Author's Note: I had numerous ideas on how Gareki found out they were here, but Nai's reaction to Vanessa sealed the deal on which version I went with. Okumura Tsuki, thank you for your comment on the last chapter. I hope you managed to get some rest. ^_* As always, Literally Dirt, thanks for the comment, and to my anonymous guests, thank you for the Kudos.
Synopsis: A tender YoReki moment after the play.
Karneval: Pyromancy
Chapter 27: Backstage
Gareki and Tsubame took their final bows and walked, arm-in-arm, congratulating one another on the night's performance. "You were great, tonight, Gareki," Tsubame cheered.
"You too, Tsubame -Chan," Gareki said, "I'm sure Tsubaki would be proud of you."
"Stop selling yourself short, Gareki!" Tsubame scolded, "Tsubaki-Nii-Chan would be proud of both of us, and you know it!"
Gareki stopped in his tracks. "Do you really think so?" he asked, quietly, averting his eyes, subconsciously rubbing his neck.
Before Tsubame could answer him, they were joined by Shishi, Sesirie, and Ranji. "You guys we're amazing tonight!" Rankin praised, hugging both of them.
"So much emotion, so much passion, compared to all the other performances," Sesirie exclaimed, "I wish I had waited until tonight to record you guys."
"Are you two going to the after party for the cast?" Ranji asked.
Gareki and Tsubame exchanged looks, smiled at one another, then nodded in response. "They're feeding us, aren't they?" Gareki replied .
Tsubame giggled, "We're famished. We have to start make up so early we miss dinner and don't usually get to eat until after the performance." She sighed, fluffing a hand through her hair. "I'll be glad to finally stop torturing my hair, it'll be weeks before I wash all these curls out."
The group of five walked together to the room where the After Party was to be held, a small practice room just outside the dressing rooms. "Do you think they'd let us join you?" Sesirie asked.
"Perhaps," Tsubame shrugged.
"I don't know why not," Gareki said with a shrug, again, absent mindedly rubbing his neck, "You guys have been here every night."
"Yeah. Why not? Consider yourselves out guests," Tsubame invited.
"Speaking of guests, what did Lieutenant Yogi say about the performance?" Shishi asked, assuming the crews of the ships had already greeted the siblings.
Gareki froze. "I thought you said you were going to stop messing with me about..." he started.
Shishi held up his hands, open palmed, "I'm not!" he insisted, "You mean you haven't seen him yet?"
"They were all here, the little one said they were gonna surprise you," Ranji said, backing up Shishi's story. Gareki glared at them for a moment. As far as he knew, they were still out of phone range. "Sesirie made a killing selling them pictures and a copy of the recording, even!"
"I think I even saw the blue haired girl hanging off the lieutenant's neck in the hallway at one point, when I got up to go to the restroom" Sesirie admitted.
Gareki and Tsubame both flinched at this. "Heh! Now I know you guys are messing with me," Gareki scoffed, his hand again at his neck, "There's no way that Kiichi would..."
Tsubame gently placed a hand on Gareki's shoulder, stopping him mid sentence. "Gareki... They've only met Yogi. They shouldn't know what Kiichi looks like," she said worriedly.
Gareki blinked as that realization set in. "Damnitall!" he exclaimed pulling his phone from his pockets.
"Gareki? I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for Yogi and Kiichi..." Tsubame started, in attempt to calm her adoptive brother.
"Don't worry, Tsubame-Chan," Gareki said, "The idiot and the little blueberry tart are safe!" He said, pressing the call button on his phone and pulling it up to his ear. "iFor now,/i" he grumbled under his breath.
Hirato sighed as he answered the phone. "Hello?"
"So, you ARE back in range for phone signal?" Gareki growled. "How long have you been back?"
Hirato tried not to laugh. "Just this morning," Hirato admitted.
"And none of you thought to contact me?" Gareki asked.
Hirato smirked, "Awe, you actually missed us? How sweet."
"Like a hole in the head," Gareki snarked, "It's been a month and a half! Where are you guys?"
Hirato smiled as he and the others entered the room from outside. "Right behind you," the dark haired Captain said, clapping a hand on Gareki's shoulder.
Gareki jumped, turned to face Hirato and swatted the captain away, "Don't do that!" This earned a laugh from everyone else.
Hirato smiled, "Akari-San told us you were in the school play, so I thought we'd surprise you tonight. My apologies if our prolonged silence worried you."
Gareki glared at the mischievous captain. "I know you guys can take care of yourselves," Gareki scoffed, looking away, crossing his arms.
"Gareki!" Nai exclaimed, rushing past Hirato, pouncing the fifteen year old.
"Awe," Sesirie exclaimed, seeing Any for the first time in the light, "He's even more adorable than I thought."
"Oh my, Gareki -Kun! You certainly are popular tonight," the actress that played Carlotta said, as she approached the group. "And just who is this cute little guy?" she asked, leaning forward to look Nai in the eyes.
Nai tightened his hold on Gareki's burgundy red silk shirt and ducked behind the raven. "Nai!?" Koroku scolded, his voice full of shock. He looked back at the actress. "Terribly sorry, ma'am, he's not usually like this. I don't know what's come over him."
Gareki looked down, curiously at Nai, he felt the little one tremble and tighten his hold on him a s he ducked behind him. Gareki's eyes quietly drifted back and forth between the now confused actress and the frightened Niji-half. He smirked and choked back a laugh. "I think I do. Vanessa-San, go change out of your costume." He let out a light chuckle and ruffled a hand through the albino's hair. "Trust me, he'll be a lot more sociable once you change into more civilian looking clothes."
She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned to enter her dressing room. "Ah... Yes, I see," Hirato observed as he watched the young actress walk away.
"What was all that about?" Koroku questioned curiously.
"While you were busy being held captive and sending vague threatening telepathic messages, " Gareki started, "I was rescuing this little guy from a Varuga that could have easily been Vanessa-San's mother." He turned and knelt down in front of Nai, ruffling the Niji's hair. "Hey, I know she looks like Mine-Sama, in that dress but that's not her, ok? She's not as really as mean as she was acting, you know?"
Nai shook his head. "It's not just her dress, Gareki!" the child protested, "It's her face, her hair, her eyes!" He glanced back the direction Vanessa had gone. "i She even kind of smells like her,/i" He whispered .
Tsukitachi quietly elbowed his partner, "iMine-Sama is that rich Varuga you and Tsukumo went after just before the whole Palnedo train incident, right?/i" he asked. Hirato nodded an affirmative. "iHo, boy.../i" the red head muttered.
"Only, this time, it's not me she wants to sit on," Nai innocently continued.
"Does that mean...?" Koroku started.
Gareki flicked his eyes to the eighteen year old. "That means EXACTLY what you think it does," he said bluntly.
Nai caught Gareki's sleeves, forcing the raven's attention back to him. The little Niji half continued without understanding the implications he was putting forth in front of everyone else. "Gareki, you can't choose that woman as a maye! It'd make Yogi sad."
Everyone else turned red in the face. "What the Hell, Nai!?" Gareki exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Nai, Gareki, Koroku, and Yogi were the only ones who didn't begin laughing at this. Gareki pressed his palm to his forehead, his eyebrow twitching. Neither of them had decided if they were even official, yet, or if they were, how they were going to treat it. "Well, Little Nai has spoken," Tsukitachi chuckled, "Gareki belongs to Yogi."
"D-Don't say it like that! " Yogi protested, his blush growing even brighter, "Gareki-Kun's still free to choose whoever he wants!"
"Nai," Koroku sighed, gently clapping both his hands on the Niji's shoulders, "You and I are going to have a long talk about what is and isn't appropriate to say in mixed company."
"Be that as it may, Yogi," Iva pointed, "Nai-Chan is pretty good at reading people's hearts."
"Back off, all of you!" Tsubame scolded them, "I think it's sweet."
"Why did he word it like he was talking about a couple of animals, though?" Ranji inquired.
"Long story, I'll explain later, unless Koroku wants to explain now?" Gareki groaned. "You guys, help yourselves to the buffet," he invited languidly. "I need to go change, too." He caught Yogi by the wrist and drug the blonde back toward the dressing rooms.
"Hey, ow!? Gareki-Kun?" the blonde protested.
Gareki drug the lieutenant into the dressing room with him, three the door shut and pushed the blonde against the wall. "So, what's this nonsense I'm hearing about you and Kiichi?" Gareki asked. He was taking short, even breaths.
Yogi blinked confusedly. "What nonsense?" he asked cautiously.
"Yogi, it's been a whole month since we last spoke to each other," Gareki pointed, "I'm a little..." he paused, as if he was trying to choose his words carefully, but he subconsciously rubber a hand on his neck, where the lasso would have been, "Unnerved from my recent performance. My first day on the ship, Nai and I had a misunderstanding and I nearly walked away. I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I can't, for the life of me, figure why Sesirie believes she saw Kiichi hanging off your neck?"
Yogi blushed, "Gareki-Kun, are you jealous?"
"I don't know, should I be? You said I'm free to choose anyone I want, right? If ever there's a time I think I have to be jealous of HER with you, I promise, I will loo... "
Yogi sighed and grabbed Gareki's wrists. "Gareki, are you ok? You keep rubbing your neck." He pulled the raven closer.
"Don't change the subject," Gareki scoffed.
"We didn't know anyone saw us," Yogi said, "Relax, nothing happened between Kiichi and me. The real story is we called a temporary truce and she hugged my neck. But, since she didn't want anyone to know about it, the 'official's story is that she slipped in someone's soda and I just happened to be there to break her fall."
Gareki sighed and smiled, glad he decided to talk to Yogi before jumping to conclusions. "iOh, Scarecrow, you I've missed most of all,/i" he thought, visibly relaxing a bit. He hugged the blonde.
Yogi sighed, feeling Gareki shudder a little in his arms, and gently returned the raven's embrace, finally realizing the real reason Gareki had drug him here. "Hirato-San was right. Letting them the you up in this role really took a toll on you, didn't it?" Gareki had been playing the role of Raoul for a month now, letting himself be tied to the gate, on a nightly basis, and, Gareki being Gareki, had probably done so without telling anyone about what he had been through when he was younger. Gareki, not being one to harp on things, Yogi had no way of knowing how many times they had to practice that scene to get it right, too; how many hours Gareki had to spend like that. Keeping it to himself was probably straining him both emotionally and mentally.
Gareki nuzzled his face into the crook of Yogi's neck and gave a quiet nod. "I thought, by tonight, I would be used to it, but... It still gives me flashbacks to my time on that damned ship," Gareki begrudgingly admitted.
"It's ok, Gareki," Yogi cooed, "I'm here, now." Yogi blinked and gently tilted Gareki's head, so he could see his neck. "Gareki-Kun, you've got rope burn. How tight was that rope?" he asked worriedly. "Do they always make it that tight?"
"What!?" Gareki exclaimed, pulling away, and rushing to look in the mirror. Sure enough, there was a red mark around his neck. "Damn, I thought he yanked a little too hard tonight," he growled, rubbing his neck.
"That explains why you've been rubbing your neck," Yogi. acknowledged. "Do you need to go get that checked out by the school nurse?"
"Not right now," Gareki sighed, "If it's still bothering me in the morning, I'll go have her look at it."
Yogi sighed and grabbed Gareki's wrists, yet again. "If you don't stop messing with it, it very well might be," the blonde warned. "I'd threaten to the your hands behind your back to prevent it, but..."
Gareki gave a jerk of his hands, but didn't pull free of the lieutenant's hold. "Yogi... It's very few people I trust in this world," he said, with calm, even, breaths, "Fewer still I've ever said I love," he admitted . Yogi's eyes grew wide at the confirmation Gareki had indeed said it the last time they spoke. The blonde was elated to hear that statement, but knew now was not the time to interrupt the raven. Gareki turned his head as he continued, "But, I've spent the last twenty-eight days playing this role for Tsubame-Chan's sake, and now that we're done with it, I'll be damned if I let anyone else the me down again."
Yogi cupped a gentle hand around Gareki's cheek and guided the teenager's gaze back to him. "Relax, Gareki-Kun," he said softly, "I would never intentionally do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, you know that," he promised. "But you really need to get this treated, so it doesn't get any worse," he urged.
Gareki smiled. "It's not like I haven't learned about how to treat it myself," he huffed, " First Aid 101, " he quipped, "Thoroughly clean the area, making sure you get rid of all the debris, then apply Aloe Vera as needed." Gareki took off his shirt. In spite of himself, Yogi had trouble looking away as the raven unbuttoned it. Gareki slipped inside the room's shower stall before taking off the rest of his clothes tossing them over the side of the glass, and turning on the water. "Do you think Jiki might have some aloe on him?"
"It's possible," Yogi answered, "You don't have any cold cream or makeup remover or anything in here that has it?" he asked, looking over the array of stage makeup and makeup remover on the room's vanity.
"Nobody ever thought we'd need it," Gareki answered.
"Ne, Gareki-Kun? We're all really proud of your performance tonight, but if this scenes is such a strain for you, why didn't you ask the director for a change in how it was handled?" Yogi probed.
"I tried," Gareki answered, shutting off the water and wrapping the towel that had been hanging off the back of the stall around himself. "She said she'd already compromised with us enough, allowing me to skip the musical numbers and the improvisation for the kissing scenes. She couldn't risk my pyrokenisis setting off the pyrotechnics too soon if we went with the book's version of things, and she couldn't get approval for flooding the stage. So, we were stuck with the original play version." He dried himself off, slipped on his change of pants and checked himself over in the mirror, once more, ensuring he'd washed away all the rope particles, Before finally slipping his school shirt and goggles back on. He smiled quietly, flicking his eyes back to the blonde. "ibEveryone/i/b is prousproud of me?" he asked incredulously.
"Well..." Yogi have a soft chuckle , closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head, recalling Kiich and Jiki's lack of enthusiasm throughout the evening, "Those of us who count," he said, his natural sparkles dancing about him in the air.
"Gee, thanks," Gareki scoffed, "So in other words, you, Nai, Tsukumo, and MAYBE Koroku."
"Hirato-San and Tsukitachi -San, too," Yogi defended the two captains, "Gareki-Kun, I've never seen either of them as emotional as they were tonight! They tried to downplay it, but I glanced their way and saw them both drying their eyes more than once. Even Iva-NiiChan agreed to let Hirato-San bit her a copy of Sesirie-Chan's recording of the play and picture packet."
"How many times do I have to tell that girl not to sell pictures of me?" Gareki groaned.
"You mean she's been selling pictures to somebody other than me?" Yogi asked.
"Jealous?" Gareki teased.
"Maybe," Yogi said, hands on his hips.
"Turnabout's fair play," Gareki chuckled.
"Ha! You were jealous," Yogi laughed.
"Yeah?" Gareki smirked, throwing his arms around the blonde's neck. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"Well, if you didn't have a vast party to get back to, I could think of a few things," Yogi said, almost seductively, "You DID drag me in here to help calm you down, after all, right?" Gareki nodded. "But, you've got a room full of people waiting on you," Yogi gently tilted Gareki's head, so he could see the raven's neck, "And we need to ask Jiki if he has any aloe for this, so..." Yogi leaned in and kissed Gareki, full on the lips. Gareki hugged him tighter and reciprocated the kiss, letting Yogi's tongue mingle with his own, practically melting into the blonde's arms. "I hope this is good enough for now?" Yogi said, as he finally pulled away from the kiss, gently pressing his forehead to Gareki's. "You know you're the only one for me, right?"
Gareki tried not to blush at that confession. "Alright, you're forgiven," he laughed, "But, Hirato's not allowed to take you so far away from phone signal again. Next time I get stuck in a play, I want to be able to contact you so you can help me recite my lines."
Yogi smiled. "I can't promise you we won't travel that far again," he said, "But if you ever need me for anything, just call me, I'll do what I can," he promised as they left the dressing room to rejoin the others.
*"If ever there's a time I think I have to be jealous of HER with you, I promise, I will loo...*"
The full sentence before Yogi cut Gareki off was, "If ever there's a time I think I have to be jealous of HER with you, I promise, I will look for someone else."