Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation (never have and sadly, never will). Gravi and all its related characters belong to Maki Murakami, I just happen to be a devoted fan with an overactive imagination. Please refrain from sueing me, sending Rage and K after me, or attacking me with sporks, it would be much apprecaited.

Back To Life

After regaining his body, Eiri took the time to get reaquainted with it. His limbs felt heavy, far heavier than he remembered them being. He supposed that when you spent hours or even days as an insubstantial product of your own imagination floating in a corporeal void your body was supposed to feel a bit burdonsome. He was slightly shocked that he wasn't being bombarded by pain, he had been in a car accident after all. Of course, he was in a hospital so they may have given him pain medication.

No doubt Shuichi and Tohma had accosted the doctors numerous times to make sure any pain medication he was giving didn't interact badly with his various depression and ulcer medications. Suddenly his eyes bolted open and he glanced worriedly around the room. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Shuichi's body lying in a hospital bed beside his own.

"Eiri-san? Are you alright?" Eiri tore his gaze away from the pink haired boy and turned to the other side of his bed towards his brother-in-law who was staring at him with a worried turquoise gaze.

"Tohma, I'm in a hospital and I just woke up from a coma, do you really need to ask if I'm alright?" Eiri replied exasperatedly, he'd never been one to suffer stupid questions.

Tohma, being used to Eiri's attitude, simply smiled, "It's wonderful to see that your accident didn't dent your personality, Eiri-san."

Eiri was about to make a sarcastic reply, when another voice broke in, "You're awake, so why isn't Shuichi?"

Eiri turned his head back towards where Shuichi lay beside him and finally took notice of the singer's best friend, Hiroshi Nakano sitting there staring at him with a worried gaze, "Shuichi found me in... whereever we were, he sent me back and said he'd be right behind me." All three men turned their gaze to the pink haired singer and hoped his eyes would open soon.

Meanwhile, back in the void, Yuki let go of Shuichi's hand and began to walk in the direction of where Eiri had gone. Before he had taken even four steps Shuichi called out to him, "Kitazawa, if you hurt Eiri either emotionally or physically, you'll regret it."

Yuki turned around fully intent on taunting the smaller man, but the taunt died on his tongue when he took in the deadly serious gaze the singer was directing at him. At that moment he had no doubt in his mind that Shuichi would destroy him without hesitation should any harm come to Eiri. Unable to retaliate against such a serious request, Yuki simply nodded and disappeared, leaving Shuichi alone in the darkness.

Kitazawa's first response to being in a living body again was one of pure annoyance. He'd forgotten what it felt like to have a physical body, how constricting it was. He slowly and methodically began reaquainting himself with his senses. First he listened, he took in the sounds of squeaking shoes; the rumbling of gurneys going down the halls; the abrupt ding of an elevator; the distant conversations of doctors, nurses, and patients; the beeping and buzzing of equipment; and finally the long forgotten sound of his own heartbeat and breathing.

He could feel things again too. The scratchy feel of starched linen beneath his bare arms and legs, the feeling of his hands being held, and the wonderful softness of the pillow beneath his head. His throat was horribly dry, 'So much for enjoying my sense of taste.' he thought with mild annoyance, he'd be sure to take care of indulging his taste buds once he was out of this hospital. The smell of disinfectant left no doubt in his mind that he was definately in a hospital.

Eventually, he decided it was time to test the last of his five senses and hesitantly opened his eyes. An unimpressive white-tile ceiling met his gaze but was soon obscured by a man's face. Startling navy-blue eyes stared down at him. The eyes were set into a handsome, fine-boned face surrounded by a fall of long, dark red hair. At first the face held relief and a good-natured smile, but those only lasted a second. As soon as those navy eyes met his own, relief faded into an icy gaze and the smile dissolved into an irritated frown.

This mystery man seemed vaguely familiar to him and he wracked his memory for where he'd seen him before. Suddenly it occured to him, this was Shuichi Shindou's best friend. He'd seen the man on occasion when his spirit had been following Eiri around, though he couldn't quite remember the man's name, he was sure it'd come to him eventually. In the meantime, he had more important things to worry about. Turning his head away from Shuichi's friend, his eyes settled briefly on Tohma Seguichi, not at all surprised to see that the ex-rock star was still following Eiri around like a desperate mother-hen, 'Some things never change.'

Finally his eyes landed on Eiri, who was looking at him with annoyance which Yuki was going to assume was a mask for his worry, this mask didn't cover Eiri's eyes though. Yuki willed Shuichi's mouth into a smile and watched the effect this had on Eiri. Yuki's breath caught as a light seemed to come on in his ex-student's eyes, a light he'd never seen before, and the beginnings of a smile pulled at the corners of the writer's mouth.

Jealousy began to well up in Yuki. He had often been able to make his student smile at him, he'd been able to drag Eiri along whereever he wanted like a puppy on a leash, but he'd never been able to make his eyes light up like that. It was then that he made a decision, he'd use the next week to make Eiri fall for him all over again and then Eiri would forget about Shuichi, he'd never even have to know he was choosing Yuki Kitazawa over Shuichi Shindou. He squeezed Eiri's hand and smiled inwardly when Eiri squeezed back and smiled, there was definately no way he would ever lose to Shuichi Shindou.

To Be Continued...

Sorry, I know it's short. Are you all on the edge of your seats? What's up with Hiro? Will Eiri be able to tell the difference between Kitazawa and Shuichi? Which one will he choose? The possibilities are endless and even I don't know what will happen next... so stay tuned and don't forget to review.

Frozen Midnight