22, yay!
Seriously, this fic can drag on sometimes while writing it. Sometimes I just pray certain scenes will wrap themselves up quickly as I find no thrill in writing them. Thankfully, we're getting to plot I'm more into, so I can enjoy myself again, lol.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy it all, even if I'm less thrilled with writing certain bits.
Still loving my regular readers, and starting to love some new ones!
I'm staying at Anita's again, yay!
She was an idiot though, she reviewed one of my fics without logging out of my account, so it made it look like I reviewed one of my own fics… -.-'
I apologize for this chapter being slightly choppy, if it seems that way… I had a headache while writing most of it, and couldn't keep my mind entirely focused. Sorry!
Oh and, I guess it's happy birthday to Tohma, huh?
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Really? Are you serious Ryu? Must you put on such a show? I think I may have nightmares now..." Tohma groaned, head still firmly planted on the table.
Ryuichi snickered and shook his head.
"Honestly Tohma, it was just a little harmless flirting, don't be so serious about it. It's not like I fancy her or anything, I'd much rather be draped all over you." He pouted, crossing his arms.
Tohma sighed and nodded.
"At least I know that much is true... and, well... thank you for not doing so. Although I'm sure she'd be far more accepting of it than my father, I'd rather not open up that can of worms, you know? Thanks for respecting that." His shoulders slackened, and he pushed himself back up on his elbows.
"What would you like to drink sir?" The waitress, Miko asked, finally returning.
Ryuichi glanced up at her and smiled.
"Not all too sure really, I've never been here before. Tohma must have though... what's good here, eh?" He asked, poking the blonde.
Tohma stared at the table for a moment, head tilted to the side, pondering on what Ryuichi would likely be alright with drinking.
"I'd say... give him a medium strawberries and cream smoothie. He doesn't seem like the coffee type." Tohma laughed.
Ryuichi agreed, sticking his tongue out in disgust.
"Yup, definitely no coffee, eww..."
Miko laughed, and bowed politely before dashing off to fulfill the order. Nearly as soon as the waitress had disappeared, Elena returned, and smiled warmly as she sat back across from the two men.
"Hope I wasn't too long?" she asked, blushing as she looked up at them.
"Oh, not at all ma'am." Ryuichi beamed, and Tohma suddenly felt that wave of embarrassment returning.
A well-aimed kick to the shins reminded Ryuichi to behave, for the sake of Tohma's stomach.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"It was wonderful getting a chance to visit you, Tohma." Elena beamed at her son, wrapping one arm around him as the three of them exited the café. "I'll try and visit again soon, and please, try and make peace with your father…" She gave a small smile, and leaned forward, giving the blonde a peck on the cheek.
Tohma sighed, but returned her smile.
"I shall…attempt it…" He murmured, although the woman still sent a pout his way.
"And YOU Ryu-kun, take care of my son! He has a tendency to work himself into the ground, and even forget to sleep…" She murmured, shooting the blonde a sharp gaze.
Ryuichi grinned, and threw his own arm around the blonde's shoulder on his unoccupied side.
"Oh, you needn't worry about that, I'll keep him in line, and well rested ma' am." He chanced a quick smirk at Tohma, who flushed crimson under his gaze.
Elena gave both boys a tight squeeze, before spinning around and walking towards her car.
"Be good! BOTH of you! Je t'ame, Tohma!" She giggled, slipping into the driver's seat.
Both men watched as the woman pulled out of her parking space, and slid out onto the street.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Why did you follow me? Even though I specifically said I didn't want you to come?" Tohma groaned.
Ryuichi rolled his eyes, and just kept on walking beside the blonde.
"Because, you said I couldn't go WITH you... not that you didn't want me there. You should be more specific, without sounding mean and rude though." He huffed. "What's the big deal? I just wanted to meet your nice sounding mother in person. I gave nothing away, not that I entirely like being all secretive, but I can deal..." He mumbled.
Tohma gave the brunette a strained look.
"I'm sorry..." Tohma sighed. "I suppose I'm being a bit neurotic, aren't I? It's been a stressful week; I don't mean to take it out on you.
Ryuichi eyed the blonde closely.
"You're hard to read Tohma, very hard to read..."
"What do you mean?" Tohma froze, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.
Ryuichi paused as well, and turned to face the blonde.
"One moment, you're embarrassed to death when I so much as touch you, and the next moment, you're all over me. You go from being silent and mopey to being as happy and perky as a teenage girl... You can't sleep, even when trying, and then suddenly you sleep days away. Just when I think I've got you all figured out, you go ahead and change it up on me... you're so confusing, very confusing and contradictory Tohma." The brunette grumbled, grabbing a hold of Tohma's sleeve, where he proceeded to use it to drag the blonde down the street.
A small smile slipped onto Tohma's face.
"Well, keeps things interesting and fresh, no?" he laughed, making the brunette pout even more. "Let's move on to other subjects, shall we?" He asked.
Ryuichi nodded.
"Yup, let's get past the touchy subjects."
"Not quite yet, Ryuichi." Tohma paused, and even stopped walking again, despite Ryuichi's firm hold on his shirt sleeve.
Ryuichi frowned, and crossed his arms, turning to face the man once again.
"Aww, come on! What now? Can't we just... I don't know, go back home, watch TV, and dread Noriko's arrival in the morning? Please?" he pled, but Tohma did not back down.
"Afraid not. Look... You can't just go up to people and introduce yourself as someone you're not. There are legal issues with that. If we ever get signed, and Nittle Grasper becomes big, we can't have you prancing around using different names. It confuses people, and what you tend to tell people isn't what's listed on your I.D." He scoffed bluntly.
Ryuichi looked like a kicked puppy, and the blonde's stare softened.
"Look Ryu... if you truly hate that name that much, and prefer to be 'Ryuichi Sakuma' over Ryuichi Sanju, then so be it. Why not legally get your name changed and be done with it?" He asked.
Ryuichi blinked.
"You can do that sort of thing? Not just in movies?" His eyes shined, and Tohma could not resist a giggle.
"Yes, it's real... If you'd like, I could look into it for you, and when we can get everything settled, we'll go have it done, alright?" The blonde smiled, and Ryuichi couldn't help but grin.
"I can REALLY call myself what I want? I don't have to be Sanju anymore? Because you know I really, really hate that name, right?"
"Yes Ryu, I know you hate it. You can be Sakuma, Ryuichi for real. I'm sure your mother wouldn't want it any other way."
"Yay! Tohma, you're the greatest!" The brunette laughed, throwing his arms around the blonde.
Tohma sighed, and pried himself free of Ryuichi grasp, shaking his head.
"You're so excitable... but don't go jumping on people in public. It makes people stare."
Ryuichi only frowned.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The two arrived home within a few minutes, the rest of the walk had been spent in awkward silence, and Ryuichi was feeling rather bad for having done so much in just a few short hours to irritate the blonde.
The awkwardness only seemed to get worse as they made it to their front door, when Tohma suddenly froze in the hallway, causing Ryuichi to knock into his back, not expecting the sudden stop.
"Ne? Tohma...what's that?" Ryuichi tensed, staring at the large box propped against the large wooden door.
Tohma said nothing, but a scowl made itself known on the blonde's face, and his slowly stepped towards it, brandishing his keys. With a few long swipes of the door's key, the box popped open, and Tohma let out a loud snarl.
"HE CANNOT BE SERIOUS!"
Ryuichi flinched, but dashed to the man's side, peering down into the box.
Papers.
Lots of them.
Different colors, different textures, drawings, numbers, packets and single sheets... and Ryuichi couldn't understand a damned thing on any of them.
"Tohma? What is all this?" He asked softly, setting a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
Tohma stayed silent, taking in deep breaths as he attempted to get his rage under control. He squeezed his eyes shut, and counted slowly in his head, before reopening them.
"This, Ryuichi, is the work my father expects me to do. All of it. In one short weekend." Tohma twitched slightly, and managed a civil look as he glanced at Ryuichi. "Clearly, he's lost it, if he really thinks I'm going to do all of this…" he muttered, unlocking the door, and kicking the box of papers through the door.
Ryuichi watched as the box toppled over, and papers skidded out across the living room floor. He frowned, and carefully stacked them back up, turning towards the blonde.
"Well…if he's sent you these, doesn't that mean you're not fired?" He murmured.
Tohma shot him a hard look.
"Likely… but I told him I was done…" He grumbled, tossing his coat back up in the closet.
"But… shouldn't you do the work then, if he's giving you the chance to still do it? I mean… you were always so worried about keeping him happy, because you didn't want him to get angry and disown you, or cut your cash flow off. Stuff like that." He asked, tilting his head.
The corner of Tohma's eye twitched.
"Yes… I was, but-"
"Nuh, uh! Hush!" Ryuichi chuckled, holding a slim finger to his lips. "I think that you should just sit down, and calmly do the work. I've listened to you ramble on about how much work and school meant to you, even though it interfered with the band sometimes. I also know just how upset you were the last few days because of this whole situation. I don't like having to see you like this."
A small smile slipped onto the blonde's face, and Ryuichi beamed back at him.
"But… there's just so much of it! It shouldn't be my responsibility in the first place." He protested, collapsing down into the soft cushions of the plush couch.
Ryuichi smirked and nodded his head.
"Exactly. So… wouldn't you be proving that he's an ass if you get it all done in a timely matter?" He raised an eyebrow. "If you get it done, he can't say a damned thing, and then he'd have to leave you alone for a while. You'll get to be smug with him for a while. Isn't that alone worth it?"
Tohma sighed, but slowly nodded his head.
"Yes…but-"
"No buts!" The brunette hissed, scooting closer to Tohma. "Just do it, so you won't have to worry about it! You won't even get bored or lonely, because I'll sit right here with you and keep you company while you do it, even if it takes all day and night. I want you to be happy, and if it takes you doing boring paperwork, and me massaging your tired aching shoulders while doing so, then so be it. At least I get to be by your side, and you're not alone, or with people that are the farthest things from friends." He grinned, dragging the open box with him as he dropped onto the couch next to the blonde.
Tohma gave him a reluctant look and groaned.
"You're being serious…aren't you?"
"Totally." The brunette gave a quick nod.
Defeated, Tohma picked up the first few pages out of the box, and began to look them over. Pleased that he'd gotten his way, Ryuichi grinned smugly, and draped himself across the couch, and Tohma alike. After a few minutes of this, Tohma raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Are you sure that you just want to sit here and watch me read?" He asked, setting the papers on the coffee table momentarily.
Ryuichi only nodded, and curled even more tightly into the cushions.
"Well…could you do me a favor then, and turn the heat up, maybe even start a pot of tea?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
They had stayed awake until 4:30 in the morning, but Tohma had managed to nearly complete the whole box that had been set to him. Much of it had been reading, some of which he was required to sign afterwards. Other bits had required Tohma to break out drafting supplies, and Ryuichi entertained himself by drawing, as the blonde himself did his own technical drawings. Regardless, most of it was done, so Tohma could now concentrate on other matters at hand….meaning the band.
When he'd woken in the morning, he'd showered, and started on breakfast, before Ryuichi even stirred. The brunette was far more used to having many undisturbed hours of sleep, and he'd been out cold once he'd actually gotten to sleep. Halfway through cooking, he'd called Noriko to tell he the practice would indeed be happening, and she'd been ecstatic. Once breakfast was done however, he'd nearly dragged Ryuichi out from underneath the covers before the man realized that there was food to be eaten.
It was nearly noon when Noriko finally arrived, and they'd set to work, running through 'Sleepless Beauty' and other songs they'd put together, finished, and in progress.
"I want to arrange our first concert, with the three of us." Tohma suddenly said, in the middle of Noriko's second time through her portion of 'Sleepless Beauty".
Ryuichi stared at him with wide eyes, and Noriko immediately stopped playing. Tohma watched the two carefully.
"So soon? You think that we're ready?" Noriko asked, resting her head on her hand, sprawled out across her synth.
Tohma gave a weak smile.
"No... not exactly... we'll have to practice our asses off, but it's time we did something productive outside of this stuffy apartment. We won't know that we're doing things right until we get out there and hear some feedback. Whether we're ready or not, it needs to happen soon." The blonde nodded thoughtfully.
Ryuichi grinned, and beamed at Noriko.
"I agree! It'll be nice to get out and see what people think of us so far, what do you say, Noriko?" Ryuichi smiled hopefully, and to his surprise, she nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, definitely! I think getting out of here and playing for an actual audience will do us a whole lot of good. Tohma and I are used to jumping on stage together. But we've not figured out if all three of us together work well on stage together. We may have to adjust our normal routines to accommodate yours, or vice versa. It will be a great learning experience for us all." She laughed, grinning at the other two men.
Tohma smiled.
"It's settled then, we'll start planning for the first ever Nittle Grasper show, with Ryuichi as the lead." He nodded thoughtfully. "But where should we play?" He asked with a frown.
Noriko grimaced, and lay back on the wooden floor.
They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Ryuichi gave a small laugh.
"Isn't it obvious where we should play?" He smirked.
Tohma and Noriko only stared at him.
Clearly, it was only obvious for him…
"Well… if you have ideas, I'm sure we could all agree." Tohma smiled, propping his head up on a hand.
Ryuichi smiled, nodding to himself, confident with his decision.
"I'd like to play our first ever show where it means something." He said simply. "I'd like to play…where the two of first met." He said with finality.
"That's a great idea."
Both men turned towards Noriko with wide eyes.
"Nori?"
She grinned at the two.
To be honest, she was even surprised in herself for agreeing with the brunette so quickly.
"It will be easier for you to sing where you're familiar with the crowd and stage. Not only that, but it will probably do you two some good to play where you feel some connections. Besides, Tohma, Shinya, and I played there a few times during our days together, so we're ALL familiar with the turf. I say we do it."
Ryuichi beamed at her. Tohma smiled.
"I'm alright with it. I'll try and arrange it with the club owner, I'm sure that he can give us a night to ourselves. Besides…" He chuckled. "It might be good to let the bartender know both Ryu and I are alive…If I recall correctly, he seemed rather distressed with us, I remember that much…"
Ryuichi burst into hysterics, Noriko only shook her head.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After practice, Tohma retreated to the kitchen to make a few of his needed phone calls. Ryuichi stayed with Noriko in the living room, and he watched her slowly pack her things, a grin plastered across her face.
He could honestly say that he was far fonder of the girl when she was in a good mood, and if it took concert planning to get her in said good mood, then he'd make sure that in the future they ALWAYS had something planned if they could manage it.
"We need to throw a big party..." Noriko nodded to herself, packing the last of her things in her bag.
Ryuichi stared at her, cocking his head.
"Party? What for? To celebrate the concert?" he asked.
Noriko turned to him, and stared for a long moment.
"You don't know?" She asked, watching as Ryuichi shook his head. "Well, hell... Tohma's always been a modest one... He's not even reminded me, but I thought he'd have at least told you of all people…perhaps he didn't want to worry you about such trivial things?"
Ryuichi squirmed in his eat, causing Noriko to giggle.
She sighed, and sat down next to the other brunette.
"It's Tohma's birthday Sunday, silly. He'll be twenty." She grinned. "That's why, I think I'll need to set a party up. He deserves one after all this stress he's had the last few months."
Ryuichi slumped.
"He hadn't told me… now that I think about it, we've not exactly go onto those sorts of topics. I only knew how old he was…" He trailed off.
Noriko rolled her eyes.
"It's not that big of a deal. We're not ten; birthdays aren't exactly the talk of the household anymore. Leave it to me, I'll invite everyone we know, and we'll all have a good time. You'll get to meet the friends and family, and Shinya will even be there so you have someone familiar other than me and Tohma to talk to."
Ryuichi looked unsure.
"I… should have asked him when his birthday was…I can't even get him anything on such short notice…" he groaned, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm sure he won't mind Ryu… Tohma isn't a needy person."
Ryuichi only glared at her.
"That is NOT the point…" He grumbled.
Noriko sighed.
"Then why don't you nab the card he gave you, and go out and find something he'd really like?" She asked, but the man's glare only intensified.
"I'm not going to buy him something with his money, it's not right." He snapped at her.
"Well…" She began. " If you're THAT hell bent on doing things yourself…I COULD help you." She smirked.
Ryuichi eyed the girl carefully, and sighed, motioning for her to continue.
"What do you have in mind?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Well, here we go!
Hopefully the next chapter will appear soon, but we shall see.
I'm just glad I still got this chapter out on time for Tohma's 'birthday'.
Nice of Murakami to give everyone birthdays, eh?