If you want to know why the updates slacked off then head over to my LJ. Link is the website on profile. Brief summary: I don't know anymore.
Disclaimer: You know the drill all ready and for those of you who doesn't or just don't pay attention then, I DO NOT OWN GRAVITATION! (I think I spend more time coming up with ways to type that then the story….)
Chapter Eleven: Memories, Conferences, & Ex-Boyfriends
GRAVITATION- Tuesday Afternoon, Shindou Household
"Calm down," he mumbled to himself as he walked into his bedroom. The walls were lined with Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper posters. He loved both bands equally and hated it when the paparazzi put them against each other. Why couldn't people just listen and love the music? Why did they have to make a competition out of everything? He sighed, hearing his sister's laugh from downstairs. "I bet she finds it hilarious that I'm scared off my ass right now."
Smacking his forehead with his hand he dropped to the bed dramatically. "Mom always said I could be an actor." He toyed with the idea of memorizing lines after lines of movies, but then decided it would be just as worse as his profession now. "Besides, isn't Hiro's brother an actor?"
The teenager reached over to the other side of the bed and picked up his favorite plush toy. His father had given him the rabbit before the accident. Rolling his head to right, he stared at the picture on the bed table. He may not remember the man at all, but he could tell the man was someone he wanted to like. Like most men, Sesshomaru never made him feel uncomfortable about calling him father. Instead, he had told Ryuichi to call him whatever he wanted. Whether it was something nice or mean, the older man didn't care as long as Ryuichi behaved.
Ryuichi rose into a sitting position and leaned his back against the bed frame. Setting Kumagoro in his lap, he started playing with the long pink bunny ears. He couldn't remember why he decided to name the bunny Kumagoro. His birth father never gave the bunny a name; he had told Midori that since the bunny was Ryuichi's, then he should be the one to name the stuffed animal.
"I wish you could be here right now and see how well I'm doing." The teen sighed again as he laid his head to rest on the top of the bed frame. "Maybe it's time for a visit." His birth father's grave was only thirty minutes away and Ryuichi knew it wouldn't take him that long to say what he wanted and then get back for his date tonight.
Ryuichi swung his legs over the bed and stood, grabbing his coat and keys to his American blue Mustang outside. It had been a long and gruesome ordeal in getting his parents to let him have the car, but since he was the one paying all the payments on it, they had finally relented. The singer ran downstairs after shutting his bedroom door and ignored the calls of his sister as he stepped into the cold afternoon. It was windier then usual, but Ryuichi paid no mind to it as his hair swayed. Once he was in the driver's seat, he turned on the ignition and the heater before pulling out of the driveway.
GRAVITATION- N-G Records/Studio
Yes, he would willing admit it. He was nervous as nervous could be. Eiri sighed as he looked around the cramped room he was in, waiting to be called into the conference room with Shuichi. The pink-haired singer had immediately replied back to his question the night before. It surprised Eiri that Bad Luck's manager was able to pull the conference off so fast, but then he reminded himself the man probably had help. If he was a reporter and there was a gun pointing at his head, he knew he would immediately agree to anything.
Shuichi was actually waiting patiently next to him. In fact, the singer was working on lyrics that were due later that night. "Working on lyrics with Suguru and Hiro is a lot easier," the singer commented, laying his notepad on his lap. "That way I know what words would go well with the tune they come up with."
The blonde nodded but didn't say anything. He didn't think he could. His mouth felt like it was glued shut. Eiri cursed himself inwardly for letting his ex-boyfriend get to him like this. If that damn man hadn't said a word to him yesterday, then maybe he wouldn't be in this position. Sure he wanted people to know about his and Shuichi's relationship, but what if his inner feelings were right? What if they were moving way too fast? What if they separated in two months? Two weeks? Hell, two hours? Eiri jumped slightly at the hand on his shoulder and turned to face the other boy. Seeing the bright smile on Shuichi's face pushed every doubt away…. But he was still nervous.
"It will be all right," Shuichi said, rubbing the other's back soothingly. "I mean, it's just like one of your book signings right? All you do is go in there and they ask questions as you answer. There's nothing to it!"
"Says the one who is use to it."
"Then why did you call me yesterday about this if you're not ready to let them know? It doesn't matter to me whether or not if people know we're together as long as we know it."
Eiri closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. "I know. I ran…."
"TIME TO GO BOYS!" K pointed his .45 magnum at the lovers and grinned. "It's time to shine your way to publicity." Shuichi and his brother had been right when they said the blonde manager would support them with the decision of a press conference. K had immediately called every reporter he knew and told them to pass it on and as the two boys walked into the crowded room, they knew at least a hundred people with cameras and notepads were there.
Shuichi sat down first and waited for Eiri to sit next to him. He nodded to K, giving the signal that the questions could begin.
K stood at the podium next to the table and spoke loudly, "One question at a time, please." He pointed to a woman in her thirties and she smirked at being the first one. "Begin."
"How did the two of you meet?"
Shuichi, knowing that Eiri was still getting over his nervousness, answered, "We met through Seguchi Tohma." He had learned after the first press conference he attended to keep the answers short and simple. Not only did it not reveal too much, it also was a way to keep the people wanting more.
"How long have you been dating?" asked a photographer in the back of the room. His voice was loud and Shuichi could tell he was getting over a hangover by the gruffly sound.
"Five days."
A woman in her early twenties, possibly late teens, looked at the two in confusion. She motioned to the man next to her to start taking pictures as she asked a question, "Do you not believe that five days is a short period of time? Why didn't you wait until at least one month has gone by?"
Before Shuichi could open his mouth to answer, Eiri took the question. "We immediately felt a connection with each other and wanted to let the world know." The author turned his gaze to the boy sitting next to him and when Shuichi smiled, he knew he answered correctly.
GRAVITATION- Tokyo Park
Walking hand in hand with his lover, proved to be very relaxing, Eiri found out later that day. He pulled the singer to a park bench and made sure the boy was sitting on his lap. His breath was hot against the singer's neck and Shuichi shivered, waiting for the lips to make contact. When he felt the wet kiss, he leaned back and tilted his head to the side to give the other more space. Luckily before they left N-G, K had given the two hats and sunglasses, saying that they didn't want people to recognize them.
Shuichi pulled away from the sweet contact and turned around in the boy's lap to face him. Threading his hands through the foreign blond hair, he smiled as he leaned in close, "I like this." He whispered the words in a sweet, sing-song voice before he captured the other's lips in his. He knew Eiri wouldn't always let him be dominant in the kisses and when the author didn't fight for it, he decided not to say anything and just be contented with the touch.
Arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer to the warm body in the cold air. As their lips slanted over and over each other's, Shuichi knew he could do this forever and hoped he would have the chance.
A rough cough pulled them out of their own world and back into reality as they faced the singer for Nittle Grasper. Ryuichi, knowing his little brother would get mad at being interrupted, sat down beside the two on the wooden bench. "Nice weather, eh?" he commented, watching as Shuichi's eyes narrowed. "It may be cold but there is always ways to warm up."
Shuichi sighed, leaning his head on Eiri's shoulder, but kept his gaze locked on his brother. "What have you been up to?" he asked, knowing the other would not leave until he wanted to.
"Visiting father." It was the only thing he needed to say and Shuichi nodded his head in understanding. The pink-haired singer had been to the grave on the man's birthday, where the family gathered to celebrate. Midori had told them all when they were younger that just because someone was dead, was no reason not to celebrate that person's life.
"Who?" Eiri whispered silently, not understanding what the two brothers were talking about.
"Later." Shuichi placed a small kiss on the author's cheek before speaking to his brother again. "What are you planning for tonight?"
Ryuichi smirked. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to hear it from your lover boy."
"Aw! Ryuichi that's not fair!" Shuichi pouted, crossing his arms as he sat up in the author's lap. "I want to know now!"
GRAVITATION- Uesugi Household
"I still don't see why you had to call me?"
"Because you're my main man in these kinds of situations!"
"But I all ready had to help Shuichi!"
Tatsuha realized if he wanted the other boy's help, he would have to pull out the face. So, he pouted and his eyes went wide, and he even put his hands under his chin: the puppy face! "Please?" he begged, adding a childish tone to his voice. He knew the other wouldn't be able to resist it. He never could.
"Oh, fine!" Suguru humphed and turned around so he wouldn't have to see the face. "I don't know why you couldn't do this by yourself."
"Because," Tatsuha started, standing from his bed and opening the closet his friend could see the contents, "you broke up with me to date the guitarist."
Suguru eyed the clothes with disgust. He never did like Tatsuha's clothes. Raising an eyebrow, he turned around, "Broke up with you! You cheated on me!"
The black-haired boy waved his hand, "Yes, well, we both have what we want now. Actually, you have what you want and hopefully I'll have what I want by the end of this date."
"Not with those clothes! You need clothes to show you're mature and not some one-night stand." Suguru pulled out a fishnet shirt and leather pants that were cut criss-cross. "Then again, that would be sending the right message."
"RU!"
He raised his hands in defeat. "Sorry. Would Eiri mind if we raided his closet?"
"Yes."
Suguru thought for a moment before grabbing Tatsuha's hand and pulling him towards the other bedroom. "I'll just pull the Tohma card."
Tatsuha sighed, "I wish I had the Tohma card." Though Eiri considered his sister's boyfriend to be a very good confidant, he was deathly scared of the platinum-blond man. Of course you would be to, if you ever witnessed him accidentally running over a cat in a car, stopping the car, and then backing over it. Eiri had asked Tohma why he did that and the man calmly answered with a smile, "So it wouldn't suffer."
Eiri had mentioned that it wouldn't have been suffering in the first place if he hadn't of run over the poor creature, but Tohma had just said it was a foul creature that didn't deserve to live.
Suguru opened Eiri's closet and gasped. "I want this closet!"
"But you have a walk-in closet."
"Yeah, but mine doesn't have a full-body length mirror on all four walls, or the one above, or the one on the ground. Gah! Look! He even has little light bulbs!"
"SUGURU!"
"Sorry, sorry! You know how I get with home décor."
Tatsuha sat down on Eiri's bed and grabbed a pillow. "Believe me, I know!" Nibbling on the corner of the pillow, the boy watched as his friend pulled outfits after outfits from the plastic hangers. His mother had always told them that plastic was the best since it never left a tear in your clothes or a rusty stain. "Has that guitarist let you redecorate his place yet?"
"He has a name, you know!" Suguru studied the three sets of clothes in front of him, and then shook his head at the middle pair and put it back in the closet. "But, no. He says when I move in with him then I can do whatever I want. Until then, natta!"
"So, he's hinting at the moving in stage."
Suguru looked away from picking out another outfit, "Moving in stage?"
"Yeah. Don't tell me you haven't heard of the stages!" Tatsuha shook his head and moaned. "Didn't I teach you them?"
"Mmmm, no."
Tatsuha nodded. "All right then! Listen and listen well because I'm only saying this once. The stages are as follows: the first date stage, the kiss stage, usually the first sex stage, moving in stage, meeting the parents stage, and last, the BIG step stage." He lay back on the bed and rolled over so he was resting on his stomach. "You get past all those and you have a one-hundred percent guaranteed-never-to-fail-relationship!"
"Well, we haven't exactly followed those stages in order."
"Which ones have you done and when?"
Suguru started searching through the closet again. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. Um, the kiss, first sex, and first date."
"Wow! And you call me easy!" Tatsuha yelped when a shoe hit him on his behind. He flipped back around and glared. "That hurt!"
"You called me easy!"
"But you are! You had sex with him after kissing him for the first time!"
"Only because it was one of those 'in the moment' type deals."
Again, Tatsuha waved his hands, dismissing what the synth player said, "Excuses, excuses! With the way you're going, guitarist dude is hinting at the moving in stage, but he may decide to just go through with the parents stage."
"His name is Hiro! And don't even get me started on that! He's all ready met Uncle and Tohma."
"But have you met his parents?"
Suguru shook his head.
"I rest my point. Guitarist dude is so hinting at something much more."
"Why can't you call him by his name?" Suguru put two outfits back in the closet and stared at the on he held.
"What does he call me?"
"Words that if Tohma ever heard me say, he would wash my mouth out with soap."
Tatsuha smiled, "Again, I rest my point!" He looked at the clothes Suguru had. "Is that it? My big ensemble that will woo him?"
"If this doesn't woo him, then he's totally hopeless!"
GRAVITATION
Suanne: Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Thankies!
Ichigo Pocky: Sorry for the lateness... been busy with thoughts and all that. Thankies!
LoveReader: Aw! People should stop being so negative. Does it really matter if you date a male or female? I totally agree with you! Thankies!
Hana: I'm never going to stop writing that pairing! It's in my top five! Thankies!
xunxin: I hope it was exciting for you to read. Dancing is fun! Thankies!
Lily Evans Potter Black Lupin: That's my thoughts exactly. I don't have time to do research. Especially now. Thankies!
Setsuna Kurosaki: Ei! You're reading this? Yay! Where do I get my ideas? Eh, I don't know. I could be anywhere doing anything and all of a sudden, an idea pops into my head. After that I just have to write about it or it won't leave me alone. -shivers- Guns are scary... Thankies!
ZIPPIYGIRL: I just put that part in there because of the hilarity factor. I do hope I don't see anyone doing that. Thankies!
JazzyKnickers: I hate it too! I really just want to scream at them but then they'll look at me funny because I'm one of those "shy" types. Thankies!
noali: Never do a Sakano spin when you're high on sugar... doesn't feel good afterwards. Thankies!
The Yaoi Pimpette: Don't worry; the date is the next chapter. I think I have killed the Ryuichi-child. I just can't make him like a child sometimes... Ah, well. Thankies!
Next time: The big date for Ryu and Tats! What will happen when Ryuichi picks up Tatusha for their date? What will big brother Eiri do about limits? How about big sister Mika! Now, she's the one Ryuichi should be scared of! Tune in next time for the twelfth chapter of Just Dreaming!