I'M SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE! cries and gets on knees Will you all ever forgive me! Well…it's not my fault that our computer was infested with viruses, but I guess I owe it to you all to make this chapter as long and good as I possibly can, right? Right…

The titles of the next few chapters are going to be song titles…the titles of the songs used in them. I told you that almost all of the "In Love and Death" CD by The Used goes with this fic and so does some of their first CD. Okay? Good…

ALRIGHTY! Here I go!…

Disclaimer: I still don't own it, but I did get the OVAs. They're hilarious! And "Hard to Say" belongs to The Used…

Hard to Say…

One year slowly passed, and then two, each passing day growing longer and longer. Slowly, painstakingly, everyone began to make some sort of recovery. Old wounds began to heal and old relationships were rebuilt. Everyone was still in despair from the death of Tatsuha, but it would be futile to hold onto someone who wasn't going to return. It was time to move on with their lives and keep their eyes on the future, not the past.

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A raven-haired man stood in the middle of a crowded airport terminal, his amethyst eyes searching wildly for the head of blonde hair he could so easily recognize. There! Just exiting the airplane. The man grinned and ran wildly through the crowd, jumping up and wrapping his arms around the man's neck when he met him.

The man stuttered and shook his head, a smile spreading across his face when he realized who his attacker was. "Why hello, Shu-kun," he said.

The raven-haired man smiled up at him toothily and pulled away. "Why did you have to leave for so long, Eiri?"

"It was only two weeks you baka," the blonde chuckled.

"Yeah, but it felt like forever," Shuichi said, putting plenty of emphasis on the "forever" part.

Eiri laughed and began to walk toward the exit of the terminal, Shuichi following closely behind.

The raven-haired man just couldn't keep from smiling, a dramatic change from the depressed psychopath he was after the blonde before him had left. He hadn't been able to be alone for the first few days, only trusted to be by himself after he had agreed to call Hiro at least once a day. Had he kept up on that bargain? Well…he did try but by the time the first week was over it got exceedingly annoying. So, much to the displeasure of his friend, he'd stopped calling.

The voice of the blonde in front of him pulled Shuichi out of his thoughts and he had to run to catch up with him.

"Hm?" he asked.

"I asked how you're doing," Eiri muttered.

Shuichi blushed. Eiri would've never thought about checking up on him before, but he guessed that Eiri had changed… Just like he had.

"Okay. It's been about a week," Shuichi whispered, flinching under the glare he got from Eiri.

"A week?" the blonde asked. Shuichi nodded. "Why?" Eiri sighed.

Shuichi shook his head, stopping in his tracks. He heard Eiri sigh but was surprised when he felt a hand under his chin. The hand lifted his head and, Shuichi opened his eyes to find that he was gazing into concerned amber orbs.

"Please, Shu-kun? I'm worried about you."

Shuichi sighed. "I just got depressed. I hadn't heard from you for a while and I thought that…" Shuichi hung his head, tears welling up in his eyes. No. He wouldn't cry, he refused to let himself do that. "I didn't think that you were going to come back. I thought that you'd abandoned me again."

Eiri shook his head, his blonde locks flying to and fro. "I would never do that to you."

Shuichi still didn't look up at him, and Eiri sighed.

"Listen, Shu. I was stupid back then, I'll be the first one to admit it, but that was what…six years ago? Seven? I've changed. You've changed. Hell…I think everyone and everything around us has changed since then."

Shuichi peeked up at Eiri from beneath his raven bangs. The blonde was gazing at him imploringly, a small frown on his face. Shuichi sighed and dropped his eyes to the floor, beginning to walk away but Eiri grabbed onto his wrist lightly.

Before Shuichi knew what was happening, warm lips were pressed against his and arms were wrapped around his body. He melted into the embrace, wrapping his own arms around Eiri's neck. The time stood still around them as the two kissed passionately in the middle of the crowded airport.

When Eiri finally broke the kiss with a gasp, Shuichi saw that salty tears were running down his face. He furrowed his brow and wiped the tears away with his thumb, frowning when the blonde pulled his hand away.

"I love you, Shuichi," he cried, "and will never leave you again. I'll be by your side, always."

Shuichi shook his head and sighed. "I can't, Eiri," he whispered.

Eiri gaped and looked at Shuichi with perplexed eyes. "What?"

"It's…it's just still too soon," Shuichi sobbed, covering his mouth with a hand. "I can't… I just can't."

Eiri shook his head and locked his eyes on the floor.

I'm sorry, Eiri, Shuichi thought. I just can't forget. I told you that I never would.

"I'm sorry," Eiri whispered. "I never should've opened my stupid mouth." And he walked off, leaving Shuichi to break down in the airport.

The raven-haired man stared at the blonde's retreating back and ran into the bathroom. Now he'd done it, gone and made Eiri mad at him again. Why did he have to open his stupid mouth? Nothing good ever came out of it. Everything was just sarcasm and harsh words.

Shuichi stumbled into the last stall of the bathroom and locked the door, collapsing on the floor. Sobs racked his body, making it difficult for him to breathe. He squeezed his arms against his chest and rubbed his hands up and down them, trying to warm them up. He wouldn't let himself get cold and numb again, not when he was just finally beginning to feel.

Shuichi rocked back and forth on his heals and tried to keep his tears at bay. But he couldn't. The hot tears spilled from his eyes and left their trails down his face. As hard as he tried Shuichi couldn't stop the sobs from shaking his form and he broke down completely.

Slowly, almost delicately, Shuichi pulled a staple out of his pocket pressed down on the inside of his arm, running it back and forth, back and forth, until he saw his skin begin to turn red. Sighing, he applied some more pressure and watched as the staple plunged into his skin, drawing blood out with it.

He pulled his hand away and closed his eyes, breathing heavily as he rested his head on the wall behind him. The tears had stopped, but the pain inside was still there, just waiting to rear its ugly head again. Sighing in defeat, Shuichi stood up from the floor and wiped the blood away with a piece of toilet paper before leaving the stall.

He paused on his way out of the bathroom, captivated by his reflection on the mirror. His amethyst eyes drew him toward the mirror and he stared at himself, cocking his head slightly to the side. Slowly, he lifted an arm-warmer covered hand to his face and touched it gently. The skin was so soft, so fragile, so…deceitful to what was hiding beneath it. Shuichi snarled and pulled his eyes away, using all of his strength to keep himself from lashing out at his reflection.

With a sigh, he left the bathroom, making sure his arm-warmers were pulled up as he did.

A hand grabbed onto his wrist. Poised for action, Shuichi turned and punched the person in the gut with his free hand. The person gasped and let go of his hand.

"Just who the fuck do you think you are?" Shuichi yelled. "Next time make sure you know who you're dealing with before yo…"

Shuichi blanched. The person lying on the floor wasn't a stranger. Maybe Eiri hadn't left after all.

"Eiri?" he whispered.

The blonde nodded, and Shuichi's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped, helping the man to his feet. "I didn't know that you were waiting for me! I thought you had left."

Eiri shook his head. "No, my fault. I should've said something before I grabbed you like that."

Shuichi gently touched the place where he'd hit Eiri and sighed. "I'm really sorry!"

Eiri laughed. "I told you, Shu, it's my fault," he said and pulled Shuichi's fingers away. "Come on," he whispered and pulled the man along behind him. "Let's leave this place."

Shuichi nodded and matched his stride with Eiri's, allowing the blonde to lead him outside and to the car that NG had so graciously lent them. The driver had already retrieved the blonde's luggage and, when he saw the two come into view, pulled the door open. Shuichi climbed in first, closely followed by Eiri and the thud of the car's door closing.

"I'm sorry," Eiri whispered a few minutes down the road.

Shuichi started. He had already begun to fall into a daze-like sleep. "For what?" he asked.

"Being a complete and utter dick."

Shuichi laughed out loud, he just couldn't help himself. "Like you're good at being anything else?"

Eiri scowled at him, but it just made Shuichi laugh even harder.

"I'm sorry, Eiri, but I'm telling the truth, aren't I?"

The blonde shook his head and rested it lightly against the window, cold from the frosty fall air in the world beyond it. "No," he muttered, "I guess you're right."

Shuichi frowned and punched the man lightly on the shoulder, but Eiri didn't respond. Shuichi furrowed his brow and moved closer to the man, putting a hand under Eiri's chin.

"Eiri, please look at me." The man wouldn't move. Shuichi used his hand and moved Eiri's chin so that the blonde was facing him. "I was being sarcastic," he said with a small smile. "I didn't mean anything that I said."

Eiri sighed and diverted his eyes from the raven-haired man before him. Shuichi growled and pressed his lips against the older man's. He felt Eiri stiffen against him, but then he relaxed and was soon kissing Shuichi back. When Shuichi felt Eiri's tongue run gently against his bottom lip, he opened his mouth and allowed the blonde entrance. Shuichi buried his hands in silky blonde locks and moaned quietly into the kiss. Shaking fingers found their way into Shuichi's hair and along the base of his neck.

Shuichi pulled away a few seconds later to breathe, smiling up at Eiri.

"I never should've opened my stupid mouth," he said, running his knuckles gently against the blonde's cheek. "I was wrong to have said anything."

Eiri smiled and Shuichi settled into his arms, his head lying in the crook of his shoulder.

Almost an hour later, the driver pulled up in front of Eiri's house and stopped. He climbed out of the car and opened the door for the two men. Eiri was awake, but Shuichi was dead asleep. Eiri shook him gently.

Shuichi opened his eyes and focused on Eiri. "Hm?" he muttered, snuggling closer to Eiri's warm body.

Eiri chuckled. "We're home, Shu-kun."

Shuichi blinked and rubbed at his eyes, yawning widely. He followed Eiri out of the car and inside, going straight up to his bedroom as Eiri thanked the driver. He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

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Ryuichi Sakuma awoke with a start, a cold sweat dripping lazily from his brow. Bright blue eyes wildly searched the bedroom for some sort of intruder, some sort of other reason for awakening than fear of his own dreams. Nothing was there. It was nothing but himself and his nightmares.

With a heavy sigh, Ryuichi wiped the sweat from his brow and rested his head in his hands. What had even been dreaming about? No matter how hard he tried to concentrate and remember the dream, he just couldn't recall it. He was probably scaring it away with all of his concentrating. He shook his head, sweat flying from the brunette locks, and laid back down in his bed. He snuggled underneath the comfortable warmth of his blankets and let his eyes drift closed.

A scream reverberated throughout his head and his eyes snapped open again. What was going on? Why was he suddenly hearing disembodied voices? Sighing, he closed his eyes again and tried to settle down.

"Ryuichi," a voice cooed. "Get up, Ryu."

Ryuichi clenched his eyes and moaned. He knew that voice, he knew it all too well.

"Ryuichi, please."

"Go away," Ryuichi growled. "You're dead."

Silence fell and Ryuichi sighed letting his eyes relax. He opened his blue orbs slightly and gazed about the room. Still, nothing was there. With a few incoherent mumbles, he collapsed and closed his eyes again.

"Ryuichi," the voice echoed.

"Leave. Me. Alone," Ryuichi all but yelled. "Why won't you leave me alone?" he screamed and his eyes snapped open, his entire body shooting into the seated position.

It was so hard for him to breathe. It felt like his lungs were going to explode. Sweat poured down his face in rivers, drowning his entire body in its salty flood. He began to shake uncontrollably, his form convulsing without command.

Climbing out of his bed on shaking legs, Ryuichi held on to anything that he could as he made his way to the telephone. He had to call Touma. He had to call Noriko. He had to call…someone.

Ryuichi picked up the phone's receiver and quickly pressed the second number on speed dial. The other person answered on the third ring.

"N-Noriko?" he muttered, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Ryuichi!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Ryuichi sighed. Finally allowing the tears to overcome him, he sobbed into the receiver. "H-he won't leave me a-alone. He's in my d-dreams. I see him when I walk down the s-street. Make him go awa-wa-way!"

Through his tears he could just pick out the sound of Noriko sighing into her receiver. "Are you home?"

Ryuichi nodded then remembered that she couldn't see him. "Y-yeah. I'm at home."

"Stay right where you are, Ryu!" she said. "I'll be there in a minute." Then she hung up, leaving Ryuichi with nothing but an annoying beeping and a hollow voice for company.

Ryuichi gazed around his bedroom one more time, making sure that he had really been alone. And, sure enough, he was completely and utterly alone.

Why was he hearing Tatsuha's voice all of a sudden? It had been two years since the accident, and he'd been to countless numbers of therapy sessions to get better so why now?

Ryuichi closed his eyes and made his way out to his living room, plopping down onto the couch. He rested his head against the armrest and stared at the small spider web-like designs the plaster made on his ceiling. If he stared for long enough, he could make out a face. There! He reached out and traced the small form with his finger. There was the nose, the mouth, the eyes, the hair. Tears flooded his eyes again and Ryuichi looked away, focusing his eyes on the plain navy blue of his front door instead.

A few minutes later the loud noise of someone banging on his front door pulled Ryuichi out of his thoughts and he shot up on the couch. Groaning, he rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair as he walked over and threw the door open. Noriko was standing there, her lavender hair disheveled and out of its normal spiral pigtails. She was breathing heavily, which made Ryuichi guess that she'd run all the way there.

The two stared at each other in silence for the longest two seconds of Ryuichi's life before Noriko launched herself at him and wrapped him up in her arms.

"I'm so sorry, Ryu," she whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry about everything that's happened."

Trying as hard as he might, Ryuichi couldn't keep the heavy trails of tears from falling down his face. Before he knew it he broke down in sobs again and had to be led to his couch by Noriko. His lavender-haired band mate whispered consoling words in his ear, all the while running her fingers through his hair to calm him. And it worked.

Ryuichi pulled away from Noriko and stared at the wall beyond her shoulder, too ashamed to look her in the eye. He heard Noriko sigh and watched as she brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear with pale fingers before she rested her hand on his cheek and forced him too look at her. Still, he kept his eyes diverted on anything but her face.

"Ryuichi," she whispered. "Please talk to me. I want to know what you're thinking."

He shook his head. "What good will it do, Noriko? All you'll learn is that I'm still too weak to forget about someone that died two years ago."

She sighed. "Ryu. No one can forget someone that has died. None of us will ever be able to forget Tatsuha-kun, okay? You just need to find the means to move on. You need to want to move on." She smiled sheepishly. "It'll all come in time, trust me."

Ryuichi closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. He knew the words that she spoke were true, but he couldn't bring himself to "want" to move on like she asked. He had been in love with Tatsuha, dammit! He couldn't just forget him like that. It would've made their love seem in vain! He clenched his eyes closed, stemming the flow of tears that threatened to fall for what seemed to be the millionth time that night.

"Ryuichi?" Noriko said. He shook his head and she sighed again.

Ryuichi felt himself moved down into the lying position and he opened his eyes slightly to see Noriko's face looming above him, his head lying on her lap. Something warm and wet splashed across his face and he was surprised to see that Noriko was crying.

"N-Noriko," he stuttered and reached out, gently catching her tears with his thumb.

She shook her head, crystalline tears flying off her face.

"Noriko, please don't cry. Not for me. Never for me."

Before he knew what was happening, Ryuichi found his lips taken up in a short kiss. When Noriko pulled away he stared back at her with puzzled eyes, lightly touching his fingers to his lips. In a blur, Ryuichi sat up and pulled Noriko into his arms, passionately returning the kiss.

When they pulled apart, both had tears streaming down their faces and lost looks in their eyes. A spontaneous new chapter had opened up in their lives, and all just in less than a minute's time. Ryuichi shrugged and tackled the lavender-haired woman in another chaste kiss.

The two lay down together on the couch, forgetting about everything in the outside world if just for one night.

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Tensions were running high at NG. Its biggest bands were rushing to complete song writing and/or albums. Managers were on their breaking points, some waving guns and others downing heart medication as if it were candy, and producers tried their hardest to make sure that everything went as planned.

Bad Luck was in the middle of writing songs for newest, and highly acclaimed, album. Although they were still stuck in their angsty emo skins, some of their songs were happier. A surprising new member had been added to their band, bringing its members up to five. For some odd reason, Touma had decided that the band needed a bass guitarist. Everyone agreed, excluding, of course, Shuichi. But her soon found that he didn't regret Touma's decision.

"Come on guys!" Shuichi shouted, plopping down into the soft couch just inside their studio's door. "What're we gonna do today?"

The other four members trekked into the room, followed closely by K and Sakano. They each sunk down into their seats and sighed heavily.

Hiro stretched and yawned. "You're the one that wanted us to come in today," he said. "What do you want to do?"

Shuichi frowned slightly and scratched the back of his head. "Hm…," he muttered. "I wanted to work on lyrics and maybe we could start coming up with some arrangements."

Ben nodded. "Sounds good. It'll be interesting to see how we add the bass into our music."

Everyone turned their eyes to the shy girl in the corner, small smiles gracing their lips. The girl blushed and dropped her head, her bangs hiding her eyes.

"Aiko," Shuichi chuckled, "you don't have to be embarrassed. It's your first album, have fun with it!"

The girl nodded and Shuichi gazed upon her with pride. Aiko had become like a younger sister to him. She'd gotten so much better over the past two years. She went from cutting every day to only doing it maybe once or twice a month. With help and love from her two "brothers" she'd changed into a much happier person; her eyes shined with life once again and she found joy in some of the smallest things.

And she'd changed as much on the outside as she had on the inside. Her hair had gone from a coppery red color to a deep burgundy, and a healthy twinge of color showed in her porcelain skin. From always being around Shuichi, her style had changed as well. Black wasn't an uncommon color to see her in anymore, and she let music fill her soul.

To everyone's surprise, she'd taught herself first how to play the piano to perfection and then the bass guitar. When Touma learned of her new-found talent, he immediately wanted her to join Bad Luck, and Shuichi immediately refused. It hadn't been because it was Aiko, it had been because he didn't want her to be subjected to the pressures of being famous. It had taken him three years to get used to it. Who knew how long it would take her?

"Sorry, Shu-chan," she said. "I'm not embarrassed, I'm just nervous. You all have done this a million times before, but I'm new. This is my very first time in a recording studio." She sighed. "I don't want to mess it up for you."

Hiro chuckled and patted her on the back. "We may have done this a few times before but we still make plenty of mistakes. Trust me."

The rest of the band nodded in agreement.

"I think plenty is an understatement," K groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, but at least we have fun while were doing it. That's all that matters," Suguru said.

Oh, yes. Suguru had changed as well. He allowed himself to loosen up and actually have fun while working. It took him quite a while to understand that life didn't have to be all work and no play, but, with constant coaxing from Ben and Shuichi, he broke out of his uptight little shell and revealed a side that no one had ever seen before. Outgoing, loud,…fun.

Sakano ran a hand over his face and through his hair, sighing almost silently. "Do you have any lyrics written yet, Shindou-san?'

Shuichi nodded. "Yes, quite a few actually. Do you want to see them?"

Everyone in the room perked up and nodded. "Of course we do!"

Shuichi smiled and pulled a small notebook from his pocket. He flipped open to the first page and passed it to his left.

"I don't have a title for most of them, yet, but I guess it doesn't matter. We don't have to worry about that until we've recorded them, right?"

Everyone who was at least halfway listening nodded slightly and patiently awaited their turn to view Shuichi's newest lyrics. There were actually quite a few additions to the notebook, some of them depressing and others moderately happy.

When everyone finished their reading, the notebook was tossed onto the coffee table and they all nodded.

"Not bad, Shuichi," K said. "I actually wasn't expecting so many, but I guess you've had time to write these past two years."

Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, but I just started writing again last month. It didn't take long for me to get those four or five."

Ben stretched and winced as his back popped a few times. "I'm coming up with ideas for music already," he said and walked over to his drums. "Shall we?"

Hiro and Aiko nodded and picked up their guitars and Suguru made his way to his keyboard. Shuichi, on the other hand, reclined back into the couch more and kicked his feet up on the table. Hiro looked at him in confusion.

"Aren't you gonna play, man?" he asked.

Shuichi shook his head. "Nah. I think we're good the way we are. I was originally only supposed to concentrate on writing and singing the lyrics, remember?" he asked, smirking at Hiro's smile.

Hiro nodded. "Yeah, but that was, what, almost seven years ago?"

Shuichi blanched. "Seven years," he gasped and shook his head. "I can't believe that it's been that long already."

Ben chuckled and pounded on the drums a bit. "Only five for me!" he said. "Ha, ha, you guys are old."

Suguru shook his head. "You're just as old as the rest of us are," he said.

Ben pouted. "Aw, how come you always gotta ruin my fun, Suguru?"

The green-haired man laughed. "I was just stating the truth, Ben. Hell, Aiko's the youngest one of us all, so ha!"

Aiko blushed slightly and nodded her head. "I'm only nineteen."

"Alright, alright, stop your fighting!" K yelled, a vein throbbing in his forehead as he forced himself to keep away from his gun. "We'll never get anything done if you keep arguing."

"Oookay, then," Ben muttered. "I've got an small idea for the drums in the one that goes 'it's hard to say that it was wrong, it's hard to say I miss you'. I don't picture it being a fast song. Am I right, Shuichi?"

Shuichi nodded and listened as Ben started a beat on his drums, Hiro kicking in with something on the guitar a few minutes later. Shuichi bobbed his head along with the beat, slowly beginning to sing the words to the beat that they made.

"That sounds awesome guys," he said. "But, in the beginning I think that Suguru should play something church organ-like and play it throughout the song, and Aiko, I think it would sound great if you added some bass like this." He tapped a beat with his fingers on the coffee table and Aiko strummed it by ear on her guitar. Shuichi nodded. "Perfect."

"Let's try Shuichi's additions," Hiro said and the rest nodded.

Suguru set the settings on his synthesizer and began to play a slow and kind of mournful tune, church organs like Shuichi had suggested. Ben tapped his foot to twelve counts and then began to play the drums, Aiko immediately joining. Hiro added something here and there, but waiting until Shuichi sang the second chorus until he really kicked in and added his part. When they finished, K and Sakano nodded in approval but the five band mates felt that it still needed tweaking and spent the rest of the day fixing and adding what they thought was needed.

It was eleven o'clock before they all decided to wrap it up, Sakano and K had left a while before, and they all clapped quietly for their work.

"It sounds good," Suguru said.

Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, but I think that it still needs some work before it's perfect. Don't you agree?"

Everyone nodded.

"I told you that it wouldn't be bad, Aiko-chan!" Shuichi said with a smile. "Yeah, it takes some getting used to but as long as you have fun and enjoy what you're doing, it won't be. Making sweet ass music is our specialty, but that doesn't mean that we can't have fun doing it."

Aiko nodded. "I had fun. It was a lot different than I thought that it would be. I thought that we'd sit and argue about what to do where and who should do what, but you all tried each other's suggestions and sometimes added on or took away some of them. It's interesting and I'm looking forward to it."

"Good," Ben said and stood up from his stool, taking a seat in the comfortable chair next to Shuichi.

"Man, it feels great to be back in the studio," Shuichi said and gave the couch a hug. "My how I've missed you so!"

Hiro snorted and put his guitar back on its stand. "Once a moron, always a moron, I guess," he muttered resulting in a dirty look from Shuichi.

"I'm not a moron! I'm just…special," he said with a small, innocent smile.

"At least you're happy," Hiro said. "It's surprising just how much Eiri affects your mood."

Shuichi blushed slightly and began to laugh. "Yeah, well, you know," he said and then snapped out of it. "Hey! Have you noticed how tense things have been between Ryu, Touma, and Noriko lately?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, how many times did we hear arguing today?"

Aiko counted on her fingers. "Hm…I think about five or six times. I wonder what's bugging them."

Shuichi shrugged. "I dunno. I'm gonna be seeing Ryuichi again soon so I'll try to fit it in then."

A loud yawn filled the studio and everyone looked at Ben, who had a small smile on his face.

"Sorry guys, but I'm spent," he said and stood up from his seat. "Same time tomorrow."

Shuichi paused for a minute and bit his lip, then nodded. "Of course! And…I won't be late."

Hiro, Suguru, and Ben burst out in laughter.

"Yeah, right. I'll believe that only once I see it," Suguru chuckled.

The band packed up all of their things and headed out for their cars. Since Aiko had taken a permanent residence at Eiri's home with Shuichi, she rode with Shuichi to and from work or wherever they had to go together, even though she had her own car. It saved a hell of a lot on gas, not that they didn't have the money to pay for it.

The black sports car made its way onto the busy city highway and then into the beautiful deep country.

When Shuichi pulled up in front of the large home, he smiled when he saw that the living room light was still on. Either Eiri was still awake or he was gracious enough to leave a light on for them to see.

The two climbed out of the car and made their ways inside, yawning and rubbing at their eyes in attempts to stay awake. They pushed their ways through the front door, Aiko immediately going upstairs to her bedroom while Shuichi went to check the living room for the blonde. He smiled when he saw him sleeping peacefully on the couch. He dropped down onto his knees beside Eiri and ran a hand gently through his blonde locks. Eiri moaned quietly and roused from his sleep, a tired smile on his face.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Shuichi whispered.

Eiri chuckled and sat up, Shuichi immediately straddling his lap. He locked his lips passionately over the blonde's and kissed him fiercely, hungry after an entire day of work at the studio. When he pulled away, Eiri was staring at him with wide eyes.

"I'm awake now," the blonde joked.

Shuichi smirked and ran up to his bedroom, quickly changing into his pajamas before burying himself beneath the blankets of his bed.

TBC…

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A/N: laughs manically Twists and turns! YaY! This was fun. I like adding in reasons for me to keep writing, like an unexpected relationship starting. WHOO-HOO! What do you all think about me now? Actually, I really don't care because it's my story and I control what happens! laughs manically…

Yeah…anyway…Once again, I'm very sorry that this took so long to get out. My AP Chemistry class sucks ass! I had to quit my job because I was failing it and I've been spending most of my free time behind a chemistry book instead of in front of a computer screen. I do, however, have the next two days of school off for fall break (YaY!). I dunno if I'll work on this, though. I need to put out another chapter for my original story on and I have a Full Metal Alchemist story a-brewin' in my mind and need to start it before I lose it…

Thank ya, thank ya to:

GravityNeko: If angst is the genre, just call me. It's my specialty!…
LoveLandKiss: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm soo sorry that it took me so long to update. I hope that you didn't forget anything…
GoTrinba: Yeah, the roof scene was my favorite part to write of chapter twenty. I don't think I'll ever like another as much as I loved that one. And sorry about not writing much with Touma. He's not one of my more favorite characters so I don't use him unless it's necessary…
karmarox: Sorry…I couldn't go on unless I killed Tatsuha. Just be happy because I originally planned to kill Ryuichi. I hope you enjoyed this chapter…
The Amazing Tsu-chan: I hope this chapter didn't come to late and that your friend didn't get angry and kill you or something! If they didn't and you're still alive…here's the next chapter. Send it to them fast before it's too late!…
Sammy-chan: Yup, yup…Tat-chan was hit by a car. Stupid cars! I hope ya like this…
i love athrun: HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER!…
Syaoran is kawaii: I hope that your non-existent nails aren't even more non-existent! Sorry for the wait…
DaisukeAizawa: Man…if you're reaction was that good for chapter 20, too bad I couldn't see the one for this one! I hope that this lives up to your expectations…
animegirl12182: Sorry it took me so long to get this out and I'm very sorry that I have updated "Unbeating Heartache" in A LONG time too. I've got so many different stories going on! UGH! Guess I really need to work on it, though… I'll talk to you soon…
whitejakle: I'm sorry that you hate me, but I'm glad that it's not in a bad way. I hope this chapter was happier for you and that you didn't cry at all during this one. But don't feel sad for Ryu because he's doing fine now…laughs evilly… Just fine…
Guren: I still dunno if anyone else is gonna try to die or will die in the future. If it happens it happens. The ideas don't tell me when they come, they just magically appear. POOF! He, he. Like I've told everyone, I'm sorry that this took so long to write but I hope that it doesn't take any of the goodness (is that even a word?) away from it…
Person-sama: I'm sorry that I killed off Tatsuha but I couldn't keep it from happening. It was either him or Ryuichi…
Sour Skittlez: Man…your reviews are always so crazy, but I love 'em! Ryuichi is still truckin' and hopefully won't try anything stupid in the near future…
suckers love: Man…I left you speechless. YaY! He, heh. I hope you enjoyed this chapter…
animephreak80: It depends on who you ask your question to for the answers that you get. I'd have to say yes because I have four friends who are cutters/have dealt with self-injury and I am a self-injurer myself. I am blessed to be surrounded by people who understand because there are so many people in the world out there who don't understand and would shun me. I love them so much…
PsychicAlchemist: I'm sorry that my story isn't going the way that you wanted it too, but it's my story and I do what I want to it. This is the only place where I refuse to let people force me to do things their way and I mean to keep it that way…
Hiyruu Antalus Azuretiem: Rocking hardcore? That has a nice ring to it…I like it!…
LadyRave: I'm sorry that the last chapter was so sad but I had to write it. I hope that this chapter was happier for you, though. But you don't have to worry about me…I don't want to burden you… I hope you enjoyed this chapter…
Annie loves it: Well…I guess that I didn't take that long to update since you didn't hunt me down and force me update. Although, certain other people have (they know who they are). I hope you liked this chapter…
Takki: I'm glad that you like this so much. Sorry it's taken me forever to update…
Ashcat: Self-confidence before reading your review…about a 2. Self-confidence after reading your review…probably about an 8 or 9. Thank you so much for reviewing! I love reviewers like you! And yes, Tatsuha was killed in an accident. It wasn't a suicide. He was chasing after Ryuichi and didn't see the car coming and…you get the rest. I hope you like this chapter and I look forward to your review…
trina: Here's chapter 21! I hope it didn't take too long. Good stories…hm…if you like Full Metal Alchemist there's a good one by Freanch-fri-freak called "Take it all away". It's so awesome!…
xo-silent-whispers-ox: Alas…the continuation! Heh, heh. And I might write a separate story with what Tatsuha was thinking before the accident because I think it's too late to add it into "ILaH" now. I'll try to do that for you…
Ku-chan: GLOMPS! I'm sorry, Ku-chan. I couldn't help killing, Tat-chan! And I'm glad that you liked the way that I used your song, but you are worthy! And are you okay? I have heard from you in forever and you haven't updated your journal. I'M SOO WORRIED! I hope you're doing okay! Love ya…
DBZ luver2: I'm glad that you liked chapter 20 so much and I hope you liked chapter 21 just as much!…

Trav-chan: I know that's not your penname but I don't care! GOOBER! Ha, ha! What're ya gonna do now, huh? You don't look so big and bad when you can't retaliate! Mwhahahahaha! Man…I need to quit trying my evil laughs. Heh, heh. I'm sorry that I've started an addiction for you…NOT! No, I really am. I didn't mean for it to happen. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the rest… I'll talk to you later…

OH! And thank you, thank you, thank you to: XxDeathByAnimexX, kuriqa, animegirl12182, slytherinsess, Shizuma the Black Magician Alchemist, GravityNeko, and Trav-chan for reviewing "Thank You", my FMA fan fic… I'm glad that you all at least enjoyed it…

Well…I think that's about it. If I missed anyone, I'm very, very sorry! I got so many reviews that it was hard for me to keep track. Anyway…I read and edited this before I posted it so I hope that there aren't too many typos. My eyes have a tendency to cross whenever I read over something on my computer, so I apologize for any misspellings or bad grammar. Once again, I hope you all liked it!…

See ya'll soon in…some story of mine or another… Ja!…