grabbed his muffin and headed out after puttering around behind Shuichi in the fridge for several minutes. His office door clicked shut and Shuichi's stomach demanded he eat the muffin now before Eiri came back. He vowed that he was not accepting a peace offering, however. Breakfast would not solve their problems.

Shuichi couldn't figure out what to do with himself. He didn't want to watch television or play music because he didn't want to draw Eiri out of his office, but there was no one to hang out with or talk to. A couple of times he ventured close to the office door and heard nothing, not even typing, and he burned with curiosity at what Yuki was doing locked in there. He didn't come out to throw away his trash or to get lunch. When it started to get dark and Shuichi was sure he'd have to come out to go to the bathroom or get something more to eat than the muffin, he panic and called Hiro.

"Hey buddy, what's up?"

"Are you busy?"

"Not really. Is Eiri on a date tonight?" he joked.

"Can you come pick me up?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks. And hurry."

Shuichi stood in the driveway and waited for his friend to pull up. It was dark, and chilly, but he didn't want to go back inside to get a jacket. When Hiro pulled up he didn't ask why Shuichi was shivering outside while Yuki's car sat in the driveway and there were still lights on in the house.

"Get on. Have you eaten? I ordered pizza."

Shuichi climbed on and they rode to Hiro's place in silence. Neither one of them acknowledged Shuichi's crying into Hiro's back on the ride over. When they got there he blamed the wind for his watery eyes and said he was starving, so they went straight up to his apartment and ate.

Shuichi had turned on the radio so they didn't have to talk to fill the silence. When he was on the last piece of pizza he nibbled like a rabbit.

"If you're not hungry, I'll eat it," Hiro offered, and he handed the slice over with a sigh. He was overly full, and now he was wondering if Hiro would want to know why they were hanging out on a Saturday night.

Shuichi thought he might head him off by starting the conversation. "So did Suguru have a test to study for or something? I was surprised you were available."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? He's at some convention. I begged the weekend off. He's more than enough for me to handle, if I had to spend three days with a couple hundred weirdo dorks I'd have to jump off a building."

Even in the throes of his own relationship problems, Shuichi thought his bandmates were adorable. Weirdo dork had such an affectionate ring when Hiro said it.

Shuichi gave a mighty sniffle and asked if Hiro had anything to drink. He fetched a bottle of sake and a couple of glasses and they talked about music and the weather for a while. Then Hiro railroaded him.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, I love having you around to split the cost of dinner and all, but do you want to tell me why you can't make it through more than ten minutes of conversation without being on the verge of a breakdown?"

"Noooo," Shuichi said, crying by the end of the word.

"Okay. Come on. Tell me all about it." Hiro crawled over and let his friend slump against his shoulder as he alternated crying and telling him about everything that had happened since last night. When he was done he just cried for a while, and then they sat there silently while a lone saxophonist wailed out a tune through the speakers.

"Shuichi."

"Hm?"

"I don't get it. Why are you so angry at him?"

"I don't know. He should have told me."

"He did tell you."

"Yeah, after he had to. I just—that Andre kid is just—a kid. And Yuki was lying to me. He said he wasn't gay. He still says it. And..." He mumbled something that Hiro couldn't even make out from a foot away.

"What?"

"What if that's how he sees me? What if I'm some...toy or something? What if I get too old, or get fat, or go bald? Is he going to swap me for another kid?"

Hiro pulled away, leaving Shuichi's head hanging in the air. He fell over onto his elbow and looked up angrily.

"You've got to be kidding me. He was our age when he was doing it, wasn't he? And were you a kid when you hooked up with him? Believe me, those boys know what they're getting in to. It's a crappy system, but there are a lot of sickos out there who don't get their rocks off any other way. At least he got out of it."

"You don't understand, Hiro. It feels like...he cheated on me. It just hurt." He clutched at his chest to show his pain.

"Don't be ridiculous, he didn't even know you. If you're really still so insecure about how he feels about you, maybe it's better than things ended this way."

"Things aren't ending. I'm just confused."

"Okay, I'll break it down for you. You, innocent little Shuichi, have never been with anyone but Yuki. And you thought Yuki hadn't been with any men but you. Now you think that you have competition. He's not sleeping around, so calm down. You relationship's not going on a couple of months, it's going on three years, and you're not the freshest piece of meat out there anymore. Obviously something else is keeping him around. He could have called up his friend any time, but did he? No. He already found what he wanted, and it's you. Now get over the little soap opera in your head and get back to being in a loving, committed relationship with the man you love."

"How?"

"I don't know. Talk to him. You two are going to have to figure it out. I'm sure he'd like to know why you're acting like such a nut. You really slept in the bathtub?"

"Yeah. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Well, I hope you've seen the error of your ways. Cheers to realizing we're assholes."

Shuichi frowned but toasted with his friend. They polished off the bottle and Hiro went to get another. While he was gone Shuichi looked around the room. It was emptied than the last time he'd been here. Suguru's keyboard wasn't in the corner, and his schoolbooks weren't on bookshelf. That was odd.

When Hiro came back in with the sake he noticed Shuichi looking and asked if there was anything else he wanted.

"No, I'm fine. Are you okay? Did something happen with Suguru?"

Hiro was made of tougher stuff than Shuichi. His smile was flawless, his eyes didn't water, only a little muscle in his neck twitched.

"No, he just decided he wanted some space, wanted to try new things. We're still seeing each other, just not as often." His laughter was dry.

"Hiro, I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It's been a few weeks, it's been no big deal." Hiro had spent the last few weekends here alone? He hadn't even called. Shuichi wanted to kick himself. He'd been so busy living his fairy tale that he hadn't even been making sure his friends were still okay. He assumed everything was as happy as it had been for him.

"Here, drink up. Don't look so glum. You're about to reconcile with Yuki." They toasted again, and again, and a few more times. Two bottles later Hiro was sleeping with his head under the coffee table and Shuichi was cleaning up the pizza boxes and wondering if he should call Yuki so late to let him know he didn't have a ride home. He didn't know that he wasn't mad, not really, just sad, and still hurt. He didn't know how to say that all over the phone. He decided to leave it until morning when Hiro would take him home.

Next one on the way. Sorry to say that the problems will not be solved in chapter 3.