Fandom: Gravitation / グラビテーション
Title: Creating Infinity.
Pairing: Ryuichi x Tatsuha
Rating: PG-13
Description: (sequel to "Things don't last forever.") Tatsuha receives a surprise on White Day that he never expected to get.

Disclaimer: Gravitation is the property of Murakami Maki-sama and Sony.

Creating Infinity.
by Miyamoto Yui

Chapter 3 – What could it be called since we'd never met?

"For someone so famous, you sure pack lightly."
"I only make sure Kumagorou's with me. Everything else I can charge or bargain for," he answers with his eyebrows lifting for a second and a smirk that makes my heart swoon in more ways than one. "So either way, I get my way," is what that smirk means.
I clear my throat.

As I'm about to slide the door to his room, Ryuichi quietly stands in pure wonder, viewing the space around him with wide eyes and a half open mouth. He's analyzing the hallway, his eyes moving from the ceiling and then down to the tatami, even poking the dark brown, wooden columns until he's peering out the small uneven windows. Pressing his fingertips onto the glass, he moves his face closer to inspect the grooves.

And I want to either jump him or get a camera for giving such an innocent expression.

Grinning at his stuffed companion while pushing their cheeks together, the pink bunny's paw slides across one transparent square.
"It's cool, isn't it, Kuma-chan?"

I'm so jealous of Kumagorou that it isn't even funny.

"These windows are handmade since this house is that old."
Since it's my home, I've forgotten that people pay money to see architectural museums with the stuff that exists inside here.

"It's very beautiful." He glides both his fingers along with Kuma's paw over the square panel. "It even feels nice."

Somehow, I've either got to preserve that piece of glass or not wash it until I've gotten his fingerprints.

I sigh to myself. I'm doing it again.
I've got to get over this phase of my life. When I went to his house, he was polite, we had a deep conversation, and he sent me back without saying anything. But what did I really expect anyway? That he'd suddenly fall in love with me? Yeah, right.

I knew that moment that there would be nothing. So I write, pretending that there's a chance for me because I know my insane addiction to this man will take years to get over. Not to mention the withdrawal symptoms of even a day without hearing his voice.

But then again, that's why I'm writing too. I decided on the plane ride back that-
"Tatsuha-kun?"
I feel two furry paws rubbing my cheeks.
"Ah, yes! You're room!" I take hold of the door and slide it open before he can ask anything more. Then, I point down the hallway. "The bathroom is just down there. To your right."
"Yes. Right…" he says while entering the room, putting his single rolling luggage and Kumagorou's duffel bag to one corner of the room.
"I'll set out the futon later, so please let me know."
"No, you don't need to do that."
"You're my guest. I don't want you to worry about anything." I stare at him more seriously than I should. "At least for today."

He runs his fingers through his hair and points his gaze towards the ground. When he looks up back at me, he pushes Kumagorou's nose to touch mine.

Kuma-chan smells like strawberries!

"He's saying thank you for being good to us."

This man…no scratch that, my god's going to kill me with cuteness before the end of White Day.

"Speaking of, what do you want to do today? When I stayed with you, you took me all over the place. I had a blast, just like at the zoo."
"But I've been running my whole life," he says with a tinge of remorse. "Can I just spend time in your house?"
"That would help me, but wouldn't you be bored?"
He shakes his head. "I always find something fun to do. It's something Tohma says I'm too good at. Besides…"

The look he's giving me translates to, "I don't want to interfere with your life."

If you only knew how much you're an undetachable part of it.

"I'll be with you, so it doesn't matter what we do."
"But what exactly are you here to find out? My life's…not as exciting compared to yours." I scratch the back of my head.

/"What if I told you I came for you, Tatsuha-kun?"/

So you want to stay here. But what do you want to learn about me? The books?
That I'll shuffle today's schedule just to spend time with you? Because if that's the case, that's a done deal. I don't know why you're hesitating…

He opens his mouth and then closes it, deciding not to say anything. By the distant expression, something unpleasant passes through his mind. There's that wall between us again.
Whatever's happening inside him, I'm feeling the side effects. It's similar to the times my brother becomes extremely pensive and I know I cannot cross that painful line of nostalgia. Those memories do not involve me. I can only wait for them to run their course.
And if I'm allowed to know in the end.

Maybe it's not all about what we did or didn't do with whatever we label this 'relationship' we have...

I inhale deeply, smile, and try to distract him by taking his hand to guide him through the house before doing my duties for the day, which I explain as we walk. It's good that I'd left a large block of time open for that meeting.

When we step out towards the garden, I let go of his hand and look out with my back towards him.

"You're supposed to deny yourself of worldly wants, but…" I pause and clench my hands, my nails pushing into my skin. "You're the only one I can't let go of. That's why I wrote and wrote and wrote. But I still can't believe you figured that out so quickly."

"Of course I did. The rhythm of your books are somehow in sync with mine."
I quietly gasp, but he can't see my reaction.

He steps off the veranda, slips into a pair of outdoor slippers, and stands right in front of me. Only a few inches off the ground, I look down at him as he gazes up at me.
"But what do you get out of it, now that you answered your own question? Are you going to live in between forever?"
"Isn't that what you're doing?"
I watch him squat down to gently run his hands through the grass. His hands go back and forth, enjoying the texture and the delight completely radiates from his face.

"Yes, that's why I'm always tearing myself apart. The lyrics don't match the rhythm. The clothes don't match the man." He glances through me. "What I think and what I say don't make sense."
"What do you do about it?" I step off and into another pair of outdoor slippers to walk towards him.

Why does the five meter gap between us seem so much longer than what it really is?

He rubs the blades with his fingertips and then stands up to face me. "Look forward. All I can do is hope that whatever I do, I'll leave no regrets behind."
"How do you know?"
"I don't. I just pretend I do."

And that's when he smiles at me, glittering more than the sunlight.

Blinded by that brightness, I catch his hand and tug on it. "Come on, let's go. We won't go to many places, but at least to my favorite parts of Kyoto."
"Don't you have to-"
"I have some time before that. Besides, if it's between you and my duties, do you really need to ask?"
"You didn't even think twice about that."

I'll always pick you, Ryuichi-sama.
Besides, it's dangerous to stay here. I'll want to jump you if you keep showing all these delectably sweet sides of yourself.

My heart pinches itself out of envy for Tohma and Noriko being able to see those concealed parts.

We walk towards the front and I pick up my bag and car keys along the way.
"So Tohma-san's never told you about me?" I clear my throat as a few episodes clearly float to the surface to replay in all their brazen glory in my mind. I briefly avert my eyes from the self-incrimination.
"Besides being Mika-san's brother and that you like our music? Like what you said when we were at the zoo and what we talked about at the beach." Ryuichi nods to himself. "Mm-hm! Oh and that it's easy to talk to you."

Tohma-san is secretive, but he's kept you in the dark about my obsession over you? I don't know if that's a blessing or evil on his part…
Why am I voting towards the latter?

"And Shuichi didn't happen to…you know…mention a few things?"
"Nope."

My jaw completely drops.

He has NO idea about my stalker tendencies!

I hit my forehead with my palm and then slide my fingers through my hair. "Eh heh heh…"
"Should I know something?" Piqued, he pokes my side with his free hand.
I immediately react and laugh as we get to the genkan.
"You can't *laugh* do that."
"Can't do what?" he whispers into my ear from behind and starts poking my sides until I collapse to the floor, falling backwards into his lap.
"You have to tell me at least one thing before I stop."
"No!" I twist from side to side. "You already *laugh* know this is my *laugh* weakness!"
"I thought it was me?" he asks flirtatiously, but I can't stop laughing because as his hands go around my waist, there's a full on attack on my stomach.
"Okay okay! Hahahahaha! The second! Please *laugh* stop! AHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"

He continues to enjoy torturing me until my eyes are dripping and I'm coughing.
I'm practically wheezing when his arms cross over my chest and he places his chin on the crook of my neck. "Ahh~, you're even snuggly like Kumagorou."
I close my eyes, absorbing his essence into my being as I try to catch my breath.

Why does this place between his arms seem so comfortable?

"So where's my story?"
"Hmm…" I look down into my lap to find his hands are locked around my waist. "When I was little, Nee-chan would put on the radio as soon as she came home from school. She would do her homework, but whenever Nittle Grasper's songs would play, she'd start to dance and I would too.
Later on, she'd play your cassettes and do her homework while I'd draw and listen with her. I even had to ask her how to spell your name."
Bashfully, I poke his interlocked fingers.
"I loved your voice. It felt like the rainbow with sunshine. I drew a lot of pictures."

From my cheek, I can feel he's biting his lips from the inside of his mouth.

"But when my sister got a hold of a video of Nittle Grasper's first concert…" I stop poking him and follow the patterns of the floor with my eyes. "When I first saw you, something hit me. I'm not exactly sure what, but I'd thought, 'He's like me!' No one ever made me feel that way ever since. Nothing, before or after, gave such a strong impression like that…and though I waited for that same feeling to come again, it never did.
"What could it be called since we'd never met? But I began to find out more and more about you from my sister. Once I learned to read, I spent my allowance on what I could discover about you…"
I lift my head and turn towards his direction. "…and somehow, here you are in front of me."

His eyes scrunch up and he hugs me tightly as if making a wish. "Thank you."
For the next few minutes, his face has a very serene expression that I've never seen in any of his videos.

"I wonder if Mika would give me those drawings…"

Tsuzuku… / To be continued…
-
Author's note: Why is this one-shot extending itself? -;;;; I just wanted to have all these cute scenes in between. I realize that I probably have been writing all these years for Ryuichi and Tatsuha because I wasn't satisfied with just that one field trip to the zoo when they seem like a very cute pairing since they're both obsessive people.
So yes, I'm going to extend this one day because I'm really enjoying all these adorably warm moments.

I just hope they are coming out as beautiful as they are inside my head…
Ever since I was a kid, I have a tendency to touch stuff to feel the textures so that's why you see that all over my writings. However, I also wear gloves too because there are times I can't handle the contact either. It can be overpowering.

Love,
Yui

4/13/2021 9:15:58 PM – Los Angeles
4/14/2021 1:15:58 PM – Tokyo