Title: Anything for You

Author/Artist: snooperj & Bloodysamurai

Series/Pairing(s): TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

Notes: Here is the 12th chapter entitled A Flashback of Ceremonies. This chapter mainly focuses on the proposal and ceremony flashbacks of the two pairs, discussed among the four on the day of December 27, 2006, which they had spent being stuck in the rest house due to the blizzard. The chapter runs from that day to the next, December 28, 2006, when they return to Tokyo.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.


+++December 27, 2006+++

Kimeru was the first one to wake up this time. The first thing he did was look out the window; he groaned. "It's worse than yesterday..." he muttered to himself.

Takigawa stirred, sitting up before he spotted Kimeru. "Morning..." he muttered, rubbing his eyes before his gaze was fixed to the window as well. "It seems the weather refuses to let us leave so quickly," he noted.

"At this rate we'll be stuck here..." Kimeru said as he snuggled up to Takigawa.

"Don't have that kind of attitude," Takigawa scolded, wrapping his arms around him. "We'll just have to wait it out, that's all..." he said.

"What other choice do we have?" Kimeru said quietly as he took a glance at the clock on the wall. "5 in the morning...still early..." he muttered before closing his eyes.

"Go back to sleep..." Takigawa soothed, lying Kimeru back down.

Kimeru simply nodded before moving closer to Takigawa, falling asleep soon after.

Takigawa watched Kimeru fall asleep once more before shrugging, returning his attention to the weather outside. 'It'll take a while, I guess... I do hope things will clear up by tomorrow, at least...' he told himself before settling back to sleep a few more hours.

-break-

After a few more hours of sleep, Kimeru woke up again. He looked at the clock and decided that it was time to make some breakfast. He moved a bit to get out of Takigawa's hold before standing up and stretching. Kimeru quietly went out of the room and headed downstairs. "Let's see...what to make this morning..." he muttered as he entered the kitchen and looked at the food available.

-break-

Shirota's eyes opened to welcome the sight of the white ceiling overhead. He pushed himself up and looked around, yawning as he spotted the time. With Aiba still asleep beside him, Shirota took some time searching for the plushies on the bed. He pulled out the plushie of himself and examined it. 'I'm surprised they could detail it this accurately...' he thought to himself in surprise.

Aiba slowly opened his eyes and saw Shirota looking at his plushie counterpart. "Ohayou..." he greeted sleepily.

Shirota turned to Aiba and smiled. "Ohayou," he greeted back, handing his plushie over to him.

Aiba smiled as he took the plushie and cuddled it; he then said the first thing that came to mind. "I wonder what's for breakfast," he muttered.

"Either Eiji-nii or Kime-nii would probably be making it about now," Shirota admitted, laying back down after taking up the Aiba plushie.

-break-

Kimeru was already busy in the kitchen making breakfast. His mind wandered for a moment. 'I wonder how Minami-kun and Sakurada-kun are handling our pets...'

-break-

Meanwhile in another side of Japan...

"Momo! Echizen! Where are you?" Minami called out as he bent down to look under the couches.

"What's wrong, Keisuke?" Sakurada asked as he entered the living room, Kunisuke on his shoulder.

"Momo and Echizen are missing and if I don't find them I'm going to get killed!" Minami explained as he stood up to look behind the television.

Sakurada shrugged. "Have you tried looking in the kitchen?" he asked.

Minami looked at him. "Why would they be in the kitchen?"

"They are named after Momoshiro and Echizen aren't they...?" Sakurada said.

Minami nodded before heading off to the kitchen. "You're right! They're here!" he exclaimed.

"Thought so," Sakurada said with a smirk.

Pearl walked up to Sakurada and barked, pawing at his leg. "Hello there," Sakurada said as he placed Kunisuke in the cage and picked up Pearl. "Let me guess...he hasn't fed you yet, has he?" he asked as he went to the cabinet and pulled out some dog food.

-break-

Takigawa woke up for the second time that morning, finding Kimeru missing. "He beat me to it, then..." he said in amusement as he forced himself up and got ready for the day.

-break-

Kimeru smiled when he finished what he was cooking: a simple set of sunny side up eggs, some fried rice and hotdogs. He placed two plates on a tray and took them upstairs. He placed them on a table to open the door of Shirota and Aiba's room. He saw that they were awake and he took the tray inside. "Good morning, you two," he greeted.

"Ohayou, Kime-nii...what's that?" he asked.

Takigawa emerged from their room and headed down the hall before he spotted the door to Shirota and Aiba's room open and proceeded inside. He smirked at the sight. "Someone's sneaked down to cook breakfast," he teased.

"Ohayou, Eiji-nii," Shirota greeted, sitting back up and pushed himself to lean back on the headboard.

"This is breakfast," Kimeru answered as he set up a small bed table and placed the plates there before going to Takigawa to kiss him on the cheek. "I didn't have the heart to wake you up," he said.

Shirota eyed the breakfast laid out and grinned. "Arigatou, Kime-nii!" he said cheerfully. "Itadakimasu!"

Takigawa chuckled. "Was I sleeping that peacefully?" he teased before returning the gesture with a kiss of his own.

"Aa. I snapped a picture as well!" Kimeru said as he showed the current wallpaper of his phone.

Aiba chuckled as he watched his two senpais. He turned his attention to his food and started eating.

Takigawa blinked before smirking. "That's just like you..." he muttered before turning to the two. "Looks like we'll have to wait for this blizzard to subside..." he announced.

"So we can't even go out?" Aiba said with a pout.

Kimeru chuckled as he went to the boy and ruffled his already messed up hair. "We'll find something to do while we wait," he said.

Shirota finished his breakfast and leaned back, closing his eyes.

"You alright, Shirotan?" Takigawa inquired as he moved to take the boy's empty plate.

"I was just having a dream earlier... About the ceremony I had with Hiroki," Shirota replied fondly.

Aiba smiled at the thought. "Aa...I remember that day as well..."

Kimeru grinned. "You two had a more extravagant ceremony than we did…" he said, "Not to mention that ours had a lot of bloopers."

"I still have to thank you for that, Kime-nii," Shirota stated cheekily, grinning at the J-Pop singer.

"What for?" Takigawa inquired, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

Aiba looked at Shirota. "Huh?" he asked.

Kimeru chuckled. "Well Aibacchin, for you to find out what we're talking about I believe that I have to start from the very beginning of the entire story, right Shirotan?" he said.

Shirota nodded eagerly. "Aa!"

"Then let's see..." Kimeru said. "I think I should begin with the day that Eiji proposed...fill in the parts that I don't know, Eiji."

Kimeru had just finished feeding both Pearl and Q. He sighed as he looked at the time. It was already 7 in the evening and Takigawa wasn't home yet from wherever he went.

-break-

Takigawa had spent most of the afternoon looking around jewelry stores in search of the perfect rings. He had wanted them to be special, and the ones that he had seen didn't satisfy his taste and, if it ever did, considered if it would fit Kimeru's own taste. He drove off as far as Kanagawa and Chiba, visiting a variety of stores before a particular set from a store in Kanagawa piqued his interest. After purchasing the rings, Takigawa drove back home. He was pulling into their street at 7 in the evening and pulled the car into the driveway minutes later before taking a deep breath and headed to the house. "I'm home!" he announced as Pearl came running to his feet.

Kimeru heard Takigawa's voice as soon as he emerged from the kitchen. "Eiji, welcome home~" he said happily as he went out to greet him."What took you so long in coming home? I was worried that something already happened to you," he said.

Takigawa closed the door behind him. "I was looking for something... I didn't realize it would take me so long to find the perfect one, though..." he admitted as he took off his shoes, put on his slippers and headed into the living room with Pearl following behind him.

"What were you looking for, if you don't mind me asking..?" Kimeru asked as he led Takigawa to the couch to sit down for a while. 'Okay Kimeru...this is it...calm down…' he thought to himself.

Takigawa eased himself into the couch and rummaged in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. "Kimeru... It's been quite a long time since you and I have been together... So... I believe now would be the best time..." he began before opening the box, revealing a pair of rings.

Kimeru's eyes widened when he saw the rings. "E-Eiji..." he said as he sent a worried glance over to Takigawa. "Oh no... This could be a problem," he said."You see..." he started as he stood up to get something from his bag and went back to the couch. "...we apparently had the same idea today..." he said as he showed Takigawa a small red box; he opened it to show the other another pair of silver rings.

Takigawa blinked at the second pair of rings before he broke off laughing, setting his box down on the coffee table before leaning forward to take Kimeru into a chaste kiss. "The two of us are clearly opposite in nature, but I'm surprised there are these rare moments when we think alike," he said fondly.

Kimeru smiled as he reached over and placed the rings he bought beside the ones Takigawa had gotten. "Aa..." he answered as he brought his arms around Takigawa. "I love you..." he said softly, gazing at Takigawa.

Takigawa smiled, cupping Kimeru's face with his hands. "As do I," he replied, kissing Kimeru a second time before pulling back. "Which was why I wanted to propose today. But as we both already have these rings..." he paused as he turned to the table. "We do have a little problem on our hands, don't we?"

Kimeru thought for a moment. "Hmm...I have an idea. Leave it to me!" he said with a smile.

"And then during that ceremony itself, I decided to give it to Shirotan... Remember the time that you thought that I had gone missing?" Kimeru asked Takigawa.

Kimeru managed to escape Nagayan and Sota as he ran down one of the halls of the place; he panted slightly as he reached the area where the guests were. "Shirotan! Pssst! Shirotan!" he called out to the boy.

"You had me worried..." Takigawa muttered in reply.

Takigawa looked around. 'Now where's Kimeru? We're starting soon...'

-break-

Shirota looked around, hearing his name being called before he spotted Kimeru. He furrowed his brow and moved up to him. "What are you doing, Kimeru-senpai?" he inquired.

Kimeru grinned. "Come here! I need to give you something!" he said with a soon as Shirota went outside, Kimeru placed a small red box in his hands. "Use it when the time is right Shirota," he said before looking around. "Now if you'll excuse me...I think my fiancé is looking for me." Kimeru took one last glance around before running off again.

Shirota watched Kimeru leave before he returned his gaze to the box. Furrowing his brow, he opened it and twitched. "U-so..." he muttered to himself as he snapped the box closed and slipped it into his inner breast pocket before returning inside, a small smile on his face.

-break-

"They found Kimeru!" Tuti told Takigawa as he approached him. "Now get in there and wait for him! Good luck!" he said as he opened the door to the hall where everyone was waiting.

Takigawa sighed with relief before nodding. "Arigatou, Tuti," he thanked before heading into the grand hall where the ceremony proper would be taking place.

-break-

"Where the heck did you go?" Nagayan asked as he saw Kimeru approach.

"Gomen! I had to take care of something important!" Kimeru replied with an apologetic smile.

Nagayan sighed. "Either way...here… Count to ten after I go in then follow," he said. "Ready, buddy?"

Kimeru nodded. "Hai," he answered. Nagayan smiled at him before going inside. Kimeru counted to ten before following suit and the first thing he saw was Takigawa waiting for him at the end of the aisle.

Takigawa turned his attention to the door from where Kimeru emerged as a genuine smile settled on his face as he watched Kimeru approach. Gathered there in the venue were both friends and family - both of their parents, the rest of the Seigaku first cast, Shirota and Aiba, as well as Ueshima-sensei.

Kimeru felt himself smile as well as he walked towards Takigawa. He saw his family smiling at him as he passed. It was quite a surprise to him that Takigawa had managed to get a hold of his family; something that even he couldn't do for the past few years.

Takigawa's parents were in attendance, their attention on Kimeru as he walked down the long aisle towards their son. Eiji had told them about this development with Kimeru via e-mail. Upon receiving this, Takigawa Sumire, Eiji's mother, immediately decided to fly back to Japan with her husband Kaito in order to celebrate this momentous occasion with their son.

'It's finally here, isn't it, Kimeru? The time we've waited for...' Takigawa thought happily to himself.

Kimeru nodded at Takigawa as soon as he reached his side. He took hold of his hand and smiled.

'After everything we've been through...here we are today...' Kimeru thought as he looked at the crowd behind him one more time before the ceremony began.

Kimeru's mother Shizuka and his father Ryou watched as Kimeru went towards his future partner. Shizuka felt tears well up in her eyes as Kimeru took Takigawa's hand. She was glad that Takigawa had managed to contact them so that they could come.

Ryou on the other hand, watched quietly as the ceremony took place. It was a shock for him to find out that his only son was getting married. Nonetheless, he felt happy for him.

"So that's where your rings ended up..." Takigawa said in realization, looking over to Shirota.

Kimeru nodded. "It was a good idea at the moment, and besides...they were put into good use," he said, looking pointedly at Shirota and Aiba.

Takigawa nodded, sitting himself down on the bed. "At least my efforts of finding these rings weren't put to waste," he said fondly, holding up his hand where the ring was.

"Aa," Kimeru agreed before looking at Shirota and Aiba. "Hmm...I believe we never found out how that proposal went, right Eiji?"

Aiba blinked. "You...don't know how it went?" he asked.

Kimeru shook his head. "Nope."

Shirota scratched his cheek. "It was difficult... But I managed to pull it off..." he admitted.

"Hiroki, I have a surprise for you," Shirota began, strolling into the bedroom. "But you'll have to wear this so we don't spoil it," he added, pulling out a blindfold.

Aiba looked up from his laptop when he heard Shirota speak up. "A blindfold?" he asked as he stared at the piece of stood up and took it. "Alright Yuu...but you better keep me from tripping," he said before he put on the blindfold.

Shirota chuckled. "Of course. That would diminish the whole point of asking you to wear that," he teased before waving a hand in front of Aiba. "Can you see me waving my hand?" he asked to check if the blindfold was efficient enough.

"Er...no," Aiba said as he used his hand to feel around. "I don't see anything..." he added.

Shirota nodded to himself. "Good." He went behind Aiba and placed both his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Start walking slowly. I'll tell you if need to turn or head down the stairs," Shirota instructed.

"Alright..." Aiba said as he started walking slowly, following each instructions of Shirota carefully.

-break-

Shirota had led Aiba down the stairs and was about to have him approach the garden where he had opened the doors. He had asked a few people to come today for this special moment - both of their families. Shirota had to admit that it was quite awkward at first but thought it would be better this way than for them to wait until the ceremony to know. Shirota didn't have too much trouble gathering his own family together; after all, they still had their connections despite living apart all this time. He was surprised when even his father willingly agreed to come. Aiba's family, however, proved to have given him some problems. Although Aiba's mother and sister had no problems with this, Shirota had to put some extra effort into convincing Aiba Daisuke to come, up to the point of getting to his knees and begging the man.

Daisuke didn't really want any part of this. Ever since his son was in Senior High, he had never really accepted the fact that he wasn't into normal was the shock of his life when Shirota Yuu...the same person that Aiba liked in Senior High -though Aiba doesn't seem to recall this-, came to their house to ask for his son's hand in sighed heavily. He was going to say no, but when he saw the sincerity in the boy's eyes, he just couldn't do it. So in the end he gave in. And now here he was; about to witness the moment that his son will be taken away from him forever.

"Here we are..." Shirota stated over to Aiba, having him stop in his tracks before he bowed to both his family and Aiba's before he pulled out the familiar red box before he got on one knee. "You can take the blindfold off, Hiroki," he said.

Jun was grinning at the sight when Shirota and Aiba had appeared. He fondly recalled the times he had spent with the two - most importantly when they were in Senior High - when he was over at this very same house taking care of his younger brother. He had always known that it would end up like this. Although Jun didn't understand why there was no contact between the two when they had graduated from college until they had started working together in TeniMyu, he was glad that both Yuu and Aiba had found each other again.

Aiba nodded as he took off the blindfold. What he first saw was his family, all smiling at him. Next was the entire Shirota family, looking at him and smiling as well.

"Yuu? What's going-" He was cut off when he looked at Shirota who was kneeling in front of him, holding a small box that held one ring eyes widened as his hands flew to cover his mouth. "Yuu..."

A smile came to Shirota's face as he nodded to Aiba. "I figured this was the best way to propose, Hiroki..." he began. "I wanted both of our families to be present and complete... So that they would understand... That for me, you are the only one I would offer this chance to... So would you accept my hand in marriage?"

Aiba stared at Shirota before looking around once more. He felt tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "Yuu..." he said softly as he pulled Shirota to his feet. "Of course... my answer is yes," he said.

Aiba Mikoto smiled and Hinako squealed in delight when she heard this. Daisuke sighed again; that was it for him. He shook his head before looking at Aiba and Shirota again. Then he felt his eyes widen when he saw Aiba's expression. He had never seen his son this...happy.

All of Shirota's siblings cheered at Aiba's response. Pepi and Mitsuo smiled at one another, happy that their youngest son had finally found his special someone.

Shirota grinned before wrapping his arms around Aiba. "I'm glad..." he muttered, kissing Aiba on the forehead.

"Did your father ever tell you what I did to convince him to come?" Shirota inquired, looking over to Aiba.

Aiba shook his head. "He didn't," he answered.

Shirota grinned. "Good."

Aiba frowned. "Why? What did you do?" he asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it..." Shirota stated, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But you already brought it up..." Takigawa whined playfully.

Kimeru nodded. "You already brought it up so you might as well tell us," he said.

"That's right!" Aiba said.

Shirota sighed. "Well, alright..."

Shirota had stepped in front of the Aiba residence as he took a deep breath and exhaled before heading up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. It was a few days before he planned to propose to Aiba and had wanted both of their immediate families to be in attendance for that.

Hinako was the one who opened the door. "Shirota-kun!" she greeted as she let him inside their home. "What brings you here?" she asked.

"Aa... Well, Hinako-san... I was planning a little surprise for Hiroki next week... And I was wondering if you and your parents can come and attend..." Shirota explained, scratching his cheek.

"Next week? I think we can come since we don't have anything lined up," Hinako said. "But let's confirm. Wait here, I'll call mom and dad," she said before leaving to get her parents.

Daisuke came moments later. "Hinako and Mikoto will be down in a while," he informed Shirota as he sat on the sofa across the boy.

Shirota nodded, looking down at his hands as he clutched his knees. He was always uneasy around Aiba's father, he couldn't really understand why. So he decided to wait quietly for the other two to arrive.

Soon after Daisuke came in, Mikoto and Hinako joined them. "So what is this all about, Shirota-kun?" Mikoto asked pleasantly.

Shirota looked over to Aiba's mother before nodding. "Aa... As I told Hinako-san earlier, I was planning a surprise for Hiroki, and I would deeply appreciate it if you would be in attendance..."

"What's the surprise?" Hinako asked curiously.

Daisuke looked at the boy in apprehension, he didn't know why but he felt that something was amiss with the situation.

Shirota took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing. "I plan to propose to Hiroki..." he stated, looking over to the three.

"I knew it would come sooner or later!" Hinako cheered.

"We would love to come then, Shirota-kun," Mikoto told him with a smile.

The two were silenced, however, when Daisuke spoke up. "I'm not going to go," he said firmly.

Shirota turned to Aiba Daisuke. 'As expected...'he thought to himself. "May I inquire why not?"

"For reasons that are my own," Daisuke said before he moved to stand up.

"Anata!" Mikoto exclaimed.

"Father, please be reasonable!" Hinako pleaded.

Shirota stood and confronted the man before he slowly got to his knees, bowing. "I beg you to reconsider..." he stated quietly. "Having you there would give Hiroki the reassurance that his entire family is willing to support him... us..."

Daisuke looked at Shirota in surprise as he bowed in front of him. He sighed heavily. 'It's hard when you're dealing with sincerity,' he thought."Stand up," he told him. "Fine. I shall go to this... arrangement," he answered before leaving.

Hinako sighed in relief. "For a minute there I thought he wouldn't give in," she said. "Well…congratulations, Shirota-kun!"

Shirota stood and watched Aiba Daisuke leave the room before bowing once more. "Arigatou gozaimasu!" he called before he straightened and turned to Hinako, smiling.

"So there you have it..." Shirota stated, heaving a sigh.

"I never really imagine you'd do that, Shirotan..." Takigawa admitted.

Aiba shook his head. "I can't believe you did that in front of my father," he said with a soft smile.

Kimeru chuckled. "It is quite hard not to give in when somebody does that."

"And I do think that father was surprised when Yuu did it," Aiba said with a chuckle. "After all...seldom do you find people who would do that to him."

"Why is that?" Kimeru asked.

"Oh, because people find him naturally intimidating and they think that they can never change his mind," Aiba explained.

Shirota frowned. "But he is naturally intimidating..." he complained.

"Father's like that to most people but he's a real softy," Aiba said.

"Why am I finding that hard to believe based on what Shirotan has shared?" Kimeru thought out loud.

"Unless you're referring to after he came to your birthday last October..." Shirota stated off-handedly.

Aiba shook his head. "I was referring to before I left for the dorms back in Senior High," he answered.

Shirota's eyes widened before pointing an accusing finger at his partner. "Then you were the reason he became like that!" he cried.

Aiba shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not..." he said. "After all, there can be quite a few more reasons that we do not know of that caused him to be like that."

"If he was different before you moved out back then... and he was that way ever since... He started changing since the proposal... and during the ceremony, too..." Shirota thought out loud, stroking his chin.

"Aiba's family was the one who ended up planning that for you, right?" Takigawa inquired.

"My mother planned most of it; my sister got in touch with Yuu's family for the details," Aiba explained.

"How she managed to convince my father into coming is a miracle..." Shirota admitted.

"My sister is a natural miracle worker, Yuu," Aiba said. 'Just like someone here...' he added in his mind, causing him to laugh.

Shirota raised an eyebrow at this. "What are you laughing about?" he asked, pouting.

Aiba managed to calm himself down. "I was just thinking...that Eiji-nii here is also a miracle worker...Imagine...he managed to convert Kime-nii to who he is now."

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru and smirked. "I admit that it was difficult... Even if it meant resigning myself to get a few punches here and there..."

"Kimeru-senpai was violent with you?" Aiba asked slyly as he glanced at Kimeru who blushed.

"Verbally, quite a few times," Takigawa explained. "Physically... It was only once, and by accident. That incident we talked about with the principal yesterday."

"Well...I can't help it if our personalities clashed back then," Kimeru defended.

Takigawa chuckled. "They still do," he reminded him.

"But not as much as they did back in Senior High," Kimeru shot back.

Aiba looked at them before facing Shirota. "How about you? I'm sure you also had a hard time with me back then," he said.

Shirota chuckled. "Aa, I did. But more than that, I had to handle my siblings' constant torments about our relationship..." he recalled, shuddering.

"You mean like that time that your brother tied you to a chair using some jump rope?" Aiba asked.

Kimeru blinked and looked at them. "Tied him with what?"

"Jump rope," Shirota repeated with a groan. "He uses it a lot... Twice or thrice when Hiroki started coming to the house..." he explained.

Aiba sighed heavily. "That's right," Aiba said. "...I still wonder why your brother has a stock of those things."

Shirota shrugged. "Beats me..."

Kimeru grinned. "Which reminds me...Aibacchin, you also had a little misadventure during your ceremony, right?" he said.

Aiba blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you forgot why you refused to come out of the room where you were supposed to be preparing in," Kimeru said.

"Oh...that one..."

Shirota turned to the two Fuji actors. "What are you talking about?" he inquired, looking from Aiba to Kimeru and back.

"Remember when almost everybody panicked when Aibacchin refused to come out of that hotel room?" Kimeru started.

"Oi! Aibacchin! Open the door!" Kimeru said as he knocked on the door; Konii, Kenken and a few others from the Seigaku second cast behind him.

"Yada!" Aiba said through the locked door.

"This is going to take some time...Kenken, please tell the other group that they have to buy some time," Kimeru said before Kenken sped off towards the stairs towards Shirota's group in the floor above them.

-break-

"I seriously don't want to wear my hair like this..." Shirota whined as Kazuki and Araki were fussing with the boy's hair.

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want you to be having you do your usual Tezuka hairstyle, do we?" Kazuki teased.

Kenken arrived at the room, panting slightly. He made a beeline for Kazuki and whispered the situation to him.

-break-

"At least let one of us in!" Kimeru tried.

"YADA!" Aiba answered.

Kimeru frowned. "Will someone get me the key to this room from downstairs?" he asked the people around him.

"Wait!" Aiba suddenly said. "Only Kimeru-senpai can come in!" he said.

-break-

Kazuki nodded over to Kenken before he finished fixing up Shirota's hair in satisfaction. "There. Satisfied?" he inquired.

Shirota frowned. "THIS WAS HOW IT WAS BEFORE YOU GUYS MESSED IT UP!" he declared, turning to the group.

Kenken was about to leave when he heard Shirota shout. He chuckled before heading outside.

-break-

"Now what seems to be the problem?" Kimeru asked as he went inside. "And why aren't you dressed yet?"

Aiba looked at him. "Senpai..." he started.

"What?"

"I can't find my hair iron!"

"THAT'S IT?"

-break-

Araki and others burst out laughing. "Gomen, Shirotan. But we couldn't help it," he said in between laughs.

Shirota groaned before he proceeded to stand. "Never mind... I'll just-"

"Do you want to have a snack first?" Takigawa offered, holding out some rice cookies.

Shirota blinked, looking over to Takigawa and grinned. "Maybe just a bit..." he said, moving towards the older man.

"And that's why you're acting like you don't want to get this day over with?" Kimeru asked.

Aiba blinked. "I...I can't go out there looking like this!" he exclaimed.

Kimeru sighed. "Sit down, Aibacchin...I'll take care of this," he instructed.

"Honestly... As if bribing you with rice cookies did anything..." Takigawa stated, sighing.

Aiba chuckled. "I'm surprised that I caused that much of a fuss," he said.

Kimeru grinned. "You had KenKen running up and down a flight of stairs."

Aiba smirked. "But I have to admit, Kime-nii. You sure do know how to remedy those kinds of problems."

Kimeru smiled. "Of course I do."

"There we go..." Kimeru said as he placed the hair spray down. "What do you think?"

Aiba looked at himself in the mirror. "Kimeru-senpai... Have you considered being a hair-designer?" he asked.

Kimeru chuckled. "Nope. I like my job description very much, thank you… Now let's get you dressed!" he said before moving to the door to tell Kenken that they were almost ready, resulting in another marathon for the younger boy.

-break-

After Shirota had eaten his fill of rice cookies, he was about to head to the door when Kenken arrived.

"Have you been running around, Kenken?" Shirota inquired.

Kazuki approached the Shishido actor. "What's the news?" he inquired.

Kenken grinned. "Aiba's almost ready...so get the crumbs off him," he said before pointing at Shirota."And a word of advice...Kimeru-senpai was the one who helped Aiba get ready...Kimeru-senpai ALONE," he said with a nod at Shirota before leaving.

Takigawa moved forward and proceeded brushing off the crumbs that came to settle on Shirota's tuxedo - which reminded the man of Shirota's Tuxedo Kamen days. "That should do it..." Takigawa stated, looking for any stray crumb.

"Arigatou, Takigawa-senpai," Shirota said, nodding curtly to him.

-break-

"Yosh...now we're done," Kimeru said as he looked at Aiba who was looking himself at the mirror.

"I look like I'm going to have a concert."

"Which means you are currently looking your best. Now let's go and see if we manage to get Shirotan to have a nosebleed!" Kimeru said happily.

"Senpai!"

-break-

Takuya knocked on Shirota's door. "Shirota-kun...it's time to start!" he said before peeking inside. "Good luck!" he said before leaving.

Shirota nodded to Takuya. Takigawa patted the boy on the shoulder, nodding over to him. "You can do it," he reassured him.

-break-

"I'll give you the signal when it's your turn," Takumi said with a smile as he left Aiba's room.

Aiba took a deep breath as Kimeru chuckled. "Relax...you're going to be fine."

-break-

Shirota nodded his thanks before taking his leave from the room; Takigawa following behind him.

"Good luck Shirota-kun!" Takuya said as he opened the door to the function room where everybody was waiting.

-break-

"Deep breaths, Aiba..." Kimeru coaxed as the younger Fuji actor closed his eyes and tried to calm down.

-break-

Shirota was momentarily blinded by the lights as he took a step inside. In attendance to this were both of their families, the rest of the Seigaku second cast, the Hyoutei cast and Ueshima-sensei, plus a few other friends and family.

Takigawa stayed outside by the door as he watched his successor slowly make his way up the aisle as he folded his arms, smiling fondly to himself.

"At least he's not a bundle of nerves like this one here," Kimeru said suddenly as he pointed to Aiba who was behind him."Don't worry, Aiba didn't see him," Kimeru reassured him.

"Kimeru-senpai...Takigawa-senpai. Your turn," Takuya told the two.

Takigawa nodded over to Takuya before he lowered his arms and held out his hand to Kimeru. "Shall we?"

Kimeru smiled. "Let's..." he answered as he walked inside with Takigawa, spotting Shirota waiting at the end of the aisle; he nodded at him.

Takuya peeked inside. "Okay, Aibacchin... when I go inside, relax yourself a bit then follow," he said before patting his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you look great. Kimeru-senpai did a good job."

Aiba nodded at him before Takuya entered the room, leaving Aiba alone in the hall. 'Calm down Hiroki...it's just your friends and family in there...you want this, don't you..?'he thought in an attempt to calm himself down.

-break-

Shirota turned his attention to the doors as Takuya entered; Aiba was entering next. Shirota took a deep breath to keep himself calm. This was the moment he had been waiting for.'Show me I didn't make the wrong decision, Hiroki... Walk through those doors... And show me again... Why it can only be you...'

-break-

Aiba took a deep breath before walking to the doors. "Let's go," he told himself before opening the saw Shirota and felt himself smile. 'That looks similar to his Tuxedo Kamen outfit...'he thought. He felt his nervousness disappear when he walked towards Shirota, all the anxiety simply faded away at that moment.

Kimeru grinned. 'It looks like he finally got over it.'

Takigawa smirked as he turned to Aiba, feeling the immediate change in the boy.'Looks like it was a good decision to wear the outfit, Shirotan,' he thought to himself.

Aiba noticed the presence of his family in the room as they smiled at him; his father even nodded at him. The rest of the TeniMyu cast plus Ueshima-sensei was there as well; he was thankful that his family and Shirota's had managed to get in touch with the other despite their busy soon as he reached Shirota's side he smiled at him."I love you,"he mouthed.

"Exactly what were you wearing again?" Shirota inquired, poking Aiba on the cheek.

"I'm hurt, Yuu...you don't remember?" Aiba said in mock hurt.

Kimeru chuckled. "Let me jog your memory, Shirotan~" he said. "White tux and slacks, blue necktie..." he said as he took out his phone and showed him a picture. "I knew there was a reason why I kept this picture in my phone…" he said. The phone was a stolen shot of when Aiba was looking at himself in the mirror back in the room. "Be thankful that I didn't put that in my blog," he teased.

Shirota took the phone and examined it before grinning, leaning forward and pecking Aiba on the cheek. "Gomen, but I didn't really pay attention to your outfit so much back then," he explained.

Aiba sighed. "I guess that it's fine..." he said as he looked at Kimeru. "How did you get that?" he asked.

"You were too busy worrying if you looked okay," Kimeru said with a shrug as he showed the picture to Takigawa as well.

"This is a bit similar to what you ended up wearing when you sang 'Crystal' in your Myu days with the second cast..." Takigawa noted.

Aiba nodded. "Only difference is this one is actually my size," he said. "The one I used back then was a size bigger since there was damage with my original one."

Takigawa chuckled. "Still, it was a good thing Shirotan decided to wear that specific tux for your wedding. Don't you agree, Kime-kun?" he inquired.

Kimeru nodded. "Aa...we saw how the tension disappeared from Aibacchin once he saw Shirotan," he said in agreement.

Shirota frowned. "I didn't know that wearing a modified outfit of my costume for Tuxedo Kamen would work out that way..." he admitted.

Kimeru patted him gently on the shoulder. "At least it helped, ne?" he said. "If you didn't wear it, I suspect that Aibacchin would still be nervous when he reached you."

Shirota nodded. "I guess so..."

Takigawa checked the time before he rose to his feet. "Look where the time went... I need to get lunch started," he stated, taking the trays and headed for the door.

"I'll help this time!" Aiba said as he got to his feet.

Kimeru frowned. "I think I can do that Aiba-"

"Just this once?" Aiba pleaded.

"I don't mind," Takigawa and Shirota said at the same time.

Kimeru sighed. "Alright...but don't strain that arm of yours!"

"Hai~" Aiba said happily.

"I'll look after him," Takigawa reassured the J-Pop singer before heading out of the room and down to the kitchen with Aiba following behind him.

Shirota watched the pair leave before taking up the Aiba plushie and cuddled it in silence.

Kimeru picked up the Shirota plushie and looked at it. "They did a nice job on both, don't you think?" he asked with a grin.

Shirota nodded. "Aa..." he replied. "A-no... Kime-nii..."

"What is it, Shiropon?" Kimeru asked with a smile.

-break-

"What are we making for lunch, Eiji-nii?" Aiba asked.

Takigawa set the tray on the sink before smiling over to Aiba. "Why don't you think up of something, Aibacchin? I'll help you out in any way I can," he suggested.

"Hmm...I've been meaning to try a pasta dish for a while..." Aiba said trying to recall it. "I think it was called pesto…"

Takigawa nodded. "Ah, that. I've made that once before. Let's get started with it, shall we?" he said brightly as he moved to the pantry to retrieve the necessary ingredients.

Aiba smiled. "Then let's get started~" he said happily as he went to the cabinet to retrieve some olive oil and some basil leaves.

-break-

"Actually, there was something I didn't mention earlier... That time when I went to Aiba's family..." Shirota stated.

"What is it?" Kimeru asked.

Shirota thanked Aiba's mother and sister for understanding before he checked the time. "Ah, gomen. I need to be heading off. I'm sorry for taking too much of your time," he apologized.

"We hope to see you soon then, Shirota-kun!" Mikoto said with a smile. "Go and see him off, anata," she said.

Daisuke twitched. "A-Aa..." he said before standing up to accompany Shirota to the gate.

Shirota bowed once more to Aiba's mother and sister before he headed outside to the gate with Aiba's father. He rounded to face him. "This is my address. Please be there right after lunch," he instructed, holding out a slip of paper to the older man. "And another thing I would like to say, Aiba-san... Your son... He's everything to me, and I'd do anything for him. I promise you that I'll protect him... No matter what." He bowed for the whole of 10 seconds before straightening up.

Daisuke took the slip and sighed when he heard Shirota say this. "If that wasn't the case then I wouldn't have approved of this, Shirota-kun...now be on your way or Hiroki might worry," he said.

"Hai!" Shirota bowed one last time before leaving.

Shirota ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even want to think about what would've happened if I didn't say that or give him reassurance by saying what I did..." he said, sighing.

Kimeru chuckled as he ruffled his hair. "What matters is that you said it didn't you? And now look at how far you and Aibacchin have gone," he said.

Shirota nodded apprehensively. "A...Aa," he replied. "Talking about the ceremony reminded me of something, though..."

"What?" Kimeru asked.

"Well... If I wasn't injured like this... I would've preferred to do my 'Prince of the Earth' performance... When we celebrated Christmas Eve..." Shirota explained.

Kimeru smiled softly. "I'm sure Aiba would have liked to see that, but he'd be gladder to see that with full knowledge that you won't be pushing yourself because of it," he said. "That's another incentive on your part to heal quickly, isn't it?"

Shirota nodded eagerly. "I want this leg to heal quickly... So that I could move around on my own again..." he said, reaching out to his cast. "I really don't enjoy sitting around doing nothing..."

Kimeru nodded in understanding. "Wanna bet that once Aibacchin gets out of that cast of his the first thing he's going to do is dance like there's no tomorrow?" he said suddenly.

"I'm afraid that's already a given, Kime-nii," Shirota replied, chuckling.

Kimeru nodded. "That's true...and you should also worry about him jumping you when that time comes," he said slyly.

"I'd best be sitting down when that happens..." Shirota admitted. "My leg would still need to recuperate properly..."

Kimeru chuckled. "That's true, we wouldn't want you to strain that," he said with a smile.

"Just a few more months..." Shirota muttered to himself.

Kimeru chuckled. "Don't worry then, I'm sure Aibacchin looks forward to getting out of that thing as much as you are," he said.

"Speaking of which..." Shirota paused, looking down at his Aiba plushie. "I wonder how they're doing downstairs..." he wondered.

Kimeru grinned. "You do realize that with all that attention you're giving that plushie, there's a chance that Aibacchin might be jealous of it?"

Shirota smiled fondly at it. "No. Both Aiba and I have agreed long before that we value each other more than material things... Like Aiba's panda plushie back then..."

-break-

"There we go!" Takigawa exclaimed after transferring the pasta onto a serving bowl. "Any finishing touches you'd like to add, Aibacchin?" he offered.

Aiba looked at the dish for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope. I think that's everything to it," he said with a smile.

Takigawa nodded. "Let's bring this up to the other two, shall we?" he said, transferring everything to a tray and brought it back to the bedroom.

-break-

"That plushie that he brought everywhere at any chance he got, you mean?" Kimeru said with a grin. Shirota nodded before turning to the door.

Aiba opened the door for Takigawa when they reached the bedroom. "Lunch is here…" he announced.

Takigawa set the dish down on the table. "And just so you know, this was Aibacchin's idea," he stated, winking over to the boy before he spread the plates out for easier distribution of the pesto as he put down an equal amount on each before taking two and handed it to Shirota and Kimeru, returning to the table and took the other two, handing the other to Aiba.

Aiba grinned as he took the plate that Takigawa handed him.

"I never knew you were into pasta, Aibacchin," Kimeru teased.

Aiba chuckled. "It wouldn't have turned out this way if Eiji-nii didn't correct some parts of the recipe," he admitted.

"I would rather not dwell too much on those anymore," Takigawa pointed out before he stabbed at a forkful of pasta and brought it to his mouth.

Shirota nodded in satisfaction, his plate already halfway empty. "This is really good!" he complimented.

Aiba chuckled as he ate his own share of the food.

Kimeru looked out the window. "Looks like we have to spend another night here to wait this out," he said with a sigh.

+++December 28, 2006+++

The group waited the blizzard out until the next day; by which time they had already had their bags packed and were ready to return to Tokyo. Boarding Kimeru's private plane once again on the morning of the 28th, the quartet all took a short nap during the 90-minute flight before they had safely landed in Tokyo.

They were assisted with their baggage before they were driven off to Shirota and Aiba's house. Kimeru had taken the liberty of informing Minami and Sakurada that they were arriving that day and would meet them at the house so as to get their pets back.

The car stopped in front of the house as Takigawa helped Shirota out of the car and up the pavement to their front door.

"It's good to be home," Shirota said fondly, pulling out his keys and with Takigawa's assistance, opened the door before the two Tezuka actors entered.

Before Aiba could get inside he felt a familiar fluffy object against his leg; he looked down. "Fuji!" he exclaimed as he picked the brown guinea pig up from the ground. "That means..." he looked around and saw Sakurada holding the cage, Minami behind him with Q and Pearl.

"Welcome back, senpai," Sakurada greeted.

Kimeru smiled as he took Q's cage from Minami. "You didn't have any trouble with them, I hope?" he asked.

Minami shook his head. "No problem at all, senpai," he answered.

"Why don't you two come inside for a while?" Aiba offered before showing the two inside.

-break-

Takigawa had just eased Shirota down into the couch before he turned to the door, seeing two guinea pigs charging inside side by side and stopped at the feet of Takigawa, who recognized them to be Momo and Echizen. "The two of you better not give Shirotan any problems," he warned them before moving aside to help with the baggage still in the car.

Momo and Echizen scurried up to the arm rest to look at Shirota. Aiba chuckled when he came in, Fuji perched on his shoulder. Kimeru came in with Q after a while and went back out to get the rest of the bags.

Sakurada sat on the other couch. "Kunisuke, come here," Aiba said, referring to the guinea pig on Sakurada's shoulder. Aiba blinked when Kunisuke just stared at him. "A-re? Kunisuke..." he tried again.

Sakurada looked at the furry creature on his shoulder. "Oi, Aiba-senpai is calling you…"

Tezuka had come up onto the other arm rest where Shirota was as the boy looked at the three incredulously before hesitatingly stroking each of them before looking over to Kunisuke. "Seems he's grown attached to Sakurada-kun," Shirota pointed out.

Aiba looked at Sakurada then at Kunisuke before smiling. He patted Kunisuke before ruffling Sakurada's hair. "Take care of him then," he said.

"THAT THING IS STAYING WITH US?" Minami exclaimed as he pointed at Kunisuke.

Sakurada grinned. "Looks like it."

-break-

Takigawa brought in the bags with Pearl running after him as he went out for a second trip to get the last of the bags, the Yorkshire following after him.

-break-

Tezuka moved up to Shirota's shoulder and gently nuzzled his neck while the other two watched - in possible envy - their father while being calmly stroked by Shirota's hand. "It's not as if these two will be missing their brother," Shirota pointed out, referring to the two younger guinea pigs.

Aiba chuckled. "I'm sure Kunisuke would love being with Sakurada-kun," he said as he patted the guinea pig again. "I'm sure you can take care of him," he told the Echizen actor.

"Count on me, Aiba-senpai," he said. Minami in the meantime was having a staring contest with Kunisuke.

-break-

Kimeru came back in with the last of the bags; he then noticed Tezuka by Shirota's neck. "It would seem that Tezuka knows how to get what he wants without bothering you," he observed.

Shirota looked over to Tezuka, who stopped nuzzling as they met eye-to-eye for a moment. "You're right..." Shirota admitted; breaking eye contact with the guinea pig as Tezuka proceeded to continue his gentle nuzzling against the boy's neck.

-break-

Takigawa came inside, thanked the driver and closed the door after Pearl, who came into the house, barking excitedly as Takigawa picked her up, stroking her on the head. "You've missed us, haven't you?" he coaxed. "I have a new costume for you," he said as he looked around for his bag.

-break-

"Someone's jealous…" Aiba said as he looked at the two other guinea pigs that were staring at their father.

Kimeru chuckled while Sakurada watched and waited for the outcome of Minami and Kunisuke's staring contest.

-break-

"A-ha!" Takigawa found his bag and opened it, pulling out the assortment of gifts before finding the dog costume and set Pearl down. "This is a good fit, isn't it?" he said enthusiastically, holding the Seigaku outfit to Pearl, who barked in reply.

Shirota turned and looked over to Takigawa and laughed. "It'd be fun to see her wear it, Eiji-nii," Shirota suggested.

"Which reminds me; we also have some of those for the guinea pigs!" Aiba said as he took out the kit from his bag. "Here we go…" he said.

Kimeru grinned. "So we're going to have little Seigaku regulars running around," he said happily. "Oh yes, before I forget...I've already told Eiji about this; I'm taking the year off from making projects. Formal press release about it is a week after new year," he announced.

Aiba smiled. "Really? That's great Kime-nii."

Shirota nodded in agreement as he held his hand out. "Give me the ones for Tezuka, Momo and Echizen," he stated.


TO BE CONTINUED

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