A/N: I know, it seems like I took forever to get this out...Writer's Block sucks, huh? Anyway, I have another problem: after I finish this, I'd like to write a multi-chapter shonen-ai (boyXboy) story, but I don't know which of 5 couples I want to write about yet...If you want to have a say, the poll is on my profile, 'kay?

"No way," I said firmly, eying the bottle Ai held out to me with distrust.

She pouted, but drew it back to herself. I sighed as she lifted the open bottle to her lips, gulping down a mouthful. Part of me wondered if Yu and Kiro had had a secret agenda when they agreed to buy alcohol.
"Aren't you gonna at least try to stop them?" Bachiko asked as she appeared at my side. She frowned at the small, impromptu party in our apartment. Supposedly it was to celebrate our return to Seattle, but it was obviously just and excuse for Ai and Cho to drink.
I raised an eyebrow at my companion. "Good luck with that," I told her simply, shrugging.
Bachiko continued to frown at the party, her arms crossed over her chest. The two of us were the only ones not drinking, which wasn't really a surprise. Instead, we turned on the TV and tried to drown them out with Criminal Minds.
Fuji joined us, occasionally sipping from her first bottle. She seemed a little bored and tired; I assumed the latter was from driving across the country over the last few days. I yawned as I thought about it, wondering if I dared to nap with a bunch of drinking fools in the house.
...Nope.
Before I knew it, Bachiko, Fuji, and I were three episodes into Criminal Minds and Cho, leaning against the couch behind us, was slurring something about talking in her sleep. Bachiko's eyes lit up as she realized the others' state of drunkenness, and I swore internally. I could practically see evil schemes forming in her mind.
"Bachiko? What are you thinking?" I asked in a quiet voice as Kiro sang through his hiccups in the background.
"Nothing..." she tried, her voice far too sing-song to be anywhere near innocent.
I gave her a hard look, and she burst out laughing.
Next to me, Fuji set her beer down. She was still on the first bottle and completely lucid. I raised and eyebrow at her, and she gestured to the drunk idiots behind us.
"They're doomed," she explained, "I don't want to join them."
I nodded, understanding, and turned back to Bachiko in time to see her sneaking around the couch. I sighed, sitting back to watch the show.
"Hey," I heard her hiss, "You should make pie."
Not what I'd expecting, but at this point I should know better than to expect anything.
Ai, whose childish nature was exaggerated by the alcohol in her system, was immediately intrigued.
"What kind?" Fuji prompted, resting her chin on top of her hands on the back of the couch.
Bachiko grinned at her, mischief written all over her face.
"The kind that kills the president."
Fuji groaned. I facepalmed. Ai looked confused while Cho looked curious.
"What kind of pie is that?" Strify asked before anyone sober enough to stop him could do so. His brow was furrowed in innocent confusion, and the intoxicated flush on his cheeks offset the blue of his eyes. My eyes widened as I took in the adorable image, but I quickly shook it off.
"The kind that I show you how to make, and you guys test it," Bachiko told them, an evil smirk playing across her features.
Fuji and I just sighed and let her lead the group into the kitchen. Bachiko may have been somewhat cruel and deceptive, but she wasn't actually homicidal.
...I think.
We decided we'd let her have her fun for now and break things up before anyone got hurt.
We'd gone through another episode of Criminal Minds and switched to Family Guy before we even gave them another thought. Suddenly Strify stumbled into the room, distracting us. If possible, he was somehow even more drunk than when we'd last seen him. He tripped his way across the floor, landing heavily on the couch next to me and leaning against my shoulder.
Fuji took one look at us and snickered, hiding her mouth coyly with one hand. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," she teased, leaving the room with her bottle.
"No! Fuji! Don't leave me with this idiot!" I called after her. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but the reek of alcohol rising from the man next to me was making my stomach turn. My nervousness turned to panic when I finally looked at him, only to see a look of adoration softening his gaze.
Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no no no no. Shit!
"Saya-chiiii," Strify slurred, turning his head so his chin rested on the ridge where my collarbone met my shoulder, "I've got-" a hiccup "-something to...to tell you."
"What?" I asked grumpily as I watched Stewie attempting to kill Lois, "That you're gay for Kiro?"
He giggled, prompting me to raise an eyebrow. "No," he managed to pant before bursting into another fit, "I love you."
I froze. No way. No way he said something so cheesy and out-of-character. Especially not with is girly, drunk personality of his.
I thought about getting up and just walking away from the mess before it got any worse, but before I could move he had latched onto my arm. His strength surprised me; I couldn't move.
"...love you..." he repeated sleepily, burrowing his face into my shoulder. Within minutes he was snoring softly, still clinging to my arm.
I stared at the bright colors of the TV screen, not comprehending the image. I was just trying to breathe.
Please don't let him remember this.

I yawned loudly, tucking a loose lock of my dark hair behind one ear. Ai sat next to me, leaning against my shoulder as she held her head. Through bleary, sleep-deprived eyes, I watched a technician mess with the controls of the recording booth.
The equipment squealed, causing Ai to groan loudly.
"Whose brilliant idea was it to get shit-faced last night?" Strify asked grumpily from where he leaned against the wall, also holding his head.
Much the my relief, he hadn't been able to remember his drunken confession the night before. I'd finally fallen asleep on the couch, and we'd woken with me using his chest as a pillow. Recollection or no, it made the situation awkward. His teasing hadn't helped at all.
The next few hours had been a blur. DJ Robb had called, reminding us that we were supposed to start recording together today. Those of us who were awake and didn't have hangovers (meaning me, Bachiko, and Fuji) had rushed around for the next hour, struggling to wake those passed out in each room. The three of us dressed quickly, and Fuji stayed at the apartment to stuff Ai and Cho into their clothes while Bachiko and I took the boys back to their hotel and helped them change.
Now we were sitting in the studio, and more than half the group was nursing raging hangovers. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see DJ Robb continually rolling his eyes at us.
The drums were recorded first, followed by the guitar. By the time we finished with the bass and keyboard, I had been lightly dozing for hours. Luckily I was able to recover quickly, stepping into the booth to sing my part before Strify finished it up.
"I can't sleep tonight, 'cause baby you're taking me over,
Gotta go out, try to see you again,
My heart's pounding, my head's spinning,
Come find me in the crowd tonight."
I paused for a beat; I knew it would be edited later to add in the second verse, which was Strify's. My next task was the chorus.
"Take my hand,
Take my heart,
Spin me round,
We're going down,
And now I've found you and it's you and me from this point on."

Click-click. Click-click. Click-click. Sigh.
I stared dully at the notebook paper in front of me. It was frustrating. No matter what I tried, Akatsuki just did not want to cooperate. I hated it when characters decided to be difficult. Usually, it led to general irritation and a myriad of unrelated plot bunnies.
As I scowled at said vampire's name, scrawled across the page in black ink, Kiro strolled into the kitchen alone. I raised an eyebrow at him, watching him make himself at home with a package of poptarts and a can of Pepsi. He was dressed in black jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt, looking impossibly casual and sexy at the same time.
"Whatcha working on?" he asked with a cute, innocent smile.
I scowled, not in the mood for cute after my internal battle with the young, fire-wielding vamp. "Trying to tame a couple of pain-in-the-ass vampires," I told the bassist shortly.
He returned the statement with a blank expression, blinking in confusion. I sighed and leaned back in my seat, slapping my pen down on the page. For a moment, we just sat in silence.
"So...are you looking forward to the festival?" he finally asked, speaking around a mouthful of crumbling poptart.
I groaned, sliding further into the cushion below me. My writer's block had stolen my enthusiasm for just about everything. The very idea of standing before a group of screaming fans in a mood like this was less-than-encouraging, to say the least.
Kiro laughed nervously. "Ch-cheer up," he admonished.
I could feel my expression sharpen as my ears caught the stutter in his voice. My eyes ran over his face, picking up telltale wrinkles of nervousness. He was hiding something.
I crossed my arms over my chest, sitting upright in my chair again.
"Alright, spill it," I snapped, trying-in vain-to keep irritation from my voice, "What's bugging you?"
Kiro averted his eyes and sucked his lower lip between his teeth, gnawing on it. If I hadn't been on the receiving end of this evasive behavior, I might have melted from the sheer adorable-ness.
Finally, he sighed. "It's time for us to go home," he admitted softly, his voice strangely dull and emotionless, "After we perform the collab at the fair, that is."
Our eyes met. I was sure mine were a bay window into the hurt and surprise I felt, and his revealed disappointment and depression curtained by manufactured apathy.