Disclaimers: Same as before and probably won't be changed any time soon. Sigh.

Author's Note: Okay, in this chapter there is some mild Tohma and Ryuichi, Ryuichi and Mika, and Mika and Tohma for pairings. Nothing explict, but it is there, more or less.

track three

N-G was bright, shiny and new to me but it felt like an old glove. I wandered around the place, peering into rooms and catching a couple artists recording in the recording booths. None of them looked familiar so I didn't stop to chat. To keep Kumagoro safe, I found Tohma's office and sat him down in Tohma's chair before continuing my explorations. Soon I found myself on the rooftop, letting the air wake me up.

That was where Tohma found me, half asleep and sitting in the sun. I squinted up at him and held my hands out to him.

"Uppies?"

Instead of pulling me up, he sat down next to me. I sighed, leaning against him and felt his fingers comb through my hair.

"It seems I have an American tearing apart my building," he said lightly. "You wouldn't know anything about this, now would you Ryuichi?"

I shook my head, snuggling closer. I was tired and he was both warm and familiar. Whatever K was doing to the building would be easy to repair, unless he had taken out his bazooka.

Tohma chuckled, his hand going from my hair to the back of my neck, kneading softly. I sighed, melting even closer against him.

"I missed my plane this morning and now Mika is coming home to yell at me," he said, and I could almost see the amused little smile he was wearing. Their relationship was one of the strangest I've seen while they clearly cared for each other, they still spent time with other people. It was almost like K's marriage save that K and Judy did not have other bed partners.

"To tell the truth, I think she wanted to see you too," he mused, his hand drifting to my shoulder. "I think she was mad I didn't tell her that Noriko was back playing keyboard and that you were here for a week."

"Mm?" I think I was falling asleep with the warm sunlight and his fingers rubbing small circles along my shoulder. Even the distant sound of thunder and the building shaking didn't make me want to move.

Tohma sighed and his fingers tighten their hold. I muttered something about a pink cow in protest and felt more than heard him laugh. The building shook again and there was a loud bang very close by.

"I think I better return you to K's tender care before he destroys the building," Tohma said, pulling away. I raised my head and blinked, Tohma's features a blurry mess of pale hair and plump lips. I yawned and tried to keep him from standing up, but he managed to stand up with me clinging on his suit like a monkey. There was a louder bang, and I peered around Tohma's shoulder, seeing a tall figure in a leather jacket come our way.

"Um, hi?"

"So, you've been hiding Ryuichi, Tohma."

Tohma turned me still clinging on him like a wet noodle and shrugged. "I was merely keeping him company. I think jetlag has finally caught up to him."

I yawned and nodded, trying to bury my way under Tohma's feathered coat. K had other ideas, grabbing me around the neck and pulling me away. "Well, I guess I better take him home and get him to bed."

"It's fine, K. He can sleep on the couch in my office and you can pick him up later on."

He let me go and I promptly fell flat on my face, whining about the evilness of the blonds in my life. Just once, I wanted them to stop talking and let me sleep and not drag me about and then drop me on my face. I flailed as someone picked me up and started carrying me, not really hearing the voices around me or noticing that the sunlight faded to a more tolerable level. There was a feeling of wind, a few murmured words and then something soft and smelling like Tohma was tucked around me. Snuggling into the fabric, I think I slept. Or at least I dozed because the next thing I knew, Mika was jabbing me with the heel of one of her shoes.

"Dun wanna," I grumbled and tried pulling Tohma's coat over my head.

She was one step ahead of me, holding the coat in place and continuing her attack on me. Opening my eyes, I stuck out my tongue and sat up. The sun was turning dull in the sky, and Tohma was sitting behind his desk, his chin resting on top of his folded hands as he watched us.

"I wonder what the press would think of his morning grumpiness," she said, tugging the jacket completely off of me. She poked me again until I scooted around and made room for her to sit. "Or that he has such skinny ribs," she continued, throwing the jacket over the back of the couch and giving me another poke.

"Tickles!" I yelped and poked back.

"Now now, Mika, Ryuichi is the press' darling no matter what he does."

"Is he?" Her eyes narrowed, and next I knew, she was clinging tightly to me and going for a deep kiss. I blinked and glanced over to Tohma, who just shook his head and got up, walking over to us.

"I think youre scaring him."

"Well, he deserves it for dragging you from our vacation," Mika replied as she pulled away.

"He doesn't like it when people talk around him like he's not hearing you," I said, wiping off her lipstick. I stuck my tongue out at them and gave them both a good raspberry.

Tohma bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'm sorry Mika, but I have missed him a lot."

Mika smiled and relaxed, scooting over so he could sit between us. "I know, Tohma, but next time, you should tell me that you were going to meet him instead of saying something came up."

"I didn't plan on coming back this soon," I piped up from my corner, peering around Tohma at her. "Honest, Mika. I was called out of the blue by Noriko."

"So I get to blame Noriko?" she said, leaning forward to meet my eyes. I nodded and she sighed, grabbing her purse and digging around in it. "She should have told me she had hatched a new kind scheme."

"I don't think she meant to keep it from you, Mika," Tohma said. Mika made a face and dropped her purse, leaning against Tohma.

"I'm still mad at her, but I'm too tired to care. Did you know they lost one of my bags? And the change over was completely screwed up! I think my feet are completely swollen from wearing these shoes all day long."

"Maybe we should all go home and get some sleep," Tohma said, his hand tugging lightly on her hair. "And then you can call Noriko and plan a night out."

"Would you be there?" she asked, leaning forward again. I thought about it, finding Kumagoro and chewing on his ear. I was kind of hoping to catch Shuichi's act now that he wasn't pressured to perform like he was up on stage, but hanging out with the gang did have it's appeal. I nodded and she smiled, leaning back against Tohma.

"I think we should head home," Tohma restated, turning his head so that he was talking into Mika's hair. "And then we can make plans."

"But that means we have to move," I grumbled and hid my face against soft pink fur. Mika echoed the comment with a few grumbles of her own and Tohma shook with silent laughter.

"You two. . . fine, we can stay like this for a little longer."

Of course that was when the door banged open causing all of us to jump. I peered over Kumagoro's head and stared at the scary sight of a K grinning widely in my direction. I tried to hide under Tohma, but with the three of us squeezed on to the couch, that was a little harder to do than I thought it would be.

"Good morning, Ryuichi! Are you finally awake?"

"Hello, K," Tohma said, his eyebrow arched. "To what can I owe this pleasure?"

Oops, Tohma wasn't amused. He may sound polite, but there was an extra edge of ice to his words. He did not like his quiet time getting disturbed, even if K had a level of access to us then any normal manager.

"I was going to take Ryuichi home," K replied, lowering his voice slightly but showing no other fear.

"Don't you have people to shoot somewhere else?" Mika growled from her end of the couch.

"Not a chance!"

"Mika, would you go with K? I have a couple more things to check and then I will be home shortly."

Both Mika and I looked at Tohma. He was smiling, but in a way that made me shiver slightly. I looked over at Mika, and she bit her lower lip and nodded slightly. It took a few seconds of wiggling around but we both finally got off the couch. Mika and Tohma exchanged fond pecks on the cheeks and then K was leading us off. He got us into the elevator and down stairs and somehow managed to get his hands on a nice car instead of that cheap van from earlier. Mika and I sat in the back seat while he drove through the traffic like he had something against it.

"So you're going to be here for a week," Mika said, staring out of her window. I yawned and nodded. She snorted and glanced over at me.

"I would like to see my husband while you're here."

"Huh?"

"Don't start," she said, digging around in her purse. Fishing out a cigarette, she lit up and blew smoke. "I know how you two get whenever you're near each other."

"Oh," I replied, nervously chewing on one of Kumagoro's ears. "I'm sorry?"

"You should be. You could have at least shared."

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to hide behind my rabbit and not really succeeding. Mika just looked at me and then leaned forward.

"You can drop Ryuichi off at our place, K. I'm sure he and Tohma have a lot to talk about still and I really don't want to be home alone."

K used the rear view mirror to look at me. "Is that okay, Ryuichi?"

"It"ll be fine," I said, grinning as non-nervously as I dared. K frowned but changed lanes anyways, heading for Tohma's house instead of my simple apartment.

A few minutes later we were there. K got out and held Mika's door open and continued to hold it open while I climbed on out after her. He caught my collar and held me back as Mika dug in her purse in a search for some keys.

"Are you sure about this?"

I looked up at K and smiled for real, sticking the rabbit on top of my head for safe keeping. "I'll be fine with Mika and Tohma near by. Besides, it's my turn for a sleepover."

"If you're sure. . ."

"Are you coming or what?"

"I am," I said and wiggled free, bouncing over to where Mika was standing. I wasn't sure why he was being overly protective sure Mika was grumpy, but she wasn't like some of the crazed fans I've been exposed to over the years.

"See you later, K!" I said, waving. He was standing in the drive way, watching even as Mika reached over and yanked me inside.

She grumbled under her breath, making sure the door was locked and taking her shoes off before stepping into the rest of the house. It took me a moment to follow her lead, having to mentally remind myself that I was in Japan. She trailed cigarette smoke through the wide open rooms, dropping things in her wake. I stumbled on her gloves in the living room, her purse in front of the kitchen, her stockings right outside the master bedroom.

I stopped there, reaching up to tug on Kumagoro and wonder if I should knock and ask where I should go. But she opened the door, wrapped in a bathrobe and still smoking, eyeing me like I was being weird. Mika tugged Kumagoro from me and turned around, marching back into the bedroom. I followed her, not wanting to lose sight of my rabbit when Tohma wasn't around. There was no telling what would happen to him otherwise.

Mika put Kumagoro into a dresser drawer and pulled off her robe. I blinked and looked away, fidgeting with my jacket sleeves. Mika was wearing little more then a baby doll nightie and I could see through the fabric in places. It was enough to make me turn and run but I remembered that she was my best friend's wife and sort of safe for me to ogle. She turned and gave me a dark look.

"I'm not going to bite," she said. "I just don't want to be alone. It's up to you if you want to stay with me or not."

With that she crawled into bed, stubbing out her cigarette in an ashtray. I stood where I was for another moment or two and then I shrugged, stripping down to my boxers and climbing into bed next to her. She tugged the blankets around her shoulders and sighed, the bed shifting with her weight as she stretched.

"I never figured you wore boring stuff like that," she said. I felt my cheeks grow hot and I turned away from her. "Hey, it's cute just unexpected with the amount of tight clothing you wear."

"Uh, well, I don't wear anything under my stage clothing," I replied, thinking this was one of the weirdest conversations I've had in a while.

"Doesn't that chaff?"

I shrugged. "I never notice."

"Huh." She yawned and I felt one of her hands curling around my bicep. I held my breath but she didn't make any other move, her breathing evening out. It took me a while longer to relax enough to sleep.

Waking up was better this time around. For one, I wasn't being poked at by a pair of very sharp high heels. For another, there was no rude blond trying to get me cold or steal my blankets or shoot me. I was pressed between two very warm bodies, the one on my left a very familiar blond, and the one on my right his wife. For one long moment, I stared at Tohma's sleeping face, tracing the way sleep eased the tension from around his eyes. But a growing need made itself felt and I had to wiggle out from under the blanket without disturbing the other two in bed.

I found the bathroom and peered at myself in the mirror, noticing that the circles and puffiness of jetlag had finally faded. I flushed, washed my hands and went back into the bedroom, grabbing my jeans before attacking Tohma's closet and finding a vest that sort of fit me. Coming back out, I sat on the edge of the bed and attempted to tickle Tohma awake.

I was surprised that he didn't get up when I started moving about. He had always been a light sleeper, and usually having another person moving about a room made him wake up, though not in an agreeable mood. And even though he looked cute snuggled up in the blankets with a sleeping Mika curled against him, I was a little bored and wanted to find out exactly what he had planned for the day. He had to have something planned. He ran a company after all.

He slapped at my hands, cracking one eye open and yawning. I bent down and kissed him, his free hand tangling in my hair. Someone gasped, but we didn't pull apart until the kiss ended. Then a second pair of hands was in my hair and I was tugged down for a second kiss, but these lips were softer, plumper and had a faint taste of cigarettes. Ending the kiss, I licked my lips and glanced over at Tohma, who was staring at the two of us with bright green eyes.

"Good morning," I said, smiling as I tugged myself free.

"It certainly is," Mika said, her fingers wandering along Tohma's chest and curling over his shoulder. He looked startled so I placed a much more chaste kiss on his lips before I got out of there. As much as the idea of being with them was appealing, they needed just as much alone time as Tohma and I did.

I found the kitchen and the food and managed to cook up something that resembled coffee and pancakes. I ate, cleaned up the best I could and took a mug of coffee to the living room, sitting on the floor so I could look out the window. After a while, a scrubbed clean Tohma joined me, the light shining on his hair.

"I think I missed most of my appointments today," he said, laughing a little.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "They really didn't need me to be there. I think they just wanted to show off their boss to the other company."

"Oh," I said and leaned against him. He shifted his cup to his other hand and wrapped his arm around my waist, turning a little to look down at me. His eyebrows rose and he gave the vest a tug.

"Doesn't this belong to me?"

"I think so?"

He sighed and shook his head, smiling a little. "It looks good. You're certainly looking healthy."

I stuck my tongue out at him and finished my coffee. "Worry wart."

"Tohma, I just got off the phone with Noriko," Mika said as she came into the living room. Unlike us, she was wearing a bathrobe and showing off her long legs. I admit I ogled her until Tohma jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow.

"How is she doing?"

"Fine," she replied, and looked me over. She didn't join us on the floor, instead taking a seat on the couch and leaned over the back. "We're going to meet tomorrow at the NY club. That is, if you guys want to join us."

"Like old times?" Tohma asked, getting up. I sighed and stretched out, looking up at the ceiling.

"That's what she said. I would like to just hang out with her without you guys around but I bet she misses seeing everyone when you're not working."

"It sounds like fun. What do you think, Ryuichi?"

I chewed on my lower lip and got to my feet. "Sure. Might be interesting and I can escape whatever else K has planned for me."

"Poor Ryuichi, letting your manager rule you," Tohma teased, his eyes crinkling up in the corners.

"You have K for a manager for a week and then you can say all kinds of mean things." I stuck my tongue out and went to put my cup in the sink. He joined me a minute later, rinsing out his cup and setting it next to the sink.

"Sakano has spoilt me," Tohma said, shutting off the water.

"He mother hens you," I said, shaking out my bandana and wrapping it over my hair. "So are you going to give me the tour?"

"The tour?"

"Yup! I've been gone for so long I don't know all the hotspots any more!"

"If you insist."

"I do."

"Well then, I guess I have no choice but to cave into your demands."

I cheered and tried glomping him, but Tohma was far too fast for me. Reminding myself that I can catch him next time, I bounced in place, waiting as he went to talk to Mika and rescue Kumagoro from the place he had been staying this whole time. Once I assured myself that he was fine, Tohma lead the way to his car and the great big city beyond. He didn't drive like K that is, Tohma did not act like the road was just another excuse to see things blow up. He drove just to drive, steering the car around while pointing out anything that I probably didn't recognize right away. We went by the old school, a couple places that were once bars, and drove around the old neighborhood. And then we went to N-G, where he pointed out some of the improvements on the sound systems in a couple of the studios. I got to spy on Noriko trying to whip Bad Luck into shape, and then it was back to my apartment and work on those songs.

About halfway through the first phrase, I gave up and ordered out for food and spent the remainder of the day watching movies.