Chapter Notes - Here's the second 'shortie', as promised! I suppose it's a between-Christmas-and-New-Year's gift =D Oh my, it's Shuichi's first run-in with Tatsuha...

Remix, Ending and a New Beginning - I'm still working on it... It's getting complicated, you see. What I really need is a beta reader who's very familiar with the whole Gravitation 'thing' to comment on some items. Anyone want to volunteer? I need some opinions...

Please read and review :) (and show me your ABJDs!)


In a couple weeks, Shuichi was exhausted but extremely happy. Everything in the world seemed to be going his way. The only thing that stunk was his schoolwork, but even that had a positive side to it since Yuki was keeping his word to help tutor him. Before, he had no incentive. Now, he would get prizes he liked a lot for doing well on his assignments and tests. One of his biggest prizes was coming up that weekend, so on Friday night he skipped going home as usual to stop over to Yuki's place. As expected there was a brand new, shiny, black BMW parked in the place where the Mercedes usually was.

"Woah… That's pretty slick. I can smell the new car smell all the way over here!" Shuichi grinned, carrying a Japanese test with a B- mark on it that would win him a ride in this new car.

He pressed the buzzer and yanked the door open as soon as he heard the lock thunk back. Then into the elevator and then up to knock on Yuki's door, holding up his test so the mark would be the first thing Yuki saw when he answered the door.

The door opened, Shuichi grinned, "Check it! I'm getting a ride in a new car tonight!"

"What the fuck is this?" He heard in response.

Shuichi lowered the paper a little, seeing Yuki scowling at him and wearing a head of jet-black hair. He blinked. A million things went through his head at that moment but the one thing that stuck and came out was, "You dyed your hair to match your new car??"

A wicked smile spread across Yuki's face then, "You must be, Shuichi, huh?"

"Uh, duh?"

"Who woulda known that bro had it in him? You're pretty cute, school boy."

Then Shuichi noticed that this person couldn't be Yuki… He was wearing some fashionably torn jeans and Yuki never wore jeans, "What the hell?? Who are you??"

"Finally snapped out of it, huh?" He turned and walked back into the apartment, Shuichi following him, noticing that this guy's skin was darker now that they were in better than hall lighting.

"Where's Yuki?"

"Yuki? Eiri's in the can. Apparently they gave him a lot of good coffee at the car dealership." He went into the living room and flopped on the sofa, picking up the remote and continuing to channel surf.

"Are you going to tell me who you are or what?"

"You sure have a little brain… I'm his brother, stupid."

"Yuki never mentioned having a brother…"

"Okay, you got me. I'm really him with a spray-on tan and a dye job… Chh…"

Shuichi stomped over, looking down at the guy who looked up at him… with dark brown eyes, "And colored contacts…"

"You keep looking at me like that and I'm gonna think you want something." He smiled lasciviously and licked his lips.

"You're definitely not Yuki…" He backed off, "Yukiii!!"

He stepped out into the hall, "What?"

Shuichi was relieved to see him, "You didn't tell me you had a brother!"

"You didn't ask." He shrugged.

"You coulda said something…" He frowned.

"That's my younger brother, Tatsuha." He pointed to him on the sofa and Tatsuha waved.

"Yo, hot stuff." He winked.

"Why's he talking like that??"

"He's perpetually horny… and bisexual… and he likes older men when he swings that way." Yuki said quite plainly, going over to have a cigarette and sit next to his brother.

Shuichi just stared at them where they sat side by side. They looked so strange together. Like yin and yang. Tatsuha was just a little shorter than his brother.

"Wait… Older men? How old are you?" He finally asked.

"16."

"Whhaaaat?? 16??" His jaw dropped.

"Yep. I'm in high school. Just like you. Want to give me a little after school activity, senpai?"

"Quit that." Yuki said, "Tatsuha grew up fast… Too fast. Don't be alone with him."

"I won't…" He went around the coffee table to sit beside Yuki, away from Tatsuha, "So… I saw the car…"

"Pretty nice, huh?" He smiled.

"Yeah. It's really nice. I could smell the new car smell all the way over at the building's front door… I got a good grade…" He held up his paper again.

"Well… That's really a shock. Good job, slacker."

"Thanks! So can I go for a ride with you??"

"Hey!" Tatsuha sat up from his lounging pose, "Fuck off! I'm going with him!"

"No you're not! He promised me that if I got a good grade he'd take me out in the new car!"

"Screw that. Family over fuck buddies! I brought him cake! We're going out cruising for chicks!"

"Chicks?? No you're not! He's mine! He doesn't need any chicks!"

"Maybe he doesn't, but I do!"

"Shut… up…" Yuki muttered, stuck between them.

"Then go stand on a street corner if you want some!" Shuichi suggested.

"You're not putting that mouth of yours to good use… so why don't you get blowin' or get goin'?" Tatsuha grabbed his crotch suggestively.

"Pervert! I'm not touching you with a 100 foot pole!"

"Heh heh… Pole." He grinned wickedly again, "C'mon baby. Give me a little taste of the sugar that you give my bro."

"Like hell!"

Yuki had enough then, "BOTH of you… SHUT UP!" He shoved Tatsuha over sideways.

"Hey!" He protested.

"You, don't touch him. And you, don't keep yelling. You're both giving me a headache."

"B-But… You said… My test…" Shuichi whined.

"I know what I said… and this guy showed up without an invitation because he pretended to be me and conned the dealership to tell him when my car was being delivered…" Yuki scowled at his brother.

"But I brought you cake!" Tatsuha reminded him and sat up again, grabbing a cigarette for himself.

"And tried to steal beer from my fridge… and now you're stealing my smokes… You're a parasite, kid…"

"I learned from the best, bro." He winked.

"Bullshit. You've improvised the whole thing so don't blame anyone else."

"Chh… Hey, how about we go show your new car to Ryu-chan." He changed his tactic.

"Sakuma-sama?" Shuichi perked up, "You know where he lives?? We can go over there??"

"No, we can't go over there. Tatsuha's banned from being within a mile of him." Yuki explained.

"Why?"

"You think he's bad with you? Imagine what he'd be like with Ryuichi…"

"Oh… Ewwwww…."

"Not 'ewww'! It would be complete heaven." Tatsuha nodded, "Ryuichi Sakuma is the hottest man on the face of the earth… but I'd settle for you as a younger substitute… You're kinda the same body type. I could use my imagination…"

"Did I mention you should never be alone with him?" Yuki asked Shuichi who was just horrified by what he was hearing.

"He's really 16??" Shuichi was still in shock.

"Yes, he's really 16." Yuki sighed and shook his head.

"Be a pal, bro. Share." Tatsuha grinned.

"I'm not sharing with you."

"It's kinda funny… You like 'em younger and I like 'em older. Will the Uesugi clan have to suffer a scandal when you're caught lingering outside of school yards?"

"What, you think this is a new hobby of mine? I didn't go looking for him. He just… showed up… Very much like you, I might add… Unannounced… uninvited… and made himself right at home."

"I was kinda wondering what was up with the random clothing laying around that would no way be your style or fit you… Now I know." Tatsuha mused.

"He seems to be moving himself in, one possession at a time."

"I… didn't think you minded that I left stuff sometimes…" Shuichi worried.

"I don't. I just noticed the accumulation recently."

"Oh… Cool."

"Hey… I have an idea…" Tatsuha sat forward, tapping his ashes into the tray on the coffee table, "How about we skip the drive and have a Shuichi sandwich?"

"Ghh…" Shuichi cringed.

"How about you go take a cold shower instead of continuing to disgust us with your bright 'ideas'? You think I want to see you naked? Hell no!"

"Why not? I look almost exactly like you. What's the big deal?"

"You know, I have enough issues without climbing into the sack with my underage little brother who looks nearly identical to me… I think I just threw up a little."

"Dang… I'm not ugly!"

"That's not the damn point, is it? Chh… When's the last train back to Kyoto?"

"Already gone. You're stuck with me, bro. Let's go for a ride! In the apartment or in the car, your choice."

"That's mighty big of you to let me choose… All right… Here's how it's going to go and if either of you complain, you're both leaving." Yuki pointed back and forth between them, "Shuichi's in the passenger seat. You're in the back. You give him any 'reach around' action, and I'll throw your ass out of the car. Get me?"

"Woah… Yeah, I get you. Apparently you like this little nerd."

"Conversation over. Let's go." Yuki got up.

"Cool!" Shuichi got up too, "Did you like it? I mean, you got to drive it for a while today, right?"

"There's not much to hate about it, that's for sure." He smirked, slipping a hand onto Shuichi's shoulder.

"Oohh… Hey, you two could just get it on and I'll watch." Tatshua offered, leering at their contact.

"That's the last thing I want to hear out of your disgusting mouth. Zip it."

"Damn, you're being an extra hard-ass, big bro."

"Probably because you're being an extra ass, little bro."

Off they went, the interesting group that they were. Tatsuha managed to keep his hands to himself while they went for a ride. However the sexual harassment continued once they were back at the apartment with takeout for dinner. Yuki was on the verge of throwing his little brother out into the street to fend for himself for the night.

"Maybe I should just go home…" Shuichi pouted, helping Yuki in the kitchen with cleaning some dishes.

"Nah… I have a lock on the bedroom door. You'll be safe."

"Oh?" His heart started thumping. Yuki was favoring him over his own brother.

"Yep. Just stay in the room and you'll be fine."

"Okay… It's really a great car."

"Yeah. I'm pretty pleased."

"It was worth giving up the other cars?"

"Definitely. I owe you for pointing it out to me." Yuki nodded.

"Owe me?"

"You're the one who said I couldn't drive three cars at once."

"True, but… I didn't exactly think you'd listen to me or turn that into this…"

"Well, it gave me pause to think."

"And shop."

"That, too. It's a dream car, all right."

"I'm happy if you're happy."

"Oh, I'm happy."

"Good." He smiled then was surprised to be kissed, "Mmhh…"

"Heh heh… I leave you two alone for a minute and you're going at it." Tatsuha chuckled from where he was leaning in the entry to the kitchen.

The kiss broke and Shuichi scowled at the interruption, "Go sleep on the street, would you??"

"Not a chance, hot stuff." He winked.

"You'd be surprised by how much of a chance there is of that happening." Yuki growled.

"Woah… Okay! So I think I'll be hitting the sack. Which side of the bed do I get?"

"None. You get the couch. Get going. Now!"

"Yikes… You're too serious, bro…" Tatsuha disappeared down the hall.

"Chh… This was supposed to be a peaceful day." Yuki grumbled.

"Sorry. I'll try to make it up to you."

"It's not your fault, but I wouldn't object to your trying." He smirked.

"I'll do my best!" Shuichi grinned.

In the morning, Tatsuha was still there, unfortunately. He wasn't for long, though. First thing, they were all back in the car and Yuki was kicking him out at the train station, sending him back to Kyoto before taking Shuichi out for a low-key breakfast at a nearby hotel restaurant. Shuichi was excited, because it was the first time they'd intentionally gone out together anywhere other than for a walk in the park late at night when no one else was around and Yuki needed to clear his mind to work better. Shuichi figured out pretty quickly that they were there for privacy. It wasn't like a diner at all and the staff made sure to place them somewhere out of the way… but still, people were noticing. And Shuichi started to notice that Yuki was looking a bit on edge as a result.

"Are you okay?" He whispered across the table.

"Yeah… I suppose I forgot how nosey people can be… and you do tend to stand out a bit, especially in a place like this."

"Sorry." He shrugged, "Good food, though."

"After dealing with my little brother, I needed something as a reward. This'll do." He had another mouthful of eggs.

Shuichi's feeling of unease at being noticed continued from that point and probably for very good reason…


End of 'shortie' chapter 9 - Please review!