Heaven Only Knows

By: Raiha-chan

Italicized words indicate thoughts.

//Blah// indicates flashback speeches/sequences.

###Blah### indicates lyrics sung.

=======================================================

[Chapter Nine: Promise me you'll try]

//I, Ookouchi Sakuya, like you, Toudou Yukifumi//

Sakuya was expecting a somewhat happier and elated response, but all he got was another blank stare from the older man sitting opposite him. The room fell into a dead silence for a long moment, both men holding each other's gazes intensely. Finally, Yuki looked away, his dark eyes betraying a pained expression that he was trying so hard to hide.

"Please leave," the guitarist murmured softly, closing his eyes.

Sakuya's eyes widened in disbelief. "Yuki…"

"Please… I want to be alone right now. That's not asking for much, is it?"

"…No. No, it's not," Sakuya stood, defeated. "I'll call you later…"

"Do as you please."

"Good night, then," Sakuya looked at the seated figure one last time then turned and left. Once the door was safely closed, and the vocalist truly gone, did Yuki let his tears fall.

+++++

"Hiroshi?" Miki replied into the phone. "What on earth are you calling here for? Tell me it's a relationship problem and I'm going to send you to Hell myself."

"Ha ha. Very funny," Hiroshi's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Look, there's something I have to tell you. But promise me you won't kill me afterwards."

"What is it?"

"Promise me!"

"Alright, alright! Jesus… What? You killed someone?"

"NO!" Hiroshi cleared his throat. "Actually… I er…kind of told this person something that maybe I shouldn't have mentioned at all… You see…"

"Out with it, boy. Or I promise I WILL kill you."

"ItoldAinetogiveSakuyaup."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't forget to breathe!" Miki said, trying to decipher what her cousin has just said. Finally, realization sank in. "WHAT?!"

There was a terrified yelp on the other line.

"Though I guess that's a good thing. So what was her response?"

"She gave in rather easily, if I must say so myself. She said that if it makes Sakuya happy, then she'd be happy for them both. And might I add, that sounds rather like Yuki…"

"It does, doesn't it?" Miki leaned back against her chair. "This would help things a lot more. Thank you, Hiroshi."

"…So you're not going to kill me?"

"No. By the way, do me a favor will you? I want you to call Aine for me, and pass along this message…"

+++++

Aine rang the bell, determined.

//Miki wants you to talk to Yuki. She claims that only you can talk some sense into him, no one else//

By that, Aine have somewhat of a clue as to what Miki was talking about. She rang the bell again, foot tapping impatiently. Finally, the door opened and she was greeted by a very tired-looking Yuki.

"Aine?" Yuki's eyes widened in shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Yuki nodded, then moved away to allow Aine to enter his apartment. He showed her to the living room then disappeared into the kitchen, only to emerge later with a cup of hot coffee.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Yuki asked, setting the cup down. Aine smiled in thanks.

"Nothing, really," Aine shook her head, taking the cup of coffee in her hands. "It's just that I was asked to speak to you about something…"

"What is it?"

"It's about you and Sakuya-san."

+++++

//Have you ever cared for someone so deeply that you're afraid if you touch them, they'll just shatter like glass and disappear from your life forever?//

Yuki… Sakuya lay on his bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling, unblinking. Yuki…why? Was I wrong? Maybe you don't like me after all…?

The phone sitting on the floor beside his bed rang loudly. Groping around in the darkness, Sakuya picked up the receiver and mumbled a 'hello.'

"Rise and shine," came the disgustingly cherry voice.

"…Miki?" It took a while for Sakuya to recognize the voice. He sat up slowly. "How did you get my number?"

"Hi-mit-su! Anyway, there's something I wanted to ask you…"

"If you'll stop it with the cheerfulness, fine, ask away. If you won't, I'll hang up right now and I swear to God, I'm not kidding."

"Alright, alright!" the voice became dead serious in an instant. "Towa has told you everything, am I correct?"

A pause from Sakuya. Then he sighed, "Yes."

"And what is your decision?"

"…You know it, don't you? Would it truly give you that much satisfaction to hear it straight from my mouth?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I love Yuki."

+++++

"It's about you and Sakuya-san."

Yuki's eyes widened. "W-what about he and I?"

"Please don't play stupid, Yuki-san," Aine looked at him. "I have eyes, too. And I can tell how you feel about Sakuya-san. To be truthful, I would have never found out if I hadn't stumbled onto Rui-san and Miki-san's conversation. From then on, I've been paying more attention to you two. I can tell just how much you like Sakuya-san, and how much Sakuya-san likes you."

The guitarist stood abruptly and went to stand by the window, his back facing the young songwriter.

"…He told you, didn't he?" No response from Yuki. "Sakuya-san…told you he liked you, didn't he? Yuki-san…please, talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Anything that will assure me that you truly do love Sakuya-san after all. Anything…that will tell me that I can finally leave this apartment happy, with the knowledge that you two will someday be together."

Yuki whirled around to face Aine, shocked. "What are you saying? Are you telling me that… You can't possibly…!"

"Yuki-san," Aine stood up. "I can and I did. I want you to be happy, too, just as much as you want me to be happy. Yes, I do like Sakuya-san but perhaps, maybe not in the way you all thought. I've been thinking…what exactly is the feeling that I have for Sakuya-san? Is it love?"

"Aine…"

"In the end, I realized that I only admired him. But he's really everything I could ever look for in the perfect man. So maybe he's a bit cold but…" Aine laughed weakly.

"Yuki-san…please. Even if not for yourself, then for me. Please, give Sakuya-san a chance."

+++++

"So you do love him after all…" Miki's voice was soft and tired.

"So it seemed I do," Sakuya snapped. "What the hell is that going to help anything? He doesn't…"

"Talk to him."

"I did."

"Again. Talk to him until he understands. Until he realizes that you chose him over Aine. Until he realizes that he's not going to hurt anyone." A pause. "Sakuya… I told Aine to talk to him. I'm sure it would help him a bit, but I don't know to what extent."

"You told Aine to…?!"

"Yes, and for a good reason. She's already given up completely. Yuki still hasn't. Sakuya, I normally do not plead. But…please, go talk him. Ask him about his dreams."

"His dreams?"

"They are the very core of his problem."

+++++

"Did you think…" Aine lowered her eyes, the very first of tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "…that it was easy for me to come up here?"

"Aine… I'm sorry," Yuki took a step towards the young girl.

"Please, Yuki-san, give Sakuya-san a chance," Aine looked up. "Please?"

"I-I'll try…"

"Promise me you will."

+++++

The dark-haired man ignored the ringing of his phone. He threw a hand over his face and mulled over his current problem. He was only paying half attention when the answering machine came on.

"Sakuya…" the caller whispered softly, albeit hesitantly.

Connecting voice with face, Sakuya threw himself off the bed and with quick steps, made his way over to where his phone laid.

"Yes?" Sakuya breathed, afraid that the caller might have already hung up.

"S-Sakuya?" the voice was shocked and uncertain. "It's me…Yuki."

"I know." Sakuya was a bit surprised that Yuki would call him, instead of the other way around. "Is something wrong?"

"No…only… Can you come out for a moment?"

"Of course. Where are you right now?"

"Outside your building complex… I'm not sure if I want to go up there."

"Alright, I'll come down. Wait for me."

+++++

//Even if not for yourself, then for me. Please, give Sakuya-san a chance//

//Promise me you will//

Yuki allowed the hand holding his cell phone dropped to his side. Then, he slid down the wall he was leaning against, wrapping his arms tight around his knees and laying his forehead on it. He remained in that position, even as he heard the approaching footsteps. When they stopped, he still refused to look up.

"Yuki…" at the voice, the guitarist finally looked up.

"I promised her I would try," Yuki said softly, as the younger man kneeled down beside him. Sakuya tilted his head to a side quizzically. "I promised Aine…that I would give you a chance."

The vocalist's eyes widened slightly. "Aine told you…?"

"So I would…" Yuki ignored Sakuya's half-finished question, looking away. "…give you a chance." The singer froze on the spot, watching the older man with a shocked expression. Sakuya didn't say anything, and just stared.

He broke out of his daze when Yuki turned back to him and regarded him with sad eyes. Sakuya reached out his hand at the same time Yuki stood.

"If you don't…" Yuki started but was interrupted when Sakuya pulled on his wrist, bringing him tumbling down into the singer's arms.

"…Shut up," Sakuya mumbled, as he stroked the dark tresses under his right palm. "Just shut up, Yuki."

"Sakuya…"

"I think I would like that," Sakuya whispered. "You giving me that chance, that is."

+++++

"Can you tell me about them?" Sakuya asked softly, his voice slightly muffled against Yuki's left shoulder.

"Hmm? About what?" Yuki replied absentmindedly.

"Your dreams." Sakuya felt the body against his stiffen. He tightened his hold on the guitarist in a reassuring way. "If you don't feel comfortable with doing so, you don't have to. I can wait."

"No…no, it's alright." Yuki shook his head, then re-positioned himself so that he laid with his side against Sakuya's front, and his head nestled under the latter's chin. He remained silent for a while before speaking.

"There was one," he started slowly. "Aine stood in front of me, eyes sad. I tried to go to her, wanting to know what was wrong. But the more steps I took forward, the further away she got. I couldn't reach her, no matter how hard I tried…no matter how far I reach my hand.

"Then finally, I was able to get a hold on her wrist. But suddenly…" Yuki's breath hitched. He buried his face against Sakuya's shirt.

"It's okay," Sakuya whispered, rubbing his left hand up and down the guitarist's arm reassuringly. "You don't have to continue, if you don't want to."

"I-I do…" Yuki took a deep breath then continued. "When I finally managed to grabbed onto her…she shattered into thousands of pieces. Just like that…like a piece of glass."

Sakuya gave Yuki's arm a slight squeeze. But the guitarist looked as if he was in his own little world, not noticing anything that went on around him.

"I turned around and saw you standing in front of me. You reach out a hand and I ran towards you. You didn't move away though, unlike Aine. But when I touched your hand…" The dam broke, and Yuki covered his face with both hands, crying uncontrollably.

"Yuki…" Sakuya pulled back slightly, then reached towards Yuki's hands, pulling them away from his face. "Yuki, look at me. Yuki!"

The guitarist looked up slowly. Sakuya let one hand cupped the other's cheek, while holding the other's hands tightly against his heart.

"Yuki, look at me. I didn't shatter like glass, the way I did in your dream," Sakuya reassured softly. "Look, I'm still in one piece, aren't I? You never had to worry about hurting anyone. In the end, no matter how much you try to prevent it, someone will always end up getting hurt. It's not something you can control. Nor is it something that you should blame on yourself, even if someone do manage to get hurt."

"But I…" Yuki's words became nothing when Sakuya suddenly lurched forward and captured his lips in a kiss, silencing him. After a long while, Sakuya pulled away.

"When will you ever learn to just shut up?" the singer asked, softly. "Dreams are dreams. They mean absolutely nothing so there's nothing that you should worry about. Don't get yourself all worked up over something as stupid as dreams."

"Sakuya…thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Sakuya chuckled, then re-positioned them both so they now laid on the bed, with Yuki curled up tightly against him. "Go to sleep. I'll be here if you get those dreams again, alright? I'll chase them away for you, okay?"

//If you get anymore dreams again, I'll be here//

Yuki smiled and nodded slightly in reply, knowing that Sakuya can feel the movement. He then closed his eyes. Listening to the soft heartbeats that belong to Sakuya, the guitarist slowly drifted off to sleep.

###You're so afraid of the rain
So I'll take your hand
And I'll love you in the best way that I can###

[End Chapter Nine]

=======================================================

A/N: Mwuahahaha! Sakuya and Yuki finally gets together! ^o^ One more chapter to go and I'll finally be done! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. ^^