Disclaimer: (sketching) Me can only draw Neopets. Me can't draw manga.
Note: You know, I just realized that Tohma has been shirtless more than once already in this fic and it's only the fourth chapter…. o.0" And, also I just learned that we will only be staying two days and one night, and my hotel has wifi!
Assumptions + Crushes
You could not believe how awkward it was to be Shindou Shuichi right about now. It was just about the damn most awkward thing ever, in fact, and Shuichi was so utterly confused that a rainbow unicorn could jump through the window and he wouldn't have noticed the difference.
Allow me to set the scene for you.
Shuichi was sitting at Ryuichi's round kitchen table with Ryuichi (wearing Tohma's ridiculous apron) to his right, and Tohma (wearing nothing at all on his upper body) across from him. Ryuichi actually had been cooking. Normally he just ordered out. And Tohma and Ryuichi were talking casually as if there was nothing strange at all.
Shuichi felt sort of…third-wheelish.
"How was your shower?" Ryuichi smiled, holding his head up with a hand.
Tohma shrugged. "It was good once I figured out how to work it. God, Ryuichi, how many levers do you have in there?"
"I'm sorry, Tohma-kun! You can use the other one next time if you want!" Ryuichi apologized. "But the water in the guest bathroom doesn't come out as warm, I'll warn you."
Next time? And wait…he had been using Ryuichi's bathroom instead of the guest one? Shuichi paled. "Ano…Sakuma-san…" he murmured quietly. "Why exactly is Mr. Seguchi here?"
"Oh!" Ryuichi giggled. "He's living with me!"
Said with such a straight face!
Tohma nodded, with a smirk. "Yes, and Ryuichi's been taking very good care of me."
Ryuichi munched his sandwich with a playful glare. "Well maybe I wouldn't have to baby you so much if you put on a jacket before you went outside, or bothered to eat something besides coffee, or didn't end up screaming in the middle of the night and waking me up-"
"Ryuichi," Tohma politely interrupted, taking a sip of his mocha. "We have a guest."
Ryuichi turned back to Shuichi. "Oh, right! So what was it you came here to talk to me about Shu-chan?"
Shuichi looked down at his lap. He couldn't bring it up while Tohma was here. He'd have to talk to Ryuichi about it later. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I have a new question. Are you and Mr. Seguchi-"
"I found Tohma on my doorstep last night without a place to stay," Ryuichi cut him off. "I kindly offered that he could stay here until things with him and Mika calmed down." He put a finger to his lips with a wink.
Shuichi's face heated up. So nothing was going on after all! He felt so embarrassed. Maybe it was just all that shoujo manga. Yeah, Yuki had said he should stop reading that, that it would dirty his mind. And Yuki was right. After all, Ryuichi was such an innocent, kind person! He would never do things like that with Mr. Seguchi! Yes, Shuichi knew this, for he had faith in his idol.
He sighed inwardly though, casting a glance at Ryuichi, who was asking Tohma if Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper could sing together sometime soon. He knew better than anyone else that this divorce must've been killing Ryuichi slowly. And still, Ryuichi did his best to put on his mask and smile, just for Tohma. It was heroic. Normally, Shuichi would fangirl over it.
"Hey, Shu-chan!" Ryuichi exclaimed suddenly, jumping up from his seat. "Let's go take a walk in the park!" He whipped back around, dropping a stack of papers three feet high in front of Tohma. "And you, Mister, are going to work on finishing these songs. I want the tunes arranged for all of them by the time I get back or Kumagoro will punish you!"
A drop of sweat formed. "Uwahh? Ryuichi, there must be over 200 pages here!" Tohma laughed nervously. "It's impossible! You're kidding me, aren't you?"
"Nope!" Ryuichi giggled. "The piano's in the living room if you're wondering. Come on, Shu-chan, let's go!" The brunette grabbed Shuichi's hand and pulled him towards the door. "Be a good boy, Tohma-kun~"
"R-Ryuichi!"
The door slammed shut. Tohma sighed, picking up the top few pages, which were stapled together in the corner. At the top of the first page was the title in Ryuichi's child-like scrawl, Rainbow Veins.
"I guess I'll get started then," Tohma muttered, making his way to the piano.
Ryuichi skipped along, throwing Kumagoro in the air and laughing. He twirled down the cobblestone paths of the park, making him seem much younger than he was. Shuichi followed him quietly.
"Sakuma-san…" he tried to say something, but for some reason he couldn't get any words out. They had been walking for half an hour, and the sun was starting to set. Shuichi would have to go home soon or Yuki would have a conniption. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" he finally demanded.
Ryuichi froze.
"What's wrong with you Sakuma-san? You're acting like everything's fine, but it's not!" Shuichi bit his lip. "Why would you let Tohma stay in your house when it's only going to upset you to watch his life fall apart?"
Ryuichi leaned against the railing of the bridge, watching the sunset with a sad smile. "It's a simple answer, Shuichi, really it is. I love Tohma. I'll do anything for him. I just wanna help him any way I can, even if he'll never love me back. You already know this, though, so why are you asking? Wouldn't you do the same for Yuki-kun?"
Shuichi sighed. Ryuichi would jump off a cliff for Tohma if he had to. There was no stopping him now; no convincing him otherwise. It was exactly what he would do for Yuki.
"Mika's such a bitch, isn't she?" Ryuichi suddenly laughed. It would sound innocent to anyone else, but Shuichi could hear the poison dripping from each word. "I only wish I had gotten home sooner. To see Tohma there, unconscious and frost-bitten, so weak and abandoned…" Ryuichi combed his hand through his hair. "…I really thought he was gone, Shuichi. I really did."
"Yeah."
Ryuichi blinked.
"Mika is a bitch." Shuichi smirked. "So what're you going to do it? This is your chance."
Tohma sighed. Well, after about twenty failed attempts to get the ending right, Tohma had finally finished the last piece of the song. All that was left was to put it all together.
He started to play a playful melody, singing quietly along. He wasn't a very good singer, in fact he was amateur compared to Ryuichi, but at least he wasn't tone deaf like Eiri.
"High rise, veins of the avenue…bright eyes and subtle variations of blue…" Tohma sang. "Everywhere is balanced there, like a rainbow above you. Street lights glisten on the boulevard…and cold nights make staying alert so hard…for Heaven's sake, keep me awake, so I won't get caught off guard…clearly I am a passerby, but I'll find a place to stay…"
"Dear Pacific Day, won't you take me away?" Ryuichi finished the verse.
Tohma jumped, blushing. "Oh, Ryuichi! I didn't hear you come in! I-i-i-i….I only got one song done…"
Ryuichi sat beside him. "You're a really good singer, Tohma-kun! Sing some more for me!"
Tohma blushed more. "Ano…okay, Ryuichi." He continued from where he left off.
And Ryuichi decided that that was his new favorite song from now on.
