Pairings: Aizawa/Shuichi, Shuichi/Yuki, and it now comes with an official Tohma/Yuki and Hiro/Ayaka flavoring.
Summary: Hiro angst. Taki angst. Tohma angst. Shuichi trying to cheer up and not angst.
Unexpected Comfort
Chapter 10
Venting was a funny thing. Funny, because as healthy as it was, it was the last thing most people wanted to do. It meant a loss of control and possible humiliation. These were things no one wanted, even if it meant being healthy. And Taki sure as hell hadn't wanted them. And he definitely hadn't wanted to…
He hadn't wanted to, what? Look like a fool in front of some kid? Admit that he was jealous of him, that Taki Aizawa's ego was too fragile to handle a little competition? Or had he been afraid to admit that he had a little crush, that some child could make him stammer and blush and lay awake at night restless, like some prepubescent boy experiencing lust for the first time?
And he did feel like a little child lately. Throwing his little tantrums, ready to hit anything that moved, screaming at the tv for no reason…
/I'm not supposed to be this way, I'm supposed to be better than this. I'm supposed to be stronger./
He had held it in and buried it deep, hoping that if he pushed it back far enough, that it would go away like everything else he hated. Like every other ugly thing he hated about himself. But, he hadn't been able to keep it down and it had burst…
There had been a tremendous sense of pain and a feeling of relief and a strange rush of power. A perverse feeling of strength, all because he had a sense that he could now get away with certain things, he just wasn't completely sure what they were, though he had a pretty good idea.
Like maybe getting away with a little kiss….
/On second thought, maybe I'm more twisted then before./
Hiro had thought about going home, but instead found himself walking along the streets of Tokyo, hoping to sort out what was going on. And there was a lot to sort out. Oh, boy was there a lot.
"How can he just go and do that?" He hated Yuki so much at that moment, that it wasn't even funny. It was one thing for Shuichi to get dumped, Hiro could handle that. After all in the game of life…
But, to go and rebound onto someone else, it was despicable. Well, if he thought about it, he could understand on some level, but why, oh why did it have to be her? Why did she have to be Yuki's escape from Shuichi?
As if that wasn't enough, Hiro was worried about Shuichi too. How would he take the news? What if the singer tried something desperate?
/Damn, between worrying about my best friend and a girl I kinda like a little, I'll be lucky if I get any sleep tonight./
Shuichi paced around the apartment, noticing how small it was. He was wired up and as soon as Hiro got back, they were going to go out and paint the town red.
/Yes, it's our time now! Yuki was just a phase! A blip on the radar, a sentence in the story that is my life!/
Yeah, if he could only convince himself of the fact, Shuichi knew that happiness was his. He just had to forget the gaping hole in his heart. He knew he would heal in time and eventually, he'd find someone new. A cute girl, or maybe even another guy.
/Ugh, that's just too hard to even think about right now…/
"I'm back." Came Hiro's voice as the door slammed. Shuichi ran to him and gave his friend a pitiful look. "Something wrong buddy?"
"Hiro! Let's go out! Please!" The plaintive whine to Shuichi's voice made it an annoying, yet hard to resist request. Hiro shrugged his shoulders in defeat.
"Fine, where did you want to go?" As tired as Hiro was, maybe going out wasn't such a bad idea. After all, they should have some fun before Shuichi's spirit got crushed by some really bad news.
"Oh, I thought we could go to some bars, see a movie, you know everything!" Shuichi's eyes were dancing with barely contained excitement, his hands clasped together as he looked at Hiro expectantly.
"Okay, okay. Just let me change and we'll go out and have a blast." As he walked towards his room he could hear a cry of joy.
/One of us should have some fun at least…/
Tohma held the phone in his hand, trying to dial that number. He needed to talk to that man and plead with him. But, instead he put the phone down for the tenth time that evening.
"Nothing will change if you don't make the first move." Tohma turned at the sound of Mika's voice, a sad smile on his face.
"I know, but I still…" He shook his head as he turned away from her. "If he doesn't trust me, there's not much I can do, is there?" Mika wrapped her arms around him, causing Tohma to lean backwards.
"How long are you going to keep blaming yourself for what happened? Tohma, please stop tearing yourself up over this. It hurts to see you like this." He could feel her tears soaking his back.
"Mika…" Tohma whispered to himself, feeling a pang of grief. In a different world, a different time and place, their love would have been perfect. But, even now his fickle heart was still the property of a young man, who was probably too damaged to ever return his feelings. She knew this, yet forgave it, determined to love a hundred times more.
And while he still loved Eiri, it was Mika who saved Tohma every time. She was the one who offered him endless love, understanding and forgiveness. Just as he sacrificed all for Eiri, Mika sacrificed everything for Tohma. And yet he still couldn't…
"Mika, I'm sorry."
"And you know what, Hiro? They always said we'd never amount to anything either. But, look at us now! We're poised to take the music world by storm!" Shuichi grinned as he held his third mug of beer. They were currently in a nice bar and were enjoying themselves. Hiro was happy that Shuichi was doing so well. He could now hope on some level that Shuichi wouldn't throw himself off a cliff when he heard about the wedding.
"Yeah, yeah I know. I know." Hiro grinned at his rather flushed friend.
"Hey, Hiro? Where were you today? I missed you!" The guitarist gulped.
"Well, I was just-"
"Ahhh!" Shuichi shrieked, his head turned away from Hiro. "It's him! Again!" Hiro followed Shuichi's gaze to see who it was. And he nearly started laughing. For it was Taki Aizawa, along with the other members of ASK.
"Hey, Shuichi, maybe it's destiny."
/Thank you, God. Thank you for small distractions./
"Hey, Tachi, it's the twerps." Ma-kun grinned as he elbowed Taki.
/Oh, shit. This can't be happening. How the hell does he keep showing up everywhere?/
"Hey, should we say hi to them? They're looking our way." Ken glanced over at them. Taki felt the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Yo! Didn't expect to see you guys here. Come over!" Shouted a waving and all too happy Hiroshi Nakano.
Ma-kun shrugged. "Well, an invitation is an invitation. Besides, I can use our combined powers to get more girls." They began to walk over, Taki feeling resigned.
/What if he says something? If Ma-kun and Ken find out…
Oh, shit!
Shuichi grabbed Hiro by his shirt collar. "What are you doing?" Shuichi whispered into his friend's ear harshly. "I don't want to see Taki right now! What if he..?" The pink-haired vocalist shuddered, his imagination obviously running away with him.
"Oh, come on. We should get to know them better anyways." Shuichi looked at Hiro in disbelief.
/What the hell is he thinking?/
To Be Continued…
What the hell is Hiro thinking? How are Taki and Shuichi going to dance around the issue? Will Shuichi find out about Yuki? Will Tohma finally tell Yuki about his feelings? And just what does Tatsuha have up his sleeve?