Yuki sat next to Tohru in the limo, still in complete and utter disbelief that she was actually with him…again. They sat opposite Haru and Tohru's friend, Ou, who had insisted on going with Tohru to the party in order to keep an eye on Yuki and make sure nothing happened to her. She had said that the supervision was a request of Tohru's boyfriend, but Yuki could see the level of care and concern Ou had for her friend of her own accord. She would have come anyway. Ou and Haru were holding a casual conversation, and Yuki felt a little foolish to have the one person he really wanted to be around right next to him and not speak with her. But he wasn't quite sure where to start.
"Thank you." He whispered over to her, deciding that this was as good a place as any to begin. "I really appreciate you coming with me." He couldn't help but smile as her eyes met his and a blush painted her cheeks.
Feeling immediately at easy in the safety of her gaze, Yuki found himself opening up a little, the small smile spreading across his face.
"Whenever I go with Haru to these types of things, I can feel people begin to…wonder…about me. So it's really nice to have you here." His heart thrilled at hearing her chime-like giggle.
"You're welcome!" Came Haru's response, his ears immediately perked up at the sound of his name being mentioned as he plastered on a proud smile.
Everyone in the limo began to laugh as Yuki shot Haru a stern glare. With no real force behind it, Yuki found himself effortlessly joining in the cheerful laughter. As they pulled up to the club they could already hear the music blaring from inside the building. Getting out of the limo, Yuki found himself hoping that this night would not be as terrible as he had prepared himself for. These hopes were immediately dashed with the assault of paparazzi as they approached the door to the club. He held on tightly to Tohru to make sure she was not torn away from him in the crowd. Yuki quickly made his way to the building, managing to avoid the brunt of questions and looks from the reporters and photographers as he passed through the main door into the night club.
"Sorry about that." He said, finally letting go of Tohru, giving her a sheepish grin. "Probably should have warned you about that before hand."
"Oh, that's okay." Tohru replied, the smile never leaving her face. "It was kind of exciting!" She giggled.
"Have no fear, bitches!" Haru roared as he burst into the club, Ou right behind him. "The party has finally arrived! Ow!" And he began to seductively swing his leather-clad hips to the music, and Yuki simply hung his head in embarrassment.
The entire club immediately stopped what they were doing to view the spectacle. Some whistled while others made lude cat calls in response to Haru's very public lap dance for the masses. Most simply when about their business, understanding that it was best to just ignore him.
"And women actually let you kiss them with that mouth?" Yuki shouted at his roommate, genuine irritation now in his voice.
"Oh…not just the ladies…" Haru stated, a dubious smile playing on his lips, and both Yuki and Tohru stared at him in slight horror.
"Don't worry, Tohru. He's just joking." Yuki said, trying to ignore the visceral reaction to vomit. "Right, Haru?" He looked back at his roommate, an almost pleading look in his eyes.
"Hey." Haru shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever helps you keep those images at bay, man." And he casually sauntered into the crowd, leaving the three of them to stare in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.
"Um…Yuki?" Tohru leaned into Yuki, her gentle voice fighting its way to him above the music.
"Yes?" He looked down at her, registering not only the look on her face, but the close proximity of her body to his.
"I need to use the restroom, and I'm not sure where it is." She said, a little embarrassed, and Yuki simply gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's over that way." He pointed in the direction of the lavatory. "But…" He paused, looking at Ou. "You might want to take your friend with you." He gave a warm smiled. "So you don't get lost. I want you to make it back to me, okay." And as they departed he made his way towards the bar.
Yuki ordered himself a small drink of hard liquor. Something he knew he could finish before they came back. Just one, he scolded himself severely, just to take the edge off. A promise he had made several times before. A promise almost always broken…almost. He leaned against the bar sipping his drink, figuring that it would take some time with the both of them gone. Being in this place made him uneasy, filled with endless cravings and temptations. Watching the people in the club, he found he knew almost all of them, in varying degrees of intimacy. A fact he was not entirely proud of. Thin, pale arms found their way around his ribcage in an embrace as Yuki felt a body mold itself to him from behind. Instinctively placing his free hand over the ones around his chest, Yuki allowed himself to enjoy the sensation for just a moment before responding.
"Hello, Rin." He murmured, as he felt the body behind him respond and a head rest gently between his shoulder blades.
"Miss me?" The voice came, causing vibrations to pass into Yuki's back.
"Only when I'm really lonely." He responded honestly, taking another sip of his drink before continuing. "Or when Haru has me deeply concerned that I might actually be gay." He shrugged, feeling the body behind him gently shake with laughter.
"And how is our favorite mistake?" She asked, gently rubbing the fingers underneath his hand on his chest.
"…He's Haru…" Yuki stated, not really able to come up with a better response.
"So why haven't you come to see me, Yuki?" The voice asked sweetly.
"Because it's over between us, and you know why." Yuki responded, his tone void of malice, a trace of regret in his words.
"Just because he's my brother, doesn't mean we can't see each other from time to time. When you are lonely, perhaps?" The velvet voice came in response.
"Actually, that's exactly what it means, Rin." Yuki came. "And you really should have let me know he was your brother before we slept together. It would have saved me a lot of grief." He said, taking another, larger sip of his drink.
"Perhaps." The voice conceded, slipping one hand over the top of his. "But we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun together, now would we?" And Yuki let out a sigh as memories involuntarily flooded his mind.
"Yuki…" Soft lips brushed up against the back of his neck, causing him to let out a small gasp as he felt a shiver sent down his spine. "Are you having naughty thoughts about us again?" The voice giggled, enjoying Yuki's visceral response.
"No." He lied, and if anyone would have asked about the blush on his face he would have blamed it on the alcohol.
"You liar." The voice laughed, as the arms finally released him from his torment, and Yuki turned to look his tormenter in the eye.
"As far as I recall, he never said I wasn't allowed to think about you." Yuki shrugged. "I'm just not allowed to do anything else with you under penalty of death…or castration. Whichever he sees fit to do first."
"My brother always did have a flare for the dramatic, but I seriously doubt he would actually kill you." A smile played on Rin's face. "Maim you, absolutely. But I am relatively certain your life is safe around me."
"And I am absolutely certain that he was completely serious about both threats, Rin…" Yuki's tone was a little more harsh than he had intended, causing Rin to flinch.
"So...he really has taken you away from me." Her voice came sad, taking in Yuki's expression. "He always gets what he wants. It's a pity it had to be you." She whispered.
"So, have you seen him?" Rin asked after a moment of awkward silence, and Yuki's expression reflexively tightened, as did the grip he had on his drink.
"No, not recently." He said, wishing he could have avoided this conversation all together, and a momentary look of concern washed over Rin's face before she gave a gentle nod.
"Well, it's good to see you, Yuki." She whispered, placing a gentle hand on his cheek, her face sweet. "It really has been too long. And, despite what you may think, there are a few of us around here who really do care about you." She said, a gentle smile playing across her lips as Yuki simply nodded once in response…he didn't believe her.
"I'm going to see if I can find Haru." Rin said, readying to dismiss herself.
"Well, that shouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure by now he's managed to start his very own party somewhere around here." Yuki retorted, causing her to laugh.
"And Yuki, if you do happen to see my brother…just…be careful." Her face became serious, genuine concern in her voice. "Akito keeps nothing and no one around him that he does not intend to eventually abuse, use up, and throw away." And Yuki nodded at this warning, desperately wishing it had come just a little sooner.
"You look really nice, by the way." He finally stated, allowing himself to take in her seductive outfit, and she let out a giggle.
"And you look…" She paused before finding the words she wanted. "Happy." And Yuki gave a look of mild confusion before she sauntered away from the bar, leaving him to quickly finish the rest of his drink in peace.
Yuki wondered what she had meant as she left. He looked …happy? Yuki hadn't really noticed that he felt any different. If he were really honest with himself, his circumstances had probably gotten worse since the last time he had seen her. The fact that he had been force to stop seeing her had only made things less…complicated…not necessarily better. As he continued to think about her words, he found himself wanting another drink.
"There you are!" A sweet voice chimed over the music, breaking his reverie. "And you were worried about losing me?" And one glance at the girl before him made his craving disappear completely, to his utter surprise and amazement.
The whole club seemed to slow and melt away in that moment when Tohru held his gaze, and he couldn't help but smile despite himself. Had she really changed him this much? Maybe Rin was right. That thought gave him hope. And that hope planted a deep-seeded fear, because he knew from experience that it could be taken away. He wasn't allowed to have hope…or happiness. Against his better judgment, Yuki pushed away his hesitation. This time it would work. This time he might actually be able to obtain happiness.
"Hey Tohru." He responded as she moved close beside him to hear. "I have a question." And she looked at him, a little confused.
"Are you happy?" He asked, not entirely sure what he was looking for but hoped he could find it in her.
"Of course I'm happy" She said, smiling at him, though still a little confused.
"Why?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't be offended, and as she looked into his eyes she saw he was searching for a genuine answer.
"Because, my mom once told me that happiness is a choice. So ever since then, I have just chosen to be happy!" Tohru responded, the simplicity of her explanation completely baffling Yuki.
Before he could continue the conversation, the lights in the club suddenly went dark, as a spectacular light show moved to the dace floor. Music cued up to suit the mood, and everyone began to cheer and holler. Yuki's eyes shifted to the dance floor light show to see Haru in the middle of the floor with Ou, and he had to laugh to himself. It figured Haru would find a way to dance to this type of music. He watched as Haru gracefully spun Ou across the dance floor, taken aback at how good of a dancer Haru actually was.
And I don't want cha, and I don't need ya
Don't bother to resist, or I'll beat cha
It's not your fault that you're always wrong
The weak ones are there to justify the strong
Yuki found himself starting to develop a migraine. He had never really enjoyed the louder music, and found himself reflexively massaging his temples to stave off the pain. Yuki closed his eyes, in hopes of avoiding a full-blown migraine when his eyes suddenly shot open at the loud gasp Tohru let out.
"Oh my! Who is he? He's so…beautiful!" She exclaimed, looking off in the distance with a completely stunned look on her face.
The beautiful people, the beautiful people
It's all relative to the size of your steeple
You can't see the forest for the trees
You can't smell your own shit on your knees
Yuki followed her gaze, finding the task a little arduous in the dark environment until he, too, let out a gasp of his own.
There's no time to discriminate,
Hate every motherfucker
That's in your way
"…Akito." He breathed, not even sure if his voice had registered above the music, a look of horror on his face.
Everyone in the club seemed to follow their gaze, completely taken in as Akito made his entrance into the club. Some looked on in lust, some in admiration, and those who knew him personally looked on in fear. But none looked away, all captivated by his presence in one way or another. Akito, however, seemed to notice no one at all.
Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful, something free?
Hey you, why you trying to be mean?
You live with apes man, it's hard to be clean
Yuki watched as Akito made his way up to the open-floored balcony overlooking the dance floor. Something seemed off, though. Shigure seemed to be too close to him, almost touching, and Akito seemed to be allowing it. Yuki wondered, with a fresh sense of horror, if Shigure had actually followed through on his threat of telling Akito what they had been doing earlier in the week. Yuki's stomach sank as he realized he had not yet paid for that particular transgression against Akito.
The worms will live in every host
It's hard to pick which one they eat most
The horrible people, the horrible people
It's as anatomic as the size of your steeple
Capitalism has made it this way,
Old-fashioned fascism will take it away
"Awe shit! I could have totally gone without being witness to the coming of the Anti Christ." Haru hissed, mere inches from Yuki, who had not even notices his approach.
Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful, something free?
Hey you, why you trying to be mean?
You live with apes man, it's hard to be clean
There's no time to discriminate,
Hate every motherfucker
That's in your way
Yuki watched as Akito finally took a seat, Shigure sitting in close proximity of him. Akito slowly took a cigarette from the pack, and placed it in his lips. In a shockingly intimate gesture Shigure went to go light the cigarette for him as he gave a sick little smile, his lips silently moving to hold a discussion no one but Shigure could hear. Akito's lips suddenly stopped moving as his gaze met Yuki's, and his penetrating stare caused Yuki to stop breathing entirely.
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Hate!
Yuki finally let out a gasp as Akito averted his gaze for a moment to glance at the person beside him. Yuki tensed in horror as he watched Akito wrap his thin fingers around Shigure's neck tie to gently pull him closer. As Akito's gaze became partially obscured by Shigure's profile, Yuki could see Shigure visibly blush at the close contact as Akito whispered in his ear. Shigure finally gave a side glance into the crowd, and Yuki froze as he saw Shigure's gaze glance over Tohru before he moved to whisper back to Akito. Akito's pale hand went up to Shigure's face as Akito closed his eyes in mild pleasure to take in his words before he open them again and gave a starling beautiful smile at Yuki. As Shigure again sat back in his seat Akito took a drag of his cigarette and let out the smoke in what seemed to be a torrent of laughter.
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
Aahh
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
Aahh
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
Aaahh
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
Aahh
"Haru…" Yuki stammered, no longer aware of the people around him. "We need to leave. Now." He whispered, fearing that things were no longer safe for any of them.
A/N: Featured lyrics in this chapter are from the song "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson. Akito simply demanded it...